It stood still but when Trevor tried to touch it, his hands went through it. "What the..." he mumbled as he turned his confused gaze at me. I was totally bewildered. "Wha-" I gobbled up half of the word in astonishment. When I got closer, everything seemed clear. The wall wasn't totally opaque. I could see a vague image of what was beyond it. It wasn't crystal clear but something was flowing. I couldn't really tell what it was. Something like water, like a stream.

"Trevor, can you see that stream?" I asked. "What?! No, The only thing I see is a creepy wall," he said, his hands still on the other side. His answers tickled my curiosity. "Why don't you try getting to the other side?" I suggested. He nodded his head and tried getting through it. Since his hands were already inside, he first put his right leg through it and then his face but when he took the left leg inside, he was thrown out by a strong force. There was a slight glitch on the wall. It was some kind of energy, very powerful energy.

"OWWW!!! Ahhh!!! My back," he groaned. "Oh shit!!! Trevor, are you okay?" I rushed to the place where he was laying on his back. "Does it look like I am okay?" he questioned back. "Oopsy, sorry," I stuck my tongue out. "Woah, that's a sudden change of mood, isn't it?" he joked. I gave him a whatever look and went back to the wall.

My hands started burning now and the flare of the fireball was fading. "Come on, we need to get through this as soon as possible," I commanded Trevor who was dusting off the dirt from his shirt. I didn't know how to do it because I was holding the sphere with both of my hands. So I faced my back towards the wall and started walking backwards. At first, it felt like someone was pinching my back but then the pain disappeared. I gestured for Trevor to hold my arms and he did as I directed. The lights were so bright that I almost felt like burning. We were finally able to get to the other side of the wall, or more like inside the wall!!!

"Wh-where are we? Ahh, my head!!! Why is everything moving? I am feeling dizzy... Trevor...Trevor, are you listening to me?" I yelled, closing my eyes. When I opened them the fireball had vanished completely. I was holding my stomach as I felt nauseous. Everything around me was moving in circles. It felt like different colour strips of lights were circling me. I could see Trevor closing his eyes and ears. He wasn't listening to me, or maybe I wasn't audible. I tried to go near him, but my legs weren't moving. My head felt heavy and my vision was getting blurred.

But I still managed to keep an eye on Trevor, because he didn't have superpowers. If something happened to him, he wouldn't be able to fight back. He was there because of me. I had to save him. As the circling lights gained speed, I saw Trevor gradually fading into dust. It started with his feet, then his torso and ultimately his face. "TREVOR!!!" I called for him but it was too late. He was gone. As a teardrop rolled down my cheek, the region felt cool. I touched my face but my cheek was dry and dusty. As I looked down, my sneakers were missing, in fact, my feet were missing. They all turned into dust and got merged with the Luminous Typhoon. That tornado guzzled my body. I tried to touch my face but my hands weren't there anymore. I could see my neck, my lips, my nose disappearing and then everything went blank.

"Help!!!!!!!" I yelled. "Hey, Maureen!!! Are you okay?" a voice faded in. I tried to open my eyes to reveal a face I would have never expected. "Olivia!!!" I whispered. "Why are you so surprised? Am I not supposed to be here?" she joked. "You shifted to South Shield, didn't you?" I questioned. "What!!! No. Why would I? Maureen, you are high," she laughed. "Olivia... " I said in a low voice. "Yeah?" she responded while typing something on her phone. "Where's Trevor?" I inquired. "Why are you asking about that jerk? And yeah, you took his name a thousand times while you were sleeping?" she stared at me with the corner of her eyes and played a sinful smirk. "No, no, eww, gross. It is not what you think," I said getting up from the bed. She was still staring at me, or it won't be wrong if I say, she was scanning me with her eyes.

I jogged to the washroom and closed the door. I sighed and looked into the mirror. "What is happening with me? I am in such a state that I can't even distinguish between illusion and reality. What is this? Reality or just an illusion? Trevor? Where is he? What happened to him? Remora? Who is she? My powers? All that was just a dream!? No, I can't believe this. I need to meet Trevor, right now. What if it was just a dream? Since when I was sleeping? It feels like ages. Jesus!!!" I thought to myself.

I took a warm shower to calm myself but it didn't help. Gazillion questions were blasting inside my brain. I slipped into my regular fits and dragged a baffled Olivia to Trevor's home. We walked for 20 minutes to reach our destination. I was afraid of Sarah, she looked like a furious bull whenever she glared at me. I suspired and before I could press the doorbell, the door flung open. Luckily, it wasn't Sarah. "Trevor!!" I mumbled and hugged him. A smile crept on my face. "Maureen, you didn't even tell me that you and Trevor..." she let an intentional cough and I pulled myself back.

Trevor looked at me with clueless eyes. "Maureen, what's wrong with you and what are you doing here now? It is like almost 10 at night," he said in a confused voice. "Don't say you forgot everything," I said while facepalming my forehead. "What? I don't know anything. What will I forget?" He questioned with an obvious tone. " Don't you remember when Olivia shifted to South Shields and you had a fight with Harold? You hated him and we became friends. There was another girl, Remora who joined our school and soon we three became close friends? Don't you remember the evening in that bookstore, the strange book, the powers and how we entered that door? The darkness, the creepy wall? Don't you remember anything?" I spoke at a speed of a mile a minute. Trevor stood dumb.

"Hang on!!! What? Which girl? What door? Which creepy wall? And I never left this town," Olivia thumped her right foot. "Maureen, please get inside the house. You need to rest. You are going crazy," Trevor requested. "What? No. I am not. You need to understand. I am telling the truth," I tried to explain myself but none of them bothered to listen to me. I walked into his house and sat on the couch. "Do you need some water?" Trevor asked me. "Yes, please," Olivia answered. "I am not asking you," Trevor replied. I nodded my head. He brought me a glass of water and both of them took their seats right in front of me.

"Now, tell us, what were you talking about?" Trevor questioned. "I-" I sighed "Leave it." "No, this is deep shit. You need to talk to us or you should consult a psychiatrist," Olivia advised. "No, I am completely-" my attention was grabbed by a photograph. "What happened?" Trevor inquired. "What's that?" I pointed towards the photo. "What's what?" Olivia asked. "That photo behind that painting," I didn't wait for anyone to reply. I stood up and went to the painting. The picture was partially visible since it was stuck behind the painting. I plucked the small photo and did a double-take.

That was the exact picture of the library. The exact picture we had seen in the book. Then it struck me about Trevor claiming that picture familiar. I grinned and showed that picture to Trevor. "Now, do you remember anything?" I interrogated. "What? No, it's just a stupid old library," he laughed and so did Olivia. It was really annoying. How else could I make them believe in me? Now, even I had started believing that it was just an illusion. But even if it was just an illusion, how was I able to imagine a completely different person on my own. It is impossible. You cannot imagine someone whom you have never met before, can you?

"I hate you. I will prove that I am correct," saying this, I took the painting off the wall. The lights in the house started flickering violently and all of a sudden they went off.

"OH NO!!!! NOT AGAIN!!!" I muttered.

A/N

To be continued...

Huff!!! If I was Maureen, I would have gotten Nyctophobia. Well, it means a phobia of darkness. How many times did the lights go off so far? Yes... that's what I am saying. My story has an acute shortage of electricity LOL. 🤡🤡

So hey guys, this is the wonderful twelfth chapter. So what is happening? Is this reality or just an illusion? What would you have done if you were in Maureen's place? Can you all just guess what's happening?

If you liked the chapter, do hit that star. What's next? Comment down your views. LOVE LOVE. xx

Yours amazingly talented writah
~Nick~