Case File: The Hall Kidnapping
Subject: Ryan Winters
Recording Number: 10
Heroes of None: Episode X
(The Rise of She-Devil)
And that was that. They called the police. Over something as stupid as a necklace. Which meant I had to deal with that. Oh, but don’t worry. The police weren’t there long, since it was a federal case.
Yeah, you see where I’m going with this.
So, the FBI shows up. Over something as stupid as a necklace. Something my birth-giver would never—and I really mean never—spend the money on if it was for me. Maybe for herself. But I don’t even think my brother ever got something like a solid gold medallion—and he, as the non-mutant little angel, pretty much got the sun, moon, and stars.
This goes without saying, but the hike ended without us reaching the top of Mt. What-The-Fuck-Ever—so, you know, silver lining. We were all instructed to stay in our cabins until the FBI arrived. And that’s what we did. We all sat in our various cabins, waiting.
In my case, waiting to see my bio family for the first time in ten years.
Look, I’m a Grade-A BS-er—I gotta be, given the circumstances—but not even I could think of a way out. I had to face the facts—my life had taken a turn for the worst. Even Mom probably couldn’t save me at that point. She had risked a lot to save me—literally, her job was on the line. I was the most high stakes/high profile child they had ever rescued, and since her task force in her department—The Department of Mutant Relations—was still secret, if the public found out the truth of my “disappearance,” she would be removed from the job she loved.
So, it wasn’t just my butt on the line. I had to protect my family—the only family I had ever had.
Josh came over and sat next to me in the corner of our cabin—an unexpected gesture, really. He had a serious expression on his face—honestly, it was probably the most serious I had ever seen him. “Hey… are you going to be ok?” He whispered, careful to not attract Tyrin’s attention.
I was so surprised by how genuine he seemed that it almost felt like… well, like the old days. I had thought Josh lost his ability to care about other people when he threw me away like rotten food. After a few moments of stunned silence, I sighed and looked away. “I’m trying really hard to not think about it. If I’m convincing, they’ll look right over me. At least I'm a guy now and I don't think my parents ever expected that, but it's still… I don't know, scary?” I ran my fingers through my hair and looked up. “This is the freaking worst,” I grumbled.
“Well, you should have been more careful, man. A locket like that isn’t something you just leave hanging around in the woods. What were you expecting to happen?”
I scowled. “You really think I’m stupid? It’s not mine. I’ve never seen that thing before in my life, and that birth-giver of mine never would have gotten something like that for me. I don’t know where it’s from,” I paused and groaned, “it’s like someone is conspiring against me!”
Josh let out a long breath. “Oh. Damn. That’s serious.” Josh ran his fingers through his own hair—though his head was buzzed, so it was more like he rubbed his hand over his head. “So it really was a prank then. That means someone is going to have to fess up eventually. I’m sure the agents will figure it out, right?”
I scoffed. “Yeah, after they bag me up and ship me back to Hollywood with my bio family.”
“You really think they will figure it out?”
I shifted, moving my legs up to my chest. “I… I don’t know. I really don’t want to think about it either—especially when the She-Devil is probably on her way here with her carriage of death as we speak.” Just as I finished that statement, the doors swung open. It was the Camp Overlord, and he didn’t seem happy—if the glowing red eyes were anything to go by. Perfect.
“The Agents want to see everyone in the camp. Right now,” He said in his commanding voice while forcing the three of us out. All of the students began to file out of their cabins, and I hung at the back of the pack. I couldn’t really walk. I couldn’t do much of anything—I couldn’t breathe, my heart beat like a jackhammer in my chest, I felt nauseous and sober all at the same time. My head was spinning. She is here, she is here, she is here.
Everyone at the camp was forced to stand in a line—including all the counselors. So about fifty people in total. For once in our lives, everyone was completely silent. Everyone was waiting to be addressed. A man stepped forward.
He was tall and scraggly looking, but very put together—almost too put together, if you ask me. Like he was trying way too hard to impress people. His hair was perfectly slicked back; his uniform was perfectly pressed—not a single fold out of place. He had sharp, judgmental green eyes that scanned the crowd, trying to strike fear into us I guess. A little extra, if you ask me—but hey, I hear FBI agents can be like that.
He put his hands behind his back, striking a powerful stance, and addressed all of us with a booming voice. “Attention campers! I am Agent Steven Olkwood, head of the Hall investigation.” He flashed his badge at us. “We ask for your corporation during this investigation into the artifact recovered. We are going to be conducting interviews, so please, if you have any information, do not be afraid to come to us.”
I made a face to myself. Ugh. So annoying. Hopefully Mr. Goody Two-Shoes wouldn’t rat me out.
Steve continued to speak. “Mrs. Hall has requested to be present during some informal interviews, so she and I will be calling each of you back to ask a couple questions about the case. This is not an interrogation; we singly want to talk about the events that took place this morning.
That was when she arrived.
She was wearing a black dress—almost as black as her soul—that framed her body as she walked. Her heels were blood red—yes, stiletto heels in the middle of the woods—and her hair was twisted back into a loose bun.
Breathe.
She looked exactly as I remembered. Literally, she hadn’t aged a day in ten years. Sure, it could have been the mountain of makeup, or some sort of plastic surgery, but it was uncanny. She smiled at the crowd, causing me to vomit a little in my mouth.
Breathe, Ryan, just breathe.
She spoke.
“Good afternoon, children. Please, call me Natasha.”
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