I stopped walking, stuck in place as I stared at the man. "Miss Edwards?" Lyla, the girl I was tutoring, said.

But I couldn't talk. I just could not believe what I was seeing. "Lyla . . . do you know what your father does for a living?"

I looked into her eyes and saw it immediately. She did know. And it wasn't a lie that her father told her. She knew. "He works in an office," she replied, trying to look confident in the fake answer. "Anyways, I see him there right now. I'll see you later!" She walked off to the car, where her wretched father leaned against. He was staring at me, and I could tell he recognized me as well.

"Hey, Dad!" Lyla told him. He turned his attention to her and greeted her.

"Baby, can you wait in the car? I'm going to speak to your teacher." Lyla nodded, and I grew tense as the man walked towards me. "Well, what do we have here?" he said, slightly smirking.

"You have a kid? I thought you were too sinister for that!"

"And I thought you were smart enough to get a job that pays higher, but oh well. You settled for teacher."

"So what? You rob banks for a living."

"That's not what I do, and you know it. Very common misconception about villains," he looked down at my school-provided ID, "Diane."

"Shut it. Now, I don't feel very comfortable with you having Lyla as a daughter."

His face dropped. "And why is that?" he said sharply.

"You know why. She's a very sweet girl and-"

"Yeah, I know that. She's my kid. And, not that it's any of your business, I treat her well. I give her what she needs and way more. I spoil that girl, okay? So don't assume I'm just a cold-blooded being living only to fight you. There's life in everyone, not just you. Even if you can't see it, we're all conscious, we're all alive and trying to get by. I do what I need to do to survive, and provide for Lyla, so just stay out of it if all you're gonna do is criticize."

I stood staring at him, feeling strangely guilty. I didn't really like the idea of this man being a person too, which was a weird thought, but true. I was making everything harder for him. "I'm sorry," was all I could say.

We stood silent for a few seconds that felt like hours, and finally, I looked up at the villain. Maybe I was his villain. I made his life worse, and before I knew it, I spoke. "What if we team up?"

"Team up? With you? No, thank you."

"No, I mean . . . if you become a hero, you'll be famous for being good and you'll get a bunch of money and even things for free too."

He shook his head. "They wouldn't let me. No one would trust me. Not after all these years."

"Well, I'll make them." I had a strange determination to get the people of the town to accept him. I needed them to. "They'll see you, I bet they will."

He squinted his eyes. "Why are you doing this? Why are you saying this?"

"You deserve to be forgiven. Everyone wants a life that they can enjoy, but I can't keep letting you steal things that don't belong to you, which is what's giving you the money to enjoy your life, so this is the solution. Switch sides."

He didn't speak for several seconds. "Thanks. No one's ever . . . Thanks." He turned and went into his car, and I watched him drive out of the parking lot and out of the school area.

I stopped walking, stuck in place as I stared at the man. "Miss Edwards?" Lyla, the girl I was tutoring, said.

But I couldn't talk. I just could not believe what I was seeing. "Lyla . . . do you know what your father does for a living?"

I looked into her eyes and saw it immediately. She did know. And it wasn't a lie that her father told her. She knew. "He works in an office," she replied, trying to look confident in the fake answer. "Anyways, I see him there right now. I'll see you later!" She walked off to the car, where her wretched father leaned against. He was staring at me, and I could tell he recognized me as well.

"Hey, Dad!" Lyla told him. He turned his attention to her and greeted her.

"Baby, can you wait in the car? I'm going to speak to your teacher." Lyla nodded, and I grew tense as the man walked towards me. "Well, what do we have here?" he said, slightly smirking.

"You have a kid? I thought you were too sinister for that!"

"And I thought you were smart enough to get a job that pays higher, but oh well. You settled for teacher."

"So what? You rob banks for a living."

"That's not what I do, and you know it. Very common misconception about villains," he looked down at my school-provided ID, "Diane."

"Shut it. Now, I don't feel very comfortable with you having Lyla as a daughter."

His face dropped. "And why is that?" he said sharply.

"You know why. She's a very sweet girl and-"

"Yeah, I know that. She's my kid. And, not that it's any of your business, I treat her well. I give her what she needs and way more. I spoil that girl, okay? So don't assume I'm just a cold-blooded being living only to fight you. There's life in everyone, not just you. Even if you can't see it, we're all conscious, we're all alive and trying to get by. I do what I need to do to survive, and provide for Lyla, so just stay out of it if all you're gonna do is criticize."

