1

My Curse

 

The light emanating from the full moon was beautiful. Without this light, the night would be overtaken by darkness. The moon existed to contrast that darkness. Forever being there, even in the bleakest of nights.  

On the side of a hill above a forest laid a wealthy house. The two story complex had a simple blocky exterior with white walls and an interior that reflected the wealth of the owner. The security was rather tight. Along with alarms for the doors and windows, there were infrared lasers in every room.

This would dissuade your everyday robber, but the seventeen year old, Luna Santana, was not your average burglar. She used the vent connected to the rooftop to slide through the ventilation system, and ended up above a small but messy office. Prior intel she received had told her that lasers were only placed a little over the floor of the room. She dropped out of the vent and onto the desk below. The pens, monitor, and other objects on the desk shook a bit as she landed, but nothing fell off. 

She received a job online by an unknown dealer with simple instructions. They sent a small but strange looking cube with a USB plug on it. It was apparently capable of extracting terabytes of data out of a computer by simply plugging it in. All she had to do was place it into the desktop underneath the desk, and it would begin working. She didn’t quite understand the logistics of this device or how something like this could be made. 

A small light on the cube would turn green when it was done. In the meantime, Luna waited while standing on the desk. Her outfit was one that she designed herself. She wore a cape that was black on its outside but blue on the inside, baggy pants that reached her boots, black gloves that covered her arms, and a tight sleeveless shirt. Along with all of this was a belt containing a combat knife, smoke pellets, and a grappling hook. 

The light on the USB finally lit green. She unplugged it from the computer and planned on making her exit. She jumped off of the desk and grabbed onto the vent above, but this action caused the desk to shake a bit, and for some objects to roll. She looked down with a sudden nervousness as a pen slowly rolled across the desk. Its movement became slower as it reached the edge. Before it could fall off and activate the laser security, it stopped. Luna gave out a sigh of relief, but then the blaring echoes of the alarm suddenly reverberated throughout the house.  

Caught off guard, Luna looked back down to see that a pencil she did not previously pay attention to had fallen off instead of the pen. 

Idiot! 

Luna thought this in her as she sighed in embarrassment. 

 This was no time to feel sorry for herself, however. With the alarms loudly declaring her presence, she quickly climbed back up into the vent and crawled her way towards an opening on the side of the house. She jumped out of the vent and onto the grass below. At this point, her escape would only mean moving down the hill and into the forest. 

As Luna began running, her eyes were suddenly hit by a bright headlight.

“HALT IMMEDIATELY”

The voice sounded robotic. She looked up to see a highly advanced mechanical drone hovering in the air. It was 4ft tall and had a cylindrical shape. A camera lens resembling a red eye was in its center, as well as built in firearms on its sides. Luna knew that there would be a chance she’d come face to face with this kind of device. It was also information that she received about the house. There was now no other choice but to make a dangerous escape. 

Luna’s hand grabbed one of the numerous smoke pellets she kept on her belt and quickly threw it on the ground. The impact caused an explosion of smoke to envelope everything around her as the drone lost track of her location. 

The flying machine turned around to see that she was already running downhill, and had entered the woods. As Luna made it down the hill, she made leaps to launch herself faster than if she had simply sprinted the whole way. She maneuvered through the never ending trees and branches in her path with a grace emblematic of her years of training in acrobatics as the movements of her cape exemplified her flow.

However, she could begin to hear the sirens of the drone as it caught up to her, and it soon became visible as she looked behind her. In a moment of thinking, she pulls out another smoke bomb, and throws it straight at the drone, causing it to become enveloped in a cloud of smoke.

The drone flew out of the cloud to see Luna running on foot. An array of bullets were fired off by the drone, and one managed to strike her directly in the back. It was as if the world stopped as the bullet pierced through her body, and ruined all momentum her movement had. A hit like this would most certainly spell the end, but then the body vanished into a blue mist, and faded away in the air.

The drone stopped in confusion over what happened to the body. There was a brief pause until a foot came slamming down from behind onto the drone, and smashed it down the ground. This attacker was none other than Luna herself. As the drone was stuck in the dirt after the impact of that hit, Luna took out her knife and stabbed the drone’s eye, causing it to malfunction entirely.

So even these things can be deceived easily, Luna thought to herself.

With this, there was nothing left to follow her as she left with the USB device still in hand. Although things got a bit messy, Luna felt satisfied with herself as she continued down the woods, and back into the city she lives in. 

 

***

 

Luna lived in a one story house. The neighborhood was peaceful enough, and the house was in decent condition. All the lights were off in her room as she went back in through her unlocked window, but once she began to relax, a light suddenly turned on. 

A woman turned on the lamp on her desk while sitting in the room. She sat there quietly anticipating Luna’s return.

Her name was Serene Lucero. She was a woman with black wavy hair with a large bang hanging on the left of her face. She often wore dark jeans and a turtleneck shirt under her trench coat, along with black loafer dress shoes. Even at two in the morning, she still had this attire on while she rested on the chair Luna used at her desk. 

There was a moment of silence in the room as Luna knew she was busted. Both Serene’s face and posture were completely calm. There was no sense of anger coming from her, but that didn’t change Luna’s own nervousness.

