Enchanted Life - 8. Chapter 8 Last Chance

Aaronn’s vision had came to pass. His vision stood corrected.

Markus’ new monstrous form was breathing, grinding guttural breaths. This monster was the outcome of James, Chance, and my power combined. We were aiming to destroy Markus, and he actually turned into this thing. Our powers brought a new outcome that I didn’t think would ever be possible in life. The three powers of ours that raised nothing human but something beastly from the dead, was to blame.

I was too scared to think. I didn’t want to imagine what this thing could do to us. I didn’t want my doom to be so sudden. I still had unfinished things with Chance I have not settled. I still have Aaronn who had been growing on me and I was realizing it a minute late.

I was stuck where I stood.

Aaronn and Chance’s argument was cut short, and their tongues ceased all movement as they both stared at the blackened burnt, flaked monster, who was once human. It was unbelievably shocking, to see someone who was once a principal of a school become something so demon like and uncontrollable.

It was like looking at a zombie. He was out of his mind, and I’m sure by the feel of this monster’s presence, Markus was no longer alive. Markus probably had no idea his body had become a vessel of some kind for this creature.

Our powers had slayed Markus’s humanity and created a creature so vile and revolting it was becoming hard to look at it.

We all didn’t move. We were stiff in place, waiting, and watching this weird inhuman thing let out growls as if it was trying to talk or say something but lost its ability to be understood.

Sticky goop clung to its battered gold armor. What stuck to his armor was residue from the sizzled, melted shadows that James sent after Markus in the first fight. When Markus, was Markus. When he was still human, when he had a comprehending mind.

This thing that was in front of us was something else. It wasn’t going to try to negotiate with us. It wasn’t going to understand we are young kids. Nor did it want to understand.

Its mucky black and pink skin, on its face was a clear sign that it didn’t care about anything. It was set on killing, or destroying anything that got in its way.

“We can’t stand around.” Chance said stepping forward. “We must act now.”

Chance was so right. He was almost always right…in my book. We can’t give this creature time to attack or generate any more strength than what it already has. If we are to kill this thing we must act immediately!

Chance was the first to move. Flipping his lean body to the left of the creature. With each jump and flip Chance was shooting a spray of orange flames from his fists.

The creature’s nose sniffed the air a few times, and shifted its heavy footing to dodge the incoming barrel of flames. It was like the monster wasn’t guided by sight. It was going off of smell, it was going off of its primitive notions.

There were several angles Chance was flipping in. He was trying to stay out of the creatures attack range and land a couple of wounding hits at the same time.

Somehow the filthy rattling breath, coming from the lungs of the creature was getting gruesomely loud. It moved so quick, that it was almost like watching the thing slide from one spot to the next. It was hard to keep my eyes trained on the thing. Sometimes I would have to ask myself: was he running, or hopping from place to place?

Chance guided his flames in a surfing hot flow around the grounds of the building. The dirt, and the quick moving creature went under flames. The flames were leaving the smell of things being singed and burnt behind in its blazing trail.

There were flames blowing all over the place, as Chance’s arms continued to pulse heavy streams of fire over the baking dirt. I watched as little embers of flames withered the patches of grass into ash.

The creature would growl and speed from sight. Chance was able to land some hits, but others he was missing horribly. The creature was able to get away from the majority of his flames leaving the grounds in flames of red. The air became thick with a hot gray smoke, that was lifting from the damage earth was taking.

Not long after Chance’s assault, Aaronn started to add his support. I tried to join in as well. We were finding it hard to attack this thing, because it was moving at a pace we could not keep up with, no matter what we did.

It was like fighting Markus all over again.

Chance was sweating little drops above his brows. I didn’t think it was from the heat of the scorching flames. This had to be from trying to keep up with this creature Markus had turned into. He sweated because our mission was getting harder by the minute. He sweated to protect what he believed in.

After a while, It started to seem like Chance’s powers were not effective on the creature. I have seen the devastation his flames can bring. I have seen his powers and strategies at work during the tournament. I have witnessed his heat and his spark in the bed, and all the days I was drawn to be around him.

For some reason, this creature seemed not affected by the heat of his flames, and when Chance hit it with a wounding fire ball. I heard the creatures tattered armor sound like a gong when the fire ball hit on contact.

The ball of orange blew out and disappeared as it left a dent in the creatures armor, but it’s rattling breath did not slow. Neither did his speed falter as it should have. The creature was not taking any damage from the flames.

Something was not right! This thing was supposed to have been hit. At least it should have stopped a little while, to recover from the fatal fire that Chance was bringing down on him.

His vengeance and fire was so much that I had to wipe my forehead more than usual. It was so thick with heat on the battle field. Only Aaronn and I seem to be sweating from the heat. It was like we were the only people affected by the fire.

“Chance,” Aaronn called to him as he was trying to get out of the way of the creature. It was swinging, knocking each one of us down with hammering punches. Aaronn was desperately trying to move, he didn’t look like he could take much more from the heat of fire and the fist of the beast.

“What do you want?” Chance answered him back as if he didn’t want to hear anything Aaronn had to say.

He believed it was Aaronn’s fault we were in this part of the mess anyway.

“I think this creature-“ Aaronn had to zip out of the way of an orange blast that shot out of the creatures eyes. “I think this creature is immune to your powers.”

It started making sense to me. It was definitely the correct explanation of why Chance’s flames weren’t inflicting any harmful damage as it normally does.

“Are you kidding me?” Chance said in the loss of confusion. “Then what am I supposed to do? Stand here?”

Right when Aaronn was about to answer Chance. I didn’t get to hear what was completely said, because I had sustained a kick into the stomach out of nowhere.

It happened so fast I didn’t have time to dodge. The creature had knocked me to my knees. My legs had weakened from the pain swelling in my stomach.

I could only grab my sides with both arms, as the pain crept and brought a sharp pounding in my torso.

Suddenly, I tried to stand and I was stung by a fist of iron. It hit me in the head right next to my ear.

I was almost in a daze then I could hear Chance and Aaronn’s voices becoming very distant and vague. As if they were somewhere under water arguing.

Wham!

I was almost lying flat on the ground. My face was in the dirt, Grinding against the particles of withered grass, and smoke. I tried raising my head, when blood started to fill my mouth.

I sputtered, spitting out the sour metal that I tasted on my tongue. It was bitter, and it coated the dirt in a splotch of dribbling red.

I wiped my lips free of the blood, running down my chin.

Standing on my wobbling knees. I didn’t know how I was going to carry forth with the fight. I was fading from this world. Those hits I took while they were arguing were cruel.

I think I was suffering deadly brain damage, and internal punctures. The injury was severe, I was taking more punches, jabs and kicks with every few spare minutes.

The pain was continuously making me strain. I couldn’t stand up on my own. I was dizzy, I was hot, I was on the cliff of dying. I was suffering from having a near heat stroke, and then I was suffering from taking hits.

