I'll Protect You in the Dark

Part 1

By the time I got out of the shower and dressed, it was already 5AM. I walked out of my room and down the hall, stopping in the doorway of Mason's room. He was laying on his stomach reading a book, which was not a surprise. I looked around his room. It was organized and neat, as usual, all his things put away neatly, especially his bookshelf, which was almost empty. He had probably been doing a lot of reading.

He turned around, "Oh hey! Did you start the muffins yet?"

"No, not yet," I said, turning around and going into the kitchen.

I got everything out and started putting it all together, this wasn't my first time making these and by now I basically had the steps memorized. I didn't really need to think about what I was doing, so instead I let my mind wander.

That dream had been consuming my mind all morning and it stayed in the back of my mind, even when I tried to focus on something else.

"They had the same 'gift' you have, and they thought they were safe, but I showed them quite how powerless they really were"

She had been talking about my parents, and our "gift." By gift she meant our Powers, our powers to see the dead. I hadn't really known my parents, but I did know that all of us had the same power. We could see things that regular people can't. Ghosts, demons, witches, vampires, you name it. We could see them for what they really were, and not just for their camouflage in the human world. When everyone saw the beautiful housewife and perfect mother, we saw a witch practicing spells on the mailman. They couldn't fool us, and a lot of the time that made us a target. It's what had killed my parents... And apparently it's now after me.

I was snapped out of my reverie by Mason, who was walking into the kitchen, out of his PJ's and probably looking for food.

"Are the muffins ready yet?" he asked, a hopeful expression on his face.

"No, I just put them in like five seconds ago, don't worry, they'll be ready soon."

"Not soon enough," he muttered, disappointed.

I laughed, Mason could be so childish and innocent, it was easy to forget he wasn't your average 22-year-old. It was easy to forget he was really supposed to be 71.

Finally we were sitting down to breakfast, double chocolate muffins and cheese omelettes. Mason tore into the food, while I ate quietly, watching him. Thinking about the day my parents were killed lead me to think about the day I had met Mason.

It was autumn, the leaves had changed and fallen, my birthday had passed and I had turned five. Thanksgiving was coming soon and I was already looking forward to Christmas. We lived in a small town in the woods, where everyone knew everyone and the forest was our backyard. I was playing in the backyard and my parents called me in.

'"Zoe,"' my mom said,'"this is Mason. He's here to take care of you when we go away"'

'"Are you going away again, mommy?"' I asked, afraid of being left alone with a stranger.

'"Not quite yet, sweetie... But soon,"' she said, hugging me.

'"I don't want you to go,"' I said, burying my face into her sweater.

Mason looked at my parents, a worried look on his face, then looked at me and smiled, '"Don't worry, Zoe, I'll take care of you while they're gone and we'll have lots of fun together!"'

I looked up at him, still unsure, and he smiled at me warmly.

'"Will you play dress up with me?"' I said.

Mason and my parents laughed, and he smiled again at me, '"Of course I'll play dress up with you."'

"Zoe! See, this is what I'm talking about, you never pay attention to me!"

Mason's words brought me back to the present and I smiled at him sheepishly, "I'm sorry, what were you saying?"

He glared at me,"I was just saying that things at the bookshop have been rather tough lately and that maybe we should consider hiring more people."

"Hmm," I said, considering it, "I don't think we have it in the budget right now."

"I think we'll need to eventually, what if things pick up and we end up understaffed."

I rolled my eyes at him, "We won't end up understaffed, and besides, why hire someone else when we're just going to move again in six months?"

"What if we don't move?  What if we just stay here?"

I looked at him, "Mason, you know we can't stay in one place for too long... We don't want anything to track us down and hurt the people we love."

"What people?" he complained, "The lady at the grocery store and your ex?"

"You know what I mean, now, it's already 7.  We need to get ready for work."

 **Author's Note: Hey guys, I'm the author and I just wanted to see how you guys were enjoying the story.  Make sure to vote and comment!! :)