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Chapter 1
Leader
“Sir, I have news about the portal,” my intern says as he steps into my office.
I lean back in the chair, overlapping my hands. “From your tone, I’m guessing it’s not good news.”
He nervously edges further into my office, adjusting the stack of manila folders he’s carrying. “I’m afraid not.” He sets the folders down on my desk beside stacks of research data papers I still need to read through. “It looks like not one portal is opening, but three.”
A nervous edge creeps up inside me, but I maintain a professionally calm demeanor. “Three you say?” I ask and he nods. “And how did you obtain this knowledge?”
“From my paranormal airwaves data.” He fumbles to retrieve a map from one of the folders, along with a paranormal airwaves measuring device, which is known around the facility as a PAM. Then he opens the map, which ends up being the map of the city, and spreads it across my desk. “My PAM has been showing frequent spikes in high-frequency paranormal airwaves, here, here, and here.” He points to three small, hand drawn circles on the map. “At first I thought perhaps it was from an underground paranormal lair or club. So I sent a few agents to scope out the areas, and they reported that no lairs or clubs were located at any of these places.” He sets his PAM down in front of me to show me the airwave measuring charts, which are unsettlingly high.
In fact…
“These are the highest frequencies I’ve ever seen,” I mutter as I assess the data. “Are you sure these are correct?”
He nods nervously. “I’ve checked them six times.”
My nervous edge turns into a troubling uneasiness, but I’ve always been great at appearing calm even in the midst of chaos—something I can thank my past for. “Well, then, I think you’re right. Three portals are going to open underneath the city. But we have no idea when, or what, will come out two of them. Or what dimensions they’ll lead to.”
“I’m not sure I’m following you, sir,” he says. “I thought portals led to the paranormal dimension?”
I shake my head, trying not to be frustrated. But interns drive me crazy sometimes. “Not all portals lead to the paranormal dimension. There’s the Underworld portal. The Afterlife. The Wasteland. And those are just a few of them.” I tap the largest circle on the map. “The only reason we know where this one leads to is because I, along with five of my best researching specialists, have spent over six months researching the area, measuring data, and sorting through historical artifacts.” And forming my own team of paranormals to protect the area when the portal opens, but he can’t know about that. Only my closest colleagues can; otherwise we risk people and creatures finding out what we’re doing.
And I don’t want anyone knowing until the time is right. Until my team is trained and ready to fight. And so far, I only have one member of the team. A half Grim Reaper, who can barely control her soul thirst, let alone take on an army of deadly paranormal creatures.
“Thanks for the information,” I tell my intern. “Now, if you’ll excuse me, I need to make some phone calls.”
Nodding, he leaves my office and closes the door.
I pick up my phone and call the person in charge of my next project, the one for recruiting a Maddening. He answers after four rings, sounding very irritated, but that’s Maddening’s for you.
“What do you want?” Caspian asks dryly. “Wait, let me guess. You’re checking in. Again.”
“Sorry, but I need to make sure everything is going according to plan—she’s changing tonight, after all.” I use a polite tone only because Maddenings are one of the few paranormal creatures that unsettle me deeply.
Their touch doesn’t kill or steal your soul. No, these creatures are worse than death. One touch can drive a person’s mind to the brink of insanity and keep them locked there forever.
“I’m standing in front of her place right now,” Caspian replies with a hint of irritation. “And like I’ve said a hundred times, I’ll call you when I have her. But it doesn’t do any good—or make the process any quicker—for you to call me every damn hour.”
“I understand that,” I say as patiently as I can. “I just want to make sure she’s not alone when her curse is collected.”
“She won’t be,” he assures me. “Although, it probably wouldn’t be that much of a difference from how she’s lived her entire life.”
“What do you mean?”
“I mean, her parents have kept her locked in a cage for almost all of her life.”
“How did you find that out?”
“I went to a bar and chatted with her sister about it,” he says. “You know, humans can be quite chatty when they’re drunk. It’s strange and completely confusing.”
“That’s because you’re not human.”
“Thanks for reminding me.”
I restrain an exhausted sigh. “I’m still confused, though, over why her parents would lock her up? Her powers haven’t manifested yet. They shouldn’t have since we haven’t injected her with your blood yet.”
“They are the ones who got her cursed to begin with,” he says. “And, according to the sister, a Shadow Teller was present when the girl was cursed and warned the parents of what she would become. In fact, I think the girl herself believes she already possesses some terribly deathly touch.”
“So what? Just because some Shadow Teller told a prophecy of her become a Maddening one day, they locked her away in a cage for all of her life?” I don’t get upset or disgusted very often, but her story hits too close to home.
“Aw, does the professor of experiments actually have a heart?” Mockery dances in his tone.
“I’ve always had a heart. I just usually choose not to let it control me.” I thrum my fingers on the top of my desk, thinking. “Be careful with this mission, Caspian. If what you say is true… Then she probably hasn’t touched another human in a long time. Or interacted with many.”
“Yeah, so what? You act like that’s going to be a problem.”
“She might be hard to handle. She might freak out when you try to take her, or she might be happy about finally having contact with another. And we both know how you can react to an overly happy person.”
“I’ll be fine. I’ve handled worse.”
“Just be careful,
okay?” I practically beg. “And make sure to let the curse play through. Without it, this won’t work.”
“I understand what I’m supposed to do.” His annoyance grows. “I don’t need you to repeat it every time we talk.”
I internally sigh. “All right. But be careful and call me when you’re ready to bring her in.”
“Okay.” He hangs up.
I let out a sigh, hoping upon hoping everything goes smoothly. Because without my superhero Maddening, my team won’t be complete and the world could be doomed.
Chapter 2
I’m locked in a cage in a room hidden beneath an old Victorian house, a place I’ve called home for fifteen years. I’m not a prisoner. I choose to stay inside the iron bar cage, to protect the world from what I could become, at least according to my parents. And it’s something worse than death.
Despite the stories of me turning into an evil creature, I’m also a normal girl. Just one who’s been warned never to touch anyone. If I do, they won’t survive. I’m a killer of everything. Which is why I should be dead. If I had my choice, I would be. But after our parents passed away, I promised my older sister I’d stick around so she wouldn’t be left alone in the world.
Sometimes, though, I question my choice. Like today, which has been a maddeningly silent and lonely day.
Peering through the iron bars, I check the time and then the date on the calendar. Oh, would you look at that? Tomorrow is my eighteenth birthday.
I sigh at the realization. Another year spent in a cage. How sad.
But my thoughts soon drift elsewhere the longer the empty silence ticks by. Where is my sister? She usually has visited me by now. Maybe she’s finally gotten sick of me. I wouldn’t blame her. We can’t do much except talk through the bars. No hanging out, watching movies, or painting our toenails. My sister does tell me stories of what she does with her friends, so I don’t feel completely isolated. At least that’s what I tell her. Really, her stories make me think too much about the experiences I’ll never get to live.
Maybe you should just give up. Perhaps your sister will understand.
“What do you think, Mr. Spider?” I ask the tiny black critter scurrying across the damp cement floor. “Do you think it’s time for me to go and take my venomous existence out of this world?”
The spider ceases the creeping and turns toward me. Hope sparkles inside me. Have I somehow attained the ability to speak to other venomous creatures?
“Do you understand?” I ask, gripping the bars of my cage. “What it feels like to be feared by all? To be unwanted?”
The spider stands in front of my cage for a split second before scurrying up the water stained wall.
