Bridget

"Even if that was the case," I spoke up, "Bridget would've seen him before. In a town this size, everybody knows everybody."

Trying to think of anything but the suspicious man on the other side of the establishment, Bridget went back to what had been said about the first meal of the day and asked, "Are you guys sure you want burgers for breakfast? I mean, I know Cathy cooks them up pretty well, but wouldn't you rather have an omelette or a cinnamon roll or something?"

I chuckled as I responded, "Nah. Like you said, Cathy makes a mean burger and I'd like to enjoy another one!"

"Okay!" The beautiful brunette said as she regained a bit of her perkiness. "I'll go tell her to put two more burgers on! I'll be back with you guys as soon as I can, all right?"

I thanked Bridget again before glancing back at Ashlee. I was about to ask her something relating to her band and about picking up her belongings, but she quickly cut me off and pointed to the other side of the diner.

"Oh, shit!"

I quickly spun around when I realized that Bridget had gone against my wishes...and had decided to encounter the cloaked man by asking if he needed his glass refilled. She was only trying to do me a favor by seeing if she could gain any information about him whatsoever...and it almost ended in the worst way imaginable.

Everything happened so quickly that I can hardly recall the details. As I remember it, she energetically approached the man and pointed at his glass...and before she could even finish her query, he lunged forward and reached for her. Everyone seated in the immediate vicinity heard her yelp as she fell back into a table and the rest of the establishment became aware of the commotion. By this time, I had already made my way to where everything was transpiring so I could aid her. Since everything was a blur, all I recalled seeing was that the beautiful brunette whom I loved so much was being attacked...and it made everything around me go red. I was in a rage, and as Ashlee ran over to check on Bridget, I grabbed the cloaked man and tried to decide how I would end him.

That's when I was hit by something unexpected.

If I had to guess, I would say that the bastard caught me off guard due to my surprise when he ignited an actual fireball in my face. It happened rather quickly, and by the time I was dropped to the floor near Bridget, he was already halfway to the front door. As the frantic customers in the diner started yelling and screaming, I was doing my best to make sure my eyes still functioned since the flash had been so bright. I could smell burnt hair because the flame had come so close to me, and since Ashlee had seen firsthand what had befallen me, she was quickly at my side and shouting.

"I'm fine," I grumbled as I rubbed at my orbs and could see things coming back into focus. "How's Bridget? Is Bridget okay?"

The brunette could clearly hear the desperation in my voice as she placed a hand on me. "I'm fine. Just a bruised elbow. My god, he threw fire at you, Marcus! Are you all right?"

I could hear the diner's patrons and the workers who had come out from behind the counter as they all discussed what they had just witnessed. I even heard a few of them speak of sorcerers and wizards like they were commonplace in this age. They were shocked by what had gone down.

"Marcus!" Ashlee called out as she knelt beside me. "Don't get up yet! Take a minute to rest..."

"I can't let him get away, Ashlee! He's dangerous! He attacked Bridget and..."

"But he threw fire at you!" The brunette called out again in alarm. "How did he manage to conjure..."

"Nitrocellulose combustion," I answered my brown-haired friend. "He used flash paper and a concealed lighter, and when releasing the strip of paper, it became lighter than air and floated upward...and grazed me since I was the closest thing to it. There wasn't anything supernatural or mystic about it."

"That doesn't mean you need to go running off after that psycho," Ashlee gave her opinion as she clasped onto my right arm. "Everyone else is all right and he's gone...and I say good riddance."

"But he's still out there," I told my two friends as the rest of the people who had been watching gave us a wide berth. "I can't take the chance that he won't come back and finish the job. He tried attacking Bridget in front of witnesses, so what's to stop him from..."

"My necklace!" Bridget called out when she suddenly realized what had happened. "That man stole my necklace!"

The amethyst stone I had never seen leave Bridget's chest was in fact gone. It was in that moment when I realized that the bastard had more than likely been scouting the bountiful brunette and had his sights on her necklace the whole time. I wasn't sure what the significance of the piece of jewelry was, but it had more than likely been one of the family heirlooms that had been handed down to my brown-haired compeer...and I could tell it meant a lot to her. "I'm going to get it back," I sternly told her.

