《The Divide》 Prologue Drip...Drip...Drip¡­ ¡°Ughh¡­¡± As the dark room slowly came into focus Alan cringed from the intense pain in his head. The pain was so severe that the kitchen faucet, which was a room over, was enough to intensify it. As he groggily brought himself to stand he realized that something was wrong. He found himself standing over a leather couch instead of his cheap futon. ¡°Where the hell am I?¡± he said as he stumbled towards what he perceived was the kitchen of this apartment, no, house? His pain overcame his confusion as he continued into the kitchen to put an end to the incessant dripping. As Alan approached the faucet he reached out and turned on the cold water. After a quick splash of water on his face he shut it off and gave both knobs as much pressure as he could muster. ¡°Thank fucking god.¡± He said while massaging his temples. After he slumped to the floor with his back against the cabinet he began to nod off. Drip¡­Drip¡­Drip¡­ ¡®You have got to be kidding me.¡¯ Alan thought, he wished for nothing more than to sleep so that he could deal with this situation in the morning. He took one deep breath and willed himself to stand. The trip back to where he woke involved a stubbed pinkie toe and a round of cursing. Once the pain in his foot subsided Alan was standing at the bottom of a large staircase. He brought his head over the bannister and turned to look up. What greeted him was a thick drop of liquid in his eye. ¡°Shi-¡° Before he could finish the four letter word all hell broke loose behind him. ¡°GO NOW!¡± The windows exploded and Alan¡¯s entire world went white. ¡°ON THE GROUND HANDS BEHIND YOUR HEAD!¡± Alan complied, what other choice was there? He felt himself lifted and constrained by a zip-tie around his wrist. By the time he felt fresh air on his face his vision began to clear and he understood a few things. One, he was in a richer neighborhood than he ever deserved to be in. The houses were modestly sized but they looked impeccable and their driveways contained cars he could only own on a poster. Two, he was pretty sure the foreign object digging in his back was a shotgun judging by what the SWAT team members were carrying as they flanked him on the way down the front yard. And three, he was not falling asleep anytime soon. This Alan deduced by noting the disregard of his captor as Alan¡¯s head met the roof of the police cruiser that he was now sitting in. Alan lifted his head to take a look at his reflection in the window. ¡°Damn am I bleeding?¡± He looked even closer before realizing that it was dry. ¡®Where did the blood come from? Did I wake up like that?¡¯ As his brain struggled to keep up with everything going on, something clicked. ¡°Oh fuck¡­¡± . . . . ¡°Alan Messer¡­white, male, 27 years old, single, no living relatives, college student...for seven years? Any contacts for questioning, Agent Correa?¡± said the aged man behind his desk. ¡°Yes sir, we are talking to his professors and supposed friends as we speak.¡± replied the smartly dressed woman standing rigidly in the center of the room. The two people having this conversation worked for the FBI and were currently posted up in the local police station. A knock at the door told them that their next pieces of information had arrived. Agent Correa immediately left the room and returned with her face buried in a manila folder. ¡°Messer¡¯s story matches with what his friends gave us, he went on a date with someone who he had been speaking to on a dating app for the past week and then blacked out when he got back to her home. His toxicology report also came back with traces of zolpidem, a common sleep aid, and alcohol. Surprised he woke up.¡± she said candidly before she continued. ¡°Psych also gave him a once over and with what his acquaintances are saying about him they believe him sound of mind. I don¡¯t know if we can hold him.¡±The author''s tale has been misappropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon. ¡°What about the girl? There was only one body and it was male.¡± The man behind the desk was getting visibly agitated. ¡°Me-Messer said her name was Jenny and that is all, he¡¯s helping us work up a composite photo as we speak.¡± Correa¡¯s composure was beginning to waver under the tension in the room. The man stood up and put his hands on the desk which was Correa¡¯s one barrier between them. ¡°Are you telling me the first solid clue we have in the largest serial killer case in the history of the United States is a kid who got date raped and a bullshit picture of a girl who we don¡¯t even know is real?¡± he roared. ¡°Well sir we have witness accounts of him with the girl but no clear details on her appearance, nothing solid on camera either. Also forensics doesn¡¯t think he had intercourse last night.¡± Correa said as calmly as possible. The man slammed his hands on the table as he sat back down. ¡°I DON¡¯T GIVE A SHIT IF HE GOT LAID OR NOT, GET ME THE FUCKING PICTURE AND LET HIM GO BEFORE YOU GIVE ME A FUCKING STD REPORT ON HIM!¡± ¡°Actually they swabbed him and th-¡° ¡°I SAID GO!¡± Correa removed herself from the room as quickly as humanly possible before bending forward and taking a large breath. She looked up at the sign on the door which read Senior Special Agent Matthews, she frowned and made her way downstairs. . . . . Alan sat down as the officer left him in the empty office. This seemed like the first time that he was able to think throughout this whole ordeal. ¡®Sigh¡­my dick hurts.¡¯ He still hasn¡¯t been given a clear explanation on what has happened to him, all he could do is wallow in pain and fatigue. Just when he thought he could finally get some sleep he heard the door open. When he looked up he saw a beautiful Hispanic woman. She was shorter than him by a head with dark brown hair which matched her light brown skin. He wasn¡¯t done taking in the sight before she ruined the mood with her serious tone. ¡°Hello Mr. Messer I am Special Agent Correa. As you know we found you in the middle of a crime scene with a dead body impaled onto the ceiling, I am sure you have some questions.¡± Her tone went unchanged as she casually mentioned the murder. ¡°Unfortunately this is a federal investigation and you aren¡¯t qualified enough to ask questions. I will explain the situation to the extent of what I am allowed to tell you.¡± ¡®And here I thought I was going to be treated like a human being for a second¡­¡¯ Alan couldn¡¯t take any more of this. Correa continued without reacting to Alan¡¯s visible frustration. ¡°- this would mark the 84th murder in the Collector case if forensics confirms it.¡± Alan stood up straight and stared blankly. There was only one Collector that he knew about and it was the most fucked up thing he has heard about in his life. Over the past 30 years there have been murders across North America with no distinct pattern other than three things: the victims were always male, they were always mutilated beyond recognition, and they were all missing a single bone in their body. The bone was never the same and not a single person has gained any solid evidence or description. Hell, there were no dots to connect whatsoever. The fact that he was even in the same town as this monster made him want to piss himself, but he was in the same house! Alan started pacing in the office. ¡°This can¡¯t be the same one, if it were I would be dead.¡± He pointed at her. ¡°You know this.