It was a cool, starry Wednesday night. The sky was clear, a full moon beaming down a generous amount of light. The town streets of Tomahawk Hills were mostly empty, save for a few late-night commuters making their way home.

The town is a small, suburban American town, settled nearby a long stretch of foothills, and surrounded by swathes of farmland. These titular hills were visible, no matter what point of town you were in. Neighborhoods of cozy, small homes interlinked with roads that stretched out to the rest of the town. Some of these homes wrapped around an ancient thicket of pine trees, named the Umbra Pine Forest.

The town roads would connect to simple plazas of shops, an expansive yet generic mall, or stretches of small apartments and offices. They stretched further, running through the farmland and connecting to either an interstate highway, or branching up to the foothills, where a privileged few lived.

There at the edge of the town, and the beginning of the forest, stood Louise Palrick.

To the sporty senior-year student of Tomahawk High, everything about this town was all too mundane. Every day had become a pattern: Go to school, pay attention enough to just barely pass, and go home to do whatever else. Some after schools activities would break up this monotony, but it was never enough.

Her time after school would be spent either playing video games, scouring the internet for any paranormal sightings, or exploring the woods. None of these gave her what she was seeking: A true adventure.

Before she had come out here, she had been following an online forum thread on strange, unmarked trucks that had been driving around town.

A simple knock at her front door led to a bizarre encounter of her own.

She answered the door, finding nobody at the door, but a small, metal box on the doormat. The box was unremarkable, almost looking like a solid metal cube if not for the notch near the top.
She popped the top open, revealing a folded note. There, written in typewriter-like font:

I know you’re looking for the truth about this town Louise. There is a clearing in the forest you are familiar with. Be there at 10pm, and I can provide answers.

 

Back in the present, Louise clutched the note tighter. She had never been in the forest this late. It was against the law to enter after dark, as wild animals came out. As much as she’d love to explore at night, she was still helpless against a coyote or something.

With the hope of discovering some secret truth, in a spot she was familiar with, this would at least be worth the risk. If she ran into a wild animal she couldn’t handle, civilization was still pretty close.

With nothing but a flashlight, she pushed into the thicket.

 

The spot she was familiar with was a small clearing with an old abandoned shed. She sat atop a stump and waited.

Minutes passed, as she tapped her leg away with excitement.. It was the right place, the right time.

A faint noise from above interrupted the forest’s ambience. It was some kind of buzzing.
A metal box fell from the sky, landing right in front of the girl. There was a printed note attached to it.

“You’re in danger, put these on.”
Her heart raced, and she opened the box.

Inside was a pair of red gauntlets. Strange, illegible inscriptions running across the back palm.

Her eyes widened, and she took them out of the box.
She rotated them around, following along the strange inscriptions. The metal didn’t feel fake at all, it had decent weight to it.

She had always wanted to get a suit of armor. These gauntlets were a great start.
The excited girl opened and closed her hands, finding they fit her hands in an almost unnatural way. They felt as weightless as a pair of latex gloves.

Her excitement diminished as her mind returned to the note that was on the box.

How would these things help her? What was she in danger of? Would She have to duel somebody?

An explosive crack boomed through the forest, and Louise felt something strike her in the back. Something dug into her skin. She was knocked forward, falling over. Her eyes flew open wide, brain processing the only thing that could have happened to her, given all these circumstances.

If somebody was trying to tell her the truth, maybe somebody else was trying to silence her before she figured it out.

She had been shot.

 

Her eyes were still clenched tight. Her back still stung.

But was this really what being shot was like?
On the ground, she reached behind, feeling where she was struck.

It stung, but there was no hole, no blood.

It was either a miracle, or she was grazed by the bullet.

She scrambled to her feet and rushed to find cover behind a tree.

Another bullet cracked through the air, this time striking her in the side of the chest.
The bullet dug into her side, but didn’t break the skin. It still stung like crazy, her trying to gag out a pained yelp. On the upside, she could confirm that whatever was being fired at her, wasn’t dealing any significant damage.

Her brain scrambled around, trying to make sense of everything as she hid behind a tree.

How was she supposed to get away from this gunman? Was he using non-lethal rounds to try to incapacitate her? Would he track her all the way home if she tried to escape?

