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I’d been told to stay off my feet after a rough job. I’d refused the advice and went shopping with Jackalope the day after I nearly died. Being out of the house helped me take my mind off things. I hadn’t told Jackalope about the dark figure I saw the night before yet. When the sun rose, I doubted what I saw was real when I woke up. I didn’t want to worry my roommate until I knew for certain something supernatural was going on or I might just be losing it.

I needed some new clothing I could toss if they got too stained on jobs. And Jackalope needed new shoes. Being an Agent, he only wore black polished dress shoes. Now, he had some freedom. He got some pairs of white slip-on shoes. At first, I started to suggest some sneakers that may be easy on his feet if he was going to be moving all day at work. I soon noticed my mistake. With only one hand, doing up the laces may be hard got him. I offered to help with small tasks he found difficult but didn’t want to fully take away his independence. So far, the only thing Jackalope felt comfortable with me helping with was tying his hair back in the morning.

We fell into a routine of me doing his hair after we both brushed our teeth. I wondered why he didn’t cut it short after he lost his arm. It would have been easier for him to keep his hair tidy, but he may not like how he looked with it cut. Then again, I didn’t think he placed much care into his appearance. The shoulder length of his hair was a mystery I didn’t ask about. It wasn’t overly important. And he did like his new co-workers complimenting on what hair tie we picked out for the day.

Since I went shopping, I stressed out my ankle. I wasn’t aware it had been broken due to whatever magic bandages keeping the pain away. I got scolded and ordered to stay at home for an entire week. At that time, we adopted another rabbit. This one two years old and named Houdini. There was a chance that the two wouldn’t get along. Those worries were quickly gone after they started to sleep next to each other after two days.

I was extremely bored at home. Since keeping nightlights on in every room, I hadn’t seen anything odd at night. Jackalope was gone for most of the day. When he got home, he made dinner and enough for lunch the next day. He didn’t want me walking around the kitchen trying to make something or spending too much on takeout. At this rate, I was actually going to be at a healthy weight for my height.

My house arrest finally ended. I went to the same Corporation run hospital that treated my injuries to be given the all-clear to work. I’d also been constantly bothering them for updates on Six’s condition. He’d gotten so hurt on the last scene we worked on, and no one was telling me much. They said he was recovering well but refused to let me see him. I didn’t know if that meant he wasn’t ready for visitors or didn’t want to upset me by seeing him still bedridden.

I went home feeling bitter and overly angry over the entire thing. I desperately wanted to talk to him. Even for a few minutes. But I didn’t know if that was what I wanted, or something Six needed. I walked into the living room and my bad mood faded.

I stared at Jackalope holding both rabbits in two hands, a bright smile on his face. I swiftly walked over to him to see if I was just seeing things or if he really had another arm out of the blue. He carefully put down the bunnies and let me take his new hand in mine to look it over.

“It’s a fake one. I didn’t want to tell you about getting it because there was a chance it wouldn’t stick. There is still a possibility of my body rejecting it, but I feel fine.” He told me, clearly excited but holding back just how happy he felt.

Delivering mail seemed to come with really, really good benefits. The new arm was covered by his job. I didn’t know how it was fake because it felt very real. The arm bled if you cut it and Jackalope refused to say what it was made of, claiming I did not want to know. I dropped the questioning not wanting to overwhelm him. For once, things seemed to be going well for us.

The next morning, I started to do his hair on reflex. He didn’t stop me. It made me wonder if the reason why he didn’t cut his hair was that he enjoyed someone doing it for him. At least one routine didn’t change with his new arm.

An email for a job request came in and I was a bit nervous about going to work. Mostly because I knew I risked death every time I went into the field. But also, because that meant I wouldn’t be able to force Jackalope to stay home. The new arm came with risks. If his body rejected it, he could die unless he got treatment right away. He should be taking it easy and resting until he knew for certain there would be no issues with the false arm he was given. There should be some recovery time, and yet he was dressed in his uniform ready for work.

“I’ll be fine. It’s better if I use it. It helps it get stronger. I swear if I start feeling off, I’ll go to the clinic to have it looked at.” Jackalope promised as he got his shoes on ready to leave.

The urge to make him stay home was just my own concerns getting the better of me. I knew that. And yet I still made him promise five times he would call me when he had the chance during the day. He humored my fretting. I think he was also worried about me working again, so us calling each other for checks up wasn’t just for me.

