Divina had her lips twisted sourly, feeling her insides twist—not by a fearful feeling but by danger. She had lost sight of Ragnar once she had passed out due to exhaustion, which she shouldn't have because she's not a human.

Danger is coming once she's gone. Greyson and Jason could not vanish, or this place couldn't stand up to what they'd be facing.

She raised her arm up and faced her palm directly at the bubble. "This will only hurt a little," Divina whispered, a roar coursing through her body.

Something was building up that left her wanting to scream out. Smirking deviously, she could feel Ragnar's panic inside her system—fear, as they call it.

"Don't," she heard a whisper inside her mind.

"I'm giving them some grants," Divina mumbled to herself.

Screaming out, golden light shot from her palm, hitting the top of the bubble that was caging them. It felt like an earthquake had struck the whole place, with the ground vibrating.

Divina stood still, smiling proudly. "That will give them four months," she sneered, speeding her way down the highway, looking back and forth.

Everything seemed normal. Something still felt out of place, which is why she would go into town. Ragnar had a stupid body but could still gain followers. She couldn't have that happen because more followers meant more problems in defeating Ragnar. It didn't have access to the powers yet, but Divina would have to find someone to break in.

Reaching the inside of town, she spotted people looking disoriented with weapons. Divina gritted her teeth at their idiotic actions. Fighting leads to killing, and she can be the only one doing the killing. It didn't exactly help that she didn't know many people.

"You're that girl from the other day," Mark said, as Divina whipped around. Holding a shovel again, she looked between the boy and the weapon.

"Are you killing people?" Divina asked.

He could be responsible for all of this fighting going on. He appeared startled by her words, making Divina cross her arms.

"Nah, I'm just a sideline guy," Mark implied.

"Well, that'll change today," she said, grabbing the shovel and shrinking it to the size of a peanut. She stuck it in her ripped jeans pocket, forcefully grabbed his wrist, and began dragging him toward Burger King.

Something then caught her eye, making her stop outside the glass door. Divina began to forcibly drag Mark toward the broken water fountain, where two boys fought each other. One had a small piece of the cement fountain, and the other had a baseball bat.

"Why are they fighting?" Divina demanded as she glared sharply at him.

"Don't got a clue, but Luke brought in some guys from Uden Academy," Mark said.

"Where is Luke?" Divina spat.

"Last I heard, he was at the daycare. Nobody knows where he is now," Mark informed her.

This information wasn't helping her. Grabbing the shovel from her pocket, she released Mark's wrist. She reverted the shovel to its normal size and slammed it down in front of the two boys. It made a loud clunk, causing the boy with the bat to cover his ears.

"Don't interrupt our fight!" Devon called.

"Stop fighting or I'll kill you," she threatened.

"I'm not scared of some girl," Devon sneered, his hand on his hip. "I have power in my arm that could knock you out cold."

Divina glared at Devon, dropping the shovel and placing her palm toward him. He floated in the air as she directed the hand toward herself. He had been propelled toward her, causing her to grip his chin with hard force.

"Yes, but I don't care. You may act boastful, but you're just a wormy human. Now quit fighting, or I'll yank that arm off," Divina spat as she dropped the boy onto the ground.

Tears bottled up in his eyes as she glared at the boy. Why are humans stupid? Don't they understand that they are powerless compared to her?

"You're crazy!" Devon exclaimed, running off in a separate direction from the boy. Divina turned to face Mark, seeing that he was talking to Jason.

"What did you do?" Jason demanded.

"Other than beating up that thing?" Divina asked innocently. "Well, I gave you a boost."

"Boost?" Jason asked.

"Something that will help you for four months. Deal with your own problems. I'm not here to do your dirty work," Divina said, pushing her hair behind her shoulders. "I'm killing this Luke."

"He'll kill you," Jason said.

"You think I'm afraid of some wormy human killing me? Guess again," she snarled. "You saw what I can do, so deal with those other problems. It's your battle, not mine. Mark, let's go."

