I felt a warm ray of sun encompassing me. I opened my eyes and rubbed the sleep out of them. I groaned as I rubbed the kinks out of my back and neck and stretched my limbs.
“Ugh. I’ve got to stop falling asleep here,” I muttered to myself.
My stomach rumbled, having not eaten for almost a day. I pulled out a sandwich from my backpack and took a deep swig of water from my jug.

I continued to roll my neck and shoulders. “Maybe I should start bringing pillows too.”
I munched on my breakfast as I looked out at the forest. There was a light mist covering the ground, and the sun was just starting to rise. I breathed in the wonderful smell of nature and vegetation. (Or maybe I was smelling myself. I didn’t shower after all, and slept on a dusty cliff.) The smell reminded me of when Mom brought me here for the first time.
Dad was off doing who knows what, and Mom, being the more adventurous type, decided to bring me to her favorite spot when she was a kid. She carried the day’s worth of supplies while I dragged closely behind, mumbling complaints the whole time. Mom, I’m tiiiirrred. Mom, I’m booorred. Mom, I’m hunngryy. Mom, why are we here? Are we there yet? I wanna go hoooome. The path’s change from a flat, gravel road to a steep, rocky one didn’t help my whining. Mom. Mooommm. Mooommmmm. MOOOOMMMMM.
Finally, probably fed up with my s***, she stopped. To be frank, I was afraid that she was and would soon proceed to give me a swift beating.
I stood there for a few moments, wondering what would happen. Nothing did. She was staring out to the distance. I peered past her to see what the problem was. I smiled. Wow. I could definitely see why she loved this place so much. The scenery was beautiful and breathtaking, so much so that Emerson would have had a field day, writing more annoyingly long and wordy poetry than he already has. I almost forgot how tired I was, but my mind didn’t care. It was in blissful overdrive as it tried to handle my surroundings—the pine smell of the forest, the quaint chirp of the birds, the soft tendrils of the wind. The forest was endless, and I immediately created my own fantasies. How big was it? What secrets did it hold? Hidden treasure? Snow White? Talking bears that drink soup? What really stood out was the scarlet stone that covered the base. The reflection of the sun on the stone cast a spectacular red hue across the landscape; that’s what really kicked my whining ass. I was astounded by this geological phenomenon as I tried to grasp the divinity of it all. My mouth was wide open and my eyes sparkled at my newfound playground.
“Welcome,” she motioned, fully aware of my speechlessness, “to Bloodshot Cliff.”
I walked down the trail as I smiled at one of my fondest memories I had of my mother. Bloodshot had also become my favorite place to come to—a place to go when I needed answers, when I needed time to myself. It was like a second home. But now I had to go back to the real world—my job, my homework, my girlfriend. Life actually sucked hardcore, but what choice do I have? Not like I have another one, so I guess I’m just here for the ride. What else is there? I longed to create my own fantasy land, to be in control of my own life, to know what I was going to do next. The truth was… I didn’t. I didn’t have a clue as to what my plan was. What will you do after high school? Go to college. After college? Get a job. And after that? I don’t know. Because rarely is life ever just that. There is always so much more. I longed for some ounce of control over my present, my future, my past. My parents.
I reached the base of the cliff and was about to head down the half-mile trek back to my car when a gleam caught my eye. There was a strikingly clear red diamond light hitting the bark of a tree. Odd. I turned around to see if the light had a source and there it was—the Indian leader’s shield, embedded in the face of the cliff.
My heart jumped. My fingers and toes froze. I couldn’t believe it. I could not believe it.
I walked towards the apparition with cautious bewilderment in order to get a closer inspection. It was undeniably the same shield. It was buried underneath some dust, but there it was clear as day. The shield that I saw in my dreams—the orange paint, the silver X, the blood-red diamond— I saw now in reality. Not exactly my idea of a dream-come-true.
I lifted my hand to brush away the dust. It was scuffed—as expected of something that shouldn’t exist in the first place—and still held its former glory. Surely this couldn’t be real. I touched the metal to get a feel of it. I felt a humming vibration that traveled up my arm and into my gut; it was akin to sitting on a washing machine—nothing too alarming, but enough to feel it through my body. The air around seemed to hum along with it, resonating across the rock as well. It emitted a warm, pleasant aura, and I had to bring it along.
I had brushed off enough debris off the shield to fit my fingers underneath it, and I began to pull. Surprisingly, there wasn’t as much resistance as I would expect of something embedded in rock for centuries. I extracted it with immense ease. It shined brilliantly as I stared at my reflection in the diamond. This will be a wonderful antique, I thought. I stuffed it into my backpack and walked the half-mile back to the car.
How the hell did it get there?

I thought the shield was awesome. I’d show it off to all of my friends. I’d instantly be propelled to the top of the social hierarchy. “Oh man, you’re like Captain America! Only without the ‘Captain’ or the shield or the muscles or the awesomeness! But other than that, you’re just like him!” It’d be perfect for Halloween. It'd be a total chick magnet, especially for Diana.

“Hey Diana, check this shield out,” I would say, flashing the red ruby and painted design.

“Oh wow, Dean! It’s so pretty! That shield gives me an irresistible urge for me to jump on you and proclaim you as my boyfriend! That’s exactly what I look for in a boyfriend— ‘owner of extremely ornate shields.’ Take me now!” she would say, proceeding to jump on me as we entered a make-out session.

My mind ran with ridiculous fantasies about my newfound toy. I practically skipped to my car as I tossed my backpack into the passenger seat. I pulled out of the lot with a smile on my face and music blaring, ignoring the stray, judgmental looks I got from the adults there. I didn’t care, I was in my own fantasyland. Freaking Braveheart! Shield and everything! Just needed a sword. And fighting skills. And a flowing mullet.
“Or maybe I can scrap down the shield for money,” I thought. “It’s definitely worth a lot, that gem in the middle. Holy crap that must be worth a lot.”

I thought about all the stuff I could get—a new wardrobe, a new computer, a piano, all the Subways I wanted. Don’t forget those new shoes I’ve been eyeing, or that authentic leather jacket. There’s so much stuff I wanted. Eventually, my thoughts jumped to Grandpa. He’s helped me so much; the least I could do is pay him back. That seemed like the most honorable choice. I came to a stop at a stoplight and leaned over to glance at my treasure.

“I think that would be the best choice, scrapping it for cash. Grandpa’s mortgage is—”

The windshield and side door exploded as I was sent rocketing through the passenger door. I was rolling down the hill, barely able to process what was happening, when I felt the cool rush of water encompass my body. I slipped out of consciousness, sinking to the bottom of the pond.


I opened my eyes to a blinding white ceiling. I squinted and blinked multiple times as I tried to adjust to the color.
“Goddammit. This better not be the scene from the Matrix.”

