'Everyone is passive, no threats. Relax.’

The words, a mere whisper as they brushed across her consciousness, were met with a sigh and for the first time since she’d set foot in the subterranean tunnels, Aelita relaxed. Leaning back in her seat, she peered through a curtain of bubblegum pink hair at the passengers around her, never fully at ease no matter how safe it seemed. Combat boots tapped a familiar beat as she fidgeted with a hole in her black fishnets. Part of her fear stemmed from the fact that she was a beacon for attention in the underground. Pale skin reflected the fluorescent lighting, as did her strait, pink hair. Miniskirt, bondage straps, pink corset and more metal than the entire hardware department of Home Depot only further separated her from the mundane people around her. Tugging the hem of her skirt, she tried to make it cover more than it ever possibly could.

‘You’re only drawing more attention to what it doesn’t cover. Everything is fine, still nothing to be worried about.’

Her obligatory sigh was interrupted by the screeching of the metro coming to a jolting halt. Cold air flooded her compartment as the metal doors whooshed  open, expelling the stagnant air she’d been recycling for the last ten minutes. More people left than entered the train, it was late and most people were home by this time. When the newcomers, all four of them, had settled themselves into seats, Aelita glanced at the creature standing beside her, waiting for his confirmation of safety.

‘Safe, though that man over there is imagining the most crude of things. Disgusting.’

Aelita usually avoided looking at her companion in public due to the fact that she was the only one who could see him, not that there was much to see. A white mask hovered seven feet in the air, clamped around the head of something that was very clearly not human. It’s skin was a dark grey, except for it’s ears which turned black at their elongated tips, as if they’d been charred. The mask covered both mouth and nose, if the creature had either, but had slits cut for it’s eyes. Three gray pupils floated in each of it’s sockets, each one whirling independent of the other. At its slender neck, the creature gradually became less substantial until it merely faded out of existence a mere two inches above the ground.

She smiled at him, she’d eventually come to think of him as male due to the timber of his ‘voice’ when he spoke in her mind. Faking a stretch, she brushed her arm through his midsection, marveling, as she always did, at how insubstantial he was despite the fact that from a certain point up he looked as solid as any other person. The grey column that was his body shifted slightly, the particles swirling where her arm had cleaved a path before being pulled slowly back to his self. He did nothing to acknowledge contact, merely continued to stare into space, scanning the minds of everyone in the compartment.

Brakes screeched, announcing the metro’s halt. The door’s grated open with a hideous noise, and as people left, Aelita once again reveled in the fresh air.

‘Get off. Door in front of you to the left. Do not run. Do not say anything. Go.’

All the warning she needed. Standing calmly, she walked towards the door he’d specified.

‘No! Sit back down. Both doors blocked. Not good.’

One glance at her companion was all she needed to understand just how bad the situation was. All six of his pupils swirled around each other furiously, never resting on anything. She sat down as calmly as she stood just as six people entered the compartment, four through one door, two through the other. Skin heads, neo-Nazis, self-proclaimed Satanists. Great. They swaggered in, baggy jeans just barely hanging onto their hips, raucous laughter ricocheting off the metal walls. All six of them noticed her and her lack of companions simultaneously. The doors closed. The other passengers looked at everything but Aelita, pretending they saw nothing for the sake of their own conscious’s.

‘They won’t act now, they’re pretty fresh. Time’s up at the next stop, it’s the second to last and they know it.’

‘Can I make it to another compartment?’

‘No, you don’t have a chance. They plan on keeping you here. Focus. Remember my purpose? You made me, now use me.’

Aelita fidgeted with the hem of her skirt again. She remembered well enough. Rhajervan, that was what she’d named him, had appeared to her long ago, when she was only six years old. He’d told her that he was a part of her, born from her subconscious mind, and was there to protect her. She’d had no idea what he was talking about but was glad to have a friend who kept nightmares away. As she grew older his duties shifted and he began protecting her in the waking world as well as in her dreams. By delving into the minds of those around her he could warn her of those who meant harm and advise her on how to avoid them. But there had come a day when she’d been unable to avoid the danger and it was only then that Rhajervan revealed to her the full extent of his abilities.

And the price for using them.

‘I’m going to make a run for it when the doors open.’

‘There are four doors, only two are open at a time. There are six of them. I may not have full access to your thoughts but I know for a fact that you are fully capable of understanding this situation. I promise I will protect you.’

‘I know you will…’

The rest of the trip passed in silence. Rhajervan stood in front of her, his gaze never leaving hers. They eventually reached the next station and as predicted the Six shifted subtly to let others pass but kept her from reaching the doors. Every other passenger left, none of them wanting to witness what happened next.

The cold air filled her lungs and she flinched when the doors shut with a heart wrenching finality. In the space of a second everyone moved. The Six lurched toward her, Rhajervan lowered his face to be level with hers and Aelita raised her hand.

Clamping her fingers over the rim of the mask, the one part of him that was substantial to her, she paused, unable to make the next move. Rhajervan did it for her, jerking himself backward, freeing himself from the mask. A loud crack reverberated through the compartment but Aelita didn’t look up, her eyes remained riveted on the mask in her hands. Only when the startled yells of the skinheads drowned out the rattling of the metro did she look up.

Black hair, grey eyes, a lopsided smile, a grey t-shirt, grey pants and black boots all on a wiry six foot frame. And in his hand, a lead pipe. Aelita remembered what happened the last, and first, time Rhajervan had been freed from his mask and acted accordingly. As soon as the brawl began and everyone’s attention was diverted she leapt across the seats until she reached the corner of the compartment furthest from the carnage. Closing her eyes tightly she dug the heels of her hands into her ears and waited. Unfortunately, nothing could mask the familiar sound of lead crushing someone’s skull, the warmth of spattered blood dripping down her legs, or the corrosive stench of that blood. She could still hear them scream.

Silence.

Cracking open her eyes she looked at the bodies strewn recklessly about, in various states of disrepair. Stretching her limbs, she stood, bloodless fingers still gripping the husk of a mask. Finally, after she’d taken in as much as she could, absorbing the death she’d indirectly wrought, Aelita allowed her green eyes to fall on him. Breathing raggedly, he turned and met her stare with a smile. Blood spattered his face, arms and neck and his shirt had a new rust colored,  pattern across its front. Yet neither the bodies nor his morbid appearance was the catalyst for her sudden  franticness. She knew too well what would happen next.

They stood staring at each other as the metro screeched to a halt. The doors opened and, blowing a kiss to her, Rhajervan dashed out of the compartment, running for the stairs.

Aelita, prepared for it, was only a couple of seconds behind, pink hair streaming behind her. Rhajervan laughed wildly as he climbed the steps three at a time, never slowing. As the vaporous specter he suffered only muted emotions and so stood at Aelita‘s side, protecting her. When released from his mask, he took on human form and the job of guardianship looked far too akin to servitude for his liking. So he ran away. His recapture last time had been because he was unable to function in human society. Eventually, he’d given in and asked Aelita for help. The thirteen year old girl, eyes rimmed in black from a week of no sleep, had replied by slapping his mask back on.

Aelita jolted back to the present in time to see Rhajervan reach the top of the steps and dash to the left. She followed. Despite what he may think, she knew he wouldn’t be able to survive. He did not understand the concept of having to work to survive. His work ethic would more than likely  result in him either in prison or getting his ass shot. It was her turn to follow and protect him.

Whether he liked it or not.