Amsterdam, the city of excess, or so they say. Across the waters, back home, I had heard people say that you can find just about anything in Amsterdam. Truthfully, many parts reminded me of quaint villages from medieval tales. Sure, people smoked marijuana pretty freely, and there was an extensive Red Light district, but I'd hardly call that excess. It all just seemed like lights and sounds to me. I wasn't even sure how I had gotten here. One moment I was fighting with my mother, and the next I was packing a bag as quickly as I could, desperately trying to be anywhere but there. Anywhere that wasn't the Order of Vigilance. Luckily, I had been able to slip in and out of the Cathedral unnoticed and with my phone in airplane mode, I wasn't likely to be disturbed. I found myself alone with my thoughts more than enjoying the scenery.

  I grew up wanting nothing more than to become my father. Before I knew what he was really like. As a kid, he had seemed so strong, unmoving in the face of any danger and adversity. Only to find out, as I grew up, that his unwavering strength was nothing more than over-confidence and arrogance. Mixed with an alcohol problem and a deeply misogynistic mind set, my father was not someone to be admired. Only loathed, and occasionally feared. When I finally got the chance to stop and look back at myself, I was scared of how much of him I saw in myself; how much hatred and arrogance lingered under the surface of my psyche.

  Looking in the windows of shops, I caught my reflection. I hadn't shaved in weeks and my stubble had started to form a beard. My hair was unkempt, sweeping length of blonde almost reaching my shoulders. Once I had been proud and broad shouldered. Now I looked as if I was homeless. I couldn’t stop thinking about the others as my mind raced through regrets. Scylla's words still burned into my mind, scorched forever from her psychic attack. She had said we were both monsters; that she had felt a kindred soul in me. That I would betray those I loved. She had been right; I turned my back on my friends that I'd had for years and even the Order itself. I was a failure at everything I’d ever tried to be.

  Suddenly, I was jerked back. I frantically looked around.

  “Hey mister, you got a death wish?” A small voice called from somewhere behind me.

  I looked around, and then finally down, and saw a small girl standing just behind me, still holding onto my sleeve.

  “Sorry?” I croaked, my voice hoarse from not being used in a long time.

  “You woulda been!” She was loud, and I was still not even sure why she was talking to me. “Did you not see the cars mister?”

  I hadn't. I looked around and realized I’d come to a crosswalk, and had stepped out off the curb. If anyone honked at me, it didn't even register.

  “Oops.” I groaned.

  “Oops? Are you high, mister?” She asked the question with this cheeky smile that reminded me of Orion. Her teeth were sparkling white, which was surprising cause she looked much like a street urchin. Her mess of auburn hair was stringy and tangled. Her face looked like it was caked with a thin layer of dirt, which her bright seafoam eyes seem to shine from behind. There was something there in those eyes, something that was beyond her years.

  “No. I don’t do that stuff.” I said dismissively, still looking around in disbelief. I pulled out my phone and turned off airplane mode, hoping my GPS would tell me where I had wandered. Almost instantly, my phone began to vibrate furiously with missed texts and calls from everyone back home. I swiped them away, but they kept coming. I ignored them as I opened my map and see that I’d walked right passed my turn for the train station. I got my bearings, and stuffed my phone haphazardly back in my pocket.

  “You lost mister?” The girl tugged on my sleeve. I pulled my sleeve away and turned to fully stare down at the little ragamuffin. She wore a lavender jacket that was way too big for her and bright yellow leggings. One of her shoes was firetruck red and the other was electric blue, whether by design or necessity, I couldn't tell. I raised my eyebrow.

  “Where are your parents?” I asked, scratching at my forming beard and looking around. People passed us, coming and going, but no one seemed to stop for the little waif.

  “I don’t have any.” She said proudly, planting her hands on where I assumed her hips were under her giant jacket. "Parents just slow you down anyway. All their rules and trying to pass on their problems from generation to generation. Life's better without 'em, don't you think mister?"

  “You should go home. Wherever that is.” I groaned, looking around, hoping someone would pull this child away from me.

  “I am home!” She waved her arms around, indicating the streets I supposed. “Where ya headed?” She pulled on my arm again.

  "The train station." I said, as I started walking away, hoping she would stay put. Sure enough, she ran after me.

  “Oh! I know where that is, come on!” She shouted loudly enough to turn heads. Suddenly, I was being dragged by my sleeve, down the road, by a girl that was merely a fraction of my size. I was surprised by her strength.

  “If I give you money, will you go away?” I grunted, reaching for my wallet.

  “What? No. I’m trying to help. I can be your tour guide! You clearly aren’t from around here.” She said, flapping her large sleeves frantically in excitement.

  “I don’t need your help kid.” I shook my head, wondering how I had even let myself get dragged this far along. Her eyes seemed to stare at me, unblinking.

  “My name’s not kid, it’s Verna. But the lady at the group home calls me Twig!” She still seemed excitable, despite the fact I’d been nothing but dismissive.