After a bit Luna finally managed to compose herself enough to speak. 

“Okay. You got me. Tonight I went out and broke into some rich guy’s house because I accepted a job online.” 

She continued to sit there in silence.

“It went smooth enough until I tripped an alarm, but I’m back perfectly fine. I know you still think what I did was dangerous regardless, but since you were a thief I thought that I could also pull it off as y’know… your successor.”

The silence continued from Serene.

“Can you please say something now? I-I don’t know what else to say.”

She closed her eyes for a bit before finally speaking.

“I’m happy you’re safe.”

These words caught Luna off guard. Surely she would begin to lecture or scorn her for sneaking out late in the night, and putting herself in danger? It seemed like Luna may have forgotten how nice of a woman she really was.

“With that said…”

And here it comes, Luna thought.

“I believe you should reconsider being a thief entirely,” Serene said as she stood up.

This struck a nerve for Luna. These were the words that she feared the most.

“But you were a thief your whole life! These past seven years, you’ve always talked about how the people at the top don’t care about us. That the world wouldn’t end if we took some loose change from them. Surely you’re not turning back on this?”

Serene began walking toward the door. 

“That’s not what I mean. I don’t regret what I’ve said, but the reason I’ve retired now is that the world has simply become too advanced for someone like me.”

This was the first time Luna heard her talk about this.

“The police and security forces in this city are nothing like they used to be. The Eterna Corporation has this city in its palms, and would snuff me out immediately if I tried to pull anything off. My age doesn’t help matters either. You’ve seen those newly developed drones for yourself, correct?”

Luna was quick to reply. 

“I have seen them! And I was able to deal with one just fine tonight, so you don’t have to worry. I know you’re in your sixties, but I’m young and can adapt to whatever’s thrown at me. Not to mention I have the powers to make this work.” 

As Luna said this, a blue aura surrounded her body. She raised up her arm and a blue projection of this arm began to float. It was beginning to form colors resembling her real arm before it vanished as Luna lowered her arm down.

“I know what I’ve said about these abilities of mine, but if I’m going to have them, I may as well use them while on the job. The point is, I can survive just fine on my own-”

“And will you be happy with that?” Serene calmly replied.

Luna didn’t know how to respond to this question. With her moment of pause, Serene continued.

“I only became a thief after running away from my home. I had my fun, but now that it’s all over, I can’t say that I ever got close to anybody. The only exception being a young pickpocket I found wandering the streets seven years ago.” 

She gave a small smile towards Luna as she said that last sentence.

“The chances of having that exception are low. I thought I’d teach you what I knew as a form of bonding, but this is too far. Now that you’ve graduated High School, I thought you’d maybe want to get out there more, but doing it like this will leave you alone. I’ll ask again, will you be happy with that?” Serene asked.

“That’d be perfect for me! I’ve taken online classes for all of high school. I’m already used to living an isolated life. That’ll be even easier as a thief. If I can just pull off a heist that’ll bring in a lot of money, there’d be no issues! I’d be able to support both of us, and you could retire properly instead of having to find a job.” 

Luna said this with a heightened enthusiasm. For a brief moment, a light shone in her eyes.

“I believe you misunderstood what I meant, but for now, I think it’s best if we end the discussion here. I’ll be heading off the bed. I hope you think about what I’ve said.” 

Luna could feel herself getting more agitated as she gritted her teeth. It was like Serene completely rejected everything she said. 

“I mean what I said! I’m gonna pull off something incredible, and we’ll be able to live comfortable, problem-free lives! I’m content with only having you in my life! I don’t need anyone else, and it’s better that way! I promise!”

The words came out of her mouth without much thought. Even Luna was surprised once she had finished speaking. Serene stopped for a moment, but Luna caught a glimpse of her face. It was one not of disappointment, but concern. She only had one last thing to say before leaving.

“Good night. Don’t forget I love you.”

All Luna could do was sigh from embarrassment and reply with her usual response, “I won’t.”

With that, she exited Luna’s room. 

Exhaustion hit Luna a few minutes later as she plopped onto her bed while face first into the pillow.

Luna ran away from home at a young age. She probably would’ve remained as a street rat if it weren’t for Serene. Despite living together, there always existed this distance between the two. Luna never opened up about why she ran away or explained how she could create clones of herself. These were simply traits she had. 

Having graduated from High School, Luna could no longer exist as nothing more than this kid living with Serene. There was an expectation she had that she needed to support herself. She could go to college, but she didn’t want to be around so many people. Online learning has already become incredibly tiring as well. As dangerous as it was, becoming a thief could potentially be the answer she needed to bypass these complicated thoughts she had. At least, this is what she told herself.

There was no guarantee any of this would work, and Luna knew this. It was times like this that she wished she had someone close she could talk to, but that last time she got close to someone was seven years ago, and she vowed to never let that happen again.

As she began to doze off, Luna mumbled to herself, “What am I even doing?” 

Her sleep wasn’t pleasant.

***

 

12:30am, June 15th. After stealing data from that computer, Luna agreed through messaging to meet with her online dealer at a planned location. This would be the rooftop where the USB device had previously been left. She had spent the day killing time with her usual activities, such as working out and reading manga. 

