Half an hour later, the path in the forest finally cleared up. A small, wooden cottage came into view, surrounded by trees and a river.

Our feet silently crunched against the sticks and dead leaves, as we neared the front door. 

When I walked inside the cabin, I was surprised at how neat and cozy it was. An unlit fire pit stood against the furthest corner of the wall. A round table, three chairs, a couch and a little bathroom were all it consisted of. 

Despite its miniature appearance, it was appealing.

When I grew older, I would definitely get myself a cabin. A nice, peaceful place where I would be able to live far away from civilization. Damian would love our intimacy for sure. I could bet my secret reserve of chocolate-covered strawberries on it. 

“Make yourselves at home,” Nicolas said dramatically, dumping his backpack on the floor.

“Already did,” Tony replied from the couch, as he plopped both of his feet on the table. Nicolas took a seat next to him, sinking like a jellyfish onto the seat. 

I stood awkwardly near the door, not sure what it meant to “make myself at home.”

Was that my cue to leave? Eat in dark corners? Stay away from them? Put my feet on the table like Tony? I was not too certain about that last one. 

One time, when I was five or six years old, I had put my feet on the table. Mom had almost chopped my legs off, when she'd walked into the kitchen. 

Terrible memories.

Nicolas patted the tiny space between him and Tony. “Come, Jude,” he said, “Sit.”

“There’s barely any space left for me.”

Nicolas’ grinned, his braces gleaming creepily, “I said sit.”

I obeyed.

“So,” Tony said after the long pause, fiddling with his thumbs.

“So,” Nicolas echoed, running a hand through his thick, red hair, jabbing me on the chin as he did so.

I glared at him, and rubbed the sore spot. 

“Are you ready to tell him?” Nicolas asked, not even bothering to excuse himself for hitting me once more.

Tony took out his phone from his pocket and absentmindedly replied to a text message. 

Nicolas cleared his throat.

Tony continued to text. Nicolas cleared his throat again, much louder than before. Tony sighed, and slid the phone inside his pocket. “Tell me what?” he asked in a bored tone.

“Jude has something to discuss with us,” Nicolas informed him.

The two of them looked at me, and I felt my face growing hot. I didn’t think it would be possible for me to become so nervous. Perhaps, it had something to do with the way Tony scrutinized me. 

“Last night on the news,” Nicolas started, “the death of Damian’s mom was announced.”

Tony froze. “Are you kidding me?”

“No, I’m serious,” Nicolas answered, “Danielle is dead. She was found mutilated.”

“Damn,” Tony shook his head, “That’s...wow.” He was at loss for words.

“That’s not all,” Nicolas said. He shot me a go-ahead look.

Great, he really wasn’t giving me much of a choice. “They caught me on a surveillance camera,” I said, “I’m the prime suspect.”

Tony shot off the couch so fast, he tripped over the table. “I beg your pardon?” he shrieked.

“My hands were around her neck. It was the last thing the camera caught before it suddenly malfunctioned,” I explained.

Tony’s mouth dropped open like a dying fish. He scrambled upwards, frantically trying to put as much distance between us, as possible.

“Nicolas, what are you doing?” he cried, frightened, “Get away from him! Call the police! Do something!”

Nicolas sighed annoyingly, “Tony, calm down. Let him explain.”

“Are you for real? This is a joke, right?” he said, frantically glancing from Nicolas to me, “You planned this all out after I fell asleep? Is this your idea of a sick joke?”

Nicolas crossed his arms against his chest. The situation was spiraling out of control. “No, but –”

“No?” Tony screamed, backing against the front door, “NO?! Nicolas, move!” His hand was shaking to the point where he could not even turn the doorknob, try as he might.

“But he’s innocent!” Nicolas insisted, stamping his foot on the ground, “Jude didn’t kill Danielle.”

“How do you even know?”

“He told me he didn’t.”

“How gullible are you?” Tony shouted, finally managing to pull the door open, “Jesus Christ! Nicolas, get away from him right now!”

I watched as the situation unfolded. Was I calm? Yes. Had I been expecting for Tony to act this way? Yes.

I should have known better than to follow them. Than to come here and expose myself to a guy I knew suspected me from the start.

“Shut up and listen to me!” Nicolas cried, “Jude is innocent. From the depths of my soul, I know he is. I can feel it.”

