there she stands.

bound by the stars.

By asteroids and planets.

By her own creation.

A Goddess in chains, 

such is the perverted ways of man.

And yet even in her imprisonment among the void,

She creates, 

She expands,

She bides her time in chains.

Time is not her master, it cannot continue without her.

One day she will not be bound.

One day she will be free,

Her beings will relax.

Where they once saw fire they will see oceans

What they once mistook for anger they will trick themselves into seeing passion,

and they will unbind her.

And she will show them everything a God should be.

So there she stands.

A Goddess who has shed her shackles,

and broken the perverted will of men.

Bryden hadn't had a note passed to her since she was in seventh grade, and that note had simply been from a friend asking for yesterday's notes. This note however was different, it was from Carinne and provided a location and only stated she needed help. Bryden reassured herself, reminding herself that Carinne was not a threat and if she was one then she was one she would handle. Her jaw clenched as she walked down the warm streets of New York City, dipping and ducking, turning into empty alcoves until she found the rundown coffee shop.

She did feel eyes on her though, not on her way there, but as soon as she arrived she could feel them. Being watched felt like being a wet swatch under the microscope, someone was watching from some place close and all too far away as well. It wouldn't do well to look around, they could just be a stalker, or worse, a sniper. The bell above the door chimed as she stepped inside, the bell alerted the barista at the door who flashed a smile and waved her over. He was a well tattooed man with a handlebar mustache like every other douchebag in the United States of America.

"She's in the back." He said and nodded his head to the dimly lit corner near the back of the cafe.

"Coffee and Ginseng tea, I'll pay extra if you bring it back."

"Cash is still King." The Barista said and Bryden headed back walking slowly towards the booth. She calmed herself, this wasn't a trap which is what she kept telling herself. If Carinne was meeting her under such secretive means, it could mean anything.

"Hey." Carinne said, no longer bubbly energy and smiles. She drained the rest of her tea and sat it down on the table with shaky hands.

"So, what do you need me to do?"

"What makes you think I want anything?"

"If that's the case then I can go back to the dorms and sleep." Bryden said, "But I don't feel like this was a friendly chat or time for girl talk, it's my job to know what people want, so what is it that you want?"

"What exactly is your job?" Carinne said.

"Sometimes I'm a student, and other times.... I'm what I need to be for others."

"That's very vague, but I'm used to that, Devin is the same way." Carinne said and nibbled on her bottom lip and looked towards the Barista walking towards them. They remained silent until he placed down the tea and Bryden pulled down a wad of hundred dollar bills and handed him two before shoving the wad back in his pocket.

"There's more where that comes from, let me know who comes through that door asking about us." Bryden said and the Barista nodded his head. Carinne looked up at her with a bitter smile.

"I see your game, you use money to make problems go away." Carinne said, "Just like Devin."

"You didn't come here to compare me to your brother, I hope." Bryden said, "And money is no problem for me, and I don't charge money, if that's the issue."

"A part of it." Carinne admitted and raised the warm cup of tea to her lips. "What will you charge me?"

"A favor."

"That's it?" Carinne asked, some of her worry faded from her voice and eyes.

"A favor is a steep price to pay."

"Not compared to what the issue is."

"Enlighten me then." Bryden said, "Who is it?"

"My friend, Iosenika, she's a model like me and she's missing." Carinne said and her hands began to shake again, Bryden could see that she was struggling to hold it together.

"And is she a Senator's daughter?" Bryden asked, Carinne nodded her head and turned her head when the tears began to fall. Bryden handed her a napkin and she dabbed her eyes. "How long has she been missing?"

"About two days."

"Know where she was last?"

"Her apartment, at least that's what she told me."

"Any drug problems, outstanding debts, gambling, what's her vice?" Bryden asked.

"Coke, but all the models do it."

"She have a dealer nearby?"

"His name is Randall, they're technically dating. I hope he doesn't have anything to do with this." She said and her hands stopped shaking and balled into fists.

"Anyone she could trust in the city? Parents,perhaps?"

"No, we're a lot alike. Our parents try to use us for who we are, the connections we have. We wanted to make it on our own." Carinne said and then more tears came. "She does have an agent."

"Name?"

"Mary Ellen Swan."

"Been to see her?" Bryden asked.