  “Verna, you should go back to the lady at the group home. It’s getting dark and these alleyways and streets are probably no place for children to be playing. Please, just go.” I told her, trying to be as big brotherly as I could without losing my already fragile temper.

  “I don’t wanna. It’s not like they’ll care if I don’t come back.” She pouted, stomping her foot, but her springy nature remained.

  “Is there somewhere I can take you, where you’ll be safe?” Concern suddenly crept through me. How long had she been like this? How could a child survive in a situation like this, all on their own, with no one to be responsible for them. I thought of Dyson, who had died alone in the hospital, with nowhere to go until Anders had picked him up. I had always been fortunate to have somewhere to be; a warm bed, a hot meal, a roof over my head.

  “Yea, take me to the train station.” She sassed. I pulled out my phone again, and realized she had cut my travel time nearly in half by taking me down side streets and through narrow walkways that hadn't appeared on the map.

  “Will you go find somewhere to stay for the night, if I let you take me to the train station?” I faked a smile. She seemed to mull it over, but her excitement gave her away. She seemed excited to help, with no ulterior motive. She nodded like a bobble-head.

  “Okay, follow me!” She grabbed my sleeve again and began to tug me around the corner of an alley, but she stopped suddenly. “Maybe not this way.”

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  The spark had left her and she turned pale. I looked further down the alleyway to the leering sneers of three men, huddled around a waste bin fire.

  “Hey, it’s our good friend Twig.” The first man with his hood up said. The other two turned and looked down the alley at the two of us. Verna's grip on my sleeve tightened.

  “Hey Twiggy, why don’t you come down here and play, bring your friend.” A larger man with a trucker cap called out, warming his meaty fingers over the fire, like sausages.

  “Uh, let’s go back.” Verna tried to pull me the other way, but I was unmoved. I stared at the three men, clearly vagrants, warming themselves. I watched them carefully.

  “Do you know these men?” I whispered to Verna. She seemed to shrink into her large jacket and frowned. She was frozen, her knees locked in place.

  “Twig! Get your ass over here.” The first guy in the hood shouted. I could see it then; the glassy eyed look, the vicious hunger. The predatory look that my father used to give other women.

  “What do you want with her?” I called back, stepping in front of her. She continued to pull on my sleeve, desperate to be gone, but I refused to be moved. I could feel anger roiling in my stomach like bile.

  “None of your business man, get lost.” The third man, tall and lanky, said stepping away from the wall and moving towards us. The other two followed, blocking our route. Verna desperately tried to move me back the other way. I spun on her and grabbed her shoulders, the anger rising, threatening to leave my body.

  “Verna, don’t lie to me, have these men hurt you?” My urgency simply scared a frantic nod from the girl. I turned back to face the three men. I saw my father in them, abusive, drunk, predatory; like vultures, circling to pick clean a weakened animal.

  “You’ll not hurt this girl again, you hear me?” I planted my feet and readied myself for what was to come. Two switchblades emerged while another picked up a rusted piece of piping. I dropped my backpack and pulled off my coat. The brisk hair made the hairs on my arms stand up.

  “Hurt her? Naw, we just want to play with her, ain’t that right Twiggy?” The large man chuckled, slapping his pipe into his palm, over and over.

  “Enough. Stop where you are.” I told them. They chuckled, like I was just some child; like I was some punk who didn’t know he walked into an alley full of rapists and thugs.

  “You'll go no further.” I growled, sparks jumping around my hand, as the sky darkened and the rumble of thunder echoed throughout the tiny town.

  “What the fuck?” The hooded man stopped and looked to his compatriots. When nothing happened, they charged forward as one. A crack of lightning hit my hand as Mjolnir appeared, sending them stumbling back. When the flash of light settled, they were already standing again, undeterred. How foolish. I heard Verna shriek in fear and then gasp in awe as the hammer appeared. I tried to place myself in way where I could tell she was still safely behind me.

  When the men charged in again, this time I was ready. As the pipe came down from overhead, I caught his wrist on my left forearm, and pulling back with my right. I slammed Mjolnir into the side of his head, just in time to shift out of the way of an oncoming switchblade. I switched my stance, leading with my left foot, trying to move passed the tall, lanky one. I used the momentum of my upward swing with Mjolnir and brought it back down into the man's hip, staggering him into the alley wall.

  "You little prick!" The big one shouted, recovering from the hammer to his face. I ducked a wild flail of the pipe as another switchblade came at me from the side. In the tight space, I had to roll forward, which left all of them between Verna and myself. I mentally scolded myself for becoming sloppy. I hadn't trained with Chase as much as I should have, and I could hear his voice in my head scolding me, "Sloppy footwork, you're getting lazy Magnusson!".

  I crouched low, and rushed the hooded guy at the back of the group, putting my shoulder into his gut as he turned to face me. I swung Mjolnir into his ankle, shattering it, and sending us both to the ground. I rolled over him, putting myself back between Verna and the other two.

