Collide

by Ashley Stambaugh

  Chapter Thirty-One

  It was dark out now as they arrived at the park. Dimly lit lamp posts lined the walkways, but their soft glow didn’t protrude any farther than there. A thick blanket of clouds had also developed across the sky, blocking out all the moonlight. The park was deserted. Melina didn’t see any signs of Lee by the entrance, so she started toward the bench with Walter and Henry following close behind.

  Suddenly a loud voice shouted out of the darkness. Melina, Walter, and Henry all turned and saw Phinneas running out from behind a thick patch of spruce trees. When he finally reached them, he leaned over and placed his hands on his legs. He was panting hard.

  “I’m so glad I found you all here.” He took in a couple of heavy breaths and then stood up and looked straight at Melina. “Adelia and the demons will be coming for you any minute now.” He then turned to Walter and Henry. “And I’m sorry to say that she’s after all of us now as well.”

  “What do you mean she’s after us?” asked Walter.

  “I had a small encounter with her.” Phinneas cleared his throat as he continued to try and calm his breathing. “She knows that I told you everything.”

  Melina’s and Walter’s eyes grew wide.

  “She’ll do anything to keep her secret, so she wants to destroy us, too!”

  “I won’t let that happen,” said Henry as he stepped forward.

  Phinneas looked at Henry and smiled. “Yes, it’s a good thing you’re here. We’ll definitely need you—”

  Phinneas was cut off by a loud screeching noise coming from up above them. They all looked to the skies, but couldn’t see anything in the dark clouds. Melina knew what it was, though. It was the demons.

  “Melina,” Walter said in a rushed voice. “You may not have full control of your powers yet, but you know how to use them. Phinneas and I can help to protect you if Henry’s preoccupied, so try to stay close—”

  “Melina?” another male’s voice said from behind them.

  Melina spun around and saw Lee walking down the path toward her. Oh no. The demons were coming, and they weren’t going to let anyone get in their way. She had to get him to leave.

  “Lee, you need to get out of here.”

  He stopped and gave her a curious look.

  “You don’t understand,” she said, the desperation growing in her voice. “It’s not safe for you to be here now.”

  “Don’t you want to hear the good news I have for you?” he asked.

  “Good news? You sounded like you were still upset on the phone.”

  “No,” he said, shaking his head. “I didn’t want to give anything away before I talked to you in person. I found the letter from my dad,” he said, a smile growing on his face. “He didn’t think that I hated him. He also said that if I was seeking his forgiveness, then I had it, as long as I could forgive him. And I do forgive him now, for everything, and I have you to thank for that.”

  As scared as Melina was right now, she found herself smiling back at Lee. She had finally broken through to him. Her control over her powers should be complete now.

  A huge sense of relief came over her, but before she could say anything to Lee, one of the demons swooped down out of the dark and snatched her up into the air, his iron grip crushing her ribs so she almost couldn’t breathe. The burning sensation from his touch made her want to scream, but all she could do was gasp for air. The demon flew her higher and higher into the sky, but then suddenly she felt something else grab a hold of her ankle. Was it another demon? She began to squirm and thrash about, trying to kick loose her newest addition.

  “Hold still, Melina!”

  Melina stretched her neck as far as she could to look back behind her. It was Henry. With his massive wings he had flown up behind them and grabbed ahold of her leg. She wasn’t sure what his plan was, but she obeyed his order and immediately stopped moving.

  Not a second later, Henry held up his free hand and shot a forceful light beam right at the demon’s back. He let out an excruciating shriek as the light burned into his skin and exploded, leaving his shoulder in a twisted black mess. With his arm wounded, the demon’s grasp on Melina loosened just enough to allow Henry to pull her into his arms.

  The demon wasn’t giving up, though. He whirled around and flew back down after them, his cherry-red eyes blazing in the darkness of the night.

  “Take me back to Walter and Phinneas!” Melina yelled to Henry as they weaved in and out of the treetops.

