The darkness is fading, I can hear slow beeps and smell disinfectant. So much pain. Even with my tolernace the pain is almost too much. I open my eyes and I see a room filled with machines, eyes trying to focus. A hospital room. I survived. God I hope Alice is ok. I hope she made it home safe. She was the last thing I saw before it all went dark. Again the pain! My arm, I lost my arm again. God damn it! The drugs are helping though. Hard to concentrate though.

  There's a man. Probably my age wearing a suit. Definitely reeks of cop. He comes in and asks me some questions. Things are fuzzy, must be the meds. He takes a phone call, must not be good the way he leaves the room. I need to get out of here. The curse will kill me if I don't get home. Need to escape, but how? Need time to think. I'll wait a few hours. Get some rest and wait for the hospital to be less busy.

  Hours have passed. I'm awake again. There seems to be some sort of news report that has everyones attention. Now's my chance. Initializing those gifts from Project Titan, I feel no pain and my mind is clear. After a quick search of the room I escape out of my rooms window. Making to the nearbyy alley I seem to have escaped notice. That won't last. I wait a short time for it to get dark. Any advantage I can get. When the sun sets I make my way through town. Instinct and training take over. I keep to the alleys as I make my way through town. I find myself near a Walmart. I need clothes. I can't run around with my ass hanging out in a hospital gown. Of course the place is packed so I dash like a madman grabbing clothes and a prepaid cell phone.

  Once I'm clear of that debacle I find safety in a sewage pipe. I change into the new clothes (got some nice skinny jeans with a bedazzled ass, good job dumdass) and leave the gown further into the pipe. Hopefully that will distract the dogs. I have to keep moving! I try to keep heading away from town. Have to find water so the dogs lose my scent. There's a pond a couple miles away.

  The chase is really on now. I have to make some calls. I need help. The noose is tightning. I try Alice, then Abbas. Abbas answers but is no help. I'm trying everything to get away from the pursuit. I'm having zero luck. Finally Alice "calls" me with her thing she does. The converstations brief, but she's safe and I got to say goodbye. She says she has a friend that can help me if I can stay hidden long enough. I'll do my best, but it's not looking good. I make to the large pond and dive in.

  After an hour I have to surface. Even my gifts aren't that good. No help in sight and surrounded by cops, I have to give up. I'm dead either way. I surrender and they take me down HARD. Luckily I still don't feel the pain, but I will. They take me back to the station and try to interagate me. I'm not going to tell them shit. They have no leverage. I'm a deadman no matter what. They put me in my cell. I guess just try and get some rest.

  I don't know what's worse, the extreme pain or the siezures. Either way I found my old friend the darkness. As my life drained away I knew this was the last the world would see of Jason Decker. My only thoughts as I went to meet the Reaper were that Alice and Violet would be safe. They'll move on right? They'll be ok after I'm gone. One last convulsion, then the darkness consumes me once again.

  How don't know how much time passed, but light slowly returned. It was an odd transition. It was warm, but I thought Hell would've been much hotter. Confused I looked up. Was that an angel I saw? Did I make it to Heaven instead? It was Alice's face! An angel in her own right. I've never been happier to see anyone in my life! I was somehow alive and home! Weird thing though was when I tried speak it came out as a ribbit. Then I noticed I was in a box. My situation came flooding to me all at once. I was a fucking frog in a take out container. Now this is some shit...

   So it's been a few days since I made it home. Thanks to some Alice's friends. I'm glad that last call I made to her wasn't goodbye, but I was ready for it. Maybe I need to reevauluate my life. I have a wonderful family that I almost lost because of my carelessness on our last job. Granted, Alice was there, but that could've been the issue. I was so concerned with keeping her safe that I took a bullet to the arm and went unconcious. I don't know... All I can say is that it was a total shitshow and now I'm a frog. I still have my human mind in this form and can still understand people, so that's a plus! I'm told that I'll be back to normal in a few weeks. Like, totally back to normal. Fully healed and everything! I guess all things considered, I can deal with being a frog for awhile.