Since I hovered around the door talking with him, I got to the scene a bit later than I wanted. Yet another torn-apart body of a monster waited for me. For some reason, this creature smelled minty instead of rotten. A tall man stood beside a woman wearing a suit. I didn’t bother reading the names of the Agents that would be working with me that day. But I already knew one. His head turned in my direction, sunglasses hiding his eyes.

When he saw me, he started to walk in my direction. The woman shouted at him to stop.

“Hey Nessie, how are-” I started to ask.

Strong arms wrapped around me, pinning my own painfully to my side. I was easily lifted off the ground getting crushed. At first, I thought he wanted to kill me. But then I clued in Nessie was just giving me a very deadly hug. It took some effort from his partner, but he set me down. I got dizzy from the lack of air and needed a few seconds to recover.

“Nessie is a bit soft for humans.” His partner admitted with a sigh.

His hands raised up, wanting another hug. I gave his arm a pat, still wheezing. It was nice to know he wasn’t angry at me for what happened to Jackalope.

“You’re the one dating his previous partner, right?” She asked.

“What?!” I coughed out feeling dizzy again for a different reason.

It took a few minutes to correct her mistake. Jackalope moved in but that didn’t mean we were dating. Nessie’s expression never changed from his stern and almost menacing look. But he almost seemed disappointed in the news.

I needed to get them focused on the scene. The female agent introduced herself as Fera. She was the shortest of us, but I suspected her to be the strongest. Her long hair was done up in braids with bright pink beads at the end. Her dark skin contrasted well against the bright tie she picked to wear with her suit. Agents did have strict uniforms, but some simply did not care. Nessie didn’t alter his outfit at all, but Fera refused to wear the black tie and socks. I liked her right away.

“This body is the same as the other’s you’ve looked at for us. It’s been nice having you teach some Agents ways to look over a scene. We all get training, but some of it doesn’t stick. Most Agents just want to fight. Thinking isn’t our strongest skill.” Fera explained as I worked on unloading my gear.

Nessie stayed silent and nodded. He was built for fighting and not much else. The moment I stopped in front of the body of the creature, I knew right away this scene was different than the others I’ve worked on. The monster looked to be some sort of well, werewolf for a better way to describe it. He had stood over nine feet tall and had black fur. Two long tails were tangled into each other. The eyes of the wolf had been cut out, leaving gruesome empty sockets.

“I think whoever killed this monster wasn’t the same person as the other missing organ cases. This creature was in a fight before his insides were torn out. The other creatures didn’t have any signs of a struggle showing they were killed very quickly.” I explained and nodded at the body and the scene around us.

We stood in a clearing in the middle of a forest. Deep cuts from claws were torn into the bark of the trees. Some smaller trees had even been uprooted. I thought I saw some bullet holes in the bark as well but needed to get closer to confirm. Fera uncrossed her arms and got closer to the body very interested.

“Most likely a Hunter killed this wolf. The wolf killed humans and used them for magic so it’s reasonable for him to be on a list. We did have our eyes on him, but with so many other cases he wasn’t a priority.” She explained.

A common thing I’ve heard was just how swamped The Corporation was. They needed more manpower that just didn’t seem to be available. A thought came to mind, and I let it slip.

“The Mailing Company Jackalope started working for repaired his sight and gave him a fake arm. How come The Corporation didn’t? I understand he went against orders to save my life but with the lack of Agents I would think they wouldn’t fire them for a single offense.” I said and their expressions changed.

Nessie looked away refusing to show how he felt about the entire thing. Fera bit the bullet to start a difficult conversation.

“Jackalope is... Well... We’re not certain of what he is. When he needed to use his powers, they were often unstable and unreliable. I think Lupa wanted a reason to get rid of him. That and... You see...” She paused unsure of the best way to word her thoughts. “If it’s confirmed he was made by the methods The Corporation suspects he’ll be killed on principle. It sounds harsh but man, I get it. I like the guy and all, but I really hope he’s not what we think he is. I don’t know how you could deal with him being in your house if you found out his real origins. Just thinking about it gives me the creeps.”

Unable to help herself, she hugged her arms, and a slight shake went through her body. She didn’t outright say what Jackalope could be. And if I was meant to know, she would have. I felt a small amount of annoyance at her words. A hot feeling came to my stomach and I pushed it down.