¡± Correa stood and tried to ease him back into his seat. ¡°Please relax Mr. Messer, given the evidence we found we must proceed as if it was the same person. With your description of the woman you spent the night with we have a lead, albeit a weak one.¡± This was too much, he did not want to be responsible for this one piece of evidence. He would always be looking over his shoulder, he was a loose end. ¡°H-How would that even help? I know that you guys think it¡¯s a woman but these murders have been happening for 30 years! There is no way I went out on a date with a lunatic cougar that can pin someone to the fucking ceiling!¡± This situation was getting crazier by the second. He couldn¡¯t help but think of last night, Jenny was mesmerizing and he knew they had a genuine connection. Why did everything have to go to shit? What had happened to him, to her? Before he knew it he was being walked out of the office. ¡°..and this is my cell phone number. You are to let me know of anything you remember or if anything new happens. We will also keep in contact with you until this local investigation is finished. I hope you feel better Mr. Messer.¡± ¡°Y-Yea, sure.¡± That was all Alan could muster at this point. He went through the procedure to get his belongings and was soon on his way back to his apartment. By the time he reached his apartment Alan realized that it had been a full day since he had left it. He connected his phone to his charger and turned it on, what he saw was too many notifications to count. Friends and acquaintances all wanting to know what the hell happened. ¡®Join the club¡¯ he thought. He collapsed on his bed and turned on the TV. What her saw was the same photo he had helped the FBI with. It resembled Jenny but he didn¡¯t think it would be enough to pick her out of a crowd. She just had something¡­more about her. You probably couldn¡¯t even photograph her and see a strong resemblance. As he started to drift to sleep he thought about that date, and her. Chapter 1 - Jenny 1 week prior Alan and his friend Matt were walking down Main Street to grab a cup a coffee while figuring out what to do that night. ¡°I¡¯m telling you Alan get over it. So what if she broke it off and moved away, better she did that than string you on for even longer.¡± Alan was getting berated by Matt yet again for his unwillingness to go out to the bar and try to get laid. ¡°It didn¡¯t feel like she was stringing me on man, everything was good and then one day she says it¡¯s over.¡± Alan looks down reliving it all again. Her name was Ashley and Alan met her in high school. She was a tomboyish red head that melded into his group of friends like she had always been there. When the majority of them ended up in their hometown college of course she followed as well. Eventually things progressed between him and her, ending up in a four year relationship. They shared an apartment and did just about everything together. Then three years ago out of nowhere he comes home to a partially empty apartment and a note. Just a note. Alan, This can¡¯t work between us. I love you but, although it hurts for me to say this, we aren¡¯t meant for each other. I do not expect you to understand and I know this must be hard. I promise that you will find someone better. Someone who will treat you the way you deserve. Please forget about me, Ashley ¡°What a bitchy note too, please tell me you don¡¯t still have it.¡± Matt stared him down. ¡°Haha of course not, who would keep a break-up note seriously.¡± Alan made plans to hide the note in his apartment. As they entered a coffee shop Alan prayed this conversation would be over. ¡°Alright, I won¡¯t tell you to come to the bar with us but I am not leaving you like this any longer. Give me your phone.¡± Matt leaned in closer and Alan stuffed his phone in the pocket of his hoodie and crunched down to protect it. A minute of wrestling later Matt had the phone and the customers surrounding their table moved a little farther away. ¡°Dude relax, I¡¯m not gonna go through whatever you got tucked away in here. I¡¯m just downloading an app for you.¡± Alan deeply sighed and just waited for this to be over. Matt handed the phone back a couple minutes later and Alan held onto it with a firm grip. Matt shook his head. ¡°Seriously, all I did was download a new dating app. Just thumbs up people you like and if they do the same for you then you both get a notification.¡± Alan looked suspicious. ¡°Just like that?¡± ¡°Just like that.¡± An hour or so later Alan was back at his apartment tucking a piece of paper into one of his books on Native American folklore. Such a random book might seem like it would stick out but Alan¡¯s library was stuffed with miscellaneous knowledge. Everything from mythology and foreign languages to biology and mathematics. Matt had started college with a major in Biology and a minor in Chemistry. A semester before he graduated was when he found the note and Alan honestly didn¡¯t know what to do with himself. He eventually decided just to keep busy, and keep busy he did. Surviving off the inheritance of his parents he devoted himself to school. Any course which looks interesting he took, as simple as that. This caused much confusion among the faculty but his friends were just happy that he wasn¡¯t broken. So while they graduated and found jobs elsewhere Alan stayed and learned. Alan¡¯s eyes continued to find themselves drifting towards his phone. ¡®Ah, what the hell.¡¯ He picked up the phone and started making a profile. First thing he needed was a picture. As he looked through his phone he faced slowly darkened. ¡®Do I really not have a single picture of myself without her?!¡¯ With a sigh he got up and headed to the bathroom. He looked long and hard at himself in the mirror. About 5¡¯ 11¡± with messy brown hair and blue-green eyes, he didn¡¯t think of himself as great looking but he was defiantly not bad. Alan did his best to mess up his hair in exactly the right way before nodding in acceptance. ¡®Here we go I guess¡¯ he thought to himself. Half a dozen shots later his profile picture was secure. He checked some likes and dislikes and got to the ¡°interests¡± section. This left Alan a bit stumped since his interests had gotten quite complex in the past few years. He realized the list wouldn¡¯t fit and just decided to write his latest passion, Mythological and Religious origins. He had been working quite deeply in this subject in the past few months and actually had just gotten back from a trip to Peru with his professor, Dr. Hendricks. He debated on if he would scare anyone away with this profile before just accepting it. ¡®If there¡¯s a girl half as good as Ashley then she wouldn¡¯t care a bit.¡¯ he thought to himself.Unauthorized reproduction: this story has been taken without approval. Report sightings. A few days later Alan noticed a push notification on his phone. He picked it up and flipped through to see he found a match, her name was Jenny. ¡®The one girl who matched me back was the one with the picture of six girls in it huh?¡¯ He tossed his phone aside and kneaded his eyes with his thumb and forefinger. ¡®Fuck it, Matt told me to get out of my comfort zone every once in a while.