Janet stood outside of Tyler’s room with eyes of ember that glowed like candles in the dark hallway. I could only imagine what was said between the two of them after I stepped out.
“What’s up?” I asked. “Everything okay in there?”
“For now, but we need to talk.” We walked into another room and closed the door. “If everything Valeria said was true, then it’s only a matter of time before Alvin and his chipmunks are busting down the door. You have to hide her or something.”
“I know. But Tyler, he’s—”
The room door shot open. In came Tyler, who gave Janet a cold stare before asking, “What are you two doing in my parents’ room? Aliyah, can you tell your friend to leave?”
Janet snickered before whispering in my ear, “Your friend’s delusional. Get Valeria out of here before you all end up dead.”
She gave him an eye roll and walked out of the room. Val stepped in and stood by Tyler’s side just as the closing sound of the front door was heard.
“Aliyah,” Tyler addressed me, “we’re cool, but I don’t wanna hear anything else about Valeria being in trouble. I got her. She’s good. You don’t need to worry.”
“He’s right,” Val chimed in and assured me, holding onto his arm. “I’m sure I lost the people chasing me. By the time I made it to the city, I didn’t even need to look over my shoulder anymore because I was certain they were gone.”
Their assurance made me hunch my shoulders. “I guess? Fine,” I said with a lopsided smile, knowing damn well things weren’t fine. At all.
Though I was nervous of something bad happening, the positives of the current moment were beginning to sink in. My best friend was back, and Tyler was happy again, just like I wanted and remembered.
It felt surreal going into Tyler’s room and reminiscing with him and Valeria for hours, recalling even the smallest of events that triggered tears of laughter. It wasn’t until Val left to use the bathroom that reality set back in. I had a daunting task to complete: convince Tyler that Valeria isn’t safe, no matter how difficult it may be.
“I haven’t seen you this happy in a while,” I said to him, causing his smile to grow wider.
“She means everything to me, Aliyah.”
“I know she does, which is why we need to talk about something. There are people after her, Ty, and I don’t think they’ll stop searching until they find her. We can’t keep avoiding the topic.”
“They’re not taking her away from me. I’ll protect her.”
This wasn’t going to be easy. I prepped myself with an inner monologue before opening my mouth to speak the truth.
“Okay, say you could protect her from them. How are you going to protect her from the world? To everyone else, Ty, she’s dead. What are you gonna say to your parents when they come home and see her alive? How is she going to live a normal life hiding inside your room? Yes, a demon influenced her suicide attempt, but she was already depressed. We both know that. So what makes you think she’ll be any happier this time? She can’t even go back to school or have a future ‘cause of the people after her. They’ll take her and experiment on her like some alien species.”
His face contorted in anger, his teeth grinding with rage. “You think any of that matters? She was only depressed because of the bad life she had to live. None of those negatives applies anymore. Her abusive foster parents are dead, and the bullies at school have no idea she’s alive. Trust me when I say that no one is putting a finger on her, you hear me? No one. I’ll defend her from anyone who tries.”
“You can’t protect her from everything. You two are my best friends, and I’m only saying all this ‘cause I care about you. This is a dangerous situation. If you can’t see that, you’re delusional.”
Valeria entered the room and saw the tension between us. “Um, is everything okay?”
“Yeah. Aliyah was just leaving.”
His dismissal stung, but the truth needed to be said. Something inside me wanted to fight more as I walked out of the room, but the slamming of his door shut down any chance of that happening.
Exiting the house, things only got worse, and what I feared the most was becoming true. Alvin was here, walking toward me with a smug look.
“Hello, Aliyah.”
Multiple black vans surrounded the home. I took a few steps back and watched a group of SWAT officers jump out of the vehicles one by one. Their heavy armor clanked as they rushed past me and into the house, but their presence was miniscule compared to the colossal demon that manifested by Alvin’s side. The beast’s horns pierced a new fear in my heart.
“I must thank you for your assistance in finding Miss Vasquez,” he said, his cockiness on display showing more. “Don’t worry. Your friend will be brought back to the lab where she belongs.”
I turned at the sound of tussling coming from inside the house. Shouts from both Tyler and Valeria made me look back at Alvin and say, “Stop this, please. Why are you doing this? They haven’t done anything wrong.”
“Quite the contrary. They’ve done everything wrong. Because of the boy’s desire, Miss Vasquez has risen from the dead. That kind of power should belong to no human. No, that kind of power should only belong to a god.”
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My attention was swayed once more after seeing the officers drag Valeria out of the house and drop her by Alvin’s side. Tyler was hauled out next, a lump already growing on his forehead with blood spilling out of his mouth.
“I was a fool,” Alvin continued, stroking Val’s cheek with his finger. Her face scrunched up in disgust. “While I did intend on finding a cure for all Dreamers, I realized how preposterous that notion was. I would be disrupting human evolution. The virus isn’t a curse, but a blessing bestowed on humanity from God himself.”
“What the hell are you saying?” I questioned in disbelief. “Do you hear yourself? You’re being influenced by the monster beside you. It’s changing the way you think, Alvin. You have to believe me. Please, stop this.”
“I’m afraid I can’t do that. Anyone who interferes in the recreation of the new world must be apprehended. A world in which I will be its ruler.”
An aura of light generated in my hand until a chakram was formed. “Then I’ll just have to make you stop.”
I positioned my feet on the ground in preparation of throwing my weapon, but the swinging of my arm was halted after an armed officer pointed his rifle at me. Other members of the SWAT team followed his lead and raised their guns as well.