I didn’t know what to do besides sit there. I didn’t have what it took to cast an enchantment as of right now.

“What do you mean?” my ear was able to catch onto, before I blanked out. It was Chance asking Aaronn something.

“I mean, that your powers, James’ and Julius’ won’t really be of any affect to the creature at this point.”

My eyes open when I heard my name. It kept me from completely giving my life over to the pain, and salty blood. I was not only losing my consciousness, and blood, but I was losing myself out here in this fight. I didn’t know what to do with myself.

Aaronn was barely visible to my sights at the moment. But I could see him stepping on his right foot, to step out of a charging attack. Then Chance shot flames to keep the creature distracted.

“Why won’t our powers work?” Chance added with tension in his throat. He was getting tired I could hear it in him, but he kept the creature on the run. Trying to make the thing stay away from each of us.

“Because you three combined your powers together to create the creature. It was born by part of your power, James’, and Julius’.” Aaronn was saying in seriousness. There was no hint of joking on his face.

“Why didn’t you tell us this when you came out of that trance of yours?” Chance was upset. Far worse than I have ever heard him.

Yeah, why didn’t he tell us our powers wouldn’t work? Was this some kind of plan? Was Aaronn truly sharing with us everything he saw in his vision?

Maybe he was only telling us what he wanted us to know. I’m not for sure as of now.

This had really woke me from the pain, and the bleeding. As the bleeding came to a stop, the pain in my sides were decreasing as well. My head was still in deep throbbing hurt, but I could with stand it.

It felt like a rock was growing out of my forehead. It felt like a headache only more blasting agony wrapping around my skull. When I stood to my feet I had to bend over for a minute to catch my breath. I leaned over putting my hands on my knees while I listened.

I think my skull was cracked or something. I wasn’t sure, but it felt like something up there wasn’t on the right way anymore.

“This is something I just figured out.” Aaronn proclaimed, “I think that is why your fire isn’t hurting him like it should.”

“So this is just a guess of yours right?” Chance said playing with Aaronn’s words. “It’s bad that we don’t even know if we can trust your visions, and here you are guessing things.”

Chance had to sweep his self out of the way after he had said what he said to Aaronn. There was a highly concentrated orange laser that almost fried his head.

If Aaronn guess was correct. Our powers had really brought this thing back from the dead, and each one of our powers could have boosted his lasers to a heated degree. Especially Chance, since he was the one of fire.

That’s probably why the lasers were so much larger in size and it was harder to get out of the way of them now. There is a possibility that Aaronn is correct.

While they argued I wanted to see if Aaronn was telling the complete truth about our powers not causing much damage to the creature. There was only one way to find out if he wasn’t lying, or trying to trick us.

I suddenly started to take in, and feel my sorcery rise to the surface of my being. I could feel its tingling energy waiting, and wanting me to cast an enchantment, or draw a symbol to test and see if this creature was immune to my abilities.

Of all the different levels of sorcery everyone knows, no two enchantments are the same. If this creature is immune to my powers, maybe he can still be affected by some of my enchantments while others won’t affect him. It’s all about how much power I put into it…if Aaronn is right.

Devoting the tingling sensation of energy down my arms, and up my legs, I felt it developing inside of me. It was charging through the course of my paining body.

Ignoring the stings, I kept feeling in my spinning head. I let out an enchantment.

“Density Enchantment!”

I yelled, trying not to let it out in a whimper. The huge gulp of air I used to pronounce the enchantment by name, caused my sides ached for a while, but I didn’t let it get in the way of things. I had to see if Aaronn was right.

The density enchantment was a special enchantment that added extra gravity to the atmosphere surrounding the person or thing you cast it on. It would be additional weight added to the force of their gravity, making it hard for them to move.

In this case, it was the perfect enchantment to for me to cast. The density of the gravity around the creature would multiply, and it wouldn’t be so difficult for us to catch up to his speed. He would be everywhere in our eye scope.

When the enchantment was casted. It instantly started to go in affect.

There was an invisible rippling pressure, pressing the creature’s armored frame into what looked like a squat. The gravity of his weight was multiplying before our eyes. The enchantment seemed to work.

Aaronn was wrong!

“My enchantment worked!” I Shouted at Aaronn so that he could hear me. The rib bones in my sides felt as if they were twisting into my organs, each time I said something. “The creature must not be too immune to me.”

Chance gave a glare of suspicion at Aaronn. Eyeing him as if he was a liar or a traitor. “Why does his power work?”

Aaronn was shaking his head as if something was completely wrong. “I don’t know, I-I-I don’t know,” he stuttered losing his sophistication. He couldn’t explain to us what was happening here before our faces. “Maybe he didn’t use a lot of his power when you all defeated Markus.” Aaronn guessed again.

The creature stood there with its knees bent to a squatting formation. It was growling, and trying to claw its way out from under the pressing weight of gravity, but it was not able to move like it once did. The enchantments power was keeping a lock on his speed, and movement.

He was struggling against my power.

“Or maybe you lied.” Chance said looking over in Aaronn’s direction. “Or could it be that you aren’t telling us everything we need to know?” Chance began to wonder, as his olive skin dripped from preparation, and battle.

Aaronn place both hands on his pallet of snow white hair. “I don’t know what’s going on…” He exclaimed trying to figure out where he went wrong. “I told you guys everything I saw in my trance. There was nothing left untold. I gave you the truth.”

“Whatever. Let’s just kill the thing and get this over with. I’m sick of this mission, and I have had enough of ‘you’.” Chance complained. He was being more of an aggressor now.

“Wait one minute, CHANCE!” Aaronn called with a voice of authority. Causing Chance to stop walking towards the frozen beast and face him. “Are you trying to make it seem as if I am a traitor, or as if I am setting you guys up?”

There was a moment of quiet.

The only thing I heard was the annoying hissing growl of the creature still trying to break loose of the density enchantment. (Which was useless.)

The battle field had become so quiet as they stared each other down for a spiteful minute. They had been at each other’s necks since James had departed. I didn’t know what to do to stop them. I didn’t know how to make them think and feel like a team again.

“Well you have made some pretty pathetic decisions since you went into that trance.” Chance openly said without holding back any rage. “We have been at high risk of dying since you have been guessing, and seeing visions… I just don’t know what to trust from you anymore. It’s hard to believe anything you say.”

“What!” Aaronn could not believe that Chance was taking it to that level. “So you actually believe that I am a traitor, and that I purposely told you guys these visions to set you up?” Aaronn’s violet eyes turned radiant at the moment, glowing with fierceness. “On what grounds would I do that to my team? What would I benefit from that?”

“You tell us.” Chance shot back at him. The fire from earlier was still flickering on the ground near his feet. It seemed to raise a degree when he was getting angry. In fact, all the little embers that baked the ground was sparking upward. “You probably do have something to benefit from all of this. Who knows, it could be getting out of this alive so you can be the person to take credit for surviving the mission.”