If they had some plan that involved her getting held hostage or even attempting to kill her, they'd be threatened. Maybe they created some elaborate plan for their protector? How shallow-minded are they? It wasn't her ideal situation to become involved in a fight between humans, but she might have to.

"What does Luke look like?" Divina demanded, glancing back at Mark, who was searching for an answer.

"Mean eyes, one arm, and most of his wire from his braces are gone," Mark stated.

He has one arm, which would be an excellent idea to use toward that body of Ragnar. If she cut off both of Ragnar's arms, that would leave it to bleed. That thought intrigued her and intensified her desire to torture it.

"Jason burned half his arm off," Mark said. "They cut the rest of it off."

It seemed Luke being armless would make that idiot stand out. Divina knew she couldn't just storm in and kill him by throwing him against a wall. No, there had to be much more to that connection.

"Why do you need me? I don't have any of those superpowers," Mark inquired.

"What are you?" Divina demanded, stopping and placing both hands on her hips.

This boy just seemed to have nothing about that made him a hero or a villain. He wasn't trying to save the day or create conflict between all the people that were in the plaza. This was someone that was meant to be used with.

"Well, I just help out with small jobs. We are getting a fishing crew started soon," Mark stated.

"Well, you aren't going to be that human boy. You are going searching for Luke," Divina said.

"I'm killing him?" Mark asked, his face drained of colour.

"That's my job. You're being useful. Don't you want to stop someone evil?" Divina asked, smirking at her words.

Mark brushed some of his messy hair back, still wary of her offer, because he didn't want to be used for personal gain, but Luke wasn't some normal boy. He killed someone he went to school with and enjoyed the pleasure.

"Okay," Mark said. "How will I show that I found him?"

Divina had to think of a method. What could grab her attention only and not others? Something then sparked inside, looking directly at the boy.

"Just say the word, found," Divina stated. "Then just say the location. You may have to beat him yourself if I find... Ashley." She kept forgetting that they referred to Ragnar by a different name.

"I can't beat him alone..." Mark murmured.

"Find Jason or Esme to help you. Or just hit him with your shovel," Divina implied, handing it back to him.

If she killed Luke, she'd have to make sure he didn't form some sort of agreement with Ragnar. Even worse, it's something that he could end up being or doing.

"Now go find him," she hissed. Mark jogged off, holding his shovel in his left hand. This could work, but it wouldn't stop everything.

Divina still needed to track down Ragnar before it used Teagan. If she had a controlled spy working from the sidelines, that would risk discovering information. Glancing up at the bubble, she narrowed her eyebrows at it. Soon, everything will change.

Jason had been running around the plaza trying to break up the fights with Esme and Jade. It has worked when he fired his light near their fight, but some tried to retaliate with their own weapons. That's when Esme or Jade would step in.

"I've controlled most of them. We'll have to apologize to Emma," he said.

Most of Greyson's people have been leaving, resulting in the real battle having to actually begin. People were fighting with different weapons, while others were running for their lives.

"Got some more," Esme implied, holding two girls by the collars of their shirts.

"Who sent you to fight?" Jason asked, but both of them glared at each other before one of them eyed him.

"Greyson said Luke would lead," one girl said, as both were kicking each other. Esme released them as they sat on the ground.

"Where's Lukey? I want to give him some payback," Esme exclaimed, but both girls didn't say anything. Both had been on Greyson's side, but they didn't bother to fight those in Simcoe.

It wasn't a bloodbath, but rather simple fistfights or the use of weapons. Jason swore he had seen someone hit someone with a skateboard.

"Don't know," the other girl replied.

Luke became the problem since he shot James and even killed Teagan. He needed to be stopped before anything worse happened to those in Simcoe.

"So, Luke just left you people to make your own decisions about fighting?" Jade asked.

"Yeah, he said fight the Simcoe freaks," the first girl with curly red hair said.

Jason felt that Greyson hadn't given Luke that clear opportunity. Luke had been a violent boy, but him leading just wouldn't make sense either.

"It was all a ruse," Jason remarked, watching the one girl with blonde hair roll her eyes.

That must've been Greyson's whole intention with this setup. If this was all a ruse, then he couldn't think over how he'd stop the vanishing tomorrow.