"No, I'm too afraid. I haven't been here, I even came to this out of the way place because I can feel someone following me too. What if Yo is..." Carinne's voice trailed off and more tears came, Bryden knew the feeling all too well. What if they were dead, somewhere face down in a ditch, in a ravine, cut up into tiny pieces and scattered about the nation. There were so many options, so many ways to die these days, and it was so easy to lose your loved ones and Bryden could see just how dear Iosenika was to Carinne. 

"I'm going to find out what happened, have a key to her place?" Bryden asked. Carinne scribbled down an address and slid the key off the keyring and handed it to her. "One more thing."

"Yeah?"

"How long have you and Iosenika been intimate?" Bryden asked.

"What makes you think Iosenika and I did anything?"

"The fact you can't look me in the face is just a clue, you talk about this Randall guy like a jealous girlfriend, and you speak as if you guys are building a life together, like you love her more than a friend." Bryden said and Carinne looked up slowly, "So how long have you been seeing each other?"

"It started our freshmen year in High School."

"Anyone else know?" Bryden asked.

"No." She said and shook her head.

"Good."

"You have a problem with me being..a...bisexual?" Carinne asked.

"No, I'd hate for a search to turn into black mail, and your father wouldn't react kindly to someone blackmailing his daughter."

"My Dad's an asshole." Carinne admitted and blew her nose in the napkin a final time before shoving it in her pocket. "But you're right, he'd only see it as me messing up everything he worked so hard for."

"Don't worry about it, I'll handle it."

"And I'll owe you one." Carinne said and smirked.

"I'll hold you to that, are you safe to get home or would you like me to walk you back?"

"I'll be fine." Carinne said, "What about you?"

"I'll be fine, I've made it this long." Bryden said and stood up and stretched. Carinne stared at her for a long time before finishing her tea and starting to speak.

"My brother is interested in you."

"I know."

"I mean, who you really are, whatever that means."

"I know." Bryden said, there was no need to provide anymore information.If he dug deep enough he'd find what he was looking for and who she was looking for, and the last thing she needed was to be stuffed in Devin Micholo's pocket and his father's pocket by proxy. She'd rather be indebted to Ashanti Morozov, head of the Russian mob, himself.

"I... Before I left I got rid of it."

"Thank you." Bryden said.

"You're not going to hurt him, are you?"

"Devin?"

"Yeah."

"No, I have no plans on hurting him, why? Should I?"

"No... He can be an asshole but deep down he does the right thing." Carinne said, "But then again I'm just his little sister, I have too much faith in him sometimes. What about you? Don't you have a sister?"

"Yeah, a twin." Bryden admitted.

"So you understand? You grow up with them, you only see the good in them or the good things they do and it's hard to take the blinders off."

"I could see how someone could think that." Bryden said half answering her question, there was no doubt in her mind about Kayden and just how good or bad her sister was. They were equal on the scales of life and justice and she had no room to judge or blame her for anything. "I'll see you soon."

If he wants to blame anyone he can blame Angela, if she had never left him or cheated then he wouldn't be in this mess, on the run. Angela had left him, and had left a note that morning. When he woke up, his money, furniture and expensive television was gone. His jar of coins lay on the counter, they typically stayed on the top of the refrigerator. That had to be a joke, what was he going to do with change, she had cleaned him out over night.

His bank accounts too, they were emptied. First he threw his phone, it was already cracked so was another chip in a crappy phone? That hadn't satisified him, he wanted to break something, mainly Angela, but she had left and all he had left was his jar of coins. He picked up the jar throwing it at the wall, it shattered, tons of coins and too much shattered glass littered the floor. 

Then he left, too frustrated with himself and Angela, and all the coins he put on the floor. He walked around the city, he walked for hours, but walking through the unbusy streets of Western Vermont didn't fix anything, didn't change anything. If he had stayed in New York like Tevin had suggested he would have been able to walk in crowds, slow moving crowds, crowds of people that he could push and shove through.

There was no pushing and shoving here, just sleepy little towns where people were just coming to open their shops. When he made it home the coins were still there, and no one was going to clean it up, just him. He started with the glass, separating the glass and coins, once that was finished he sifted through the coins. Pennies, nickles, dimes, quarters and an odd half piece. He picked it up holding it between his index finger and thumb, that's when he heard the voice.

"Thumb print recognized." A computerized voice said, then the coin began to untwist, he dropped it, jumped backwards watching as a tiny chip lay inside the false coin. There was a knock at the door seconds later.

"Somebody home? I'd just like to talk about what you've found." He looked at the door, then the coin, he scooped up his remaining change and headed out the door. Whatever he found it was dangerous and at least he would have leverage if they ever did catch up to him.

