Chapter XIX

Damien Clark stared dumbstruck as Evan frantically struggled against the invisible ropes binding him to the wall. Rina and Brad were gazing at the scene in panic, and he could tell that they wanted to intervene, but were still struggling to process what was happening. Despite having been told that Eric could use magic, he hadn’t actually seen him do it, and he found himself having trouble accepting that this was reality. He had been best friends with Eric Reiner ever since middle school so to find out how little he actually knew about him made him realize how poor of a friend he had been.

Eric’s always been there for me—ever since we met, he’s been somebody I can rely on. He’s always listened when I needed to talk, and when I was in trouble, he was there. He did everything he could to help Liz and I back in January. I owe him so much, but…now I’m realizing that I never did the same for him. I knew very little about his father, mother, and his own struggles. And now…to see him using magic like this…

Eric’s features were strained and tears were streaming down his cheeks. Even after three days had passed, he still didn’t believe they could stand up against Nigreos Noctis. He truly believed they were all going to die.

Damien exhaled softly then took a step forward. “Eric, you’ve made your point. Let him go.”

His old friend slowly looked back at him then nodded softly. “Prohi.”

With the utterance of that one word, the invisible bindings released Evan and the boy collapsed to the ground, gasping for breath, his hands clutching at his chest.

Damien clenched his teeth and regarded Evan with a look of disgust. “You see, Wright?” he growled. “Don’t get so cocky. We’ve got plenty of secrets, but Eric isn’t lying. Something is coming after us and it already has Alice and Jay…and if we don’t do something, it will wipe out every single person in this room. If you don’t want that, then listen to us.”

Evan coughed a few more times and turned a furious look his way. “Fuck you! I’m sick of this! I stayed away from you so just leave me alone! I want no part in this!”

“I’m sorry, but you don’t have a choice anymore!” Damien snarled. “You’ve touched the stone and so you’re marked by this guy and he will come after you! No matter what you do, you can’t escape it! Eric might disagree, but I do believe his magic is our best shot at fighting back! If you walk away, you’re as good as dead!”

“So?!” Evan jumped to his feet, his fists clenched at his sides.

Damien instantly tensed up, prepared to defend himself should the need arise. But the other boy didn’t take any steps toward him. He stayed in place, red in the face as he shouted.

“I never asked for this! I never wanted to touch your fucking stone! If what you’re saying is true then it’s your fault! You pieces of shit are going to get me killed! I don’t want this! I don’t want anything to do with you! How many times do I have to say it?!”

“I understand that!” Damien retorted sharply. “But you made a choice to go after Alice and these are the unfortunate consequences! But I don’t think Eric’s right! I don’t think it’s hopeless yet! We can fight this, but you can’t on your own! Whether you like it or not, you need us!”

Evan shook his head. “I don’t! I don’t believe anything you’re saying anyway, and I’m not about to be the victim of some fucked up prank! I don’t care!”

With that, the boy turned on his heel and began to stalk from the room.

“Wright, wait!”

“Evan, hold on a second!”

Eric and Brad both called out to them, but he simply flipped them off, swung the door open, and stormed out into the hall.

“Fucking hell,” Brad muttered under his breath He then glanced around the room, seeming to be still trying to take everything in. “Look, I have to go after him, but…I still have a million more questions—especially for you, Reiner.”

Eric nodded weakly. “Understandable.”

“I don’t think you’re lying,” the bigger boy went on. “But it’s a lot to take in. I’ll be careful tonight and then we can talk in the morning. Is that okay?”

“Yeah, it’s fine,” Lilly replied when Eric didn’t immediately speak. “Take care, Brad.”

“You, too, Lilly.”

Brad smiled weakly then turned and left the room in pursuit of Evan. Damien watched him leave, then glanced over at the last one still present outside of the club, as did the rest of the members. Rina was gazing blankly at the ground, her face pale and her hands trembling.

“Davens?” Eric called out. “I’m sorry. I could have handled this better, but—”

“Tell me something, Reiner,” she interrupted, raising her head to stare directly at Eric. “Jay and Alice…they really are being kept hostage by this guy? You aren’t making this up.”

“Yes,” he replied. “I am not making this up. Alice and Jay are with him and he’s going to kill them if we don’t turn ourselves in. They’re still alive for now, as far as we know, but I don’t know what to do. He said we have until Monday to make our decision.”