I stood staring at him, feeling strangely guilty. I didn't really like the idea of this man being a person too, which was a weird thought, but true. I was making everything harder for him. "I'm sorry," was all I could say.

We stood silent for a few seconds that felt like hours, and finally, I looked up at the villain. Maybe I was his villain. I made his life worse, and before I knew it, I spoke. "What if we team up?"

"Team up? With you? No, thank you."

"No, I mean . . . if you become a hero, you'll be famous for being good and you'll get a bunch of money and even things for free too."

He shook his head. "They wouldn't let me. No one would trust me. Not after all these years."

"Well, I'll make them." I had a strange determination to get the people of the town to accept him. I needed them to. "They'll see you, I bet they will."

He squinted his eyes. "Why are you doing this? Why are you saying this?"

"You deserve to be forgiven. Everyone wants a life that they can enjoy, but I can't keep letting you steal things that don't belong to you, which is what's giving you the money to enjoy your life, so this is the solution. Switch sides."

He didn't speak for several seconds. "Thanks. No one's ever . . . Thanks." He turned and went into his car, and I watched him drive out of the parking lot and out of the school area.

"So you decided to cook it?!" I ask incredulously.

"What else was I supposed?" Jake shrugs, stirring the turtle soup.

"Give it to the animal shelter? Release it to the wild? I don't know! But you didn't have to make it into a meal!"

He shrugs again. "Too late. Want me to serve you a bowl?"

"No!"

As soon as I talk, I feel a zap on my forehead. "Forget," an alien hisses as I go unconscious.

Later I wake up in the bathroom. When did I get here?

I was gonna try but I don't have the patience to understand what you wrote

An adventure like what? she thought now, sitting on a spinning chair in her house. The house was empty, except for Coraline's cat. It was her eighth one, Pumpkin. She had also had a few dogs, but they died too.

As of now, she was one-hundred-ninety-six years old. When she got her first job, she was twenty-two but after working there for ten more years, she wondered why she didn't look any different. All her hair was still dark and thick and her body never ached. At restaurants, she was always asked for her ID when she wanted to order alcohol.

It was a blessing and a curse.

But now she needed something. And she knew what it was. Love.

Wait, she realized. Any man that meets her will think she's at most thirty years old. And it felt weird to think she could date a young man when she was so old.

She didn't want to go on the kind of adventure where you explore places. She just wanted someone to love. But it seemed impossible in her situation.

Luke tastes something salty.

And he couldn't breathe.

He spit out water as everything came back into focus. What was going on?

He was in the water. Then . . . then he started drowning. He breathed in water and . . .

A lifeguard hovered over him, looking relieved. He saw his mom near him too, and dozens of other faces he didn't recognize. His mom was thanking the lifeguard. "Just doing my job," the man said.

Luke stood up and was able to recover quickly. He didn't go back in the water, but watched the children playing in it. Their parents were always near, holding their kids hands as the shuffled into deeper sea.

Something suddenly came to mind. He remember when he was in the water, he almost made it to the surface, when something had tightened around his leg. Like a tentacle. But it was thick. It couldn't have been a jellyfish.

"Lucás. Do you want a soda or water?" his mom asked.

"Oh. Um, I guess a soda." She tossed him a can of Manzanita Sol and he opened it, the drink fizzing. As he gulped the drink, he thought about what happened in the water. What grabbed hold of him? Why? Thinking of the memory made him shiver but he thought about it anyway. Nothing else could be on his mind.

He looked to the water, and felt inclined to go back into it. He had to know what it was. He turned to his mom and said, "I'm going to find a restroom, Mamá. I'll be back."

"It is the perfect job, man. 'Your voice is too high'? I can change the voice box. I can make myself fit for any role in the world. One day, I'll be crazy rich."

My friend, Shane, shrugs. "As long as we stay friends. With all that money and fame, I don't want you to become . . . two-faced."

I grin and form a face in the back of my head and turn to showcase it to Shane. "You mean, like this?"

He cracks up.

You know what, maybe you should write this lol

Once the doors opened, and there, in the middle of the room, was the leader of the Cult of Mythological Beasts.

I stared at them before saying, "Sorry, wrong room." I shut the door to leave them to it.

"The mythological cult culted mythologically."

I looked at the screen and laughed. I specifically said I couldn't write something with things like that. I upvote the post and turn off my phone.