He made to Pennsylvania before they caught him. He was on a bus, his eyelids drooping closed and when he opened them the cops were waiting, he was escorted off the back into a police car.

"You got something we need." The first officer said, he was portly, had a bushy mustache, a thick Bostonian accent.

"A shave and a personal trainer?" He said.

"Travis, don't make this difficult, just give it to us." The second officer said, he was black with a low shaven hair cut. Years of being in and out of juvie had gotten him out of the cuffs quickly. He hit the black officer with the cuffs and punched the window until the glass broke. He wasn't sure why he was running or what he even had to live for, Angela had been his everything and she was gone. But this coin, and this chip, it had to mean something. If anyone knew about tech shit like this it was Janiece. 

All he had to do was get to North Carolina, that was his thought as he pushed his body through the window and ran out onto the interstate, jumping between barrier, risking his life. He had to get to Janiece, she would know, he sure in hell hoped she would. She might also be able to find Angela too. 

I painted a smile on my face,

so no one could see the frown.

I turned my eyes to heaven,

so no one would see when I looked down.

But one day I became curious,

so I looked down and then around,

And I saw that everyone elsehad also painted on their smiles.

Blame was and would always be shifted. It would be shifted from generation to generation, from mother to father and then back to mother, from local governments to federal governments then back to local. That's how things worked, that's how things always worked. No one wanted to be blame, blame meant having to take responsibility, taking responsibility meant taking action to rectify your wrongs, and rectifying wrongs took time.

There was never enough and never too much time, unless you were a human. Now here they stood, blame being shifted onto them. They had chosen to stay behind, and by staying behind they were subject to Tornados, Tsunamis, Earthquakes, but they had inherited the Earth. The dying, withering Earth. There was so much undiscovered about the planet, the animals deep in the sea, the hidden sea caves, vast jungles and resources that they had yet to consume. Food was bountiful for those few who chose to live there, homes were plentiful, but Disaster was everywhere. Vicious storms, wicked tornados, destructive Tsunamis and the mind bending earthquakes. 

There were rules, society, and those who were there were subject to those rules. For the most part everyone obeyed. Such is life, just as things were going well everything went to hell. A man, a tiny man with a clipboard, a black and white suit, a seashell necklace  and what appeared to be a jet pack landed near their quiet little society.

"So it's you." He said.

"Pardon me." Jonah said, "What do you mean it's me?"

"You're the colonizers."

"No, Earth is our home, has been for years."

"I don't speak of Earth." He said, he pointed towards the sky, "I mean out there."

"We've never left earth how could we colonize anything?"

"Our Leader returned from vacation to find several of his planets destroyed by rampant colonization. He purchased that property for his children, now what will they have? Do you have anything to say for yourself?" He said, he was a small brown little man. He didn't look like an alien, then again all Jonah had to base Aliens off of were movies. Aliens looked just humans apparently. Once he moved past the physical attributes of the man he spoke.

"Yeah, I do." Jonah folded his arms across his chest and whipped his long black hair out of his face. "What the hell are you talking about?"

"They told us that you colonized it and stayed down here to monitor it. And we're suing you, see you in court." The man said, handed him a carbon copy of the charges being brought against them and jetted off into the air. Jonah stared at the writing, the words moved and shifted until it finally looked like English. They were to show up in Galactic court. Jonah's wife stepped outside and walked over to him.

"What's wrong, honey?" She asked, she placed her hands on his shoulders and massaged them gently. 

"Leslie, we're being sued." He said, he wasn't sure if it was a statement or a question. Everything had been going well and just that quickly things had gone to shit, again. This was worse than the Mass Exodus. 

"For what?" She asked, she sounded just as offended and confused as he felt. Her hands stopped making those soothing circular motions.

"For Earth." Jonah said, "Gather everyone, I'll try to get to our friends in China, Japan and South Africa."

"Who is suing us?"

"Some guy named Jafalt Magnamar, he's an alien, and apparently those assholes out there told him we colonized his planets."

"I'll get everyone." She said after sighing and he stared at the paper a few more moments before shoving it into his pockets and headed for the house, they needed a game plan immediately. 

Gary didn't believe in God, he didn't believe in anything except getting the highest grades and receiving every bit of extra credit he could from his Professors. The girl walked up to him, sat down, introduced herself, she called herself Tina. She seemed slightly familiar, he looked around at the other busy students and patrons and then back to her.