I sat up and did some injury checks. I still felt the vague impact of a car collision. Oddly enough, there were no lacerations on my skin from the glass. My skin was still a little chilled from the cold water in the lake. The only real pain I had was what felt like a nail in my ankle and a rubber band around my head. I had a clear head despite going through a car accident, but something kept nagging me that something was off, besides the fact that I was transported to a white room.
I sighed in annoyance and confusion and ran my hands through my hair. But my chest didn’t move. I tried to take another sigh—no chest movement, no breath, no rush of air. S***. I couldn’t breathe. I panicked, beginning to pace around in circles. My heart beat faster and faster as I tried to take a breath, and another, and another. I looked like a fish out of water—ironic having just come out of a lake—that was opening its mouth again and again. I tripped, hearing my heartbeat in my ears and shaking violently. This panic and fear went on for several minutes until I realized that nothing was happening. My heartbeat was starting to slow, and I stopped shaking. I accepted that I was dying, if not dead already. Even though I somehow didn’t need to breathe, the absence of a rush of air every few moments was extremely disconcerting.
I regained control and brought myself to a sitting position. I looked around me. Just an endless sea of white. Off in the distance, however, was the faint contour of a white armchair. Fueled by curious apprehension, I walked over. Each step, my leg grew shakier, and doubt began to creep in my mind. Questions rose and fell, but the biggest one of all: What the hell is this? As I walked closer, the person sitting in the chair peered around behind him.
“Dean! Welcome to my humble abode.”
I froze in place. No goddamn way.
It was the Indian leader from the battle.
He flashed a warm, comforting smile. “Now, I’m sure you’ve got a lot of questions.”
I gazed at him, mouth ajar. What the hell?
“Why don’t you take a seat?” He still smiled, but his eyes glared with steely determination. “I insist.”
Something told me I didn’t want to disobey. I rushed to sit in the chair in front of him. Never noticed it before, but ta-da.
He laid back in his chair. “So what can I do ya for, Dean?” He spoke with a flawless English accent, much to my surprise.
Umm well for starters, I’m not here for you, I’m just here. Also, where the hell are we, and why the hell are YOU here?
“Interesting question, Dean,” he said, smirking in full awareness that he blew my mind. “Right now, we are on the Edge, and as to why you are here….” He leaned forward and lowered his voice to one of sincere gravity. “You are here because I am about to warn you. Warn you of something grave.”
My head was still swimming. What?
“Um… What? What’s the Edge? Warn me of what? What’s going on?” I licked my lips and swallowed my dry mouth.
He sighed. “Darn… I was hoping we’d have a bit of small talk before we started. Well, I guess we’ll get right into the meat.” He took a sip of some dark liquid.
“Alright. So, you couldn’t possibly think you found that shield by pure coincidence, do you? I gave it to you,” he said. “You may not have noticed, but that gem is not some antique jewelry. It is one of seven.”
He snapped his fingers, and six coffins popped out of nowhere, serving to boggle me even more. “These gems are what grant substantial, irresistible power. Power—man’s endless pursuit. He who possesses all seven can bend, shift, spin, topple, twist-tie, play hopscotch, jump rope, whatever with humanity.”
I looked at the base of the coffins. Each coffin but one had a diamond very similar to the one on the shield, but each was a different color. White, yellow, green, blue, and purple. All the gems demanded attention, yet ever-so-slightly transparent.
“Or at least, that’s what we think… That’s the ongoing theory anyway.
“Obviously, the red one, the gem of Power, is in your possession now. As you can assume, it was mine,” he said with some bitterness.
I looked back at the Indian and blinked. “I’m sorry, what’s your name?”
He sat up with some pride. “I am Askuwheteau, leader—former leader—of the Algonquin tribe.”
I scoffed. “Sorry, but that’s a bit of a mouthful. I’m gonna call you Axel.”
He winced. “No! I am Askuwheteau! You will call me by my proper birth name, not some punk rock wannabe. Dean,” he said.
I felt eeriness when he said my name. “That’s another thing—how the hell do you know my name?”
He smiled. “I saw you at the battle, Dean, sitting atop that cliff. Your aura was truly demanding, and I had to follow it.” So it wasn’t just a vision! “Oh, and I’m sorry about the car crash… How else was I to get you here?”
I jumped up. “You trashed my car?!?”
He shrugged. “We used horses back in my day. Cars are extraneous. In any case, I was looking for a worthy successor to take my gem, and I found you. Good thing, too. I was running out of time.”
I sat back down, still a little peeved at my trashed car. “What do you mean, ‘running out of time’?”
Axel sighed, and not just from his new name. “Well, might as well start explaining the Edge. The Edge is a place where all the possessors of the gems may congregate, so long as they are alive. Unfortunately, I was the only one who managed to find a successor….” He pointed at me. “… while my friends, er, didn’t.”
I looked back at the coffins. “But aren’t you dead?”
He scoffed. “I’m only 150 years old! It was once said that we have two deaths. One is when our breath stops breathing. The other is when our name is no longer uttered. I am dead, biologically, but my name, my memory, my livelihood lives on. These fellows… not so much, and so their gems are lost.”
“Lost? What do you mean by lost?”
Axel sighed again. “As I said before, Dean, they didn’t manage to find a successor in time, and so they’re gems are gone. Well, not really gone, but just nowhere to be found.”
Wow, he was short-tempered. “What do these seven gems do? And what does my gem do?”
He shuffled his feet. “I couldn’t tell you. I only know what our gem does. The rest you’ll have to figure out yourself.”
Something still irked me… Aside from the whole I-crashed-your-car-so-we-could-hang-out thing and d*bag Axel. “What did you mean when you said, ‘I have to warn you,’?”
He pulled out a cigarette. He glanced around with a uneasy look. “This is such a wonderful place. I can just pop in anything I want,” he said, avoiding the question. The air combusted as a lit match spontaneously appeared. Axel took a hit and blew out smoke. “It’s like my personal heaven. I’m sure going to miss it.”
“Hey! What did you need to warn me about?”
Axel took a few more smokes and gave a sigh. He looked at me with a combination of fear and uncertainty. “The gems are disappearing. And we don’t know why.”
He stared at me as if expecting a look of horror. I didn’t deliver. “Why do I care? And who’s we?”
“You still know so little.” He breathed out smoke from his mouth and nostrils. “The gems grant power to the beholder—like I said, what power, I know not. I don’t even know what the gems do, or what they’re for. They could be critical to the sanctity of humanity and Earth, or they could just be really cool jewelry.” He leaned forward, burning cigarette still in hand. “But trust me, nobody will want to find out what happens if they do disappear.”
I nodded my head. It was still difficult to comprehend what was happening. I replayed what he said in my head—I was the successor of his gem, the red gem of Power; along with the red gem, there were six others that controlled the universe (better make sure my girlfriend doesn’t get her hands on those); now, these gems were disappearing, and it was kind of a big deal. Or maybe it wasn’t. Thanks for the being explicit, Axel.
I looked at the coffins again. I counted them all. White, yellow, green, blue, purple, and my red one. “Where’s the last one? I thought there were seven?”
His face grew perplexed. “There were. The black gem disappeared. And we don’t know what to do.”
“But… what did you need me here for? Why are you telling me all this?”
Axel was getting only slightly frustrated. “Because… as you can see, all of my colleagues are dead and have no successors. Who knows where their gems are now. So the council has determined—thanks to my nomination—that you are the worthy successor for my gem. Because we are the guardians of the gems, and because you are the only guardian alive, you are the only guardian of the Diamonds.”
He leaned back in his chair. “Or, at least, that we—I— know of. I haven’t been keeping up with the news on Earth for a while.”
Great… he’s putting trust into the hands of an adolescent, 16-year-old, hormone-driven orphan. And he himself has no idea where these gems are. We should start saying prayers now.
“Hold on… who’s ‘we’? What about a council?”
“They were the very first owners, possibly even creators, of the Gems. Not gods by any measure, but they sure think themselves as such. They shouldn’t, because they don’t know jack squat. Unfortunately, or rather fortunately, they don’t talk much and just sit around on their thrones. They look down on us and don’t care much for human affairs. However, when those human affairs affect the universe, especially the one they live in, they start becoming interested.”
I started to talk, but Axel held up his hand. “I know exactly what you’re thinking. Why the hell can’t they fix this? They don’t have a body like you do. Hell, if I had a body, I could help you out. Obviously, none of us do, which is why we called on you.”
My head still spun slightly in my attempt to absorb this information. “So I’m supposed to solve this mystery all by myself?”
Axel nodded. “Yes. The gem will only belong to those who are worthy. What qualifies as worthiness? Either appointment from the council or… other things. To be frank, I’m not sure myself.
All I know is that the gems that are lost right now have no master at the moment; they will be thirsting for one. I’d hurry to find them as well. The gems are wild animals at the moment and highly unpredictable; they will not always find a benevolent master. They may work against you, or may work for you.” He leaned back in his chair. “As you can guess, only one person can own one gem at a time. So I guess you’ll have to find someone worthy of owning it. And quickly, lest they turn.”
“Turn? Wha-”
I felt an invisible push at my chest. I was offset for a moment and forgot my question. I looked at Axel, but he didn’t look fazed at all. I tried to remember, but gave up. “But where do I even begin to look?”
Axel shrugged. “I don’t know. A gem owner can usually sense another gem’s location. Usually.”
I felt another invisible, harder push at my chest. Maybe it was because of the invisible hand or the overwhelming knowledge, but I started getting a little tired. “How does that help at all?”
Axel smiled. “You’re a bright kid. Just get some friends and start exploring.”
I started coughing. Oddly a bit of water came up, but I swallowed it back down. “Why are you and the council choosing me? Why not someone else?”
He took a more solemn expression. “Because I see the greatness in you, Dean. I have seen how much you have endured, how much you have felt, how much you have known. You know what courage is, what pain is, what living is. I know what you can and cannot do. Mostly, above all though, is because you are our last hope, and our only hope.”
I keeled over in the white, plush chair. I coughed madly, and a puddle of clear water formed from my mouth.
“Looks like someone really wants to get you out,” he mused.
I wiped my mouth, tasting sweet, cold freshwater. “What? What’s going on? Are you saying it’s time for me to go?”
Axel nodded. I suspected he was happy time was up, to be rid of me.
“But I still have so many questions.” I was really getting woozy now, and I slid down a bit more, resting my head on the back of the chair. “I can’t leave yet.” I was visibly being pushed back by some invisible force now, my chest and heart starting to strain a bit.
His eyes started laughing. “That’s ok. If you ever need to talk to me again, give me a shout. I’ll bring a truck over to trash your car again.”
I choked on some water. Screw you. “Wait… just tell me who’s on the council, and who I can talk to.”
He grew anxious and hesitant, treading uncertain territory, unsure of what to reveal and what to hide. “Your mom and dad.”
Axel clasped his hand to his mouth, but the words were already out. I was about to start screaming and jump up with even more questions and impossible disbelief, but I decided that the armchair was way too comfy not to take a nap in.

The moment I opened my eyes, I rolled over onto my side and hacked gallons of water out onto the grass. I coughed until my lungs hurt and my eyes watered, until finally, my throat opened and I took my first breath in what felt like hours. Damn did it feel good to be out of there.

“Sir, are you all right?”

I didn’t answer, still bewildered from Axel and cold from the water. I did have to admit though, the water did taste cool.

I saw paramedics all around, flashing lights from fire trucks, police cars, and ambulances. Off to the side was my bag, presumably with my gem still inside.

The paramedic asked again, slightly annoyed. “Sir, are you all right?”

I glanced at the nametag. Lily. She looked young twenties, fresh out of college and just starting out. Her hair was pulled into a pony tail as her necklace hang down, making sure I wasn’t dying. I nodded my head as I focused on the green gem on the necklace. There was something about her that kept nagging me. Something about her was attractive, and I don’t mean the looks.
Oddly, I didn’t feel any pain considering I just came out of a car crash. I started to get up off of my feet, but my knee felt like it’d been skewered at a barbecue, roasted on the charcoals, and lambasted so as to get that juicy, tender feel. I saw that it was wrapped in gauze and at a very odd angle.

