Do not go where the path may lead, go instead where there is no path and leave a trail. - Ralph Waldo Emerson

Lying in bed was one thing Christa was beginning to abhor. She was restless, but trying desperately to adhere to the house rule of not leaving without supervision. And in the shape she was in, she could not patrol without being a liability or a very easy target, especially for opportunistic Negaverse officers. Christa was afraid she was missing something vital out there in the world, but her cell did not light up with anything interesting. The teen watched the news like a hawk and was relieved to find that nothing unusual was taking place. The other senshi, of course, had a handle on things. They obviously did, especially when Christa was not awakened at all.

Turning over on her side, she found her bedroom clock sported eight fifteen as the current time. A bit old fashioned, the teen preferred an analog clock to a digital one, the bonus being no extra lighting to keep her up at night. With her leg propped up on a pillow as per her father’s orders, physical activity had taken a sharp downward spiral over the last few days, her only company being the hive of bees in her brain and her little brother. Family was preferred over the thoughts that assembled themselves with a fevered pitch. She left her bedroom door open and her brother frequently let himself in.

She couldn’t see him, but felt his weight on the edge of the bed as he sat down, his Nintendo DS lighting up the dark ceiling. The bedroom’s only light was a small desk lamp Christa had on most evenings. She preferred natural light to sunlight and tried to limit the florescence. The teen turned over and poked her brother with her good foot. “Zach, what are you up to?”

Small electronic sounds came from the game system and Zach turned around, eyes glued to the screen. The boy sprawled across the plush, neutral colored comforter. His face was lit up in bright, almost blinding colors and it was a good few minutes before he looked up at his sister. “Nothin’. Just playin’ my game. Dad sent me in here to see how you were doing.” Christa knew he wouldn’t be in her room of his own accord, not unless she had something he was after. He usually had friends over to play games with or something of the sort and Zach no doubt disliked his having to play companion to his older sister. “Ya know, you could’ve broken your leg instead of tearin’ it up because then I could sign the cast.” he mused, no doubt contemplating whether a fire breathing dragon or a dinosaur would be a better doodle on his sister’s cast.

The boy closed the cover on his game and flipped over onto his back to stare at the ceiling with his sibling. What was up there, anyway? “Did you see the news, Cee?” came a sudden question. Christa looked over at him, puzzled.

“Yes, but… not all of it. Why, did I miss something?” Her heart sank. If it was another youma attack (did the news ever show a youma? She wasn’t sure – she’d never seen one in the media) and she was out of commission, she would have kicked herself. “Somebody get hurt or something?”

He shook his head. “Nah, I don’t think so. It was my friend Isaac. His house got all… destroyed, I guess. I mean, just a wall or something but they can’t live there with this big ol’ hole in the side of the house. I tried to get Isaac to stay here but he’s got two dogs and a baby sister too. And his mom n’ dad. There’d be no way they could all fit. But it would be so much cooler. The house is super quiet.” He was referring to their house and rather missed having friends over, especially their cousin Bradley. The siblings knew that the silence would not render his name out of respect. They didn’t mention it either.

Christa sighed, frowning. “Is Isaac okay?”

“Yeah, I guess they were all out to dinner when the terrorists showed up. There was lots of water damage or something, like a flood hit their house. The news guys said it was ‘consistent with terrorist activity’.” The boy finished by mimicking the slow and monotonous voice of the news anchor that broadcast at this hour. “Anyway, what I don’t get is like… why do they just show up and blow a hole in someone’s house? Dad says they’re probably in it for the money or something because they’re not shouting about other stuff. You know, like ‘government sucks’ or ‘down with this country’ or something. I dunno. I just know they like to blow up people’s houses and now Isaac’s room has an extra window and that isn’t fair. They’re a bunch of bullies.”

Now, most people would have agreed with Zach’s opinion, especially based on the news reports. Senshi were more likely to be seen by the media and scrutinized because they possessed flashier outfits and sported magical powers. Christa doubted the ‘terrorist’ in question was actually aiming for the house itself – more like aiming for whoever was near the house and hit the dwelling instead. It’s happened before. The teen just hated how negatively senshi were portrayed in the media. They were called terrorists when in reality, it was the Negaverse who were a bunch of bullies. They were the ones beating and killing and harvesting people to feed some kind of perverse goal. What that goal was, Christa still did not know, and it ate away at her.

Zach continued to voice his thoughts. “If I had super powers, like flying or electric punches or something, I’d go after the bullies in my school and teach them a lesson! Like Henry and his buddy Tye. Tye’s like, eight feet tall and a gazillion pounds and he stuffs kids in lockers. We can’t do anything about it. But if I had electric punches, I’d teach him a thing or two!” In emphasis, the boy held up his balled fist and made appropriate noises to accompany it. Christa leaned over and propped herself up
on her good elbow.

