“Thank you for your time, Mr. Anders,” the investigator said as he turned the voice recorder off. He wore the blue fatigues easily recognizable as the standard issue of the Human military. “If we have any questions, we’ll contact you. You’ve been cleared to return to the colony, and the clerk can assist you in gathering your luggage.”

  “Thanks.” Fletcher stood up.

  After arriving in Alcett an hour ago, they’d gone through more extensive processing than usual, and then everyone had been informed they’d be required to give a statement about what happened. Since Fletcher had “direct” contact with one of the Hexed Humans, he was lucky enough to go first.

  He followed the military official to the door of the metal interrogation room they’d interviewed him in, excited to be free of the cold steel walls. The hallway outside was only a little more welcoming with plain tile and stark white walls.

  Another soldier waited there to escort Fletcher back to the lobby so he could get his stuff and finally go home. His guide had nothing to say, and he wasn’t particularly in the mood for talking either after the twenty-minute discussion he’d just been through, so the two walked through the base in silence.

  The guard stepped to the side once they arrived at the waiting room where the majority of the faculty waited, and she motioned Fletcher forward.

  He thanked the woman and then walked up to the front desk to request his luggage. While the clerk was busy on the radio tracking down his belongings, he glanced around the space to see who else had gone in to interview already.

  There was no sign of Dean or the two bus drivers, but everyone else, including Javier and Heather, were still there, waiting for their turns. Heather smiled when she caught Fletcher’s eye, and when Javier noticed him, he stood from his chair and walked over to him.

  “If I’d known that nearly getting shot meant I got out of here sooner, I’d have been right there with you facing down that [Werewolf] creep,” he said.

  Fletcher shook his head while chuckling. “I guarantee your interview will be shorter, at least. I didn’t know there were so many ways to ask one question. Half the time it felt like they were accusing me of being part of the organization.”

  Javier laughed. “That’s what you get for being a freak-lover, Fletch. You did this to yourself.”

  “Come on, Javier. Would you lay off that for a day?”

  “Alright, fine. Only because you’re abandoning me for some fancy job in another city,” his friend said with a grin. “When do you leave for that, anyway?”

  Fletcher shrugged. “I haven’t heard. I’m supposed to meet with Sunlight in a few days to go over things. I’m hoping I’ll have at least a few weeks to figure it all out from this end.”

  “We should have dinner. Me, you, your dad, my family. One last hurrah before you dive into the freak-abyss,” Javier suggested, his smile faltering just a bit. “My mom will kill me if she finds out you’re leaving for deities’ know how long and I didn’t set something up for her to say goodbye. You always have been her favorite kid in the Ortega family.”

  Fletcher laughed. “Dinner sounds nice. I’ll talk to my dad, and I’ll let you know,” he promised. The clerk was motioning to him. “I’ll see you later.”

  “Bye, Fletcher,” Javier said as he returned to his seat and Fletcher followed the office attendant to where his two suitcases waited.

  Taking them in hand, Fletcher exited the building to find himself at the outer wall of Alcett, a few miles from the actual city with fields of varying crops filling in the distance. The skyline of the buildings stood out against the mountains surrounding them, composed of several towers used for offices and apartments. Smoke from the small industrial district could be discerned behind it. The colony also hosted a small collection of townhouse neighborhoods at the edge of the city for the luckiest of the families, which Fletcher and his dad had not been a part of.

  While Fletcher had missed having a yard as a kid when the Anders first moved to the city, he’d grown accustomed to apartment life pretty fast, and nowadays he preferred his one-bedroom apartment to dealing with something that had as much upkeep as a townhouse. Besides, it kept him close to work and his dad.

  This far outside the city, the only real transportation option back in would be a bus or walking the paved road. Due to the heat and extra load he bore, Fletcher was willing to deal with the nuisance of public transit. They always had to pass through some kind of inspection at the military base when they reentered the colony, so he was used to the hassle of trying to get back.

  Luck was on his side, because right as he approached the bus stop, a bus pulled in to drop off its few occupants. Only soldiers and farmhands really had any need of coming all the way out here. A couple of others waited to load the bus alongside Fletcher, workers who had finished their shift for the day.