“It’s not as bad as it looks—only an extremely slight knee dislocation and lacerations from debris. It’s all taken care off. Just don’t do anything strenuous, like running or weight lifting,” said Lily.
How’s abouts gem hunting, I thought. Can I go to France and climb some castles?
A police officer walked up to me. “Son, we need to ask you some questions.”
Lily interrupted him. “Hold on! He has to get to the hospital! I just performed CPR and wrapped his knee, and you want to interrogate him? He might have other injuries, there could—”
The cop held up his hand. “I need a few moments. We’ve got quite the mess here.”
“Can’t you do that at the hospital?” She was fierce. I did my best to look confused and lost and in need of medical assistance.
Through all the wreckage, angry drivers, and truck driver holding up his hands as if he did nothing wrong, a man walking by picked up my backpack and continued strolling down the sidewalk, ignoring the car wreck and pretending the backpack was his all along. I pushed past the cop’s inquisitive drone and sprinted after the stranger, through the wreckage and past the truck driver.
The cop pulled out his radio. “Runner on foot. Repeat, runner on foot. Blue jeans, Nike sneakers, wrapped up leg. He can’t get very far,” he said as he jumped into his car.
The scumbag in the fedora—that’s how I knew he was a scumbag—noticed me running after him and started sprinting as well. Soon we were both sprinting down the road with sirens behind us.
He ran towards the intersection and plowed through, cars honking at tires skidding all the while. A few seconds later, I came barreling through as well, dodging the stopped cars. I ran into the hood of one car and rolled onto the pavement once more, but I couldn’t stop now.
On the other side of the intersection was a corn field, and farther down was the overpass. I heard the rustling of crops being trampled as the man heaved towards the next intersection. I sprinted past him, following the trail of footsteps. I vaguely felt some needle in my shoulder, but I ignored it. I had to get that gem back, for whatever reason.
The police cars skidded to a halt some feet back. I heard the slam of doors as the policemen joined in on the pursuit of the fedora kid. Or maybe the handicapped kid.
My lungs and legs were really starting to burn, especially my knee. But I couldn’t let Askuwheteau down. How awkward would the conversation be?
Listen, I know you recently told me I had to save the world and all literally 10 minutes ago, but I lost my gem. You know, the one you just gave me? That gives you super strength? Haha funny ain’t it? A stranger took it and ran off! Hey, what are you doing with that gun?
My mind clicked. Super strength. I wish Axel told me how to get it. Well, might as well ask him now.
I turned inwards into my mind. I left the cornfield and thought of the white room, and in seconds I felt my mind be whisked away into the white room. Nothing had changed—white armchairs and fireplace and whatnot. Only this time, a giant red diamond stood in front of me.
There was no ceiling to the room, so it went far out of my line of sight. It was intimidating, yet intriguing. I wanted to run, yet dissect it like an archaeologist. I think if I put in some effort, I could wrap my arms around it. Give it a big bear hug. Yes, hugging a diamond.
I wonder where Axel was? Maybe I should wait for him to show up or something.
I walked up to the diamond. I noticed that there was a small crack at the bottom with some light seeping out. I gave it a small poke with my foot, causing red shards to crumble and fall down. A red smoke tendril crawled out of the broken corner. I jumped back a little bit, but calmed down when I saw that it was a harmless bit of smoke.
“Aw geez… Where the hell is Axel? Hope he doesn’t notice I broke our toy,” I thought.
I sat down in one of the armchairs. I didn’t notice the smoke tendril creeping along the floor towards my foot. The chairs were way too comfy, and I started to fall into a daze once more. Here I was, in some fantasyland while I may or may not be blindly running through the crops. How long did time pass in this realm? What was life like? How would you go to the bathroom?
The smoke latched onto my foot and I startled awake. It gave a swift pull as I faceplanted into the coffee table in front of me. I rubbed my aching nose as I was dragged towards the gem and towards the ominous red light. I tried to scream, but remembered I had no breath in the Edge, and so I began to panic even more. I fought the tendril and tried to kick it with my other leg, but my kick just passed through the wisps.
I was being dragged closer and closer to the diamond, and I could’ve sworn I heard laughter. I reached out for something to grab, reached for the chair leg, but I barely missed as my fingertips brushed the dark wood.
My heart sank even further. Maybe I should say my prayers and kiss my ass goodbye? No. I refused to be beaten by some damn smoke. This is ridiculous. Some damn smoke was going to eat me. Some damn smoke was beating me. Some damn smoke was killing me and dragging me like its b****.
The leg caught with by the tendril was dragged into the diamond where it felt like it was dipped into acid. I gave a deafening scream, but no sound came out. I was within arm’s reach of the satanic blood diamond when my blood started to boil. It literally boiled. My skin felt like it was exploding and my veins were on fire. I let out another soundless scream. I tried to punch the diamond—nothing. I tried once more—a crack! My glimmer of hope fell apart when I saw a red smoke worm pop out. My other leg dipped into the bath and the acid crept up to my knee, but I felt nothing due to the shock. Finally, on what would be my final swing before I became Dean soup, my boiling blood and burning veins concentrated into my fist, and I threw a blind punch.
I felt glass break, and heard an ear-shattering roar. The acid stopped creeping up my leg and the pressure on my ankle ceased as the world exploded. I was thrown back perhaps twenty feet and, as I flew through the air, all I could see was red.
I faceplanted onto cool dirt. I took a struggled breath and opened my eyes to see a corn stalk, standing tall in the sunlight. Only, the cornstalk was red.
I stood up. In fact, everything was red. Everything had a red tint. My jeans, shoes, dirt, the sky, all of it.
The bouncing fedora was getting away. Obviously, I hadn’t been up there for very long. I made a mental note as I pursued the perpetrator.
I rocketed from my standstill. Cornstalks flew from their roots as I cut through them and dug up their roots with my feet. The wind billowed against my face, and my hands pumped faster than an engine piston. I would have been arrested if I ran past a cop with his radar gun. I haven’t felt this power in… well actually, ever! I almost forgot about how creepy it was to see red everywhere.
I came out of the corn field, seeing the man run along the overpass amid the honking cars. I sprinted again after him, filled with new determination to take back my gem. He slowed down, confident he was home free, and looked back behind him with heavy breath. His eyes grew wide when he saw a teenager barreling towards him at Mach speed. I knocked the wind out of him as I tackled him to the ground, sending the backpack flying some feet away. His head knocked against the back of the concrete, and blood spurted out of his nose. I held his arms down with my knees and put my fist up in the sky ready to fly as the stranger blinked his eyes in a daze. No surprise there, as I nearly knocked him out cold.
“Who are you?” I bellowed. His hair blew back as I spat the words out. It seems my voice has gotten stronger as well.
He recovered and leered at me with steely determination. His eyes said he was not going to talk.
I let a punch fly. I didn’t need to hold it back much. He yelped out in pain, and blood started to flow out on the concrete below his head. His lip was cut, and he spat his blood out of his mouth at my face.
I let another one go. “Answer the goddamn question!”
He smiled with broken teeth, his eyes still full of cunning.
“So… You’re Dean,” he rasped.
I burrowed my eyebrows in confusion when his eyes turned white. Pure white. Smiling still, white light came out of his mouth. Then his nose. Then his body started to glow. He started to twitch on the concrete when a small white orb appeared on his chest. It grew larger and larger when it burned my finger tip. I jumped back in surprise. The drivers in their cars noticed this, too, and scrambled to get out of the way. The orb grew larger and larger, encompassing the man and some of the nearby cars. There was a sickening smell of burning flesh in the air. It swallowed up the road and any cars unfortunate enough to be in the orb’s way, feeding off of the matter and showing no signs of stopping. Then, just as quick as the orb appeared, it vanished. In its midst was a circle perhaps thirty feet across. Cars were half cut; the interior was showing, and the metal frame of the cars glowed orange. Some of the rebar holding up the overpass was melted and carried an orange glow as well. Even worse, the pillar holding up the road was burned straight through.
The overpass started to wobble, and people scurried to get off the bridge. Police arrived on the scene, some of them got out of their car and watched in confused awe. The bridge curved towards the hole, and cars fell some fifty meters onto the runner’s path below. Concrete broke off and made a horrible and expensive sounding scrape against the metal cars, falling onto the hoods and making a dent. An elderly man who was walking the path stood down the way, watching in just as much abject wonder as everyone else.
Hope everyone had insurance.
A kid who was watching pointed at me, and pulled on his mom’s hand, saying, “Mommy, why are his eyes red?”
My blood stopped boiling, and I felt incredibly exhausted. The world was drained of its reddish hue and reverted back to its normal color as my heart rate slowed and muscles relaxed. I looked at the kid who wore a yellow Spongebob shirt and jeans. He looked back at me with an open mouth and resumed tugging at her mom’s hand.
“Mommy mommy! His eyes changed color!”
The cop who was at the car crash earlier grabbed my arm. “Now, if you don’t mind, we definitely need to ask you some questions.”

“I swear, officer, it wasn’t my fault!”
Two cops stood in front of me. The one who originally wanted to question me stood on the left, and some other shmuck stood on the right. They did not look happy. I wouldn’t be either if some kid took out a few hundred thousand dollars’ worth of property.
Albert, the cop from earlier, was hunched forward. “Listen. I know that you’re scared, but I’m just doing my job. If you tell me who that man was and why you were fighting, I gave you my word that you’ll walk out of here.
He pushed a very tempting plate of donuts across the table. “I don’t give any promises about Hawk-eye, though,” said Albert, jerking his head to the dark, dank corner.
Albert’s dark complexion and warming smile was certainly comforting; Travis—the cop in the dark, dank corner—and his biting scowl, not so much.
Travis walked over and slammed his hand on the table, startling both me and Albert.
“Listen, punk. I don’t care if you’re the damn son of the President. We can do some pretty horrible things to you. Does life in prison at Stonewalls sound nice? After all, you did take out a major highway, and a few lives in the process.”
That wasn’t me, you numbnut, I thought. But I kept my mouth shut.
“There are some heavy charges going against you, kid. Manslaughter, vandalism, obstruction of justice. But we can help you out here, maybe lessen some of the charges, or even dispose of them entirely. If you please simply tell us what happened.”
I continued to leer at him with unmoving eyes. Then, I opened my mouth, as if in preparation to say something. Albert took out his notebook, and Travis brought the mic closer to me. I got really close to the mic, making sure they would catch every word I said.
“I’m not going to talk.”
I slumped back into my chair as Albert sunk his head into the table and Travis threw his arms up in exhaustion.
The door to the room opened. In stepped a woman carrying my backpack with a long trench coat and fedora (damn fedora). Her blonde hair covered her face as she said a few quiet words to Albert and Travis.
Travis looked confused. “You sure?” he asked.
The woman nodded. There was something about her that pulled my eyes to her. Like she was hiding something, like she had something I didn’t. Wait. Was it possible that she-
“Thank God. I couldn’t deal with the kid any longer,” Travis breathed. They both left the room as Travis uttered more silent berates.
She stood there while the door closed behind her, still hiding her face underneath that forsaken fedora. Her heels clicked along the floor as she sat in Albert’s chair. She took off her hat and—
“Hello, Dean,” she said with a very familiar voice.
I sat perplexed. As a matter of fact, everything about her was familiar. The piercing green eyes, the sleek blonde hair, the youthful aura. The paramedic!
“What are you doing here, Lily?” I demanded.
She tossed the backpack across the table and walked to my side, inspecting my leg. “Do you still feel any pain around your leg? You practically sprinted a mile, and on a lame leg, too.”
She touched my leg, and immediately it felt better. The pins and needles disappeared, and the incessant throbbing down the shin ceased. I looked at her with bewilderment as she caressed my knee.
She stood up and said, “That should be good enough. Nothing too major. I took care of the rest.”
I shifted my leg closer to me. “You still didn’t answer my question,” I repeated. “What are you doing here?”
She turned off the mic on the table. “Well, you’re coming with me of course.”
My heart jumped at both the thought of getting out of the station and being with a pretty girl. “You can just do that?”
She waved her hand. “Sure I can. I’ve got a lot of influence. Besides, we’ve got a lot of things to talk about, and I don’t feel at liberty to talk about it in here.”
Finally, I thought. I can get out of here and get back to life. I hate legal troubles. Plus, she said we had to talk. Maybe at a pizza place? Or a bowling alley? Like a date?!
I shook my head. Dammit, Dean, stop it. She’s ten years older, if not more.
“Hold on, I still need to talk to my grandpa! They must be worried sick!”
She snapped her fingers. “Oh yes, that’s right. We told him you’re with me. He understood. It seems that he, too, has some things to tell you.”
“Woah, hold up! He knows you?” This was escalating pretty fast.
She groaned in annoyance. “Oh yeah. Definitely. He and your grandma used to tell me about you a lot.”
My mind ran in circles. “I don’t know what to think. How does he know you? How do you know him? What does he have to tell me?”
Pushed to the limit, she grabbed my arm and dragged me to the door.
“Where are we going?” I asked.
“I’ll answer all—er, most—of your questions later, when we get away from here. You’ll get a chance to talk to your grandpa after you talk to me.”
The cops outside the door were hesitant about letting Lily drag me out the door, but Lily’s eyes shot them down. They knew better than to challenge a woman.
We walked out the door when she pressed her car keys. A green Mini-Cooper beeped down the street.
I stopped walking. “Surely you can’t be serious?” I relented.
She opened the passenger side door. “First off, my name isn’t Shirley. Second, be grateful I got you out. Just get in the car.”
“Of all cars, it had to be a damn Mini-Cooper,” I grumbled under my breath as we pulled out onto the street.
“Hey now, at least it’s eco-friendly and very fuel efficient,” she smirked with some pride.
Eco-friendly means expensive, I thought.
We drove in silence for a few minutes. Bored of watching the cars, I said, “So is green like your favorite color or something?”
No response.
I coughed. “So can you at least tell me where we are headed to?”
No response. She continued staring at the road ahead.
“Sweet,” I whispered. It was going to be one of those car rides.
We pulled up to one of those eco-friendly frozen yogurt stores. You know, the ones that emanated that hipster-white-girl feeling. Green all over. Seems like this date wasn’t going to be what I thought.
“Would you like anything?” she asked as I plopped down in a beanbag chair.
I grumbled a solemn No as she and the cashier, who turned out to be a friend from middle school, talked about some totally rad shoes, or how Johnny dumped her for Sally. Like no way! I know huh?? Oh my gawd! But watevs because he’s, like, a jerk anyway.
I peered out the window as I tried to block the splintering voices. As I watched paint dry and grass grow, I saw a man standing across the street, dressed in all white. White pants, white shoes, white suit, everything. Even his hair was dyed white and gelled back. Mark Twain would have had a double take. Even his eyes, the most off-putting, were white. They carried a look of judgment, a look of damnation. His eyes demanded attention, accustomed to the rich life, and they received all that they asked. Received, at least, in one way or another. He was the judge, jury, and executioner, and he played the executioner the most.
I continued to stare at the figure across the street. He returned the stare with a smile. It was not a friendly smile, however. It was one of eagerness, like a hyena about to catch its prey, like a rapist with utter lust in his eyes. I reeled back in surprise. There was a shock of electricity through my spine out of either fear or interest, or both, and I could have sworn someone was breathing down my neck. He fondled a ring with a sparkling white gemstone while he salivated.
“Dean. Hey, Dean.”