“That is absurd.” Aaronn stated, fighting back his powers. I could see his violet glowing eyes wanted to outlash at his own team mate. “You are thinking too much into things Chance. Just focus on killing the creature for the moment. You aren’t such a good thinker with a fiery temper like that.”

“Are you calling me dumb or something? Are you saying I don’t make good choices?”

“When you are upset.” Aaronn countered standing in an elegant stance, dusting the smoke from his suit. “Your mind is of no use when you are in a fiery rage. You think too much and get paranoid about things that aren’t there.”

The comment seemed to be a stabbing remark. Chance’s eyes seemed to sink in his sockets. Then his face slanted with grimness. It was a horrid look for someone so beautiful. The face of rage was rising from the fire inside of him. He felt insulted by Aaronn.

“Well since my opinion seems so beneath you ‘oh white haired one.’” Chance said with sarcasm that stung. “Then why don’t we ask Julius. Let’s see what he thought about you being a traitor, or setting us up.”

Oh no! Don’t put me in this. I’m just a by stander. I have no opinion.

This wasn’t the best time for a disagreement. Not while we are still teammates. I think if I had to say anything it should be: ‘We need to save this whole conversation for when we are all safe in the walls of Celestial Academy.’

“Julius never thought a thing like that about me.” Aaronn smiled with a knowing heart. “Julius and I have a complicated history that only we understand. And I know, he knows me better than the person you are making me out to be.”

“Well let’s ask him then.” Chance said still wanting to put me in the middle of the fuss.

“Ask away.” Aaronn waved his hand as if he knew already I was going to take his side.

I didn’t know what to do at this time. I wanted to agree with Aaronn that he wasn’t a traitor, and that I knew him well enough to believe he wouldn’t put us in a dangerous position if he could help it. Then again, there was Chance.

I automatically wanted to take his side whether he was right or wrong. Only because I had these deep feelings for him that I haven’t told him about. Plus, I was sort of having suspicions about Aaronn and his visions anyway.

If I took Aaronn’s side though, it could totally make Chance turn against me. He would never sleep with me anymore, he would never talk to me, or compliment me.

I needed those things. I could not risk living without those.

That would hurt me worse than anything in this world. That would hurt me more than what little feelings I had for Aaronn.

At this point I couldn’t risk losing my team. I wanted us to work together, but I if I had to pick sides…

“What do you think Julius.” Chance had started to ask, before I could know what action to take on answering. “Through this whole fight did you ever get the gut feeling that Aaronn was up to something?”

“Well…” I thought about taking Chance’s side because he was so sexy. But then I had to think about how that would make Aaronn feel. “I don’t know. I think we need to talk about this some other time. The creature is still alive, and we need to kill it.”

“We will, just answer the question first.” Chance said as if he was becoming slowly angered by my undecided vote. “Did you think something was weird about the whole situation where he sent James back, left us here, and then had the nerve to tell us our powers wouldn’t work on the creature?… come on, you had to think something.”

I did think something. I did think Aaronn was a traitor. I did think he wasn’t telling us everything he knew. The only problem was, I didn’t want to say it out loud.

“Oh stop trying to make him side with you.” Aaronn told him folding his arms. “Let him think on his own.”

I looked at them both trying to see if I could come up with a neat way to say something that would put me on both of their sides. I didn’t want either of them mad at me, but I didn’t want them both mad at me for not answering the question.

I bit my lip hoping I was saying the right thing. “To be honest…” they both narrowed their eyes at me, anticipating my words of choice. I could see how they both wanted me on their side. Aaronn’s purples eyes flashed at me, and Chance’s brown eyes were needing me to take his side, Pulling me into him. “I did think Aaronn was a traitor. I did think he was giving us half of the information we needed. I don’t know what to really say because my powers worked on the creature when Aaronn mentioned that the creature was immune to them.”

“Ha see! I knew Julius felt the same way I did.” Chance cheered losing the grim facial expression at my need to take his side. “I know Julius better than ‘you’ do.” Chance pointed at Aaronn. “We have a great connection.”

A great connection? Really?

I knew my heart was telling me to take his side for some reason. I was about to smile shyly until I saw Aaronn’s jaws drop from astonishment. I quickly put my head down to avoid looking at his violet eyes of sorrow.

“Julius.” He tried calling my name. Using his casual tone. “Julius.” He tried again. “Julius, look at me!” I heard his voice take on a hurting sound. Like he was trying to mask it with his casual composure.

It didn’t work well for him though. His casual sophistication had dropped after hearing me take Chance side. Chance was smiling big at me. licking his lips, his eyes were giving me some kind of approval.

“Julius please, look at me.” Aaronn said in a softer, and emotional way. “Is that what you really thought? Is that how you really feel about me?” he said trying to keep my eyes entwined with his. “I thought…I thought you would be the one who would understand.”

I had to look down again. I had never witnessed Aaronn get emotional. His eyes were glowing and sparkling in shades of purple I couldn’t call. It was so hard to say what I said, but I did it for Chance. I didn’t do it because I thought it was the right thing to do, I did it because I thought it was the right way to win Chance over.

“Julius talk to me, look at me, do something!” Aaronn’s voice let out sympathy. “Is that how you feel about me? Is that what you think of me?”

“Not really.” I tried to say in a light voice. Hoping it would ski past Chance and go to Aaronn. I didn’t want Chance to think I was a liar, or a traitor for trying to make things right with Aaronn.

“Then what is it?” Aaronn started to fix his tie. Then he bravely started to stride toward me as if his confidence and pride told him to.

“Don’t go any closer to him.” Chance yelled out, his nose wrinkled with anger. “He gave his thoughts about the matter, now leave him alone. Don’t try to persuade him to your side. It’s too late, he’s with me.” Chance stood protectively before Aaronn. Hoping, and daring that he tried to close the ten feet of distance him and I stood apart.

When Chance said ‘He is with me’. My mind started playing with the words and cherishing them. It was so dear to me for him to say something like that, even if he didn’t mean it the way I was taking it.

Aaronn stopped at the far off distance he stood. Folding his arms securely over his chest, trying to still find a way to connect with me. “Julius this is to you, and only you.” He was saying his words smoothly but I knew he felt like someone had beat him for the first time. “I would never betray you. I have never in my life wanted to do something that would make you think bad of me. I deeply apologize for making you think I would betray you.”

I didn’t know what to say, “Okay.” It was dry and insincere, but I didn’t have anything else to say. The way Aaronn grabbed the temples of his white hair. I could tell that my ‘okay’ wasn’t enough to keep him from thinking I hated him.

“Leave him alone!” Chance demanded Aaronn. With fire crackling in sparks around his fingerless gloved fists. I could see the orange and red dancing along his palms as he spoke.