  Once the others were off, everyone waiting got on, and the bus driver informed them it would be a fifteen minute wait before leaving while he took a break. Fletcher didn’t mind much since the bus was far cooler than the outside, and it remained that way even when the air conditioner turned off.

  It ended up being closer to twenty minutes before the driver returned, and during that time Dean entered. He glanced at Fletcher but made an obvious effort to not sit anywhere near him, which was what Fletcher wanted too. It was a relief when the engine started and they finally made their way towards the heart of Alcett. Fletcher put headphones in for the short drive and looked out the window at the fields as they went by.

  Alcett was one of the largest colonies left in what remained of Earth, boasting around two million people. While they did their best to be self-sufficient, most of their food was imported from the smaller colonies, which were dedicated to agriculture, and some came from the more generous Unhuman communities. Alcett was a technology hub, focused on creating and improving products for Humans and—due to the Treaty—Unhumans.

  As they went, the bus stopped at a few other places along the way to pick up more field workers. Eventually they arrived within the downtown area where more buses were found on the roads while a plethora of pedestrians and bikers were on the streets.

  Fletcher got off there alongside most of the others on the bus. He could grab another bus to his apartment building, but his dad’s building was close to here, and he wanted to see his father before any word of what happened could reach him. Sebastian had a tendency to over-worry about the smallest things, and it would be best if Fletcher could calm his fears early on. Since it was Saturday, he knew his dad would for sure be home.

  The apartment building where his father lived—the same one he’d grown up in—was run-down and in desperate need of repair. That could be said of a lot of buildings in the area, but finding the manpower and resources to fix them was a bureaucratic nightmare, according to the city council, at least.

  While the building had three elevators, all except one were broken. Normally, Fletcher would have taken the stairs, but after the day he’d had, dragging himself, a backpack, and two suitcases up to the fifth floor sounded like a nightmare, so he opted to wait for the slow, rickety lift.

  A dampened ding sounded, and the doors opened to the small space with only half-lighting, frayed carpet, and dented walls. The smell of tobacco, alcohol, and vomit lingered in the air.

  “Home, sweet home,” he muttered to himself as he entered it.

  Even back fifteen years ago when they first moved in, the building had been in poor repair. He had no idea why his father still lived in such a dump, but every time Fletcher brought up getting a nicer place since Sebastian could definitely afford it, his dad had a different excuse. At this point, he just didn’t bother arguing about it. If his dad wanted to live in a rundown apartment, that was his decision.

  It took several minutes for the lift to finally reach the fifth floor, and when Fletcher exited, he was pleased to discover the air was a little less putrid in the hallway than the elevator.

  He walked all the way down the corridor to the last apartment before the stairwell. Too lazy to dig his keys out of his backpack, he pounded on the door. Only a few seconds later, the lock unlatched, and the door opened to reveal the graying face of Sebastian Anders.

  “Fletcher,” he said as a smile cracked onto his face. His hair was more silver than blond, but his hazel eyes remained intense and kind. Far too many worry lines were embedded into his face—admittedly, most of them caused by Fletcher. All in all, he looked pretty good for fifty-eight, especially given that he’d lived through one and a half wars and then spent nearly ten years as a refugee during the building of the colonies after the Second Unhuman War. “What are you doing here? I assumed you’d at least drop your stuff off before coming by.”

  Unauthorized content usage: if you discover this narrative on Amazon, report the violation.

  Fletcher smiled. “Good to see you too, Dad. Can I come in? My arms are going numb from hauling everything from the colony’s walls.”

  Sebastian chuckled and opened the door wide to allow him to enter. The interior of the apartment might as well as come straight from Fletcher’s memories. The walls were painted soft white, and the floors were standard hardwood. A large window covered most of the far wall, illuminating the open living, dining, and kitchen space.

  A kitchen with a small island sat in one corner, with a four-seater dining table nearby. The familiar beat up sofa sat in the center of the living room with a TV screen across from it alongside a small collection of movies. They were owned by Sebastian’s father’s family before the Merger, when television could be used for as many hours a week as a family wanted.

  Nowadays, with life in the colonies, electricity and Internet rations were strictly enforced, which meant it took planning to use something extra like a TV or game console. Luckily, schools got a little more leniency in their power consumption, so Fletcher skirted the rules by charging his phone and laptop there instead of his apartment.

