Who would have known crossing a small child 2 years ago would lead to this. I didn’t realize that Nox could be this...monstrous. He seems so small, and easy to control. I sigh deeply as I finish wiping some ink off my hand.

“Nox, you know I won’t try anything again,” I say while pulling my hair. I gently release my hair and bring it back to the ink covered pen. I wipe it down and dip it back into the tiny well of black tree sap.

I pull out an old book from my desk, and open it. Inside it are entries of the last few days. I start writing on the thirty-third page.

“I really did mess up two years ago. The small boy has turned into a fantastic leader in no time. I see his eyes growing colder and wiser by the day. I want to run from his greatness, but I would never be able to find a better position than now, and as much as I hate to admit it, he does have many inventions that improve the lives of the mindless masses. The people in Tauss live far better lives than everywhere else.

I wish for more, but I dare not ask for it. I feel as though the boy watches my every move, and reads my every note. I too fear for this journal’s privacy. I must agree...Two years ago I might have stepped across some lines...but that was two years ago. I now understand he means well, and will only further the lives of everybody here. I feel my loyalty grow every day, and I only wish to serve him. I hope his trust recovers over the coming months.”

I smile as I place the book back into my desk. I hope the boy finds it. I know his soft mind will believe every word. He may be incredibly intelligent, but the boy still lacks experience. I messed up two years ago whenever he found my plan to take over Tauss, but this time I will heat the kettle slowly.

I start to laugh. I bring the documents back to me so I can please my master once more.

-----------------------

My mom’s eyes open wide. Her jaw hangs low, and I hold my exaggerated pose. We stay like that for awhile before she cracks and gives in.

“Why? I can handle just taking some credit, but why make me personally introduce this,” she pauses while twirling her hands in the air, “contraption you’ve built. I know nothing about it.”

“That is why you will read my manual about it, and then be able to explain it,” I say while smiling and nudging her.

“Love, why choose me to do this? Why not your father?” she says with defeat stricken across her face.

“I don’t really ask much of you mom, but I am working hard to improve everybody’s lives. You will do your part. Plus I want you to be an inspiration to women everywhere. If we can stamp out sexism before it happens that would be just fantastic,” I say while stroking my chin.

“Sexism?” she says.

“Means people think men are better than women, or that women are better than men,” I say.

“Why would people think that?” she says.

“Well maybe it starts when women or men become complacent with their position in society. An example is how much dad is willing to help, but you,” I poke her lightly, “want to avoid it. ”

“I don’t want to,” she says.

“We all do things we don’t want to. Do you want to help other women? Do you want to help other people in general?” I say.

“Everybody does son,” she says.

“So you’ll go through with it?” I say.

She sighs deeply and her head falls down as she says, “I guess.”

I jump up slightly and grab her hands. I push the manual into them and smile. She holds onto it and stares as I run back downstairs.

“I convinced her dad,” I say.

“Convinced...Coerced...What’s the difference?” he says while chopping some vegetables on a sink.

My smile dies down. I stare at his back. He turns around and sees me and heads over to me. He puts his hand on my shoulder and says, “I’m only joking son...I’m sure your mother doesn't mind.”

“Am I forcing everybody to be things they're not?” I say.

My dad’s eyes open wide and he looks from side to side. He opens his mouth but no words come out. He gathers his thoughts and then tries again and says, “I think you just see everybody at their maximum potential. You want them to be that, and some people don’t want to do that. So they feel pressured. Just think about it son.”

“Oh, I get it...Weird I haven’t noticed that. So basically some people don’t want to be all they can be, and I try to force that out of them?” I say.

My dad laughs and smiles while nodding his head. I say, “I’ll think about it some, but that doesn’t sound all bad. I’ll just watch out whenever I push people around from now on,” I wink and knock him on the shoulder.

He kind of smiles back, and I walk outside. I head towards the employment planning center. The pariah roads for the majority of the town have been completed. Roads of red light shimmer as I step forwards. The large roads and sidewalks were added purely to allow intense growth in the future, but now instead it made the central area of town glimmer with large plaza looking areas in between all buildings. It really does look like a fantasy town now. Something a good dream would create.

I made the small wooden building thinking it was a good idea back whenever Tauss first started growing, but now it has become an integral part of our society. The building has become a multi story metal fortress. Atticus is the reason for the change from just planning employment to more so gathering espionage on immigrants. We started doing that to improve planned employment accuracy.

“Now it sounds like a good idea to help prevent ‘serial stabbings,” I mutter. I walk through a small wooden set of stairs covered in a thin layer of pariah. The front door is a little older, and is made of iron. I open the door to see a young man at the front counter. I walk past him and he stops me. He gets up and says, “Excuse me, you can’t go back there. ”

I pat him on his shoulder and smile while saying, “Fantastic. I see Atticus trains you all well. If you want I can go get him to let me in?”

“Oh...I’m sorry. You can go ahead,” he says while sweating and awkwardly smiling. I walk through the back room and upstairs past many different filing cabinets. I walk to the back and knock on a door.

“Guess who,” I yell. Footsteps shuffle and I see him open the door. The man is about 6’4, and even with his thin frame he looks gigantic. His brown hair, large nose, and never smiling face make him look very serious. “Fire the man out front,” I say as I sit down.

