Spiral Out Chapter 1: Easy Target

In the northern evergreen forests of Arkham, Massachusetts a young woman, Kaia, playfully chases the man of her dreams. Normally she has her waist length fiery-red hair tied up in a braid, but not today. Today she has let her hair go, much like all her worries, they all flow carelessly behind her. With porcelain-white skin, she shines like a beacon within the sea of earthly colors. Most of the leaves on the trees have turned either yellow or red, and have riddled the brown forest floor. Much like how her freckles riddle her face and chest. The sun hangs low in the Autumn sky, seeming to be mere minutes before it sinks beneath the horizon.

She wears a weathered black t-shirt that has the word “Carcass” on it in a near-indecipherable font. Her navy-blue jeans are littered with patches of band logos. And the red PF-Flyer Center Hi-tops on her feet do little to help her navigate the rough terrain of the forest floor. Ever since she saw the movie “The Sandlot'' back when she was a kid, she had always wanted a pair of PF-Flyers; “Guaranteed to make a kid run faster and jump higher.” at least, that's what Smalls said in the movie. Is it true? Probably not. But it could’ve been a placebo effect. Either way they felt nice, and looked really cool to her.

The man’s features are ever-changing and always blurry. Every time Kaia attempts to lock down his skin color, or his hair, it quickly changes to something else. Like a chameleon. Something that would normally concern her, but right now? Right now she’s overwhelmed with love and lust. This is someone who she can finally pour her heart and soul into, and the mere thought of being in love like this fills her with glee.

“Catch me if you can.” The man said, his voice distorted and muffled. Another thing that should’ve raised an alarm for Kaia, but distractions are a hell of a thing.

All of her muscles ache, how long has she been running? She can't rightfully remember. Hunching over she grabs her knees to catch her breath. Sweat pours off of her brow, her face reddened.

“I’m afraid I’ll lose him.” She said to herself. The very words she speaks spew from her mouth like an exhaust coughing out blackened tar. Rising up from the depths of her heart, a wave of terror begins to swell inside. Her thoughts swirl around her head like an emotional whirlwind. Thoughts of loss, regret, sadness, and pain. They manifest into blackened shards of glass that quickly impale themselves into her back. A pained expression overcomes Kaia, and she grunts away the feeling. Standing back up she reaches behind her to pull out the shards, one by one like she’s always done. A hand grabs hers and pulls her backwards.

The pain, the glass, the awful thoughts, they all disappear as she is wrapped in the man’s embrace. A pained smile appears on her face as she begins to cry. He smells of the earth, like fresh cut grass with a hint of vanilla. And his grip is strong, yet gentle. Kaia rests her head upon his arms.

“This is Heaven.” She thought. Her heart flutters as butterflies fill her stomach. “Please…” She said “Don’t ever let this end.” Her whole body trembles and shakes, she has never been this vulnerable before. And every beautiful moment she spends in his arms is lined with fear. Afraid that much like all sunny days, this too will give way to a storm. For every day of beautiful sunshine, there is a week of rain and storms for her. The dark spot deep within her heart lets out a pulse just as the sun sets behind the horizon.

The cool autumn day quickly turns to a freezing winter’s night. The sky turns black with not a single star shining within. Not even the moon rises on this night. The trees all wither and die as they turn blackened and charred. Snow quickly accumulates on the ground, becoming ankle deep within seconds. The lovely scent of earth and vanilla fades to rotting flesh and death, filling Kaia’s nostrils with their gag-worthy scents. Trying to keep warm she turns around to hug the man of her dreams. His embrace is now cold, near freezing. Kaia opens her eyes to see a rotting corpse standing before her. Eyes wide, she shrieks in terror as she pushes him away. The corpse falls to the ground, lifeless, and bursts into a green flame. She looks on in horror as all her fears come to fruition.

A roar of maniacal laughter erupts throughout the forest. Kaia frantically looks around for the source, but finds nothing. And then it hits her. A snarling frown smears across her face, she knows what is going on now. And she’s kicking herself for not realizing this sooner.

“Give him back!” She barked. Her fists now tight with rage as she continues to look around the forest.

