It was five o’clock in the afternoon when Tim trudged into the Retro Records break-room. Haley was at her usual spot at the table, chugging her coffee before the end of the day. She wore a simple t-shirt with a wilting red rose design and shorts. Haley had tensed and eyed him quickly as the door swung open, only relaxing when she realized it was Tim. He waltzed past her as fast as possible; at times, Haley frightened him, even more so than Raknae did.

Tim was grateful that the change-room could only fit one person at a time; he couldn’t change when anyone else was there due to his Keeper equipment. It used to be heavy and bothersome carrying everything to work, to U’dreg Rookweh, and then back home, but he had grown accustomed to it over the years. Sometimes he wondered if anyone ever found his overstuffed locker suspicious.

Tim clipped his holster to his belt. The cellphone in his locker flashed as he donned his trench coat over his usual checkered shirt and jeans; Sarah had sent a text message, “Party TODAY, plz don’t be late! 6:00 PM sharp!”

Tim checked the time on his phone. I’ve got plenty of time, he thought, unworried.

He rummaged through his locker before cursing under his breath.

Dang, I forgot her gift at home! Great Phoenia, it took me forever to save up for it! Never mind, I’ll give it to her during the after-party … dang it! I hope Terry brought it! He would have started pacing back and forth in thought if it weren’t for the limited space. 

Tim had been worried that he wouldn’t be able to save up enough in time, but his recent success in capturing the Ruags came with a well-earned bonus, which allowed him to buy the gift and save a little extra as well.

Tim walked out of the room in time to see Haley checking her phone. A black case with a sparkling red-eyed skull protected it. She clicked her tongue as she read a message, her brows furrowed with annoyance. Haley angrily chugged the rest of her coffee.

Man, she gets mad every time she checks her phone … I wonder why?

Haley eyed Tim, who twitched. “If you have something to say, just say it.” He had ended up staring, pondering about what had bothered her.

“Uh, it’s nothing,” Tim said nervously. “See you tomorrow, Haley!”

She watched, with her arms crossed, as he quickly left.

As Tim allowed the single glass door of Retro Records to close behind him. He contemplated what to do as he started walking in the direction of the ceremony hall. He passed several stores with large windows, not even caring to look within them.

Should I quickly go home and pick it up? No … I won’t have enough time … if anything happens, I might be late … Dang it! It would have been a bigger surprise if I had presented it at the ceremony!

Haley followed Tim from a distance as he continued his mental debate. At first glance, she was unrecognizable, hiding her hair under a dark cap and sporting small, oval-framed shades. She wore a windbreaker to cover her tattoos. Sometimes she wished she had gotten her tattoos done on less obvious spots. It was really hot today, and watching Tim tread around in a trench coat made things worse.

Maybe I’ll find out the truth behind his lies. It doesn’t make sense how he gets hurt every other day, Haley thought to herself. She recalled Tim’s recent injuries and the excuses that he’d spewed as she followed Tim for a few blocks. He always chortled as though none of his wounds were a big deal while explaining how he fell down the stairs, rolled down the hill, ran into a pole, and got bitten by several of his neighbors’ dogs — on separate occasions.

Haley shook her head in disbelief, snapping out of it. He’s obviously lying! He doesn’t even have neighbors! For a while now, she had been experiencing a mental fog, like she was trying to recall events that had been purposefully hidden. Oddly, these feelings always seemed to ease around Tim, like the fog was almost lifted, but still too thick to think through.

Though Haley had meant to ask him many times, she did not want to ask him in public or in front of her coworkers out of fear that they might think she was crazy. Perhaps by confronting him alone, she would finally have the answers she sought. But it was a challenging endeavor, as he always seemed to be unavailable or would suddenly disappear.