Both women gripped my arms and held me in place. "No!"

"I can't let that guy..."

"I don't care about the necklace!" Bridget lied. "Just let it go, Marcus! It's not worth risking your life..."

"My life means nothing next to yours," I told the beautiful brunette. In my heart, I figured the mysterious individual was done with Bridget since he had what he had more than likely been after the entire time, but I couldn't take that chance. "If that bastard comes back for you..."

"But what if he has other tricks up his sleeves you're not prepared for?" Ashlee brought up a good point. "If he's carrying around that kind of crap to produce fire, maybe he has something in his arsenal to throw lightning your way as well! Or maybe clouds of poison or sharpened icicles..."

"I think we played too many games together as teenagers, Ashlee," I told the raven-tressed beauty as I smiled at her. My eyes were already starting to feel better.

One of the people who had gathered around us suddenly stepped forward. It was an older woman well into her seventies, and when she saw that she had our attention, she asked, "Would you like us to call someone, sonny? Do you need someone to take a look at those eyes or burns?"

"I'm fine," I answered the elderly woman as I placed a hand on my forehead to check my skin. I hadn't even thought of the burns that may have scarred me, but both Ashlee and Bridget assured me that the flesh was just a little red. I had apparently been lucky.

Another man suddenly burst through the front door. He looked to be in his early twenties and was attired in the typical clothing that a man who spent his days tending to a vast stretch of farmland would wear. He looked visibly shaken by something, and upon stepping foot into the diner, he also appeared to be out of breath. "Holy Hannah! Buck and I were just out fueling the tractor and saw a curious feller tearing past the defunct train station! He was a crazy son of a gun who looked to be up to no good!"

I stepped forward and asked, "Where did he take off to?"

"He was running south along the train tracks out of town! He was going towards the woods!"

It made me feel a little better that the mysterious man was leaving the same way I came in through. It made me feel like he didn't plan on coming back.

But even though I felt better, that wasn't going to bring Bridget's property back.

What was so special about the necklace, though? Was it valuable? Had the loon who pilfered it been hired by someone to snag it? That seemed farfetched since Bridget's home was so far off the beaten path. In order for some rich collector to find out about her necklace, he or she would've had to have visited the village at some point in the past and seen her wearing it...but that seemed highly unlikely. It felt like this insignificant hamlet wouldn't have been on anyone's radar as a place to visit...and the citizens themselves acted like they didn't see outsiders very often.

"Marcus! Stop! Where are you going?"

The two women were still gripping me as the other patrons of the diner stared at the two of them. I think some of them were beginning to wonder what the connection was between the three of us.

"Listen," I said in a low tone so only the two women at my sides could hear me. "There's a lot more to this guy than meets the eye. I don't know if he came here of his own volition or if he was hired, but the last thing I'm going to do is let him get very far. Not only do I want to get Bridget's necklace back for her, but I want to make sure he doesn't come back...no matter what it takes."

Ashlee had a hint of fear in her dark eyes. She had always known me to be the gentlest of souls...and in all honesty, I always tried to live that way. I didn't enjoy seeing people hurt, and I avoided confrontations whenever I could not because I was timid, but because I didn't want to physically harm anyone. Nevertheless, when people I cared for were endangered...

"Marcus," Bridget's sweet voice then broke into my thoughts as she glanced at all the people a few feet away from us whom she had known her entire life. "Marcus, I don't care about the necklace, all right? Just let the guy go!"

I full well knew that the cloaked man could possibly be the notorious Nick I had been after. It made the most sense after seeing what he had been capable of. I'm sure many people would think me dense for not seeing it sooner, but those people weren't in my shoes. Before this confrontation, I had only seen the man one other time before, and while he was suspicious, I couldn't just throw all my eggs in one basket without first gathering more information. His recent behavior, though...well, it didn't matter if he was Nick or not. I had to bring this guy down.

I was just thankful that Bridget wasn't hurt when the cloaked man snagged her necklace. I was pissed that he had laid his slimy hands on her, but the fact that she was okay was all that truly mattered.