Aaronn ignored him, and his challenging fire that heated in his palms. Aaronn had other things on his mind. Other things like trying to make things right between him and I. “After that day we sat at the table at the party we snuck off to, and got to know each other. You still feel like that about me? After all the times I kept watching you in the halls in Celestial you still feel that way?”

He was watching me? I thought he was too drunk to remember the talk we had that night. He never approached me after that day he said ‘We would stay in touch.’ I don’t know why he didn’t talk to me the days after the party. I don’t know how I would have responded to his approach anyway because I remember him seizing me by the arm, and I took him as getting physical with me.

Aaronn went to take a step, but the fire lit in Chance’s hand and went up his arm burning with intense light. He was serious about Aaronn staying away from me.

Aaronn stood still where he was. He was still trying to communicate with me. “I can’t believe that you think he is better than me.” he said kicking some of the dirt below his dress shoes. “I can’t believe you don’t think we had a connection.”

Oh crud.

I had to answer him. We did have a connection. “We do have a connection. I do remember that party. Our connection is still there.”

When I opened my mouth to speak I wish I would have kept it shut. Because Chance was now looking between us like something strange was going on. Something he didn’t agree with.

Had I over talked? Did Chance think what I said was gay? Oh no!

“Oh yeah? Prove it to me?” Aaronn said without looking at Chance. He didn’t care what Chance’s thoughts of disgust were with him. He only was concerned about what I had to say.

“How?” I almost croaked. I was beginning to forget I ever got hit in the head. My heartache of losing Chance was giving me more misery to think about besides the headache.

“Tell me how you feel about me!” Aaronn shouted in a heartfelt tone. It was like, he was earnestly wanting me to say what I truly felt for him. How my feelings have been growing for him lately.

Oh my dear GOD!

How could I say that in front of Chance. He is where the majority of my heart lies.

“What the-“ Chance asked not able to finish. The flames that licked at his arms were now extinguished as he looked at Aaronn as if he lost his marbles for shouting something out like that. It sounded like it was emotional, it sounded like he was gay. “What is wrong with you? Did you hear what you said? It doesn’t sound right!”

“Shut up and get out of my line of sight. I could care less what it sounds like to you.” Aaronn said in a belittling way. “This is between Julius and me, you keep to your own business.”

“Julius is my business, and he has been for a while. Our friendship is way too valuable to let someone like you come along and corrupt him.”

Aaronn was not in the mood to play with Chance. He over looked Chance to say, “Tell me how you feel about me?” he constantly asked me.

He asked again, and again while Chance was denying him of my attention. I was stuck between two and I didn’t know what to say. I know the more I talked the more I was convicting myself.

The last time Aaronn asked me ‘how did I feel about him?’ Chance answered for me, “He is not going to reply to that question. Not only does it sound weird but he has better things to look forward to.”

“Like you?” in a slicing cold manner Aaronn looked at Chance as he asked him that. Which surprisingly Chance did not bother to say what better things I had to look forward to.

“Julius, you think this guy is better than ‘me’?” Aaronn pointed with his white hair signaling at Chance.

Chance clenched his fist at his sides. It looked like he wanted an answer too. I had answered enough questions, and I wasn’t stupid enough to play into this one.

When Aaronn asked me again, that’s when the red streaks in Chance’s hair layered over his precious brown eyes. “So what if he does? What can you do about it? huh?”

Aaronn snickered for one minute with one hand mannerably over his lips. “Impossible. He could never think that. You are an emo, with no class, and you have red dye in your hair… you are not meant to be taken as better than me.”

“Oh yeah, just because you wear a suit everyday when you don’t need to, and you eat chicken with a fork and knife he would choose you as better than me?” Chance defended himself to Aaronn’s preppy personality. “You don’t think you are over doing it sometimes?”

I was in-between a tug-a-war. I didn’t know how to stop it, because I felt like if I let it continue they would get out there negative hostility that they had for each other and we could move forward. Not only that but I could see if Chance was really into me, like I was into him.

I couldn’t tell right now. So far I could see he was probably disgusted about the idea of two men in a relationship, but he fought so hard for our friendship. I did appreciate him for that.

When I least expected it. They were about to fight.

Aaronn was charging his psychic abilities by putting his fingers at his temples. His eyes starting to radiate like two rings of violet.

Chance stared him in the eyes with fury. Fearlessly, charging sparks and fire in his palms to settle the dispute once and for all.

It had come to this. They were both about to tear each other apart. This would have been a good fight to watch had it been in Celestial tournament…But it wasn’t.

Stepping out of the indecisive quiet, I was running to where they stood to break them up before they could start a fight that would end with one or both of them injured beyond recognition.

“Stop!” I said desperately wishing my voice was enough to separate them from getting in each others faces. “We need to work as a tea-“

I was blasted backwards hitting the dirt with the skin of my back. I was confused and disoriented not knowing what had happened that quick second. Then when I realized what it was, it was already killing me that I didn’t try to stop them both earlier.

“What was that?” I heard Chance grunting. He was getting to his feet with his hand full of black and red hair from his head.

“I don’t know.” I thought it was you. Aaronn groaned as he kicked a few rocks from his shoes, and dusted the sleeves of his suit.

It wasn’t them?

I thought they both used their powers and caused this disruption that shot us backwards.

Knowing that neither of them had used their powers, I was feeling that sentence of fright return. The fright that lead me to think something was about to happen.

When I glanced at the direction of the creature. I saw it was no longer in a squatting pose. It was standing upright, with its nose sniffling. Its burnt flesh was back moving like nothing was holding it down.

Like nothing was holding it down!

When I thought about what I said. I tried to warn Aaronn and Chance, “The creature is breaking through the density enchantment!” Nothing could break through an enchantment like that, nothing!

“How is that possible?” Chance threw a worried question out.

“I have no idea. Maybe we took too long. Maybe I lost focus while you two kept arguing.” I told him trying to stay standing on the shaking earth.

“It is immune!” Aaronn corrected us both. When he corrected us my suspicion of him being a traitor died deeply away. I hated that I had ever thought that. I hate that I had ever spoken it.

Then at an unnoticed, unpredictable second, the whole enchantment rippled outward and backfired.

The creature moved against the will of the density enchantment. It moved freely once again, as the gravity that had multiplied in the atmosphere erupted like an outward expanding, explosion. The Shooting winds made us skid back, our shoes trying to brace us in the dirt.

Thanks to his immunity, the enchantment wore off, and the creature could move at its swift unsightful speeds once again. Putting us all in the line of doom.

If only we had killed him when we had the given time. Instead of having the ridiculous debate.

This couldn’t be! The thing was back running through each of us hitting, and fighting us, growling wildly, shooting searing orange lasers every direction like an untrained animal.

What could I do? What can you do to something that was immune to most of your powers?

Chance didn’t hesitate any longer to attack. Although his fire wouldn’t hurt the creature he fought the thing anyway. Using everything to his best capability to battle the revolting disgrace.