"Well, duh," the girl with blonde hair remarked before she got slapped in the face by the freckled girl.

"Luke might have already retreated," Jason said.

"I'll just run around and figure out if he did," Esme beamed.

Jason hadn't had to use his power to shoot people but rather break their weapons. He's melted a metal pipe or even had to slice stones in half. He knew he wouldn't go storming to Uden looking for Greyson. Everything had been bait, something to entice.

Luke became one of the main issues left. Even if he had burned off half of his arm, he could still do anything. Jason seemed to fail to notice that Esme kept jabbing her gun into his hip, while Jade kept pestering her about it.

"You're going to end up shooting him," Jade grunted.

"See, I can shoot him quickly," Esme chimed, twisting her gun in her hand. "I'm the speed demon. That'd be a cool superhero name!"

"So, we'll call you Speed Demon instead?" Jade spoke nonchalantly.

"Speed Demon, the superhero. Just like the Flash," Esme said, holding up her opposite arm to the sky.

"Okay, Speed Demon, try and zoom around to find Luke. Jade and I will split up through town," Jason remarked as Esme took off toward a road. Jade went to check the daycare while Jason headed into Burger King.

Opening the silver handle, the place still had destroyed tables or bullet holes in the walls. Nelson stood up front near the cash register as Jason went to look inside the bathroom. Nothing except being kept clean with stalls, sinks, and a change table in the women's. Turning on his heel, he looked through the front to spot any type of discovery of Luke.

"Who are you looking for?" Nelson asked.

"Luke, but it doesn't look like he's here," Jason sighed.

Nelson handed him some onion rings in a small bag. Even in the early morning, he needed to eat and search.

"Thanks," Jason said as he waved a hand and left Burger King.

Seeing the church, he rushed inside and went to stare around the chapel. Looking under pews or around where they had met for a group meeting about Simcoe. Children didn't fool around in here anymore due to it being the infirmary. Especially with Emma, who mainly healed people with just the touch of her hand.

Rushing up the aisle, he stopped at the top of the stairs, seeing Luke down below. He was holding up a bloody steak knife in hand, a snarl on his face.

"Just the guy I was looking for." Jason had the advantage over Luke, but he may still be killed. "Here to burn off my other arm?"

"Yeah, I actually thought about it," Jason said. It forced Luke to laugh, pointing the knife directly at him.

"That ain't happening again."

Jason felt that if he moved, Luke would come charging at him. Even without one arm, Luke moved like any other person.

"I doubt you're here to pray," Jason said.

At that moment, he rushed down the stairs into the infirmary. Jason looped down into the basement, seeing Luke standing over Stripper's cot. The knife pointed directly at his scalp, eyes wide.

"I'm not really in the mood to die today," Stripper said dryly. Jason could even see from the stairs that Stripper had a large gash covering his arm.

"You're just a stripper," Luke sneered.

"Beat 'em, dude," Stripper said, not referring to Luke.

With just his own hands, he could burn or, quite literally, kill someone. Luke had done enough of his bloodbath today.

"What are you two doing?" Melany exclaimed, coming out of the bathroom in the corner of the room.

"Melany, run!" Jason called.

Melany bolted as he fired off the blue light toward Luke. It missed and hit part of the floor, burning it. She wasn't quick enough, as Luke had her ear grabbed, and a knife pointed directly at her temple.

"What's going on? I thought the fight wasn't until tomorrow!" Melany panicked, with tears in her eyes and her voice trembling.

"Change of plans," Luke snarled, smirking at the short girl.

Jason couldn't have Melany killed, especially since she had been doing an amazing job with the infirmary. Without her, many of the people who had small wounds or an illness would not have been treated.

"You know, if you kill her, nobody will heal your wounds," Jason spat.

"Emma would," Luke sneered, placing the knife directly on her temple.

"She doesn't follow orders anymore," Jason stated.

Luke grinned at him, his lip bleeding from his brace wire cutting it."I'll make her."

Jason had to think of a distraction method that could get Luke away. Esme was running around while Jade went inside the Toy Palace.

