The Myth of Misbelieving

One

October 15th

I stepped outside of my car and looked towards the brick building of the high school, students walked all over the quad talking to friends and slowly moving inside as the bell rang. I sighed and locked my car, walking inside. My first-period class, god was I excited. I stood at my desk and watched the students pour into the class, and sit down. I could immediately tell who was the 'popular' crowd, the jocks, nerds, and loners.

"Good morning class!" I exclaimed after the bell rang. "Welcome to algebra. I know most of you are not excited to be here, but this is a required course and I'll try to make it as fun as I can." I smiled and picked up my clipboard from my desk. "Now, for the first order of business. Seats!" I walked around and told everyone where they sit, most people chuckled and smiled at me. Probably because of my pink hair, they feel more comfortable in class. However, kids previously did step out of line from time to time. That's when I'd have to, unfortunately, put on the big-teacher-pants and remind them. I returned to the front of the class and smiled at all of the faces looking back at me. I opened my mouth to continue with class when I heard a clearing of the throat from behind me.

"Mrs. Hendrick?" I heard a gruff voice behind me. I turned around to see the principal, AKA my boss, standing in the doorway. "Can I speak to you for a moment?" he asked. I nodded and looked out at my class, a few snickered and whispered things I couldn't make out.

"Alright, class. I have to attend to Principal Barracks, so in the meantime please fill out the 'getting to know you' worksheet on my desk here while I'm gone." I set the stack of papers on the desk and walked out, gently shutting the door behind me. Glad to see the students doing as they were told. "What can I do for you Mr. Barracks?" I questioned crossing my arms over my chest.

"Gwendolyn, please. Quit with the formalities. You can call me David." He rolled his eyes and shoved his hands into his pockets. "I wanted to ask you how you were doing, with your dad's passing last month..." He had a genuinely concerned look in his eyes. He cared, I could tell. But maybe too much for a 50-year old who was my boss. I couldn't tell.

"Oh, well thank you for the concern, but I've lived with disasters all my life." I chuckled. "I would kinda say that I have a way of blocking it out to get done what needs to get done." I nodded and looked into the classroom just to make sure the kids were behaving themselves.

"How you remain so positive through this is astonishing." He commented stroking his chin. He got this smirk on his face before putting his hands behind his back and walking away. "I'm expecting great things from you, Gwendolyn."

I raised an eyebrow and walked back into class. "Okay students! Let's begin with question one..." I began class, that seemed to be taking forever, but it was fun. The end of the day came fast and I was totally ready for it. I wanted to go home and take a nap. I was packing up my car when I felt the sudden change in temperature, felt like every hair I had was standing straight up. I stood and turned, looking around for the source.

A tall figure standing by a tree caught my eye. This person was wearing a black cloak, or maybe it was a trench coat? I put a hand on my car and flipped my keys between my slender fingers. "Hello?" I called out across the quad. My voice echoed off the building and returned to me several decibels quieter. "May I help you?" I called out again.

They started moving towards me, and I slowly started to widen my stance, prepping to turn into my car if need be. My hair flew into my face and when I moved it the figure was gone. I sighed and turned around before sitting in my car and nervously driving home. Where did they go? Was I just going crazy? I shook off the feeling as I unlocked my front door and stepped inside, shutting the door before locking it, unlocking it, and locking it again. I pulled on the doorknob just to be safe. I walked into my bedroom and opened my closet intending to hang up my blazer and change into something else. Maybe do a movie night with my friend Bailey or go out. I hadn't decided.

"About time." A voice said behind me. I screamed and spun around on my heels to find the same figure from the high school sitting on my bed. "Why do you choose the most unconventional methods of travel Lola? And why hide from us as a High school teacher?" The woman laughed before lowering her hood. I was correct on my assumption, it was a hooded cloak. Her dark black hair astonished me momentarily. It seemed to absorb all the light that shone onto it. Her irises were almost as white as her sclera (white part of the eye).

"W-What?" was all I was able to stumble out. She narrowed her eyes and my hair, which was already standing on end, stood up even further.

"Lola stop being ridiculous." She chuckled. A cold sound that shook me to my core. "You know what I'm talking about."

"Who even are you?" I asked finally, managing to form words. "And my name isn't Lola, its Gwendolyn."

She narrowed her eyes at me, leaning down and looking me up and down. "You're not Lola." She whispered to seemingly herself, but I could hear her. She stood up and looked down at me. I knew I was tall for a woman, being 6 feet tall, but she was just barely grazing the ceiling of my room. "but you have her energy signature..." She grabbed my chin and tilted it upwards. Her hands were ice cold. I didn't know how she could be alive.

"Energy signature?" I asked, wishing she would take her hands off me. My chin was starting to go numb.

"Yes, you're not her. So I suppose you wouldn't know what that is..." She removed her hand and I breathed a shaky sigh of relief. "Energy signatures, are a part of your aura." She hummed. "They can tell a person's character. Good, or bad. And their mood. But, they also tell if the person is one of us..." She continued.

"One of us?"I asked.

"Right. How rude of me." She turned and opened her arms slightly as if to hug me. "I'm Morana Death." She smirked. "I am a part of an eight-person team that keeps the world as you know it, turning. Think of us as the four horsemen." She added on. "I, am the force of death. I control who dies, how, and when." She smiles even wider at my horrified expression.

"And the others? are they just as bad as you?" I asked moving towards my bed. She swiftly took off her cloak and set it next to me. She was wearing a long black dress that complimented her curves and the sleeves extended out to her middle finger where it was connected to a ring that held it there.

"Some are, some aren't. There's one thing you have to learn, everything in the universe is balanced perfectly. As if on a scale, if it tipped too far then there's chaos. So there's four good, four bad." She explained, sitting next to me. "You see, one of us left. And since then there's been an imbalance. Our force of blessing is dying because of it."

"Well, shit..." I looked up at her, our eyes met and I understood what she was going to ask of me. "I don't know where she is. Or why I have her energy signature..." I told her and she nodded. "But if I have her energy signature does that mean I have to go and see these... 'forces?'" I giggled.

"This is a serious matter, Gwendolyn." She warned.

"I'm sorry but this is all hard to believe. I must be dreaming." I laughed and looked down. "And please, call me Gwen."

"Fine. Gwen. You don't believe me? Fine." She stood and grabbed her cloak, wrapping it around her. before she popped up the hood, she turned her head and looked back at me. "By the way, sorry about your parents. And Kodah. I know she was a good friend of yours. But as I said, Balance is everything." She turned back and started to walk out the door but started in the doorframe. "Her sister should have died too. What was her name... Bailey?" I could feel the smirk on her face as she walked out.

She had played me like a piano. I stood up and called after her, following her into the living room. "Wait! How did you know that?" I asked, disturbed.

She turned, "I was the one who orchestrated it." She got this cocky smile on her face. "Believe me yet?" She grabbed my hand and took a step forwards. And everything went black, I don't know what the hell happened. But when I woke up I was in a dark room, it looked like a library.

I sat up and looked around. Where the hell was I?