  "Who the fuck do you think you are kid?" The lanky one asked, slashing the air in front of him, as I shifted backward. Verna scrambled behind me, desperate to be away from the fighting, climbing up onto a low wall separating the alleyway and a shop.

  "You okay?" I asked, turning to face her.

  "Look out!" She screamed, pointing behind me as the big one charged me, pipe held over his head. I held Mjolnir out and sent a blast of lightning into his chest, sending him flying backward into the alleyway, knocking over their waste bin fire, his chest smoking. I turned to full face the lanky one, his switch blade shaking in his hand, as he looked back at his companions. He dropped the knife and began to run back down the alley, passed his buddies. I threw Mjolnir, watching it catch up to him, slamming into the back of his head, dropping him to the ground. After the impact, the hammer flew back to my hand, where it disappeared in a burst of sparks.

  “Are you a superhero?” Verna asked, suddenly calm, kicking her feet back and forth as she sat on the wall.

  “What? No.” I replied, wiping sweat from my head with the collar of my shirt. I was so warm, I was steaming in the cool air.

  "Sure seems like it to me. You even had a magic hammer." She said, then gasped. "Oh my god, are you Thor?"

  I looked up to the darkened sky and prayed that I wasn't struck by a bolt of my own lightning.

  "Not even close kid." I picked up my jacket and bag and slung them over my shoulder. "Let's get to that train station so you can get somewhere safe."

  Verna screamed, pointing behind me frantically. She scrambled over the wall and huddled into a corner, covering her eyes, trying to not to look, but incapable of fully turning away from what was happening behind me.

  I turned slowly to watch as the bodies of the three men turned inside out and began crawling towards each other with some ungodly force. What was once three men slowly shaped itself into some bloody manticore, with fleshy wings and a dripping tail.

  “Just thought I'd level the playing field a bit.”

  The words seemed to come from nowhere. I was almost familiar, but seemed just outside of my memory. Before I could consider it further, the monster lunged at me, tentacles and claws reaching out and scraping at my body. I'm too slow to move, and it crashes into me, smashing into the wall Verna had been sitting on, turning it to a pile of bricks. It jumped back like a cat, taking a stance like it's ready to pounce again. I can hear Verna screaming, as the ringing in my ears clears. I considered grabbing the girl and running, but then this creature would spill out into the streets and innocent people would die. My Order training forbid it. I was still a part of the Order of Vigilance, and this was a monster. This is what I did.

  I found myself making a battle plan for a team, but in reality, it was just me. I staggered back to my feet and summoned Mjolnir again, releasing several powerful blasts of lightning into the creature, but it seemed to just heal itself. When I backed into Verna, I realized that I had to think quickly. I called to the darkened sky for more power. I prayed to the Thunder God to help me. I desperately wished I had my team.

  “Verna, you need to get out of here!” I shouted, but she was standing at the end of the alleyway staring.

  “Magic hammer. Monsters. Sounds like a superhero to me." She said, moving back and forth on her feet.

  “Go!" I shouted. The Flesh Manticore snarled and pounced, and I closed my eyes. I reached deep inside of myself and called on Mjolnir's power. A massive bolt of lightning descend from the sky, cracking into the back of the beast as it leapt, and I rolled out of the way just in time. It smelt like burning hair and flesh, and I wanted to gag. I could feel my eye twitch as I turned back around and spun the hammer into a tornado of ancient metal. I slammed into the creature, tearing pieces of burnt flesh off its back, and then dodging out from under reaching claws and coiling tentacles. I stepped off a box, jumped onto a garbage container and then push off the wall, bringing the hammer down on its head, charged with lightning. It made a sickening crackling sound as it sunk into the cobblestone. I charged forward, thinking the creature beat, but got swept up in a mass of claws. I stumbled back, wishing I had Orion and his bow handy.

  Again, I called to the skies to bring down a torrent of lightning right on top of the horrid creature. This time, it exploded into chunky bits of viscera. I crumpled to my knees beside it, just then realizing I was bleeding from hundreds of cuts, probably infected with whatever the hell that thing were made of.

  “Are you okay?” Verna rushed over to me, looking me over like a nurse.

  “I’ll be fine.” I grunted, coming to my feet. She clung to my arm as if she was helping me up. I looked around expecting to see the source of the voice. I looked up to the sky, as the dark clouds I had summoned, dispersed. Something had followed me here. Someone knew where I was, and the thought was unsettling.

  “I can’t believe I know a real life superhero!” Verna grabbed my arms and bounced up and down, as Mjolnir disappeared once more. I wrapped my coat around myself, hoping it would staunch some of the bleeding.

  “Can we just get to the train station please?” I groaned, my eyes still scanning the rooftop for whoever, or whatever had summoned the monster. The Order would send someone out to inspect the mess and do damage control as citizens of the town found the charred remains of a monster in their backyard. Eventually, someone would catch up me with me and I would be forced to return to the Cathedral. Until then, I'd just have to stay ahead of them until I was ready.