  His phone… still sitting on his desk in his own apartment. Thinking of it almost made him regret stopping here first, but he changed his mind again when he considered what his father’s reaction would be if he found out about the job and dual citizenship from someone besides Fletcher.

  Abandoning his suitcases and backpack near the door, Fletcher flopped onto the couch. His dad sat at the other end, looking at him with knowing eyes.

  “What’s going on?” Sebastian asked warily.

  Sighing, Fletcher moved to sitting up properly. “It’s been an interesting couple of days. I wanted to be the one to fill you in on things before the rumors started to spread.”

  “Not about…”

  “No. Nothing about that. I wouldn’t be here if that was the case,” he said.

  Somehow, despite all the odds stacked against him, Fletcher’s Hexing remained undiscovered. The only two people who knew about Fletcher’s 1% [Demanlic] were sitting in the room, refusing to ever mention the word. Taking another breath, Fletcher launched into his story, covering everything from the board meeting to the terrorist ambush, but leaving out any bits about the new job in Bren’it’p.

  His father grabbed his shoulder once he finished. “I’m glad you’re okay. There’s been no word of this attack back here. I can’t believe they didn’t contact anyone’s families. Our government is so desperate to keep Alcett’s reputation as a ‘safe colony’ that they always try to bury these kinds of things.”

  “Yeah. Honestly, I was surprised with how calm I felt through the whole thing. Especially when I faced down the half-[Werewolf] with a gun.”

  Sebastian shook his head. “You didn’t get that kind of recklessness from me.”

  “Great. Two things I got from Mom. Being stupid-brave and green eyes,” Fletcher said with an eye roll. “She was real generous with her genes.”

  “Don’t speak that way about her, Fletcher,” his father said quietly. “She loved you a lot.”

  “There’s more,” he said to end the unhappy talk of the mother he’d never known. His dad always got an annoyingly reverent tone when they talked about her, and Fletcher wasn’t in the mood to hear about just how incredible his mom had been.

  Sebastian looked back at him, but as his father met his gaze, Fletcher looked away. Explaining this was going to be hard. After another moment of thought, he went ahead and filled in the rest of the story he’d originally left out, covering becoming an Unhuman citizen, receiving the job offer, getting the chance to bail, and then choosing to take the job anyway.

  Saying it all aloud made him realize just how ludicrous the past two days had been. Was it really only last week his biggest concern had been writing an appropriately difficult final exam?

  “Fletcher, you can’t be serious. Let’s think this through,” his dad said immediately after. “Going to an Unhuman city might as well be a death sentence. You’ll end up imprisoned for the rest of your life, never seeing me or the outside world again.”

  “I told you. I got the chance to turn it down, but I want to do this. It’s a huge opportunity,” he argued.

  Sebastian shook his head. “No. It’s a disaster waiting to happen as the best case scenario. This is a horrible idea. When you see Sunlight next, you have to take her up on her offer.”

  “I’m not going to do that. The cost was too high,” Fletcher said. “Besides, I’ve been around tons of Unhumans. Not even that [Bloodhound] with the Hexed Humans could [Sniff] me out. I think I’ll be okay as long as I avoid being seen in complete darkness, which is pretty doable. I have managed that for over a decade and a half now.”

  “A mixed-[Bloodhound], Fletcher. Who knows what a full [Bloodhound] could do.”

  “At the parent meet and greet last summer there was a [Bloodhound]. She didn’t notice anything,” he continued to press.

  “Fletcher, listen to me. This is a bad idea. While I admire your dedication to the moral high ground, this is really not the time for it. Do what has to be done to keep yourself safe.” Sebastian’s voice was hard, the type of tone he used when he was genuinely angry.

  “It’s my choice, Dad. This is what I want.”

  His father stood up, his voice turning into a yell. “Fletcher Anders, you are making the biggest mistake of your life! I did not give up everything we had in Loketa for you to throw your life away now. You’re not taking that job.”

  “I’m twenty-five years old! This is my decision, and my mind is made up!” Fletcher matched Sebastian in volume as he stood from the couch as well.

  “Twenty-five, and somehow still naive enough to believe that Unhumans are all good people,” his dad responded.