“He saved my life by offering up his own. It’s a miracle he didn’t die and went go through the company he devoted his life to rejecting him without complaints. I don’t care how he was made. Jackalope is a better person than anyone else I’ve met.”

My tone may have come out too harshly. I turned my head away expecting her to be upset that I snapped a little. Instead, she forced a smile knowing where I was coming from.

“Sorry. I get you. It was wrong of me to judge him based on unfounded assumptions.” She replied.

I wasn’t expecting an apology. It made me feel as if I was in the wrong but we quickly got past the conversation. They both wanted to get the body cleared up so they could move on to a different case. Because a Hunter was the most likely suspect, they didn’t need the same kind of coverage normal cases did. Rouge Hunters killing monsters didn’t get a trial like regular humans. I didn't need DNA, or every bullet fired drawn out into a diagram. The fact that this werewolf had been on a list of monsters to be killed helped The Hunter's case. If they were caught, the punishment would only be a slap on the wrist for not asking to kill the wolf first.

We were able to get the photos and needed documentation fairly quickly. Fera spoke as I worked, and I got her up to speed with what I was doing. She nodded along but it was easy to tell she was the type to shoot first and ask questions later. At least Nessie was levelheaded enough to do any thinking of the pair. He hadn’t said a word to me the entire time. I wondered if he couldn't speak or was a bit shy.

The final task was removing a dagger sticking out of the neck of the wolf. I found it odd the weapon was left behind or even used in the first place. From what I saw, The Hunter favored guns. Such a small dagger didn’t seem to be useful, but I wasn’t certain if it had been embedded with magic. I almost pulled the dagger out myself and thought better of it. I asked Nessie to do it in case the blade held some sort of power I wasn’t aware of.

It turns out my suspicions were correct. However, there wasn’t anything we could do to avoid the trap the moment we decided to take out that blade. Nessie easily removed the dagger from the dead flesh, and a light came from under our feet. Fera shouted at us to move, but the light grew too intense. The body of the wolf was taken into that light, the spell using up the flesh to gain enough power to transport three people to an unknown location.

After the flash of light, darkness overtook my vision. I wasn’t aware of it, but I passed out to awaken an unknown amount of time later on a cold hard floor.

My head swam with pain. It took a few minutes to recover enough to sit up. Whoever tied us up removed my jacket. Along with Fera’s suit jacket and Nessie’s. She was awake, but he hadn’t stirred just yet. A thin chain wrapped my wrists. With some effort, I could break through it. I didn’t just in case someone was watching us. All three of us were inside a wide circle drawn onto the floor with either red paint, or blood. Odd symbols surrounded the circle making me very scared of what they meant. I didn’t want to move in case I set off another trap.

The room was dark. Only a single light hung overhead. A few cluttered desks stood around us covered in weapons and caked with countless blood stains. The cement floor was also stained with old blood. The smell of the dank air turned my stomach.

“Are you alright?” I whispered to Fera.

She gave me an uneasy smile. She wasn’t human and should be the one checking in on the weakest member of the group. She let Nessie keep sleeping as she scanned where we found ourselves.

“I can't get my hands free, but I’ll figure something out.” She admitted in a nervous tone.

I gave her a questioning look. Did the person who tied us up use something thicker for her? Since Nessie was on his side, I saw he also had his wrists tied with the same thin loops of a silver chain. Could these two not break through silver because they weren’t human?

The sound of footsteps getting closer made us snap our attention in the other direction. I regretted not snapping the chain the moment I woke up and made a run for one of the weapons. Nessie finally stirred. He slowly sat up, his sunglasses missing to reveal a set of pastel rose eyes. Even in the dangerous situation we were in, I did a double take at them.

“I wasn’t expecting to catch three of you. The more the better, huh?”

The man who stepped into the light was not one to mess with. He kept a gun in his hand, a finger very close to the trigger. The hilt of a sword peeked from under his long and filthy coat. His face was covered in old scars and a few new cuts from a recent werewolf fight. His dark eyes stared down at us and his voice held no emotion. This man looked to be a walking corpse.

He took a step closer and into the circle. Fera was sweating but tried to hide her stress.

“You can let us go. No one is going to be upset you killed that wolf we-” She started but I spoke up.

“No one is going to come and save us.” I said and it got The Hunter’s attention.

