December 21st 2022 7:00 A.M.

“We need to hurry and find everything for the demon before he comes out of the Void to have vengeance on us.” Malachi said. “We need to find him a home, a friend, and a family.”

“I don’t know how we will do that unless we give ourselves up as friends and family and let him leave the Void.” Oli said. “We cannot afford to do that either, we have lives to live, people to raise, people to help.  The list goes on and on.”

“Hmmm,” Malachi said as he looked at her. “You may be on to something.  Maybe we should actually do that.  Maybe it would make himself vulnerable and give us the tactical advantage.  That’s also a good point.  We can’t do anything for others if we are stuck in the Void or dead.”

“We are going to give ourselves over to him just to satisfy his wishes?  He is a demon!” I said.  I shook my head because I couldn’t believe that they would do that.  We would give ourselves up to a demon.  Ridiculous.  He would kill all of us.  None of us would live through that!

“Hear me out, Tarik,” Malachi said sharply, “We go back to the Void and say that we hand ourselves over and then he releases us from our contract and we can leave whenever he is distracted.”

“I think that sounds like the best idea we have but I also believe that we should at least go look for something for the demon so that we did not fully disregard the contract.” Oli said.

“That sounds better to me.  First we look for something, then we go into the Void to set ourselves free.” I said.  “I like it.  Short and sweet!”

“I just worry about the demon; what if he knows about our plan?  What will we do?” Malachi said. “I don’t have any plan other than the one that we already have.”

“We improvise.” I said. “We need to hurry.  Zalworg never gave us a time.  We need to hurry just in case he sets a time limit.”

Oli looked frightened for the first time since we had seen her. “I can’t go back there without everything.  I can’t.  He will kill me or….use me again.  I can’t clean the whole Void again for him, it took me years the last time he had me do it.”

“He had you clean the whole expanse of the Void?  I helped you create that, there is no way he did that.” I said. “You couldn’t have even done it that fast.”

“Well, he did.” She replied sharply as if irritated at how I didn’t believe her. “I got stuck in there cleaning for him for years.  Don’t forget, I helped create it, I can clean it fast too.”

“Let’s go.  We should probably stop by Savanna’s house first.  We will need the Magyk of Earth with us if we are to get back fast.” Malachi said.

“Fair enough” Oli and I replied at the same time.

“You all stay safe okay?” Jenna said. “Come back if you need me.  Don’t hesitate to come back if you need me, I'm serious.”

“Okay, okay, okay!”I laughed as I hugged her.

“Love you guys,” Tasha, Maya, and Victoria all said.

“Please come back soon,” Monte said.

“We love you all too,” I said, “And we will be going as fast as we can.”

I hugged Tasha and whispered to her, “Keep everyone safe.  You know what to do.”

She nodded.

“Alright then.  Let’s go guys.” I said.

We left the house with one last wave to everyone inside before we started walking towards Savanna’s house.  It was right next to mine so we didn’t have to walk very far.  The sky was still very dark and polluted by the school.

“I hate them.  I hate them for what they have done to us.” I said.

“Don’t we all?” Malachi responded, “They have completely ruined our lives for most likely not even the last time!  We can do nothing to get back at them and so we are stuck here not knowing what to do next.”

“We must have patience,” Oli said. “Talking like this is what causes these wars to happen.”

I paused for a second and breathed in deeply, my eyes flashing blue, “So, then you have to say that we need patience for those who have caused,” I waved my arms around, “all of this?”

“I didn’t say that.  I believe that to solve problems, we must have patience.” Oli said as she pointed at a dead flower. “You see that dead flower?  Yes, I will bring it back to life.”

The flower slowly started growing taller and taller, it was a rose.  Its petals were huge and there was a large thorn on its now green stem.

“You see?” She smiled, “All you need is a little patience.”

“Hmm.” I frowned at her.  She was doing Magyk in the middle of the street without a thought about who could be watching us.  I looked around as if to find someone but I saw nothing.

I still kept thinking to myself about all the people we lost today.  I can’t imagine how their families must be feeling right now but it can’t be good. “Why do you think they did it again?”

“Did what again?” Malachi asked.

“Attacked us of course.” I responded.

“Same as always, they wanted to.” Oli yelled over to us.

“What do you mean, they wanted to?” Malachi asked her.

“They hate us.  The Non-Magykal people hate us.” Oli retorted.

“I know that, but why do they hate us?” Malachi asked.