“Fool” a raspy, eerie voice growled. “How can I give back that which does not exist?” In the distance a feminine figure steps out from behind one of the trees. Billowing out like a smokestack from the top of her head is blackened smoke. Hollow, pupil-less white eyes are sunken within her skull. And a pulsing neon green light emits from the center of her chest, it spreads across her chest like lightning and quickly fades. A smile smears across her face revealing a set of jagged, knife-like teeth.

“Give him back!” Kaia barked again. The figure whips her head back as she lets out a hearty guffaw. The laugh only infuriates Kaia that much more. Every fiber of her being is screaming with rage, screaming at her to kill the monster that stands before her.

“How can I give back that which does not exist?” The figure asked.

“Great.” Kaia began. “Another dream of mine you’ve ruined. When will it be enough, Rithe?”

“When you set me free!” Rithe screamed. Her calm demeanor quickly fades to an unhinged one. She begins to walk toward Kaia, the shadows around her seem to grow even darker than normal. “We’ve gone over this a thousand times, but sure. One more time doesn't bother me.”

A shiver shoots up Kaia’s spine. Rithe’s mere presence is enough to make her stomach churn. Send the hair on the back of her neck straight up. It’s like seeing a real life demon for the first time, every time. And for the past twenty years she has been a daily occurance in Kaia’s life.

Ever since her fourth birthday Rithe has been chipping away at Kaia’s psyche. Trying her best to break her, to make Kaia release her from her prison. And there’s been plenty of times where she’s almost done it. But something in the back of her mind had always snapped Kaia back to reality. As if it were a flight or fight response, and she chose to fly. Rithe teleports behind Kaia, one arm wraps around her waist and the other gently grabs her neck.

“You are the key to my prison, Kaia.” Rithe whispered. “Set me free. The words sting like a blade in Kaia’s heart. “So I can be reunited with my master.” Kaia winces in pain as Rithe tightens her grip around her throat. She moves her hand away from Kaia’s waist, and then grabs the back of Kaia’s hand and begins to guide it forward. A black, wooden door appears before them. And a key materializes itself in Kaia’s hand. Rithe guides her hand towards the keyhole.

“Set me free, and I’ll give you everything you’ve ever wanted.” Rithe said. Inching Kaia’s hand closer and closer to the door. The lack of blood flow and oxygen begins to take its toll on Kaia as her vision tunnels. Consciousness starts to fade from her grasp, she could so easily just let go. The temptation is always there. Maybe it’s because Kaia wants to leave this world as a better place than when she entered it. Maybe it’s because she feels she’s destined for greater, more important things. Or maybe it's spite. Yeah, it's definitely spite. Nothing in this world motivates her quite like spite.

Rithe tries to push Kaia’s hand to the keyhole but she doesn't budge, not even an inch. She tries again, this time with all her might but it has the same result.

“Foolish girl!” Rithe scowled. The door begins to fade from existence, and the key vanishes from Kaia’s grip. A loud “KRAK” breaks the thundering silence as Kaia slams her elbow into Rithe’s ribs. Her eyes go wide as she coughs out a bout of pain. She lets go of Kaia for an instant, just enough time to retaliate. Kaia pivots her foot sideways and whips around to face Rithe, with her fist leading the way. Another “KRAK” echoes throughout the forest as the blow sends Rithe rocketing into a nearby tree, snapping it nearly in two. She slides down to the ground, unmoving.

With her heart racing a thousand miles a minute, Kaia readies herself for the counter-attack. She’s been through this dance thousands of times, and Rithe always seems to pull out the same tricks. All that needs to be done is to wait. Raising her hand, Rithe points directly at Kaia. A neon green beam shoots out of her fingertip and screams toward her prey. With lightning fast reflexes, Kaia backhands the beam sending it roaring into the sky. After a moment it fades from existence, and then lights up the night sky with the same neon green color. A monstrous boom echoes through the forest like a distant thunder.

“You’re out of tricks, Rithe.” Kaia began. “I know them all.” she jerks her head to the left and to the right, cracking the muscles in her neck. Rithe gets up to her feet and smiles. Snapping her fingers she vanishes from Kaia’s sight. Another “KRAK” breaks the silence as Kaia whips her elbow behind her, connecting with Rithe’s skull.

