When you look back on times before you, what do you see? You may see cavemen for the fault of your weirdness; or, blame Adam and Eve for eating the forbidden fruit and causing your anger; or, if you live where I’ve been, you may see time as Heroes and villains. Or of course, you may be wondering what I’m talking about in fact. Oh, I see you are wondering, ok then. Well, let’s go back to August nineteen ninety-five in Carodox city. When the villain known as Assassin was considered the biggest enemy of Carodox she kidnapped and tried to kill seven teenagers. She ended up killing Joshua Roser, one of the mayor's sons. Everyone in Carodox met up in Salo Park to mourn the loss of the young man, but one special guest made a very special appearance.

“I hope I’m not late to the party,” someone said. Everyone looked up. All of them knew the sight of the red and black eyepatch. The figure smiled, The lights flickered, and pieces of paper flew around the fountain. It was the blood assassins.

“You're right on time,” another voice said. Everyone looked back and saw a group of teenagers, or so it seemed. They all wore black capes, all with a differently colored lining. “Who are you? The cops or something.” Assassin asked. “We are the ones who put their lives on the line for Carodox City. We are the ones who understand what happened to Joshua Roser. We are also the ones who will defeat you. We are the hooded heroes.”

Remember, this was back in 1995. This is considered “ancient history”. Or at least it was. That is before I came into the story. The name’s Elise. I’m a 15-year-old girl and I’m obsessed with learning about the hooded heroes. They sadly don’t exist today but, sometimes,  I want to know what happened to them, all those years ago. My teacher understands my interest in them because she says I’m like the hero that spoke out at the memorial: Black Hood. I asked her if she knew what happened but instead, she gave me a riddle. A riddle said to have the answer. It said:

Were they vanquished or vanished

Will we ever really know 

Or is the answer engraved where

“The water flows”.

Don't forget to go when the time is right

Go around the best time at night 

It won’t be easy to catch them so be quick and fast

What the future may hold might be within your grasp

  Honestly, I think it’s kinda clever for her to come up with something this good. After I left my class I was thinking about that riddle for the rest of the day “Where does the water flow? What could it mean?” It was getting late anyway so

  I decided to try not to overthink it too much.

But my brain won’t stop thinking about that word, what could it mean? Why water? And most importantly, “What did it have to do with the hooded heroes?” And then it came to me. “Of course!” “The shining fountain in Salo park! Or maybe what’s left of it.” I chuckled to myself. I planned how to get there. “Maybe I could bike there or just take a walk there.” I always wanted to walk to the biggest monument in carodox city. I've seen people walk there so why can’t i. I mean what’s the worst that can happen. I didn’t know what I was foreshadowing. Other than that I was planning to go that evening, it was getting close too so I packed up the things I needed, mostly snacks, and things to protect myself. For example, scissors, a pencil, and a notebook to document what happens. So as scared as I was, I didn’t hesitate to go. I put my backpack on and stepped outside and not even one second outside it was already freezing. I’m not surprised, it’s not the first night and it’s not the last. I have never been out this late at night. Especially during a crime wave. And don’t worry they happen all the time here from robberies to protests. No joke, they happen all the time. Anyway, I made it to the monument, not so shiny anymore. “I still don’t understand.” I said to myself ”Why would it be here? Out of all the places in Carodox city, Why here?”. At that same moment in the distance, I heard restyling in the shrubs. It was cold, dark, and I felt as if I was being watched. There was a suspenseful breeze. And it was quiet, too quiet. Usually, this is where someone gets kidnapped but no. No robbery, no police sirens, no noise at all. As I felt as if I entered a new dimension. I felt the water that was flowing out of the broken water pipe, It was surprisingly warm. Then I could’ve sworn I felt someone’s hand graze my own. I Turned around, no one was there. “I’m probably exaggerating anyway,” I said. “ Oh, I'm sure you are. After all, too many people came out around this time to like that Roser kid who we supposedly killed” I kept looking around for the voice, and at that same moment smoke of red and black was circling right next to me. I backed away not knowing what to do. A figure was visible. The figure looked to be a girl. She had a ponytail, a red and black scarf, and an eyepatch. The smoke had cleared while I stood there in disbelief. “ It can't be. There’s no way, you're supposed to be dead,” I said. “You might need to tell me who you're talking about first.” The figure said. The black and red outfit. It all ties down to one name. A very old name that screamed evil. “You’re Assassin, aren’t you?” I said, trying to hide my shock. By the expression on her face, I could tell she was surprised and unlike me, she wasn’t trying to hide it. The air became more fierce. Like the night of the memorial all those years ago. As if they were coming back. I knew that was a sign to run away so that’s exactly what I did, scaredy-cat that I am. “Next time I’m going in the day!” I yelled. Surprisingly no one woke up. I couldn’t tell if that was good or bad. There was also no one following me so that was good. . And no one was following me either, so I slowed down and started to walk home. As I walked home I looked back as if expecting her to follow me but, instead, where I thought they would be, was a tape. Not like the sticky kind like, something you stick into a tape mixer and it plays music. Anyway, this tape had a label on it. It read “Project D.L.R.” In bold letters. I ran as fast as I could but quietly to my house. I slammed it into the tape mixer we had in the attic and quietly listened. This is what i heard:

Project D.L.R.

17/8/21

1st log: today was a no crime day in carodox city so me and my team thought we could make a living by “not triggering” those..what are their names? Hoodie hero’s? Ah Whatever. Anyway we wanted to find or make something to knock them out on the spot. Of course I could’ve gone with the usual methods like chloroform, sleeping pills, or just knocking them out with a baseball bat. But we weren’t gonna go to prison again for using illegal substances or injuries . Then the boss had the best idea. Something that goes around them like a rope and to knock them out at the same time. I think she called it project D.LR. Weird, I know. Then again she’s always weird. Talking about how she likes the sound of screaming, making weird threats when we annoy her, and…well lets just say, we almost lost someone yesterday. But, it seems as if she has it out for Rj. I mean I get that he’s not from here and sure he may have struggled a bit during initiation. But come on, he was just a kid… Sorry I got a little off track there. What was I saying again? Oh, that’s right, the project. Well it looks like I’m running out of time and the meeting alarm is going off so i gotta go. And hey, if you want to learn more, look for the other tapes. 

“Well that was interesting,” I said. “Why would someone record this and who’s RJ? It sounds like someone’s initials.”. Just then, the sun was coming up as I heard my alarm clock. I forgot to set it to “weekdays only”. As I trudged to my bed at 7:59 am, I went to sleep hoping for some answers.