  Henry gave her a confused look.

  “Please, Henry. They can help to protect me for a while. I need you to get Lee out of here.”

  He nodded then took a sharp turn to his left and began to circle back around, the demon still close behind. “You need to try to get your shield up before I drop you down. The demon isn't letting up.”

  Melina nodded in understanding. She closed her eyes and quickly began to concentrate on her protective shield. Please protect me. Please protect me.

  A soft, white glow began to emanate from her and then suddenly burst out all around her. “Yes,” she said aloud, thinking she had full control of her powers now. But as soon as the words left her mouth, pain erupted throughout her body. Her light shield flickered as she fought to keep it up.

  “Are you okay?” Henry asked as he dropped her to the ground next to Walter and Phinneas.

  “I’ll be fine,” said Melina, sounding a bit confused. She looked up into the sky and saw that the demon had stopped in its tracks. He hovered over her, his injured arm dangling loosely by his side. They stared at each other for a moment, and then the demon growled at her in frustration and fled in the opposite direction. Melina knew he wasn’t leaving. He was going to get reinforcements.

  She turned back to Henry as she continued to struggle to keep up her shield. “Please,” she said in a strained voice. “Take Lee somewhere safe.”

  Henry gave her a simple nod and flew over to Lee. Melina saw that Lee was trying to yell something at her, but she couldn’t make anything out before Henry disappeared with him.

  She turned back to see where Walter and Phinneas were, and just at that moment a demon flew at her, baring his sharp teeth and wildly thrashing about. His sudden attack scared Melina enough that she fell backward onto the ground. She scrambled back up to her feet, but the fall had knocked her concentration out and her shield was gone.

  She looked back up in front of her and saw three pairs of flaming red eyes hovering in the air just a few feet from her. All three demons were there now. The one with the injured arm was in the center, swaying back and forth, while the other two snarled and hissed at her. She needed to bring her protective shield back, but her lack of focus wasn’t making it easy. All she was able to produce was a brief, faint glow a couple of times that only lasted for a second or two.

  “I shouldn’t be struggling anymore with calling up the powers on command, and I shouldn’t be having any more pain,” she whispered to herself. “What is going on?”

  As she tried to concentrate again she risked closing her eyes, but just at that moment she heard Walter yell to her.

  “Melina, watch out!”

  Her eyes shot open, and she saw the trio of demons coming straight at her. She looked to her left and saw Walter and Phinneas running at her, both with their shields up.

  “Jump, Melina. Jump!” Walter yelled as he held his arms out to her.

  Melina took a few running steps to her left and then leaped toward Walter, stretching her arms out to his. She held her breath as she flew through the air, praying that she would reach him first before the demons reached her. Walter was only inches away, and as she felt his hands grasp on to hers she also felt something hot grab hold of her right leg.

  She cried out in pain as she looked back behind her. One of the uninjured demons had her calf locked in his firm grip, his fingers burning deep into her skin. He wasn’t going to let go, and Walter’s hands were slowly slipping from hers.

  When Phinneas finally reached them, he grab
bed one of Melina’s arms and joined in on the tug-of-war game against the demon. It must’ve been that Phinneas was an elder and therefore had more strength, because Melina immediately felt herself being pulled to their side. Phinneas gave one last big tug, and as she was pulled into the protection of their shields, the demon finally released her leg. He screeched and hissed as he backed away to join the other two demons, his hand burning from the light of the shields.

  Melina looked down at her throbbing leg and saw blood oozing out of several deep, long burn marks. The depth of the marks was severe, and the blood kept coming, but medical attention would have to wait. Right now, she needed to concentrate on saving her life. Once again, using her scarf as a bandage, she yanked it from around her neck and wrapped it tightly around her leg a couple of times before tying it off in the back. That would have to be enough for now. Hopefully, it would at least slow the bleeding down.

  “Are you going to be able to manage?” Phinneas asked as he nodded toward her leg.