A deep breath in, then out. Her heart rate settled, and she glanced to where she once stood.

Flashing her light on the ground, she caught notice of two flattened bullets in the dirt.

She stared down at the gauntlets, thinking back to how these were supposed to protect her from danger.

 

Was it all because of these?

Her heart was now racing because of a mix of both fear and excitement.

Sure, they still stung quite a bit, but she was actually bulletproof.

She turned her light on, stepping out of her cover. She dug her feet into the ground.

Another shot rang out, striking her in the back.

Ignoring the pain, she whirled around to the direction she was hit and charged forward.

“Come on out of your hiding spot, coward! Face me where I can see ya!”

Another bullet shot forth, striking her in the front of the chest. She gritted her teeth, feeling the stinging get worse.

“Thanks for letting me know where you’re at!” She yelled, continuing her sprint through the trees and flora.

Far ahead, behind a thick patch of brush, somebody screamed, followed by three gunshots in rapid succession.

No bullets flew near her at all.

Leaping through the brush, she skidded to a halt.

The scream and gunshots weren’t for her.

Her assailant lay limp against a tree, a gash in his chest and his rifle cleaved in half. He held a pistol in another hand.

 

Standing over him was a massive creature, easily three times Louise’s height. It stood on hooved legs, covered in thick fur. Stretching up a very muscular back up to a squarish head, were two massive antlers. The beast turned around revealing its head to be a cross between a human’s and a moose’s; Blank white human eyes and cheeks, with a moose-like snout extending from it, lined with razor-sharp teeth.

There were three red holes in its abdomen, where she could clearly see the pistol bullets embedded. A billow of white mist blew from the beast’s mouth as it roared a bone-chilling cry.

She took a step back. Her heart began pounding, feeling every thump against the wall of her chest.

A part of her wanted to cheer, staring face to face with a cryptid. One of many supposed mythical creatures that roamed the earth. She hoped to at least find one with both a camera, and from a safe distance. Now, she was about to eat it's meal.

Or was she? Maybe this cryptid was the true danger she was warned about. She clenched her fists tight. It was do or die with these strange new gauntlets.

It reared back one of its massive arms, and swung down at her.

She rolled beneath it, and leapt upwards, finding she jumped way higher than she normally anticipated.

More surprises from these gauntlets?

Soaring upwards, she moved her fist straight for the jaw of the beast. The blow knocked it up slightly, but it recovered quickly.. She stared in awe for a few moments, realizing the full power these gauntlets actually gave her. At the same time, the cryptid kicked the girl away. She crashed into and cracked the trunk of a pine tree. The dull pain of the impact throbbed through her body, but wasn’t as bad as she had anticipated. Her breathing quickened as she got back onto her feet, the beast now charging at her on all fours, rearing its antlers.

She smiled. With her newly-granted strengths in mind, she knew she could face off this beast. There could be no other reason for this strange gift she was given.

She leapt high into the air, clearing the head of the monster. It skidded to a halt, almost colliding with a tree. Louise landed several feet behind it, stumbling on the landing.

It let out another roar, and she screamed at it in response.

“Come on, you want some of this?” She motioned her hands tauntingly towards the monster.

It charged forward, and so did she. Taking the monster by , she jumped, grabbing onto one of its antlers. The beast kicked up a flurry of dirt, grinding to a halt. Like a raging ox, it began flailing wildly, trying to buck the girl off. She held tight, the extra strength of the gauntlets aiding her well. With her free arm, she began to wail away at the thing’s skull. The hardened metal the gauntlets were made rang the beast’s skull like a bell. It shrieked, reaching to its head to try and clamp down on the pest on its head.

She kicked off the monster’s , sending it staggering back. She landed back on the ground, staring determined at the monster.

“You’re a tough one, aren’t ya?” She panted. “I’ll find a way to crack through, and take those antlers home as a trophy!”

The beast stood up to its full height, towering far over her. It hunched over, holding out it’s claws to try to catch any movement she could make. She took a step back, feeling her confidence wane.

Maybe I shouldn’t have pissed him off…

It paused all of the sudden, glancing off into the distance. The two stood motionless, until the cryptid suddenly bolted in the opposite direction, disappearing into the thicket of trees.