Lily was poking me with her spoon. “What are you spacing out at?” she asked.

I kept staring at the man. My eyes became watery, and his stare become too strong. I crumpled under the gaze and had to look away.

“Oh, uh I-I was looking at my friend across the street. He was waving,” I quivered.

I faced the street again. Perhaps I’ll have a staring contest with the freak. But he was gone.

“Don’t lie to me. You look like you saw a ghost,” she said, taking another spoonful.

“Well there was this man in white. There was a ring—”

I felt a pull. She turned around too. The entrance doors chimed as Lily and I anticipated the newcomer. In came a casual, handsome looking man—blue jeans and white-tee. Sunglasses covered his eyes, and he had a white streak of highlights throughout his brown, ruffled hair. There was a white piercing in his ear.

He shot us a glowing smile as he walked to the cashier for some yogurt. Lily gave him a scowl and kept watchful eyes on him.

“Uhm… Well shoot, I don’t know. I guess I’ll go with vanilla. Tried and true, right?” he chuckled. The cashier blushed a bit and giggled a concurrent yes.

I looked at him with careful eyes as well. There was an air of familiarity about him. I’ve seen him before, and I have definitely heard that voice as well.

He graciously accepted his delicacy, giving an exaggerated bow, evoking a giggle from the cashier. As he started to leave, he picked up a fedora from the hat stand. That curly hair underneath that fedora… It was the man who tried stealing my backpack!
I was starting to stand when he tossed me something from his hand. It caught me off guard and resounded off of my forehead with an audible thud and a vocalized yelp of surprise. The man left without another word and rushed out of the store, tossing his yogurt into the trash can.

The ring clattered onto the table. When I recovered from my projectile assault, which likely left a red mark, I looked at what hit me. Well… How very odd.

It was the white ring the man across the street had.

Lily stared at the ring on the table. She held her spoon in the air, mouth agape with a look of disbelief. “What the hell?”

She inspected the ring, pushing her precious ice cream—yogurt, sorry; God forbid I interchange the two, lest I be ruthlessly smitten—off to the side. She pulled out her phone and laid it directly next to the ring, going back and forth between the ring and her phone. Then, she advanced her hands with severe caution and apprehensive eyes, finally touching the ring and pulling back as if a hot stove.

I stared at her like she was crazy. Correction: I stared at her because she was crazy. “What’s wrong?”

She threw on her jacket and tossed the rest of the delicacy into the garbage. “Sorry, but we really need to go. I thought we’d get to talk more, but this is urgent, and I need your grandpa.”

She pulled me by the arm out through the door as I complied, unsure of what exactly was happening. The cashier was apparently still dazed by that previous street kid, the one that threw away the food immediately after he paid for it.

The car ride was silent. I played with the ring in my hands. The white gem seemed to act like a magnifying glass, refracting any light into a concentrated beam that spontaneously combusts any ant unfortunate enough to enter its ray. The beam was currently centered on my cheek, but since I wasn’t an ant, it merely gave a warm touch.

I heard some faint whispering. I looked at Lily, but either she didn’t seem to notice or she didn’t seem to care. It sounded like it was coming from the ring. I put my ear with much caution towards the white gem. It was giving small whispers, and I picked out only a few words.

“Join us… Become… endure the test….”

We zipped past a man in a white suit. When I looked back to see if he was still there, he was gone.

I gave a quiet yelp. The ring was starting to burn my hands a little, so I stuffed it into my pocket. Even while it was in my pocket it was giving small whispers. “Combes… the test….”

“Hold on, how do you know where I live?” I asked as we turned on my street, ignoring the inner dialogue.

No response. I settled back into the seat as we pulled up to the house I’ve known for eight years since my orphanage.
Grandpa was standing outside the brick-red house. He had his red tracksuit on as well; I had to snicker. He seemed outlandish standing outside with a grim face and clown-like red clothing.
“Hello, Lily.”
Lily nodded. “Wilson.”
I blinked a few times. “How do yo—”
The two spoke to each other without a smile as they headed into the house. I stood there confused at how my grandpa knew a twenty-something blonde. Questions ran through my mind as I headed into the house and left my normal life behind.

I walked into the living room to see Grandpa and Lily fighting—er, loudly discussing.
“You’re lying,” he said in disbelief.
“Well, you knew it would happen someday, Will.”
“Yes, I knew that Dean would find out, but I didn’t know it would escalate so quickly, to this stage. I mean, Combes? With this?”
She hesitated. “Yes.”
“Wh-How do you know?”
She gestured an open palm in my direction without giving me a glance. “Let me see the ring, Dean.”
The ring lay in my pocket where it was giving a slight burning sensation. “I don’t know, it’s kinda pretty,” I said.
She turned her head and shot me a look that made my heart skip in fear.
I tossed her the ring. “Thank you,” she said in the most unappreciative tone ever.
Immediately I felt the discomfort I had from holding it disappear.
Lily gave the ring to Grandpa as he marveled it in his hands.
“How did you get this?” he said.
“There was a guy at the yogurt shop who randomly tossed it to us. I don’t think it’s the real gem, though, or it would have killed Dean.”
She looked at my hands. “It might have just been a warning to him if there was enough to burn his hands.”
“True, but how do you know it’s Combes who has it?” Grandpa said.
She looked at him. “Okay, okay, you’re right. It has to be Combes.”
“Can you guys please bring me up to speed?” I relented.

Gramps and Lily exchanged a quick glance. Then, Grandpa tossed me the ring.

“As you may have guessed, a Gem will retaliate against any person who has not proved their worthiness. I’m not sure if Axel explained this to you or not.”

I caught the ring in my hands and within moments, it started to heat up. I placed it on the countertop.

“It is possible to distribute this… power into common objects. A watch, a necklace, or an earring, just as Combes has done. The common object receives a small portion of the power and can be given to any person who is compatible with the power. I’m sure you already know the test for compatibility.”

I thought back to the acid bath.

“The test for worthiness of the smaller gem is a lot less difficult, so don’t need to worry about that. Let’s say, for example, you wish to take control of that ring. You’d need to go through a much more scaled down version of what you went through with the Red Gem.”

How does he know all this? I looked at my backpack with the shield and gem. I don’t think I’d want to go through that again.

“So then why don’t I just take the ring right now for myself? I passed my own test of worthiness against a full-fledged gem. I can do a measly, watered-down ring,” I said.

Lily stopped me. “That wouldn’t be a very good idea. Unless you want to become a brainwashed zombie of Combes.”

“Why do you seem to use Combes as a swear?” I said.

“We don’t know much about Combes, really. We know that he’s come into contact with the White Gem a few months ago, and since then, he’s been using it quite a lot, and not in very charitable ways,” Lily explained. “He’s incredibly ruthless; we’ve had a scuffle or two with him before.
“That’s how we lost—”
She stopped herself, and Grandpa ignored her. “Let’s continue using Combes’ ring as an example. Let’s say you do pass the test and now become the rightful owner of that specific portion of the power. One, you wouldn’t be able to, because you can only own one gem at a time. Anyone who has tried to own two has ended up… Uhm… damaged.

“Two, there are some pretty severe restrictions on the powers. The powers stored in the gems are a fraction of what the original gem actually has, and so the powers are severely weakened.
“Three, you would become, as Lily put it, a brainwashed zombie. Whoever passes the test of the object becomes controlled by the gem owner. He essentially becomes the gem owner’s slave, basically losing their own free thought and obeying the owner’s every whim.

“In addition to that, you start to become like the owner. What I mean by losing your thought is that you start to think like the owner. Their thoughts, their urges, their tastes for clothing, etc. Plus, you take up some of their physical features like hair, muscles, all the way down to the fingernail length.

“I’m sure Lily’s got a lot of followers. Who wouldn’t want to look like her?”

Lily looked at Grandpa with wide eyes and then quickly regained her composure and laughed nervously.

Grandpa swallowed. “I mean, if she had the ability to recruit followers. I’m sure if she did, everyone would love to become like her. Isn’t that right, Dean?”

I blushed and gave a soft chuckle, trying to laugh it off.

Lily continued on. “Well how do we get Combes on our boat? Especially if we’re to do this.”

I was puzzled. “If we’re to do what?”

“If we’re to find the gems of course!”

He smiled. I looked at him like he was joking. I turned to Lily. She was taking him seriously.

“But, Grandpa, I don’t think you have the first clue about getting gems.”

He looked at me as if I shot his foot. “Excuse me?”

I looked at his beer belly straining against the jumpsuit. “You just… don’t seem like it. I mean, how do you know all this?”

