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I watch the flicker of energies fade away. Fade into nothing. I could feel them, taste them. They clung to my skin, made my hair stand on end. And if I were but a little stronger, I had no doubt I could grab hold of them. If I could do that, nothing would stop me from pulling them apart and stepping through myself.

But what would I find on the other side? Someone had so brazenly torn a hole in the fabric of reality. If I were to follow them, how would they react? Would they be friend?

My instincts told me no. I was curious. I wanted to find out. But if that was a sword I saw, I had no means of defending against it. My shields could only go so far against a physical attack. And it wasn’t like I hadn’t already suffered an attack of a different nature moments before. For all I knew, this person, this rule breaker, was the one responsible. Was I really in a position to consider engaging this person over my curiosity?

With no idea as to their capabilities, no clue where they went, and no true direction, it was best I let it go until more of the pieces revealed themselves. No one ever got ahead by jumping into battle prematurely.

A heavy sigh escaped my lungs and I started down the road. There was about a quarter mile distance before I could slip away and head home, but if I could make it around the curve, I could slip into the zoo’s parking lot. It’d add a bit of time to my trip, but I’d be less noticeable. And at the moment, less noticeable was the best I could hope for.

I could hear cars flying past in the distance. It wasn’t overly far from the highway. Afterall, the road I needed was little more than an outer road. Reaching the edge of the parking lot, I darted across the street and stepped between two parked cars. There were a few to choose from. So long as none belonged to school officials, I was likely good to go. But I still needed to keep my eyes open. I hadn’t fully learned the routines yet. For all I knew, the security guard patrolled this lot as well.

The far side of the lot brought me some comfort. There was grass and a small playground between the entry and exit road. This far removed, there was little chance of my escape being challenged.

Quickly, I made it to the outer road. This was the most dangerous part. Not only was there a fair amount of traffic to contend with, but almost every person going to or from the school had to take this road. My chances of being caught here were nearly as high as walking through the school’s parking lots. I took a deep breath, calming my nerves. Glancing both ways, ensuring the coast was clear, I rushed across.

There were some apartment complexes to my right, the highway elevated beyond that. That presented my next obstacle. With the overpass, my options were drastically limited. I couldn’t rightly go over the highway. It was always crowded with passing traffic. The road to the west was a major road for this city, and presented far too many people for my liking. And to the east, there were three through roads that went under the highway. The first one was just past the apartments, another, two-blocks down, and the last was about two miles beyond that. Logistically speaking, the two-mile route would have taken me closest to home, but that was a long distance to travel on a road that was guaranteed to be visited by officials.

Decided, I turned south on Broadway, just past the apartments. It seemed to be the safest option, as it was the closest, but also the only one that was not directly connected to the school. But I also had to be careful. If the security guard did any patrolling of the surrounding areas, this would be an area to frequent for all the same reasons.

I made my way through the viaduct and turned onto the first road I came to. It was a small thing. A little side street with low income housing. I couldn’t imagine living in any of them. They were old and run down, though far from unusable. But it was the proximity to the highway that turned me off of them.

I stair cased for a few blocks, passing houses and churches. That seemed to be the only thing this city had an abundance of. Houses and churches. But they called it the Bible Belt for a reason. Though I had a little more insight as to that reason than most.

This city was teeming with ley lines. I could feel them coursing beneath the streets. They intersected many times over, usually where one of the many churches was located.

I felt a smirk fall upon my lips, head shaking with the thought. Christians often bridged into zealotry when they stumbled across something beyond their comprehension. They too often attributed that lack of understanding to their god. The ley lines were no different. Where they converge, they’re known to emit a great amount of energy that can be felt by near anyone, casters and mundanes alike. It should have come as no surprise then, that when you have a pious Christian who stumbles upon a collection of ley lines, they feel they must build an alter to their god. That’s all a church is really. Like the gods before Christianity, their worshippers build alters to appease them.

I chuckled to myself, cutting across a church parking lot. There were three ley lines running parallel beneath it, nearly crossing but just shy. Here, I was free of the school. At least for now. My absence was likely to be noted, but Colonel had given me a note. I was certain I could make up some kind of excuse if the topic was breeched.

Religion always seemed amusing to me. Not for what it is. Knowing a bit of history, religion was no laughing matter. More blood had been spilled because of it than any other ailment, disease, affliction, or calamity known to man. But in the grand scheme of things, I found it amusing. They all fight and bicker among one another, arguing over who has the best imaginary friend. But in reality, they’re all about the same. They all focus on the general principle of, don’t be a dick. My shoulder’s shrugged for emphasis, though I have no clue why.

Being a decent person was not a religious trait. Anyone could be decent. Yet the religious will condemn you if you don’t belong to their sect. And even if you do, they’ll condemn you if you don’t follow them exactly. And when you march every step behind them, they’ll condemn you for not leading the way. That’s why I find the whole thing amusing. Condemning anyone for any reason is so clearly against their sacred principle of don’t be a dick. Yet condemning is clearly a dick move, and they do it so openly.

For that reason, and others like it, I decided a long time ago that I may as well do what I want, not be a dick, and be happy with myself regardless of who finds issue with it. I’m going to be condemned either way.

But what really makes me laugh is all the fear tactics behind it. It reminds me of faerie tales. Not the sugar-coated ones Disney remade. No, I’m talking about the originals. The ones where children died, people were dismembered, and gore was crucial to the story. The originals were dark and gritty. They rarely had happy endings. Cinderella’s step sisters cut off their toes to fit the glass slipper. The little mermaid was raped. One of them, though I can’t remember which, had their breasts forcefully removed.

Faerie tales were designed to frighten children into submission. Eat your dinner. Go to bed. Don’t eat the candy. Stay out of the woods. All of it was little more than fear tactics, designed to keep children in line. Religion, specifically Christianity, is no different. The threat of hell is simply a scare tactic to control the populace.

After many twists and turns, side streets and alleys, I was finally nearing home. It had been a long walk, though my thoughts kept me occupied. I hadn’t even noticed much of it. From here, I could see the street sign that labeled the one running beside my house. From there I’d need to turn right and continue south for a few blocks. But already I could feel my wards calling me home. After such an exhausting day, I was ready to let my guard down. Perhaps once I got inside my boundary, I could explore the astral realm of this city. With so much happening, surely there was bound to be some activity I’d previously missed. And maybe, with a little luck, I’d be able to uncover some of the pieces of today’s events.

My thoughts continued as I made my turn. It wasn’t so much that I didn’t like religion, or even believe in their gods for that matter. Quite the contrary really. I hold a great respect for many gods. It’s just so often their followers I can’t stand. One can only stomach having religion forced down their throat so many times. Eventually, I stopped allowing it to happen. Once I put my foot down and decided I would no longer take it, I then became the exile. I was shunned because I wouldn’t suffer the abuse. I went on a quest, studying religion, every religion. And in doing so, I learned a great many things. But most of all, none of them are right. None of them are wrong. All that matters is belief. And I decided on that day, that If I have to believe, I may as well believe in myself.