I keep seeing it in my head over and over again. The sword entering Heath's body. It replays again but I stop, focusing on this moment right now, where Heath is on the floor. I need to say goodbye but I can't. I don't want to accept it.

He's crying. I've never seen him cry before. "Kid," he says, coughing. "Remember what I've taught you."

"No," I demand. He's my mentor but most importantly, my best friend. He just can't die.

"Seth! I'm the one dying, okay? I'm the one that should be upset. But you? You aren't dying. Because you are young, talented, brave-"

"I'm not brave," I shake my head.

"You can be. Right now, you can be the bravest warrior in this field. But you have to stand up. Stand up and fight!"

I look at him one more time, seeing him finally go, and stand. As I look on at the battlefield, I feel something awake inside. A fire, roaring to kill the people that killed Heath. To fight for him.

I pick up my sword and run into the crowd, sure that whatever happens, I did the right thing.

I lay on the floor, know I have only a few more minutes left. Hovering over me is my stepson, tears on his cheeks. "David, how do I . . . I don't know how to help."

I want to cry too. This is actually the end. There aren't any doctors coming to fix up my bleeding chest. But I have to be strong for him. I love this boy like he's my own son. "You-you can't. But it's okay. I'll be okay."

He just sobs louder. "You're bleeding, David! How will you be okay?!"

I cough, my body aching and head spinning. "Kid, sometimes there's people you can't save, and I'm one of them, unfortunately. But if you promise to always do your best, and live the happiest life you possibly can, I can assure you, I will be okay." I already feel like I'm going unconscious, but I hang on. "You hear, buddy? Don't cry. Even when I stop talking, don't cry. I still love you."

A couple seconds later, my vision goes black. The last thing I feel is his arms wrapping around me in a hug.

"No," I beg. "Please, Ethan. We can survive this together." The gun was at his temple, ready to shoot. Ready to kill my fiancé.

"I can't. I lost my family, Jo. I lost them, and my best friend, and even if we survive, the world won't be the same. I just can't do it anymore."

"But you can't just leave me here!" Now I'm crying, really bad. "Ethan, I love you. Don't do this."

He closes his eyes, biting his lip. "I'm really sorry about this," he said, tears welling up in his eyes, "but I love you."

"NO!" I screamed. He pulled the trigger. I start sobbing, rushing to him and the life drains from him. "Ethan! No . . ."

I close my eyes and fall down next to him, looking at the dimming lights on the ceiling. Outside the fog is still killing. It's what killed my little sister, Riley. And even if it's not direct, it's what killed Ethan too.

I don't have anyone. I lost them. They're all gone.

I sob again. They're all gone.

I glance at the gun, still in Ethan's hand. It wasn't such a bad idea, I think as I pick the heavy weapon up.

But I don't have anyone to say bye to, to tell that I love them. I just pull the trigger.

The dog stood up, his golden hair shimmering in the sun. "How dare you walked over me like I'm a street dog?"

The fox turned back and cocked her head to the right. "I had to get through. I didn't mean anything by it. And anyway, what gives you the right to talk to me like that?"

"I am a Golden Retriever. Everyone loves me. I do nothing and I'm adored by anything that lives."

"I don't adore you," the fox said. "You ought to move out of the street before someone actually steps on you. At least I jumped."

The dog yawned and lay back down. "No one will hurt me. I'm amazing."

The fox shook her head and ran off to the market.

After the fox got her groceries, she started walking back home, a paper bag filled with two birds and a rabbit in her mouth. She was taking it home for her family, and her family hadn't eaten in two days. They were all like the dog; too lazy to get up and do something productive.

As she walked, she spotted the golden dog again, just lying there in the street. "Dog! What is wrong with you?"

"Nothing!" the dog yelled back. "You worry too much."

"Worrying's all I can do," she muttered, continuing to walk to her house.

The next day, the fox headed out to play around. She didn't know how but she needed to loosen up.

The sun was so hot, it was practically slamming down on the world. But every animal was going about their day in the heat.

Wait, was that . . .

Oh my goodness.

The Golden Retriever was still laying in the road, sleeping. The fox went over to him. "What do you even do all day? Have you even eaten?"

"Some animals come and drop off snacks for me, so that's what I eat. Other than that, I just lay down somewhere."

"Find somewhere else then. You're going to die out here. You'll be cooked in this weather."

