The car turns off and we get out of the car. Blake grabs the umbrella and crowbar he mentioned earlier, offering them to Damien who shakes his head.

  I stretch and look up at the sky, ignoring the others as droplets land on my face.

  “Don’t worry about her. She always does this when it rains.” Blake tells Rose.

  A touch on my arm brings me back to the real world. Rose smiles at me, while Damien and Blake lean against the car, sharing the umbrella. Damien holds a wrench, leaving Blake with the crowbar.

  “We should get going.” Rose says.

  “Do you know how to find them from here?” I ask.

  She shakes her head.

  I look at the park, running through all of the abilities I’ve learned. My breath calms as I twist my communication chakra to bring my thoughts outside of their usual box. “[Telepathy]”

  My thoughts brush over the three other highschoolers, briefly touching on each of them. I ignore their thoughts, and instead move farther out. I expand my mind, recognizing a homeless man as he rests underneath an overhang.

  Then I find them. Their voices aren’t as loud as a human’s, and at first I think they are animals, but their thoughts are too concise for that, too organized.

  One of them watches the homeless man, its thoughts gruesome in nature. In total, I sense six of them, but one is different from the others, its mind more advanced, capable of complex thought. I recoil as I touch its mind, getting flashes of a darkness that I don’t want to examine too closely.

  All at once, I feel my body again.

  I open my eyes. I glance at the blue window that had appeared before turning to the park. “I found them. There are five normal ones, and one that feels different. The closest should be by the basketball courts.”

  Blake pushes himself off the car, Damien sticking close to stay under the umbrella. “Let’s go then.”

  I turn my attention to the blue window as I follow Blake.

  Surprisingly useful explanation, system.

  Blake stops, his body freezing.

  I look up, following his gaze. A gray creature stands over a bloody mess that used to be human.

  “Shit.” I say, my gaze moving over the scattered body parts of the homeless man.

  A strange feeling fills me, and all of my focus turns to the creature.

  The creature dips its hair into the puddle of blood it had created, not even looking at us.

  A crooked smile spreads across my face, as water pours down it. “[Unmatchable Speed]”

  In an instant, I’m in front of the thing, my fist moving towards its face. My punch sends its small body flying.

  It falls to the ground, its head twisted at a strange angle. I keep my gaze on it, making sure that the others can’t see my strange expression. Some of the rain traveling down my face tastes saltier than it should.

  I ignore that last thought.

  I take a deep breath, trying to calm down, when something catches my attention. The blood at my feet flows to the creature, sucked into it as its head cracks and goes back to a proper angle. It opens its eyes, staring at me with anger.

  The blood around it rises from the ground, hardening into sharp spikes. I bring my arms up, creating the same shield that had saved my life against the other Beta Tester.

  A case of theft: this story is not rightfully on Amazon; if you spot it, report the violation.

  The darts hit the shield, splattering against it and turning it crimson. My vision is obscured by the blood, and I lose sight of the creature.

  A shout from Rose is all the warning I have, but my Danger Sense is enough for me to jump away from where I’m standing.

  The Red Cap stands where I just was, two bloody knives in its hands. It smiles at me, showing pointed teeth.

  I smile back at it.

  “You must be a Beta Tester.” It says, its voice harsh on my ears. “How proud I will be when I take your head-” It stops as a knife stabs into its shoulder.

  It turns to look at the knife, only for the knife to glow malevolently. The creature wilts, its body sagging.

  Desperation in its eyes, it pulls all of the blood in the area to itself. The blood enters its body and it begins to gain back its strength. Then it starts to wilt again. The creature reaches towards the knife in its shoulder, but I don’t give it a chance.

  My fist impacts its head, multiple cuts appearing across its body as I use the ability “[Force Of Many Blades]”

  All the blood dries up on the ground as I continue to punch it and it continues to wilt. As the last of the blood disappears, it looks up at me one more time, hatred in its eyes, before it disappears into dust. The dagger that had impaled it falls to the ground.

  I kneel there, breathing heavily. Slowly, the other approach.

  Rose wraps me in a hug. “It’s okay, everything is okay Elena.” She says softly. The rain hides my tears as they fall into her shirt. I focus on my breathing, bringing it under control.

  Damien leans down and picks up the dagger. He studies it closely, turning it over in his hands.

  “Thank you.” I say to her, “And nice throw.”

  She lets go of me, and I stand up.

  In a quick movement, she spins around, grabbing the dagger from Damien’s hands. “You probably don’t want to touch that. Who knows what an accidental knick would do?” The dagger disappears into her inventory.

  Damien shakes his head, his eyes on the body parts littering the ground.

  Blake steps into view, his expression neutral as he looks at the carnage. “Where’s the next one?”

  “The rest are in the woods.” I say, looking towards the trees.

  “Hey, so I hate to be that guy, but don’t you think we should call someone about this?” Damien asks, his gaze staying off of the gore that surrounds us. “I mean, I understand why they never call the authorities in movies. But this is the real world, shouldn’t we be calling the police?”

  I shake my head, “I can’t answer the questions they’d ask, can you?” I pause. “And we don’t have time, there are five more of these fuckers out there.”

  “What if some kids see this? Shouldn’t we do something?” Damien continues.

  “I’ll call my dad.” Rose says. “He’ll make sure the police find the body, and there won’t be any connection to us.”

  Before any of us can respond, she pulls out her phone and puts it to her ear.

  “Who is Rose’s dad again?” Blake asks me, Damien leans in closer, curious about the answer.

  I look at them, surprised that they didn’t know after everything we went through with Doss. “A mob boss.”

  “That makes a lot of sense.” Blake says.

  A few moments later, Rose hangs up. “Come on, let’s get going.”

  I take the lead as we enter the forest, heading towards the creatures I know are haunting these woods.

  The drops of rain become bigger from the filtering of the forest leaves. I let the water wash away my harsh thoughts and feelings, bringing back the good feelings it brings me.

  I lead them down the path until we reach an old oak tree. Two Red Caps are sitting there, sleeping.

  I pull my gloves tight, “You guys take the one on the right. I got the one on the left. [Unmatchable Speed]”

  My fist punches its head into the tree, its face caving in with the power of my gloves.

  I don’t let up, my fists pounding into its head as I make sure it’s dead. It doesn’t heal as it turns to dust.

  My gaze turns to the other Red Cap, only to see Blake’s crow bar meeting its head in a wide swing. Blake plays baseball, and his swing shows that as the head bursts from the power of his swing.

  We stand there for a few minutes as the both of them turn to dust.

  “Three down, three to go.” I say.

  I look at my companions.

  Rose is resolute as she grabs one of her daggers from the ground.

  Damien is pale, but his face is set.

  Blake keeps his neutral expression as he stares at the blood on his crowbar.

  I look to where the two creatures used to be. They disgust me, their thoughts are horrible, their very lives depend on being horrible but they still have a sentience. I could tell when I first sensed their minds and I could tell when the first one looked at me with hatred in its final moments.

  So, I say a small prayer, not for them, but for whatever they went through to make them what they are.

  I won’t let their viciousness destroy my empathy, nor my convictions.

  low price of your sou- wait. You can get them for $5 on patreon? Never mind kid, you never saw me.