   The timing sucks balls! Figures I'm stuck as a frog and we get an invite to a huge contractor party! Finally a chance to rub elbows with the "Contarctor Elite" and I don't have any elbows! I guess I should just feel lucky that Alice took me at all. I got to overhear some fun conversations, but all could contribute was a fucking 'ribbit'. Ugh! The other frustrating thing is that as a frog I got the only actual kiss from my wife. I know that shouldn't bother me since we're only fake married, but you'd think maybe that could've happened when we did our "fake" wedding photos. Just saying. It also didn't turn back into a prince. Man I wish I could've been myself for that party.

   Fun fact though. The one and only time I got to use my fake alias has been burned. Bruce Johnson is now one of the most wanted men in Texas. Can't say that I'm completely angery, that name sucked. My adventures in Amarillo after the job was not one of my prouder moments. I was so close, but yet so far! I'd be dead in a jail cell right now if wasn't for Alice calling in some favors. I promised to keep her and Violet safe, and here I needed her to live. What I thought was a simple promise gives me pause now. I almost died, multiple times, in a matter of a couple days. In that time I didn't know how Alice was doing, Violet's demon came back and killed an FBI agent, while Abbas did nothing. 

   This has taught me one thing. I need to priortize my life. What's more important? I've lost Shadow Killer. I almost lost my pseudo-family. I may still lose them depending how things play out. No. My family comes first. I love these girls and that's what keeps me going.

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Return of the Prince

   I'm finally fucking back, baby! Two arms and two legs, where they're suppossed to be! A lot of shit happened while I was stuck as a frog. There was the party that I already talked about, then we had to go to Kevin Sparkles' funeral. That FUCKING sucked! I never met the dude, but I know he was a friend of Alice, and he was crucial in my getting back to my family. He was murdered too. If I ever find out who did it, Shadow Killer or no, they will die. I'm good at one thing, and it haunts me, but I will come out of retirement to avenge him. It's the least I can do for Kevin. He gave me back my family and ultimaltely lost his. I can't sit on my hands and do nothing.

   I also had to have a fucking frog argument with my wife! Do you have any idea how annoying that is?! She was willing to die and then get brought back by some quack doc! I mean he was a nice guy and a legit doctor, but still! He was trying his best to help, but even with all the shit we've been through even this seemed out there. Luckily Alice, finally, let me be the one that tried it. Terry came through! It didn't fix the curse though. A for effort! I do have to say that I appreciate Dr. Buckworth's attempts to help. They did create a whole other issue though. He explained to Alice how we may be stunting Violet's emotional growth by keeping her with us.

   I knew that at some point Violet would have to leave. That's the nature of children. I just wasn't prepared for it being this soon. Nothing's been decided yet but Alice has dropped names like Casa Verde and Faraday School. I don't like where this may be heading. I just got back. I'm not ready for Nugget to leave. 

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Back in the Saddle

   The same night that Jason turned back into a frog, in their makeshift bedroom with barricade, Jason lays Violet down on one side of the full bed which is shared by the two girls. Alice, still in (a fully covering) sports bra and sweatpants, sits cross-legged on the futon that is currently a couch. A cheap laptop is atop a stool for the family to watch My Little Pony. However, Violet drifted off after only one episode. Getting up early to appease the Daddy's (celebratory) waffle cravings followed by a full day of activities together as a family--for she had deeply missed his human presence--left the little girl exhausted.

   Alice watches her 'husband' tuck in Violet, complete with setting Scratch beside her. Staring at Jason as he returns to his own bed (currently the couch), the sleepy yet practically glowing woman with messy hair seems lost in thought.

   After tucking in his daughter and Scratch and giving her  kiss on the forehead, Jason unceremoniously plops down on the futon next to Alice. Exhausted from his first day back in human form he looks over at her.

   "You have that look on your face like I said something really smart or really stupid."

   "Stupid is usually a safe bet, but this time it's neither." As Alice speaks, she looks at the dresser and bookshelves several feet away. Her eyes glow silver as she pulls something small off of a high shelf--Jason's (replacement) wedding ring. The original was probably beside Shadow Killer in some evidence box in Texas. Also glowing silver, the ring floats over to him until he snatches out of the air. "I didn't get this one engraved since that could tie your future identity to your sullied one..." She closes her eyes and her brow furrows. Her voice drops to a whisper. "Frankly, depending on what we do with Violet in the long term, we might not need them."