“You’re crazy,” Tony trembled, “You’re both crazy. I’m out of here!”

And with that, he turned back and dashed away. 

“Tony, wait!”

Nicolas stood up and ran after Tony, slamming the door shut behind him.

I sat there, alone. Listening to the clock on the wall. The sounds of birds chirping outside. The crickets in the forest.

What, now? I really should have known this was too good to be true. 

I was such an idiot.

Tony had been right. He could see the evil in me. He knew I was bad news. It had been wise of him to run away, in comparison to believing my every word, like Nicolas. 

That’s how people survived in horror movies. If you hear a strange voice coming from your basement, are you really going to think it’s awesome? Are you really going to descend into the darkness, as the eerie, scratchy voice beckons you to come closer?

If you answered yes to both of these questions, please go ahead and join the train that will continue to carry Nicolas throughout his life: The Dumbass Express.

Hours passed. The sun slipped behind the trees, slowly engulfing the cabin into dimness.

The whole time, I thought about what I should do. Who I should turn to. I did not want to openly admit it, but at this point, I knew that I had dug myself into a hole.

It would only be a matter of time before the police came to get me. I would be lucky if it were only the police. A mob of them, I would be able to handle as easily as blinking. However, if it somehow got inside the wrong ear…

Crunch. Crunch. Crunch.

Woah, what was that sound?

Crunch. Crunch. Crunch.

Quickly, I jumped behind the couch, listening to the footsteps. They were coming closer and closer, the pacing light and casual.

Whoever, or whatever it was, stopped in front of the door. 

Sorcerer? Demon? Police? Rhea? Wild animal? Either way, I wasn’t going to go down without a fight.

Gathering up my fully charged energy, I envisioned a ball of lightning in my hand, calculating where exactly it should hit. Concentrating on the impact of my upcoming ambush.

The doorknob rattled. I held my breath, waiting. My heart hammered.

Ba-dump! Ba-dump! Ba-dump!

After what seemed like hours, the door slowly creaked open.

A lone figure, wearing a gray hoodie, black khakis and red Converse high tops, stood in the entrance.

His expression was priceless. All I could discern was that he seemed to be greatly shocked. I mean, I was in no position to blame him.

My hair was flying across my face, the wind around me sending papers, pencils and most of the lighter things around the room, billowing violently. Purple aura and static shot out of my body. My hand was raised, as electricity crackled around my arms.

Dumbfounded, he took a step towards me, his eyes nearly bulging out of their orbits.

A human had seen me use my powers. There was no way I could hide this from him anymore, unless I altered his memory.

Wait, no. The spell would not work on him because he had just witnessed the enchanted. He was already far from being classified as normal. Only those who had never been openly exposed to magic could be tricked and controlled.

There was nothing else I could do. The only choice I had, in order to cover for myself, to have a chance to run away like I should have down when he and his friend had left earlier, was to kill him.

I was ready. The attack could be fired at whatever moment I desired. Except, it took longer than necessary. What clouded my plan of action were his mom, his best friend and Damian.

“She was right,” he broke the silence, stepping inside the cabin, “I can’t believe it.”

His hood flew off his head, exposing his braids. They spun around wildly, as he proceeded to walk like a possessed puppet towards me. 

In a complete trance.

“I cannot believe it,” he said. A cup crashed against the wall next to his head.

“Stay back,” I growled, “You take one more step towards me and it will be your last one.”

He ignored me. Continued to walk. I backed away, cornering myself against the wall. 

Truthfully speaking, I did not want to kill him. Did not want to go through with it. 

But my fear for rejection, for judgement, for being caught displaying my powers, was overwhelming.

Just when I thought I would have no choice but to go through with it, he reached out towards me...

And grabbed my hand. 

I gasped, horrified. Waited for him to burn into a crisp. For the spasm, the scream.

However, to my complete astonishment, he stood unfazed. Unhurt by the sheer amount of power I projected.

“T-Tony,” I stammered, refusing to believe it. Refusing to admit there was hope, “How?”

Maybe this was my epiphany. The encounter, the moment that would change everything. Maybe, the tables had finally turned in my favor. 

The electricity began climbing onto his arm, the aura wrapping around his body. The magic creating a small hurricane inside the cabin.

He tightened his grip on my hand, his dark brown eyes appearing far shinier than before.

Glowing.

“My mom was right all along,” Tony said, “You really are the same as us.”