As there was bright fire, and orange lasers the creature and Chance went toe-to-toe. They were fighting and Chance was giving it his all. Where fire wouldn’t work he tried his own spinning kicks.

They both fought at such a speed that made some of their movements look blurry. Chance was taking a number of furious blows. It was hard for me to stand back and let the monster pound on his flesh like that. I knew how those fists felt.

It seemed I didn’t have any other choice but to watch. Because as they fought things were getting worse. I don’t know if Chance was winning or what. I had to do something. I had to try my powers anyway.

I casted: paralysis, nullification, power reverser… I was trying any enchantment. I was doing anything I could. I was trying a variety of any symbols I could draw, but no matter what I casted none of my sorcery was working anymore. There was nothing I could do to affect this thing. I couldn’t help Chance.

“Psionic strike!” from the left of the distance. Aaronn was using his mental abilities to help Chance. When he pronounced ‘psionic strike!’ A purplish flash of light knocked the creature off the ground uprooting him from the tussle with Chance.

Before Chance could thank Aaronn. (Which I thought was so ironic since they both were about to kill each other ten minutes ago.) Aaronn had bombarded the armored creature with another attack.

“Psionic strike!” Aaronn yelled with two fingers rested in the center of his forehead. As the purple flash of light shot out and stuck the creature again, sending him hurling and crashing through the grey sagging bricks of the abandon school.

There was a powdery screen of smoke filling the air. Aaronn’s psionic force was strong enough to put a crater in the side of the abandon school with the creature flying through it.

Chance shot blazing flames through the barricaded broken opening, between the bricks. The same hole in the building, Aaronn had sent the monster hurling through. I watch as the building took on the flames and began to catch fire.

I could only watch.

My powers were of no use.

I couldn’t save the one I cared for so much because my powers weren’t useful on this beastly thing.

When Chance stopped shooting fire from his hands, and the building slowly started to blacken, and crumble inward. The piles of brick were sinking, the raggedy structure began to look like it was finally going to collapse.

I thought it was over. I thought our job here was finally finished.

Right when we thought it was safe to go back to Celestial. Right when I was saying in my head this was over with. Something stood in the fire. Like a shadow.

He was still alive!

The creature pounced out of the burning building with more of its charred flesh exposed. Its skin looked leathery and scaly almost. Its legs propelled him in Aaronn’s direction.

Aaronn turned his white head, exactly when the creature glided at him. He was not fast enough to react. The hand of the creature reached toward him brutally grabbing him around the neck, almost crushing him with its grip.

You could hear Aaronn’s choked cry. He needed help but how was I supposed to help him?

Then with a rough twirl the creature gave a beast like roar, and threw Aaronn’s thin body directly into the bricks of the burning abandon building. We heard his body smash into the solid bricks with a crack, and then there were echoes of shattering glass as he fell in a clump somewhere inside.

He was no longer in sight. All there was in sight, was a fire expanding, smoke, broken bricks, and planks of wood laying around the falling school.

Then with a suddenness I didn’t see coming. The creature zipped my way and open its mouth spewing a river of black liquid goop.

It was nothing I had seen before. It looked like the same black junk that clung to his armor.

This must be the sizzled shadows from James’ ability. This is what it may have gained from James’ dark force manipulation.

Chance ran out of the way of the spew, leaving me in harms way.

I tried to get out of the way but as soon as I did, my arm was caught by the black gloop of thick sticky liquid. I tried to roll in the dirt, because it felt like the black lumps were starting to eat away at my arm. There was a molten burning ache as he black gunk stuck to my sensitive skin.

Chance ran over to me picking me up quickly from the dirt and on to my feet. Then he used a globe of fire that he lit in his palm and ran it along my arm where the goop sat thickly eating it like acid.

I was about to scream as loud as I could because his fire burned the hairs off of my arm leaving wisps of smoke behind, but at that very moment I wanted to scream, his voice shushed me with a calm ‘Shhh’.

I looked at him as if he was my personal doctor. Letting him burn the black liquid off of me. The fire actually worked. It was melting the black goop off of my arm, and causing it to drip off my skin and on to the ground.

What ever that spew of blackness was that came from the creature’s mouth was trying to spread up my arm. I believe it was trying to make me something close to what it was.

Thanks to Chance I wasn’t going to change into anything.

“Are you okay?” he asked me, looking at the red bruises the black substance left on my arm. He was worried about me. “It almost got you.”

“Yeah I’m okay. It just burned like acid or something.” I tried to explain, as the pain began to swim out of the layers of my skin. I was gritting my teeth waiting for the biting to leave from my muscles.

“Can you still use your arm?” He asked me, using his shoulder to dry some of his sweat from his eye brows. His hair was so wet, it looked like he had slightly damped his hair in the shower. “Is it still able to move?”

He grabbed my forearm, and bent it so that he could see if my arm had suffered any major damage. “It’s fine, I can still use it perfectly.” I told him, I was elated to have him even touching me.

“Good, good…so do you think you can still fight?” he asked releasing my arm from his olive hands.

“I should be able-“ I was about to answer him. But it was happening so quick that I could only hear it at first, but my timing, my reflexes were not willing to do anything.

From the right of me I saw a searing blast from a laser buzzing my way. I looked in the orange zapping laser as if I was at my end.

My life started to flash before me that quick. I saw a hundred things that I had been through at Celestial. I saw Talan, and Ashlynn. I saw the party I went to, I saw Chance knocking on my dorm room door… I heard my parents purposely sending me to Celestial Academy…

Everything was flashing in front of my eyes. This was something I have heard before from many people before you die, but to actually see it happen to me, and live for the short seconds I had. I didn’t know how to take it. For all I could do was stand where I was and take the blast from the laser.

Never again will I see those who meant something to me.

Suddenly the laser shot through me. Not through me but straight by me missing. It nearly scraped my shoulder. I could feel the buzzing vibration from the laser as it zoomed by. It almost fried my whole arm off.

All I remember was Chance pushing me out of the way of the incoming laser. Where I couldn’t do a thing but stand there like a block of ice. He saved me by pushing me out of the way.

As I stumbled I went to thank him. “Thanks again.” I shook the flashing images from my mind. I thought I was a goner.

“No problem.” He tried to smile but the fighting, and the near death factors, prevented his mouth from curling into that smile I always liked. “Just be more alert, and be ready to move.”

I shook my head up and down to agree with him.

When all of a sudden I heard a zapping blast. I didn’t have a choice to move. Because I was caught unaware. I wasn’t alerted this time. It happened without a warning of any sort.

“Watch out!” Chance didn’t have time to push me again. His reflexes failed the incoming laser.

All that I heard was a wet meaty tearing. It was like something had shredded thousands of wet pieces of paper. There was a moan of some kind. Then that is when I noticed it.

When I saw what I had saw. I wanted to die immediately.