"Just let her go," Jason demanded.

"You burned off my arm, and then stupid Scarlett had to saw it off," Luke grated. "She'll mock me in front of Greyson when I return, so I'm doing what I enjoy seeing."

Melany had tears flowing down her cheeks, but he spotted her discreetly raising her leg. She slammed her foot into his stomach, causing Luke to stumble back.

Fleeing, she went back to Stripper's bedside, lifting the sheet that covered him. Luke flashed rage, but Jason fired directly at the torso of his shirt. It burned, resulting in half the shirt hanging by a thread.

"You'll pay," Luke growled.

He charged at Melany before Cindy appeared to slam her foot on his hip, sending him flying onto the floor. Jason stood over Luke, who laughed at first.

Luke eyed him with his mean eyes narrowed, wearing a devious grin. "I'll burn your face; that's not a threat," Jason said, his hands directed at Luke's face.

In a split second, Luke rolled onto his knees and threw the knife directly at the two girls, who were standing together. It hit Cindy directly in the right eye, making her scream in agony. She dropped onto her knees, her hands trembling and breathing rapidly. Melany went to her side, causing Jason to charge at Luke, knocking him flat on the ground. Holding a hand over his face, he felt his hand glow blue as it did.

Luke kneed him in the crotch, causing him to groan and feel the pain soar. He held up a pistol he had stored away in his pocket.

"Why are you doing this?" Melany cried.

Jason rolled off the ground onto his hands and knees. He looked over and saw Cindy had blood dripping from her eye.

"Teachers don't say it is unacceptable," Luke snarled.

Jason felt the throbbing pain all over as he slowly stood on his feet. Luke had the gun pointed directly at Melany, who was kneeling in front of Cindy. He tried to drag himself over towards the two, but it was no use.

"Move!" Cindy cried, with Melany glancing back at her sister.

"Save yourself. I love you, Cindy," Melany whispered, as one loud bang went off.

Cindy screamed, seeing the bullet right in Melany's chest. Jason had failed to save both of them in the process. Emma could maybe heal Cindy, but not Melany. Raising his hands, directed at the gun, Jason fired that blue light at the gun that went flying. It landed at Emma's feet, who stood on the staircase and screamed.

"Esme!" she yelled as a breeze came zooming past, holding her own gun directed at Luke's head.

"Hey, Lukey, ready to die today?" Esme had anticipation glowing in her eyes.

Emma had rushed over toward Cindy, pressing a hand onto the outer ring of her eye. It was still bleeding, but she had tears rushing down her opposite eye.

James had come slowly behind, looking at Cindy and Melany before Luke. "I'll do it," he mumbled as Esme glanced back.

"No, I want to!" Esme argued.

Extending an arm back, James's arm grew twice the size of a regular arm. With a forceful punch to the face, Luke's face appeared black and blue. James did it once more, sending him slamming into two chairs pushed together. He let out a breath, looking down at his leg.

Jason noticed he no longer staggered from his bullet wound. "Wow!" Esme awed, focusing her attention on James. "That was so cool! Do it again!"

Luke appeared knocked out, which made him appear innocent. Although those words didn't seem to apply when it came to him. How could Greyson just let him mercilessly inflict such harm, especially on the infirmary staff?

James' face had turned red at Esme's words; his lips were pressed together. Jason stood and rushed to where Emma kneeled, his eyes focused on Cindy's eye.

"Can you heal it?" Jason asked.

"I need someone to remove the knife," Emma whispered, chewing her lip.

Jason wasn't sure he could handle removing a knife from an eyeball. Even thinking about it made his stomach turn. He deliberately grabbed the black handle in both hands.

"I need you to pull carefully. Do not rush it," Emma said, moving her hand under where the knife rested. "It could cause more damage."

This was not something that Jason ever imagined himself doing in this place. He's rarely heard of people being stabbed in the eye, especially that he'd witness it.

"Now," she said, as Jason slowly pulled the knife back as Cindy screamed. He felt his stomach turn at the slimy feeling. There was wet pus and blood that dripped onto her cheek when the knife was finally out of her eye.