He stared down with a rock-hard expression on his face. Fera looked confused over the conversation. This man didn’t kidnap us because he didn’t want to get arrested for killing monsters. He hated the supernatural and wanted to kill all of them. He knew his limitations. Instead of killing as many monsters as he could, he decided to take down the most powerful one he could get a hold of. His plan was to kidnap some Agents hoping their boss would swoop in. This guy had no idea Lupa would gladly let us die instead of risking his safety.

“Now, how can you be so sure of that?” The Hunter asked with a dangerous glint in his eye.

“You made some sort of powerful weapon, didn’t you? A human has no hope of winning against an Office Director, or a stronger Agent. You would not try to pull this off unless you had an ace up your sleeve.” I responded feeling the air grow tense.

The Hunter did not like my guess. He raised his gun and fired it toward my face. Fera blocked the bullet, her body between us and her braided hair knocking away two more bullets that came. She suddenly was painfully forced down to the ground. Her face twisted in anger and pain. A set of sharp teeth showed through her snarling mouth wanting to rip the man’s face off.

“This spell suppresses supernatural creatures, especially if they have a murderous intent. You won’t be able to move while you want to kill me.” The man said not sounding very impressed.

He turned his attention towards Nessie who remained calm the entire interaction. My stomach turned as he got closer to my Agent friend and Nessie started to back up. He was stopped at the edge of the circle, unable to go any further.

“You’re right. I did create a weapon. Swords like these are easy to make, but most choose not to use them. I can kill any creature, within reason at the cost of my own life. Your boss should be easy enough to take down.” The Hunter said and gave me a quick look from over his shoulder.

“Why do this? I know you hate monsters, but The Corporation fights against them. They may not be human, but they’re on your side.” I argued.

“Do you really believe that? The Corporation was made by The Silver King to keep the balance. But what even is that balance? From what I’ve seen, things are very fucking unfair. There is no balance. That King favors creatures and wants to keep the biggest population of them possible by letting them feed on humans. Monsters only get punished if they eat too many resources.”

I started to feel sick at his words. I didn’t have any proof to what he was saying was wrong. It was all a possibility. And I hated how true the theory sounded. Regardless, I needed to get both Fera and Nessie out of there. They were both good people who didn’t deserve to be used as bait, or worse.

The Hunter still had a gun in his hand. I worked at breaking the chain keeping my arms behind my back without being obvious. If he looked in my direction at the wrong time, I risked getting my face blown off. As carefully as possible, I shifted around almost able to snap the chain.

The Hunter reached into his coat to bring out a small metal tube. He pressed his thumb against the bottom causing a long needle to shoot out. The sharp point stopped half an inch away from Nessie’s eye. I saw the Agent start to sweat and breathe heavily, but he didn’t dare move. A choking fear pooled in my heart. My eyes were looking for a weapon to grab before The Hunter had a chance to fire his gun.

“I heard you’re a shy one. You’ll give me better reactions than the woman over there. I’ll only use you for a few photos, then I’ll be kind enough to end your life.” The Hunter spoke, words cold as ice.

He lowered the metal tip and easily took off Nessie’s top button. I found myself grinding my teeth trying to stay calm. If I didn’t plan out my movements, we would all be dead. Another button came off and my face flushed with rage. The shirt was parted just enough to show a set of pastel emerald scales over Nessie’s collarbone. My new friend met my eyes, his face faltered for a second. The needle tip went to open his shirt further and he turned his head away in shame, lips pressed in a tight line.

I could not stay calm. Without a second thought, I snapped the silver chain to charge at The Hunter. I caught him off guard. His frame was larger than mine, so I didn’t do much when I rammed into his back. He dropped his gun but brought the metal needle around to painfully bring it down into my shoulder. I screamed and put everything I had into pushing him out of the circle and away from the two Agents.

He tripped causing us to pile into each other. This man trained his body against fighting monsters for years. But he wasn’t expecting someone to fight dirty. I didn’t have the same strength so resorted to biting, wild punches, and hair-pulling. He was more annoyed than hurt. I found my body getting tossed aside and rolling hard against a table.

A large hammer fell to the ground in front of my face. I snatched it up and got a good hit on the other man’s hand before he could reach for another weapon. The hammer came down as fast as I could manage. Some swings hit home, while others did not. He fell back against another worktable, his bleeding hand finding a half-finished wooden staff. I wasn’t able to dodge a few blows to my face from that.

