Eve pulled at her sweater collar mindlessly and her hand clutched the railing even tighter. “Am I right?” Aaron flashed a tiny smirk and this time he could see Eve rolling her eyes. “Okay fine. You are right. But what does that get you?”

“Don’t know. You tell me, greenie.” Eve cringed and raised an eyebrow at the insult. “Greenie? Seriously? Even I know that was lame.”

“I think I liked you better when you were quiet. Now listen.” Aaron advanced up the stairway and Eve backed up to allow him to ascend. Her face had the faintest honey glow and her mouth had become a thin line to hide her frustration. 

<!> Payne Residence: 8:52 PM <!>

“If you tell me what you thought of me back then and why you’re suspicious of me now, I’ll leave you alone. Promise.” Aaron assured.

Eve gave Aaron the once over as if to decipher how much she trusted what he was saying. It wasn’t much but it was enough for her to eventually relent with a sigh.

Her guarded posture loosened a bit and her arms lowered to hug her body as she spoke. “People here only understand as far as they can see and prove so I don’t need you to value what I’m about to say, or even validate it. So don’t give me any grief, okay?”

Aaron was skeptical but nodded in affirmation. 

“Good. Now you listen. You have a spirit more malevolent, spiteful, greedy, ancient, and intense than any I have ever encountered in my life and you will bring nothing but death and sorrow to everyone who cares about you.”

Aaron raised a hand to object but was stopped by Eve’s demeanor. She was deadly serious about everything she was saying. There wasn’t a doubtful bone in her body and as unbelievable as it was her words hit Aaron with a pressure that weighed down his body and shook his very core.

“Sorry…” Aaron apologized and rubbed the back of his nape to release the tension. “I mean I already knew but now I know for sure.” Aaron stopped rubbing his neck and let his hand slip back into his pocket.

“You’re completely insane.” 

The thoughtless words fell from his lips with all the judgemental intent only an in-law could summon at a moment's notice. Aaron wasn’t sure what kind of reaction he expected from Eve. Knowing her it should’ve been none at all only that would have been better than how she did respond.

Hurt. Pure and unbridled. Subtle and sequestered behind wavering emerald eyes that glistened as the girl gently sighed and brushed past Aaron silently. Hurt. Not what he expected. 

<O> Troy Residence: 10:47 PM <O>

After his conversation with Eve, the rest of the dinner was largely uneventful. Eve didn’t speak or even look at Aaron for the rest of the night and after stalling for another hour, Yuva did what no one else dared to and took a bite of the monstrous dinner. 

Yuva’s sacrifice was in vain as his father had to urgently rush him to the bathroom and the atmosphere got so tense that Eve eventually stood up and went to bed.

They took their leave after that and Aaron was all too glad. He’d had enough of the Payne family for one century and as he laid awake in bed staring wide-eyed at the ceiling, teenage briefs in hand his experience with Eve replayed incessantly.

<!> “You have a spirit more malevolent, spiteful, greedy, ancient, and intense than any I have ever encountered in my entire life and you will bring nothing but death and sorrow to everyone who cares about you.” <!>

“I wonder what she meant by all that.” Aaron wondered aloud as he dropped the briefs on his messy carpeted floor and rolled over on his side. 

“Was she trying to throw me off? Insult me? It was so bizarre but…” Aaron remembered that boldly intense look on her face.

“She looked so sure of herself. I shouldn’t be surprised, she was an emo after all. They’re always talking about spirits and weird stuff like that.” 

Aaron’s eyes were heavy with fatigue as he closed them and laid down to rest. He slipped into the world of slumber with the blue light of the moon casting a glow on his room and the cool evening breeze tumbling over his exposed back.

Wait why can I feel the breeze? I closed the window earlier.

Aaron rolled over toward the breeze and sure enough, the window was open and the curtains were blowing in the damp wind as a small shining object centered in the middle of the windowsill caught Aaron’s watchful eye as it stunned him with its light. 

Encapsulated, Aaron yanked a white t-shirt off his cracked wooden headboard and slipped it on as he rolled out of bed and over to the window. The key which shined from afar was much more destitute up close, rusted and filthy to the touch. Dust slid off the metal as Aaron held the bent object in the moonlight to examine it.

An ancient design with a trio of jagged teeth lining the tip of the key and a simple ring design for the keyhead so it could easily be clipped to a key ring. Aaron scratched at the rusted metal but stopped in fear of an infection, he wasn’t an expert but from what he could tell this key was old. Very old. It’s a wonder it didn’t turn to dust between his fingers. 

None of that touched on the crazy vibe that chilled Aaron’s spine and shuddered between his fingers. 

It was hard to comprehend but Aaron felt like he was holding a piece of creation itself and the weight of that sensation drummed up his heartbeat and fired warning synapses in his brain.

The feeling reminded him of Eve’s touch hours prior, it was that same otherworldly influence that escaped convention and touched the boundaries of understanding. Surpassed them.

“What…is this thing?”

<!> The Scarlet Key; a traveler from a distant world across the gulf of history. <!>

“Sure is nifty. Wonder if I can pawn it or something. Maybe then I can get back-” Illuminated by the moonlight draped in a tattered and dirty poncho with a hood casting a shadow over their face stood a man in the middle of the wet and shiny street. 

The figure emanated a weary dominance that struck Aaron in the chest like a spear. The Caped man raised his head enough to look at Aaron in the window but kept his face veiled in mystery. 

“Hey!” Aaron peaked out the window, holding onto the ledge to keep himself from falling. “Did you put this here? Who are you?”

The figure didn’t respond and just flashed a tired look at Aaron with blazing ruby eyes that radiated an intense heat even from across the street. 

“Keep that safe.” The man spun on his heel and walked away.

“Hey get your ass back here!” Aaron without thinking put a leg on the windowsill to jump after the man and demand answers. He propped himself up and was pushed back into the dark room by a gust of wind that slammed him in the gut and stole the air from his lungs.

The boy quickly regretted not being tidier as he landed back first on a math textbook but adrenaline mitigated the pain as he sprung off the floor and back into the window. 

The figure was now down the street as storm clouds swelled in the skies above him. The moon's influence was lost behind the swirling darkness and rain began to shower the area as the figure continued walking in the direction of the shoreline. 

It was hard to see from the window but Aaron could almost make out a thin coating around the man that shielded him from the rain and kept his clothing completely dry. 

Thunder and lightning began to crackle from the heavens and as Aaron went to climb out the window again a crimson arc of energy collided with the ground where the figure stood. 

The flash was so intense it turned night into day for only a moment and when the light was gone the figure had left with it.

Aaron went to bed full of questions that night. He couldn’t sleep, not after all that, but against his better judgment he held onto the key anyway. He wasn’t even entirely sure why he’d want possession of something with such a scary event around it. It might’ve been greed or pure curiosity but after meeting Eve and encountering that ghost of the night a spark had been ignited inside Aaron. A need even.

He needed to discover the identity of that figure and why he entrusted Aaron with this key. Aaron clutched the key in his hand like a dagger as he lay under the covers and resolved to keep it on him at all times. He won’t have it stolen before he even knows what it is.

But who would even want to steal something like this? It’s so old and rusted…it’s honestly just a piece of junk. Yeah…that’s what it is…