Rina winced. “Three more days? That’s…not a lot of time.”

“So?” Lilly prompted, seeming thrown odd by the girl’s apparent acceptance of the situation. “Where do you stand in all of this?”

“I…don’t know,” Rina murmured. “I think, like Brad, I need to think about it. But…if Alice and Jay are in trouble, then I don’t have a choice. After how I left things off with them, I have to make everything right one way or another. I can’t do that if they’ve been…” She swallowed, seeming to decide to prevent that train of thought from continuing. “Well, I want them to be safe.”

A look of relief passed over Eric’s face. “Thank you, Davens. And I’m sorry. Like with Wright, this is our fault. We used the stone on you without permission. You shouldn’t have to suffer this.”

Rina quickly shook her head. “No…I would have been involved regardless because of Jay and Alice. But…for now, I think I’m going after Evan as well. There’s some things I need to talk to him about.”

“Yeah, okay,” Eric said. “Thanks for hearing us out. I appreciate it.”

She then bid them goodbye and followed in the footsteps of Brad and Evan, leaving the club members left alone once again. Damien sighed and plopped himself down onto the surface of a nearby desk. Liz moved to sit on the one beside him and wordlessly grabbed his hand, a simple gesture that he appreciated more than he’d be able to articulate. Eric instantly started pacing and Lilly remained where she was.

“Well, I think that could have gone worse,” Liz said, breaking the silence. “I expected Wright to blow us off, but the fact that Brad and Rina listened is a good sign. If anything, maybe we can at least keep them safe.”

Eric stopped pacing and glanced sidelong at her. “I suppose so…but I still don’t know if we made the right choice telling them at all. I fail to see what this accomplishes. It’s not like knowing anything will make them any safer against Nigreos.”

“I disagree,” Damien replied. “Just because this man is powerful doesn’t mean he isn’t human. After all, your mother was from this Ijiria, too, and she was just as human as the rest of us. He can make mistakes and we can outwit him. If Rina, Evan, and Brad are all aware that they’re in danger, perhaps they can better avoid stumbling upon him like it seems Mickelson and Alice might have.”

Liz nodded her agreement. “And anyway, their lives are at stake. They deserve to know. They deserve to choose what to do.”

“Perhaps…” Eric uttered, turning his gaze toward the door. “Anyway, I think I’m gonna head home. There’s no point in sticking around.”

Damien shook his head, but didn’t protest as his old friend collected his things and departed the room with only a half-hearted goodbye. He’d given up on trying to get through to him. Eric had essentially canceled all club activities indefinitely and hadn’t stuck around after school longer than necessary for the whole week. The three of them had attempted to get him to stay all three days, but he refused. He always left and Damien thought he knew what he was up to.

He’s looking for him, Damien thought. I know he is. Eric might think it's hopeless now, but he’s going to keep trying to find a way to save us until his last breath. But I know how he is. He won’t want to burden us…so he’ll keep carrying this weight alone until it crushes him. That’s what he’s been doing for years. He never talked about his family, choosing to deal with it alone, while simultaneously trying to help everybody around him.

He sighed. Why, Eric? Why do you think you’re the only one who doesn’t need help?

“So, what now?” Liz asked softly. “We have three days left until we either give ourselves up or Alice and Jay die. We already wasted all this time trying to decide whether to tell them or not, so what can we even do now?”

Damien shrugged. “Dunno.” He then glanced back at Lilly. “How’s Natalie, by the way?”

“She’s fine.” Lilly’s features tightened in obvious fear. “I keep checking in with her, but it doesn’t look like Nigreos has made any attempts to go after her. I’m babysitting her tomorrow so I’ll be able to keep a closer watch on her.”

He relaxed his body a bit at the moderately good news.

I’m glad Natalie’s still safe. She’s the one I’m most worried about. She won’t understand what’s going on and she’ll have the hardest time protecting herself…and with all Nigreos has done so far, I wouldn’t put it past him to kill a little girl if it’s for whatever law he’s following.

“Well, that’s good,” he mumbled. “Hopefully…we can sort this all out before she even knows what’s happening.”