Louise held out her arm, and sighed. The disappointment did turn into a small cheer.

Cryptids are real! Magic is real! She’s on the edge of a new adventure!

But what was the truth that was supposed to be revealed to her? Was it the existence of these things?

She glanced around the forest. And what exactly scared away that giant monster?

From behind her, a slight snap emanated from the darkness. She swallowed. Her body was feeling slightly sore from the previous fight. And if there was something out there that could scare away a beast as ferocious as that…

She broke out into a sprint, rushing back to civilization.

From behind a tree, another figure was silently watching her. Wearing a thick coat and night vision goggles, it stared wide eyed at the feat she had just performed. With one last survey of the area, it quite literally vanished into thin air.

 

---

It was 7:20AM when her alarm clock blared, waking Louise up. She had worn her gauntlets to sleep, in case she was attacked by some other assassin or cryptid. Thankfully, everything was intact. No holes in the walls or windows, bullets, or anything like that.

She smacked the clock silent, and leapt out of bed.

Thanks to how she organized everything, Louise’s average sized room seemed pretty cramped. Her paper-stacked desk only stood a chair’s length away from her bed, and next to that was a corkboard, overstuffed with various news articles. There were posters of alleged cryptid sightings hanging all around the walls. The floors were a mess of mostly papers and textbooks.

She sat up, thinking about what to do today. That cryptid was still out there, and now she had some magical armor to help her deal with it. But what was she to do next? Maybe return to her familiar spot, and see if there was something new there?

Perhaps I could just skip-

She thought about her parents getting a phone call about her skipping class. She sighed. School it was.

She walked over to her closet, throwing on her favorite look for school: A gray button up shirt, a nice looking sports jacket, a nice looking skirt, and of course what she thought pulled it all together: A black neckerchief and some red training gloves. She finished by tying her hair into a sidetail, pinning it with a purple star charm. All of this cozy for her to wear, even for this weather, and a style she personally liked. Despite not being the most popular, she still wanted to have a unique flair to her looks.

 

She tossed her magical gauntlets into her bag. As cool as they were, she didn’t want to risk them getting confiscated by wearing them around classes.

She walked around some of the scattered papers on her floor, grabbing a few textbooks among them to put in her backpack. With her school gear in tow, she hurried down to the kitchen.

Her parents were gone already, having to leave early to make their long work commute. They had already made a loving lunch for her the night before, so she took some sausage patties out of the fridge and began cooking, preparing for the day ahead.

Despite how small and boring Tomahawk Hills was to Louise, She could at least appreciate how she could access most of it just by walking. Her school, Tomahawk High, was just a ten minute walk away, allowing her to sleep in as much as she could, and still be ready and get there on time.

As she neared the main building, dozens more of students were just arriving, by car, bike, or foot. They funneled through the main door, and Louise moved along with the crowd, glancing around at all the other students.

This school and the people here were just like the rest of the town: Boring, unassuming, and pretty normal. She didn’t really know many people here super well, other than knowing a few names of classmates from years past. It was a shame none could keep up with her interests, but she was fine with her relationships with all of them.

None of them had what she had, not after last night.

The school day flew on by. Classes were just timewasters, and making sure to turn in whatever classwork and homework was due. When the final bell rang and students flooded the halls, all with different destinations, but the same idea: Get home and relax.

Heading to the main exit, a crowd had formed.

“Come on, it’s been months. How are you always so busy?” an arrogant voice spoke.

Louise groaned. It was rare, but scuffles like this were only caused by one person. The only other person she could say broke the mold.

“I have far more going on that is more important than you.” A feminine voice responded.

Kirino Yorogami. A girl a little over Louise’s height with long, black hair. Her usual outfit was a nice blue dress jacket, fancy skirt, and fancy dress shoes. In this school, it was hard not to know about her. She was a bonafide prodigy; Daughter of a tech giant CEO, top of all of her classes, fitness star and a stellar rowing coxswain to boot. Louise couldn’t imagine how anyone’s self esteem could stand simply being around her, but yet because of those facts, situations like this with other boys would happen.