Ashlee and Bridget followed me as I made my way out to the street. I glanced in the direction of the woods and saw where the cobblestone road became gravel as it disappeared into the trees beyond. My quarry had gone south...

"Where are you going?" Bridget asked as she watched me start to cross the street. "What are you doing?"

"I'm going after him," I replied as if the answer was obvious. I was about ten feet away from my pickup when I realized I was being followed. Both of the beautiful women who had given me the night of my life were directly behind me. "What are you...?"

"We're going with you," Ashlee replied in a voice that made her answer sound even more obvious than mine. "If you think we're letting you out of our sight..."

"Ashlee, do you realize how dangerous this guy is?"

"I was there, Marcus. I saw what he did."

"So how can you even consider..."

"You heard the woman, Marcus," Bridget cut me off. "If you fully intend to go after this nutjob, you better not think for one second that we're going to let you go alone."

I should've known better...and at the same time, I could see why I loved both women so much. I had known Ashlee for half my lifetime...and I had known Bridget for less than a week. Still, I cared for both women in such an intense way and would do anything for either one of them. I had to admit that it felt damn good to know that they felt the same way about me.

Ashlee placed her hands on her hips and simply stared at me. "Well...?"

I smiled in order to let vivacious duo know that I was conceding to their demands. "My pickup's not the biggest, so we'll all have to squeeze together."

"Shouldn't be a problem!" Bridget exclaimed as she ran around the back end and toward the passenger's door. "I get the middle!"

"Hey!" Ashlee called out. "How is that fair? Aren't you supposed to be working anyway?"

I couldn't help but chuckle since both women were acting like schoolgirls fighting over their crush. I hoped they would take things seriously because I had a bad feeling that things could get ugly if we located our man. I had to be ready for a fight in order to protect my two lovely ladies.

* * *

I think I said it earlier, but sometimes life is funny in ways we'd least expect it.

After I fired my pickup up and backed onto the road, the three of us drove into the woods and had been driving next to the train tracks for no more than ten minutes when we saw something on the gravel up ahead. It was the last thing I would've expected to lay eyes on, but it was there nonetheless.

My right foot pressed down on the brake as I parked my vehicle right in the middle of the road. I would've shut it off, but I wanted it running in case I was being lured into a trap. After opening my door and climbing out, I glanced at the two women to my right and told them, "You two wait here. If this is a setup, I want you to peel out of here and head back to town for help, okay?"

"Fuck that," Ashlee said as she opened her door and also climbed out of the vehicle. "If you think for one second that I'm losing you after finding you..."

"I agree with Ashlee," Bridget also defied me as she scooched her buns across the seat and climbed out right behind the goth chick. "Besides, we'll have strength in numbers if we go together!"

I wanted to argue and tell the brave females to get back in the truck where it was safe since we hadn't come equipped with weapons, but the stench of charred flesh suddenly hit me like a wave. I could see that the girls had been affected by it as well.

"Oh, shit!" Ashlee called out as she placed a hand over her lower face in order to cover both her mouth and nose. "What the hell is that awful stench?"

The boughs of the trees above the gravel road were thick, but there was still plenty of light for us to work with. As I slowly crept forward, I surveyed the area and glanced through the wooded region beyond to make sure there wasn't some kind of ambush awaiting us. I held a hand back toward my two companions in order to gesture to them to stay back. Of course, they were their own women and weren't about to listen to me.

I had been tracking Nick for quite some time. As I mentioned at the beginning of my tale, I hardly knew anything about him other than the fact that he was dangerous and didn't seem to care about anyone other than himself. Once Bridget and Ashlee had become involved in my quest to track him down, I knew I had to be a far more cautious about how I approached him if I succeeded in finding him.

Imagine my surprise when I found what may have been Nick as nothing more than a pile of charred flesh and a burnt cloak.

Again, I motioned for the two women less than five feet behind me to stay back...and this time, they decided to listen. The closer we slunk toward the remains of the man who had stolen Bridget's necklace, the stronger the pungent odor became. It was obvious that we were dealing with something beyond our understanding.