“Like I said.” Kaia began, throwing punch after punch into Rithe. She teleports again, this time Kaia ducks and then uppercuts Rithe. “All out” Another teleport as Kaia jumps into the air to avoid a leg sweep. She comes down on Rithe with a kick to the face. “Of new tricks!” Slamming into another tree from the force of the kick, Rithe lets out a sickening cough. Green blood dripping from her busted lips and nose.

“I got one more.” Rithe wheezed, recollecting herself. She snaps her fingers again, this time Kaia is engulfed in green flames. She screams in agony as the fire melts away her flesh, charring her body. The sickening stench of burnt hair and skin fills the forest. Completely stunned by the sudden tidal wave of pain, Kaia instinctually runs around trying to put out the flames. But, this is Kaia’s dream, not Rithe’s. Like a volcano erupting, Kaia screams again but this time in pure rage. The flames die out near-instantly, and all of her skin returns to normal. She storms over to Rithe and grabs her by the throat. Squeezing with all her might, Rithe tries her best to remove Kaia’s hands. But with each punch she throws into Kaia’s face, the harder she squeezes.

Consciousness begins to fade from Rithe, and soon after her body goes limp in Kaia’s hands. Still, she continues to squeeze until her fingers pierce the skin. Then like a Mortal Kombat fatality, Kaia rips Rithe’s head off, spine and all. Oh how sweet it would feel to actually do such a thing to this demon in reality. Tossing the head aside, Kaia falls to her knees, breathless. Like a dirty window Kaia wipes away the blackened sky to reveal a night sky filled to the brim with stars. A smile creeps across her face as she falls onto her back. Finally, some well deserved rest will come her way.

The ear ringing screech of an alarm destroys the peaceful silence of the forest. It trembles the earth beneath Kaia. And then breaks away to an empty void, Kaia tumbles down into the emptiness. At the very bottom a small white dot appears, slowly getting bigger and bigger. Through all of this only a single word has entered Kaia’s mind; “Fuck.” But not just any ordinary fuck, no. This one oozes with pain, frustration, and distaste. Like a long, drawn-out sigh of annoyance. The alarm rings through once more just as the white engulfs all of Kaia.

Consciousness comes back to Kaia, along with the comfort of her bed. After rubbing her eyes a bit, she opens them to see she’s back in her bedroom. Another dream that turned into a nightmare thanks to Rithe. The alarm on her phone rings again, loud, but not earth-shatteringly loud like before. Rolling over to her side, she grabs her phone from her night stand. It reads “6:45AM” she has about an hour to get ready for work.

She lets out a disgruntled moan, and tosses the phone back onto the night stand. There was no restful sleep for her last night, it was all spent running through dreams and fighting off demons. Physically and mentally exhausted, she snuggles up her pillow one last time. A vain attempt to go back to sleep. Another angry grunt comes forth as she sits up and gets out of bed.

Rubbing the sleep from her eyes, she shuffles her way to the bathroom, on the other side of the upstairs hallway. Inside, she turns on the shower and grabs a towel from the closet. Taking a quick look at herself in the mirror, she sees nothing wrong with her face; Just deep circles under her eyes.

“You look like shit, girl.” She said to herself as she hops into the shower. “Feel like it too.” she added. Standing motionless beneath the stream of hot water, Kaia closes her eyes. Gliding her hand down her chest and across her stomach, she feels the self-inflicted scars across her abdomen. Normally they would mentally hurt to the touch, but today they’re just scars. While each scar was from Kaia’s own hands, Rithe guided them, much like in last night's dream. Now they serve only as a painful reminder of a horrible time that’s long since passed.

“They don’t hurt anymore” She said, a smile appearing across her face. This was the pick me up that Kaia needed to help jumpstart her day. After finishing her shower, drying off and doing the rest of her morning routine, she heads downstairs to check on her older brother, Kevin. As she reaches the bottom of the steps she stops and carefully looks over at the couch, on it rests a motionless Kevin. A swell of despair slowly rises within Kaia as she begins to fear the worst. Kevin has been struggling with Heroine ever since the two of them lost their parents, four years ago. Together they’ve been scraping by trying to keep the home they grew up in, and to pay the bills. Without her older brother, Kaia would be shit out of luck.