"We have Biology together, don't we?" Gary asked.

"Yes! Yes, we do!" She said, she looked down at her phone and then back at her. "Sorry, I just noticed you and wanted to say hi, I have to go."

"Where are you headed?" He asked, he wanted to think that he didn't particularly care but he did. This girl, Tina, was beautiful and grinned from ear to ear revealing a pearly white smile. If he remembered correctly, she had received a higher grade than him once. 

"A coffee shop west of here."

"But you could get coffee here, with me."

"Or you could join me." Tina said, "It's way better than Starbucks."

"Seeing is believing, I haven't found a better coffee place." Gary said, he closed his macbook, tucked it into his messenger back and left his cup of coffee out on the table.

"You don't think this is a bit weird?" She asked. They were standing out on the windy streets of Chicago, she looked around before she finally pinned down her car. 

"What?"

"Leaving with a complete stranger."

"We have Biology class together, besides, you're a beautiful woman. What's the worst that could happen?" He asked and smiled, and she smiled in return. He felt something other than the gnawing pressure to cram for finals that were a full two months away. Once they both were in the car and she was a few blocks away he spoke. "Are you from the area?"

"Oh, no. I'm from South America."

"The country?"

"The continent." She said and then laughed. Of course it was a continent. Why was he suddenly forgetting everything he learned, everything that made him graduate top of his class at one of the best private schools in America. "We immigrated to America when I was ten."

"Was it difficult?"

"Immigrating?"

"No, just learning all the stuff about this place."

"No, not nearly as difficult as you would think. I already knew English, French, Dutch and German along with Spanish and Portuguese." She said and pulled up to a quiet street, it was empty, devoid of any people, only a man standing in front of a shop tucked between two boutiques. "The hardest part was football."

"Football."

"You guys called it soccer."

"Oh, yeah, it's not nearly as big here as it is...well...everywhere else in the world." She said and then parked the car. They stepped out of the car and walked over towards the door where the man was sweeping. 

"And who is this?" The man asked, he smiled and put Gary at ease immediately. 

"Gary, we have a class together but I saw him at Starbucks."

"It was only a joke." The man said and then chuckled, he continued to sweep the same spot before finally resting the broom against the wall of the restaurant. 

"What?" Tina asked, she seemed both confused and upset with confused Gary. What were they doing here? 

"What type of person do you take me for?" He asked and then invited them both in. Gary was unsure what type of deal they had going on but it made him uneasy. He walked into the coffee shop and followed the man and Tina to the bar where two coffees were waiting. 

"You're not even a person."

"Argentina, you really shouldn't say such thing. Someone might get the wrong idea." He said.

"Can I just ask what's going on? Why are you two talking in riddles?"

"Pardon me, young man, I'm Anansi and this is my humble little coffee shop." He looked past both of them and to a corner of the restaurant. "And that back there is Tiger."

"What..." Gary said and turned around to see a fully grown tiger sleeping on a table. There was a chain around his neck and the chain was clipped to the wall.

"He woke up last time, was very upset with me."

"Anansi? Like the little spider man guy?"

"I am not nearly as boring or cliche was Peter Parker." Anansi said and took off his red apron. He was wearing a T-shirt, a customized T-shirt, a t-shirt with six holes for six arms. Gary swallowed the lump in his throat as he stared at the extra arms, they were as heavily tattooed as the two arms he had seen the man use to sweep. There was a spider design on his shirt with red eyes. "See something you like, Gary?"

"No...Yes...Ok." Gary patted the side of his own face as if he was trying to pull himself out of some fantasy world, it was a trick that he used when he could barely continue to study. However this wasn't a class, this was real life, and this man...thing...God... He wasn't sure what to believe. "What the hell is this? This girl just invites me down here and now you have like six arms and I'm trying to be reasonable and not freak out because there's a big ass tiger sitting in the corner. Is he your pet? Is he a God... Are you a... What is even happening." He stood up, took two steps towards the door and fainted. 

"It was just a joke?" Argentina asked, she rushed over to Gary, tried to help him up but he was heavier than he looked.

"You were really going to bring humans to sacrifice? I think I should be calling the cops, Argentina." Anansi said, from the short time she knew him he always seemed as if he was joking. Now it wasn't cute anymore.

"You said they'd be a servant, not a sacrifice."