It was a slightly breezy evening. The leaves rustled as the hot wind caressed the trees. A squirrel scampered away when Haley got close. After strolling for another block, Tim arrived at a store called Krazy Komics with action heroes decorating its colorful brick walls. Like Retro Records, it stood out like a sore thumb in comparison to the shops beside it, with tons of comic book posters plastered all over the windows. Tim stopped, finding a crack between the overlapping posters. He peered through the window, looking rather hopeful. 

Haley quickly ducked into a nearby alleyway, avoiding Tim’s detection. Her heart skipped a few beats. There was a certain thrill to playing detective: disguise, concealment, the chase, and uncovering the darkest of secrets. When she decided to peer around the corner, Tim was gone. Haley rushed to the window, pressing her forehead to the poster-covered glass, but the store was closed. She dashed into the next alleyway to see if she could spot him, but clicked her tongue when he was nowhere to be found.

Haley gritted her teeth in frustration. Damn, I lost him! Did he know I was following him?! She clenched her fists, almost ready to give up for the day. He won’t be so lucky next ti—

Her thoughts were interrupted when she noticed a silver, viscous mass writhing out of a manhole in the alleyway. Shocked, she immediately whipped out her phone to record her find. The blob began to condense, sprouting tiny furry legs, wings, and antennae as it turned into a wasp and buzzed down the path.

Haley gasped silently, inching closer towards it, keeping close to the building wall. She took care to tread quietly, checking the ground to ensure nothing cracked beneath her leather boots. She crept behind some wooden crates, still aiming her phone camera at the fluttering wasp until it made a sharp turn into the next back alley. Haley immediately saved her recording.

What the hell was that?! Haley wondered. She had discovered something much more incredible than she had anticipated when she chose to follow Tim. She tailed the wasp at a safe distance, phone in hand, preparing to start another recording as soon as it showed any bizarre behavior or signs of morphing again. After a few more winding paths, it stopped in the middle of a deserted street.

The wasp hovered for a few seconds in front of an old, abandoned video rental store. Though the sign had been removed, the discoloured silhouettes of the letters remained on the sun-bleached wall, ‘Cinematic Solutions’ as it was once known. The windows were covered with paper, and an ‘OPEN’ sign hung precariously by a rusty chain in the doorway, a sad reminder of just how quickly times can change.

Haley crouched behind some boxes, her heart pounding against her chest. This was the kind of thing she had been searching for; something to pull her out of her mundane existence.

The wasp started to change shape again. Haley immediately pressed the record button on her smartphone, anticipating the jelly-like being again. To her surprise, it rose higher than the average person with a light chrome complexion and golden, bulging eyes which blinked quickly, blinded by the sun. It had a black fur collar around its neck and spikes protruding from its wrists. Swirling indented patterns lined its arms and back, partially obscured by neatly tucked silver wings. Almost like a tattoo, thought Haley, running her fingers over her own hidden crown tattoo.

The beast closed its eyes, its antennae twitching in the process as though it were trying to sense something. Haley shuddered, slightly worried that it could sense humans. She tried to conceal her presence, forcing slow breaths to regain her composure.

Little did Haley know, Tim wasn’t the only one being followed. Jenkins had been trailing after her ever since she left Retro Records, wondering why she was shadowing Tim. He thought he had lost her in the labyrinth of alleyways until he finally caught sight of her around the corner, crouching behind some boxes. He softly approached her hiding spot.

“Haley!” his voice, slightly softer than a stage whisper. “What are you doing?”

Haley whipped her head toward the sudden noise while managing to hold her phone in place.

“Scarecrow! What are you doing here?!” she whispered sharply, pulling him beside her by his light sweater before the beast noticed.

Jenkins glanced at Haley’s phone as she seemed to be recording something. He stared at the screen in disbelief and slowly looked up, finally spotting the giant wasp. “Eep!” he gasped, pointing in terror. “It’s … it’szz ... zzzzzz—” The young man kept pointing, trying to get the word out. Haley covered his mouth while ducking them down further.

“Quiet. You want it to know we’re here?” she whispered.

