Per 
Nicole pulled the new shirt over her head. She had gotten it as a present from her grandmother the day before in the mail, and had rolled her eyes, but one glance in the mirror and she could already tell she loved it. She scanned her drawers for a pair of pants that would match the flowy white top, and her eyes landed on a pair of jeans that matched perfectly.
She looked in the mirror and smiled her wide smile and gave a small toss of her hair, delighted when the girl in the mirror staring back at her did the same. She walked amidst her messy room picking up books and papers from the small twin bed she hardly slept on the night before. She had been too busy with studying for a test that she would have to take today.
Nicole stuffed the plethora of the books she would need and shoved them into her bag, leaving the rest haphazardly around the room. She took a look around her messy room and a chill ran down her spine at the mess she had created in less than 24 hours, and the amount of bacteria lurking on the scattered items gave her another bone chilling shiver.
She trod down the stairs to her kitchen, and shoved her hands into the basin of her sink and began scrubbing with soap. She turned the faucet off with her elbow, and started drying her hands.
She glanced the room, currently void of all her family, looked at her watch, and gave a wry smile. Her family of three, consisting of her father, her mother, and herself, and she always got up earlier. It was something she valued more than she should. After all, she got less sleep than them, which should’ve been a disadvantage to others, but she didn’t care. She enjoyed having time to herself, even if the amount was small.
She washed and ate an apple, her daily breakfast, the juice filling her mouth becoming an old taste, but she enjoyed it either way.
It wasn’t long before her parents joined her, ate, and wished her out the door.
She walked on the pebble path out to the porch swing, where she waited every morning. She kicked her legs, making the old thing move, every kick gaining a metallic groan from the swing
She leaned onto the side of one of the support beams and rested her head on it, her hair becoming slightly tangled. She held onto the beam with one hand, her hazel eyes scanning the scene before her. The birds chirping, the low breeze blowing the leaves on the trees. She heard the rustle of leaves below her feet, and hugged her legs, but let out a small giggle when a small rabbit hopped away.
The scene was interrupted by the smell of diesel and the whine of the breaks of her bus.
She reluctantly stood, the tiny leaf bits, falling to the ground. She pulled her bag over her shoulder, walking down the tiny hill in her yard, she was finally greeted by the iconic yellow bus’ door, which opened with a hiss.
She stepped into the bus and hurriedly found her seat. She was more of a loner, at least on the bus. She did have friends at school, but not a huge group, like some of the others. She liked it. No trying to speak over anyone else. She looked outside the window, finding it hard to concentrate with the volume of the bus, the screaming children of the younger grades filling her ears. But another reason she couldn’t concentrate was because the buildings were flying by, faster than they should be. She knew the route, knew the speed, and this was not it. Looking around the bus, she could tell she was not the only one who thought it. Hushed mumbles now filled the air, replacing the loud screams of joy from the kids. One of the girls, someone Nicole recognized as Elizabeth began climbing up the seats, grasping each one and pulling herself closer to the driver.
“Stop!” Nicole yelled to the younger girl, “It’s going to fast for you to move! Sit back down!”
But Elizabeth pushed forward, clawing the seats and heading forward, her frail body jerking with every movement of the bus.
The death trap kept moving faster and faster, but before she could fall with he movement, the bus stopped. But that was the issue, it didn’t slow down, it just stopped. The bus just… stopped.
Bags continuing in motion, the flew through the air, Nicole saw it all in slow motion. Elizabeth tumbled forward, crashing through the glass window. Nicole came back to speed as her head slammed into the seat in front of her, the sudden motion jolting her back.
And then it was over, just as fast as it started. Nicole closed her eyes, taking a shaky breath. Feeling as she had no broken bones, she took a moment to collect herself before sitting up. She looked around to see everyone in dismay, the crying and moaning of children becoming a symphony. Before she could stop herself, she stood slowly, her feed supporting her somehow. She walked to the front of the smashed bus silently, preparing herself for what she was about to see. Memories of her Uncle Thomas flashed into her mind. She recalled the horrific accident that had caused his death a little less than a year ago. The stinging memory was enough to make Nicole hesitate before moving forward.
To her dismay, the driver was not inside the bus. He probably either left or shared the same fate as Elizabeth, she thought. One step at a time, she thought. She turned slowly toward the shattered door, ripping some padding off of a tattered bus seat to pry it open without destroying her hands.
