by Daise, Sonny
We got out of the water a little ways away from the crowd, if Debby saw us as ghosts, she would know that it was over, and I wasn’t ready for that yet.
I saw Cooper, Lily, and the rest of them walking toward the edge of the lake, about thirty feet away from everyone else.
“Dante said they pushed her into the water in a cage,” Lily said. “Look.” She pointed to the chain attached to a tree that led down under the water.
“We can’t waste any more time,” Jackson said as he dove into the water, swimming in the direction of the cage. Cooper ran after him and jumped in as well.
No more than two minutes later, they swam back. Jackson was carrying my body, and Cooper had Dante’s.
They dragged us out and onto the grass; thankfully, they were hidden by a cluster of bushes. Cooper stood over both of us, putting a hand on each of our chests, but nothing happened.
“It’s not working,” Cooper panicked. “They’re already dead.”
“What are we going to do?” I cried.
“I don’t know, whatever ghosts do, I guess,” Dante sighed.
“No, this can’t be happening. We need to do something,” I protested.
“There’s nothing we can do Scarlett. We’re dead. It’s over… I’m sorry I let you down.”
I looked over toward the Alliance, and in the bushes, I saw Annabelle.
“What’s Annabelle doing here?” I asked.
“I stopped really fast on the way back to tell her where we were. I shouldn’t have, but I figured we would need everyone here, now it doesn’t really matter.”
“Of course it matters; they’re still in danger,” I objected.
“We still need to take down the Alliance,” Grace said after a long moment of silence on their end. “For Scarlett and Dante. I’ve been having some weird dreams lately. They’re dreams of what Scarlett lived through. I really feel like me and her were best friends and Dante, too.”
“Yeah,” Cooper agreed. “I had a dream the other night too; it was weird to say the least,” he cringed. “But she’s right; we need to do this for them.”
“Grace, you can paralyze people, right?” Lily asked.
“Yeah,” she answered.
“How many people at once?”
“I don’t know, let me try something.” She peeked over the bushes, squinted her eyes and everyone fell to the ground. “A lot of people,” she smiled a crooked smile.
“Okay, I’m going to duplicate myself. I’ll grab all of their necklaces and put them around their own necks. Jackson, I’m going to need you to watch my back; your strength will come in handy.”
“Will do,” he answered.
“Cooper, make sure if anyone gets hurt that you’re right there, okay?” He nodded.
“I can move things with my mind,” Annabelle said as she came out of hiding. “I’m Annabelle, and I was friends with Dante and Scarlett. I’ve had the same dreams that you have, and I know they’re real.”
“Okay, that could come to use, stay alert, alright?” Lily said, and Annabelle nodded.
“Rachel,” she said, finally. “You can burn people with a single touch, so like Jackson, I’ll need you to be ready to help someone out if they need it.”
“Okay,” she answered.
“Is everyone ready?” Lily asked.
“Yes,” they all said quietly. Everyone but Rose, who was sitting about ten feet away rocking back and forth.
“Allison, will you stay here and keep Rose company?” Lily asked
Grace kept her gaze fixed on the crowd, while they lay there motionless. Lily duplicated herself five times and ran around taking everyone’s necklaces and putting them around their necks. I walked over to my body and touched my hand; I felt a spark and then my hand seemed to sink into itself. I lay down on top of myself and felt a million little sparks, but slowly, I began sinking in.
“Dante, I think it’s working, just do what I’m doing,” I urged.
“Okay,” he said as he lay down.
A few seconds later, I was back. I opened my eyes, but before I had a chance to look around, I stared choking. I could hear Dante next to me, coughing up water as well. Allison and Rose ran over to us and when I could breathe again, I crawled over to Dante.
“Now there’s only one thing that needs to be done. I need to make all of them forget.”
I ran out with Dante by my side; everyone looked over with their mouths open wide. I ran into the crowd, there was no time to waste. I touched every person’s forehead, making all of them forget. I didn’t know what they would think when they got up, but I knew it would be nothing close to what had actually went on.
By the time we made it through the entire crowd, it was starting to get dark. We found a box and put all of the necklaces inside. We went to leave, but there was still something I needed to do.
I walked over to Debby, took the knife out of her pocket and stuck it into her chest. After a few moments, nothing was left. It wasn’t like the other times I killed someone, no matter how evil they were, I always felt awful, but this wasn’t the same. I had no sorrow in my heart as we walked away from the beach, only joy and a few new friends. Life was good.