“You think the terrorists are bullies, Zach?” she asked quietly. There was a placid look on her face seeking honesty. She of course knew the goals of the terrorists – she was one. However, there was no way she could explain that to her little brother for multiple reasons. “Do you think they really just go around town, destroying people’s houses for no reason?”

The young boy blinked and rested his hands on his chest to think. “Well yeah, I mean why else would they do it? Like dad said, they’re not yelling about the government or the country or even the city. Dad says they’re like gangs who make graffiti on walls and mess up people’s stuff. Why do gangs do it? I dunno. It doesn’t make any sense to me. I think it’s dumb.” Zachary frowned, furrowing his brows together just like his sister did when she was in thought. His heart was in the right place, but he needed to know the truth. If he knew what was really going on (to a certain extent, anyway) then Christa could sleep better at night knowing her little brother wasn’t inadvertently hating her and everything she stood for.

Graffiti gave her an excellent in on the conversation. “Gangs usually write graffiti as a place marker or to show they are present in a given area, Zach. A lot of times, and I mean, not always, but a lot of times there is a reason for the graffiti.” She sat her head back on the pillow and laid parallel to her younger brother. Both siblings were staring at the ceiling, listening to the sounds of the house and of the evening. Gray hair spilled across two pillows. “I just don’t think they’re destroying people’s houses for money, or for no reason at all.”

Zach looked over at her. “Really? Why’s that?”

“Well,” she began, sifting through the information to select what was appropriate, “say they wanted money for the house damage. You know, maybe they say, ‘Give me X amount or I’ll blow a hole in your house’. If the family pays up, it’s likely that the terrorist would leave, right?” She turned and saw her brother nodding in understanding. He was following thus far. “But wouldn’t the family tell the media about it? If you were extorted like that, wouldn’t you want to tell as many people as you could to warn them?”

“Mm… yeah, I guess that makes sense. But then, why did Isaac’s house get a hole busted through it? Like, if it wasn’t for money, why’d it happen? People break stuff just for fun sometimes.”

Christa sighed in return, acknowledging the point. “Yes, that is true. People do destroy other people’s things for no real reason sometimes, but… I just think it was an accident. Think about it.” The teen rolled over to emphasize her point with more certainty. “It’s probably an awful lot of work to use magic, so why waste it by blowing a hole in some random person’s house? That’s a really easy way to get caught – be reckless. If you become reckless, then you don’t think clearly and that’s how a lot of vandals get arrested. They get bolder and bolder and then all of a sudden… they’re in jail. If you had magic, would you run around and mess with people’s things? You said you’d defend people.”

Zach nodded vigorously, putting up his fists again. “You’re damned right I would! I mean--!” The boy shut his mouth quickly, knowing full well he wasn’t allowed to swear. “Sorry, they say that all the time at school. And worse stuff too. Don’t tell dad.” His eyes pleaded with his sister and she dismissed it all with a smile. She wouldn’t tell. “But yeah, I would stop the bullies at the school for sure! Imagine the looks on their faces. It would be awesome..”

“Exactly.” The older sibling rolled onto her back again, hands splayed out on her stomach. It was a rare time that conversation kept her mind off of her predicament and her throbbing leg, and it seemed to do better with minor movement. “I bet you that the terrorist? He or she was aiming at something or someone in front of the house and got the house instead. I bet they’re really sorry about it too.” No one came to mind with water powers that she knew of, besides Europa. Europa did state that her sphere was ‘the deep’, but what exactly that meant was left to be seen. She’d never seen Europa fire off her attack, so it really could have been anything. Christa severely doubted Europa was behind it anyway, if that mattered at all.

“You think so, Cee? How’d you know?” The boy was curious now. All his life, Christa had been the analytical one, always staying in the back to watch and wait and plan. She loved to research and think and strategize, but it left her semi-immobile during important events while she was calculating. Zachary was quite the opposite – impulsive, outgoing and acting without much forethought. “You know somethin’, don’t you? C’mon Cee, you have to tell me!”

Christa blinked in surprise. Of course she knew something. She turned her head to her brother. “What makes you think that, Zach?”

The boy frowned intensely. “Cuz everyone at school is talking about what happened to Isaac and they’re all mad about the terrorists. You’re the only one I’ve ever talked to that doesn’t hate ‘em. That’s weird.” He leaned over to look at her more closely. “Do you… did you see one of them? Do… you know one of them? C’mon Cee, you have to tell me!”

She could easily just lie and say she didn’t but she doubted Zach would believe her. While under her father’s scrutiny, Christa’s credibility was wavering despite her best efforts. It was frustrating. And so, she did the next best thing – told the truth. A sigh put off answering for a few moments while it looked like she was debating with herself whether or not to tell. The idea occurred to her that with this tidbit of information, she could test her brother’s willingness to keep a secret. “You have to promise not to tell anyone.” she started. That was the golden rule between friends and family. Whether or not the promise is upheld changes between people, but with Zach, the rule was a test.