  “And who taught me that? Who lectured me day in and day out about how it was wrong to call them ‘freaks’ or ‘monsters?’ Don’t forget that you’re the one who raised me this way,” he bit back.

  “I taught you not to be a bigot, not to prefer Unhumans to your own kind. I knew wasting your college degree on teaching was a mistake. This never would have happened if you’d stuck to the original plan of becoming a researcher,” Sebastian said bitterly.

  “I’ll see you later,” Fletcher replied coldly. He couldn’t handle this argument again with his father.

  Ever since the first internship at Alcett Academy for Unhuman Education, his dad had become very against him spending long amounts of time with people outside his species. It didn’t make sense to Fletcher whose childhood had been spent with many long hours at his dad’s warehouse around Unhuman merchants. Not to mention all the lectures about treating them as he would any Human. He’d always thought his father would be proud he was volunteering to work with Unhumans, even if it was in teaching.

  Something that had always been a sore point was Sebastian’s attitude towards Fletcher’s career choice. Colleges had exceptionally strict standards and offered only the selection of degrees deemed necessary to Human development, so while Sebastian had been ecstatic when Fletcher got accepted, he’d never been happy with his decision to go into teaching of all things.

  “Fletch, I’m sorry. Let’s both take a breather, and then we can go out to eat, to get your mind off things,” his dad offered in a softer voice.

  “Maybe. I’m pretty tired. Let me get home and unpack, and I’ll let you know.” Fletcher slid his backpack back on. He had both pieces of luggage in hand when his dad grabbed him and pulled him into a hug.

  “I love you,” he said.

  “Love you too, Dad.” Fletcher released his suitcases to hug him back.

  A moment later, he was out the door with his stuff and headed down the hall. The argument stirred him up enough that he took the stairs down to the lobby, and he was already covered in sweat as he exited into the late summer afternoon. He ended up walking to his apartment building only a few blocks away.

  It was quite a bit newer than his dad’s, but living there stretched his meager teacher’s salary. One benefit of the summer teaching gig was that it gave him the extra money to live comfortably. He entered the air conditioned lobby and took the elevator up to the twelfth floor. His place was distinctly smaller than his dad’s, but it had more windows.

  A medium-sized TV hung up on one wall with a neat couch and a comfortable chair surrounding it. The majority of the walls were taken up by bookshelves. Physical books were another difficult to acquire commodity, and most of his spare cash went to finding them, but he considered it a worthwhile investment.

  Fletcher went to his small bedroom, which barely fit his bed and a nightstand. He was so used to being at the Academy where every light was on all the time, he didn’t even think about finding the lightswitch as he entered. With the curtains closed, the room was dark. Very dark.

  Dark enough to trigger it.

  As he stepped inside, and before he could realize his mistake, the notification popped up.

  [Dark Vision: Active]

  What should have been a black void was instead a dim scene of gray outlines. Due to his [Dark Vision] being only level 1, it wasn’t really all that helpful.

  Fletcher muttered a curse as he flipped the light switch on. Blinding light filled the space, hurting his delicate eyes as the next notification appeared.

  [Dark Vision: Inactive]

  Why did it have to tell him every freaking time it turned on or off? Who cared?

  The experience did make him briefly reconsider his decision to take the Chief Education Administrator position. Maybe his dad was right. Maybe it was a mistake. Could he actually avoid triggering his one and only [Skill], and with it, the physical change that marked him as one of the Hexed?

  Dropping his stuff to the floor, he sprawled out on his bed. New worries swirled through his mind. He just wanted to be a good person, but was it worth the risk to go out there? And most Humans would like him more if he got into a physical fight with Sunlight.

  But what about the kids…

  Could he bring himself to potentially ruin their trust in Humans for the rest of their lives for his own selfish reasons? He’d been worried about keeping his secret before he went to the Academy, and that ended up fine. Better than fine even. He loved working there. Who was to say he wouldn’t love this job just as much?

  Right now, it was putting a strain on his relationship with his father, but once his dad accepted it, it wouldn’t really be that big of a deal.

  Closing his eyes, Fletcher ran his hand over his face. The truth was, he’d made his decision, and he wasn’t going to back down now. He was choosing this for himself, and he was going to stand by that decision no matter how much others chose to doubt him.

  Fletcher sat up, his confidence returning in small part. This was going to be good. He really believed that.