“I guess,” Lilly whispered. Then, she clenched her teeth and glanced up at him. “I just wish…I hadn’t used the stone on her that day. I wish I’d just kept to my initial instinct. I told myself that it wasn’t smart to use the stone on her because we didn’t know much about it. If I’d just listened to my gut, Natalie wouldn’t be in danger right now!” Tears were forming in her eyes and she was trembling, though with anger or fear, he wasn’t certain. “Hell, the same goes for Brad! If I hadn’t used the stone for something as stupid as a test, he would be safe!”

Damien could see how torn up she was, though he had suspected something along these lines. Whether she would admit it or not, Lilly wasn’t the coldhearted person she used to portray herself as. She was caring and wanted those around her to be happy. He was certain it was those qualities that drew Lilly and Eric together in the first place. Every time they used the stone, it was to help people, so for them to find out that using it had put everybody’s lives at risk, he couldn’t imagine what that was doing to them. He wanted to reach out and help them, but he didn’t know what he could do. So, he decided to simply speak his mind.

“Maybe,” he admitted. “But you didn’t know that at the time. You wanted to help Brad and Natalie and I think that’s something to be proud of. Because of you, Brad’s become a better student and Natalie was able to see the sunset.”

Lilly shook her head bitterly. “But what does it matter? Who cares if they’re dead, Damien?”

“You should,” he replied sharply. “Because you were trying to do some good! The gem might have marked them, but you can’t forget why you did what you did! You wanted them to be happy!”

“And now they’re going to be dead!” she snarled, now crying freely. “Who cares how happy they were in the past if that happiness shortened their lives! I appreciate you trying to make me feel better, Damien, I really do! But you know as well as I do that if I hadn’t meddled in their lives with something I didn’t understand…if I had just listened to you, Brad and Natalie would be safe! You were right!”

He cringed as, like Eric had, she threw his words back in his face.

“You should be furious with us,” Lilly went on quietly, as if all her energy had been used up. “You should hate us. Because we ignored you, we’re all gonna die.”

“I could never hate any of you,” he snapped. “And don’t you dare think otherwise! Sure, you guys didn’t listen to me, but that’s in the past now! What’s done is done and I’m sure as hell not going to roll over and die!”

The girl slowly lowered her head and stared at the ground in silence for a moment. “We probably don’t have a choice,” she muttered. Then, before he could say anything further, she scooped up her bag from where it lay at her feet. “I’m going home, too. I’ll see you guys tomorrow.”

“Lilly,” he called weakly after her, but she didn’t listen and, like Eric, he was forced to watch powerlessly as his good friend departed the room, defeated. He exhaled softly then glanced over his shoulder to where Liz was sitting in one of the desks. He had wanted to simply check in on her to make sure she was okay, but he was shocked to see her staring down at her hands, crying softly.

This book was originally published on Royal Road. Check it out there for the real experience.

“Liz?!” he exclaimed softly, rushing toward his girlfriend. He knelt down beside the desk and took her hands in his. “Hey, what’s wrong, Liz? What happened?”

“I…” she whimpered. “I… I don’t…”

Damien gently squeezed her hands, wanting her to know that he was there for her. “Deep breaths. Take your time.”

Liz nodded meekly, took a few breaths, then tried to speak once again. “What Lilly said…she has a point, you know. If we had just refrained from meddling in other people’s lives, they would be safe from Nigreos.”

“W-well, maybe,” he muttered. “But we couldn’t have known that.”

“Stop saying that,” she whispered. “You know that’s not true. You knew it better than us all. You always said it. Every time we tried using it on somebody, you were always there to protest. In fact, it was that very opinion that drove us apart back during Christmas. But instead, I went behind your back—betrayed you as your girlfriend, and stole the stone for Jay.”

He listened quietly. Their argument was something he preferred not to think about anymore. They had moved past it and so, he decided there wasn’t any use getting hung up over it. Liz may have stolen the stone, but she did so for good reason and he now understood that.

He’d forgiven her.

“So, Damien…” she went on. “Isn’t it my fault? After all of your protests, I’m the one who convinced you to use the gem! I got you marked! If not for me, you would be safe! Lilly’s right! We did this to you guys!”

Her words sent a chill down his spine and it was at that moment that he truly realized what was eating away at her.

N-no…that’s not…

“Liz, listen to me,” he said firmly. “Don’t ever think like that again!”

“But it’s true,” she sobbed. “Everything I did was selfish and stupid! I shouldn’t have taken the stone for Alice and I shouldn’t have tried to use the stone to fix it! I just—!”