¡¯ He decided to just message her and take this down whatever road it was destined for. Much to Alan¡¯s surprise the conversation proved fruitful. She was actually pretty knowledgeable in his field which led to multiple nerdgasms through text. They laughed about the absurd romanticism in Greek myths and argued about rumors concerning Central American deities. They even both enjoyed classic horror movies. Never once did they beat around the bush and just go through the motions. Alan¡¯s mind was set, he didn¡¯t care which girl in the picture he matched with. But obviously he was hoping for certain ones. Friday night came before he knew it and he was standing in a crowded restaurant clearly panicking. ¡®What the fuck, none of them are here. I even checked the picture five times like an idiot!¡¯ As he was about to go for number six he was tapped on the shoulder by the hostess. ¡°Sir, would your name happen to be Alan?¡¯ ¡°Yea actually, why do you ask?¡± ¡°Well there¡¯s a lady in a black dress at the bar who asked me to save you.¡± Alan turned his head and began to make his way over he saw a girl who was absolutely not in that profile picture. She was wearing a spaghetti strap black dress with a loose-stringed necklace that held a single ashen gray feather. As he stared at the necklace he found that it was just reaching into her cleavage before he willed his eyes back to her face like a dumbstruck fool. There he was met with her dark, golden eyes that seemed to have a hint of blue like an oasis in a desert. Her dark hair fell past her shoulders which contrasted her olive skin. She stared at him giggling with her hand over her mouth. ¡°Are you sure you¡¯re looking for me?¡± he asked skeptically. ¡°That depends, what would your opinion of Athena be if she was a normal person?¡± she mused. ¡°Well she kind of seems like she would be uptight micro-manager. Like the kind you don¡¯t want at a party because she would be cock-blocking everyone and herding her friends.¡± Alan said this without even thinking and immediately regretted it. ¡®Why the fuck would you say that to her?¡¯ he cursed to himself. ¡°HA! That¡¯s perfect!¡± She was so loud she pulled the eyes of everyone in the vicinity. Alan had to pull her drink away since she was slapping the bar as she laughed. She calmed down a bit with some residual chuckles while tearing up. ¡°She is a virgin you know¡± she said as she put down the cocktail napkin which she was using to dab her eyes. ¡°Ha..ha..so I¡¯ve read, is your name Jenny? Alan couldn¡¯t help but ask in this bizarre situation. ¡°Hmm? Oh yes, why do you think I called you over. You look just like your picture by the way.¡± She smiled and took a sip of her drink. ¡°That¡¯s funny actually, I don¡¯t remember seeing you in your profile picture.¡± He couldn¡¯t help but try to clarify this. She whipped out her phone and showed him the picture he has seen numerous times already. ¡°See that¡¯s me, the girl behind the campfire.¡± she said as she tapped the screen with her nail. Very faintly behind the flames was a head¡­.of hair. How was he supposed to even notice there was someone there?! He sighed and just resigned himself to the situation. Here he was sitting with a beautiful woman at a bar, this was good. After a few drinks Alan lost any apprehension he had about this situation. She was awesome. The conversation flowed and they shared small plates of tasty food. She was very down to earth and lacked a filter which was comfortable for him. After the conversation died down for a bit he turned and she was looking at him with her head in her hand and elbow on the bar. As if her eyes themselves were able to express emotion they looked sad, yet that bewitching smile remained on her face. ¡°How are you single?¡± she said as she leaned in closer. ¡°I could ask the same thing.¡± he said with a smile. However the smile faded. ¡°I was in a serious relationship up until a few years ago and after that I just wanted to not think about it. It took some convincing to start looking again.¡± Alan was poking the ice in his drink with his straw as he spoke. Jenny grabbed his eyes and turned his head. ¡°I, for one, am glad for whoever convinced you and also pity anyone foolish enough to leave you.¡± He couldn¡¯t respond before her lips met his. The trip seemed like one long kiss and before they knew it the cab pulled over. Jenny insisted on paying the man and he drove away muttering something unsavory. We didn¡¯t travel far but this is certainly not a neighborhood that I frequent often. She pulls me up to a beautiful house and opens the door. ¡°You don¡¯t lock your doors?¡¯ Alan asked concerned. He would never leave without both locks on his door turned. ¡°It¡¯s a nice community.¡± she shrugged. They walked inside and she strutted towards him with the eyes of a predator. He didn¡¯t realize until his legs hit the couch that he had been backing away the whole time. She reached his chest and leaned into him until he fell over the couch. They proceeded to kiss and touch each other until Jenny was straddling him. She reached both hands to the bottom of her hiked up dress before she froze. Alan thought he was having a stroke until her face turned into a pout and a tear flowed down her cheek. She put her hand in her mouth and connected for a kiss. As her tongue wrestled with his Alan felt something slide down his throat. . . . . After twenty minutes Jenny finally broke away and got off him. ¡°I¡¯m sorry I need to leave like this, there shouldn¡¯t be an issue once they test your blood.¡± She spoke this to no one as Alan had already passed out. She mentally kicked herself. ¡®I know I shouldn¡¯t get attached but I¡¯ve never met someone like him.¡¯ She eventually overcame her mental anguish and vanished in a small plume of smoke. . . . . Minutes Later A man appeared in the very spot which the woman left, this time with a puff of fine dust. ¡°She was just fucking here!¡± He couldn¡¯t take this taunting behavior. Every time she knows he is coming yet leaves with the tiniest window. ¡®She¡¯s fucking with me on purpose!¡¯ He looked down at the unconscious human with disdain. ¡°I hope you get blamed for this whole thing you worm. Would make my life ten times easier.¡± The man left the exact way he arrived. . . . . Present Alan woke covered in sweat. ¡®I didn¡¯t remember that we got that far¡¯. He looked down between his legs. ¡®Or that her body was that fine.¡¯ By the time he collected himself he heard a small noise in the corner. His head whipped to the side and he saw two faint lights, dark gold with a hint of blue. His eyes gradually recognized a silhouette sitting in a chair. He tensed his body and was about to make a move until he heard a voice he never though he would hear again, ¡°Hello Alan.¡± Chapter 2 - Tia Alan sat in bed stunned. Sitting no more than 15 feet in front of him was the woman who occupied his previous dream. ¡®Why was she here? How did she know where I lived? Where did she go to last night?¡¯ All these thoughts were spinning in his head as he was trying to make sense of this whole situation. He finally decided to break the silence. ¡°Are you Jenny?¡± he asked cautiously. ¡°You really do remember me!¡± Her eyes lit up with excitement. Alan imagined that if she had a tail it would be beating against the chair right now. Almost lost in her image Alan willed himself back to reality. He took a deep breath and pressed her for an answer. ¡°Please answer my question.¡± His voice tore her away from her internal celebration. Her smile dimmed and her eyes gained an aura of seriousness. ¡°Yes¡­and no.¡± she answered with her head facing downwards. ¡°Yes I am the one who you met at the restaurant, however ¡®Jenny¡¯ is a persona which I created to meet you.