He scoffed. “How do you think your dad got his gem?”
“He made it. That’s how he’s on the council.”
“Ha! Is that what he told you?”
“Actually, no. Axel did. He said that mom and dad were on the council.”
“Axel? That damned Indian liar. He’s good at lying; cleaned out my wallet one night during poker. Should never have been a gem owner. I bet he said you were ‘the world’s only hope’ too,” said Grandpa, throwing his hands up in the air. “You didn’t believe that cliché, heart-felt crap, did you?”
I blushed and stayed silent.
Lily spoke up. “Your grandpa actually is, er, used to be, on the council. He resigned a long, long time ago and gave the position to your father, before your dad and mom… you know.”
I licked my lips and blinked back a few habitual tears.
“So, to answer your question, I do know a fair bit about gems, Dean,” Grandpa said.
So Grandpa was older than I thought? No wonder he was so sassy, especially when he looked like he had only five more years. But Axel couldn’t be lying about everything, not even—
“Axel was talking about a black gem. Was he lying about that?” I said.
Grandpa’s grin disappeared. “No. He was not. What exactly did he say?”
I started to panic a bit myself at the break in Grandpa’s demeanor. “Th-that it’s disappeared, and we need to get it. What’s so important about the black gem?”
Grandpa rubbed his head and had to take a seat. Lily looked at both of us, unsure of what to say or what to do. She was in my position as well—lost and in need of some direction.
“The black gem… Nobody knows about. Nobody has ever owned it before, aside from the Creator.”
Creator… I guess that’s the guy who made the gems. Axel, you dirty liar.
“Its powers are unknown. But when the Creator did have it, it was magnificent. Mountains were moved, entire wars were won, and a civilization could be demolished with a flick. The Aztecs….”

Grandpa continued rambling. “They say it has all the powers of the other six gems, and more. It virtually has one power: chaos. Very general isn’t it? That’s because no one really knows, and no one dares to try to know. Anyone who has even attempted to conquer its test has been… What’s the word… Uhh hurt. Some emerge with psychological damage, some emerge encased in a black block, some as a liquefied version, some grown men crying without eyes, some with their literal brain ripped out from….” Grandpa shuttered at the thought. “I’ve heard some terrible things.”

Lily and I were now sitting on the other couch. We were listening intently. I was starting to sweat down my back a little.

Grandpa was thinking aloud now. “And now I’ve heard it’s disappeared from our stronghold. All the dead bodies on that night… None of the current gem owners could have done it. We know where they are—Combes is a possibility but he is nowhere near devious nor powerful enough to do all of that. No… It had to be someone else. Someone who doesn’t own a gem. Yet. How did he do it? Pray to God the black gem has not fallen into the wrong hands, or if it has, that those hands have failed the test. The power that gem has is—”

“Willis!”

Grandpa snapped out of his trance. “Uh, well, th-uh I—.” He coughed. “So, to answer your question, the gem’s pretty important. It’s disappearance has created the slightest bit of urgency for all of us, so we—I guess only us three—are going to find it.”

Excellent. A teen who just got his gem, a hot paramedic, and a dysfunctional old man who, while he knows a great deal, can’t put on his pants without breaking a sweat.

“What are we going to do about Combes though?” Lily asked.

“I don’t know of his intentions for sure, but I don’t think he likes the fact that the most powerful gem of reality has disappeared. We need to talk some sense into him,” Grandpa said. “Unless…

He stopped himself. “No. We need to get going.”

“I’m sorry that I’m so new at this, but go where?!” I said. “This is… I can’t—”

Grandpa placed his hand on my shoulder. “It’s ok, Dean. I have a very trusted friend up in Michigan. He looks for ‘anomalies’ that occur throughout the world, and maybe, just maybe, he can help us out here.”

“Then what’s Lily here for?” I burst. Lily glared at me with offense. I had to ask; I had trouble with figuring out her part in it, if any.

“I thought you told him,” Grandpa said to Lily.

She shook her head. “I was going to tell him, but we were interrupted by Combes.”

I looked between Grandpa and her. What more secrets did they share? What more secrets did she have?

Grandpa nodded his head. “I don’t think we will have much to worry about him. He’s definitely a threat, but right now, the bigger threat is the gem. Besides, what could he want with us? Maybe the ring toss was a gesture.”

A gesture of war.

“Surely Combes knows what’s going on, too. If we see him, we’ll talk to him and see what he thinks,” Grandpa said.

I remembered back to the fedora man who stole my backpack and who then tossed me the ring. I highly doubted that stealing one of the gems was a gesture of kindness. I thought that Combes had other intentions, but Grandpa was actually making some sense. He couldn’t take another gem anyway, and the disappearance of the black gem would be in everyone’s common fear.

Grandpa said, “I need to make a few calls now. Come back in another hour.”

Lily was already half out the door when she gestured to the car. A man in a black suit stood out the window. The ring in my pocket vibrated erratically, but I gave it no attention.

We hopped into the green mini-Cooper. Lily gave a frustrated sigh, elated that the conversation with Grandpa was over.

I closed the door. “So how the hell do you know each other?”

She glared at me. “We—Ahh fought Combes together.”

“So? I fight people all the time. I don’t become instant buddies with people that help me out in a fight, let alone people that are over forty years my senior.”

There was a solar powered plastic plant on the dashboard bouncing up and down. It was ticking me off. “And what the hell’s with all this green?”

I saw a shadowy figure move in the corner of my eye, but my vision was too focused on Lily. I demanded some answers.

“Ok… So you know how I said in the house that I was going to tell you something before that ring interrupted us?”

I nodded.

She breathed out slowly in an effort to quell her shaking hands. “Well, the green car, the eco-sense, temporary paramedic occupation. Know why I’ve got a green thumb and such a knack for medicine? Well almost a year ago, I found—”

Suddenly, my ring began to vibrate thunderously, sending shockwaves up my leg and throughout the car. It was bothersome and felt incredibly weird, but Lily noticed it. We stopped our conversation. We sat up straight in unison, aware of a disconcerting presence. I began to turn around when my head was struck against the windshield. I tried to cry out in pain, but my voice wouldn’t break. The window glass was pressing against the back of my head, and I tried to move, but I couldn’t. My hands and feet were restrained, and there was a tightening pressure around my neck. I looked around the car to see what was happening. Lily was also choking, her eyes wide, restrained by… nothing.

I strained my eyes to look at my own hands and feet. I couldn’t move them no matter how hard I tried; I was restrained by nothing. All throughout, my neck was tightening around itself. When I looked out the window, there were black tendrils stretching across the lawn, originating from the house and reaching towards the Mini-Cooper.
I looked at Lily; same thing with her. The house across the street had black tendrils that reached out towards the car. Panicking, I took a closer look at her legs. I saw a thing, black ring encircling her foot, almost imperceptible to the eye—it was as if a shadow was preventing her movement.

The ring in my pocket began to melt into my body. It grew boiling hot as I felt it burn all through the fabric of my jeans and through the skin of my body to mold itself within me. I tried to scream, but I couldn’t. I gave strained shouts as my trachea was pressured and the ring burrowed deep into my thigh. I closed my eyes in pain, all the horrific, limb-wrenching pain. I kept trying to scream, begging for someone, something to help, but God chose to laugh. I was on my own with zero control. Nobody was there for me to cry to, for me to rely on. I had to fend for myself. Just like when my parents died.