“What’s wrong with all of you?” I yelled out. “This man is insane. You should be arresting him, not restraining us.”
“They won’t listen to you. They’re under my control.”
His statement made me recall the words of Agent Grant, who had informed me of his ability.
“Mind control. That’s your desire.”
“Not mine. That aspiration belongs to someone else.”
My brows knitted in confusion. “What do you mean, someone else?”
“Well, you see, Aliyah, in order to become the superior being of the new world, I require ultimate power. That is why I desire the ability of every Dreamer who is brought into the laboratory. From the simple-minded hope for superhuman strength and ultra-fast speed, to the devious manipulation of law enforcement and the government. I possess it all.”
My body shook, puzzled by his revelation. “Y-you’re a monster. Good or bad, people have those abilities for personal reasons, and you’re just using them to fulfill your own selfish desires.”
“That may be true, but others would do the same if they were in my shoes. Face it, young lady, selfishness is a part of human nature. The evolution of mankind has begun, and I will reign supreme with ultimate power and knowledge at my disposal. My place in this world as a god will finally be assured, starting with this girl and that boy.”
He pointed to Tyler, who was being detained on his knees by an officer. One wrong move on my part would be the death of me, so the only option was to let him carry on with his ridiculous narcissism and pray for an opening to strike.
“In this new world,” he continued, “imagination and willpower are actual weapons. Those who do not possess them will be the first to die. And speaking of death, the concept does not apply to Miss Vasquez here. Allow me to demonstrate.”
He removed a pistol from an officer’s holster and aimed it at Valeria. I screamed in fear of what would happen next just as broke free from his detainer and charged at Alvin.
“Get away from her,” he howled in a rage of fury, thrusting his arm forward. His punch failed to connect due to Alvin catching it in his palm without budging an inch.
“Ah, children. You never listen. If you did, you’d remember when I told you that I possess superhuman strength.”
Alvin grabbed Tyler’s arm and snapped it, causing him to wail in agony before being flung to the ground with ease. In a rapid motion, Alvin pointed the gun back at Valeria and shot her in the chest two times. My lungs couldn’t release the despair I wanted to holler. The terror turned me to stone, and I could do nothing but watch her body fall on the concrete.
Maybe it was the look of dread and hopelessness on Tyler’s face, but after standing in silence for what felt like eternity, something in my body and mind freed me from my frozen state. A surge of energy pumped through my veins and into my hand, generating a chakram that was larger and brighter than ever before.
Crying out in anger and sadness, I hurled my weapon at the demon next to Alvin, not caring if the officers pulled the trigger. But somehow, someway, the creature was unaffected by the ring of light. My chakram disintegrated into small fragments on impact, which appeared to have amused the demon as its mouth opened in a smiling gesture.
This monster was unlike anything I had ever faced before. Or was it?
“Are you done?” Alvin questioned, laughing under his breath. “Your attempt at being a hero was futile and unnecessary. Observe.”
My mind couldn’t process what my eyes were seeing. Like a zombie rising from the dead, Valeria’s body began to move as she groaned and lifted herself off the ground. An officer grabbed her before she was able to fully regain her composure.
“Now do you see?” Alvin asked. “The boy’s desire to keep her alive has made her immortal. She cannot die, and thus, she will be my ultimate weapon in the inevitable war on earth.”
“This isn’t right,” I cried out, feeling the tears on my face. “I don’t care what you say, she’s just a normal girl. Why was she in your lab in the first place?”
“Because she was a test subject. I suspected she was a Dreamer due to your involvement with her on the roof of Ravenvale High School. Had you minded your own business that day, her attempted suicide would have been documented as just another teenager who tried to take their own life. Though Obsidian chose a selected few who had died with the virus to be subjects in finding a cure, I never would have expected the virus to be active after death. But then I remembered that Valeria’s resurrection was not due to her own power, but the boy’s undying love for her. He is the source of her ability.”
Tyler sprung back into action and bolted toward Alvin again. Only this time, he was stopped by three officers who pointed their rifles at him.
“Tyler, no,” both Val and I yelled.
He stopped in his tracks, salivating in rage. Alvin approached him with an unpleasant smile. “You’re too weak,” he said with a cold stare. “While I admire your tenacity, your only use is to keep Miss Vasquez alive. You may love her, but you lack the power to keep her. And thus, she belongs to me now.”
The officers began pulling Tyler and Valeria into a van. My body reacted on instinct by rushing toward them, but in the blink of an eye, I was stopped by Alvin, who zipped in front of me and grabbed my wrist.
“Ultra-fast speed, remember? Or were you not paying attention as well?”
Before I could even respond, my feet were lifted off the ground and my body slammed against the wooden fence that connected to the porch. The collision made me yelp as I laid on the concrete with my new reality setting in: I was powerless against him.
What also clicked in my head were the abilities Alvin was demonstrating. The power. The speed. They were the same abilities as the Dreamers Janet and I faced in the hospital. Their desires must’ve flared up again despite me destroying their Shadows.
If my assumptions were correct, had I truly been nothing more than a temporary solution for people’s problems? Was my power so weak that it couldn’t maintain their positivity?
Had my aspiration been pointless all this time?
“Aliyah,” Alvin called my name as his group entered their vans. “Starting tomorrow, your assignment of locating Dreamers for my collection will commence. If you do not comply with my immediate orders, I will kill your family. Do you understand?”
I had no other choice. “Yes.”
He got into the same van as Tyler and Valeria. A sense of loneliness spiraled within me as I watched the vehicle disappear in the distance.
My friends were gone. Maybe forever.