The Gate

Prologue

It was a quiet night, with nothing but the sound of crickets to compliment the starry sky. Something sharply broke into the stillness, clear and determined: the sound of heels clacking against pavement. They solemnly echoed into the emptiness as a woman glided down the sidewalk. The streetlight above her flicked, just for a moment, then shut down completely. The heels stopped as the woman glanced up at the light disapprovingly. It buzzed back into vitality, unable to disobey her strict gaze. The clacking continued to sound into the darkness until the woman reached her destination: an abandoned parking lot.

Inside the lot was a single black car, which the woman entered with fairly little hesitation. She didn't say a word to the driver, only nodded, and he started the engine at her command. The car exited the parking lot, headed for the next destination.

"How many cars are you gonna make a lady take?" the woman asked, revealing an irresistible smile. The driver didn't respond. "Did they tell you not to look at me?" she teased with a delicate laugh. "Did they say I'm dangerous?" She smiled again, but the driver pulled up the divider. "You boys are no fun." the woman commented, looking down at her perfectly manicured nails. "What's the point of your whole little club anyway, if you don't get to have fun?"

The driver couldn't resist responding to her question. It was as if she knew exactly how to get under his skin. She probably did. "The Agency is dedicated to keeping the world safe from monsters like you." He had attempted to respond in a monotone, but the venom behind his words broke through.

"You haven't asked yourself who this world belongs to." the woman responded. "You," she said with a hint of disgust, "or us?" This time, however, the driver didn't reply. "I can't begin to count the endless flights and car rides you people have made me endure. I am helping you, after all. The least you can do is let me have a little fun." Instead of responding, the driver slammed the brakes.

The woman huffed indignantly, and rolled down her window to discern the reason for the abrupt stop. Iron gates towered in front of her, protecting the headquarters that awaited inside. She shifted in her seat uncomfortably, her mask of apathy finally starting to slip. The woman couldn't remember the last time she had felt anything, much less apprehension. She had nothing to lose, and that was her weapon. But now, there was a glimmer of unmistakable hope, and with it, nerves. The woman rolled her window back up and crossed her arms definitively. She would never show anyone the turmoil of emotions that brewed in her mind. Especially not here, in enemy territory.

With a loud squeal of rusty iron, the gates opened to reveal an empty road. The car continued into the darkness until it pulled to a stop in front of an unassuming concrete building. A man in a gray suit and sunglasses opened the car door and held his hand out for the woman, who glanced at the gesture with amusement.

"Who says chivalry is dead?" she commented as she climbed out of the backseat on her own. "The sunglasses at night is a bit much though, isn't it?" she added, walking ahead of the man and opening the front door of the building, labeled The Agency.

Inside the headquarters, there was an air of purpose. Several employees were engaged in vivacious conversations as they walked to their next assigned location; it was a completely different world from the quiet night just outside the doors. The man led the woman into a crowded elevator, which slowly rose six floors as the passengers stood in silence. All of them exchanged glances at the woman, then at each other.

The elevator finally chimed before opening its doors to reveal a small office with three men seated inside. As soon as the woman entered, each of them stared at her, transfixed. All of them wore sunglasses, matching the woman's escort.

"I suppose I missed the memo," said the woman finally. "Sunglasses truly seem to be in season."

"Please, sit down," said one of the men finally. He was older, and sat in the middle.

"So you're the boss," the woman commented, sitting directly opposite of his desk. "What do you want to know?"

"Actually," the boss replied, "you will be reporting to Matthews." He nodded to the man sitting next to him.

"Matthews?" the woman asked indignantly. "Honey, I'm worth more than Matthews. I want one of the big leagues on this case. The stuff I have for you, it's like you won't believe. I need better than him."

"If what you claim is true, then we'll make history with this case and this town. But we don't have any reasons to trust a monster such as yourself. That's why I'm being sent first. I need concrete proof of at least a few specimens, then we can send backup," Matthews explained.

Like the other agents, he was trying to stay emotionless, but she could tell that her appearance bothered him. She smiled to herself, and wondered what Matthews saw when he looked at her. After all, it was different for everyone.

"I'm gonna need more than that, Matthews." the woman announced, crossing her arms.

"We do it by the way of the Agency, or not at all," said Matthews. "It's that simple. Now, tell us about the town."

The woman took a deep breath before starting. "Atalka, Oregon," she said finally. "They live there in harmony with the humans, undetected. More of them than you can imagine. It should be easy to find a few Forbidden hiding in that gated community.

"However, there's a catch. The family rule. Loners are dangerous to the residents of Atalka. In order to move there, you need to move with your family. Your real family, not Agency actors. Anything different than that and they'll sniff you out. Now, I'm a family woman. I know that they come before everything else. Are you a family man, Matthews?"

"Yes," Matthews answered without hesitation.

"Well, you'd have to put that aside," said the woman. "They need to be put at risk if you want this to work. But hey, if everything goes right, then you're going to find one of the largest Forbidden civilizations in the world. You could open your own branch of the Agency, do all the research your greedy little hearts desire. I can arrange some things for you. The house, your background, and I'll talk to the lady in charge of security. That's what I offer."

"And in exchange for your help, what do you want?" Matthews asked.

"It's quite simple, really. You know that people like me, monsters, using your words, are quite hard to kill. So get your egos together, and figure out how to kill me." the woman announced. The men glanced at each other, unable to discern whether or not she was being serious. When she didn't say anything else, all eyes turned to Matthews.

Matthews took his sunglasses off to look the woman in her eyes, something they warned him could be dangerous, and held out his hand. "Deal." The woman flashed one last smile as she shook hands with Matthews and sauntered out of the room.

"Good luck, Matthews." said the woman as she left. "Oh. And good luck to your family," She added.