She took a step outside, looking at the scene. She heard the wail of sirens, but they were faint and far off.
She turned to where Elizabeth lay unconscious on the pavement, some deep gashes on her body, bleeding quickly.
Nicole knelt next to her trying not to jostle Elizabeth, fear striking her chest like a hammer. She knew she shouldn’t interfere, but the girl would die if she didn’t.
After a quick glance to make sure no one was watching, Nicole slowly placed her hand onto the deeper gashes and the gashes closed to her touch. The wounds closed quickly, but it felt agonizingly slow to Nicole, whom would have to stop before anyone showed up.
After a majority of the deep wounds were closed, Nicole stood up, and after a firm belief that she looked in the same position as she had beforehand, she left just as the sirens got louder, and the lights could be seen in the distance. She sat back on the bus with her eyes closed, and waited.
Agent Thomas Farley of the AERF sat around the conference table with other specialists. He knew that he had been called to go on his first entity recovery mission since his arrival one year earlier. The Foundation’s mission was to contain anything that could harm the world, and bringing it into a research facility. Thomas’ one year so far had been… an interesting experience to say the least. As a field agent, he had seen it all from flesh eating bacteria to a trash can that makes recyclables disappear. His job had been more than interesting.
He had been recruited from his Oklahoma police job by this strange agency, and although he regret having to leave his family, one faked death by a worthless man is nothing compared to defending the world from the darkness that plagues it.
He had been training for nearly a full year, and although the ominous underground facility had no windows, or known way to see the time of day and/or year, he could look at his issued identification bracelet which showed him the date. October 25, 2015.
Thomas was ecstatic to be able to assist on a recovery operation, and once he got the details of the entity they would be going for, his life would brighten more.
He brought his mind back to the conference, the five people less than he would expect on a mission to the outside, and he had been taught the standard amount of numbers.
“Agent Thomas M. Farley, welcome to your first entity recovery operation,” The Head of Recovery and Containment told him.
People clapped, and Thomas gave a small and humble smile.
“Do you know why you are the only field agent here?”
Thomas looked around the table, suddenly aware of the officials in the room, and shook his head, but the look of surprise that came next was nothing compared to the mild dismay shown before. The man lost his breath, his eyes focusing on the file the lieutenant had placed in front of him, The file of a fourteen-year-old Oklahoma girl attending Ridgley Middle School, her brown hair and beautiful hazel eyes staring back up at Thomas.
The file that had been placed in front of him was none other then his niece, Nicole Riley Farley.
He was so taken aback, the lieutenant had to repeat the sentence again.
“I take it you know her, Agent Farley?” The lieutenant said in a questioning voice, yet a sense of urgency filling his voice at the same time.
“She isn’t dangerous,” Thomas said before he could stop himself from blurting out.
“Agent,” The lieutenant said, “She had been seen to demonstrate extraordinary abilities of life saving measures. She’s a danger to people’s mental wellness, and Thomas, the research we could gain from her…”
“We can’t,” Thomas said. “It’s wrong, and it should be unethical to you as well as I. She’s young, 14 to be exact. She has her whole life ahead of her, a future too bright to be in here, stuck like a lab-rat,” He practically was shouting at the burly man.
The lieutenant cleared his throat, and walked around the table to Thomas, until he was towering directly over him.
“Thomas,” the lieutenant said, “We want Nicole not simply because she poses a threat to humanity, but because she, herself, is humanity. If she has some strange gene that she passes on to her offspring, could you sleep at night, knowing that you were the one who caused their misery, Thomas? That you caused your family pain and suffering, when you could be abolishing is all together? They will see the things lurking in the shadows. The evil. The dark. They will fear all, and cower under their bed-time sheets. Thomas, we’re here to stop that. We’re here to allow them to live in the light.”
Thomas was dumbfounded. The words reminded him of his duty.
“Thomas,” the lieutenant asked, “What would you do to save humanity?”
Thomas’ reply was short. “Anything.”
“Nicole,” her parents yelled from the kitchen “breakfast is ready!”
It had been one week since the bus accident and her parents were still pampering her, making her breakfast, doing the majority of her chores, but Nicole didn’t mind. She only had a few stitches on her hand and above her eye, but she was fine.
She sat down and ate her cereal with her parents. Her mom read off the signs of intoxication… As she had the past six days.
“Oh, Honey!” She’d say, “The school should’ve screened for alcohol in their drivers better! I should sue!”