   "We're having that conversation." Jason takes the ring and places it on finger. He then looks up at the ceiling.

   Alice sighs as she watches Jason put on the ring. Hers has been on the past two months as well. "Also, I'm sure you owe your mom a call..." The comment is relevant. In his parents' eyes, Jason is married and has a young step-daughter. And, depending on how much news they watch and whether they were questioned by the FBI, he's a supernatural criminal at large. Ironically, neither of them own cell phones at the moment. Both lost them during the fallout of the last Contract. And Alice doesn't need one, technically. When she absolutely has to receive a call, she borrows Abbas's burn phone.

    "Yeah...maybe give that one a few more days."

   "Maybe." Alice sighs again. Then, for the first time ever, she leans on Jason, resting her head on his shoulder. "I haven't contacted Albert for new identities because I don't know if we need them--or who we want to be... or how long we'll have her." Still whispering, her eyes are shut. She's fiddling with her wedding ring.

   Jason absently rests his arm around his 'wife' looking over at the sleeping Violet. "She could've been there 10 months or 10 years for all we know. See if Albert can find any missing persons cases that match her. I think it's only fair to find out who she really is and if she has anyone looking for her." He lets out a sigh. "I know if I lost her I wouldn't stop until I found her again, we owe her that much." Jason rests his head on the back of the couch and closes his eyes, exhausted from the days events and the weight of the current conversation. "We can start looking into those schools in the meantime, just in case."

   Alice nods. Two identity-less American citizens, beaten down Contractors, tired parents, and friends. It was nice that he could talk back now though. On the topic of friends... "And her 'friend'--what approach do we want to take there? Tame, exterminate, or ignore for now?" Thankfully the demon had been dormant, although over the past two months it sometimes took Alice a lot of Charismatic savvy to navigate parenting Violet without upsetting her too much. Even the most angelic of children could occasionally be little monsters, and this one housed a literal monster. 

   "We can't ignore it forever. Tame, yes...exterminate, maybe." He lets out another sigh. "How do you even try to negotiate with something like that?" Jason squeezes Alice in a side hug as he gets up from the futon. "Get some sleep, we'll talk about it more tomorrow after some rest. I'm going to get some air before I keep watch." With that he heads out of the room towards the museum's exit. As he leaves, Alice can see the glint of metal peeking from the back of his pajama's waist band.

   "Be safe, Jason--come home." Was it a command or a request?

   On the dresser is their 'wedding photo' taken from within the crypt, one of the few things that Alice asked Abbas to swipe for their apartment after they abandoned it. (Physically abandoned it. On paper they were still renters to avoid the creation of any suspicious ties between the broken apartment window and Dallas Smith's body found curbside outside and to test if their Decker identities were still under scrutiny. Nevertheless, after the FBI agent showed up there, Alice didn't consider the space to be safe anymore).

   The back door quietly clicked shut. Alice sat on the couch for a while longer--looking at the decorated, lived in, yet still undeniably decrepit prison they lived in--before finally going to bed. Somehow she wasn't as worried about Jason as she might have been before their last job, as though the heartfelt goodbyes she had said to him then covered her heart into the future.

   After all, everyone in her line of work was insane.

   After so much time as a frog Jason almost forgot how little sleep he actually needed. He exited the crypt and sat on the stairs in the backyard. He gazed up at the stars, something he hadn't done since he was a kid. He didn't know if it was his imagination or the magic of the crypt but the sky seemed unnaturally clear. He sat in silence for several minutes before he allowed a thought in his head. So soon, has it come to this point already? I knew one day we'd have to make these difficult decisions, but I don't know if I'm ready. Six months I've loved and cared for these girls and now I may lose them both. He stares at the stars as if waiting for an answer. We have to find Violet's family, if there is one to find, that's just the right thing to do. If there isn't one then we need to consider one of these schools so she has the best chance of growing up as 'normal' as possible, that doctor wasn't wrong. Where does that leave Alice and I? He begins twisting the wedding band on his finger. A gesture he's picked up from Alice. I lost my life a year ago when my squad was killed. I went threw the motions of civilian life that didn't feel right, then I found these jobs. They gave me a purpose again and I found Alice (Mel) and Abbas. People I could care about again. Then we found Violet. And as fucked up as it was we made it a family. Maybe just on paper, but is that all it is? Two months ago I almost died in some godforsaken place in Texas and all I could think about was if Alice made it out and who would take care of Violet. Jason sighs and looks at the stars a while longer. I guess we'll just have to wait and see.

