Strength is never earned, only gained
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I signed my name on the release papers with a sigh, blowing a strand of dark brown hair from my face. Sliding the papers back to the woman with round glasses, I turned and crossed my arms, tapping my foot impatiently.

Two officers approached with my twin brother between them, his hands shoved into his pockets and his head down. I rolled my eyes, giving the officers and the woman a grateful "thank you" before grabbing my brother's wrist and dragging him outside.

"That was the fourth time this month, Vigolfr!" I fumbled for the car keys, my tongue burning from being bitten to keep myself from screaming at him.

"I wish I could say I'm sorry, but that man went too far when he grabbed your ass," Vigolfr raised his head to stare challengingly at me, daring me to argue with his reasons.

"That gives you no right to send him to a hospital in an ambulance!" I unlocked the car and plopped into the driver's seat, slamming the car door shut. Vigolfr climbed in beside me as I started up the engine. "Besides, remember our agreement? Come on, say it, Vig."

At first, he simply just sat there, fiddling with his thumbs in his lap as I backed out of the parking lot and onto the road. I gave him a glare and he muttered, "We'd keep our abilities a secret until we recover our memories.."

"That's right," Vigolfr and I had been dumped in Chicago when we were about seventeen, and we couldn't remember anything but our names. We've spent thousands of dollars on psychiatrists, hypnotists, counsellors, physicians, and doctors, but none have succeeded. We've spent five years since then, and Vigolfr developed strength a normal person shouldn't have. As for I; the air around me was always several degrees below room temperature.

We sat in silence for the majority of the ride out to the countryside, Vigolfr with his embarrassment and myself with my exasperation. Vigolfr and I were twins and he was always so protective of me. Similar to how I was to him.

"Hey, Télika?" Vigolfr's voice was soft and quiet as I pulled into our driveway.

I parked the car and unbuckled my seatbelt, pausing to glance over at him, "Yeah?"

"Thanks for bailing me out. Again."

"That's what I'm here for, Vig," then we got out of the car and entered the house, "but that doesn't mean do it again."

"Alright," I could tell Vigolfr was smiling from the living room as he flopped onto the sofa with the remote and I heard the opening scenes of his favorite TV show.

With a shake of my head and a humorless chuckle, I became set on scrubbing the dishes spotless. I would make dinner later; I was the more 'mature' one and I'm usually stuck with the motherly chores.

Half an hour in and I heard a loud crash from upstairs, like something large had fallen. I bolted into the hallway and toward the mahogany staircase, flinging wet droplets onto the wallpaper and rug.

"Vigolfr! Are you okay?" I called up the steps, concerned on his well-being. Then I heard a groan come from the living room and slowly padded into that room, finding my brother rubbing his head on the sofa. He groaned with exhaustion and rolled over, only to fall onto the floor with a loud thud and another groan.

"Vig?" I furrowed my brows, utterly baffled. I glanced back over my shoulder, toward the staircase. The light that I had left on earlier was now shut off.

He cracked a tired eye open, strands of his shoulder-length hair dancing in his face as he breathed. He rolled slowly and reluctantly climbed to his feet, huffing as though it took a lot of effort. Overdramatic hooligan.

"What do you want?" Vigolfr questioned with irritation as he scratched his armpit absent-mindedly.

"Were you upstairs? At all?"

"No..?"

"Then some―" another crash and pounding footsteps surged toward the stairs.

Vigolfr instinctively shoved me behind him, going to grab his metal baseball bat. We huddled in a corner of the living room, my hands trembling and I wrapped them in the back of my brother's shirt to steady them.

The footsteps seemed to multiply as they clambered down the steps and the sound of snapping wood caused me to grimace. And then they were there, in the open wall of the living room. Three tall, broad creatures with blue skin and bulging imprints resembling risen tattoos. In their large hands were weapons of old; a sword, a club, and two narrow daggers.

They lurched toward us in unison, each poised for attack. Their heads reached past the ceiling so they had to hunch over, but that didn't subtract any from the terror twisting my stomach. They were glaring with blue faces contorted into spiteful snarls and guttural growls erupted from their throats.

Vigolfr swung his bat, striking one in the knee. The beast stepped back, but then continued its advance, nearly unaffected. My brother swung again, this time pouring his inhuman strength into the swing. It hit the thing's ribcage and I heard something crack. The creature gritted its teeth and swung its own club, sending the bat flying into the TV. Another raised its sword and brought it down upon us.

My eyes flicked closed and I enveloped Vigolfr's arm with my body, tears welling in my eyes. Out of everyone in the entire world, why us? What had we done to deserve this spite, this lack of empathy?

The clash of metal against metal echoed in the now silent room. Vigolfr's arm tensed and my eyelids fluttered open. A man with shoulder-length hair, similar to Vig's, and midevil armor was crouched in front of us, his arm raised, a thick hammer wrapped in his hand. For a moment, everything was still―until one of the blue beasts lunged forward with its club. The man kicked the weapon away before smashing the thing's skull with his hammer. Its body collapsed.

One of the other beasts bellowed, swinging its daggers at the man, the jagged edges reflecting the light of the lamp nearby. Despite the outrageous speed of the monster, the man evaded or perried each strike with his hammer. The third blue creature raised its sword and swung toward us, the fearsome weapon aimed for my neck. I would have froze if instinct hadn't taken over and my fingers wrapped around the lamp's glass body. With as much strength as I could muster, I chucked the item at its face.

It stumbled, glass piercing its terrible, red eyes, and it swung its sword blindly. Vigolfr's hand was on my back as he shoved me to the floor, the sword hissing through the air where my head had been only moments before.

The blue thing smeared its own blood across its face, clearing its sight. It sneered, raising its leg up to crush our skulls. My muscles refused to comply as my head screamed move! but the carpet had seemingly turned into tar, sucking me in and holding me in place. Vigolfr seemed to be experiencing the same trouble as he stayed by my side, arm draped over my shoulders.

As the blue foot came down toward us, the whizz of something heavy being thrown across the room registered in my brain seconds before the creature fell backwards instead of killing us. My brother leaped to his feet, unfrozen, and ushered me up.

The scene before me churned my stomach, nausea tearing at my throat. My hand pressed against my lips, my dark eyes wide. The blue beast that was going to stomp on us was lying on its back, decapitated. Blood poured from the neck, and the stained white of the spine was showing. It was disgusting.

The man held out his hand and his hammer―dripping blood―flew back into his grasp. He swung it, flicking off most of the sticky liquid before tucking it into his belt.

I stood behind Vigolfr, clutching his shirt once more. The man was large, with bulging muscles underneath shiny armor. A red cape was attached to his shoulders and his blonde hair moved in some imaginary breeze. He was handsome and angelic―well, if you'd take away the armor and hammer and blood. I guess he'd more so resemble a knight than an angel.

"Good evening, Lady Télika, Lord Vigolfr!" The man was cheerful and the corners of his eyes crinkled when he smiled, teeth a pearly white, eyes a sky blue.