The boy smacked his fist on the locker. “Yeah, because you never give me any time to LET me be important. Why can’t you give me the time?”
“Your behavior here is proof enough that your time is worthless to me.”
She began to walk, but the boy forced himself in front of her.

“Look, I'm serious, just give me”
Kirino grabbed his arm, flipping him over onto his back. He groaned in pain as she stared down into his eyes.

 

“If you think you’re deserving of my time, come back when you won’t be knocked down so easily. If you ever want to try this again, show some respect, and don’t act so pathetic.”
She marched towards the exit, and the crowd murmured to each other.

Louise groaned to herself.

Kirino could have gone to some fancy private school, to spend time with others like her. But instead, she had to come to Tomahawk High, just to show off how much better she was than everyone. That’s what Louise thought.

Louise returned home just to drop off her bags before hurrying back to the woods, but was met by a small surprise: Her mother.

Mrs. Palrick looked similar to her daughter, though more aged and let her hair grow out longer.

“Welcome home! Work didn’t need me today so I decided to come back early!” She spoke in a cheerful tone, working in the kitchen.
“Oh uh, hey! I was going to…” She thought about her plans. “Finish my homework, and head on out. Is that all right?”
“Hey, there’s still some housework I need you to take care of too. Fix up your room, help clean the living room, then you can head on out!”
She rolled her eyes. Couldn’t exactly ignore her own mother…

By around 7pm, she had finished her homework, but was in the middle of vacuuming the living room. The day was nearly over, she still didn’t understand the full “Truth” about this town, what was she missing? She mused to herself, continuing her chores.

The doorbell rang.
She turned off the vacuum and sprinted over. “I got it!”
Opening the door and expecting another box, she instead stared at a strange boy.

He wore very baggy pants and a large jacket, with the hood up.

He stared, almost making eye contact with her.

“Uh, can I help you?” Louise asked with an annoyed tone.

He inhaled, then exhaled.

“I saw what happened last night. In the woods?”
She froze up. Her gauntlets were still in her backpack.

“You’re not…”

He held up his hands. “No no no, I uh… I don’t want to like, blackmail you or anything.”

“Or kill? You’re not a government agent or secret cryptid or something?”
He held his arms in front of him. “No no no, no not any of that!”

“Louise, who’s at the door?” Mrs. Palrick called from inside.

“Well, who are you?”
“I’m… Davis. Davis Foster. We share a few classes at school, so I thought you’d recognize me…”
Louise turned back inside. “Somebody from school. I think he needs a bit of help mom!”

“All right, but just make sure you finish your chores when you get back!”

Louise stepped outside, closing the door behind her.

“So, what exactly do you want with me then?”

“I wanted to know what’s up with you? Like, you got shot, fought a wendigo, all this stuff and like… Why? What’s going on?”
She raised an eyebrow. “That’s a wendigo? How do you know that? Plus, it was self defense. I was invited there, for your information.”

“I mean, I just named it that because it’s like the legend… Um…”
He looked around more.

“I think we should find some place… Less open to talk.”

“Ooh, I got a nice hiding spot in the woods-”
“That wendigo is still lurking around there, and it’s starting to get dark.”
She put her hand on her chin. “True… I mean, you got any suggestions.”
“I mean, my house is pretty empty. And safe. It’s next to the woods, but monsters don’t usually leave the woods-”
“Monsters? As in, plural? There’s more?”
“I’ve… seen a few.”
Her eyes gleamed with excitement. She turned back inside. “Hey mom, he needs a bit of help with school stuff! I’m gonna head on out, if that’s all right?”
“Sure, that’s all fine! If you’re gonna be home late, just let me know!”

She grinned. “Well, if your house is nice and quiet, let’s hurry on over! Gimme one sec to grab my schoolbag, you know. For ‘homework help.’”

 

---

The skies slowly darkened as Louise followed her watcher from a distance. Davis kept glancing back every now and then, every time meeting the girl’s judgemental gaze.
If only his home was closer, he thought.

It was a twenty minute walk, and all the way at the edge of town, near the Umbra Pine Forest. A small, single-story home, with a decently kept front lawn. There weren’t any decorations, flags, or anything stand-out. It was just an ordinary, single-story, modern-styled home.

