A/N: Recap. In the last chapter, everyone was off fighting different Monsters on different sides of the island. Ravi, Isaac, Abigail, and Amarie were fighting off a pack of wolves. Amarie was surrounded, then screamed and fainted.

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I sat on the floor, my back pressed again the cool stone wall. My eyes were closed. I didn't want to have them open right then.

Exhaustion settled over me like a thick blanket. How long had it been since we last had a good night's sleep? I couldn't say. I had been plagued with fitful dreams the past few days, images of fire and blood always lurking in my subconscious. I was unsettled, to say the least.

My thoughts drifted to the girl lying on the bed just a few feet away. I still couldn't be sure what had happened to Amarie, but it hadn't been good. One minute, everything was fine. Then we heard her scream and watched as she transformed into a wolf that haunted nightmares and horror films.

There was something different about Amarie than the other wolves. Her eyes seemed more intelligent, her intentions more malevolent. Was it because she was real?

That was the other thing. We had all intellectually known she was a monster. But to watch it happen before our very eyes...it struck a deeper chord that sent disturbing tremors across my body.

Just then, an elbow nudged me. I opened my eyes and looked up. Abigail pointed to Isaac and Mr. Marquez, who were standing over the bed. It seemed Amarie had stirred.

I stood up slowly and approached the bed. Her eyes slowly blinked open. She looked around, scanning our grim faces. She seemed confused.

Then she gasped and burst into tears.

Isaac placed his hand on her shoulder, but she pushed it off.

We stood there for a few moments, silent, watching the tears stream down her face. I felt a pang in my heart. It was hard to watch someone cry knowing there was nothing you could do but watch them cry.

She took a few steadying breaths and closed her eyes. In a few minutes, the deluge had ebbed. She looked down.

"I am so sorry," she said, her voice breaking. "I didn't mean to, I swear, they just surrounded me, and there are voices in your head and then suddenly I can't stand it, and I try to fight it off but I just feel so overwhelmed, I just—"

"Amarie," I said abruptly, cutting her off. "First of all, calm down."

She nodded meekly.

I crossed my arms. "Second of all, what are you talking about? Voices in your head?"

She seemed to shrink a little. "Well...you see...that's how monster powers work. It's all based off of...insecurity."

Oh.

"That would make sense," Isaac said quietly. "So they surrounded you, and you felt alone, so you transformed? Unwillingly?"

She nodded slowly. "Sort of. Yeah."

"What's the insecurity for wolves?" I asked, raising an eyebrow.

Her eyes flickered down. "That we'll never belong. That no one will ever accept us."

We were silent.

"Amarie..." Abigail said softly.

"How did you stop the attack?" Amarie said suddenly. "Is everything alright?"

"Everything's fine," I said. "Sierra, Audrey, Sophie, and Deynan showed up, and that was enough to drive them off. Abigail knocked you out."

Amarie nodded. "Good. Thank you."

The room fell quiet again.

I sighed. "Well, I'm going to go rest. I suggest you all do the same." I turned around and starting walking out.

As I was leaving, I heard Mr. Marquez speak. He had been so quiet, I had almost forgotten he was there.

"Hey, Amarie," he said, "come with me. There's someone I want you to meet. You'll like him. Come on."