We both backed off panting, in pain and bleeding. His eyes wild and confused. I’d broken through a silver chain and a circle that was meant to hold supernatural creatures. He never once considered I may be human. In his mind, I was a powerful creature he'd never faced before. His hand flew to his side to the sword that was meant for Lupa’s life. The unknown factor caused him to act in a way he normally wouldn’t.

Fera screamed unable to do anything to help. The Hunter charged forwards, the delicate sword pointing directly at my stomach. I didn’t move out of the way soon enough. The tip of the blade pressed against my skin, and then a bust of power exploded from it. We were all knocked back, the blade shattering into pieces and gauging the cement floor as they flew off.

The sword was meant to kill any supernatural creature at the cost of the life who used it. It turns out, wording mattered a lot when it came to magic. I wasn’t a creature, so the spell broke. The magic blew back in all of our faces, disorienting the four of us.

I stood up, ears ringing and eyesight slowly returning to normal. Fera was finally shaking off the spell that kept her bound. She was on one knee shouting something. Nessie started moving but got to his target far too late.

Wording with magic spells may fail you, but bullets always did their job. I heard a pop. The hunter got blown back and landed next to his gun. He grabbed it, rolled over, and fired.

Nessie’s body exploded outwards into a large creature. A clawed hand came down on The Hunter pinning him to the ground before he could fire again. I stood in awe seeing a real living creature for the first time. They really were something else when they still breathed instead of the corpses I’ve dealt with so far.

Nessie looked to be some sort of dragon that nearly took up the entire room. His wings pinned close to his body shimmered a dazzling green. His face hidden under long hair that looked like wet seaweed. A set of light pink eyes stared in my direction. Somehow, his monstrous face looked concerned.

It wasn’t until my legs gave out from under me that I realized why. Warm blood poured down from my stomach. I made a weak attempt at putting pressure on the wound. Darkness started at the corners of my vision as I fell.

Fera caught me before I smashed my face against the hard ground. For being so strong, she was a very soft person.

When my eyes opened again, I felt heavy. My head refused to move, and my stomach hurt. It took me a few minutes to gather myself enough to look around where I’d been taken. The room looked like one in a small clinic. Someone worked away at some paperwork at a small desk next to my bed. I didn’t lift my head, only looked over.

“Can... I touch your cheek...?” My voice sounded raspy, but it was worth asking.

The person turned their head, a very cute smile on their face. They wore gender-neutral blue scrubs, but I assumed they might be male. Their body was made of some sort of pale transparent material. The light shone off the surface in an appealing way. I really wanted to know what their skin felt like but thought it may be too personal of a question to ask to take their hand.

“I’m Robin, and yes you may because you asked nicely.”

They reached over to help me sit up and gave me a cup of water. After Robin knew, I wasn’t going to pass out again. They let me poke their cheek. It was a nice texture that would make a perfect stress ball.

“You were shot, and we were forced to use some vampire blood to heal you. It burns up your body fat and only heals the life-threatening injuries first. I would like you to rest for another few hours, but you’re free to go home whenever. Lots of bed rest and a high-calorie diet to recover the weight.” Robin said.

I raised my hand to feel my still bruised face. I was thankful for not having a bullet wound but felt a bit bitter over still having all the other cuts and bruises. I did lose a lot of weight. My arms looked thinner than ever before Jackalope arrived to start cooking dinner for us.

“Jackalope can handle the food. I swear, I’ve never eaten three meals a day until he showed up.” I mentioned.

“I spoke with him. It was a bit unprofessional, but your phone kept ringing. You don’t have an emergency contact, so I just told him you were held back due to work. If he’s your partner, you should update your contact-”

“Roommate.” I corrected Robin.

The creature gave me a cryptic smile but accepted the answer. My phone was handed over and I couldn’t bring myself to send a message or call. I didn’t want to worry him, but Jackalope was going to find out what happened after he saw how bad my face looked when I got home. A message came through and I saw someone added Nessie to my phone. He may be shy in person, but he texted a lot. And with a lot of cute faces and icons, I didn’t even know how he made them. I swear I saw an uwu in his messages and I needed to look up what that meant. I was so traumatized by his texting style it took me a few minutes to recover and ask other questions I had.

“Do you know what’s going to happen to that Hunter?” I asked wondering how badly Nessie hurt him.

I think Nessie acted first because he knew if Fera got a hold of the man, she would have killed him.

