5.

In the distance ... a light shines ... weak but defiant ... determined ... refusing to be extinguished ... holding its ground and pushing forward ... until ... the darkness screams ... as much in pain as in relief ...

Early July 2015 and a certain Maxene Ferguson, once Maxene Grady, has been out more or less on her own unsupervised by an adult for nine years. Of course, Darkness, he is her supervisor, her guardian and he is in tow though he does not impose any restrictions nor is there responsibility taken for her actions, he encourages when he needs to and that is not all so often.

If any of the nine sisters has had it tough, then that would be Maxene. A case could be made for how tough time has been for Majella Smith though for a fair bit of her time she has had others. Maxene hasn't had ... others.

What Maxene does or does not have makes her somewhat of a wildcard. She for the most part is quiet, dulled, a shadow within herself, at times happy to stay in her corner and watch ... to observe all that there is until something takes her and transforms her, turning her into a loose cannon capable of creating maximum damage in minimum time, often without thinking, going more on instinct than anything else.

Still, she will follow Darkness, blindingly at times and at others indeed she'll be as wild as any animal can be, refusing to follow instruction, partly out of anger and partly out of a non-understanding. She has not had the schooling the other eight have. What she knows she has learned through experience. Yeah, Maxene is a bit wild, and this possibly makes her the most dangerous of the nine sisters, with her gifts and those who follow her blindly, she is potentially the most powerful too.

Included in this and speaking of animals, a lot of the time Maxene has certain accompaniments, accompaniments which are constantly at her beck and call and they do follow her blindly. Three wolf like creatures which are so much more than what they appear are what she has complete control of. Hellhounds ... shape shifting hellhounds ... controlled by the slightest of actions and a connective understanding of she who is their master. They protect and obey and rarely are far from her side.

Indeed, there has been no schooling, there never, even when she had been under Tanya Ferguson's care. Maxene has come to be mute as mute as anyone can be without actually being a mute in the sense of what one would consider a mute to be. Maxene, as it was just turned six before becoming separated from Tanya Ferguson.

There had been no kind of schooling prior to turning six as from the moment Tanya took Maxene as being her own as for the whole time they were together they essentially were on the run and the mum who never was mum done the best she could. Maxene had not understood all the moving around nor had she understood a lot of things. She had been a talkative child and became less and less so once a separation came.

Darkness, in all his sadistic nature, takes joy in the pain and anguish in others. It doesn't even matter if it were one of his own that were in pain, in fact he'd probably think all the more of it if it were and he could use such pain as a lesson learned or to be learned of that member of his own. He could use the pain to his own advantage.

Early morning on that July day in 2015, Maxene walks alone by the side of a long straight road. She can never truly be alone with what is at her beck and call. Despite the summertime month to which it so happens to be, the weather currently isn't all so nice. There is a chill on the breeze, as it is Maxene does not take much notice of the weather as she is lost in her own moment.

There is also the most unusual of mists floating, almost levitating, hovering about as if it were an entity onto itself. There are odd patches of clearings that do not stay open long as if the mist itself sees it and moves to intercept and cover any and all gaps.

Being somewhat lost in herself as she moves, there is a lost not quite complete. She often wanders with nowhere to be and with no one to check up on her. In the here and now, it has been some time since Maxene has been a part of a child duo with fellow daughter of Darkness, Lonnie Turner.

There are moments in the here and now as she walks where Maxene snaps out of herself to turn to see what may or may not be behind her. Is someone following her? If there is then she cannot see such a person. Timing for such a person, a person who indeed is following, so happens to be spot on while also being the complete opposite of spot on ... being a predator following a prey who in herself is no one's prey but a predator onto herself.

Each time a clearing opens up in the mist to reveal a follower of sorts Maxene so happens to be facing forwards or away from that opening and away from he who followers. In the moments when she turns to look behind, the mist closes over so any potential follower is kept hidden ... a predator with his own unique gift.

On she goes with no destination in mind, in fact there is truly little on her mind. On her own with nowhere she needs to go, she just drifts and drifts and lets the drift take her to whatever destination it may have in mind for her. Periodically barks and howls sound out, echoing out informing any possible set up of their presence, a warning a predator ignores. If indeed Maxene is being set up in some way or other, then those hellhounds will immediately come to her aid.

A follower there is and a leader she is not, he who is following is not looking for guidance, he is not looking for somewhere to be. There is someone he can see before him who he feels he can take advantage of and it is only a matter of time before he picks his moment.

On she goes and on he follows. There are eyes on her, and she can feel them, no matter when she chooses to turn she will not see him, cannot see him. She can feel his movement like a weight closing in on her, ready to crush. He does not know just who he is following; to him she is just a nobody, an average Jane, no different to the next. Little does he know, and confident he is with a power of his own.

Feeling as if this is nothing more than routine, he feels the time is now to go do something he has done many times before. He rushes forwards ready to reach out and claim what it is he wants to claim. Roles are immediately reversed. The mist before him does not clear like it did whenever he wanted it to previously then he hits an invisible wall.

There is no wall before him, yet it has him all the same. It really does have him. The mist no longer obeys him but relents to another. It opens up creating a clearing where he sees two things. One is the person he has been following; she now certainly is not the prey but the hunter.

An odd sensation hits, something that has never happened to him ever before ... all of a sudden, he is up at a height as if her were a few feet taller than her. He is not all so much taller, what is happening to him is that he is up off the ground ... levitating.

He indeed is no longer the hunter, and he has become more than just prey. He is in serious trouble. With a wave of an arm, a hand, she sends him hurtling through thin air until he connects spine first with a lamppost. He crashes to the ground and the pain hits. His nose begins to bleed. A guy who at another time in another place would be a powerful aggressor is now in a position where he is unlikely to ever be a hunter again.

She stands a moment, still as still can be. One of the wolf like creature moves from behind her to take a position a few feet in front of her. The other two come to take up positions at her side, one either side of her. These creatures each transform to take a human shape.

In the next few minutes, the mist clears completely to reveal the summer's day this day was always meant to be all during which time she continues to force him into movements no person should be able to contort themselves into. By the time a mist free moment completely arrives ... her, no former pursuer, is dead. Each of the hounds, all in human form, look at her as if they are waiting on her instruction, waiting on permission to feed. She nods and their forms revert to their wolf like state before moving on to devour the incoming meal with relish.

She moves, continuing on as if nothing had happened at all, leaving the creatures to feed while being completely invisible to those who may come near, and in moving on a destination soon reveals itself. She has lived this way for some time and time as it is for her is soon to change ...