The boy could hardly contain himself. His eyes lit up like ten of the Nintendo DS systems he carried and had the intensity of Las Vegas under a microscope. He practically vibrated. “Yeah, yeah, of course I promise! I won’t tell anybody, I swear!”

“Not even dad. Not even your best friend. No one. You can’t tell a soul, Zach.” was the ultimatum, the icing on the cake. If Zach could have passed out from shaking his head that much, he would have. “Alright. I do know one of them, and they’re not terrorists, I promise. They’re just trying to help us.”

Zach tilted his head and released the breath he was holding. “Whaddyu mean, trying to help us? How’re they doing that? All I ever hear about it them messin’ stuff up! But… what’s he like? Is he super cool? Does he have electric lightning super fists?! And a cape?!”

“Keep your voice down, Zach. And it’s a girl, not a boy.” She patted him on the head to keep him from rocking back and forth. The movement coursed through the bed and almost made her nauseous. She decided to describe Albali, the first senshi she’d ever met. Albali and Ares were her entrance into the Blood Moon Court, but that was not for Zach to know. Honestly, she didn’t know Albali very well, and Ares even less so, which was disheartening.

A whisper asked another question. “Is she… a pretty girl?”

“Zach, since when are you interested in whether or not a girl is pretty?” came the reply, almost flabbergasted at the sheer idea that her younger brother was suddenly interested in girls. He was still a baby! Sort of. Christa sighed. She wasn’t about to start that tirade. “Well, I suppose she is pretty. Long, dark hair. Black, I think, or very close to it. It was dark so I’m not really sure.”

“What’s she like?”

Christa pursed her lips in thought. What was she like? She could only form an opinion based on the handful of times she’d met and spoken to Albali. Really, all she could give as far as description was pure conjecture. Christa wasn’t sure that was even fair to Albali. “She was very strong, persistent. She said that she and the people like her are trying to save the world. It’s frustrating when the news doesn’t help your case. They just splash all the bad stuff on T.V. and don’t bother with any of the good stuff. They save people from robbers and the evil people out there. Monsters too. You’ve heard stories about them, haven’t you?”

The boy nodded again in silent and extreme concentration. He was raptly listening to everything she had to say, ears drinking in each detail. She would probably have to remind him to keep the secret. “Some kids at my school say they saw monsters sometimes when they’re out at night. I didn’t believe ‘em at first but… now I do.”

“She saved me from a monster and when things were done, I asked her some questions and that’s how I know what I know, but she said to keep things secret. If everybody knew what they were trying to do, then more people might get hurt. The bad guys might get worse and the people of the city would suffer. They’re doing everything they can to keep people safe, but sometimes things get damaged in the process. You just have to keep that in mind. The police damage things too when they’re trying to save people.”

“…yeah, you’re right. But… who are the evil people? The news makes the terrorists… or whatever they’re really called, the news makes ‘em sound like the bad guys. So if they’re fighting other people, who are the bad guys? Can we stop ‘em too? I wanna help!”

She shook her head. There would be no way Christa would allow her brother to put himself in harm’s way, best intentions or otherwise. “No Zach, those people out there that the sen—warriors are fighting, they have magic too. They’re very dangerous and I wouldn’t want anything to happen to you. Just like the police say not to get involved in their job… I think we should leave this to the professionals.” And she left it at that. Zach had to promise not to get himself into trouble, and she let him know by the glare she leveled in his general direction. The boy understood completely and shrank away from her gaze.

“Okay, I won’t help.” he conceded, a boyish frown of disappointment playing across his features. What a letdown. “But still, that’s super cool that you know one of them. Why didn’t you tell dad about the attack and all that cool stuff you got to do?”

“I didn’t do any cool stuff, Zach. And besides, if I came home and said, ‘Hey Dad, I nearly got my face ripped off by a monster coming home from the library tonight.’, do you think he’d ever let either one of us out of the house ever again? We’d probably have to move too, and be home schooled. You’d have to say goodbye to your friends and hope that there’re no monsters in the next city we go to. Would you want all that to happen? That’s why I kept it a secret. But you can’t tell Dad.”

Zach rolled over and stuffed his face into the pillow, wishing he’d never asked the question in the first place. The sheer thought of having to move and lose all his friends was enough to send him reeling. “I promise I won’t tell Dad. I promise I won’t tell anybody, I swear, Cee. But… did a monster do that stuff to your leg?”

The gray haired teen stretched and lifted her leg slightly. “No, that was just my own stupidity.”

(Word count: 3,086)