“It’s hard to say. I think in this case The Silver King is going to look over it and decide what to do. Neither organization can come to an impartial decision.” Robin said while they pressed a pen to their bottom lip.

I assumed The Silver King was too powerful to bother with such small cases. I hoped he went easy on the man. I wanted to hate him for threatening Nessie and Fera, but I couldn’t bring myself to. That man must have been through a lot to dedicate his entire life to hatred. Or maybe I just didn’t want him to die because we were both human.

“The Hunter said something that’s bothered me about The Corporation...” I started and Robin knew where I was going.

They set the pen down to give me their entire attention. They’d heard this theory before and knew it had been the cause of so many supernatural deaths. Some justified, and others not so much. If a Hunter came across Robin, they risked getting killed because of the conspiracy some hurt and confused humans cooked up.

“It’s very hard to prove a negative. There is a balance only the Silver King and understand fully. After what those Hunters have been through, it’s easy for them to see the world as completely against them. Yes, all creatures have a limit on how many humans they can kill given to them by The Silver King. If they go over that limit, they are punished. The Corporation was created by our King because no matter how powerful, he is just a single person. He cannot be in two places at once. So, he delegated tasks. Then The Corporation started to take matters into its own hands. Their goal is to ensure there are no more unneeded deaths of humans by supernatural means. Most Agents work because it’s seen as an honorable position acting out the King’s will. But others do the job for a simple fact most people tend to overlook.”

I listened to Robin, and he didn’t even need to tell me the rest. I already knew what he was going to say after meeting with so many Agents. Six talked to me and told me information when he didn’t need to. Nessie sent messages worried about my well-being, and Fera wanted to kill a man because he threatened my life. There were some creatures out there that didn’t respect human life. Like Lupa who only cared about the respect his job would bring, or the God who killed for no other reason than he could. Those kinds of creatures were the reason why The Hunters existed.

“Most Agents save humans because they want you to live.” Robin finished.

A round face squished into a grin. There wasn’t any proof that these creatures weren’t using us for livestock. But I trusted that smile. Even if my entire race was simply allowed to live to feed another species, I was fine with that. It meant people I cared about kept living. I knew that was a selfish way to see things and, at that moment, didn’t care.

“This is a bit off-topic, but has Jackalope received a new arm recently?” Robin brought up.

The mention of the new arm got me worried. There was a chance of the arm getting rejected and I feared Jackalope may be at a higher risk for such a thing for a reason I wasn’t aware of.

“Is it going to fall off?” I asked, worry clear in my voice.

“I hope not. But please keep an eye on him. Come to the clinic if you have any worries, or if any kind of new symptoms appears. We would rather see you two a hundred times for nothing than you need us and not show up one time. Both of you need plenty of rest, good food, and light exercise. You’re only roommates, right? I’ll need to think of suggestions to keep you active while recovering.” Robin said and turned away back to his forms.

I wasn’t able to ask him to elaborate on what he wanted to suggest exercise-wise because Fera came barging in. She gave me a crushing hug and apologized for the fact I got shot. I’d almost forgotten about all of that. We got her settled down and I was glad she came by. I had some questions for her.

“I saw something in my place the other night. I’m worried it was the same God that took Jackalope’s arm. Is there a way to confirm that? Or get rid of him if it is a God bothering us?” I asked her thinking that she might know more about supernatural solutions than myself.

She frowned and crossed her arms. Robin also sat thinking fiddling with a pen.

“Well, Gods don’t live on this level of existence. They can interact through emotions, prayers, and thoughts. I think Jackalope told you to keep talking about those deaths, right? That gave the God more power to act. I know this sounds lame, but just don’t think about it. Get a hobby. Focus on something else. You have a really cute ex-Agent in your house. I'm surprised you two haven’t been too busy with each other to even worry about this.” She said in a casual tone.

“What... What does that mean? We’re just roommates.” I corrected her.

My ears felt so hot it made the rest of my body cold. Is this how everyone at The Corporation saw our living arrangement?

“Just roommates.” Robin chipped in hoping that helped.

“I’m just messing with you.” Fera said like a liar.

I wanted to call her out but felt too tired to care. She agreed to help me get home. I really didn’t know where this clinic was located. For all I knew, I ended up in a different country. With some magic, Fera dropped us off in front of my house. She gave me her number to ask her any questions that may come to mind. I was barely inside the front door when Jackalope reached me with two rabbits at his heels.