My blood began to boil. The tears stopped. Yes, I was on my own. But now, I thought, I’ve got something to use.
I opened my eyes. Lily was dyed a red hue and the interior was as well. I wanted to say something, but by now my vocal chords were most likely crushed. As I was about to rip my hands free, I saw Lily open her own eyes. The eyes were panicked, yet carried a calm awareness. Her eyes glimmered a green light. Somehow, she managed to get one of her hands loose, and with a flick of the rest, it all disappeared. The earth around us shifted. There was a thundering rumble as rocks dived out of the way, and the car was transported into blackness, the scent of mud and cool earth surrounding us.
An earthworm was splayed across the windshield, and a beetle was crawling along the door.
My breathing slowed and my heart stopped pounding. I unclenched my fists as the bubbles in my blood boiled down. My muscles loosened I collapsed into my seat in a sweat-drenched tee. The red curtain around my eyes drew back, and I saw everything normally once more. I began to feel cold at the sudden shift from the sunny, 80-degree weather to wherever 50s.
I turned on the car light. I saw even more insects squirming around our car. I investigated my hands, legs, and neck to verify any damage that was done. Just some red marks, but nothing serious, so it appeared.
I touched my thigh, remembering the searing ring digging into my bone. It was still there, and there were no tender areas.
I remembered the other passenger in the car and turned to check on her. I jumped when I saw Lily.
Her eyes were a solid green.
She was panting, her hands still poised and ready for action. She was looking around wildly for the slightest threat. In her twisting and turning, her hand hit the window on her side. Immediately a green sprout began to grow. After a few moments, after seeing how she was in the solace of her own domain, she controlled her breathing and started to slow, her eyes reverting back to their normal state. They continued to dart around until her pupils met mine.
My mouth dropped open. I stuttered, searching for something to say.
“Ho- Wha- I-Th-When-I don’t- fr-.”
She blushed and gave an awkward chuckle, as if I had caught her in her underwear. Not like I would mind or anything.
“I can explain,” she said.
“Well, you better start talking.”
Her eyes turned green again, and I heard the sound of scraping earth and rock. She pushed down the gas pedal, and we burst through a wall. We emerged in a cave, lit up by the car headlights.
She turned off the car and stepped out into the dark cavern. There were a few butterflies perched on some stalagmites and some flying around, emitting a dim, quiet blue glow. I marveled at them as they fluttered around the cave. To my right was a green iguana, staring up at me with curious black eyes. It crawled over to me and sat on my foot.
A parrot flew from the darkness and landed onto Lily’s shoulder. She was in the corner, working on some trinket that was emitting a green light.
“Hey, Garret,” she said, patting the parrot. She reached over to a switch and flicked it upwards.
The entire cavern lit up. The blue butterflies danced past my vision as they fled to a darker place, escaping the bright lights. I saw that the cavern was not just any old muddy, brown cave. There was a workbench where Lily was now; a couch that was hooked up to a TV and PlayStation along with a half-eaten bag of chips; a gaping hole in which the mini-Cooper just broke through. Behind me was an archway deeper into the cave, where the last of the blue butterflies were fluttering through. Around me were holes the size of a fist; I presumed they were air holes. The iguana that was laying on my foot made its way to one of the holes and started to climb up one of them.
I heard a low grumble from the workbench. At Lily’s feet was what looked like an oversized mouse/squirrel/miniature-bear-thing.
“Oh my God! What’s that at your feet?”
Lily looked down. “Oh, that? That’s just my wombat, Lenny.”
Next to the workbench was a metal door. Connected to the door was a keypad; it probably opened up the door. I was walking towards it when I heard a deafening crash and clatter come from inside, causing my heart to jump.
“Wh-What’s inside that door, Lily?”
She continued to tinker with something on the workbench with an audible clang. “Don’t worry about it.”
That just made me worry about it even more. That, and the rather large skeletons lying beside the metal door.
I walked to the couch and fell down onto it, crushing a few stale chips.
“What kind of place is this?” I asked.
She stepped away from the work bench, the sudden movement scaring away Garret and Lenny. I watched as they fled deeper into the cavern, following the same way of the butterflies. The iguana poked its head out from one of the air holes with a mouse in its mouth.
“It’s my home,” she said, clapping her hands together, letting green dust scatter across the floor. The green glow stopped emanating from the workbench, and Lily picked up a necklace. Her eyes shifted back to normal as she placed the necklace around her neck; in its center was a green jewel.
“And why—or how did this become your home?” I continued to ask skeptically.
She walked over to the couch and propped up her legs on the coffee table. She picked up the remote and started to surf a few channels. I didn’t ask as to how she got reception.
“Well, I like the Earth and stuff, so I decided to make my home down here.” She picked a chip off the ground, blew some of the dirt off of it, and bit into it. She gave a grimace as she spat it back out. A few ferrets came by and started to chow down. “It’s much better than any house up there, in my opinion. I intercepted a few utility lines so I’ve got power and stuff, and the earth keeps it naturally cool. It’s quite nice,” she muffled, loudly munching on a chip.
“How did you get the cave to be like this?” I said, doing my best to ignore that ferret stunt.
“Well I just cut out a piece from down here and brought down the couch and stuff too. I basically made shop here. Pretty soon animals just found their way down here.” She pointed towards the exit where the butterflies left through. “If you go that way long enough, you’ll find yourself back on the surface.”
“How did you do that, though?” I asked.
“Well I’ve got the green gem, so I can. Duh,” she said.
“How did you get your gem?” I was quite interested.
She stopped chewing. “Umm… That might be a story for another day.” She took a handful of chips from the bag. I heard the crunch of the chips in her mouth, and I was getting slightly annoyed.
“You didn’t think about telling me earlier that you had a gem?”
“Well I was going to tell you, but then those shadow things tried to kill us.” She took another handful. A few chips fell out of her hand as she laughed at some cartoon. After a few moments, she was still giggling a little bit. I was not amused.
“Don’t you think we should talk about those things?”
She shrugged. “Meh. We took care of it, so now we’re good.”
I was standing up now. “We? We? You’re telling me that we nearly got choked out, and your car got trashed, and we’re transported into some random ass cave, and nobody knows what happened to my grandpa, and you’re telling me we’re good?” I spat out.
She looked at me from the side of her eyes. “Well when you say it like that, it sounds kinda bad.”
“Maybe because it is ‘kinda bad’!”
She turned off the TV. “Look, I want to get back up there and find out what happened. I need to make sure your grandpa is still alive…”
You sure aren’t acting like it, I thought.
“…and we definitely need to find out what the hell happened,” she said gesturing at her own hands and neck. “But it’s too soon to be acting. Whatever attacked us will still be on the lookout to strike again. So we need to lay low for a while. I promise that after a few hours, we will look for your grandpa and maybe Combes, if necessary, to start looking for some answers.”
She turned on the TV again. “Besides, why would you want to leave? This is quite the nice place.”
I didn’t want to mention that in a few hours, my grandpa could be dead. But Lily was making some logical sense, something that was necessary at the time.
Lenny the tiny-bear-thing was poking its head out from the side or the archway. Its pearly black eyes just called to me, and I started to walk towards him.
“Where are you going?” she said. “Just go to sleep; we’ll look for you grandpa in the morning.”
The wombat continued to beam at me. There appeared to be a playful glint in his beady eyes.
I hesitated. There was a small pull towards the entrance and a slight push from behind me. The thought of discovering the inner depths of the cave was alluring. But it wasn’t me doing the work. Something else was calling to me. “Well I was going to see what’s in the cave.”
She sat up. “No you aren’t.”
“Uhm… why not?”
Her eyes glowed green. With a flick of the wrist, the entrance to rest of the cavern was sealed off by a wall of earth. Poor Lenny.
I held my mouth open as I looked back at her, watching her eyes mold back to their normal shape.
“Was that really necessary?”
She pointed to the bed in the corner. “I said. Go. To. Sleep.”
I scurried to the mattress. Even without powers, her eyes were a tad frightening.
I investigated the bed. There was fur all over, it was covered in brown dust, and it smelled disgusting. Like a bunch of animals defecated on it, which was probably what actually happened.
I laid down on it. It sunk to the floor, making a plethora of squeaks, groans, and shudders. I let my head fall onto the pillow, coughing from all the dust I created from moving.
“I promise we will look for your grandpa in the morning. ‘Til then, try to rest easy.”
I sighed. What a cruddy bed.
I saw Lenny poke its head out from one of the holes. Little bastard looked like he was laughing at me. Then he ducked back into his hole, the sound of his scurrying reverberating throughout the cave. I wished to follow him, to explore along with him.
I stared up at the ceiling. Lily’s sit-com was playing in the background.
“No soup for you!” it said, followed by a snicker from Lily.
I was pretty exhausted; learning that you’re a gem owner, finding out your grandpa was a creator of said gem, walking out of a car crash, and fighting off few mysterious shadows tends to take a toll on you.
What troubled me the most was Axel; was he lying to me? Didn’t seem like it. Was Grandpa lying to me? Didn’t seem like that either. On top of that, I still had no clue how I fit into all of this. Why was I so important? Sure I had a gem and all, but so did six other people.
I’d deal with it later, I thought. I’m too tired. My main focus is Grandpa, I gotta make sure he’s alright.
I felt the comforting blanket of sleep cover me while Lily giggled and snickered, doing her best to not disturb me. Once she saw I was asleep, she turned off the TV. Her face became grim, as if the past thirty minutes of laughter didn’t happen. She laid down on the couch, turning her own thoughts in her mind. What would I do with Dean? Was Willis still alive? Was it a good idea to bring Dean down here? After all, he might find out.
Forget it, she thought. I’ll deal with it in the morning. Besides, he’s too scared of me to do anything. I’ll be fine.
She rolled around on the couch, searching for a comfortable position. As the blanket of sleep covered her too, she listened to rhythmic breathing of my chest. Inhale, exhale. Inhale, exhale. She was comforted by this rhythm, by the pattern of my breath, by the knowledge that something in her life was predictable and constant. She let the arms of sleep encompass her, and in the hands of those arms came the seed of doubt, ingrained in her at the last moment, ensuring that Lily would not have a restful sleep. She continued to toss and turn on the couch, her dreams turning into nightmares as the seed of doubt grew and blossomed in her mind.
Meanwhile, I just slept, fantasizing about how cute Lily would be in her underwear, as the teenage mind was apt to do.

