Outsider

Two

I guess I should start from the very beginning if this story is going to make sense at all.  My life was as normal as it could've been up until I was about nine years old.  Well, normal considering I lived with Papa in an isolated house in northern Alaska, where the only social interaction I had was with him.  He did the best he could, given the circumstances.  I learned how to read and write, and I was advanced at mathematics and history for my age.  History was my favourite.  I loved hearing stories about far off lands and royalty and wars.  But, the lesson that sticks out most to me was when Papa first told me about Hydra.

"Elissa, do you know what a hydra is?" Papa asked one wet, dreary afternoon.  Outside of our little house it sleeted, but we were keeping warm huddled by our warm fireplace.  I sat close to the fire, making chains with the dead grass I pulled outside the day before.  "Yes Papa," I said, pausing my handiwork.  "A hydra is a creature in Greek myths that has many heads.  If you cut off one, two more shall take its place."

Papa smiled and replied, "Very good, daughter."

"Why are you asking me this?" I inquired curiously, inching my way towards him.  

"You'll understand when you're older, mein kind." 

"I'm old!" I pouted, crossing my arms.  "I'm nearly nine!  Please Papa, tell me."  Papa's eyebrows furrowed closer together and he squinted, concentrating hard.  I knelt beneath him and looked up at his face, trying to read what he was thinking.  Finally, Papa drew in a breath and stated, "I'm from Germany, and your mother is from Spain.  That's where your Spanish name came from, liebling."  This was one of the only times Papa mentioned my mother.  I never got to call her 'mama' or hear her voice or feel the warmth of her skin against me, she died when I was just a baby.  That hit Papa really hard; so hard that to this day I could still feel a disconnection between him and myself, despite our strong bond.  Papa continued with, "In World War II, there were the Nazis, which were evil, yes.  But there was another group far more radical group out there, detached from the rest of the malice of the war, that believed in magic and wanted to harness its power to rule the world."

"Magic isn't real," I stated matter-of-factly.

"I thought so as well, until my father showed it to me."

"Was it... magical?"

Papa's blue-grey eyes darkened as he said, "It was far more worse than I could've imagined.  Elissa, this group believes the world is in chaos and needs to be brought order.  My great-grandfather believed it, my grandfather believed it, and my father believed it.  But, I don't.  This world is a beautiful place, liebling, all we need to do is try our best in life to be good, and that will make a difference.  

Oh mein kind, as much as I despise this group I do have to offer them some credit, because it was through training with them that I learned how to survive on my own, and it was through them where I met your mother.  She also believed in my views, so we ran away together.  We wanted to be free instead of committing crimes for this evil group.  We even wanted to be free from the power of magic."

I processed his every world intently.  I tried to find words, but I couldn't.  I wondered what I would do if I encountered this magic.  "Does the group still exist?" I finally asked.  

Papa nodded sadly and answered, "Not a day goes by when I worry about them hunting me down and hurting you."

"What will I do if they find us?"

Papa stared me down.  "When they find us," he said sternly, "You run.  Run as fast as you can and as far as you can.  Understand, liebling?"

"Yes." I responded firmly, but my mind was racing.  How did my mother become a part of this group that terrorized people?  If they find us, what will become of Papa?  And it wasn't 'if', but when.  Again, I couldn't find any words.  

What did this have to do with a hydra?  I picked the last question and asked it quickly.

Papa explained, "The group is called Hydra, and like the mythological creature, they are very much unstoppable.  If you cut off one head, two more shall take its place.  They're always out there, even if the world is currently at peace, and they are always ready to start a war.  They never die."  It was as if a dark cloud overcame him when he said this.

Never die?  As much as I was scared of this statement, I was also curious.  I wanted to know how much I could push them to limit.  Without even knowing anyone who belonged to that group, I wanted to fight Hydra to the death, for the sake of my Papa.

Little did I know how familiar I'd become with Hydra, and how much I would battle them for the sake of my Papa.

And someone else.