Oli started to speak before Malachi interrupted her, “I get it.  I get it.  They hate us for no reason, is that right?  I’m sorry, I’m trying my best here, you know.”

Oli nodded, “I know.”

***

I watched Tarik as he walked down the street before picking my Rose and running after him.  I ran along the road before and enjoyed the scenery while it lasted.  I had no idea what was ahead of us but I knew that it couldn’t be good.  We were all having a good chance at death but that was not our goal.  Our goal was not to destroy the earth but to save it from the ChaosMagyk doers.  However it went, I wouldn’t go down without a fight.

I was rather upset that Tarik had yelled at me but he had a good point.  I shouldn’t have done Magyk where anyone else could see me.  The sky was starting to clear and some blue was showing through.  The clouds all appeared to be an ash color as they were all polluted with the smoke from the school.  I still don’t really know what happened but I am doing my best to figure it all out.

I had come from a family, with Malachi as my brother and Josephine as my sister.  They are both younger than me, but I seem to be the younger one now.  The Void evidently stopped me from aging so now I look even younger than Malachi.  I am kind of upset about that because now I will no longer be known as the oldest, but that is now completely out of my control.

I was fine until I got trapped in the Void and I thought, left for dead.  Truth is, they didn’t even know that I was in there which made them more upset than before because then they figured out that they were the ones who put me in there.

They were obviously upset that they had done so but there was nothing they could do.  I was stuck there and that was that.  They did nothing wrong, they just tried to save the world.  They just accidentally put the wrong person into the prison.  I walked along the dark road as more of the sky was beginning to show.  I guess that the school must not be smoking as much anymore.

They seem to be lost in their own worlds, my brother and Tarik.  They seem like they are in a dream, not reality.  They seem like if they died, they would come back to life.  They seem so….carefree.  I wish I could be like that, like my little brother, Malachi.

Malachi is so tall now, how long was I in the Void?  He looks so much more grown up than I do now.  The way he just talks is so much more grown up than before.  I really wish I had been able to be there for him as he grew up and had been able to watch as he grew.

I watched him as he walked.  He was just so grown up, it showed in the way he walked, talked, and even smiled.  He is so big now.  Like I am his older sister and yet, he looks years older than me.  Where has the time gone?  What has happened to me?  Will I ever get that time back?  Will I feel like I belong once I get back home?  Will I?

I was sad, I had lost time with him and my sister.  It was because of a simple mistake but I could be unhappy about it.  I just wasn’t about to go and want revenge.  I was out of the Void and that is what mattered.  I can finally have the freedom that I have dreamed about for years now.  That freedom….it’s finally mine!

I could finally have my brother back.  I couldn’t believe it and started to break down.  I was so overjoyed to see him again but I felt like he did not feel the same way about me.  That just made me so sad.  I had loved him forever and now I feel like he has moved farther and farther away from me since I got out of the Void.  I feel like he has grown up too much and realized that his big sister is no longer important.

They both look back at me before walking back towards me.  I walk forward until I reach them.  I moved alongside my brother before I said, “Can I talk to you for a minute?  I really need to talk to you, it’s important for my well-being.”

He looked at me weirdly but said, “Of course.  What is it?”  As we walked away from him, Tarik waited patiently on the other side of the street. “What’s the matter, Oli?”

“Did you ever think of me?  You know, whenever I was in the Void?” I asked. “Did you ever miss me?” I looked up at him.  “Did anyone ever miss me or even think about me?  I missed you so much and could never stop thinking about you, but did you guys all feel the same way?  Or was it just me?”

Malachi looked up at the sky where some blue was starting to show through, “Every day.  Not a day went by that I didn’t think of you at least once.  I missed you so much.”

I felt a pain in my chest, so they had cared.  I looked over at him and started to cry as I said, “I was stuck there, with Zalworg, for years.  Not a day went by that I didn’t think about you either.  I was always thinking about you, sad that I wouldn’t be able to see you grow up.  I care about you guys so much and I couldn’t stop thinking about you.  I always saw your face, smile, Josephine’s crinkled eyes as she smiled.  I remembered it all.  Yet I couldn’t actually see you and that killed me inside.”

Malachi looked at me.  He wrapped his arms around me and I felt him shaking. “I didn’t know.  I didn’t know.  I couldn’t stop thinking about you.  I know I said at least once a day.  It was all day every day.  You have always been there for me and I have always been there for you.  I missed you so much, I missed you telling me to make sure I got all my homework done, telling me to tie my shoes in the morning because I would forget, telling me to eat because I wouldn’t unless you told me.” Malachi laughed, “Thank the Lord I got over that.  I might very well not be here if I hadn’t.”

