My daughter asked why people feared me — her school essay became the patch I never removed

Geekrew Originals · Jun 29, 2026 · 208 reads · 1 part · 12 min read

Nobody outside the club calls me that anymore, but twenty years ago, when I joined the Iron Lanterns, people said I looked like somebody who had been dragged through fire and left to cool beside the highway. My legal name is Matthew Cole Mercer. That is the name I worked hardest to earn.

Kids & Grandparents