Hidden Spring (The Modern Myth of Persephone)

Chapter 2: The Encounter

     Work was a welcome distraction from Monday's events. I had to wrestle Sophie away from Nathan a couple of times, but it was nothing out of the ordinary. Artie was in charge of finalizing the sketches, and by Thursday, he presented his draft to me. I took the notebook home to take notes and put some final touches on them.

     "Hey Penny, did you get those sketches from Artie yet?" Sophie asked, popping her head in my office.

     "Got 'em right here, Soph. Thanks for checking. You and the guys are good to go. Thank you." She gave me a smile and turned to leave.

     I started packing up my things when my mom called. "Hey Mom, what's up?"

     "Penny, dear, what are you doing tomorrow for lunch?"

     "I'm in the office all day. Our deadline is tomorrow."

     "But you have a lunch break, of course?" She asked, worried.

     "A very brief one, but yes." I laughed, putting the notebook in my bag.

     "Then I will come and visit you. What do you think, Chinese or pizza?"

     "Chinese is good. Thanks Mom. See you tomorrow." We said our goodbyes and hung up. Just as I grabbed my bag and keys to lock up, a panicked Artie ran into my office.

     "Oh thank God you're still here!" There was a look of relief on his face.

     "What's up, Artie?" I furrowed my eyebrows, confused at why he was still here.

     "I forgot to give you this sketch! It must've fallen out of the book."

     "Oh! Thank you, Artie. I'll look it over tonight. Thanks for your work today. Get some rest." I smiled. He nodded and left my office in a haste.

     I stuffed the paper quickly into the notebook and didn't bother to fix the now askew binder in my bag. I locked up and said goodbye to the security guard on my way out and made my commute back to Misty's. Seeing as the firm was only a couple of blocks from her's, it seemed like a harmless walk back, but tonight was odd. The team stayed a bit later than usual, and the winter hours made it so that the sky was pitch black even though it was only seven.

     That wasn't what was weird about tonight, though. What was strange was the lack of people on the streets. There were only a few stray people, but it was very different from the normal five o'clock bustle.

     I made sure to walk closer to the road when passing alleys and the one sketchy side street I had to take. Somehow, though, even in my vigilance, someone bumped into me and it shook the notebook right out of my bag. As I bent down to pick it up, he grabbed my bag and began running off with it. Before I could process what was happening, I ran after him.

     I didn't get to him before I saw him get pulled into an alley. I nearly stumbled because of my surprise. What the hell?

     I cautiously stepped toward the alley in case it was a trap. But what I saw both confused and shocked me. There was a dark fog that surrounded the alley, making it nearly impossible to see. But I could hear the snap of something, as well as a crack. Yikes, that sounded like bone hitting concrete.

     "What are you?" One man asked, sounding terrified.

     "Your worst nightmare." A dark, deep voice answered. It sent chills up my spine. "You will never bother anyone ever again."

     "Y-yes Sir. I'm sorry!" The first man sounded like he was going to wet his pants. Geez, I wonder what could've scared a criminal so badly.