I felt something furry brush up against my hands.
I opened my eyes. Lenny was nudging my hand, trying to wake me up.
I sat up on the couch. I saw that the opening that Lily blocked off yesterday was open again, and I peered into the blackness. A pile of earth lay to the side. Lenny ran to the opening and sat there, as if waiting for me to come over.
He stared at me with pearly eyes. I couldn’t resist. I rubbed my eyes and walked over. I looked behind me, making sure that Lily was asleep. She was muttering in her sleep, eyebrows furled and all. I decided it was safe to proceed. I just had to find out what was in the cave.
I walked forward. Lenny acted as my tour guide. There was a faint pull forcing me forward, and I heard faint whispering somewhere, somewhere in the cave.
The parrot from yesterday, Garret, flew by.
“Squaakkk! Looking for gems! Squaakkk!” as it flew deeper into the black.
Lily’s been proactive around Garret, I thought. Speaking of gems… I shook the thought aside.
I kept following Lenny. There were a few lanterns hung up on the side, but they barely gave enough light. He sniffed the floor as he walked, and he paused a few times to snap at a few stray weeds and roots.
As I followed the trail of Lenny’s mid-day snacks, I witnessed all the projects Lily worked on in her humble abode. One room was filled animals, a practical zoo. Wombats, (wonder where Lily got them and why she brought them back) twenty different birds, a dog, a few squirrels, rabbits, a wolf, a few trees for the animals to reside in, a tank of spiders, snakes, a gorilla and a freaking Goddamn penguin. What the hell.
I had to stop for a moment and take in the disaster that was going on there. I quickly regained my composure and brushed past the room.
Lenny kept guiding me deeper. Lily’s den was long gone. We turned a corner, walking past a room with dozens of weapons. Axes, guns, swords… Rocket launchers?! I made a mental note not to get on Lily’s bad side.
In the next room was a garage. Lily’s mini-Cooper somehow got there. I was looking at it as well, marveling at how someone actually liked the car, when I heard some metal clanging underneath the car, but didn’t see any legs. I kneeled down to see what was underneath the car—a monkey. With a wrench. In its hand. Fixing the fuselage.
I just walked out of the room. Lily had quite the place.
When I came out of the room, Lenny was squatting by the entrance, waiting for me. At the end of the hallway was a blue light, glowing softly through the archway. Lenny sped down the hallway and sat by the entrance, watching me with pearly eyes, insisting I came down to him.
I thought that nothing could get much weirder anyway, so I strolled down the dark brown hallway. He watched me with every step, turning his head to follow my stride. I walked through the stone arch.
I was stunned. In this room were hundreds of blue butterflies, each emitting their own individual light. Their wings danced with one another, and they flew from nest to nest, ensuring that their own young caterpillars were alive and well, next in line to emerge as a beautiful blue.
“Wow,” I said. “Lily has quite the place.”
Lenny walked in behind me, chasing a few butterflies and watching them fly by.
There was a concentration of butterflies near the edge. They were surrounding something that also gave a blue glow, but it was stronger at brighter than the glow of the butterflies. They were acting strangely around it, too, acting much more differently than other butterflies. There were ones who were perched on a rock, watching in a mild manner, slowly flapping their wings, and there were also ones who were fluttering around in a carefree manner, scrapping for bits of food to feed their larvae. Those in the middle, however, were going lunatic. They were bumping into each other and flapping their wings frantically, some getting their wings caught with another and falling to the ground before disentangling themselves. It was like watching drunk teenagers dancing at a club—they all circulated around the center, bumping into each other and tripping and stumbling, dancing of their own accord, badly might I add, all while doing so in an awkward, sweaty, smelly, sexed-up atmosphere. Something possessed them; they were out of control, driven by their biological urges.
A butterfly crawled (or rather flew) its way out of the orgy in my direction. Its wings fluttered in an unnatural fashion, sometimes entangling itself in its own wings. I stood there, watching as it came in my direction. I assumed it was going to land atop of my shoulder, so I held my hand out for it to land on instead. It ignored my hand. It flew closer and closer to my chest, its blue glow covering up the insignia on my shirt, without hesitation.
I watched at the butterfly passed through my chest.
I felt it pass through. The wings fluttered passed the membrane of my lungs, across the beating tissue of my heart, through the nerves in my spine, and finally out the vertebrae. I felt chills go up my spine at how eerie and disturbing it felt. It just passed right through me… like a ghost.
I turned my neck to look at the insect that just entered me. Could’ve bought me dinner first.
More butterflies scattered from their little party. Some floated through the dirt walls, some went back to perch on their nests, overlooking their children. Some, however, dropped dead. They took a few wing strokes and, having been released from their apparent spell, dropped dead from their exhaustion. I watched in horror as they fell one by one, their lights flickering, flickering, flickering as the blue light turned black. And then they stopped twitching.
The butterfly that passed through me came back and laid itself on my shoulder. It curled and uncurled its antenna as it aired out its wings, looking at its fallen comrades. Then, it flew back towards the now-dead party of butterflies, still scattering away by gleeful flight, ghastly intangibility, or morbid exhaustion.
As the crowd thinned out further, they started to reveal what they were dancing around. I gasped at what I saw, and my new friend the butterfly settled itself onto the Siren that called the flying blue sailors to their deaths.
The butterfly sat on top of a blue, oval crystal; it emanated a fierce blue light. The butterfly curled and uncurled its antenna towards me once again, as if using a finger to beckon towards me. He didn’t need to use a pseudo-finger to ask me to come see the gem; it had an allure that instantly captivated me, and I was walking before the butterfly even asked.
Lenny came up to my side now. He seemed to urge me forward.
As I walked closer to the gem, I felt stronger, yet weaker. I was gaining strength and confidence, but my own thoughts were fading. I was not walking of my own accord, yet I felt powerful.
I stopped in front of the gem. There was a green shimmer combined with blue light to form a turquoise color. My arm was moved, I didn’t move it, and the gem made contact with my fingers.
I felt a pulse. I lost control. The butterfly watching me on top of the gem died, its light fluttering out instantly, and Lenny stumbled, regaining his balance and then running away. I felt a finger penetrate my brain, starting from my eye. I screamed in both pain and pleasure as something took over my mind. My every cell was electrified, and I dropped to my knees and hit the ground. I saw Lenny leaping away. Odd thing was, the walls weren’t the color of the brown earth anymore. They turned blue. And then the world turned black as I become overwhelmed with the new presence in my head, consuming my body and reaching farther into my soul.
And then I saw myself. I saw my body, writhing on the ground. My mind was ejected from my body as the new presence took over my brain and wrecked it. I didn’t what was going on to me, but it looked painful.
I could only watch as I was being possessed like some exorcist. I cringed at all the disgusting positions I was snapped into. I’m gonna feel that later, I thought. If I ever do get back into myself.
My view began floating. I couldn’t really see my hands or feet; I was invisible, like a floating spirit. I began to drift, following the current of some tide.
I floated through the earth and all its wonderful, glorious dirt, passing through a few worms and catching a brief glimpse of their insides. I would have retched if still I had a body.
I flew up and out of a pasture; a few cows were chomping on grass, paying me no attention. It felt nice to let go and let myself be taken over. It was like I was on a scenic train ride. I probably would have enjoyed it if I actually had a body.
I continued straying upwards, and pretty soon the cows were way underneath my feet. I looked onward at the skyline of a city off in the distance. It would’ve been helpful to have some remote idea of where I was, but the sky was overcast, and it was too foggy to see. I could only make the outline of a few buildings. I didn’t think I was in Kansas, though.
I lost track of where I came out of the ground. I was too busy watching all the wonderful scenery and racking my brain trying to figure out where I was. Where the hell did Lily take us? More importantly, how the hell was I going to get back?
I was in deep. I really started to panic again; if I had arms, they would’ve been flailing. I guess my life was going to be condemned to a floating balloon. Maybe I’d get high enough to go to Mars and meet Curiosity.
I passed through the clouds, fully ready to meet my fate as an unofficial explorer of space, when I stopped. My arms and legs felt like they were flailing, but when I looked to my sides they weren’t. Then I floated down, feeling like I was standing on the cloud. As I glanced around me, through my invisible body which still freaked me out, I saw an endless prairie of gray clouds. Most disconcerting of all was the sky. Not the sky itself, it was still a speculative blue, albeit a darker shade than normal, no, it wasn’t the sky. There was no sun.
The sky was still blue, but there was no familiar sunlight. Somehow, I could still see everything, but that may have been due to the fact that I didn’t have eyes. You know, because they weren’t freaking there.
The sky wasn’t its blue-azure either. It seemed like the same color as the gem back at Lily’s place. It was darker, the color of true blue.
Which still bothered me… Surely that couldn’t have been an actual gem, right? Or else, why would she keep that there?
Lily was also telling me not to leave. It was her fault telling a rebellious teenager not to do something. I mean, shouldn’t it have been obvious that once she told me not to leave, I would want to leave? I relented, though. I definitely wished I listened to her now. I would be back on that hairy mattress instead of in this sunless, not-blue-but-sorta-still-blue-sky hellhole. But this wasn’t a hellhole. Was this heaven?
That would have made sense. If that was the case, heaven was pretty crap.
The clouds started to morph. They spiraled upwards into a shape, a shape that began to form a human The rough contours of a head, arms, and legs emerged, standing tall and skinny, looking like the Pillsbury doughboy went on a diet. The faceless, opaque figure took its full form, and in the center of the cloudy mass, where a heart would normally be, a blue light shined through.
I watched in trepidation. I couldn’t run away; the current that was carrying me had stopped so I was forced to stand there. I did try to move my legs, and I had the phantom feeling of running, but my efforts were in vain.
“Dean,” a voice said.
My hairs stood up. I swallowed. I felt spurts of panic flow through me. He—She—It—I didn’t know. The voice wasn’t a single voice; it spoke like it was a blend of voices, like dozens of voices were speaking through one surrogate. The voices weren’t from one specific direction either; it was a constant voice in my mind. I only assumed that the cloudy mass was speaking because it was the only visible object there, and I struggled to make sense of it. Speaking of visible objects, how could I be seen? I thought I was invisible.
“You dare?” it said. The immiscible mixture of vocals scratched my eardrums. There was a screeching noise with its words—imperceptible, but enough to notice if you tried. The last words it spoke echoed through the air, grinding the cogs in my mind as my brain tried to process the novel sounds.
“You dare?!” it said again, screeching this time, as if expecting a response. Now, it felt like the words were dragging itself across my mind, knocking into axioms and neurons and throwing it all out of balance. Five words from this thing and already I felt like collapsing. The screech got louder, and the hairs of my neck stood up.
“Answer us!” it sang. The screech and choir of voices molded to form a sound that reverberated against my bones like they were glass, and they were on the verge of breaking. I would’ve ripped my ears off if they were there.
“What do I dare?” I spat out.
The pain stopped. The screeching stopped. I felt my arms drop to my sides as if they were just holding my ears. I was slowly gaining control of myself. Now I could feel my arms and legs and touch my own head with my hands, but I was still invisible.
“You dare test us?” The corrosive mixture of voices disappeared. The corrosive, acidic mixture of vocals neutralized into one. I wasn’t sure as to what gender the voice was—it wasn’t male, but it wasn’t female. It was just a voice that came at me from all sides. At least it wasn’t shrieking anymore.
“What did I do?” I said, relieved that the pain had stopped.
“Do not play ignorant with me.” The cloud stepped forward, and the light grew brighter.
Crap. “I don’t know. I don’t know why I’m even here, what even happened to me.”
It stepped forward again, within arm’s reach of me. “Please, Dean, do what he says. It’s your last chance.” That voice…
“Dad?”
It lifted its arm, placing the palm of its hand against my forehead. It throbbed against my forehead, each pulse emitting a cold burst and then a hot wave. The fluctuating sensations against my skin mesmerized and soothed my brain.
“What is your business?” It started to turn shrill.
I was paralyzed. Cold and warm pulses flowed through my body originating from my forehead. I opened my mouth to answer, but no sound came out. I was too enthralled by the sensations to answer.
“Very well,” it said without feeling, and the screech returned, sounding like nails against a chalkboard.
The cold and warm alternations turned into electricity. It wasn’t any normal, instantaneous sparks, though. These sparks made their way through like a knife, starting at my forehead, flowing through every vein, every capillary, every cell. I screamed and screamed and kicked and cussed, but to no success. I was lifted into the air now, the hand grasping my neck as currents of electricity took the place of blood in my veins. I couldn’t breathe, I couldn’t move, and I couldn’t see. All I saw were streaks of electricity scamper across my retina, and flashes of light made my head grow dizzy. The sunless sky flashed new colors while the dark cloud’s lightning ravished my heart, body, and mind.
I fell down. The fingers around my neck let me go. I was sprawled out on the cloud while I lay coughing. I was still seeing stars from my electrocution when I felt a tickle at the back of my throat.
I rolled over to my side and vomited. I retched and gasped and emptied the contents of my stomach, and since I didn’t have any food recently, all that came out was yellow-green bile. The cloud was surprisingly solid if it could hold my weight. As I finished retching, I looked up at the cloudy figure, shining his blue light at me like a police officer. I coughed a bit, spitting out some of the leftover acid in my mouth, and wiped my mouth with my hand, wiping it off on my pants.
Pants? I did a double take. I saw my hand, my sneakers, my shirt, me in general. I was here!
I realized what this meant. I was here, definitely here, and this was no dream.
I moved my arm and my hand in circles, making sure I still had some range of motion. There were lines across my hands and arm that looked like trees. I remained lying there inspecting the terrifying yet fascinating marks on my skin. I seriously hoped it was a dream. Scratch that, not a dream. I seriously hoped it was just a horrible nightmare.
“You’ll be wishing it was a nightmare.”
The cloud solidified. Color started to spread throughout the mass starting from the blue light in its heart. It wasn’t opaque or see-through; now it looked like a blue template of a man. No facial features, no hair, no anything. It was just a blue outline of a man.
The sky was darker now. It turned cerulean, the only source of light coming from the man’s chest. As the sky turned darker, another shape protruded from his hand. I watched it grow, petrified from my recent torture as my heart rate escalated once more out of fear for what would come next. My head was still spinning and my heart jumped when I saw what he held.
In his hand was a scimitar. In its hilt was a sapphire and along the broadside was a brilliant blue streak. It had a curvature that told me it was perfect for cutting through limbs.
He took a step forward, and I stumbled backward until I hit something. I looked behind me to see nothing but a plain of clouds, yet there was an invisible barrier blocking my path. My shoulders slumped as I backed into the wall more, feeling like a cornered fox as the man strolled closer and closer. He was in no rush; the outcome of this was evident. He knew this, and he toyed with the blade in his hands, swinging at the air, getting a few practice slices in.
Holy crap. I had to do something, or else I was mincemeat. I definitely was a cornered fox, but now was the time to use instinct.
Panic and fear really began settling in my chest. Adrenaline got my blood flowing through my body—my cheeks, my hands, my muscles. My breath quickened, fighting to keep up with my oxygen demands. My shoulders and hands began shaking from the fear, overflowing with adrenaline, ready to fly. My blood began to boil, and the world began to bleed a red-hue.
The blue automaton stood above me now. He hesitated when he saw my eyes, but inevitably proceeded to slice. I was still sprawled against the barrier, and in a moment of panic, I shielded with my arm.
The folded steel scimitar met my skin with a clang. His blue face gave no expression. I was stupefied that my hand was still intact. Frustrated, the blue man forced down the scimitar into my skin with all his strength to the point that he was shaking, and small beads of sweat emerged. Odd.
I didn’t need to match any strength. I merely held my arm in the sword’s path. A bead of blood dropped from my wrist and fell through the cloud, and the man abandoned his overhead strike and tried for a basic thrust towards my stomach.
He was clunky in his actions, as though he had never encountered a situation as this before. I predicted his jab, and before the tip of the scimitar could pierce my stomach, I kicked, sending him flying. He lost grip of the scimitar and it flew off into the distance.
I straightened myself, investigating my clothes and wrist. Despite having blocked a steel blow from a scimitar, my wrist suffered only a piercing at worst.
I located where the man landed. The sky around him was no longer a cerulean blue; it was now a deep, dark, royal blue, almost black. It was more accurate to say purple, however; everything was imbued with a red tint.
The man stood up, looking for his weapon. I sprinted towards him, getting ready to tackle him down. He saw him scimitar laying some feet away and proceeded to peruse towards it, fully aware of my coming presence but neglecting to do any action. I continued sprinting, pounding my feet against the soft clouds. I lowered my shoulders and braced myself for impact. Once I hit him I would—
I barreled past him and stumbled. I fell down onto the clouds which were surprisingly soft.
I cursed. I swore I hit him square in the chest. I did not miss.
I looked behind me now. He had his scimitar back in hand, and he did not look happy.
I felt another wall appear behind me, and I couldn’t move back any farther. How convenient.
He towered over me now, quicker than the first time, while I was still recovering and dazed from my fall. He knew he had to act fast before I pulled another move.
He sliced down. I reacted just in time to block his swing as another clang rung through the air.
It was turning into déja vù. He stood shaking when I hit his scimitar to the side and it went flying into the distance. I kicked towards his stomach again, and same as before, my foot passed right through him.
My eyes grew wide, and he took advantage off my drop in guard. He held my knee in place with one hand, made a fist with his other, and slammed the side of my kneecap.
Fire went up my legs as I screamed in pain. Old injuries from the car crash came flaring up as my jeans seeped red. My leg was twisted nearly at a right angle, and my kneecap was definitely not in the right place.
As I screamed and cried in agony, the world was drained of all red, the strength leaving my muscles simultaneously as the pain overwhelmed all other senses.
My head was lying on the floor when he picked me up off the floor and pinned my head against the invisible barrier with one hand. My arms dangled at my sides, helpless, all confidence and power vacated. I was shaking from the pain, crying. My heart was still racing, but all my adrenaline was used up. The urge to sleep suddenly overcame me, but I forced my eyes open. I had to know what came next.
“I’m sorry, Dean,” came my dad’s voice.
My half-closed eyes shot open, and a newfound spurt of energy flowed through my limbs, like a junkie who shot up again. I began to struggle. Just as my arms came up, poised and ready to strike, I felt a crack at my temple. I didn’t have time to respond. My vision closed down, and the lights went off.
The hand around my neck released, and I felt myself pass through the clouds. The air rushed by my skin as I had the sensation of falling.
A pang of panic aroused itself, but I still couldn’t see. Everything was still black. The rush of wind deafened me, and the falling sensation overwhelmed me. But I couldn’t move. I could only feel dread as I plummeted to the earth. I could only feel the premonition that the earth was coming up quickly, swiftly, and soon I’d be one with the mud, made fertilizer for those pastures I saw earlier. Cows would literally s*** all over my corpse. What a wonderful thought.
I was forced to accept the tumble to earth. I would’ve enjoyed the adrenaline rush if I wasn’t semi-conscious and able to move.
This was why I hated heights.
I heard a scream somewhere right before I hit the earth, and I lost what little thought I had as the world turned green.