Not waiting for her to finish, Damien threw his arms around her and pulled her into a hug. It must have taken her by surprise since she didn’t continue speaking. Instead, she rested her head against his chest and continued to cry. He gently reached his hand up and began to stroke her head, wanting her to feel his touch and know how much he cared for her.

“Liz, I’m only going to say this once so listen to me. You didn’t do anything wrong. Imagine if I hadn’t touched the stone. You, Eric, and Lilly would all be gone and I’d forget I ever knew you. Without you guys, I have nothing. I would be alone and I’d have forgotten that there were ever people who loved me. I’d think I was unwanted…for my whole life. I…would rather be dead than condemned to a fate like that. If it truly is hopeless then I want to die by your side rather than stay behind and forget you. You hear me? I’d have touched that stone regardless…if only to be there with you in the end.”

He spoke with conviction, wanting her to understand his feelings and where he was coming from.

“I love you, Liz and that’s never going to change.”

The girl slowly nodded, but she didn’t immediately reply. She just continued to cry into his chest and he remained there to comfort her.

We’re going to get out of this somehow! I’m sure of it! Someway, somehow, we’re going to survive! Lilly and Eric might have given up hope, but not me! No matter what I have to do, I’m going to save them! This club is my home and I refuse to lose it!

“I…love you, too, Damien,” he heard Liz whisper, only further fueling his convictions.

***

Evan Wright was walking so fast that he was almost running. He wanted to get as far away from the clubroom, and even from the school, as fast as possible. He wanted to put everything he had just heard and saw behind him and forget it ever happened. Every time he interacted with them, he realized just how little he knew about the world and it utterly terrified him. The powerlessness he felt when Reiner used his sorcery to beat him up in three simple shots made him want to scream. Then, to think about everything they said about that man coming to Wilham to erase their existence, he found himself almost laughing.

How gullible do they think I am? he thought bitterly. I’m not a fucking moron! Like hell I’m gonna believe some magical bastard killed all those people, kidnapped Brooks and Mendez, and now wants us! It’s fucking stupid! Reiner can go fuck himself!

Evan irritably glanced over his shoulder to where Brad was silently following behind him. The boy had gone after him and tried to talk, but Evan quickly blew him off. Unfortunately, Brad had continued after him even once they reached the courtyard and the neighborhoods beyond the school.

And then there’s him. I figured that piece of shit knew all about their magic and he never thought to tell me! Hell, when Reiner said the magic had been used on me, Brad didn’t even react! I knew he was with them and I was stupid to ever hope otherwise!

He wanted to quicken his pace even further in an effort to get Brad to leave, but before he could, another voice called out from further behind.

“Brad! Evan! Hold on a minute!”

He stopped in his tracks, the girl’s voice ringing through his mind as he once again glanced over his shoulder to find Rina Davens rushing through the school gates and in their direction.

Rina… What could she want?

That moment when Rina entered the clubroom had been enough to convince him that she didn’t want anything to do with him. He had seen shock and even fear in her eyes, and it made him wish things could have ended better between them. Before, they had been pretty close friends, but now, he only ever heard about her through Steven McCormick—Rina’s boyfriend.

“Hey, Rina,” Brad called back to her as the girl came up alongside him. “What’s up? I figured you were gonna stay behind for a bit.”

She shook her head. “N-no…I think I’ve heard what I needed to hear from them. Instead, I kinda thought it’d be better to talk everything out with you guys first. After all, it sounds like we’re all in the same boat.”

“Yeah, I suppose so,” Brad agreed, a conflicted look flashing across his face.

“So…if it’s okay with the two of you, can we walk together?”

The big boy shrugged. “Yeah, I don't mind. Evan?”

“Sure, I don’t care,” he grunted as he turned away and began walking once again. “Do whatever you guys want.”

He kept his head low, content to allow Brad and Rina to do the talking while he walked ahead, but unfortunately for him, this wasn’t what they had in mind. Brad immediately moved to walk on his left while Rina went to his right, and he realized that unless he just took off at a sprint, he had no way of getting out of interacting with them.

“So, Brad,” Rina began. “You said you don’t think Reiner’s lying…and to be honest, I don’t really know what your relationship with them is like. I was just…curious to know why you trust them so much, especially when they’re making such…impossible claims.”