A sigh of relief bursts out from Kaia as she sees her brother's chest rise and fall. Shaking her head to clear her doubts, she heads over to the kitchen to make herself some breakfast. Kaia has been worrying about her brother's health and wellbeing almost every day over these past few months. Kevin has been getting more and more addicted to heroin, to the point where he’s barely able to stay sober for more than a few hours.

A memory unlocks within Kaia’s head, a memory of the last day she ever saw her parents. In the summer of 2010 Kaia had just finished highschool, and her mom and dad decided to go on a cruise.

“Don’t worry!” She remembers her father saying, as he packed the family car up with their suitcases. “We’ll only be gone for a few weeks; a month at the most” His words did not reassure Kaia at the time. The image of her father, standing next to her mother embedded into her mind. But, their faces are blurry. Why are they blurry? Kaia snaps back to reality and frowns.

“Why can't I remember mom and dads faces?” she thought to herself. She storms over to the living room and picks up a photo of her parents. Studying it carefully, the details come back to her. The very thought of forgetting what her parents looked like upset her, and the fact that she did makes her that much more angry at herself. She lets out a sad sigh and puts the photo back.

“I miss them too,” Kevin yawned. Sitting up he rubs the sleep from his eyes.

“Oh, did I wake you up?” Kaia asked.

“Nah, I’ve been trying to go to sleep since five.”

“Oh… Got some hardcore insomnia again?”

“Yeah, but it's probably because I’m hungry.”

Kaia nods as her brother stands up and stretches out his tired muscles. Together they walk back to the kitchen and prepare themselves a couple bowls of cereal. They sit next to each other in silence for a few moments. Unsure on how to continue the conversation, Kaia goes to her tried and true method; video games.

“Any luck with Invincible?” She asked.

“Nah.” Kevin shaked his head. “That damn mount doesn't want to drop.”

Kaia lets out a chuckle. Her brother has been after that horse in World of Warcraft ever since it became available at the end of Wrath of the Lich King. They’ve played together since the expansion Cataclysm, and both are excited for the release of Warlords of Draenor coming in November of this year.

“What about you?” Kevin asked. “Any luck with Rivendare’s Deathcharger?”

“No,” Kaia said, frustrated. “It's such a pain to get to the plaguelands that I’ve only been going after it every other day or so.”

“But you’re a Death Knight, you can just teleport to Archerus and fly right to the dungeon.”

Kaia lets out a frustrated sigh. She had completely forgotten about the death gate spell that all death knights learn in-game. It’s a spell that can take your character straight to the starting zone for death knights from anywhere. Kevin bursted out laughing at his little sister's forgetfulness.

“Dick!” Kaia laughed as she lightly punched him in the arm.

“Not my fault you forgot your spells and abilities.” He shrugged

“I know, I know.” She had no one to blame other than herself. Again they sit in silence as they finish their breakfast. After staring at the sugary milk in her bowl for what felt like an eternity, Kaia finally summoned up the courage to ask her brother something.

“Hey, Kevin…” She began as her body started to tremble. Never has she told anyone about Rithe, and doing so feels like it would be putting her brother in danger. But after twenty years of dealing with her, Kaia is at the end of her rope.

“What's up?” He asked looking up from his empty bowl.

“Do you still talk to Madison?” She said, staring intently at the swirl of sugary milk in her bowl.

“No, not really.” He replied, slightly confused. “Why do you ask?”

“I…” Kaia pauses for a moment, trying to find the right words to make her not sound like a complete psycho. “I think something attached itself to me recently.”

“Like a spirit!?” Kevin shouted. Visibly concerned for his younger sibling.

“I think so. I was hoping that Madison could help out in some way, seeing as she’s a witch and does all that kind of stuff.” Kaia said. Kevin scowls, and rubs his chin, deep in thought. He remembers that his ex does still owe him a favor, but would she honor it? Kevin nods. Yeah, she would, especially for Kaia.