When he removed it, he placed it on the floor. Emma set her hand over Cindy's eye, covering the whole eye. Emma appeared sick with her eyes closed and her lips pressed tightly together.

"You better not puke," Esme warned Emma.

Jason turned away and stared down at Melany's dead body. The bleeding from the bullet wound to the chest was obvious where blood had bled through her shirt. He lifted her carefully and held her in his arms.

"Cindy, I'm going to bring Melany's body out to get buried," Jason said.

"Okay," Cindy's voice cracked.

Jason walked with the body, kicking open the door, and noticed that most had gone back to Uden. He walked across the plaza, spotting Xander, looking around at the chaos that had endured in such a short span. When he saw them, he almost jumped, seeing Melany's body.

"What happened? Did she get poisoned?" Xander panicked.

"Luke shot her. We still have to get that thing," Jason explained. He followed Xander into the park, where lines of small wooden crosses were planted.

"Zane had left me in charge of burying the dead," Xander said, starting to dig a hole.

Zane mainly stayed at the fire station, but he was the one who started the idea of burying them in the park. The once grassy area had now turned into a graveyard where flowers were set on certain people's graves or signs made from people they knew.

When Xander finished digging the hole, Jason carefully set her body into it. Covering it back up with dirt, Xander stared at her with watery eyes without even knowing the girl long.

Jason felt upset with himself. How could he fail to stop someone from injuring and killing people? Tomorrow, he will fight Greyson. That meant their birthday would come tomorrow, and that left them with unknown questions.

Nobody had an answer for vanishing along with the clear bubble, not revealing the outside world. All it was shown to be was an expanded lake, or even fields, just how an illusion appeared.

When most of the dirt had covered Melany's body, Xander grabbed a purple-coloured cross from his pocket. Stuck together with glue, he planted it in front of her grave. Most of the other crosses were regular wooden colours, which many didn't know. Most knew Melany because she had helped with the infirmary before Emma started helping.

"I can't believe it," Xander started. "Do you have a clue why he shot her?" He appeared perplexed, holding the shovel in one hand, one end planted on the grass beside her grave.

"His own enjoyment," Jason sourly spat.

"What about Cindy? Is she okay?" he asked.

"Should be," Jason said.

Esme then came speeding over, holding Luke by his leg. In her opposite hand, she had her hunting gun, staring at Melany's grave.

"I'm going to bury him somewhere and see if he can find his way back," Esme said, taking off before he could even decline her statement.

"That dude looked rough," Xander said.

"James beat him up," Jason stated.

"The computer geek?" Xander asked, but Jason didn't know that people had been giving James a nickname.

"Yeah, he can enhance his strength. It's like Devon, but all body parts," Jason explained.

"It'd be cool to have that. Imagine all the fights you could win!" Xander exclaimed. "A lot of people haven't been dying because of those holes. Actually, Nevaeh said there hadn't been any."

This meant Divina was right. If she could control the land, they'd get away from Ashley's overall goal. That wasn't something Jason wanted to think about.

"That's one good thing," Jason said. Xander nodded as Talia walked over. She held a small bag and handed it to Xander.

"Some of the kids made crosses," Talia implied as she lingered at the grave.

"Melany," Jason said.

Talia closed her eyes and laced her hands together. Jason noted that she was praying for the tragic incident that had happened. If he hadn't been so reckless, Melany may still be alive.

Sighing, he stared at the grave. He wasn't Catholic himself, but he prayed regardless. Hopefully, she ended up safe and grateful for those times she helped him. Without her, he may still be injured or even dead from what Greyson and others have caused. Jason couldn't even bring himself to think about who could fill her position.

Emma might get overwhelmed, while he didn't have a clue if Cindy would be blind in one eye. Not just that, but she's mourning the loss of her older sister. Ever since her power developed, she hasn't been helping as much at the infirmary. Maybe someone will understand all of this work. Jason didn't know, but all he could pray for was that it didn't get any worse.

Melany's death hurt to write that I cry reading it.
-Lexi