What's in the Dark

Didn't Your Mommy Teach You Manners

"What are you guys doing in here?" A staff member, whose name tag says Larry that might not actually be his name but I'm going to call him it anyway, asks with a confused look. I want to glance at the screen to check if Charlie had enough time to remove the USB but I'm afraid that "Larry" might see my eyes wonder and if he looks at the screen and Charlie didn't have time then we're caught. I can't fight the urge not to look at the screen I have too little self-control. Before my eyes meet the screen Larry sees that my head is turning and glances up at the screen. My heart drops into my stomach. I expect him to start yelling or calling back up for breaching the confidentiality files. Yet what comes out of his mouth surprises me, he laughs. "You guys could have just used the library for that." He says. "You're not supposed to go in here." I let myself look at the screen. Where the files once were is now replaced with Netflix, playing on the screen is Friends. I smile and Larry smiles back, he probably thinks I'm smiling because it is a weird place to decide to watch Netflix but I smile because somehow within the span of a few seconds maybe a little less Charlie dissembled what was on the screen.

Zachariah chuckles nervously. Looking relieved he nods at Larry. "Yeah we should probably go watch this somewhere else guys, who knew we had a library? Come on." He ushers as all out waving his arm towards the door. Before exiting I stand a little in front of the computer tower so Charlie can grab the USB out. Once we're all in the hall we all head back to our training room none of us saying anything too distraught to talk about what we saw on the screen, partly from shock and partly from fear someone might hear us. Except for Ashh who didn't have a chance to read the file she just keeps looking at us confused but can tell it's not something to talk about here in the open. We all felt like it was a dream and we shouldn't speak of it, as if it was a taboo topic. We all sit down. Ashh looks at us and I can tell the curiosity was killing her and she looked like she was going to burst any second.

"What was in that file?" She asks, she sounds strong but her eyes tell a different story. She may not know what we do but she knows it's something that she should fear. We sit quiet for a minute none of us actually wanting to discuss it because that makes it real and real makes it terrifying.

"Do you remember how in class here, we learned about how all Wondermakers are primordial and Wondermakers can't mate with each other because it's impossible to produce a crossbreed or make a new one?" Zachariah lets out quickly.

"Yeah." Ashh says nodding slowly, already scared where this was going.

"Well, I guess that's not always true. Some guy named Dr. Nefarious created a new Wondermaker.It's been kidnapping YDSA members and we're not sure why. That explains the lack of adult staff" We all sit quiet not sure what to say or how to react to this news. Ashh bursts into laughter.

"Ashh now is not the time to laugh." I say baffled.

"I know, I know." She says in between laughter "But c'mon seriously? Dr. Nefarious? What was Dr. Evil too mainstream?" The room erupts with laughter now that we're all in on the joke. We sit there for a bit but slowly the room gets quiet again as are worry comes creeping back into our mind.

"So..what are we going to do?" I ask.

"What do you mean what're we going to do? Nothing. Absolutely nothing because I'm not breaking the rules again." Charlie says crossing his arms. I open my mouth getting ready to argue with him when Delilah speaks.

"We can't just exhume this information and not do anything Charlie. The fate of the YDSA rests in our hands. Members are going missing here and there. What if they came for your dad? Or what if they came for us?" We're all little shocked she spoke. It's rare for Delilah to speak and even more rare for her to speak that much and that passionately. We all sit letting her words sink in, we could easily be taken like the rest.

"I mean it's not like we're as verdant as the others think we are." Zachariah says with a shrug.

"Yeah I second that. We're too underappreciated as well as underestimated." Ashh says.

"All in favor of figuring out how to save the YDSA raise your hand." Everyone raises their hand, even Charlie who looks hesitant at first but slowly raises his hand, Delilah's speech getting to him.

"Okay let's do this." Charlie says plugging the USB into the tower of the computer. The files load on the screen slowly all of us anticipating what's in the file, sure we know the basics about what's going on but we're still in the dark.

"A man known to call himself Dr. Nefarious has created a new Wondermaker nicknamed 'Jyhuns'. This specific Wondermaker has been taking out YDSA members all over the world. It's unknown how it can sense YDSA members. It's also unknown why YDSA members are being kidnapped." And that's all it says. It contains some open cases of YDSA members going missing that were never solved and an address of where they suspect Dr. Nefarious resides.

"That's all?" Delilah says upset.

"At least we have an address,but it's all they way in california." Zachariah says half-heartedly.

Ashh's face brightens at the mention of California. "I think we should go."

"You just want to go because that's where your dad lives." Charlie says annoyed.

"No I want to save the YDSA and all of that biz, but maybe while I'm there we could stop by?" She asks looking hopefully at Zachariah.

"I'm not sure Ashh maybe, we're not sure if he still lives there but we can check, okay?" Ashh smiles big and is about to thank Zachariah when a loud noise bangs out and the window that stretches along the side of the wall of the training room is covered in a black liquid making the glass murky.

"What the heck was that?" Charlie says sounding afraid.

"I have no clue." Zachariah says walking slowly to the door, once in the hallway we can see that the liquid looks almost viscous. I look up the hallway where a little girl is cavorting up and down the hall with a long knife in her hand. She has long black hair in braids and half her face is covered with a black blank mask while her eyes are blood red.

"Why is there a random little girl skipping up and down the hall holding a knife?" Ashh says baffled.

"I'm not sure but maybe let's not ask her." Charlie says backing up hiding behind me.

"What harm can she do? She looks like she's 8, don't tell me you're scared of an 8 year old." Ashh says taunting him. Her voice changes drastically when speaking to the girl "Hey sweetie, what are you doing here?" The little girl turns slowly and smiles at us creepily. She opens her mouth, Ashh expects an answer but instead the girl sings. It's a creepy song that makes you feel like your blood has chilled inside of you. It's not the words that are creepy, they're actually quite pleasant. It's a song about cherry blossom trees and the spring. It's they way she sings it her voice so haunting. Like a song a black widow would sing to her mate right before she killed them. The girl stops singing and tilts her head to the side grinning creepily.

"Tsk, tsk, tsk." She taunts us. "Did your mommy ever teach you manners it's rude to stare. It could cause people to get very angry." She huffs. "But oh well it isn't an utopian society. I think that's why Dr. Nef sent me to kill you, because you have no manners." She says giggling. Before any of us have any time to react she's running at us giggling slashing her knife through the air.