The dog acknowledged that and stood up. "Fine, I go somewhere," he smiled. He then proceeded to move a couple inches to the right and lay back down.

"You," the fox said, "are unbelievable."

Suddenly, she heard commotion. Animals were yelping and crying out for help. "What's going on?" the fox whispered.

"Human! Human with knife!"

"Help me!"

"Get out of here!"

The fox turned to run into the deeper forest and the dog did too, but he was slow. He hadn't done anything physical like that in over five years. "Hurry up!" the fox rushed.

"I . . . I can't," he gasped.

The fox groaned and searched around for a hiding spot. She spotted some old logs and took the dog to hide under them. They both stayed there for about an hour, listening to the animals die until the human walked away.

"Is it clear now?" the dog whispered.

"I think." The fox slowly peaked her head out the hiding place. No human. "We're good." As they left the logs, other animals came out of their own hiding places. The animals in the area were few, even though that morning the place was buzzing with them.

The fox turned to the dog. "See? If I hadn't helped you, you would have been killed. And it would have been because of your own laziness."

The golden dog hung his head, feeling ashamed. "You're right. I am sorry."

"Do you want to go play together?" the fox asked.

"Sure."

To this day, the fox and the dog have stayed loyal friends to each other. The dog helped encourage the fox's family to help out each other, and the fox gave the dog a room to stay in. Through hard times, friendship can always persevere, even if you're not friends yet.

As the fragile ice broke from the lightest weight of Polaris, he plunged deeply into the frigid waters beneath him while frantically grasping for the firmer ground above!

He could hear his mother calling for him. "Polaris!" She cried. He too felt like crying; the ice was so freezing he felt like he was on fire.

His eyes were closed but he felt himself sinking further and further under the ice, slipping away from the world.

At some point, he felt numb. He opened his eyes and saw the light from the sun dimming. He felt his consciousness dimming too, and he let himself go.

When Polaris woke up again, he was unsure where he was. All he saw was the sun.

No, it wasn't the sun. It was artificial.

Hospital lights. They shone at him, practically screaming at him with their bright bulbs. "Honey. Oh, you're okay. You're okay!"

His mother's voice was the only one he recognized from the others that clouded her's. He felt a plastic mask on his face, warm air from it filling his body. He wasn't cold but he was exhausted. He almost fell asleep but didn't.

"Your son is okay, ma'am," a man assured, his voice soothing but firm. "We'll keep him for about twelve more hours until you can take him home."

His mother nodded, still looking at Polaris, grateful for his life. Polaris was still confused. He just knew he was tired. And after his mother left the room, he finally slept.

A week later, Polaris was sitting on the soft couch in his living room, watching the snow fall delicately outside the window. "Mom, the other kids are playing. I wanna make a snowman!"

"No," his mother said. "You can go outside in a month. It's still too cold."

"I want to go outside when it's cold. Mom, it's just snow. Please?"

His mother sighed. "Fine. But I'll be watching."

He leaped up and grabbed two coats and ran out the door. Outside there were other kids. Eight year olds, like Polaris, tens, even teenagers, making snowmen larger than any other he had seen before.

"Hey, Polaris!" a girl called. Her name was Diana, and she was seven, but she was in his grade. "Wanna have a snow fight?"

He smiled but feared that the balls would be too compact. Some kids got bruised from snowballs. "No, I'm okay." He turned around to do something else when he heard Diana's voice again.

"Watch out!" she shouted.

He whipped around and put his hands up to protect himself. His eyes were closed but then he slowly started to open them. And in front of him was a snowball, but it wasn't moving. It stayed suspended in midair until he dropped his hands. "Woah, how'd you do that?" Diana awed.

"I-I don't know," Polaris whispered. He looked at Diana one more time before he ran back into his house. His mother was still inside, warming some hot chocolate and baking cookies.

"Hey, what's wrong?" she asked, concerned.

He took deep breaths, the warm air softening his pink cheeks. "I think I have powers."

She laughed. "Powers? What do you mean?"

"I stopped a snowball. I-I froze it in the air."

His mother squinted her eyes at him. "Show me."

They went outside again, to somewhere the other children weren't playing. "Throw a snowball at me." His mother squatted down and scooped up some snow. She pressed it together and formed a perfect sphere. Swinging her arm back, the ball flung through the air.

Like before, Polaris put up his hands and also like before, it stopped mid-air. "See!"

His mother gasped. "How did this happen?"