I jolted off the wall. I had a sharp clench behind my eyes, as if someone took a rubber band and compressed it all. My vision was a little fuzzy. Sweat dripped into my eyes as I stared at the ceiling, a lit by a combination of blue and green. My head pulsed against the cool mud wall behind me as my chest heaved. The blue stone that I had touched was back on its shelf, but all the butterflies had disappeared. The corpses too. The only light in the room was a lantern and the stone. I felt a prodding at my leg, followed by a yelp from my mouth and a scolding from a feminine voice.
Lenny put his head on my knee while Lily cussed at him to get away. Her eyes glowed green while her hands sent waves of warmth into my knee, or what I assumed was my knee. It was covered with bloody denim and at an odd angle.
Garret was on her shoulder. “Squak! Stupid brat!”
Lily shooed the parrot away. “He’s right. Stupid brat.”
I didn’t care. My knee was pulsing and my head was beating. What the hell happened? How did I even get hurt? Why the hell am I so hungry?
“How long was I out?” I asked.
“Shut up,” she said. She mumbled, “Gotta freaking be your damn babysitter. Going through my cave like that…” She took a breath. “I mean it’s my cave! You’ve got the damn audacity…” she faded, and I had to snicker a little bit.
“Cut it out!” She was not amused. “You had me worried sick! Why the hell did you touch that?” she pointed.
“I don’t know!” I retorted.
She stopped touching me with her hands, and the throbbing came to my knee.
“Why would you think that if I’m asleep, it’d be ok to go snooping around? You are so lucky that Lenny was there to wake me up or your ass would be dead!”
She punched the wall next to my head. She went elbow deep into the wall. She dragged her arm out, taking pebbles with her arm and leaving a perfectly circular hole in the wall.
I scampered to my left along the wall until another spurt of pain shot up my leg.
“I’m sorry! It just called to me!” The fear was sending my heart rate skyrocketing, making my head throb incessantly, and her green eyes were not helping to alleviate the fear.
She saw me fumble across the floor, and seeing how my leg was still hurting, she came over to help. Turns out she did have a heart, but I was still uneasy as the glowing green hands could either mean salvation or a hole through my face.
She seemed to calm down now, focused on healing my knee. “What did you see?” she said with restrained anger.
I laid my head back again as the endorphins flowed through me, closing my eyes and just sitting there. Lily’s hands felt like they were taking the painful weights off my shoulders, or rather my knee.
“I floated, like a bubble, all the way up to the clouds. I didn’t have a body; I was totally invisible, like I didn’t exist or anything. There was this guy, I think. Whenever it spoke, it hurt so badly,” I said. My ears twitched as I remembered the pain and fear.
I peered through an eyelid. Lily’s face was expressionless, eyebrows still furrowed, focused on my knee. I didn’t know if she was paying attention or not.
“It kept asking me what I was doing there. I didn’t really respond, or I just said I didn’t know. It’s voice was so ragged, so shrill,” I repeated, cringing, as if it was back again.
I looked at Lily again. Still disinterested apparently.
“Then it just got mad. It turned dark blue, and the sky looked like right before a huge storm. It attacked me, and I appeared in my body spontaneously. We fought a bit. I tried to fight back, I tried. I even used my strength. But I failed, and the rest is history.”
My voice began to shake. “I don’t know exactly what happened. He had this scimitar, and I could block that, but I couldn’t touch him. I swear I hit that blue bastard, but it was like… it was like I just passed right through him. He made mincemeat of me and he took out my knee and I was powerless and he knocked me out and I—”
Lily put a hand on my shoulder in a gesture of comfort. My shoulders were shaking without my knowledge, and with her touch they steadied. I looked at her face. I would’ve been comforted if her eyes weren’t full green.
“It’s ok,” she said. “Just gimme the facts right now.”
“It didn’t feel real,” I said more to myself. “I didn’t think I’d get hurt. It just felt like a dream.”
“Yes, yes, I get it. It’s happened to some people before. Just continue,” she repeated, eager for more information.
“It’s happened before?”
“Yes, but nothing like you before! Just go!”
My mind was still cloudy and pained from the temple strike from earlier. “I-I don’t know what to say. I’ve basically said it all. Weird, human figure, turned blue, shrill voices, untouchable.” I had to take a breath to calm my chest. “It was just dreamlike. The thing is, though, you don’t get hurt in dreams.”
She stopped paying attention to my knee. As if on cue, the throbbing came back. “Are you sure there’s nothing else you’re missing?” she breathed, right onto my face. She grasped my collar, milking every moment.
“Lily what’s going on?” The solid green eyes, the ferocious smile, the hungry expression. I was really getting frightened, but I was too spent to act. My muscles had no energy, and the same fear entered my mind with Lily as it did with the blue man.
“Just answer!” She backed off, realizing the effect she was having on me. She brushed it off and went back to helping my knee.
I swallowed. My chest was pounding. “I-He-There was- I heard my dad speak.”
Her eyebrows furrowed. She was thinking. “Interesting,” she said after a few seconds.
I thought the beast was satiated. For now. “It was only a few times. Most of the time it was just a chorus of terrible, shrieking voices. Like, right before I got knocked out, I heard my dad. ‘Sorry,’ he said, and then he hit me on the head.”
“That should do it,” she muttered. She pulled out some bandages from her pocket, rolling up my pants. “That really is interesting,” she said as she wrapped my knee. “Why’d your dad speak?”
“I don’t know,” I said. “I really do not know.”
She finished wrapping my knee. She let out a heavy sigh as she sat back on her arms and closed her eyes, rolling her neck around. When she opened her eyes again, the solid green eyes were gone, and the green iris was back to normal. She turned her head towards me and batted her eyes, smiling tiredly.
“That was tough work,” she said. “You were writhing all over the place when I got to you, and it was tough to hold you down,” she said, letting out a chuckle as if nothing happened.
I exploded. “What the hell is wrong with you?” I said. “What the hell is going on?”
“Calm down,” she said. “Just let me explain.”
“Well you better start soon,” I said. “Like what the hell was the shirt thing? I really liked this one too!” I said, pointing at my shirt. “And what do you mean ‘this has happened before’? After you said that you got real crazy.”
She sighed, taking a few moments for herself. She looked at me, thinking if she should tell the truth or tell a few white lies. Or black lies. Know what? Just lies in general.
“All right,” she said. She picked up Lenny and put him on her lap, petting him. “Well, might as well start telling you. You might be wondering, after all, why I’ve got a gem in my home.”