Suddenly, they heard a shout from behind them.

“What the hell is that?!”

Horrified, Haley and Jenkins turned around to see a pale-faced Rodney, quivering and pointing at the giant wasp in distress. His bright red jacket might as well have been a blazing signal flare.

Rodney, you idiot! thought Haley. She didn’t dare to say it out loud.

Haley and Jenkins slowly turned in the direction of the monster, hoping they hadn’t been noticed, only to find the beast looming over them, its antennae waving around and its mandibles buzzing menacingly.

“Well-z well-z, what-z do-z we-z have-z here-z?” it asked in a threatening manner. Noticing Jenkins, the beast brought its face within a hair's breadth of his. “You’re-z that-z zcaredy-z cat-z from-z before-z!”

Jenkins yelped, tumbling over, and quivering as he replied. “P-p-pardon?”

It was Wazp. “I-z zaid-z, you’re-z that-z zcaredy-z cat-z from-z before-z!” he reiterated in irritation, irked at always having to repeat himself.

“I-I d-d-don’t th-think we’ve m-met b-before!” Jenkins proclaimed, stuttering uncontrollably.

“Huh-z?!” Wazp moved closer towards Jenkins. He couldn’t quite understand how Jenkins could have possibly forgotten him already. Wazp then remembered he had learned about the memory swiping performed by Keepers, but this was his first time encountering it. Just as Haley tried to pull Jenkins away, Rodney made a run for it.

“Oh-z no-z you-z don’t-z!” said Wazp as he fired his needles, pinning Rodney to the wall by his clothes. The side of his face was pressed against the wall, facing away from the commotion that was occurring in the alleyway. Wazp turned to Jenkins again and picked him up by the collar, pushing Haley aside. She fell over in surprise; it felt like being hit by a swinging door. The phone flew from her hand, crashing onto the pavement. Her dark cap meandered in the wind.

“You’ll-z make-z good-z bait-z for-z the-z little-z ant-z!” Wazp told Jenkins.

“Ouch!” shouted Jenkins, a sharp pain began radiating from his shoulder.

 Suddenly, from the top of the boxes they had hid behind, Haley leapt into the air, and struck Wazp in the eye. Buzzing in frustration, Wazp tried to shake off the pain, dropping Jenkins in his confusion; it hurt even more than Tim's kick had.

“What the hell is this thing made out of?!” Haley cursed as her leg throbbed violently. She tried to stand, but couldn’t, her left leg injured from the kick. In agitation, Wazp fired his needles at her too, pinning her to the wall in a semi-sitting position.

“Haley!” Jenkins cried out. He rushed towards her and fumbled as he tried to pull out the needles. Little did he realize, the projectile had sharp barbs running along its length. He felt a tingling sensation in his hands as he tried to work the stinger from its embedded position. Looking down, he noticed droplets of crimson falling to the ground, and, removing his hands from the stinger, he saw the dripping lacerations from the barbs.

“Scarecrow…” Haley winced from the pain in her leg, “Run for it!”

“I-I can’t leave you here!” cried Jenkins.

“It’s after you!”

“Get out of here! Call the cops, or we’re all dead!” Rodney cried out. He couldn’t see what had happened, but what he had heard didn’t sound too promising.

Wazp, regaining his composure, began to approach Jenkins and Haley. Jenkins whipped around and stretched his uncontrollably shaking arms open in an attempt to protect Haley. Wazp loomed over Jenkins, buzzing angrily before lifting him by the collar again.

“Oozpad-z mynah-z, you’re-z the-z one-z I-z want-z!”

“Let him go!” Haley demanded.

At that moment, Wazp flitted into the air, dodging a single shot which had been fired from behind him. Jenkins was flailing wildly in Wazp’s grasp; he had never been so high off the ground in his life. The shot splattered several feet above Haley’s head. Through the mist, she could just make out a raggedy trench coat.