Houdini warmed up to Pesto so well. I'm glad we got the cute little black rabbit. I bent down to pick them up so their soft fur could relax my fried nerves. A smell coming from the kitchen caused me to freeze and I didn’t even hear what Jackalope said for a few seconds.

“Are you cooking Menudo?” I asked him handing over a rabbit.

“I found a recipe book while cleaning the kitchen. I wanted to try and make something different.” He admitted, a bit confused over my shock.

“That... Must have been my mothers.” I told him and took a few steps inside the house.

I hadn’t smelled that meal in years. Not since she passed away. When she got sick, she needed to stop cooking. I always regretted the fact I burned everything I made so she couldn’t have the meals she enjoyed near the end. Jackalope noticed my expression and carefully put Pesto down. The rabbit hopped away ready to create chaos. Houdini kept him in line after we paired them up, but alone he was a nightmare.

“Should I have not cooked-” Jackalope started but I shook my head.

“No. It's nice. I... I think I would like it if you cooked anything my mother wrote down. But you need to let me start helping out around the house. It’s pretty bad I’m letting you do everything.”

Since Jackalope recovered enough to start moving around on his own, he took over the chores. I’d taken care of myself for years and now I didn’t know how I functioned without him. I’d been taking advantage of my new roommate.

“I like cooking and doing chores. When I worked as an Agent, I moved around a lot. Mostly living out of hotels or small rooms just for resting in the office. A normal life is something I never dreamed of having. It’s... nice.”

I didn’t consider any of that. He never had a stable life until he moved in. I considered doing laundry a chore, but he saw it as a privilege. It only cost him an arm and a torn face. I didn’t want to bring up those facts. For once I was hungry after work. I could eat seconds and Jackalope made enough food to feed ten people. A paper towel with a pile of half-chewed sucker sticks sat on the counter. Jackalope noticed them and quickly cleaned up his mess. That pile was the only sign of how much he fretted after calling and not getting an answer. He only chewed his Chupa-Chups when he was anxious.

“You lost a lot of weight. Did they need to use some vampire blood on you? With humans, it burns fat and muscles. You must have broken something for them to give it to you.” Jackalope said as he dished out a large portion of food for the both of us.

“Oh, that. I was shot but it’s not a big deal. It healed up, no problem.”

I took the hot bowl and did a small taste. It wasn’t the same as how my mother cooked it, but it was still pretty good. I was about to sit down to eat when I noticed Jackalope staring in my direction. Without a word he swiftly turned on his heels heading towards the door. It took me far too long to clue into what he was doing. I chased after him and needed to drag him back into the kitchen to eat inside of charging out the door to try and find the Hunter that nearly killed his roommate.

In fact, it took him a lot to keep him settled down and eating dinner. Compared to the other things I’ve come across so far, getting shot wasn’t at the top of the list of the most terrifying ordeals. Finding out Nessie texted like a thirteen-year-old girl was right under dealing with a Dark God. Jackalope wasn’t happy with how many times I’ve nearly died on a job that shouldn’t deal with such dangerous interactions. At least he didn’t ask me to quit. The money was too good. I may consider it in a few more jobs. If I lived through a few more.

We both needed some rest after dinner. At least the boys stayed out of trouble. We let them free roam in the living room while we were home. Since there was a small empty bedroom, we converted it into their area. From a shelter to an entire room to explore. These rabbits got spoiled. They put up a bit of a fit getting put away for the night but fell asleep quickly afterward. When the weather got nicer, they could roam around in a pen in the backyard.

I felt exhausted but didn’t want to go to sleep. The image of the dark figure in my doorway still haunted my thoughts. So much for not giving that stupid God power. Getting shot wasn’t enough to take my mind off what lurked in the night. I double-checked that Jackalope was asleep with his rabbit light on. It then took every ounce of willpower to turn off all the lights in my bedroom and firmly lock the door.

I hid under the blankets, and a block of ice settled into my core. I didn’t sleep that first night. No matter how much I wanted to ignore it, I sensed someone watching my back. A slow raspy breathing got closer and closer to my ear until I felt a small puff of air brush against my skin. I gritted my teeth waiting for the bastard to do anything, or for the sun to finally rise.

That damn God didn’t end my life that night. He wanted to keep messing with us. If it took his attention of Jackalope, then I would take it. I really needed to recover enough to take my mind off that darkness. Even if that meant I could end up getting shot again.