¡± He knew it was too good to be true. How could he fool himself into thinking that she was so conveniently perfect? He finished mentally kicking himself and realized this woman was a stranger sitting across from him. Alan unconsciously retreated a few inches on his bed; she noticed this and frowned slightly. ¡°Who are you and what do you want?¡± He asked this with a serious tone which caused her frown to deepen. ¡°My name is Tia. I saw the picture on the news and needed to confirm whether you remembered me or not.¡± Hearing this Alan began to panic. He recalled yesterday¡¯s events and realized the situation he was in. He was left at a crime scene involving a notorious serial killer and this ¡°Tia¡± tracked him down after she disappeared. He was a loose end! ¡°W-Were you involved in that murder last night?¡± He had to ask, none of this was making sense. She doesn¡¯t fit the profile of the Collector at all but everything about this situation screams that she is the murderer. She lured him to dinner, got him drunk, took him home, and then drugged him?! ¡®The guy at the police station told me that I might have never woken up!¡¯ Alan felt like he was about to hyperventilate. Sweat formed on his brow and he leaned slightly to the side on his bed in case he needed to run. Time ticked by for what seemed like ages before Tia opened her mouth to answer ¡°Alan I want you to take a deep breath and please calm down. I am the one responsible for the body upstairs but me killing that thing is in no way murder.¡± Her way of speaking was obviously meant to calm him down but it was in no way effective. ¡®Killing that thing?! People are just things to her?!¡¯ Alan wondered how far off in judgement he was that he actually believed her to be perfect for him. Adrenaline was beginning to course through him as he managed one foot off the bed. He asked the next question as calmly as he could. ¡°Are you here to kill me?¡± His eyes stared at her with resolution. She stood up shocked, grimacing at the obvious flinch made by Alan. ¡°Of course not! Alan please let me explain, you weren¡¯t supposed to remember me!¡± Tia began to frantically try to remedy the situation until he finally snapped. ¡°I wasn¡¯t supposed to remember?!? Is that why you drugged me?! Now standing, Alan screamed at her. ¡°No that¡¯s not wha-¡° Before she could even finish Alan retorted. ¡°Enough! I don¡¯t want to hear any more of your bullshit Jenny!¡± the disgust in his words did not go unnoticed by Tia. He walked past her towards the door to his apartment.Stolen content warning: this tale belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences elsewhere. ¡°If you aren¡¯t going to kill me then go. I have been lied to, manhandled, and talked down to for the past 30 hours and I won¡¯t take it any longer.¡± He reached for the knob and held the door open. Shock and grief were painted on her face as they stood there in silence. Tia opened her mouth and then closed it as her lip quivered slightly. She walked past him into the hallway and stopped. Alan slowly closed the door before stopping it slightly ajar. ¡°Was there anything you didn¡¯t lie about?¡± he asked languidly. Without turning around she forced herself to answer. ¡°Jenny was indeed a lie but our conversations held truth. That was me, that¡­was Tia.¡± Before he could push the door open further she was gone. Alan stuck his head out into the hallway and Tia was nowhere to be seen. He closed his door and retuned to bed even though he knew sleep wouldn¡¯t come easy. . . . . Alan woke at 10 am and proceeded to spend the next three hours explaining his situation to people on the phone. Several calls and too many text messages later Alan was crashed on his kitchen table. He was currently on break from school and had nothing to do until he had to meet up with Matt later tonight. He was Alan¡¯s only real friend left in town Matt had pestered him to meet in person until he finally gave up. Lifting his head he noticed the card from the FBI agent. ¡®Should I really call? There¡¯s no way they will believe that a girl in her mid 20s is the Collector.¡® He thought long and hard about the previous night and still felt confused. Before Tia disappeared he felt like he was talking to Jenny again. Even when she showed up in his room she had the same carefree and giddy personality. How could the same girl consider people things and that killing them does not qualify as murder? After weighing his options he picked up the card and called. A short conversation later and he had a meeting with Agent Correa at the coffee shop down the block in 30 minutes. As he was walking to the coffee shop Alan could not help but keep looking over his shoulders. This was a route which he walked nearly every day but now it just seemed different. Corners and alleyways looked as though they could hide some potential danger. He looked at the rooftops and imagined that someone could watch him from places. He felt stares from people he passed as though he had something on his face. As he was looking at his reflection in a storefront fruitlessly he felt a tap on his shoulder. ¡°Mr. Messer¡± ¡°Ahh!¡± he screamed as he fell on his ass. He looked up to see Agent Correa with an unphased expression on her face. ¡°You shouldn¡¯t sneak up on people like that, what are you a ghost?¡± he said as he stood up and brushed off his pants. ¡°Mr. Messer, I walked up to you in heels and you were staring into a reflection. Are you on drugs?¡± Alan couldn¡¯t tell if she was joking. ¡°Let¡¯s get moving Mr. Messer, unfortunately I can¡¯t be away for long.¡± When she turned to walk away he thought he caught a brief smirk on that face of stone. Maybe she wasn¡¯t as cold as he thought. After explaining the event of last night Correa sat in thought for a few moments. ¡°So you are saying that you are positive that this ¡®Tia¡¯ was the same girl and, she actually confessed to the murder, and then left?¡± Her questioning glare made Alan feel like she didn¡¯t have much faith in his story. ¡°There is no doubt in my mind that she was the same. I don¡¯t understand the situation either but that¡¯s what happened.¡± Correa¡¯s face was unchanged and he thought to himself that she was gaining faith in her drug theory. She stood up and put some money on the table. ¡°I appreciate your assistance in this investigation Mr. Messer, I¡¯ll make sure to give your information to my superior.