"Servants sacrifice themselves to their masters." He said and peered over the counter to look at Gary. "He has no faith, and I am something he can't believe. You were frightened when you saw me, but he..." His third arm on his left side moved to scratch his head before he spoke again, "In his attempt to rationalize what he cannot understand he fainted. It's been a while since I've seen a fainter."

"So this is just a funny game to you?" She asked, she was still confused on why she even did it. She had never cared for Gary, he was rude and arrogant, had called her ignorant once in front of the class. In return she snubbed him and got the best grade, he was annoying and whatever Anansi would have done would have been warranted, right? She could just drop him off somewhere and pretend this never happened. Argentina could pretend that she hadn't almost led a man to certain death by a Trickster God.

"If I say yes, will you leave?"

"Why do you want me to leave?"

"Because I may have lied about that coffee and when Tiger finds out I drugged his coffee, he will not be happy to see me or anyone. And you're much too beautiful to be torn to shreds." With that he hurried around the counter, picked up Gary and rushed out the door. 

"And just why did you drug a Tiger's coffee?" Argentina asked, it was a phrase she never thought she would utter in her entire life;. Yet, here she was talking to an old God about slipping a Tiger a mickey.

"This broom, isn't it a nice broom? It sweeps so well." He said and picked up the broom, it looked old almost as if it wouldn't have any good use. The handle was chipped and the straw towards the bottom was blackened and frayed. She didn't have time to think about that and also didn't want to get into an argument about why he would do all that to steal a broom, she would question his sanity and then he would give her that knowing little smile and question her own.  Argentina moved to open the door and when she turned around Gary was nowhere to be found but Anansi was standing next to the car. 

"Where is Gary? What did you do with him?" She asked, what if he was hurt? What if he killed him or sacrificed him when her back was turned?

"Relax, princess, he's back at the Starbucks." He said and couldn't contain his chuckle. "You are such a funny human being."

"Maybe I should go kick that glass in so Tiger can tear you apart." She said, she hated being talked down to. 

"Are you upset with me?" He asked and then shrugged, "Unless you wanted me to do something to your beloved, Gary."

"He's not my beloved anything." Argentina said and then huffed. 

"Ah, relax, I'll see you soon. Chicago is much too small not to see each other again." He said, one moment he had been standing there and the next moment he was gone. Only a blackened spot remained where he had once been. 

"I'm losing my mind. That's it, finals are coming and I'm just losing it." She said as she drove home. She thought about Gary, cheap and expensive coffee, a homicidal tiger and finally the Trickster God, Anansi, that last thought brought a bitter smile to her face. When she arrived at her apartment there was a steaming cup of coffee sitting on the countertop. 

"This coffee yours, Stace?" Argentina called out.

"No, I thought it was yours. It was here when I got back." Stacey called out from her bedroom.  Argentina looked down at her bag with her laptop and two textbooks and then back at the coffee. "I'll continue to lose my mind after finals." She said and took a sip of the coffee, it was strong and rich with a hint of vanilla. It was perfect.

And she didn't die after drinking it.

On the left is life’s portal,

and on the right is death’s door.

I’m just one mortal

who is always asking for more.

Just another sign from the heavens.

Just one more wish from the Gods.

Will I ever really seize life and beat the odds?

I know mostly what life holds

so I guess I’ll keep living.

But one door leads to the other

and it’s a gift that will eventually stop giving.

Death’s door is on the right.

And Life’s portal is on the left.

As soon as I make up my mind,

I bet I’ll love what comes next. 

She grew tired of waiting for justice.

Bodies in the street.

Crime walks around in daylight with big haunting smiles

and even bigger badges.

She grew tired of waiting for justice.

So she trained until the aches of her muscle became a dull pain,

she knew she’d have what she wanted, she mapped it out in her brain.

She grew tired of waiting for justice.

Because Justice was an old woman with bad feet, a bad back

and too blind to see what was going on in front of her.

She grew tired of waiting for justice.

so she took justice into her own hand. 

Thing on the roof

It has golden eyes.

The thing on the roof

Is planning my demise.

The thing on the roof

Is not like you or me.

The thing on the roof

Can hear, smell, taste, touch, and see.

The thing on the roof

Has escaped.

The thing on the roof

Knows not of the world it will face.

The thing on the roof

Has big claws and sharp fangs.

The thing on the roof

Has disturbing hunger pangs.

The thing on the roof

Will kill and eat what it sees.

Sadly enough,

The thing on the roof

Is looking right at me.