  “Yeah.” She tried to put some pressure on it and winced from the pain. “I’ll be fine. But how long will these shields keep them at bay?” She gestured at the demons and then looked back at Walter and Phinneas.

  Before either of them could answer her, a blinding white light appeared out of the sky. When it finally died down, they all stared at what was in front of them. It was Adelia. Her pale eyes stared back at them for a brief second, and then she began to speak.

  “You know those shields won’t hold up forever. Especially if they take on some damage.”

  “The demons won’t come near our shields!” yelled Phinneas.

  “Maybe not before,” said Adelia. “But now they will.” She gave them a smug grin and then turned toward the demons and closed her eyes as she held out her hands.

  “What is she doing? What is she doing!” Melina’s eyes were wide as she looked back and forth between Walter and Phinneas.

  “Phinneas?” Walter asked as he turned in his direction.

  Phinneas didn’t answer. He just stared at Adelia and shook his head. Walter turned his focus back to Adelia and the demons, and when Melina did the same, she saw a faint white glow starting to form around the demons. She gasped as her hand shot up and covered her mouth. Was Adelia putting her shield around them?

  “Yes,” said Phinneas, responding to her thoughts. “That’s exactly what she’s doing.”

  Chapter Thirty-Two

  “What does that mean for us then?” Melina asked in an anxious tone.

  “It means we’re in trouble.” Walter turned and looked straight at her. “Our shields won't hold for long against them, so get ready to teleport.”

  “But—”

  “Trust me.” Walter gave her a small nod as he spoke.

  Melina had only started to nod back when she heard the demons shriek. She whipped her head around and saw all three of them, encircled in bright white light, flying straight at them. Giant sparks erupted the instant the shields hit, but it didn’t interrupt the demons’ attack. They began to thrash, claw, and bite at the shields around her, never relenting for a second.

  The shields from Walter and Phinneas instantly began to flicker like a light bulb with a bad short. Melina knew that wasn’t good. Any moment now the demons would break the shields, and she would be vulnerable. She shot a frantic look at Walter, who simply nodded at her again.

  Immediately she closed her eyes and thought of Henry. She knew she had to get to him. He was their only hope for destroying the demons. Her only hope for surviving. She felt the protective shields break around her just as she felt herself disappear. A couple of seconds later she reappeared right in front of Henry, the pain throughout her body returning with a vengeance.

  She collapsed down to her knees and covered her face with her hands. Why are the powers still causing me so much pain?

  “Melina? Where did you come from?”

  Melina lifted her head in the direction of the familiar voice and saw a man standing over her. “Lee?”

  Henry stepped forward and helped her stand back up. “I was just dropping him off at home. What’s wrong? Why did you teleport to me?”

  “We need you. Now.” Melina tried to keep a calm composure, but it was somewhat difficult to do as she also tried to subdue the pain. “Adelia showed up and has somehow figured out how to put her protective shield around the demons.”

  “Oh no,” said Henry. “We need to get back to the park.”

  Melina nodded and then turned to Lee. “You need to get inside, Lee, and stay there. I don’t want anything to happen to you.” She turned back around and made her way toward Henry.

  “But wait,” Lee called out, causing Melina to stop and look back. “I didn’t get to tell you everything that I wanted to. I didn’t just want to thank you for helping me gain closure with my dad. I also wanted to thank you for helping me to learn to trust again.”

  Melina looked at him curiously, waiting for him to elaborate.

  Lee cleared his throat and continued. “After my dad left, I always had an issue with completely trusting people. I didn’t fully trust my employees, that’s why the store is failing. I didn’t fully trust my mom and sister, that’s why I never believed it when they tried to tell me how my dad really felt. And I didn’t fully trust you, until today. You never gave up trying to help me, and everything you’ve told me has turned out to be true. So I want to thank you for that and make sure you know that I trust you. Completely.”

  Melina stared at him, her mouth open to say something, but the words wouldn’t come. She wasn’t sure what to say.