¡± Before she could walk away Alan reached out and grabbed her wrist. ¡°Please listen to me, Tia did say that but she doesn¡¯t fit your description for the Collector. I know this sounds insane but after talking to her again she doesn¡¯t seem like a bad person. Correa shook his hand away before giving him one last warning. ¡°I would advise you Mr. Messer to not mix lust with your judge of character. The girl admitted to murder, even if she is innocent we will arrest her for that alone. Have a good day and call if you have information or you will be also be arrested as an accomplice. She spared him no second glance and left the coffee shop. Alan left shortly after, mostly to avoid the stares caused by Correa¡¯s tirade. His trip home was again accompanied by paranoia. He felt stupid for thinking it but it felt like he was being watched. His steps grew quicker before he ended in a jog up to his front door. After quickly moving inside and locking his two locks there was nothing left to do instead wait until it was time to go meet Matt. Chapter 3 - To the Rescue While lying on his couch Alan closed his eyes and thought about what the hell he was doing with himself. He was 27, unemployed, and being supported by an inheritance from parents which he never even knew. While refusing to graduate college he was just taking courses purely out of interest. Why couldn¡¯t he simply move on with his life? Was it because his friends were gone? Was it because of Ashley? Was it because he hasn¡¯t had anyone to call his family since his grandfather passed a decade ago? All he knew was that he was perfectly content with his life until he got that notification on his phone. ¡®I can¡¯t do this anymore¡¯ he thought. This whole thing with Tia had shaken him to the core. How could he be so attracted and repulsed by the same woman? The first thing that came into view when he opened his eyes was his enormous book case. At the moment this representation of the past seven years of his life was an eyesore. Alan stood up and made his way towards it. Biology, Physics, Archeology, Anthropology, Latin, Herpetology, Spanish, the catalog was endless. ¡®This seems so ridiculous now¡¯ he thought with his hands on his head. In a final act of frustration he grabbed a random loose shelf and yanked, emptying a small part of the case. ¡®They look better in a pile on the floor¡¯. He took out his phone and checked the time. ¡®I suppose showing up early and having a beer couldn¡¯t hurt.¡¯ Taking a large step over the mess he made Alan made his way towards the door. ¡®Matt better show up alone this time¡¯ he thought. . . . . Agent Mathews looked over the new intel from Correa. ¡®Why would she tell her name to a nobody?¡¯ he thought as he sat there perplexed. He immediately pressed a button on his desk phone. ¡°Correa get in here ASAP.¡± Minutes later a knock was heard at the door. ¡°Come in¡± ¡°Can I help you sir?¡± As usual she gravitated towards the center of the room without one erroneous movement. ¡°This Messer kid, you really think he is involved with our suspect?¡± Correa was confused by the question. ¡°Sir? That wasn¡¯t in my report. I only stated that he seems to sympathize with her for some reason.¡± ¡°They weren¡¯t together long enough for it to be Stockholm syndrome Correa, he likes her. That¡¯s the only way I see him sympathizing with a murderer. Also if she is willing to risk herself and not take a free chance to kill him, chances are she like him back. Ro-fucking-mantic now isn¡¯t it?¡± He slaps the folder she gave him back onto the desk. Correa sensed something was wrong. This kind of guesswork was not what the FBI did. It certainly was not what Agent Matthews did either. Why was he pushing this? ¡°I¡¯m going put one of my guys on surveillance and wait for second contact. In the meantime you¡¯re off the case. Here¡¯s a ticket back to Quantico for tomorrow afternoon, pack your stuff.¡± He finished moving papers into another file and held it out to her with the ticket on top. Correa stood motionless, her eyes like daggers while she bit her tongue. She was furious. This was her first real case since being promoted and she didn¡¯t want to leave with every fiber in her body. Before she could gather the courage to speak Matthews was already across the room pressing the file and ticket into her chest. ¡°Leave Correa that¡¯s an order.¡± He removed his hand and she was forced to grab the file before it fell. She turned around and left without a word. Matthews returned to his desk and took out a piece of paper. However this paper was much thicker and darker than the sheets scattered all over his desk. ¡°If you won¡¯t come out I¡¯ll make you come out.¡± he said chuckling to himself. His index finger moved to the top of the page and his nail grew two inches longer in an instant. The nail scratched a note and what appeared to be rune-like shapes directly into the paper. He then grabbed a photo of Alan off a board and placed it in the center of the page. After dropping a piece of blood on the note it folded itself several times before bursting into flames. He sat there still laughing to himself. ¡®The first slip up you¡¯ve ever made Tia, and all because of some human brat. You will earn me such fortune.¡¯ . . . . There were only two empty bottles next to Alan before Matt showed up with a woman on each arm. ¡°Girls look, that¡¯s the guy I was talking about. Spent the night in the house that the Collector showed up to, even murdered someone in.¡± One of the girls broke away and sat next to Alan as Matt and the other girl took two more seats. She reached over to his arm that was on the bar and leaned towards him to make eye contact. ¡°You escaped a serial killer? You must do MMA huh? I dated a guy who did MMA once, best sex ever.¡±Support the author by searching for the original publication of this novel. She continued without pause as Alan found himself yet again in his own personal hell. This is what going to the bar with Matt meant. Matt shows up, gets more attention than he can handle, and the overflow falls to him. Then he either fails to live up to the image Matt talked him up to or Alan finds some reason not to enjoy himself. ¡®Another stupid behavior of mine to add to the list¡¯ he thought taking another swig of beer. He stood up and it seemed as though the girl continued on like a machine. Making his way slowly over to Matt without breaking the girl¡¯s trance-like speech proved difficult but he somehow managed. He tapped Matt on the shoulder. ¡°Hey man can I talk to you outside for a second? ¡°Yea sure hold on a second.¡± He stood up and looked the girls. ¡°Alan and I are going to head down the street to grab me a pack of smokes. You two stay put and we¡¯ll be back before you know it.¡± After a synchronous ¡°Kayyyy~¡± we left the bar and started walking towards the drug store. It was already well past dark and the crowds thinned the farther we got from downtown. We cut through a park and reached the drug store on the other side of the square. Matt bought his cigarettes and lit one on the way out. He leaned up against brick of the store and exhaled smoke. ¡°So are you really okay man? You sent me several texts saying so but I wanted to hear it out loud.¡± Matt may be a womanizer and a catalyst for trouble but he was still a loyal guy. Alan knew he was lucky to have at least him in this town. Things may have been a lot worse for him if Matt wasn¡¯t there to keep him on his toes. He looked up and saw he was being offered a cigarette. ¡°No thanks, I appreciate it though. I actually could have used one while I was detained though, something about being in a cell make you want to smoke I guess.¡± Matt laughed at that. ¡°Hah! That is definitely the truth¡± Alan joined in because he has been Matt¡¯s one phone call on more than one occasion. Alan eventually got serious and asked what he wanted to ask. ¡°Do you think you could fall in love with someone who killed a man?¡± Matt choked on the smoke in his throat. ¡°W-what cough cough what the cough fuc-ck man, are you serious? Alan waited for an answer. ¡°Wow that¡¯s a toughie. I don¡¯t really look to in get their hearts man, just their pants.¡± He looked for laugh and didn¡¯t get one. Matt took a deep breath and started over. ¡°I guess you would need to consider why she killed someone and who the person was. Don¡¯t you think? For all you know it could have been some really fucked up situation.