Prologue

PROLOGUE

The pale white flame flickered like a ghost in the palm of its hand. It just stared into it and wondered, wondered who would be next. Time passes so slowly for it. Time passes so slowly for him, slowly for her. Slowly… for it. His name is Ben, and her name is Brea. Its name is unknown. Known at one point by it but no longer known by it. It has phenomenal white hair. Hair. A black hooded jacket, and a pair of black jeans. It is a Heart Breaker.

It spots its target walking through the park at night. It is absolutely exquisite outside. The crisp night air can also be enjoyed by it. When the branches blow slowly in the nice breeze. It is being enjoyed by it, and by the target. The path is filled with that of gray bricks, and the target he just walks along. Ben starts walking as well. Following the man Ben stops upon entering shadowy dark corner. He closes his eyes then concentrates.

Out from that shadowy corner Brea walks confidently behind the target. Her black, lace skirt sways back and forth with each powerful step. Her jacket is now without a hood and her brilliant white hair is now put up in a twin pony tail. The target stops at a park bench. He stands waiting underneath one of the park pathway lamps. Brea stood staring at him for a second. She had a look of killing intent. She starts walking silently but strongly from a distance. Now as the target is looking in another direction as she starts running silently his way. Her eyes are fierce, her fists are clenched, and she is ready… ready to finish the job. The man looks over and sees Brea running towards him only inches away.

“Whoa!” He says as Brea jumps into his arms smiling then he spins her around in circles, both laughing.

“Kevin! You’re early!” Brea said in excitement.

“Look who’s talking! You were here fifteen minutes early as well.” Kevin tells her while looking at his cell phone to check the time. “We agreed on 11:30, and we are both here at 11:15.”

“Wow! 11:15 on the dot!?” Brea asked somewhat air-headedly as Kevin rolled his eyes.

“Well 11:14 but I rounded up a little.” Kevin said as he latched onto Brea, hugging her as she hugged back.

“I thought so!” Brea said as they started walking off together hand in hand. Walking with the moon at their backs as well as the park lamps falling further behind the two rather slowly as they walked. Kevin looked down at Brea’s white hair as moonlight reflected off it perfectly and fluorescently. He stared at her as she walked holding onto his arm. She had completely entranced him. He then saw and felt her pushing him rough as they stumbled to the left together.

“Hey… Wha?” Kevin said as Brea giggled whilst pointing the ditch next to the path he’d almost walked them into.

“Oh! Sorry!” Kevin said as he chuckled back to share in this comedic moment.

“It’s okay! You’re kinda cute when you are distracted!” Brea said before then laughing and sticking her tongue out as Kevin blushed.

Brea then held out her hand as an offering to hold hands again. Kevin smiled than accepted the gesture. They smiled as they began walking in the park again with hands held. They then both of their heads against each other’s as they walked with Brea’s head nestled and buried neatly into Kevin’s neck. They both looked forward on. The owls spent their time whistling their own sweet nothings into the night air in the form of mysterious hoots. Much like Whistling Thrushes or other miscellaneous birds of the day, only now it was nightfall. It was the time of the owl.

Kevin stopped and at that moment a curious intent set in. A feeling in the one known as it. It was that same feeling a snake must have as it is mere seconds away from ingesting an unsuspecting small, and defenseless mammal. It wasn’t that the snake wanted to do so… it was that the snake must. That the snake was doing it almost out of instinct. Kevin faced Brea as he then held her hands. Her left in his right and her right in his left.

Brea looked at him expectantly. “Yes?” She said.

“Brea I have to tell you, tell you something very important.”

“What’s that?”

Kevin looked away a brief moment for a breath before looking back. “I have to tell you that the last few months we spent together have been some of my personal best. And they all involve you. There were some hard times for sure but you made them more bearable, or should I say more acceptable. Like when my grandfather passed or when my brother was sick and you cheered him up! Great times like the night on the cape! Or even the small moments like when you and I snuck into my old high school in the summer, when we were going to go swimming but it rained out. Those are the times… I will always remember. Even if something happens between us and we drift apart, you will always be special to me… because, I love you!” That moment a light could be seen only by the one those feelings were directed to.

Brea looked at the pale light expressionless which resided inside Kevin’s chest. Brea smiled as she grabbed Kevin’s shirt, pulling him in for a kiss. As their lips met Kevin closed his eyes for the long kiss as Brea raised her hand behind his head. White flames lit in the palms of her hand before then engulfing that very hand. The hand became transparent with the outlines of the hand holding a ghostly essence. Brea fazed the hand right into his back passing his spine and organs without physically interacting with them.

She reached his heart as they held their kiss, him utterly clueless like the ones before him. She slowly reached his heart where inside grew a spiritual tumor so to speak. A red bulging orb that can’t be seen or detected by the human eye. Brea grasped her hand around this mini metaphysical organism, then gripped tightly. Kevin started grunting and coughing as he pulled his lips away from Brea’s slowly. He looked at her with the inability to move as he gritted his teeth. Brea shed a single tear as it flowed down her face. This is always an internal struggle Brea as well as for Ben. After all they are one and the same.

