The Unrelated Triplets 

March 31, 2080

The moon was high in the sky. The abandoned lunar base could barely be seen cresting the edge of the moon. It was a beautiful thing to behold a true wonder that mankind was able to create, but not maintain. Mary sat on the edge of her balcony and simply admired the sight. Though she was vampiric by nature, she truly felt more alive at night. The coolness of the air, the darkness felt good with her pale skin. With a little bit of imagination, she could seem to glow with the dark.

Down below her room, down in the dark, she could hear laughing and giggling in the forest. Children were playing in the dark. 

She looked back into her house, hearing that her father was somewhere down in the kitchen doing the dishes. She jumped off the balcony and descended quickly to the ground and stole off into the trees. The moonlight lit her way. Her night vision was second to none. She could see through the shadows as if her eyes were sunlight. Nothing could hide from her. 

There were three children dancing in the moonlight. Jumping and leaping in the shadows of the trees. Screaming fright and squealing with joy. They were happy to be alive. The game that they were playing had no real rules, they were just happy to be. 

Mary, who had been observing from the tree tops, descended down into the shadows and decided that she wanted to see them up close. She stayed in the shadows. Her white night shirt reflected the moon to a perfection. 

The children, scared of her at first, accepted her with little hesitation. For she was still a child herself. Only a few years older than those that she was observing. She felt an instant kinship with these children of the night and an instant need to protect them. 

For unknown to them all in a cave system not too far away, the magics of Gaia had awakened a fear long since forgotten. For not all natural born magical creatures were good. Many could qualify as more evil than humans. While humans were created with love, these creatures were made out of the hatred and abandonment that humans were left without. These were the goblins and ogres, and though they were far away, their hunger for human flesh was without equal. Though the sunlight would quickly destroy them, they would still risk all for a taste of their desire. 

These children and Mary danced in the moonlight, unaware of the dangers that lurked in the moonlight. There were around forty of the small goblins that slunk within the shadows. They chittered and chattered, keeping quiet and sneaking. Their small knives and spears were sharp as thorns on a fresh rose. 

The first attack came in silence. The child was taken and wrapped in stripped tree bark. Taken alive and sacked. The child was scared and frightened, tears rolled and the forest became quiet.

Mary sensed that the forest became quiet. That the insects that sang their song were now silent. A sort of snickering could be heard. Cheers of victory awoke in the silence. Screams of terror as the other two children were captured and Mary was now alone. She could see the creepers in the shadows. Three leapt at her from a tree branch. She deftly moved to the side and with a quick stroke of her arching arms, she sliced through their necks. Then two more launched themselves onto her shoulders and three more tackled her legs. The fiends were quick and assured in their movements, they bound her and trust her up. 

The last thing they bound was their undoing, for the scream she let loose was heard from three counties over. Light sprang forth in the darkened night and a being surged forth with a urgency that the little demons had not expected. Ed had come to save his daughter. He bashed the and crushed the skulls of the fiends before they could even react to his presence. 

“Mary! Are you hurt?” Ed said as he quickly undid her bindings. His arms cradled her as if she was a child again.

“They took the others. I was with three others. The goblins were silent and stole them away.”

“Go back to the house and wait for me there. I will retrieve those that were taken.” 

“Let me go with you. I can help.” 

“No. Go home. I will be back in no time at all. Your safety is the greatest concern for me.”

Ed slipped between the shadows and disappeared into the night. Mary was alone and quickly made off to her own house. She worried for her new friends, though the monsters were undoubtedly cruel, her father had become distant. He was once human and in his transcendence, he appeared to have lost hope in living. Like living was a burden that he did not want to deal with. She felt like he would just as quickly abandon them as save them.

She was surprised when he did come back with all three. He placed them on the sofa. They all cuddled with each other as they slept under a peaceful sleep. 

“Dad!” Mary moved and quickly embraced him. “Are you okay? Are they okay?”

He hugged her back and sat down next to the other three children. “They are fine. Your mother helped. Apparently your scream even reached her ears. She is on her way to cease the goblins movement toward humans for a while. We will need to explain the need for walls again. For our communities, that have been spread out, to once again come together. Ah. Forgive me, daughter, I forgot to ask how you are doing.”

“I am fine now. Then I was scared. I couldn’t fight them, and when I did try to, I failed.” She felt tears well up in her eyes.

“Don’t fear the night anymore tonight, child. It is not your fault that this is happening, it is mine. I was the one that revitalized magic, and so the dangers that came with it are my fault. Besides, you are still a child, no matter how strong you may perceive yourself to be.”

“Oh, father, I was so scared when I screamed, I just couldn’t help it.” She sobbed and cried into his shoulder. He wrapped his arms around her and hugged her until she stopped crying. 

When Mary pulled back from Ed, he gave her a tissue and Gaia approached her. For the goddess had arrived and she looked like she was scared. For her daughter had been scared, and it seemed that she was at fault for not better preparing her children. 

Eve and Ralphie had gone out into the world and neither had asked for help. Gaia wondered if she or Ed should check in on the other two. Just to show that they are still loved. 

The three children’s mothers came and picked them up, after Ed called them up. Two of them took the kids home and one stayed behind. She offered her thanks and offered her ability to repay the kindness however she could. Ed refused for a moment but then thought better of it.

Ed suggested that the mothers and he should try and convince the surrounding community to build a wall and set a community watch, to stop future incidents from happening. She agreed and she left hurrying along to get back to her children.

Mary sat on her balcony and stared at the moon again. She could see the lunar base, still on the edge of the horizon. Ed entered her room and joined her on the balcony. 

“Dad, do you think I can go to the moon some day?”

“It is well within the realm of possibility, with magic anything is possible.”

She kept watching the moon expecting that he would offer a way. Then she realized that he never would. She knew that it would be up to her and her future kind to reach the moon.