¡± Alan was stunned. What was it that Tia had been trying to say the night before. ¡°Alan I want you to take a deep breath and please calm down. I am the one responsible for the body upstairs but me killing that thing is in no way murder.¡± What did she mean by ¡®that thing¡¯? Could there actually be a legitimate reason that he refused to hear? He began to think that he made a horrible mistake. He desperately wanted to find some way for Tia to not be evil but he refused do something as simple as listen to her. Maybe if he went home she would be there once more. ¡®No¡­..she won¡¯t come back, not after those horrible things I said to her.¡¯ Alan knew he wouldn¡¯t be able to forgive someone that easy if he heard those things, why should she. He didn¡¯t have any desire to go back to the bar. He made up an excuse to Matt and left. Alan found himself in the park again but this time heading in the direction of his apartment. He was mentally agonizing over his troubles when he stopped where he was. There was no sound around him whatsoever. No insects or rustling of leaves in the wind, as a matter of fact there was no wind at all. He finally understood the term ¡°deafening silence¡±. As he took another step forward he was stopped again, not by the lack of sound but by a horrible smell. The only way Alan could describe it was like a sweater that was covered in BO before being rubbed in ripe road kill and then finally left in a sauna for a day. He covered his nose with his shirt and took a few step before collapsing to his knees and dry heaving. The odor was getting stronger and felt like a stinging vapor in his nose and throat. Alan gathered everything he had to make one final attempt to move but it was all crushed when he lifted his head. Standing almost 50 feet away was a monstrous creature which resembled Bigfoot. As the thing made its way closer its features became clearer. It looked as if a small giant was covered in hair from head to toe, full of knots and tangles with just its deformed face visible. No, it couldn¡¯t be Bigfoot. Adding that smell it could only be one thing, a shampe. Alan thought back to what he knew of the monster from Choctaw legend. The shampe was an ogre like creature with a body covered in hair. They have been described as looking like anything from a hairy man to a giant ape. However there are two things the legends all agree on: they are man-eaters and their smell is debilitating. The smell of a shampe is said to bring warriors to their knees and death to the weak. Alan knew he was no warrior. Hell, after last night he wondered if he was a real man. He chased out a beautiful woman that he might love when she risked everything explain herself. Then he refused to listen. As the shampe grew closer Alan wished he had one more chance to make things right. As that thought ran through his mind a gust of wind blew at Alan¡¯s back and the foul stench left his nose. The shampe made an angry guttural bark and beat its chest with its massive fist. Footsteps sounded with a causal tempo and they made their way closer to Alan from behind. As he turned his head he saw a beautiful profile walk right past him and towards the shampe before stopping ten feet in front of the monster. Once more Alan heard the voice he never thought he would hear again. ¡°Let¡¯s get this over with you rank piece of shit I haven¡¯t got all night!¡± Chapter 4 - The Shampe Understanding that it was belittled, the shampe beat its chest repeatedly before crouching down and closing the gap almost instantaneously. The beast slammed its palm down where Tia stood as if it were crushing an insect. Flesh met the asphalt path with a reverberating smack. Silence once more filled the park and Alan was stunned. He couldn¡¯t believe that she was even here and then she gets beaten to death in front of his very eyes? Reason left his mind and he brought himself to his feet. Shame and grief fueled his rage as he made a desperate charge towards the shampe. Alan understood this was nothing but glorified suicide but he couldn¡¯t continue to complacent anymore. He was about to be within arm¡¯s length of the shampe when it lifted his hand to inspect the damage of its previous attack. The beast raised an eye towards Alan in annoyance and tucked its index finger in to its palm before flicking him into a tree 20 feet away. It looked to the ground for its kill and saw nothing. Alan rolled himself over in pain, he thought he may have broken a rib. The shampe was in view looking back and forth between the ground and its palm in confusion. He couldn¡¯t see a body but he knew there was no way that Tia could have survived such an attack. He almost lost hope before he saw a glowing blue ball almost 3 feet in diameter shoot out of the woods. The ball exploded against the back of the beast¡¯s head like a snowball and the area it stuck erupted into blue flames. The beast made a horrendous wailing noise while it tried to rip the solid fire out of its tangled body hair. Tia came into view with a blue glow on her hand. ¡°I can¡¯t believe you actually smell worse.¡± She walked towards it while shaking her head. ¡°Flames were a poor choice.¡± The shampe was desperately trying to remove the flames by any means, even scraping itself against the pavement. It didn¡¯t even realize the danger it was in until it felt a pull on its back. Tia had grabbed on to its back hair and placed her foot on its body, then she kicked. The result was a horrifying screech that forced Alan to shove his fingers in his ears. ¡°Oh look! If this didn¡¯t stink to high heaven I could have a new fur carpet.¡± Tia ended up with a section of skin and fur in her hands that was larger than Alan¡¯s bed. She threw it to the side before engaging the beast one more. Blood was oozing from the back of the shampe. It looked towards Tia who was approaching with inhuman speed and readied itself. This time it didn¡¯t underestimate its opponent. Tia threw her fist and was grabbed by the wrist. It swung her twice into the ground like a ragdoll and then then threw her into the woods. Tia emerged slowly from the brush stretching casually and acting like there was a kink in her neck. As she walked back onto the asphalt path she turned and her first step forward turned into a leap high above the beast. She extended her right leg downwards and brought her left foot to her knee to brace it as she fell back down. *BOOM* Her heel landed directly on the beast¡¯s head and drove its face into the ground. Tia continued the smear its face into the pavement until she felt two hands on her calf. The shampe¡¯s arms almost doubled in girth as it used the extent of its strength. *SNAP* Tia closed her eyes with her jaw clenched in obvious pain. She bent down and went to remove the hands from her destroyed leg. One by one she proceeded to completely tear the finger off the shampe¡¯s two hands, each finger took almost a full minute to uncurl from her leg before she bent it backwards and twisted. Eventually her leg was held in a vice composed of two bloody stumps. Alan didn¡¯t understand how she was able to keep the shampe pinned to the ground with that small body of hers. He immediately felt stupid to be hung up on that one point when this whole situation was fucked up to begin with. The mystery of his first night with Tia was quickly paling in comparison to what he was seeing. The more he watched Tia defy common sense the more faith he gained in her. He fully understood that she was here for tonight for his safety and for that he felt both warmth and pain. Warmth because he felt her feelings for him and pain because he knew he didn¡¯t deserve them.The story has been taken without consent; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident. Tia finally regained her freedom and hopped away on her good leg. After a series of snapping and popping noises she eventually distributed her weight on both feet equally. The shampe was already upright and looking at its hands in pain and anger. It closed its eyes and began to glow faintly. Slowly the size of the shampe shrunk down to that of Tia¡¯s. Tia paid no mind to the change in size of the beast but furrowed her brow when she realized its injuries had disappeared. ¡®I need to finish this quick, my mana is running low.