And then I left the room. I needed to take a nap.

~~~~~~~~

A mirror. In it, a swirling darkness I couldn't quite describe. It seemed like a blend of a billowing cloth and pure shadow. It was twisting and writhing, its barriers seemingly undefined—or perhaps it simply blended in well with the darkening stormy sky. It was slowly forming a shape.

The shape was frighteningly humanoid.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

My consciousness slowly fazed in and out. I wasn't awake, exactly, but I wasn't asleep either.

How long had I slept? I couldn't be sure. It was dim outside, but not dark. I slowly sat up, rubbing the sleep from my eyes. My lips felt chapped. I yawned. No one else was in the room. I leaned against the back of the bed, letting out a slow breath.

Just then, there was a knock on the door. Sierra stuck her head in the doorframe.

"Hey," she said quietly. "Can I come in?"

I chuckled. "Deja vu," I joked. "Of course."

She smiled and slipped inside. She had changed into leggings and an oversized tshirt. Her hair was still wet from the shower she had taken when she got back to the castle. Her necklace hung around her neck as usual. I smiled slightly when I saw the small pebble I had given her after the Destroyer ordeal.

She walked over a sat on the foot side of my bed, crossing her legs on the sheets. She looked at me, her eyes shining like miniature suns.

I realized I was probably staring really weirdly. I glanced down abruptly and stretched, trying to cover for my awkward nature.

She giggled. "How was your nap?"

I shrugged. "Pretty good. I don't exactly feel refreshed."

She nodded. "I bet. You slept for three hours, and I'm pretty sure you're only supposed to nap for one."

I raised my eyebrows. "Wow. I've never napped for that long before."

She sighed, running her hand through her wet hair. "Yeah...it's been a stressful week."

I laughed bitterly. "You could say that." I slumped back on my bed.

Sierra laid down next to me, curling up slightly in my direction. I turned my head to face her. Her hair smelled like coconut. I smiled slightly.

"Ravi," she said quietly.

My heart started beating a little faster hearing her say my name.

"Yeah?"

"I'm scared."

I shifted so I was laying on my side and facing her directly. "What are you scared of?"

She sighed. "I'm not sure. Lots of things. These attacks. Damius. My own incompetence."

I raised an eyebrow. "You are anything but incompetent, Sierra Claget."

The sides of her mouth turned up, but she didn't quite smile. "Thanks. But I don't know. Before all this happened, I was just your average girl from North Carolina. I feel like everything I've become is a mistake."

There was a moment of silence except for our breathing.

"Nope."

She frowned. "What do you mean?"

"Nope," I repeated. "You were never an average person from anywhere. You were the most kind hearted, positive, amazing person anyone had ever met. You forget that I went to your school for a day."

She laughed a bit. "Oh yeah."

"Sierra, people can't shut up about you," I continued. "Everyone likes you. Literally everyone. That's not average by anyone's standard. That's nearly impossible."

She smiled again, for real this time. "Thank you."

I smiled back.

Her face was so close to mine. I could see her eyelashes, the facets of her eyes.

"If it makes you feel better," I said quietly, "I'm scared too."

"What are you scared of?" she replied, her voice soft.

Just then, the soft pitter patter of rain on the window pane started. It was a peaceful sound.

I took a deep breath. "I'm scared...that we aren't going to be able to hold off these monsters much longer. That they're just a warmup for what's to come." I sighed. "Do you ever get the feeling that something big is about to happen?"

"Yes," she admitted. "And I'm not sure I'm ready."

I shrugged, which was hard to do as one of my shoulders was pressed against the bed. "No one is ever ready for these types of things. But we've done it twice before. We can do it again."

She smiled. The sound of the rain outside was relaxing. She closed her eyes and sighed. "How do you always know just what to say?"

I smiled widely. My heart felt like it was glowing. "That's high praise coming from the girl who always knows what to say to make people happy."

Her eyes opened halfway, and she smiled. "What I say makes you happy?"

My heart was beating faster. I felt like I could barely breathe.

"Always," I whispered.

Her smile widened, and she closed her eyes again. She scooted a little closer to me until our foreheads were touching. I closed my eyes, my heart beating wildly.

"Hey Ravi?" she breathed.

"Yeah?"

"I'm not so scared when you're around."

"Hey Sierra?"

"Yeah?"

"Me too."

~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The rain didn't stop, even when we were at dinner. You could hear it from the dining hall, a fair roar in the background. The atmosphere at our table was interesting. We were all exhausted, but there was a kind of relieved feel. Right now, we were safe.

Tess and Lee came in late, Lee using Tess as a crutch. Tess had her arms around Lee's waist, which seemed like not the best system to me, but I shrugged it off.

"We need to get you a prosthetic leg," I heard Tess grumble.

"You could carry me," Lee suggested playfully.

"No," Tess said firmly. They sat down at our table in between Sophie and Isaac. No one really questioned it.

"Okay, but hear me out," Deynan was telling Sophie. "If one of the munchkins had shot the Wicked Witch of the West when she was threatening Dorothy the first time, everything would've been fine."

"It's about the symbolic journey, Deynan," Sophie said, clearly annoyed. "Dorothy wouldn't have realized that she wanted to go home, and the Scarecrow, Tin Man, and Lion would have been stuck forever."

"I just think there was a way easier way of solving the problem," he argued. "Sure, they ended up better personally, but they had to go through all this crap first."

"That's the point!" she exclaimed, exasperated. "Sometimes, we have to go through crap to overcome our insecurities!"

My mind jumped back to what Amarie had said earlier about monster transformations. Then I frowned. I turned to Isaac. "Hey, where's Amarie?"

He frowned, concerned. "I'm not sure. I'm a little worried, though. She left with Mr. Marquez a few hours ago, and no one has seen her since."

"Who did he take her to talk to?" I asked.

Isaac grinned. "Ore."

I laughed. "Well, that should cheer her up. He's awesome."

Just then, a scream ran out across the hall.

Everyone fell silent.

Giselle was standing in the doorway, her eyes unfocused, staring into the distance.

She slowly started walking through the room.

"He is gathering his forces," she whispered.

Sierra and I shared a grim look.

"He is coming for us all," she said, a bit louder. A crazed laugh escaped her lips. "He would do anything to hunt her down and kill her. He must destroy every last monster he cannot control!"

Isaac tensed up. "He's coming for Amarie," he whispered, his voice tight.

Giselle started laughing louder. "He is coming." Though her laughter was manic, her eyes were swimming in fear. "HE WILL KILL US ALL!"

Then she collapsed.

The room burst into chatter. I stood up slowly.

"Well," I said, "We know what that means."

I glanced towards Giselle, sprawled out on the floor.

"We're going back to Lilituana."