The Gate

1. Agent Matthews

Lena Matthews

I ducked quickly to avoid Finn's right hook, trying to keep my body grounded so I could throw my foot forward to knock my older brother off-balance. Finn side-stepped, and I recalculated immediately, throwing a punch towards his gut. Finn caught my fist mid-air, barely flinching as I threw as much force as possible against him. The two of us were locked at a standstill, with me too stubborn to move and Finn willing to wait this out.

Without warning, I stepped out of the way, letting Finn's own force throw himself to the ground. Stifling a laugh, I sprinted away from him aiming for one of the large trees that grew in the courtyard.

"What is this? Tag?" Finn called after me, running in my direction.

I waited by the base of the tree for a few moments before sprinting behind it, allowing the trunk to momentarily block me from view.

"Lena, seriously-"

The second I spotted Finn, I threw my weight against him, taking him completely off-guard.

"I won." I declared, pinning him against the grass triumphantly. 

"Uh-huh," said Finn, unamused.

"I need you to concede officially before I let you go," I warned Finn.

"It's not that-"

"Concede." I interrupted.

"You won." Finn declared. "Happy?"

"Ecstatic, actually," I answered, standing up on my own before offering my hand to Finn. "One last time?"

"You said that the last four times," said Finn.

"It doesn't hurt to get in all the practice I can," I told Finn. "A Forbidden-"

"Maybe we shouldn't talk about that right now," said Finn.

"I'm just saying: monsters are real and we should probably be prepared for it," I explained. I got to learn about real fear when I was twelve, when I was told that there were creatures walking this earth more terrifying than I could imagine.

Forbidden (n): A supernatural creature created after a human is killed by a monster and then resurrected as that very monster. They are distinguishable by a brand on their skin, loosely resembling an F. They have two forms: one, as the human they previously were, and the other a monstrosity. They are immortal, solitary creatures, and a danger to any living being they come across.

"Do you think we should go back?" Finn asked, eyeing the sky warily. The sun had all but completely slipped below the horizon without either of us noticing.

"Are you sure you don't want to try one more-"

"Lena," Finn warned me.

"Fine, if you don't want to be beaten by me again we can go." I agreed. Finn rolled his eyes even though he knew I had won almost every match. He walked a few paces in front of me, making his way back to the apartment.

"Come on."

The first half of the walk was quiet, with nothing but crickets to compliment the sky above. I tried to make my steps a bit longer so I could match Finn's pace, but somehow I still ended up a few steps behind. I gave up and jogged forward before trying to adopt a new pattern to my steps.

"So, what do you think about Oregon?" I asked, breaking the silence.

Like everyone else, I was itching to get out of the cramped apartment, but I had my reservations about moving to another state. Mom and Dad seemed nervous about it too, but they were refusing to explain why.