I sat there, stunned at how much influence I had over Malachi’s life.  I was struggling to speak but Malachi said, “You don’t need to say anything.  I know how much you wanted to be with all of us again and how we took that from you.  I will never forget what we did to you.  How could I?  You are my sister.  We put you in there and we need to make amends.  We need to feel what it was like to be stuck in there like you.”

“I couldn’t ever forget about you brother.  I will never forget about anyone.  I never forget what anyone does to me either.  No matter what they have done, I will always forgive them.  That is true for you as well.”

Malachi leaned back as he watched me speak.  I could tell how much he loved me and how much he had really missed me.  I could tell that it was a lot.  He couldn’t stop watching me as I said, “I am so glad I am back.  I have you and Josephine again!”

He couldn’t stop laughing and crying as I moved to hug him again.  He was shaking so much, I couldn’t believe it.  I was surprised by the revelation that I meant so much to him.  It made me happy but what was I supposed to do now?  I was trying to make him calm down but he was so happy and upset at the same time that he was not listening to reason.

“I can’t believe, I have you back,” Malachi cried softly.

***

We all started walking again.

“Are you guys okay?” I asked them.

“Yes.  We are together again.” Oli said. “Thank the Lord for that.”

“If you hadn’t been found in the Void this would never have happened right now and you would still be stuck in there.” Malachi said.

“I know, for which I am very thankful.” Oli replied.

Before this, I had not seen Malachi so happy in years.  Everything went downhill for him whenever Oli disappeared.  He became more depressed all of the time, he wouldn’t just sit still or he would sit so still that we all thought he was dead.  He got to the point where I had to become his therapist because he was so bad.

Malachi reached over towards me to whisper something, “We need to make sure that she is really my sister before we allow her back in the house or anywhere again.  Do what you did with Tasha and search her memories.”

I stared at him in alarm.  This was his sister we are talking about.  I couldn’t believe how Malachi was acting right now.

“I will not!” I said disobliging his request.

Malachi looked at me in absolute anger.  I was kind of worried because he looked like he was going to explode on me but Oli reached out to him before that could happen.

“Is everything okay?” Oli asked.

“Yes.  Let’s just hurry on.” I replied.

“Now hold on a minute, Tarik.” Oli said. “If everything is just fine, then why are you and my brother yelling at each other?”

“I said that I don’t know if you are really my sister or a clone.  I just don’t know.” Malachi said. “I have had no clues whatsoever as to whether you are or are not so that is why.”

Oli looked at Malachi with a hurt expression as she said, “So that means you don’t trust me then?”

“It’s not that I don’t trust you, Oli.  It’s that I don’t know who to trust or how something might end up turning out to be malicious instead of helpful, you know?”

“Oh, I know that, Malachi.” Oli said in a malicious tone.  Malachi backed off for a second before loudly retorting, “Well, of course you would know all about that, master of lies!”

“Like you can talk, Malachi.  You have been a master of lies since you met Tarik here!” Oli gestured at me. “Liking Mirabel….give me a break!”

Malachi turned red very quickly, “What exactly are you implying, sister?”

“I think you just said something you didn’t mean is all.  I don’t think you really mean all of what you said.  You are so happy to see me and I you, so there is no way that you meant all of that.” Oli replied.

Malachi turned even more red at that, “Ugh, everyone keeps figuring me out and that is so frustrating.”

“No, it just means that we understand you.” Oli replied.

“Hmm, I don’t know if I believe that or not.” Malachi told her, “I have been told that before and they didn’t mean it.”

“Who is this…they?  Let me yell at them for treating my brother unacceptably.” Oli said.

“I…can’t tell you.  Wait, you would do that for me?” Malachi asked skeptically.

“Of course!  You are my brother and I will protect you in any way that I can!” Oli replied.

“I love all of the love and all but can we please go to Savanna already?” I asked them impatiently.

“Of course we can!” Oli and Malachi both said at the same time.

I looked at them in surprise before remembering that they are siblings and finish their arguments pretty fast most of the time.  I was surprised with how fast it had come and gone but in reality, I didn’t need to be surprised at all.

“Alright then!  Let’s get going!” I exclaimed.

“Yeah!” Malachi and Oli both yelled back.

We continued walking until we got to Savanna’s house and knocked on her door.