   I had to go and get another cellphone, since mine got 'lost' in Texas. Got prepaid of course. Alice brought up a good point the other day. I should call my parents to let them know I'm ok. If they saw the news about Texas and tried to call they (Mom) are probably freaking out right now. This time I waited for Alice to take Violet out for the daily park time so when I want to throw the phone she won't be here. Besides I have to go to Iowa or some shit for a ritual in a couple days. Who knows how that'll go.

   I dialed the number and let it ring. After a few rings it was picked up. "Hello?" of course Dad.

   "Hey Dad, is Mom around?"

   "Well hello to you to son! No, 'How's it going Dad? How have you been doing? Just straight to 'Is Mom around'?" His voice dripped with sarcasim as usual.

   "Sorry, our conversations don't usually end well. Have you being doing well?" I'll try to apease him and hope for the best.

   "That's because you usually say something stupid. We've been ok, the usual around here. So how was Texas?" That last statement I can feel he's egging me on.

   "What do you mean how was Texas?" Now it's time to bring on the bullshit. I really wish it Mom, she's way easier to lie too. Not that I enjoy all the lies, but I can't let them know the truth about my jobs. "I've never been to Texas."

   "We saw on the news a couple months back about some massive manhunt for a an esacaped cop killer that was aided by some fake feds. They arrested a guy that looked an aweful lot like you. Said they were involved in a fire fight. What was the name, Bruce Jackson or some shit." I can tell he's fishing hard.

   "I heard about that. I was in Europe at the time on a job, but I saw the news when I got back. Didn't I hear that guy died in custody?" This is going to be harder than I thought.

   "Mhm, some bullshit though. Turns out he's one of those supernatural freaks, like that Mark Collins guy. It was all a ruse. You know I still have some friends-in-high-places in the Army, I hear things." I can hear the suspicion in his voice. "Heard he faked his death and got away. What kind of job were you doing in Europe!?"

   "God, Dad, you know I have a security company now. It was a standard bodyguard gig, I can't give you the details. Took a couple weeks then back home."

   "Well...as long as you're not doing anything more stupid than usual." After a short pause. "You know if you're in some kind of trouble we can call David, he's a pretty good lawyer."

   Was that compassion? "I'm good, Dad, but thanks." My turn for a pause. "Where is Mom anyway?"

   "Oh, she's out the girls. Who knows what they do. I'll let her know you called." Back to business.

   "Thanks. Alice and Violet should be back from the park soon. I'll talk to you later."

   "Alright, Don't do anything stupid. Goodbye, Jason."

   "Bye, Dad." With that the call ends. Fuck! He knows somethings up. He's never that nice, especially when Mom's not around. I always feared that I'd have to come clean sooner or later, but I was hoping that it would be later...like never later. And what am I going to tell them when Violet's gone? Or when Alice leaves because we don't have to pretend to be a family anymore? I can't deal with this shit right now. I need a beer...

   Later that afternoon when Alice and Violet return from the park, Jason is nowhere to be found. Sticking out of the door to their crypt home is Jason's survival knife, pinning a note to the door. "Went out. Be back later." is all the simple note reads, written in Jason's handwriting.

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A Night Out

               I do a quick Google search for nearby bars and find the Marble Bar is only a few blocks away. Why the fuck not? I haven’t been anywhere fun in a while. It’s only a six-minute walk from his tomb. When I got there, it was not what I expected.

               Fucking techno music is playing all around me… I hate that shit. Luckily, it’s still pretty early so it’s not super crowded. Fuck it, I’m just here from some drinks. This is definitely more of a club scene than a regular bar. With the time of day there’s only about another dozen people in the whole place. Even with the curse I look better than most of the people here.