The tear jumped off her chin and the moment it hit the ground she mustered the courage squeeze the red orb until it popped. She pulled her arm out of Kevin as the color returned to it. It took a moment for Kevin’s brain to process what has happened. Then he gripped his chest as he fell to his knees almost ripping his shirt then holding out his hand for Brea to take it. Brea backed up a step. He fell hard on his side, breaking the skin on the right side of his forehead. He flailed all over the ground in pain before eventually dying. Brea stood over his corpse before disappearing into the shadow of the trees behind her. Her tear was gone and a stoic expression had returned to her face.

She sat in the dark looking at her right hand. Once again it had looked human. Despite not being a human this is when Ben/Brea feels most natural. It was hard him/her to feel natural. She sat there and stared at her hand awhile longer before she felt the presence of her own kind. She jumped up and turned around. She wasn’t surprised when she saw him standing there. A black haired man with red highlights stood there smiling. He had his hands in his pockets and was wearing a black button up dress shirt.

“Already over it huh? I guess that’s good considering how you’ve been getting very emotional lately after killing your targets.” The man said as he approached Brea.

“I’m never over it… I just swept it under the rug is all. Under the rug with the rest of them.”

“I wouldn’t let Cromwell ever hear you say that if I were you.” The man said to her as he shoved his hands further into his pockets.

“What do you want Gail? Here to give me more career advice?” Brea said removing eye contact.

“Well no. I was never around to ever give you advice before. You are just the most intriguing thing around lately. Plus given my position of being assigned to the same sector as you as well as knowing you wouldn’t actually act on my advice I had no problem telling it to you.” The suave Gail said to Brea while coming his hair back into a suave wave.

The two of them stood and sat in the brush like that a little bit longer. It was quiet and Brea resorted to silence in the hopes of relaxing (ironically near Kevin’s corpse) before heading home like it was the work of another day gone by. Gail stood there clueless as what to say next. He considered Ben/Brea his friend even after considering the fact that they don’t have a friendly relationship with each other.

“I guess I am going to end up leaving you some advice after all. Remember to switch back to Ben before going back to your apartment. You wouldn’t want the neighbors to be suspicious.”

“Suspicious of what? That I may be a crossdresser?” Brea says as Gail laughs.

“Good one but no. It would just help avoid the raising of questions that don’t need raised in the first place is all. Also be sure to do the BIEL chant so nobody ever remembers you were associated with Kevin.” Gail told her.

“What do I look like to you? I have been doing this for about twenty-five years now. Five more years than you have, I remember the routine.” Brea said.

After a brief silence. “Okay… but not to be a dick, you have been acting odd lately.” Gail says to her as if Brea didn’t already know that. And with that Gail left her.

Upon relaxing there another moment Brea heard it. The siren of a rushing ambulance. Somebody must’ve discovered the body of Kevin already. And on that note Brea stands up. She holds her hand up with her fingers facing outward as a white flame settles and hovers over her palm. The flame darts around her body as it spreads and engulfs her. She snaps her fingers as the flame disappears. She has become he, but rather or not he is she or she is now he, he will always and forever be it. Ben stands for a second then whispers a chant with his index finger raised to his lips.

“Biel, oh Biel. Remove myself as you once did thyself.” The BIEL chant. A magic whisper that will sever your social connections to someone, but only if you are an it. Ben walks himself home, further into the shadows of the trees.

The so called tumor or orb if you prefer has a name. The thing that burrowed itself into the heart of Kevin as it did with many others is called a Heart Swallow. Heart Swallows are mysterious entities known not by man but at the same time known for destroying man. They burrow into the hearts of people like a parasitic organism it seems, or maybe they’re actually born within a human’s heart. Either way it doesn’t matter. All that matters if they are destroyed.

If a Heart Swallow is given the opportunity to mature it will grow into a massive spiritual beast. Then in order to retain its very own existence it will once again turn on humans. Feeding off their energy until they pass out and die. A human can never see a Heart Swallow unless it is their own home grown one. Then they shall be given that ability. But it is up to an elite group to put down these entities both before and after their maturity. To destroy the Heart Swallows before they hatch which can only be achieved by one such as Ben/Brea by him/her romancing somebody with a Heart Swallow (switching genders at will to accommodate each target of course) to the point of the target falling in love and opening their heart only for entry by said person as said person destroys the Heart Swallow and always the target along with it, without option of course. The other way is to wait for the Heart Swallow to mature into a Heartache Beast, and killing it as is. A not so preferred method.

Such is the perilous, unending task of people like Ben, and Gail. Such is the perilous task of the beings known as Heart Breakers.