He thought for a second. "Did you marry Jack Frost?"

"No, Polaris."

"Hmm. Well, maybe it's because I fell in that water."

"Maybe."

"Well, that's cool."

And the two continued on with their day, like nothing happened.

"You gotta help me, man. There must be something you can do," I tell the man. He's known for being able to cure people with impossible diseases, and can give you powers with magical drinks he concocts himself.

The potion man moves his eyes back and forth across his shelves, which are covered with glass containers with names labeled on them. "Zach . . . I wasn't the one who gave you these powers. I don't think I can take them away. Tell me again, how did you get them?"

I sigh, trying to remember every detail from five months ago. "I was asleep in my apartment when I was woken up by a light. It was a kind-of-pink white and there was also this voice. It wasn't saying words but I heard it somehow." This is still really hard to describe. "And that kept going on. I can remember the voice saying it right now, but at the time I heard it."

The man is nodding, invested. "And what did it say?"

"It said that I was chosen for a special role. A special role is The Story. But I don't know what that means. Anyways, I felt my skin buzzing and my heart was beating really fast and I went unconscious or something. It actually felt pretty good, like I was in a deep sleep." I still remember the whole thing, clear and vivid in my head, like I'm seeing a movie filmed with a good camera.

"Then when I woke up I felt no different. I tried to ignore what happened but I kept thinking about it the whole day. At some point I was walking around the campus, you know, when I was still in college, and a student was walking out and waved at me. I recognized her from my communications class and waved back. But right after I did, she exploded."

"Exploded?" the potion man gasps.

"Yeah, but there weren't guts and blood anywhere. She kind of just turned into dust. She was declared missing later on and no one found the body because, obviously, it was blown away by the wind. So I tried doing it on other things, like trees and water bottles, and it all worked. But sometimes I can't really control it and that's why the Heroes don't trust me. I can kill with these powers and even though I have no intention of doing that, they won't accept me."

"Dang, that's tough. You don't want to join the Villains?"

"No," I groan. "They've been trying to recruit me but I don't want to be with them. The leader tries to mentor me but it's annoying."

"Why not? It'll probably be fun."

I sigh again. I have considered it but . . . I don't know. My parents raised me to be a good person and the villains are literally villains. "No. It's not for me," I say. "So are you sure you don't have a fix?"

He bites his cheek and exhales before shaking his head no. "Yeah, no. It looks like it was Fate who gave you these powers. Can't do anything about that."

I want to get mad at him, but I guess he can't do everything. "Thanks, anyway," I smile. We both nod at each other before I leave the little room he sells in.

As I'm heading out, I feel someone put a hand over my mouth. Laughter behind me. I can't breathe. "Come on, Zachary. You could be useful," a voice snarls.

"No!" I yell, but the gloved hand muffles it.

"You don't have a choice, kid. No one wants you. Not your college, the Heroes. You have no friends."

Hey, I have friends. And the only reason I'm not in college anymore is because my powers really messed me up and I just couldn't afford it anymore. No job accepted me either so there was not way to work for money.

I use all my strength to push myself away from the man and start running. But as soon as I step a foot, he appears right in front of me. "You can't run from me, boy," he smiles, but even his smile looks evil. He starts walking towards me and I walk backwards instinctively but end up falling on my butt.

"Get away from me!" I plead. I don't want anything to do with the villains. Why can't they understand that?

All the man does is laugh. I close my eyes and clench my fist, my heart beating in my ears and my breathing horribly fast.

Poof!

My eyes fling open. "No, no, no, no, no, no . . ." I mutter. The spot where the man was standing earlier is only filled with a pile of black sand.

I killed him.

Not again.

I have two deaths on my conscious. That's two too many. I stand up and linger there for a bit before running away. I keep going until I reach home.

My house isn't really a house. It's like fifteen boards I put together to create some kind of roof over my head. It's not much but . . . okay, it's not much, period.

This is another reason why I want to be part of the Heroes. I can get my own living area. My own room, along with other good people to share it all with. The people of the city donate to the Heroes a lot too, so they're loaded.

But I know that even the Villains have a lot of money. All the jewels they've stolen, banks they've robbed . . .

Maybe . . . maybe it wouldn't be so bad if I joined the Villains. They want me, don't they? It's a win-win if I go with them. I'm guaranteed a job, a home, and people to protect and teach me.

I can't imagine myself a villain. But I'm gonna have to if I want to live.