“She still owes me a favor, and I’m pretty sure she will be more than willing to help you out.” He said, putting his hand on his sister’s shoulder. A sigh of relief bursts out of Kaia, finally she has mustered up the courage to ask for help. And just like that, help is coming.

“I’ll send her a text right now.” He said, leaving the table.

“Thanks, Kevin.” Kaia said shyly, still embarrassed that she had to ask for help, but also glad that she did. Looking back at her bowl of sugary milk, she remembers how she used to love drinking it back when she was a kid. But nowadays, the mere thought of drinking it is making her sick to her stomach. The clock on the stove reads 8:30 AM. A grunt of dissatisfaction puffs from her diaphragm, she has always hated working at the Hunters Market. But money is money, and that is what’s keeping her and her brother afloat. Grabbing the bowl, Kaia stands up and chugs the milk. Slamming the bowl on the table, she walks over to the front hall where her hoodie is.

After putting on her black hoodie, she makes sure she has everything; MP3 player, phone, keys, and a piece of paper? Slightly confused, she pulls the piece of paper out from her pocket. “Kit-Kats” it says, with two twenty dollar bills, and a ten attached. She laughs and turns to her brother. He sits on the couch, looking at his sister with a smug smile.

“You want fifty dollars worth of kit kats?” Kaia asked.

“You know it!” He replied. “Mostly for me, but also for the trick or treaters tonight as well.”

Kaia had forgotten that today is her favorite day of the year; Halloween. Ever since she was a child, the mysticism and delight of Halloween filled her with a near endless supply of joy. Dressing up, running around town after dark, getting free candy. Kaia loved all of it. And being 5’1” she could pass as a highschooler with the right costumes. She decided that this year was going to be the last she would go as a trick or treater. At age 24, she felt like she was just about old enough to be an “adult adult.” Or that it was time for her to try and finally be a more responsible adult.

“Alright, fifty bucks worth of kit kats, coming up!” She chuckled, putting the money back into her pocket. Opening the door, she heads out into the cold and raw day. The clouds all cover the sky, and just about everything is wet. Either from the morning dew, or that it rained last night. Probably both. She puts her hood up and presses play on her MP3 player. An audio assault of noise blasts through her ears. Something that would normally cause hearing damage, but Kaia has had so many ear infections growing up, that she already has hearing damage. Sounds at volume ten, sound like they’re at volume seven.

Closing the door behind her, she begins her trek to work at the Hunters Market. Even though she will be a solid forty-five minutes late, she figures it's better to be late than to never show up at all. As much as she would love to never show up to work again, mainly because of her boss, she still needs to keep a roof over her head. Ever since she started her job as a cashier, Greg, the manager of the store has been a royal pain in the ass to work with. Kaia had reported him multiple times over the years, but since Greg’s father owns the company, the most he got was a slap on the wrist.

As Kaia enters the Hunters Market, she scans the store quickly looking to make sure Greg is in the manager's office, and not-. The word “Fuck” echoes throughout her mind as she see’s Greg impatiently waiting for her in front of the employees lounge. A sigh of frustration escapes her as she makes her way to Greg. Hoping that she can just move past him. But sadly, Greg is an asshole, and puts his hand up in front of him, motioning Kaia to stop. She shoots him a look of pure hatred as she stops in front of him. He begins to scold her, but Kaia still has her headphones on blasting death metal into her ears. Waiting for the physical queue from Greg for her to pass. Not giving a damn at all about what he has to say, or even the potential of what he has to say. His lips flap like excess skin after extreme weight loss. The more they move, the angrier Kaia gets; The more she wishes to punch him square in his stupid face. After five whole minutes of Greg yelling at her, and Kaia not hearing a single word of it. She finally rips off her headphones in frustration.

“Are you fucking done yet!?” Kaia yelled. Stopping Greg’s train of thought instantly. Flabbergasted by the sudden outburst from his coworker, Greg stands there stupefied. “You’ve been yelling at me for the past five minutes. Whatever stupid-ass fucking point you’re trying to get across to me, isnt going to work!” Greg's expression turns from shock to anger.

“Hey! Now I’m try-” Greg began.

