the same, bodies of energy in the world of black oasis.
I was pulled into a hug, and I could feel the burning warmth. This wasn't the end I wanted for them, but it was an ending I'd be forced to accept.
I wasn't a hero...but I saved our only hope of salvation.
11
Hopelessness To The Key Of Protection: Part Two
~CONNOR~
* * *
A sense of numbness fell upon the world – the silence lingering as the last flicker of hope faded into the darkness.
I'd gone from struggling to focus because of all the bouncing emotions that assaulted my senses to nothing but my own wasteland of devastation.
It seemed unreal - all of this had to be a mistake - but here I stood as flakes of embers and wooden ashes fell from the sky with the flakes of snow. The ground beneath me was flooded with debris: woodchips, glass shards, and blood.
My head slowly turned to my left to the three bodies that lay there. Even with my blurry vision thanks to my brewing tears, I still couldn't process that my friends...my lovers...my everything had just slipped from my grasp because of one mistake.
I took a step forward, but then I crumbled onto my hands and knees. The shards and wood piercing my flesh like prickling needles, but the pain was nothing like what was consuming my heart.
My eyes drifted to my right, towards my friends’ bodies. The mere sight made my lips tremble and it felt like bile was coming up my throat. Before I knew it, I was vomiting and fighting the weight of dread on my shoulders.
I knew I had to do something - anything - to change this. No way could we have made it this far for us to fail. It couldn't even be true that the Universe would allow us to reach this point and, due to my unexpected mistake, lead us to a drastic end.
My mind couldn't comprehend any of it, and yet, my heart knew. My soul knew my failure had killed those I loved.
I need to get help.
There had to be someone coming - anyone who could have overheard the commotion and sought to provide aid on our behalf. I wanted to believe that there was some sort of hope in this heartbreaking tragedy, but the longer I fought to move, the fuller the bucket of anguish became.
That's when the manic chuckling began. The creepy, chill-inducing sound of mockery reached my ears and forced me to acknowledge the presence of the last enemy.
I fell to my knees a second time, my legs quaking in weakness at the mere idea of me trying to get up a third time. I had no choice but to acknowledge the man that approached, and my sorrowful eyes landed on Elijah as he landed on the single spot on the platform that wasn’t blown to shambles.
He was only steps away from me, and yet he stood there with a taunting grin of pride. The sinister hate that boiled within this man's eyes was nothing like the Elijah from Year One.
There was not a hint of remorse in his eyes, which were filled with nothing but evil menace. The intense emotions that flooded out of him were a mixture of glee, elation, and the emotional component that made the perfect cocktail for revenge.
This sensation was nowhere new. It felt old in nature - ancient - as if he'd held this desire to destroy for centuries instead of a few semesters. I noticed the tattoos on his neck and the backs of his hands, which shook with impatience as he stared at me. The marks were a certain symbol that reminded me of a commitment to a cult of some kind.
This was the Elijah that had been the epitome of our troubles. This was the evil twin we'd still yet to completely prove existed.
This was the man who’d killed my friends.
He raised his hands up as if he were presenting something to a crowd.
"Surprise," he whispered with a cynical tone of happiness. "Did you enjoy your gift from Papa Dearest?"
That made my blood turn cold as my eyes widened at his comment. He merely laughed at my reaction and then sighed dramatically.
"Did you really think your dad would allow himself to be on death row and let you continue life as is?" He laughed at me like he'd told the best joke of the century. "Stupid. Pathetic. Wow. You really don't know how the mafia works, and you’re of his blood."
He