¡¯ she thought to herself. The two stood across a span of almost 20 feet and like a in an instant they leapt towards each other. *CRACK* Tia and the shampe were like statues in the park. Both were unmoving and silent. Alan edged closer to try and get gauge on the situation. The shampe¡¯s arm was resting on Tia¡¯s shoulder while Tia¡¯s protruded from its back with visible ribs facing outwards. Alan hoped it was finished. This shit was way out of his league. A flash a blue flame and the body of the monster was gone. Tia walked toward Alan¡¯s hiding place while keeping her eyes trained away from him. She reached him and bent down to clasp his shoulder. Before Alan could say a word the world spun out of existence and he landed on his futon coughing from the smoke. His fit eventually stopped and he lay there breathing ragged. Tia bent down and touched her hand to his chest. The hand glowed slightly and her eyes teared up as she clutched her own chest in pain. Alan¡¯s rough breathing stabilized and she fell to the ground. Eventually she gained enough strength to stand and she looked at the man sleeping on the bed. Tia smile with both satisfaction and sadness before she turned to leave. ¡°Wait!¡± Alan screamed in desperation. She stopped dead in her tracks, slightly shivering. ¡°Tia I¡¯m sorry.¡± Alans head hung low as he struggled to sit up in bed. ¡°I couldn¡¯t get over the fact that you killed someone¡­no, some thing. I made you out to be some sort of lunatic in my mind and didn¡¯t listen to you when you tried to reach out to me. I still don¡¯t know what the fuck is going on but I know that you saved me. Please help me understand what happening!¡± He was practically begging. ¡°I need to see if there are any more in the area.¡± She refused to turn around or answer his questions. Alan sat there and watched as she disappeared in a plume of smoke. He knew he was the cause of her lack of emotion. He thought about the debt he owed and how he treated her. ¡®Fuck it, if I am going to accomplish anything in this life it will be me making it up to her.¡¯ He pulled himself off the bed and walked towards the kitchen. ¡°Fuck¡­.Me!¡± The searing pain in Alan¡¯s toe reminded him of the mess he made earlier today. A book lay open at his aching foot and he picked it up. There was a piece of paper standing in the crease. ¡®It¡¯s probably about time to get rid of this¡¯ He put the note from Ashley aside and went to close the book before he froze. He checked its title; Native American Folklore. He looked back to where the note was, and that¡¯s where he saw it. Even though Alan had the book just for reference purposes he still knew the legend about the goddesses of death. Tia, according to Haida legend, was the goddess of peaceful death. The Haida people are indigenous to the Pacific Northwest United States and represent one of the oldest areas of human occupation in the continent. The goddess would ease passage of the old and weary while also carrying the souls of the righteous to the other side. However her name was never spoken without mentioning Ta¡¯xet in the same breath. This is because the goddess of death in Haida culture was a goddess of duality. Ta¡¯xet represented the violent death. Evil beings and sinners would fear her name and knew that if they crossed her they would not have a complete corpse. Even having a complete soul would be a blessing when dealing with her. Alan was a bit perplexed. He knew this should just be a coincidence but he also knew that he just saw things that were way beyond his comprehension. He decided to just put this in his back pocket until he saw Tia again. . . . . ¡°Goddamnit!¡± Matthews slammed his fist completely through his desk. The pawn he lost today came at no small expense to him. It takes years to put enough negative energy into something to make a worthwhile tool. The tools he had to work with were few in number in his current situation. He certainly couldn¡¯t ask for assistance or else he would alert his master that Tia was there. She needed to be caught by him. This was his opportunity to show his master that he was deserving of better, more important missions. ¡®Let¡¯s see how she reacts when I kill that little human piece of garbage.¡± Chapter 5 - Taxet Tia walked through the woods with her head on a swivel. She couldn¡¯t sense anything in the area but didn¡¯t want to deal with the situation at hand. Eventually she came to a stop in the forest and realized that she was just avoiding her issues. Everything Allen said the night before had cut her to the core, and she couldn¡¯t deny it. Humans lacking mana don¡¯t remember people like her. Leaving him like she had was normal operating procedure for her kind. ¡®Why am I so upset?!¡¯ For someone who has lived as long as she has these feelings were a shock. Longevity usually numbs emotions concerning personal relationships. If not every century would be a mental breakdown. It is only family and lovers who can persist in the heart of an immortal. When Tia recalled the cavalier manner in which she left Alan that night she almost slapped herself. She couldn¡¯t imagine what he had been through after that, humans were so barbaric. While thinking that her other self flared up with the desire to lay waste to the local police force. Power pulsed through her before finally calming down. ¡®This is not you, this is just Xet.¡¯ Steeling herself she finally decided to face her demons. . . . . Alan was still pouring over his book when he was greeted by another puff of smoke. He was continually finding himself breathless by the sight of this woman. She stood there while mildly avoiding his eyes. He brought himself to the ground before addressing her. ¡°Tia please let me know what¡¯s happening, I¡¯m so sorry for how I treated you.¡± Tears fell from Tia¡¯s eyes as she met Alan on the floor. ¡°Don¡¯t apologize, this is all my fault. I treated you like you were normal and because you weren¡¯t you were left in a bad situation.¡± Tia helped Alan back to his feet. ¡°What do you mean ¡®treated me like I was normal¡¯?¡± After this day¡¯s events that phrase deeply bothered him. ¡°Alan I am a being who only exists because of magical energy, mainly mana. Beings as saturated in this energy as I are not remembered by non-magic beings.¡° Tia waited for his response as though she was going to be beaten. What she got was not to her expectations. ¡°So am I speaking to Tia or Ta¡¯xet?¡± This was a question Tia never thought she would be asked. After fretting for a few minutes she looked up and met Alan¡¯s eyes. ¡°It would be much easier if I could explain it from the beginning.