  “Melina, we need to go,” said Henry as he laid his hand on her shoulder.

  “Um, yeah. Yeah, we do,” she said, glancing back at him. She returned her gaze to Lee and said, “I’m sorry. We really need to go.”

  “Wait,” Lee said as he reached out and grabbed her hand. “Isn’t there something I can do to help you?”

  Melina looked down at his hand and then raised her eyes back up to meet his. “No, it’s too dangerous,” she said.

  He gave her hand a gentle squeeze as he held her gaze. “But I don’t want anything to happen to you either.”

  Tears welled in her eyes. “I know,” she said as she pulled her hand back from his. “But I’m sorry. I really have to go now.” Before Lee had an opportunity to respond, Melina spun around, grabbed Henry’s hand, and they both disappeared.

  A second later they reappeared back in the park, but before they'd even had a chance to locate Walter and Phinneas, all three demons, still encircled in Adelia’s shield, ambushed them. As Henry crashed to the ground, Melina was sent rolling into a patch of prickly spruce trees. When she finally climbed her way out, she saw that Henry was relentlessly attacking all three demons by himself.

  He had his own protective shield up now, and the light beams were shooting out from his hands so fast that they looked like two continuous streams of bright golden light. The shields around the demons were starting to flicker, but how long could Henry keep going? And even if he broke through the shields, he would still have to fight off the demons. Would he have enough strength left then?

  She needed to do something to help him. But what? As she scanned the area around her, she spotted Walter and Phinneas over to her left, huddled together down on the ground. She started to run toward them, but as she was about to call out to them, she realized they weren’t huddled together. They were trying to pin Adelia to the ground.

  Melina froze as she watched Adelia thrash her body around violently, her light blond hair flying around like crazy, her face full of rage. Knowing all too well that the rage was because of her, Melina refused to go any closer. Walter and Phinneas were already having some difficulty holding Adelia down, and the sight of Melina might just give her the extra boost of strength to break free.

  Melina quickly turned on her heel, wanting to get out of Adelia’s range of sight and back to help Henry somehow, when she heard the demons ear-piercing shrieks. She looked up
ahead of her and saw that the shields around the demons and Henry were both gone. Two of the demons pounced on Henry, hissing and clawing as they tackled him to the ground. The third demon, the one with the injured arm, headed right for her.

  He came at her so fast she didn’t even have time to react. She was thrown onto the ground, her head hitting the hard earth with a loud thump. She winced at the pain as her skull began to throb. Her eyes fluttered open, and she saw that everything around her was starting to blur together. She scanned her immediate area, trying to find the demon, but her eyes refused to focus on anything.

  Then suddenly her chest was hit with an enormous pressure from what seemed to be some type of invisible object, instantly knocking the breath from her. She began to gasp for air as she frantically grabbed at her chest, trying to remove whatever was crushing her lungs. The pressure only became heavier, and her lungs suddenly felt like they were being squeezed. The familiar sensation jolted in Melina’s mind as she realized that the demon was taking her soul.

  As she lay there on the ground, struggling to take in gulps of air, her thoughts immediately went to Walter, Phinneas, and Henry. No one would be able to help her now. They were all fighting their own battles, completely unaware of her predicament. She was going to have to save herself.

  She tried to center her focus on how she needed help and protection, desperately trying to pull up her protective shield. A faint glow would appear for a brief moment, but her flailing around and gasping for air wouldn't allow her to produce anything more. She needed to break the demon's hold on her, even if it was just for a second. With all of the strength she could muster, she slowly managed to push herself up off the ground just in time to see Henry hurl a huge light ball from his hands and blow the two demons to pieces.

  Henry started to run to Melina, and just when she thought she might be saved, she heard a loud scream to her left. She could only turn her head slightly, but it was enough for her to see Adelia running toward her. Walter and Phinneas were chasing after Adelia, but she had too much of a lead for them to stop her.