Chapter 11: Three Months Later
If I could ever wish that my life was a certain way, it would be this. I wouldn’t have even known what perfect could be a few months ago. A lot has happened since we took down the Alliance. Their neighborhood was an awful place for such a long time, but with a little imagination and help from some amazing friends, it has become a wonderful place. Not a single person from the Alliance remains there. They all went off and did whatever it was that they dreamed before greed, and power took over.
I found my mother. Rose and I are now happily living with her, and it’s as if we were never separated in the first place. She tried to explain her complicated reasons for giving us up, but it’s all in the past, and she was so happy to have been reunited with us.
There was a beautiful house on the shore of the lake, it may have been where Dante and I almost died—or rather, did die for a few minutes— but there was no trace of the evil that happened there, and I now called it home.
Dante lived next door, a little ways down the beach. Annabelle and her family moved into the neighborhood a few blocks away.
Cooper and Lily took me to see Elizabeth after everything was over and with a few heart-to-hearts, she realized there is only one man in this world that she loved—George. Even though their house was special, they both agreed that they could use a change of scenery, and now they live right across the street. We took some of the dirt from their old house and spread it out around the neighborhood—just in case.
Grace convinced her mom to move here, too. Her mom didn’t really care one way or the other because she was never home anyway.
Jackson and Rachel both moved into houses in the neighborhood as well, and so did Allison, who was now with Cooper.
Word got around about the Alliance, and people with powers were just dying to get a house in the neighborhood, and a lot of them did. A few of the houses remain empty, for guests or people who need a place to stay.
I had no idea with everything that happened, that I could ever be this happy. There is absolutely nothing about this life that I would change. I still have such a vivid picture of when we set all of the prisoners free, they cried tears of joy and hugged. We had people from around the world going to neighborhoods in their area and setting everyone free. It couldn’t have ended any better. All of that is over now, and people can breathe again for the first time in a long time.
I lay in bed, looking out my window at the calm water. The sun was setting, and it would be dark soon. Rose and I had the option of sharing a room, but decided against it. We spent a lot of time together, but sometimes it was nice to have your own space to go to.
I lay back, thinking about how wonderful everything is now. I have the greatest mom in the world, though she does have a lot of rules, she’s only being protective and making up f
or the years she lost.
I heard a tap on the window and then another. I got up to look outside; it was Dante. My heart skipped a beat. I thought for a moment about just telling Mom that I was leaving, then I realized I had some normal teenage daughter rebellion to make up for myself. Even though it wasn’t really rebellious, I had never snuck out before, and it seemed like fun.
“Hey, beautiful,” he said as I climbed down.
“Hey,” I smiled as I turned toward him.
“Every time I see you, I swear you look even better than the last,” he whispered.
“Well, that’s just not possible remember?” I laughed.
Oh yeah, and one more thing, I was told what seems like a long time ago, that when someone takes over someone else’s body, they don’t change. They don’t age; they just stay exactly the way they were—forever. Well, apparently, it doesn’t really matter if it’s someone else’s body or your own the same rules apply.
“Well, that’s just opinion and we have a long time to argue about that.”
“Forever,” I whispered.
“And ever,” he continued, as he put his arms around my waist.
###
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Chapter 1: Anniversary
It had been one year since the fall of the Alliance. One year since Dante and I became a couple. One heavenly year, where Dante and I took things slowly, and learned things about each other we’d never thought to ask before. A year full of sacrifice and happiness. A year full of celebration and a little bit of regret, but the only thing that mattered, was that we were all here. It had been one whole year without the bother of peoples’ greediness, without the fear of being chased.
I had to admit, it was perfect. Perfection wasn’t being without flaws. It wasn’t steering clear of any issues that couldn’t be resolved. But it was learning to accept the little things and the obstacles that stood in your way, because if you never learn to look past—and get past—those things, you never learn what perfection can really be.
There was not one day in this last year that went by without problems, but there was also not a single day that I couldn’t see every reason I had to be happy. I was lucky. I felt like the luckiest girl in the world, but I that didn’t stop me from feeling like at any moment it could all come crashing down. I didn’t want to think that way, but I also didn’t want it to be a huge surprise if and when things did go wrong.
I turned toward the mirror. My long red hair flowed in even curls down to my waist. I was wearing a bright-orange blouse and a pair of jean shorts. Most days, I didn’t bother with makeup, but it was a special occasion, and I wanted to look my best.
I waited for Dante to arrive. I craned my head and looked out the window. It didn’t look like he was coming yet. I grabbed the small wrapped box from under my bed and readjusted the bow. Then, I grabbed my orange flip-flops and went downstairs. By the time I got down, the doorbell rang.
