CHAPTER 20

Chapter 20

*Jack Frost*

Sophie looks up from Dean’s body, her face streaked with tears. Like Dean, her eyes are glassy. Not with death, though. With grief.

“Is he really...?” she murmurs.

“I’m so, so sorry,” Courtney mumbles, her eyes downcast.

Sophie reaches over Dean’s face and slides his eyes shut, then stands up to face Courtney. Her face is contorted with anguish and fury.

“You killed him!” she screams. “He’s not here anymore and it’s your fault!”

Tears glisten on Courtney’s eyelashes. “He was going to kill you,” she whispers. “There was no other way.”

“There was!” Sophie snaps. “You just refused to try! What has he ever done to you anyways?”

“Nothing,” Courtney says softly.

Sophie’s voice suddenly becomes deadly quiet. “I loved him. I would have died for him. He was the one person who kept me going through all of this.” Her voice steadily rising, she continues, “We were supposed to be forever. We were supposed to grow up and be happy together. He was supposed to have a bright future, and you tore it all down. You killed him.” Once again, tears leak from her eyes.

Courtney’s voice cracks as she says, “I know.”

Sophie turns away, offering no response.

Sobbing quietly, Courtney buries her head in her hands. I put my arm around her shoulders protectively and draw her into a hug.

“It’s okay,” I whisper. “Just give her some time.”

Courtney nods and pulls away, wiping tears from her cheeks. “Thank you, Jack.”

A meter away, Sophie kneels down next to Dean, cradling his head in her arms. Her shoulders shake as she grieves; shining tears fall onto him and wet his skin.

Unlike Courtney, no one’s there to comfort her. The only person who could’ve done that is dead.

*Courtney Tern*

Sid doesn’t leave us time to grieve any longer. Luckily for us, his last trick seems to have drained his energy, and he doesn’t pull it anymore. However, even without it, he’s still a formidable enemy to fight.

“You guys run!” Gene shouts. “I can hold him off!”

“No way,” Jack snaps. “We’re not risking anyone else. We run or fight, but we do it together.”

“Run, then,” Gene says. He throws his knife at Sid; the second it takes Sid to dodge it gives us the time we need.

We take off, sprinting as fast as we can for the expanse of forest stretching out before us. Fortunately, Sid doesn’t seem to be a very fast runner and we outrun him easily.

Finally, we make it to the safety of the forest. The trees seem to be growing so densely that the sky is almost completely gone from my sight. The whole place is eerily quiet -- there are no birds twittering, no crickets chirping, no squirrels chattering -- none of the sounds that would normally be found in a forest. It’s almost as if time has frozen in place.

We’ve been trekking for about an hour when the trees finally thin out. I notice that night has fallen and a crescent moon has appeared, hanging ominously in the caliginous night sky.

“Well, we’re here,” Gene says. His words are met with silence.

We’re standing on a hill overlooking the city where we came from -- I estimate it to be a half a mile or so away.

I stare down at the city, dumbfounded. The whole place is usually bustling with life with cars, people, and lights all over the place. Now, it all seems to be deserted. There’s not a single person or animal in sight. All of the lights are off; there’s no sign of life anywhere.

Jack and I look and each other.

“I guess we go down to the city,” I say.

“Sure,” Gene agrees. “Let’s go.”

We run down the hill towards the city, dreading what we might find.

*Rachel Ma*
Debbie, Chris, and Sophia come scurrying out of the forest and towards the fortress, trying to stay in the shadows I’d gathered for them.

I step out of my hiding place as they approach. “Ready to steal the key?”

“Yeah,” they chorus.

“Okay, so here’s the plan,” I say. “Sophia, you wait outside. Debbie, Chris, and I will go in. I’ll lead you two to the key and distract Christy for as long as I can, while you steal it. When you pick up the key, you have to block out its power so you won’t get sick.”

“Right,” Debbie mutters.

“Sounds good,” Sophia says, her voice weak with anxiety.

“All right,” I say to Chris and Debbie, “let’s go.”

Our entrance into Christy’s fortress is quite uneventful. No one stops us; the halls are completely empty.

The setting is so peaceful, in fact, that I find myself stopping under a large window in a wall that opens up to the sky. It’s nighttime by now; the stars have come out again, glittering in all their glory.

I stare up at the stars through the window, forgetting about the mission -- thinking about Ruiran.

Whispering so Debbie and Chris won’t hear me, I say to the stars, “Hey, Ruiran, are you there?”

Of course, I get no reply. As usual.

“I hope I’m doing the right thing,” I continue. “And I hope I’ll be able to save them.”

Was it my imagination, or did the North Star just wink at me?

I smile up at it. “If everything goes right, I’ll be seeing you soon.”

Behind me, Chris clears his throat. “Uh... Rachel?”

“Yeah. Sorry,” I say awkwardly.

However, I’m spared from further humiliation when a shout resounds through the chamber we just left behind, making my heart pound with apprehension.

It’s time to fight.

*Sophia Song*

It’s barely been fifteen minutes when the gates of the fortress crash open and Debbie and Chris come running out. Rachel’s not with them -- I’m assuming she’s still fighting inside the fortress.

“Chris! Debbie!” I shout, waving my arms. “I’m over here!”

Chris holds up the key. “We got it!” he shouts back.

But before he can get close enough to give it to me, another figure comes hurtling out of the gates. I only register a pale blur before it slams into me, knocking me off balance. Dazed, I don’t realize who it is until she’s about to kill me.

Christy Qian.

Of course. I’d been a fool to think that Rachel would be able to hold off both Sid and Christy at once, long enough for us to waltz out of the fortress. She’s probably still busy fighting Sid; we’re on our own.

Christy smiles at me as her fist bursts into light.
“It was a nice party, Sophia, but it’s your time to die now.”