Nothing else to me mattered at this point. Nothing could ever matter at this point. What was the point of life now!

I heard him letting out heaving wet coughs. As his body flew through the air and lumbered to the ground. It was like watching a Tree being hacked and then looking at it hit the ground with a banging thud.

I ran over to Chance with an urgent need to hold him in my arms. To touch him again. I ran over to his beloved tough body that I have always wanted. I couldn’t believe that body I have always admired to the heart, the body I wanted next to me more than a sleeping friend.

Was that ever going to happen now? With him laying in a mangled mess like this? Was all my dreaming of being with him, and touching him in vain? Were my feelings and heartfelt liking of him in vain as well?

As I approached Chance while he lay twitching on the ground. At the corner of his mouth was a slim river of blood leaking. His hair was dark red streaked, matted to his sweaty whitening forehead.

His brown eyes were staring up at the sky. His eyes were looking like they were glazed over.

I reached under his body pulling him close to my face so that my cheek was against his lips. “Chance! Chance!” I yelled from the ruined emotions inside of me. He just laid their profusely bleeding.

I knew then, that Chance couldn’t push me out of the way of the incoming orange beam. So he took the blast for me. He risked his life for me. He put all of his life aside to let me live.

My eyes started to tear up. I was never a crier, but looking at the condition Chance’s body was in, what else could I do? What else could my heart allow me to do?

The orange laser had blasted a hole straight through his chest. Fried him from the outside clean through the inside. His body was bleeding out of his back. He kept wetly coughing out blood. His gloved fingers kept twitching in my grasp as I held his hand. Wishing I could reverse everything that just happened.

It should have been me on the ground wallowing. It should be me, the one who was suffering…not him.

Anybody but CHANCE!

Chance was trying to look in my eyes. I know he wanted to smile but it was not happening. I would never see that smile again. I would never hear his voice after this.

It h-h-hurt. I have to be honest. It really tore a chunk out of me and it hurt.

As I embrace him crying. I held his face and body close to me. Blood from his chest was spurting onto my clothes, but I didn’t care.

“Why did you step in the way?” I cried weakly. I was breaking down. I was acting like a sobbing baby. I couldn’t stop choking on my sadness. “Why did you do it?”

He couldn’t say anything back to me. He was suffering fatal injury. A Deep wound inflicted on him that was not repairable.

I guessed right. There was a hole in Aaronn’s psychic visions. His visions didn’t show him Chance getting blasted by that laser.

I continued to hold Chance close. With my tears streaming against his whitening skin. I knew he was losing his olive tone. The amazing olive skin I was so crazy about, was turning dry and pale. His soul was slipping from my reach, and the only thing I could do was hold him in a loving embrace.

It started to make me question everything. Even things I knew weren’t the problem I started trying to blame anybody. I started getting so involved in the thoughts of coping without Chance that I started to accuse Aaronn.

Was Chance right about him? Was Aaronn playing with our lives? When he wanted to stay behind to fight Markus the second time, what was his actual intention?

What would happen if Chance would have been the person to deliver the scrolls to the school instead of James? Would this sad incident have happened?

What made my tears sting my eyes, and pour down harder was me not being able to thank Chance properly like I wanted to. I never got to thank him for always being there. Being the first friend to open up to me, to listen to how my parents abandon me…he was always there.

“Thank you.” I don’t know if he could hear me but I said it anyway. I should have thanked him long ago. I greatly owed him and always will thank him for taking that laser for me. I went to let out a sob but my dry throat went into a lock. It gagged and tried to close.

I wanted to die with him.

I wanted to fall apart.

It wasn’t fair. I never had the chance to tell him how I felt about him. Now what remains a secret in my heart will forever remain a secret in my heart. I will have to bear the burden of not telling the one who got away, how much I craved his affection. He was my heated temptation.

As he laid in my arms. I knew it was too late to tell him. It was nothing that we could become from his dying. I was so ashamed to tell him what my heart was holding, and now that I waited so late. I will never get to.

I took this for granted. I had plenty of chances to let him know and I didn’t. I will always be shameful of it.

Under my arms his skin lost warmth, it began to get stiff with cold. The heat…his tempting heat I trace my fingers over was missing. This was one person who believed in me when I thought no one did.

He believed, that I could make anybody a believer as long as I was breathing, and now he is dying on me.

“Noooo!” I was not going to let him die. Even though the life of him was not in my hands. “You can’t die!” I begged him. “You can’t leave me here! Get up!” I screamed cradling his bloody cold body into my sobbing arms.

“Chance!” I called him trying to wake him from wherever he was going. “Chance!” it was no use. My words couldn’t bring him to life again. Neither could any of my sorcery do the trick. This was beyond my ability.

Through the gaping hole in his chest, I knew it was only a matter of short time before his heart (if he had one anymore) would refuse to beat.

Where was his body heat? Where was it?

His breathing instantly stopped.

There wasn’t a single response to indicate that he was okay, or ever coming back.

My insides imploded. I cried holding his limp body, remembering his first visit to my room. Remembering every day we slept in the same bed, the days when we planned on fighting each other in the tournament, and most of all, I remembered the conversation we had about my parents.

That was our last conversation. The one talk I will never forget.

What am I to do without him? When I embrace him now, it is nothing like the warm secure hug he gave me after I told him about how my parents shipped me off.

This guy I cared for, died not ever getting to know how I felt about him. I won’t get to tell him. If only I was strong enough to confess my heart to him when I had the given chance, when I had the multiple opportunities.

All the days he was alive… I had a chance to let him know and I didn’t.

No day is promised to anybody. No matter how special to you they are. Today wasn’t promised to Chance. I took things for granted. Thinking there will always be time to tell him, thinking if I told him his reaction of disgust would hurt my spirit. Out of all those possibilities of getting a bad response from him by telling him how I felt. I would rather deal with that, than deal with him dying and I have to live with what I never said.

I lost my parents. I lost a number of things that were unnamable, and I had lost a friend, a crush, I was developing feelings for.

May my heart go on. May my heart beat on, forever broken by his death, and my untold secrets.

The verse from the song he let me hear in his ear buds played in my head. It was a musical verse that slipped into my head… I mean my heart.

‘They say you grow when you don’t succeed, but it’s so hard to breathe, when no one believes…..in me.’

That was the main verse I heard. It was speaking in musical rhythm with what I was thinking.

My thoughts were ‘No one believes in me’ now that Chance was dead.

“Julius!” a grunting strain, met my ears. Snapping me out of mourning. “I could sure use your help over here, please.” Aaronn said levitating while his fingertips were pressed to the sides of his temples.

How long had Aaronn been fighting? How long had I been crying?

Wiping the tears from my cheeks, I stood watching Aaronn take on the creature by himself. He was doing a great job, but I knew he needed a hand. I knew I couldn’t do much, but I still could do something. I owed this creature’s death to Chance.