I opened the door and stared into his eyes. Just seeing his face was like a jolt to my heart. He stood there smiling, he didn’t say a word—he just let me soak in his perfection.
“Are you ready?” he asked, after my eyes wandered to the perfect blue sky above.
“Yes,” I answered.
He grabbed my hand and led me to the car.
He drove a little ways and then stopped, right in the middle of nowhere. He got out of the car and then, went to get something out of the back. It was a blanket and a picnic basket.
We walked about half a mile into the woods before I started wondering where we were going. I’d seen at least five places where we could have set the blanket. He stopped for a moment, scratching his head.
“Okay, I think we go this way. It’s only a little bit farther; I know it.”
We walked on a path that went downhill. The sun shined through the leaves, and it started getting brighter. The trees spaced out more and more the farther we walked. Finally, we reached the spot Dante had been looking for. I knew before he said anything, it was beautiful. There were wild flowers strewn through the grass, and a tiny river ran right through the middle of the sun-drenched meadow. We set the blanket about a foot away from the stream, and sat down.
“This is beautiful, when did you find this place?” I wondered.
“Oh, I was looking for an amazing spot to take you the other day,” he answered.
“Well, it’s amazing.”
He opened the picnic basket and set out the food. Once it was all out, he pulled out one more thing. It was a tiny box, wrapped in teal paper with a tiny pink bow on top. That’s when I realized that I had been holding onto his present the entire time. We exchanged the boxes and opened them together. Inside the box, was a beautiful charm bracelet, each charm was unique.
“Thank you,” I said. I looked over at him, and he was putting on the watch that I’d given him.
“Thank you,” he repeated.
“You’re welcome,” I said as I looked at the intricate detail on each charm.
I fidgeted with the bracelet as I admired it. I thought today would be a great day. A day where I would forget all of the things I had speculated about, but still I could tell he was hiding something from me.
“What’s on your mind?” he asked, staring into my eyes.
“Nothing,” I said with little conviction. “What time is it?”
“Almost three, why?”
“I have to be somewhere around five.”
“Where?” he asked.
“It’s nothing really, kind of an appointment.”
“Oh, okay,” he sighed.
“Look, it’s nothing really. I just promised to help someone with… something,” I explained.
“Okay, I’ll have you back to your house by four thirty.”
“Thank you,” I smiled.
It wasn’t that I needed to keep this secret from Dante, but I knew that if I told him, he wouldn’t approve or worse—he would worry and follow me there.
We sat bathing in the sunlight next to the river. I sat in front of Dante, and leaned up against his chest. I slid over one way, so that I could look up at him. He smiled, but he almost looked sad.
“What’s wrong?” I wondered.
“I just love you so much, you know that, right?”
“I love you, too,” I said as I straightened up and turned toward him. “Is everything alright?”
“Fine,” he mumbled.
It seemed as though only moments had passed, when Dante got up.
“What are you doing?” I asked.
“Packing up, it’s almost four thirty.”
“Already?” I groaned.
“Well, you don’t have to go if you don’t want to,” he said in an almost pleading manor.
“No, I have to. I’m sorry. We’ll have to come back here though.”
The walk back to the car seemed to take less time. Dante knew where he was without a doubt now. It was like he was rushing. He wanted to know the details, but was trying as hard as he could not to ask.
He raced down the narrow dirt road all the way back to our neighborhood. I still felt a haunting presence there, like this was a place where only evil could truly flourish. I shook it out of my mind for the moment. I’d had too many long nights where I never found sleep, to think about all of this. Now was not the time.
Dante stopped the car right in front of the house, almost hitting a giant plant pot in the process. He got out of the car, walked me up to the door, and kissed me on the forehead. He stopped and stared into my eyes. It was as if he was trying to figure out on his own, if I was up to no good. He sighed and then walked away.
I stood there watching him until he made it home. Then, I went into the house. Vio
let was waiting at the table, reading the newspaper. She stopped, set it down and looked up at me.
“What’s wrong?” she asked.
“Nothing, but I need to hurry up and get ready, there’s somewhere I need to be.”
She picked up the newspaper and continued reading. I was glad that for once, she didn’t have fifty questions to ask me.
I marched upstairs to put on something a little more—intimidating. I chose an all-black outfit. I grabbed my sunglasses and threw them in my purse. Then, I ran down the stairs and out the door, without a word. I jumped in the car and began driving toward my destination.