“I don’t care! Now shut the fuck up! And get the fuck out of my way so I can do my job!” Kaia yelled. Greg steps aside out of fear. It takes every ounce of energy Kaia has to not unload a flurry of blows into his stupid face as she storms by, slamming the door to the lounge behind her. Greg shakes his head and then walks back over to his officer. Visibly shaking, Kaia takes in a deep breath and slowly exhales. A vain attempt to calm herself. Pulling a chair out from the table, she flops down into it and begins to cry. Ten minutes crawl by before she finally recollects herself. Shuttering out one last deep breath, she grabs a napkin from the table and heads into the bathroom on the other side of the lounge. Mascara has run down her face, and her eyes are red and puffy. The sound of a small trumpet ripples throughout the bathroom as she blows her nose. Tossing the napkin away, she looks at herself in the mirror over the sink.

“I can't keep doing this.” She whispered to herself. The thought of getting harassed on a daily basis by both Rithe and Greg makes her stomach churn. “What's more important? Your sanity? Or a roof over your head?” She frowns as she ponders what to do. A triplet of knocks wrack the bathroom door. And like a switch being flipped everything starts to just make sense now. Kaia walks over to the door and whips it open. Startling the newcomer, Jen who audibly gasps. Kaia storms by her, before Jen could even get out a “Hi” or a “Are you okay?" She walks with purpose to the candy aisle, as if this is what she was supposed to do years ago. Grabbing the entire stock of Kit-Kats from the shelf, about two new full boxes. She power walks over to the first check out; It's empty. Frustrated, she slams the fifty dollar bill on the counter and heads for the exit.

“Kaia, see me in my office.” The intercom clicks on as Greg speaks. Kaia stops and looks up at the camera in front of her. “Now please.” He adds. She slams the boxes of candy on the floor and storms over to Greg’s office. He opens the door and stands in the doorway, arms crossed. This is it. This is the straw that broke the camel's back. She storms right up to Greg and clocks him right in the face. His head whips back as an arc of blood shoots out of his nose. He screams in pain as he covers his nose.

“What the fuck, Kaia?!” He yelled.

“Fuck you!” Kaia screamed. “I quit!”

She turns to walk away from him, and he grabs her arm. Wrenching her arm out of his grasp, she punches him again square in the nose. Again he screams in pain.

“That's for being a perverted piece of shit!” She spits in his face and storms off.

“I'm calling the cops!”

“Go ahead!, I don’t fucking care anymore!”

Picking up the boxes of candy she leaves the Hunters Market for the final time. Her heart racing, and her mind a whirlwind of thoughts and possibilities. Both positive and negative. A smile creeps across her face as she walks down the street. After a while Kaia finds herself finally calmed down and sitting on a swing set at the park. One of the boxes of Kit-Kats is opened at her feet, and almost gone. Taking in a deep breath she looks at the tree line to the forest in the distance. The yellow, orange, and red leaves are illuminated by the setting sun. The clouds have mostly burned off, leaving patches of yellow, pink, and purple in the blue sky. A gentle breeze wafts by, rustling the leaves on the trees. Looking around the park Kaia only sees herself here. No cars, no kids, no parents. Just her and a lot of silence.

Trying her best to imprint this moment into her memory, Kaia makes a note of every detail in front of her. The smell of a distant wood fire. The hint of winter air with every breeze. The cool autumn air. Everything.

“Tomorrow.” She said to herself. “Tomorrow everything is gonna change. I’ll find a better job. I’ll finally get rid of Rithe, thanks to Madison and Kevin. And we’ll keep the house.” Picking up the boxes, she stands up and begins to walk back home. Stopping at the edge of the park, she looks over her shoulder.

“Things will be better, Tomorrow.” She whispered before leaving. Not entirely sure if she believes her own words or not. But she hopes that by just saying them out loud that it will come to pass. One can dream. The sun slowly sets behind the horizon, activating Kaia’s favorite time of the day; Twilight. She had always found something pure and magical about this time of day. The sun's light still shines in the sky, even though it has already set. Maybe it's because Twilight is so fleeting. It's not a solid chunk of the day, like morning, or night. It's the in-between. That and it's always breathtakingly beautiful to see. She stops walking for a moment and takes in the beauty. The sky genuinely fills her heart with hope and joy.