¡± . . . . Long before Europeans came to North America the region was dominated by tribes. These people had simple principles and believed in simple deities. Life, Death, Earth, Sky, Storm, and many more. Although what brought them the greatest danger was each other. Battles constantly ensued over land or conflicting ideologies. They believed in almost the exact same deities yet the small differences were enough to segregate them. Slavery was a common occurrence in the outcome of these skirmishes. Two particular young girls were not an exception. Tia and her younger sister were two young tribeswomen when their father went off to protect the village. They were being pushed farther and farther away from their hunting ground and their food was running low. Tia¡¯s sister Wua had grown ill because of malnutrition, which only encouraged her father further. The men rode away and the village was ecstatic. When they came back they were few in number and followed by fire. The enemy tribe had set fire to the prairie and surrounded the village. The girls huddled in their tent and prayed. Unfortunately their prayers were not answered.You could be reading stolen content. Head to Royal Road for the genuine story. Tia was happy to be tied to her sister. It made the walk across the field a little better. The sun was hot and there was a lot more ground to cover today. The women of the tribe were currently being marched to another location. The men had been completely wiped out in defense of the village. Wua was crying softly while Tia was trying her best to console her. Eventually a guard took notice and smacked Wua to the ground. Tia ran frantically over to help and was blocked by another guard. The commotion brought the leader of the caravan over. He took notice of the small girl and smiled viciously and talked to the guard. He spoke in the same rough language as the others and left. Night came and a guard came for Wua. Tia cried relentlessly and held her sister¡¯s arm. The last thing she saw was the guard¡¯s axe handle. Tia awoke with a start. He vision was fuzzy and her head ached terribly. She emerged from the tent and was met with chaos. The camp was in a frenzy and warfare engulfed her vision. She ran out and frantically moved to look for her sister. Walking through the camp was like moving through a stampede as there was soldiers moving to and fro. ¡®There must be an attack on the caravan.¡¯ She thought. Tia looked towards the biggest tent and rushed towards it. ¡®That should be where Wua is!¡¯ Tia arrived at the tent and what she saw shocked her. He little sister was pinned under the caravan leader and there was blood on the floor. She rushed over and pulled the man off her and saw a blade piercing his chest. She checked Wua and her face went white. The already frail girl had been beaten to within an inch of her life. It was obvious what the man wanted and the tiny girl denied it with the utmost strength of her soul. Tia cradled her sister and rocked back and forth. ¡°Please, anybody please listen. Allow my sister to pass without having this stain upon her mind. Give this child a clean passage to the other side¡± She wept in desperation before she was met with an ethereal voice. ¡°And what do you offer?¡± ¡°I will give anything¡± Each word was spoken resolutely. ¡°I accept¡± All of a sudden a beam of light shot into Tia¡¯s chest. A moment passed before Tia rose unemotionally and walked to her sister. She reached her hand out to Wua¡¯s chest and it disappeared inside of her. Her other hand followed and they both eventually emerged carrying a transparent visage of Wua. Tia walked outside of the tent carrying her sister¡¯s image and wept. As she reached the center of the camp with warfare all around Tia raised her sister to the sky. Wua¡¯s disembodied form rose from her sister¡¯s hands, a smile seen on her face as she encroached the heavens. Emotion had still not reached Tia¡¯s face. She turned to the chaos around her and flames erupted from her palms. Not a soul was spared that night beside Wua¡¯s. Over a hundred souls were taken out of the cycle of rebirth, leaving a nothing but a black scorch mark on the ground as evidence. . . . . ¡°That leaves us with our current predicament.¡± Said Tia while still fidgeting in her seat. ¡°When I accepted my bargain I had unknowingly allowed a god to merge with myself, that is Ta¡¯xet. Aside from some mood swings I am one stable personality currently.¡± ¡°And the predicament?¡± Alan was surprised at his resilience to this absurd situation. He knew the monster that just attacked him has most likely lessened the blow. ¡°The reason Ta¡¯xet was in the situation to merge with me was because she had her body destroyed. She was being hunted. This same person is now hunting me, and by association you?¡± Alan¡¯s brow creased so hard he almost got a cramp in his forehead. ¡°I¡¯m going to ignore the cute little question thing you tried to do and ask who the hell is hunting a god? Also why am I a part of this?!¡± ¡°The being who is after us is known as Malsumis. He and his brother came into existance as gods of creation. Although what sets him apart from his brother is his disdain of humans. Malsumis is shackled by his brother which prevents him from directly destroying humanity yet he still causes pain to the extent of his power. The thorns on plants, the stings of bees, even the poison of snakes are all is doing. Because of his shackles Malsumis sought after Ta¡¯xet for her ability to touch and guide souls. She escaped yet lost her body to the monster. He now uses her bones to supply divinity to his pawns. The reason why you are hunted Alan is because you are the first weakness I have ever shown to him.¡± A blush enveloped her face. Alan was struggling to process this information in a timely manner. He understood the mythos she spoke of but still couldn¡¯t understand why a god was attracted to him. ¡°I¡¯m sorry but I am going to need to ask why of all mortals you choose me. You seem to have been around for a while and still haven¡¯t found anyone?¡± He hated himself for asking but couldn¡¯t help it. ¡°Alan I need to tell you that you have magic in you which would naturally attract someone like me. I know this because you remembered me after that night whereas normal humans could not. Alan grew fearful. ¡®Could she only like me because of this magic?¡¯ This was immediately deterred. ¡°However I can¡¯t sense any bit of magic in you. This is highly unusual. Yet this is also proof that the feelings I have for you are real.¡± Relief and happiness flooded Alan¡¯s body. He couldn¡¯t help but smile a bit when he looked over to her. This elicited another small blush from Tia. Then he had a sudden realization ¡°So that¡¯s why you are the Collector, you are gathering pieces of Ta¡¯xet!¡± Alan said with enthusiasm. ¡°Yes, it is my hope to give her body back some day. However it is a long road.¡± She looked defeated. Alan walked up to her and grabbed her hand in his own. ¡°I honestly can¡¯t imagine how I could help you but I can promise that I will do anything I can for you two. I owe you my life.¡± Tia looked straight down while shifting back and forth and muttered something Alan couldn¡¯t hear. Alan moved his head closer. ¡°What?¡± She brought her head up and yet still refused to meet his eyes. ¡°I would like a kiss¡± she muttered. Alan smiled and brought his lips to hers.