He unlocked the front door, motioning for Louise to walk in first. She crept in, glancing all around.
Like the house, the living room was picture-esque normal. Almost too normal. A big, comfy looking couch and flatscreen TV were set up and kept neat, aside from some scattered candy wrappers. There was a countertop that divided the living room from the kitchen. Off to the side was a hallway.
It was dead silent inside, no signs of any sort of trickery or traps.
She sighed, and walked further in. Davis followed, closing the door behind him.
“So uh…” He looked around. “I’ve never had a guest before. If you’re hungry or anything, I got, like, some food stocked in the fridge.”
She sat down on the couch, sinking into its puffy cushions. She turned to him.
“Not to get distracted, but shouldn’t you be telling me all you know? You spying on me, the cryptids, all that?”
Davis gave a blank stare for a few moments.
“You’re taking this just a bit better than expected…”
She shrugged. “I mean I already kinda expected all this to be a thing. So come on, what’s your deal? Why were you spying on me?”
He sighed. “All right, uh…”
He walked in front of the fridge.
“Well, I mean to start, I need to show you something about me.”
He walked to the wall, turning off the lights. The room was lit only by the small amount of sunlight that shone through the curtains. He took a deep breath, and then vanished into nothingness. Louise’s eyes bugged out of her head, and she stood up. She glanced all around the room.

A voice spoke from behind her “I’m here-”
She whirled around in a panic, nearly whacking him in the face with her fist. He vanished into nothingness for a brief moment, dodging the blow, and re-materialized.
“Hey, I told you I’m not trying to hurt you!”
Louise sighed in relief. “Well, next time TELL me if you’re going to like, spook me with that vanishing act! What are you, a ghost or something?”
“Well uh, no. I’m very much alive. I’ve just been born with this ability to de-materialize into nothing. Or ghosting, or phasing, or whatever you wanna call it.”
Louise stared in wonder, nodding. “That’s so awesome…”
Davis chuckled, rubbing the back of his head. “Well, it’s got these limits. Can’t do it in broad daylight, since it makes it feel like there’s a vice grip on my chest. IT’s also pitch black when I’m ghosted, so I need night vision goggles to see around properly.”

“Hey still, being able to turn incorporeal like that is awesome! Do you go out in the woods to hunt cryptids or something?”
His smile diminished. “Well uh… Not really. My power is really nice for spying or running away from monsters, but not so much for fighting them…” He looked down at the floor for a few moments, before looking back at Louise. “But I still try! For the most part, I just try to hang around the woods after hours, and try to warn others from entering when it’s dark out. There’s more than just the wendigo in there. I’ve seen like, giant spiders, one time I saw like a tree stand up and walk around! Oh yeah, and bigfoot. He’s 100% real and I KNOW I saw him.”

Louise’s eyes widened more and more in amazement.

“Well uh” Davis coughed. “It seems really cool, but they’re all dangerous. If people are killed by those monsters, the police will just claim they are ‘missing persons’, and never investigate. It’s… Not something nice to think about.”
“Well… You’re doing a pretty good job spying on them and avoiding them! Can’t you just take some photos or evidence and reveal the truth to anyone?”

“Isn’t it kinda obvious?” He said with an annoyed expression. “Only like, crazy weirdos would believe me. Only reason I’m telling you is at least you like, SAW one, you know?”

Louise returned an irked look. “I’m not some kinda crazy weirdo, first off!”

“I didn’t mean- Just ignore that then. But yeah, I’m glad that some people at least, heed my warnings when I do catch up to them…”
Louise opened her bag, pulling out the mysterious gauntlets she received.

“As for me, I just got these gauntlets from… Well I don’t really know. But all I know, is they made me really strong, bulletproof, and able to wrestle that monster head-on!”
Davis stared at the strange armor, thinking back to the insane fight he witnessed previously.
“I mean… Why though?”
“I was in danger. It was dropped, probably because whoever gave them knew I was gonna be in trouble. Simple as that!”
“But who-”

Before he could continue, his TV lit up, static burning on the screen. The duo jumped, staring at the screen as the hiss of the white snow fizzed into silence.

An electronic voice pierced through the snow.

A voice spoke over the static, sounding like a phone with bad reception.

“Louise Palrick, Davis Foster…"