A high-pitched scream erupts from down the street, completely shattering the serenity and calmness in Kaia’s mind. She snaps too and whips her head around to see what is going on. A little girl dressed up as a princess clutches a plastic bucket filled with candy.

“Do it again!” She laughed. An older man, dressed up as Dracula, slicked hair and all, does his best evil laugh impression as he tickles the young girl.

“I'm going to eat you up!” He jokingly yelled as he picked her up and put her on his shoulders. She laughs and screams all the same.

“I love you papa!” she said to the older man.

“And I love you, babu!” He replied. Together they walk farther down the street to the next house. Trick or Treating has already begun. Kaia had completely lost track of time. Picking up the pace, Kaia makes the trek back to her home. The sky melts into black as the time of twilight fades into night. A beautiful, almost clear Halloween night. With a cool temperature of forty-three degrees. Dozens upon dozens of kids in costumes pass by her, from babu’s, to munchkins, all the way up to some teenagers. The older generations always gave teenagers crap for going trick or treating, and Kaia resented them for it. You’re only a kid once, let them enjoy it while they still can. Even if that means giving free candy to a seventeen year old. The only thing that really mattered to Kaia with Halloween was, at the very least, you have to dress up if you want candy.

Even though she’s twenty-four, Kaia has not stopped trick or treating. Miraculously, she’s short enough to still look like a teenager. With the dark of night and going to the other side of town, she hasn't been caught yet. She always picked an undead cheerleader costume with some heavy prosthetics she got from the halloween store at the mall. The “tried and true” method. After Halloween, Kaia would share her haul with Kevin. Most of the time it only lasted a few weeks, but there have been some times where it's lasted until Thanksgiving.
As she heads down from the top of her street, she can see her house. Only a single light is on inside, and judging by the color, she assumes it's Kevin playing more video games. Outside is pitch black, with a few lamp posts dotting the street. Grabbing her keys out of her pocket, she opens her front door and heads inside.

“Hey, what's up?” Kevin said, quickly turning his head away from the tv and then back again. Kaia pauses for a moment, trying to find the right words to say.

“Hold on…” She said, as she quickly ascended the stairs to the second floor.

“What?” Kevin asked, again whipping his head towards his sister, but also trying to pay attention to his game.

“Just…” She stopped at the top of the stairs. “Just give me a few, okay?”

“Uhhh… Yeah, sure.” Kevin replied. He figures something went wrong, or that she had a bad day or something. He pauses the game, and ponders for a moment. “Nah” he said to himself. “She’ll talk when she’s ready.” Upstairs in her room, Kaia puts the boxes of candy on her nightstand, and flops down onto her bed. A disgruntled sigh escapes from her mouth. The clock reads “5:30 PM” she only has about two and a half hours to get ready and go trick or treating.

“Today sucked.” she whispered. The urge to pass out right here and now overwhelms her, and moments later she’s fast asleep.
Kaia finally comes back to consciousness, a blanket has been draped over her and the boxes of candy are gone.

“Thanks, bro.” she whispered. Sitting up she stretches out the weariness from her muscles and rubs her eyes. Looking over at the clock, a wave of disappointment washes over her. It reads “11:55 PM” A long drawn out “Fuck” spewed from her mouth. For the first time ever, she has missed her chance to trick or treat. “Maybe this is a sign to start giving out full-sized candy” she pouted. It's something she has always wanted to do ever since she turned eighteen. As a kid, getting to a house that gave out the full-sized bars was like hitting the jackpot. And being the person who does that as an adult just feels good. After getting out of bed, she heads downstairs. Kevin sits on the couch hunched over, his game paused. She stops at the bottom step and waits. Waits for her brother to move, breathe, do anything.
“Kev?” She said as a wave of fear consumes her. Hands trembling, she walks over to the front of the couch. Kevin sits hunched over, motionless. His eyes open with a thousand-yard stare looking at the floor. The color drained from his face, and a used needle of heroin lies on the table in front of him.