Brad smiled sadly and laughed. “Well, Rina, Eric Reiner is a lot of things, but I’ve never known him to be a liar. Without getting into it, I’ve known about their little stone since shortly after the beginning of the year. Since then, I’ve interacted with them enough times to have a good idea of what they’re like.” His features then hardened. “And I’ve noticed how scared Reiner and Lilly have been all week. They haven’t been themselves and this would explain quite a bit.”

Evan snorted. “So you’re just gonna accept it, huh? You’re gonna just believe everything they said about some superpowered magic man coming to erase us from existence?”

“More or less,” he replied. “I mean, even setting aside the body swap stone, after seeing what Reiner did to you back there, it’s become clear to me that there’s an entire world of magic that we can’t even begin to understand. Yet, Reiner does and so, I’m prone to believe him when he says we’re in danger.”

Evan grimaced at the mention of Reiner’s display of magic just as Rina began to speak.

“I…don’t know them well at all,” she admitted. “In fact, I barely know anything about them. However, I know they’re good people. Back during Christmas…I made a lot of mistakes and, while a lot did happen between us, in the end, Reiner and I came to an understanding. He and Harper did a lot for Jay and Alice, and I can tell they’re genuine people…so if they say Alice and Jay are in danger, then I’m going to believe them.”

“But…” Evan stuttered, unsure of how to even begin talking to her. “How…how much do you know about what happened to you? Do you—?”

“I know it wasn’t you, Evan,” she responded instantly. “I don’t know much else, but I know the person that showed up at my house that day was not you.”

She knows…thank god…

Once they reached Doris Street, the three of them turned onto the path that would take them on a shortcut through the forest. It was the route Evan always took to get home and, on occasion, Brad would walk with him since they lived so close together. There was rarely anybody else that walked back there, so the three of them were alone. Evan listened to the sound of their feet against the dirt as he considered Rina’s response.

“So then…why have you been avoiding me?” he asked. “If you know I didn’t do anything then…?”

Rina shook her head. “Don’t get me wrong. I know you weren’t that person, but that doesn’t change what you… No, what we did to Alice. She didn’t deserve any of that and I allowed myself to be strung along by you. I promised myself that I was going to be a better person before Jay wakes up, and I want to keep that. I’m not going to pretend that I wasn’t a big part in what we did, but I wanted to stay away from you because of that.”

Evan slowly looked away, wanting so desperately to try and argue with her, but knowing there wasn’t much he could say. The incident with Alice Mendez got out of hand, and he could no longer even remember why he targeted her in the first place. In a way, it was just a method to prove that Damien Clark and the Magic Club weren’t as dangerous as a lot of his friends seemed to believe. He knew there was more to it than that, but his memory had been a bit fuzzy for a while now.

“Well…” he muttered. “Whether you’ll believe it or not…I’m sorry things had to go that way. I really am.”

Rina’s eyes widened in clear surprise, and even Brad, who most likely knew very little about their friendship, was staring in astonishment.

Fucking hell! Is it really that surprising that I would apologize to somebody!

He was about to snap at his friend when Brad suddenly came to a stop, his mouth hanging open a bit. Evan and Rina both frowned, then followed his attention up the path to where a single man was standing about twenty yards away. While it was unusual to see somebody out on the path at that time, it wasn't like Evan had never come across someone out for a walk. However, what stunned him was the man’s appearance. His skin was pure black, as was his combed hair and clean-shaven face. He wore a suit of the same color, leaving his eyes as the only thing not dark. His features were calm, but his smile sent a shiver down Evan’s back.

No…this couldn’t be…

“Good evening!” he called out to them. “Have a nice day, I hope?”

Evan found himself unable to reply to the man’s casual tone and beside him, Rina was cautiously moving backwards. The only one with the confidence to respond was Brad.

“Good evening to you, too,” he called back. “Can we help you?”

The man shrugged. “That remains to be seen, I suppose. I just wanted to know…are you associated with an Eric Reiner, by chance?”

Holy shit! This can’t be real! It has to be some part of Reiner’s prank! This can’t be a coincidence!

He instinctively placed himself in front of Rina, wanting to be ready to protect her should the man try anything. Despite wanting to believe it was a joke, he couldn’t help but recall Reiner’s words from just a little while ago.

“Do you see how powerless you are? You couldn’t even get close to me and this guy…the person coming after us, could kill me without breaking a sweat! So what can you do?! It’s hopeless! There’s nothing you can do by yourself! There’s…nothing any of us can do!”