               I take a seat at the bar and order a beer. I have a maelstrom of thoughts in my head, and I think the bartender can tell. It’s slow so he asks me what’s going on. I can’t tell him everything, but aren’t your bartenders supposed to be shrinks too? I give him the basic info, about losing my family, but don’t share anything about contracts or curses. Talking to the bartender seems to be a nice distraction from my thoughts. I found out that his name is Carl, and he’s working here to help out his uncle who runs the place. Seems like a legit dude.

               Carl and I chat when he’s not serving the other patrons. It’s been about an hour and I’m about three beers in when I hear a glass hitting the counter next to me. I turn to look at the disturbance to see a young brunette woman looking directly at me. I give her a smile and go back to my beer. It’s been a minute and she hasn’t ordered another drink or moved on. I can feel the eyes on me, probably all those years in the army. I look back, sure as shit she’s still eyeballing me.

               “Can I help you?” I ask in as nice of a tone that I can muster.

               “Sorry, sailor, I don’t know how to say this sooo…” Her words are slightly sleered, so I gather they’ve been here longer than I have. “My friends and I have been watching you and you seem to be alone, so we thought maybe you’d want to come hang with us?” She points over to a table that has three other girls sitting there. When I glance over, they all jerk their heads to their drinks.

               “I’m not a sailor.”

               “What?” She looks confused.

               “I’m not a sailor.”

               “Oh! Sorry, I saw the tattoo and just assumed.” She looks a little flushed now.

               “It was the Army, not the Navy.” I answer, trying to not get too agitated by the confusion.

               Not missing a beat, she holds out her hand, “That sounds very fascinating, but doesn’t answer my earlier question. I’m Natalie.”

               I accept her handshake. “Jason.”

               “I’m going to level with you Mr. Army, There’s a table of weirdos that keep bothering us, but you’re way cuter and alone so we thought maybe you could hang with us. Gives you some cute girls to talk with and hopefully keeps those creeps away.” She gives me the cutest smile she can muster “What ‘a say Jason?”

               Do I have a fucking sign somewhere that says, ‘Sucker to help people in distress.’? Fuck it, maybe some conversation would be a nice distraction. It seemed to help when I talked to Carl. Jason downs his beer and orders another. “Sure, why not?”

               “Um, also FYI, Hannah thinks you’re really cute, but she’s super shy. Just don’t tell her I told you.” She follows that statement with a wink. That really didn’t seem necessary since I don’t know who Hannah is.

               I take my beer and follow Natalie over to the table with her friends, swithching my wedding ring to the other hand. She introduces me as Mr. Army, so I have to interject my name. I meet Hayley and Kara, then finally Hannah. Hannah is a petite redhead with very bright green eyes. She’s pretty fucking cute. I may have made a wise choice coming here. I take a seat and we all start chatting.

               I think I’ve been sitting here for at least an hour, and a few beers. I’ve told them about myself, at least as much as I can. I’ve found out that that they’re students from a nearby campus of Davenport University. They’re actually not that much younger than me. Another hour goes by, and the drinks keep coming. The other girls want to go dance, but I decline (mostly because I don’t have the energy… thanks curse). It does give me the opportunity to talk to Hannah alone.

               Apparently, she’s not much of a dancer. Clubs don’t really seem to be her thing, she’s just here for her friends. We spend the next thirty minutes actually getting to know each other, without the distraction of the group. Aside from the frequent interruptions from her friends, it seems like we’re hitting it off pretty well. I like talking with her. I haven’t thought about my bullshit the whole time.

               I look at the time. Shit! I’ve been here four hours! Alice is going to be pissed! I excuse myself. I tell Hannah and her friends that I had a good time hanging out with them. With that I leave the bar and head back to the crypt. I forgot what it was like to just have fun without all the worries that I’ve been carrying… it was nice.

               Getting close to home I take my keys out of my pocket, but there’s something else there. A bar napkin. I look at it and there’s a note.

               “I had fun today. H” There’s a smiley face and a phone number. She may be shy, but she’s sneaky. Or am I just that drunk? FUCK! I wouldn’t mind seeing Hannah again, but what about Alice and Violet? They’re my priority right now. I went out to clear my head and now I have more shit! Obviously beer wasn’t the answer!