“No…” She whispered as she dropped to her knees. Tears begin to roll down her cheeks as she reaches out to touch his hand. It's cold. Her whole body trembles as her mind whips up into a whirlwind. With every fiber of her being she wishes, hopes, and prays to any and all gods that are willing to listen; This has to be a nightmare. She’ll wake up at any moment now, right? Right!?
The pain is unbearable, like ten-thousand razors slicing through her heart all at once. Sitting in front of what once was her brother, she buries her face in her hands and lets out everything: The fear, the stress, the sorrow, and the anger. There was nothing she could’ve done to prepare herself for this. Even though she knew it was coming. The hope that Kevin would stop, the hope for a brighter future was always there as an anchor for Kaia. But now? Now there’s nothing. Nothing but pain, and the bleak, dystopian hellscape that awaits her in the coming days. The house, the memories, the hopes and dreams. All gone. There is quite literally nothing left for Kaia here in this world. Nothing worth staying here for anyways.

“Why?” She sobbed. “Y-you can’t leave me now.” She rubs her cheek with his lifeless hand. “P-please.” Wincing in pain as another set of tears roll down her face. “I didn’t even get to say goodbye.” Three knocks wrack the front door, Kaia’s head snaps towards the noise. Sobering her up from her sorrow.

“W-what?” She whimpered. A white glow begins to creep through the doorway, slowly getting brighter and brighter. Getting up to her feet, Kaia slowly, and cautiously approaches the door. Hands trembling, she reaches for the door knob. But stops herself right before touching it. Making sure she’s not going insane, she waits for another knock. Another triplet of knocks wrack the door. Swallowing her concerns, she grabs the doorknob, turns, and slowly pulls the door open. The white glow disappears, and only the dark of night lies before her. Stepping through the threshold to the front porch she scans the darkness for any movement. But there’s nothing, not even the rustling of leaves from the wind. Dead, pure silence.

“I’m definitely McFuckin’ losing it.” she said to herself. Letting out a sigh of relief, she hangs her head low. With her eyes closed she frowns, and then continues to cry. “I was hoping for a miracle.” she thought. “Something. Anything.” Crouching down, she again puts her head in her hands. She sits there, crying for what seemed like an eternity. Kaia feels a hand on her shoulder and jolts upwards. A chill runs down her spine. She opens her eyes and peeks through her fingers. Before her stands a being of pure white light. No distinct features, other than a giant pair of angelic wings.

“I can bring him back.” A deep masculine voice rings through her head.

“W-what?” She asked.

“Kaia, I can bring him back.” the figure said, motioning Kaia to come with it. She looks down at its hand, and then back up at its featureless face.

“W-what do I have to do?”

The figure chuckles, sending a wave of warmth over Kaia.

“Just follow me.”

This too has to be a dream, right? Kaia figures as much. Or well, she hopes that is the case. This kind of thing just does not happen to people who are sane.

“Okay” she nods, and begins to follow the figure. Together they walk through the town. The only light source is the figure walking before her. No street lights, no stars or moon in the sky. No signs of life other than her and her companion. After a while they finally reach the edge of the forest in the outskirts of Arkham. A faint humming begins to fill the void of silence. As they go deeper into the forest, the noise gets louder and louder, until it is an all consuming, ear splitting audio assault.

“This is as far as I can go.” The figure stops, and points to a white doorway fading into existence a few feet from them. “You must go the rest of the way alone.”

“Why?” she asked.

“Only you can bring your brother back. I have simply given you the tools to do so.” The figure said. She nods, accepting what she must do.

“I’d do anything to bring him back.” She whispered as she walked towards the door. She takes in a deep breath and steels herself for whatever may come. Good or bad. Hell or highwater. This is it, this is the miracle she prayed for. Placing her hand on the door, it cracks. And then it violently explodes, sending shards of white crystal everywhere. Screaming in fear and pain as countless shards embed themselves into her face, chest, and arms. One large shard in particular jams itself deep within Kaia’s sternum, knocking her unconscious. A portal opens where the door once stood, and begins to pull everything nearby into it, like a vacuum. The humming now gone, replaced with an eerie and sinister cackle.