The Gate

5. The First Strike

Joshua Rodriguez watched the sun set from his window, tracing its graceful descent below the horizon. His mother had warned him that it was dangerous to be out at night, but he didn't care. Casually, he slipped on his coat and shoes and stepped outside into the cool air. The cracked asphalt right outside his door invited him to travel further away from his house, a small mobile home in desperate need of repair. Atalka was famous for its luxury and beauty. That's because people focused on what was inside the gate.

Not the people on the outside, forgotten.

There were legends that the monsters that dwelled within the gate preyed on the outside at night. But Josh had no way of knowing whether or not that was true since the deaths were never suspicious. All the authorities had to do was blame the victims themselves. Overdose or shooting. Case closed.

Josh looked down at his phone and realized that he had a missed call from his girlfriend, Aaliyah. He dialed her number immediately.

"Hey babe," said Aaliyah. As soon as he heard her voice, Josh couldn't resist a small smile. Aaliyah had that effect on him.

"Hey Liyah," said Josh. "I'm headed to Monty's. You want to come?"

Montgomery Tate owned a small bar down the road and never checked ID's. He had been best friends with Josh's older brother, who was still stationed somewhere in the Middle East. Josh hadn't paid for a meal there in ages, and the treatment was extended to Aaliyah when they started dating. Aaliyah had always been well-loved anyway. In Josh's eyes, there wasn't a better person on the planet. Aaliyah was destined to get a scholarship and leave everyone else in the dust. That included Josh. He knew that, but he loved her all the same.

"I can't right now," said Aaliyah. "I'm on babysitting duty."

"Are they asleep?" Josh asked.

"Yeah, but I can't leave them alone, you know that," said Aaliyah. "Monsters and everything. You should be careful."

"Have you ever seen these monsters?" Josh asked skeptically. Usually, he was a bit more cautious, but he decided to ignore the rumors for the night. Right now, he wanted to be with his girlfriend, and some folk tales weren't getting in his way. "It's just a story that our parents used to keep us in line."

"I'm not so sure," said Aaliyah quietly. Her voice was almost drowned out by a car that drove down the road Josh was walking on. The car sped off, its headlights completely swallowed by the darkness.

In the distance, Joshua could see Monty's, but his eyes were drawn to a shivering woman in the middle of the road. "Hey, babe, I gotta go," said Josh. His voice sounded uneasy, alerting Aaliyah.

"Is everything okay?" Aaliyah asked.

"Yeah," Josh replied passively, only increasing Aaliyah's panic. "Love you, Liyah."

"What's going on?" Aaliyah asked, still concerned. "Don't you dare hang up on me."

Josh didn't hang up, but his phone dropped out of his hand when the woman's face came into view. She was hauntingly beautiful, and her eyes begged him to come closer, to help her somehow. Josh didn't care that each step he took towards her made him colder and colder. He only cared about the mysterious woman shrouded in white and snow.

She was begging him to save her. He was the only one who could help. Her life relied on him.

Burdened with this knowledge, Josh rushed forward to the woman, and realized that her face was young. She had long black hair that flew in the winds that swirled around her. She was pale too, so pale that she nearly glowed in the night. Her pink lips were the only color on her face. And her eyes. Her eyes were a dark black, and Josh couldn't tell if she had irises at all. Her long pale gown was nearly slipping off her body. The cold was going to kill her, one way or another.