“Concussive Force!” Aaronn’s levitating form shouted richly. His white strands of hair were flapping in the power of the winds caused by his attack. If no one believed in me like Chance did, Maybe Aaronn did. “I think I have fought this thing, long enough to give you time to grieve. Now I could really use your greatness.”

I hated to leave Chance’s body lying there, but I had to. The fire ignited in my heart was blown out when he died. Even the small embers that burned on the dirt and grass were now gone without their creator to control them.

The fire died when he passed away.

Aaronn was an extraordinary fighter. His excellent elegance and psychic attacks were dealing the highest amount of damage to this big guy. The creature wasn’t immune to his psychic attacks like it was my sorcery, and Chance’s flames.

A purplish sphere popped out from the forehead of Aaronn. Using his telekinetic ability he guided the purple sphere towards the creature.

“Psionic bomb!” his mind projected another sphere. He sent another mental push to launch the bomb where the creature stood, and with one blink of his violet eyes the bombs detonated.

Blowing the creature into the crusty black building with a loud smash. Lots of clutter that had turned into ash and glass had finally came borrowing downward on his impact. The fire Chance had burned the building with had weakened its stance drastically.

The great saggy, gray building fell inward. Collapsing with heaps of dusty bricks, and the remaining wood, along with glass shattered windows, and other beams that made up the inside, One by one they came toppling down on the creatures body.

It was a battle field of disaster. This place had become nothing more than a warzone.

At that moment we heard something moving and shuffling beneath the fallen pieces of destruction. I heard glass shifting underfoot. The beast was fighting to get out of the mess of debris that Aaronn had buried him under.

Suddenly Aaronn not waiting, sent another one of his bombs over to the clutter of chaos, and blew the creature back under the clutter.

Aaronn was handling the creature well. Better than any of us ever could. Which brings me to wonder, when did he ascend out of the burning school building when I was crying?

I guess I should have known someone was keeping the creature at bay while I cried my eyes out.

“Are you sure you need me Aaronn?” I asked surveying the destructive damage he had did to everything. Even if he didn’t show it, I could see that Chance’s death had brought the obliterating killer out in Aaronn.

“Yes…” he strode to me with his composed stature. “I need you for the final attack I have planned.” He said staring me in the eyes as if he wanted to fix my heart. Instead he just adjusted his cuff links. “We need to combine our powers, and our desires as one. Together we can be two very destructive, cataclysmic forces, that’s unstoppable. Together we can wipe him completely out.”

Aaronn was gripping my shoulders. Pulling me into his glowing violet orbs of eyes. He swallowed me in his presence. It was like the connection we shared was bubbling again. “Are you with me?” he stared at me wanting to know.

“I thought the creature was immune to my sorcery?” I feebly said. I still couldn’t stop thinking about Chance dying. Why did he step in front of that laser?

“Together.” Aaronn kept saying the word like it was the key to survival. “Your power mingled with mine.” he brushed my long black hair behind my ear. “He is not immune. Never have the world witness a strength like our power… So are you with me?”

I was zoning out. It hurt to think about Chance at all. The only way I could probably overcome what is hurting, is by avenging Chance…my flame. “…yes…”

By destroying Markus, and the creature, I will show Chance that his belief in me was not in vain. I will make this creature a believer.

A tear shed for Chance sliding down my face. Aaronn pulled a white handkerchief from his suit pocket, and dabbed my eyes for me. “I’m sorry I keep crying like a baby. I know it must be weir-“

“No need to worry. We all shed tears at times.” Aaronn was delicately whipping my wet face dry with his napkin. “It’s better to let it out than to hold it in, you know?”

When he said that. It made me think of how I never told Chance how I felt about him. “Yeah I get it and you are right about that.” I took the handkerchief from Aaronn, and thanked him. “Now tell me what I need to do to kill this thing. It’s long overdue its death certificate.”

“That’s the Julius I know.” He gracefully smirked. “I say, you cast an enchantment of the greatest magnitude you can think of, and when you have it, let it rip!”

“Okay, and what will you do?” I dabbed my eyelids dry, before thinking of an enchantment I always felt like I was too incapable of casting.

“Don’t worry your head about it. My powers of the mind will create something of great measure to wipe him off the map.” He was talking seductively, while brushing through my strands of hair. His touches were so affectionate. “Oh and I’m sorry for your loss.” He added hugging me with a fragile grip.

“Thanks.” I tried to smile because his gestures were like a gentlemen’s. “So do you feel bad about losing him?” I said pointing at Chance’s cold body lying in the dirt.

“I do feel bad. I do hate that it happened…but then again, I wasn’t a close friend to him like you were. So, forgive me if I don’t cry.” He honestly told me.

After we let our bodies free from the hug. I was ready to cast the enchantment I thought of. This enchantment I never thought or dared to use because of its maximum draining power. I knew this enchantment required an extensive amount of Mystic sorcery.

Without knowing. My fingers began to sparkle with blue glittering tiny lights. I was charging, and channeling the sorcery from my bones and blood. I would need all the power I could get. I drew on great amounts of mystical forces, I let the hurt from Chances death be the ultimate source of energy. I let it become the center of strength. I needed to gather more power.

Hearing the chanting of voices in my head. There was ghostly chants in deep tones, and high pitched tones. Swimming in my head. I closed my eyes drawing strength from all of the women ancestors on my mother’s side, and let them guide my hands to create the devastation I was aiming for.

The winds started to pick up. Drifting at fast currents, then the winds were at an almost harsh speed.

I opened my eyes. My hair flailed wild and black, standing up over my head. It was the correct recipe for the enchantment. I had channeled enough power…Everything was ready.

“Mystic Cyclone!”

At my words, the wind blew from all directions at harsh speeds. Almost knocking Aaronn from his perfect stance. He was barely standing in the severity of cyclonic winds.

There was hurricane force winds, twisting and distorting the entire battlefield. Tossing debris every which way. Dirt particles, planks of wood from the school, bricks, everything was being thrusted by the cycling winds. My anger made this cyclone different from others, this cyclone was a killer all by itself, and it was designed for the purpose of killing that creature.

Aaronn suit was rippling in the winds I created. He gazed upon the massive giant twisted tunnel of winds, in awe as his feet tried to keep him from being the next thing to get snatched by its might.

The core of my body shook with great power. I had out done anything I had ever thought I could do.

Aaronn was attempting to levitate and concentrate on his attack. He had to stop and ground his feet sometimes because his levitation was being interrupted by the swirling cycles of mystic wind pushing him.

“I must say, that was a creative idea!” he compliment above the howling wind. At the same time he was resisting being vacuumed by its strength. He had finally mastered his levitation without being swayed by my wind. “I hope you don’t mind if I borrow your idea.”

Before I could shrug a shoulder. His eyes went into a near trance. Illuminating purple beams shot out from his irises. I could feel him unlocking the many secrets of the mind, to get to his greater psychic abilities.