Before coming here, she put on her thief attire and along with the equipment for her belt. She got these items from the room that Serene stored all her equipment in. The door was usually locked, but she knew how to pick the lock pretty easily.

The night was far cloudier than the last. It looked as though it could rain at any second, and as Luna waited to meet her supposed dealer, she looked on at all the lights shining throughout the city of Everfall. She was on one of the taller buildings in the area, but off in the distance were towers and structures far more complex and refined than the admittedly run down state of this complex. Despite living in this city for seven years, she hardly knew anything about it. Those far off buildings and blocks remained a world she knew very little of.

Luna cut these thoughts short when she began to hear footsteps behind her. She stood still as the sound grew closer. Whoever was behind her was doing a poor job hiding their steps. Let them get just a bit closer and…

Duck! Luna dodged the swing of a baseball bat and jumped away while turning around to get a good look at her attacker. Her face was obscured by a cat mask, but she had hair that went to above her shoulders, an open baseball jacket, and black sweatpants. Judging by her stature, she seemed to be about the same age as Luna. 

At least Luna believed so. She didn’t see girls her age very much.

The masked girl rushed at Luna. She continued to swing as Luna weaved around each swing. The speed at which she swung that bat was impressive. She made it look far lighter than it likely was. This showcase of strength made Luna hesitant to counter any of her attacks. Instead, she relied on her own ability.

She began jumping around her opponent. With each spot she landed, she left behind a clone of herself.

One, two, three, four, five!

Five versions of Luna surrounded the masked girl. Four was the maximum amount of copies Luna could make, but she could also blend in with them perfectly. The masked girl looked at each Luna, trying to process what was even happening. She mumbled under her mask... “What the…!?”

The masked girl eventually decided to target a version of Luna, and swung at her. This Luna tried to block the bat, but the strength was too much. She took the full force of the hit, and was knocked onto the ground. This version of Luna vanished immediately after. 

Wrong version! Luna thought.

Before the masked girl could turn around to face the other copies, she received a punch to the mask by a version of Luna, and the rest followed suit. The four remaining versions of Luna surrounded her. Despite being projections of Luna, each version of her could still make physical contact with their surroundings, and Luna took full advantage of this. A kick to the back, an elbow to the head, a backhand to the sides, a punch to the arm. No matter how strong Luna’s opponent was, four people attacking at once made it very hard to counter.

The masked girl finally hardened to the attacks enough to throw out another swing, but as she looked around, all copies of Luna were gone. All except the real one who proceeded to deliver one final kick to the back. This sent the masked girl to the ground as her bat flew away from her. A victor in this fight had been decided.

“I want to know exactly who you are and what you were trying to pull,” Luna said while walking towards her fallen foe.

The masked girl groaned as she sat up. Despite the number of hits she received, it didn’t look like she sustained any major injuries. 

“Fine! I admit she’s capable!” the masked girl yelled out.

Luna looked around to see if she was calling to anyone, but they remained the only two on the rooftop. 

“Who were you talking to-” 

As Luna said these words, she looked down to see a rope had wrapped itself around her legs, causing her to fall over as she let out a small yelp right beside the masked girl.

“Heh, guess you’re not the only one with tricks,” the masked girl chuckled. 

Luna quickly turned over and sat up alongside the girl, “How did you do that!? And you still haven’t answered my questions!”

“Geez, Chloe! You could’ve eased up a bit in that fight!” 

Luna then heard another voice behind her. She turned around to see a small circular device resembling an eyeball flying in the air with a propeller.

“Hey, I was just tryna verify if this girl was skilled enough to join us,” said Chloe.

“The heist she performed was proof enough!” 

The voice from the eyeball said this with frustration. 

“Aurora said so herself!”

Luna’s mind froze as she heard that name. No. There’s no way they were referring to the Aurora she was thinking of. The chances of that are-

“Honestly, you two. Is that any way to greet someone we invited?”

Luna turned towards the source of that new voice. She could see a figure walking toward her. The clouds began clearing, and the moonlight paved its way through to shine brightly on this girl Luna could recognize. 

Her hair was long and wavy, and she had eyes that were round and beaming with life. She wore a velvet robe with loose sleeves along with brown boots.

Luna looked on in shock at this girl. In this moment, she was overwhelmed by both her beauty, and her own emotions. She tried to speak, but all she could let out were broken syllables.

The girl simply looked down at Luna who was still sitting on the ground. She reached her arm out in the direction of Luna’s legs. The rope wrapped around them began to glow red. After this, they floated off of Luna, and once the red glow disappeared, the rope fell back down to the ground. The girl lowered her arm and gave a soft smile.

“After seven years, it’s nice to see you again, Luna. I’ve heard that’s what you go by now. It’s me, Aurora.” The girl spoke with an enthusiastic voice.

“H-hi….” Luna replied with a shaky voice. Her heart was practically beating out of her chest. Seeing her was too much. So many memories flashed through her mind. She was overwhelmed by feelings of both love and fear.

Of course Luna recognized the girl standing before her. After all, she’s the girl that Luna cursed.