"Is that...is that I what I think it is?" Ashlee asked when I was within three feet of the remains.

I took two more steps and then started to squat down to have a closer look. I did my best to keep my nose covered as I looked the pile of black goo over. Fortunately, there was a stick lying not far from me on the gravel, so I reached for it and used it to move the cloak around a bit. All I found was more of the black goop. The thief had quite literally been reduced to a mound of darkened slime.

Bridget was sick to her stomach. She ran to some nearby bushes to vomit.

I continued to poke at the runny remains as I tried to find Bridget's necklace. I knew that even if I did recover it, we'd have to sanitize it for hours. As it was, I don't think she'd ever want to wear it again if I actually uncovered it from the black slime.

"What...what the hell could have happened to him?" Ashlee queried as she tried to understand how such a fate could have befallen the man who had been in complete control of the situation only twenty minutes earlier. "He...he didn't somehow manage to incinerate himself, did he?"

I knew that wasn't the case. The man was a professional. He wouldn't have screwed up in such an idiotic manner. No, someone did this to him. But who...

I stood up and looked around again. I then stepped back and grabbed one of Ashlee's hands as I pulled her along and jogged toward Bridget.

"What's going on, Marcus?" The gothic beauty asked me as I pulled both women in close. "Did you see something?"

I continued to scan the area and listen for sounds that weren't forest creatures. I realized how quiet it had become...and I didn't like it. "We're heading back to the pickup...now!" I tightly gripped a hand of each woman as I started scurrying with them toward my black truck. We weren't sticking around in that area any longer.

Bridget was downright terrified. I don't know if it was because she never traveled much beyond the boundary of her small home, or if it was because she knew that something terrifying was so close to her village. Either way, she didn't put up a fight.

Ashlee's head darted around as she tried to perceive what I knew to be lurking in that vast forest. I think she was scared, but she did her best to hide her fear.

When we reached my pickup, I made sure that both girls were in it and the door was shut behind them. I then bolted around the front end and hopped in behind the driver's seat. Since I had left the vehicle running, I placed my hand back on the connected seat behind us and glanced backward out of habit as I started backing up. I was trying to be cautious since I wasn't sure if anyone would drive up behind us, but I quickly remembered where we were and that the chances of seeing another automobile traveling through this area were slim to none. I swung the little black truck around on the gravel and turned it around so we could floor it back to Bridget's home.

Knowing that it was okay to show her fear, Ashlee decided to finally speak up and ask, "Marcus, what the fuck was that all about? What did we just find?"

I shook my head while running a hand across my sweaty forehead.

To be perfectly honest, I wasn't exactly sure what the hell we had stumbled upon.

* * *

The three of us reconvened in Bridget's living room after returning to town. We had discussed the possibility of heading over to the diner to set things straight with the brunette's co-workers, but after what we had just witnessed, we weren't ready to talk to anyone else just yet.

Bridget sat next to me on the couch as Ashlee paced back and forth in front of us. "What the fuck?" The goth chick asked since she was still confused about what we had seen. "I know that was the same guy because the cloak was the same, but what could've possibly happened to reduce him to a pile of muck?"

Bridget had a hand on her forehead and was looking at the floor. I'm pretty sure she wanted to completely erase the last hour from her mind. If I had to guess, she had probably never seen anything so terrifying in her entire life.

I leaned forward and cleared my throat as I explained, "For the last few years, I've been tracking down dangerous felons and other maniacs who pose a threat to society. I generally keep my distance and gather as much info as I can on said individuals so I can report my findings back to the law and set them on the right path in apprehending these lunatics."

"Shouldn't they be doing that themselves?" Ashlee asked out of anger since she didn't want to see me put my neck on the line.

"Yeah," Bridget quickly agreed. "Why would they send a civilian in to do their dirty work? You're just a journalist!"

I scratched the back of my head as I came clean by telling the beautiful brunette, "Well, I'm a little more than just a 'journalist,' Bridget."

My infuriated hostess sat up and crossed her arms over her ample chest. Her amber eyes pierced me as she angrily queried, "You lied to me?"