After a silence of glowing purple eyes and levitation. He broke his meditative concentration.

Looking his purple shining eyes at the already darkening skies. He held his arms out at his sides. “Psychic Cyclone!” He shouted it, and it was already forming. As if the skies and his mind were moving as one.

In moments a drilling tip hit the ground, and a sweeping cyclone the same size as the one I made was before me. Together the sheer power of both cyclonic winds were throwing trees and shaking the sky and the earth.

Aaronn’s cyclone was a purplish color, almost as violet as his eyes. Where as my cyclone, was sparkling with blues of many glittery lights.

The two destructive forces that Aaronn planned for was ready to take action.

The winds had doubled in there ferocity, strength, and speed. I watched debris from the fallen school continuously get yanked into one or the other cyclone. There was the sound of creaking boards as the foundation of the school started to get uplifted and unhinged.

The chaos we created was that critical.

“Julius, on the count of three. We combine our forces together as one.” Aaronn announced with white hair and suit whipping like crazy. He was trying to be heard over the whooshing winds.

“One….Two…Three!”

When we both got to three. We said “MERGE!” simultaneously and in that instant, our cyclones combined into a thicker purplish body of blue sparkling clouds and winds.

The winds were above a category five. They were so strong, I didn’t think controlling it was an option. It had become so strong that it almost broke my arms trying to control it.

I pressed on. Not allowing the pain in my arms or heart to distract my true goal.

Aaronn and I fought to control the mighty winds. Deep down inside we both wanted the other to hold out a little longer, so that the cyclone wouldn’t backfire on us. It was like, if one of us stopped for a second, the winds would twirl in a rapid uncontrollable motion and chase after us.

We did each of our hand motions in sync. Making the cyclone rotate its ultimate power over to where the creature lay. (who was trying to get up from that attack it endured from Aaronn earlier.)

Our winds combined, and abilities as one, the cyclone was unmerciful. Its unreached winds tore the arm limb off the creature at once. Then it aggressively swiveled the creature’s top portion of body from his waist. It wasn’t long before the cyclone had torn him into ribbons and brought his pieces into it’s center of chaos.

We continued to hold the cyclone there. We held it as long as it took for the winds to transform his ribbons into dark crispy crumbs of a million pieces. The creature that once was Markus, was flying back and forth in a circular motion ripping in many directions.

When we thought it was enough we slowed the winds to a calm. Doing synchronized motions to bring the spinning deadly force to a stop.

After disassembling our cyclone, the creature was too disassembled. The pieces of the creature was drifting away with the winds in the distance of everything.

Thinking quickly.I didn’t want this thing to have a happy after life. Because of what it did.

I started drawing the symbol of doom in the air. I let the winds take on the burning symbol. knowing where ever his smithereens are scattered and wherever his after life is, doom shall follow. He will be eternally unhappy, and placed in a tortuous, vile, unhealthy condition.

Being a sorcerer I could do things of that kind.

Markus deserves that for killing Chance…

Speaking of Chance!

I kneeled over his immobile body. It laid there closed off from the world, I was a part of. He was entering in a new stage. He actually left me here to deal with the problems of this world by myself.

Who else would try to listen and understand my circumstances like he did?

Taking one last sight of his body. I held back a fountain of tears. Looking at the ridged, pale, new form his body took on. (Which was totally the opposite of what he was when he was living.) A memory of my fingers tracing his heated soft skin ran through my mind. Little did I know that would be the last time I got the chance to touch him in an intimate way.

looking at him now, I wish I would have did a lot more to peak his interest. I wish I would have tried to advance on him…but it is too late.

I started missing the smaller things then. The things that I would have to live without when I return to Celestial Academy. Like his voice, his fire, his warmth under my covers that kept me cozy in the night, his olive skin, and most of all the friend he always have been to me.

At least he hugged me once. That was after I told him about my parents but I still counted it as something important in my life. His body held mine so close and tight, it was a genuine caring hug he gave.

It was mine. It was the last contact that our bodies shared with each other when he was here.

I already missed him, but I knew these hard feelings were only the beginning of my hurt. Because I would be missing CHANCE for a life time.

I gently planted a kiss on the pale square of his forehead. I looked at his closed eyes wishing I could gaze into his eyes once more. I curled him in my arms. Then with one hand, I slowly started to draw the symbol of ‘After Life’.

I couldn’t let his body stay here. He deserved a proper burial. Since I couldn’t give him a funeral, and I couldn’t bury him in these grounds. I thought sending his body away would be the best.

No ground was good enough to hold this body.

The symbol of the ‘After life’ was drawn on his chest and it blazed in a vibrant soft glow of yellowish gold. It was there in the midst of my sparkling finger tips. My sorcery was even aware of Chance’s death. It too was glimmering in a fascination of twinkles.

My emotions were at their height with this, and the enchantment of the ‘After Life’ was proof of that.

The glow from the symbol soon enveloped Chance’s body in shimmering golden lights. They broke into tiny swindles of golden orbs while other pieces of his body transformed into white petals with pink tips.

It was like watching a parade of gold glitter warped with exotic white petals dancing and floating in the air.

I watched in troublesome heartache, as these beautiful shimmery lights, and petals (which once was his perfect toned body) lift up at the blowing of gentle breezes and take off with the wind.

It was the appropriate way to deal with his death. I wouldn’t leave the one I cared about, body on the ground to rot. He didn’t deserve to rot…he didn’t deserve to die either.

“Julius.” Aaronn wrapped his arms around the back of me. Taking me in a hug from behind. “You did the right thing. I hate that this happened.” He continued startling me. I felt like I was going in and out of a trance while Aaronn was talking.

Aaronn kissed the back of my head. Holding me to give comfort and closure I needed so badly. ‘It’s okay,’ he would keep whispering in my hair. Then he would lay his face on the back of my head and try to hold me to keep me supported.

As I watched the last of Chance’s beautiful particles sway away in the clouds. Aaronn interrupted my works of a funeral. “Julius, you handled that well. I’m sure that’s how Chance would have wanted his ending to be.” he paused for a minute. “…but…we need to get back to the Academy.” He reminded in a calm unrushed breath.

Considering his words I broke free from his hug. Since there was nothing left of Chance here, I might as well get away from this place.

I used the remainder of my sorcery to cast the teleportation enchantment. As we were sucked through the lights of swirling matter.

I kept thinking: How was I going to live with myself? How many nights can I take without him?

I travelled this same tunnel of light with Chance to get to this crazy mission and now I was going home without him. I kept looking back as I was being pulled through the purplish, swirl of illuminating body of stars and colors.

I kept feeling like I was forgetting something at the place we were leaving. I kept feeling like I had left something behind. I kept thinking that I was walking out of this mission empty handed.

The sad part is: I ‘was’ forgetting something… or someone. I was leaving something behind, and I was walking out of this mission empty handed. Those were my scary truths.