The conversation always ended with her dad shooting down the idea of suing, and saying it wasn’t the schools fault, that he could’ve started that week, and that some things just happen.
Since she had healed Elizabeth’s wounds that early morning, she became more intrigued by her gift than ever. She always wanted to heal while people were watching, sometimes when they needed it most. She wanted to share her gift with the world, but her parents wouldn’t allow it.
But today, she would change that. Today she would go to the cemetery where Uncle Thomas was buried. She promised not to get her hopes up, that things may not turn out as she’d hoped- but every time she thought about it, her mind drifted to what she would say to her Uncle Thomas, and how she would explain coming home with him. But she knew she was ready to do this. She had a plan laid out, and she was ready to try something for herself.
Thomas pulled the button up shirt over his head, a change to his heavy combative gear that was worn during his training and on any other typical recovery mission.
He knew that today he was going to get Nicole. It had been difficult to understand at first, but he realized he had given his family up for this Foundation, and he would do it again if it meant working here, seeing the unseen. Capturing his niece felt wrong to him though. She would grow up and spend the rest if her life waking up to the grey walls, a crinkly bed, no family, and no clue where she was.
But Thomas knew this had to be, so he finished gearing up silently. The regret, he hoped, would soon be gone.
Nicole put on her light jacket and sat in the swing, as she had every other day, but after a few minutes, she walked to the bike she had pulled out the day before so as to not make any noise pulling it out.
She took a deep breath and began pedaling, going fast until she could no longer see her house. She was second guessing herself, but she knew her parents would just think she had gotten onto the bus. All would be well. For once in her life, she felt free of all things that held her down, the vices keeping her contained. Her suburban neighborhood was further away now, and she only had a few more moments before she arrived at the cemetery.
The pedals were slowing now, her chest on fire, and Nicole had to dodge a car that was parked on the road shoulder, so she decided she was too tired to continue. Seeing as she was not far away from the cemetery, she pulled over to rest. She took a deep breath, and stretched her limbs. Her heart was racing, though not only because she was exhausted, but because she was excited about the moments to come. She regrettably placed her feet back on the pedals, and began moving, for she knew she would have to go eventually. No turning back now.
A minute later, Nicole arrived at the cemetery with burning legs and a pounding heart. She looked around while parking her bike, and entered through the wrought iron gates. The place creeped her out, but she knew it was worth coming.
She took a shaky breath, her knees wobbling, and walked over to Thomas’ stone, and it took her that long to realize she didn’t know how to reach him to touch him. Her plan was not complete.
Nicole became frustrated with herself, how she’d thought of everything… She sat in front of the stone and just stared into oblivion
She nearly had a heart attack when someone called her name, the voice sounding crisp like fall leaves crunching under a boot
She slowly turned around, but the figure wasn’t her mom, or her dad, or even a friend. The person who stood before her had dark hair, like hers, brown eyes, and a strong build that looked vaguely familiar.
She rose slowly from the ground, putting her hand on the stone for support as the tall man approached her. The person stood ten feet away from her shaking form, but she could tell who it was in an instant. Her hand came to her mouth, tears stinging in her eyes.
The figure she saw in front of her was her Uncle Thomas, every feature she remembered from him standing ten feet away.
Tears started streaming down her face, and he opened one arm. She rank into it and hugged him, holding him tight so he wouldn’t vanish. But as he held her, she felt something on her neck, and stilled, the tears stopping, the surroundings silent, replaced by ringing.
Slowly, her hand rose and brushed her hair aside to reveal a clear cylinder with tiny drops of liquid the only sign it was once full.
The object fell from the hand holding it up, the hand of her uncle, followed by her limp form. From there she looked up to see masked people in combat gear joining her uncle, but that was the last thing she saw before she gave into the darkness that was calling her.
Thomas did not regret what he had done. Nicole was currently in captivity, and although he was not given permission to see her, he had heard that she was slowly adjusting. That was understandable. She was getting her “Adjustment Period”, which was two weeks void of any testing given to sentient entities, and that was what she was considered now. An entity. Thomas had devoted everything at this point to The Foundation, now including his niece, and for that he had been given a promotion to “Field Agent Class I”.
He could only hope Nicole would adjust, that she would adjust to her new home. Hoped she wouldn’t remember the horrible things she had done to him. But most of all, he wanted a world rid of the anomalous, void of abnormalities.
And he would do anything to get that.