Evan felt his body begin to shake, and it seemed as if that raw power Reiner spoke of was emanating off the man. If Reiner wasn’t lying…then what the hell are we supposed to do? Are the three of us fucked before we could even begin to understand what the hell is going on?!

“Eric Reiner?” Brad replied, feigning consideration. “I’ve heard the name but I can’t say I really know the guy. Why? Are you a friend of his?”

The man in black clicked his tongue a few times and laughed. “Please, I would ask you not to lie to me. It won’t end well for you.”

“Are you threatening us?” Evan shouted, hoping to prevent his terror from showing through as he faced him. “Cause we aren’t lying! We don’t know this Reiner guy and that’s that! So beat it, fucker! We can’t help you.”

He cocked an eyebrow and gazed at Evan, seemingly sizing him up, before his attention shifted to the girl behind him. “You in the back,” he said. “You are Rina Davens, yes?”

All three of them stared at him in shock and Evan once again struggled to understand what was happening.

How does he know Rina?!

Before he could push Rina back, the girl hesitantly stepped forward, her expression a mix of terror and determination. “I-I am. Who are you? How do you know me?”

The man grinned. “My apologies. I guess I should have introduced myself first. I am Nigreos Noctis, Master of Darkness at the Ijirian Citadel. It is a pleasure to make your acquaintance.”

Nigreos Noctis? Ijirian Citadel? Are these even words?! This has to be the guy Reiner warned us about! There’s no way it isn’t! Who else would look like that, but… Evan swallowed nervously. That means he’s the one who killed all those people at the diner and the nurses at the hospital! Is he actually gonna kill us, too?! Was Reiner really telling the truth?!

“What do you want with us?” Evan demanded.

Nigreos glanced at him once more and snorted. “I want to speak with Eric Reiner…and I want each and every person who has ever touched our relic. That is what I want.”

“Then fuck off!” Evan snarled. “Like we said, we don’t know Reiner and we certainly don’t give two shits about your relic!”

“No, that’s not true,” Nigreos stated. “I have it on good authority that Miss Rina Davens has touched the stone and personally knows Reiner.”

“A-and…who told you that?” Rina asked.

Nigreos chuckled once more. “Alice Mendez did, young lady.”

Rina’s eyes went wide and she stepped backwards, but despite her obvious fear, her features began to contort into anger. “Give Alice back,” she breathed. “Don’t hurt her! She hasn’t done anything wrong!”

“Well, I suppose we could barter, but you’d have to give me what I want,” he replied, spreading his arms out casually. “So, why don’t you answer my question and we can wrap this up peacefully.”

With that, Brad stepped forward and raised his fists up in front of him, eyeing Nigreos cautiously. “You’re lying,” he said firmly. “We already know what you’re doing. You’re going to kill Mendez regardless because she’s already touched that stone! Don’t think you can pull one over on us!”

Nigreos narrowed his eyes. “So you have no intention of cooperating?”

“I don’t,” Brad stated. “So go away. We don’t want anything to do with you, and I’m not gonna let you hurt either of them!”

Evan stared in shock as his old friend placed himself between them and Nigreos.

What’s he doing?! Didn’t he hear what Reiner said about this guy?!

However, just as he asked himself that question, he saw Brad briefly glance back at him, and the look in his eyes clearly communicated his intention.

He wanted them to run.

But I can’t just leave him behind and especially not with this fucker! What the hell is wrong with him?!

“That’s…unfortunate,” Nigreos replied. “It’s too bad there’s nothing you can do to stop us though. Yet, it’s honorable nonetheless. May you vanish knowing you had a good heart.”

Before anybody could say anything more, and without any warning, a sudden flash of light blinded Evan for a mere few seconds, and he instinctively grabbed Rina to pull her out of harm's way. As his vision began to return, he heard a soft grunt, and when the scene before him cleared again, he could only stare in utter horror.

A pale white hand was protruding from the back of Brad, blood dripping from its fingertips.

“W-what the…fuck?” Evan uttered.

“Erasurei.”

The cold words echoed through his ears and, barely a second later, Brad’s body began to crumble. It was as if a tremor shot through him and right before his eyes, his friend's torso split in half, dust exploding from the cut. Evan couldn’t bring himself to move. He could only gape like a fool as Brad Fischer faded into nothingness.