“Oh? Why this one?” he says.

“He just let me in without knowing who I am. Can’t have that can we?” I say and take a pause. “Let’s use one of the acolytes. I want to see how they do with orders. How are they doing under you?” I ask.

“They actually do very well. It seems like they are used to following directions, and everything you told them has stuck like glue. They just...aren’t too bright,” he says while holding the pros and cons in each hand like scales.

“Perfect. Just don’t give them complex orders. Two of them seem pretty smart though. I might even recommend you start talking to them. One is a girl named Alna Ferdow, and the other is a boy named Julias Armok. I think the girl is more gifted, but her attitude could use work,” he says while handing me two stacks of paper.

“You work eerily fast my friend. They’ve only been here 3 or 4 days,” I say while reading the reports.

“I only do it because I know it’s helping people. I know you're helping people,” he says.

“I’d like to think I’m helping people help themselves. Though I don’t really know,” I say lightly while my head turns left and right with the flow of incoming text. “You know most people I never know if they’ll stay loyal, but you Atticus, I know. Too much self interest to ever try anything. Makes you predictable though old friend,” I say while closing the first stack.

“Haha, let’s hope you don’t get bored with me then,” he says while putting the stack back into a file cabinet.

“Seems like I won’t need the girl. Too fiery. I don’t need people too smart to know what’s good for them. You already take up all that space,” I say while handing him the other stack and staring into his eyes.

He smiles softly and nods lightly as he grabs it. I ask, “Where is he? I’ll check on the girl to.” He grabs a dusty map I drew years ago to plan the city’s expansion, and points towards the slums specifically a more outer area. I see him point to another sector closer if not in the middle district.

“One of them lives in the middle ring? ” I ask.

“The girl. The village elder was able to afford to move in there,” he says.

“I’m surprised. How? I couldn’t see them having almost anything of value,” I say.

“Traded a chunk of silver for the house. Seems like he found it underground,” he shrugs.

“I guess...So I was stabbed earlier yesterday,” I lift my shirt to show the small pink dot on my side, and the large pink ex on my stomach. “Seems small. But their was a lot of blood. Just know I’m invincible essentially. The problem is I still don’t want it to happen again, call me paranoid,” I say.

“How large? Looks pretty small,” he says.

“Atticus we’ve had conversations about believing me before right?” I say while leaning forward and staring at him.

“I-I’m sorry sir. I just don’t understand is all. I’m sure you are telling the truth,” he stammers out. I grab a pen he was writing with, and stab my hand with it. The metal tip makes a scraping noise at it slicks past bones and into flesh. I don’t even blink while I stare at him.

“This,” I say while lifting the fresh wound in my hand, “Will be gone before I leave. The power also gives you regeneration.”

“Is that really necessary?” he says while covering his mouth. “I get it, you were raised in a snake’s pit, and ate nails for food. Probably had to kill someone before you left the womb. Ugh.”

“Just don’t forget the snakes were poisonous, the nails were rusty, and the someone was a trained killer,” I say while curling my mouth sharply.

“Why are you so nasty around just me?” he says.

“Maybe it’s because I’m so clean around everybody else. Plus, I like us understanding one another,” I say while leaning back into my chair.

“Quite the character are we? Well I do understand. I’ll have written reports on the rest by the end of the week. Can you throw me one of them to help with the extra burden?” he asks.

“Take as many as you need. I’m struggling to make jobs for all these new people as it is,” I say.

“Is the great genius finally slowing?” he asks while writing on a piece of paper and smiling.

“Maybe, or maybe his plan is going too well. Sometimes I plan for my own misjudgements, or more specifically,” I lean back forwards as I tilt my head down and stare into his eyes, “Yours.”

He laughs loudly as he puts his hand to his chest. “With your dad being the monkey he i-”

I grab his hand with my injured hand and say, “How about we try that again. What?”

“Your dad’s so fantastic and wonderful. I love him more than my own father. He really is the greatest,” he says while cringing and smiling as he stares at our union of hands.

I reach back and laugh, “I only enjoy this because you are you, Atticus. It’s like watching a centipede squirm after biting you. Gross, but satisfying.”

“...Yes. Well I can see you think only the highest thoughts about me,” he says while wiping his hand off with a rag.

“I’ll go now, and keep up all the good work my close friend, oh and start finding out where people came from as well,” I say while getting up, opening the door, and then shutting it.

---------------------

I try to stop sweating, but I can’t. The little boy just stabbed his hand and didn’t flinch. He didn’t blink. Nox think’s I stabbed him. I have to find who stabbed him soon, or I....

I gulp deeply to swallow my thoughts as I walk downstairs. I stare at the gross blood trail the youth left behind, and whenever I reach the bottom of the stairs I yell, “Johnson! You’re fired, and rehired. You will find out if anybody does not like Klay, if anybody does not like power users, and if anybody has anything to gain by killing Klay’s family. Now!”

The young man hops up and runs outside. I sit down and start scurrying through papers. I throw them around as I yell, “Damn you! Two entire years gone because of you! Wait...”

I can use this to my advantage. All I need to do is find the assassin, and then I can make one fatal swoop to Nox's side. Where I can do a lot more than just cause a pink spot....