by Zel Spasov
***
Cayden found himself behind the wheel, focusing on the road. The image of the Red Monster had shaken him. He pushed it out of his head as his hands gripped the steering wheel and his jaw tightened.
“You don’t look all right to me,” said Mira. “Are you sure everything is fine?”
Fear ran down his spine. He stepped on the pedal, trying to get home as quickly as possible.
“Yes, I am,” he said through gritted teeth.
“You’re acting scared. Something happened,” she said.
“Nothing happened, okay?” Cayden said, becoming even more nervous. “I just need to concentrate on driving right now.” He passed by a sign with the number 60 on it. He was going twice that.
“You’re hiding something from me,” Mira said.
“I’m not,” said Cayden. “I’m really not hiding anything. I just want to get to the house.”
He was driving too fast for the slippery roads, making the car swerve. He barely managed to regain control and get back in the right lane.
“Slow down!” Mira said in a frightened voice.
***
Reality shifted again. In the throne room, the Red Presence wrapped itself around Cayden, its tentacles burning him.
He was no longer in the castle. He was out in the streets of Agapea, among the people. Instead of laughter and joy, he saw desperation and fear on their faces. With eyes wide open, the citizens ran for cover, screaming, stumbling over each other. The cries of thousands of creatures filled the air as their houses burned with red flames. Mira stood, scared and alone, amid the chaos. She was trying to stop what was happening, to return hope to the people. The Red Presence surrounded her, washing over her, drowning her in a sea of hopelessness.
There was nothing Cayden could do to save her. He had failed to protect his kingdom from this disaster. Mira’s suffering was his fault, he realized with anger. “You are guilty!” the familiar phrase echoed in his head. Only this time, he was the one who was saying it.
Having shown him this image, the Presence pulled him into the ground.
“No!” said Cayden, trying to fight it, but in vain. The earth closed around him, swallowing him…
***
… only to spit him out back in the car with Mira and Adonis. He had taken all the anger he’d felt in Agapea with him. As he tried to regain control over himself, someone’s hand grabbed his.
“And now…” said the Red Evil, which had appeared on the backseat of the car, taking the form of Cayden, “… they die.”
The Evil turned the wheel. This time, the car swerved uncontrollably and entered the contraflow lane. There were cars approaching. Cayden tried to bring the vehicle back to the right side of the road. He fought with the steering wheel as the cars drew closer. Their honking foreshadowed the inevitable crash. Cayden stomped on the brakes, but to no effect. In an act of despair, he pressed the gas pedal and turned right. The tires gripped the road, and the car came out of the opposite lane, barely evading the oncoming traffic. However, Cayden had overcorrected, and the car was headed with full speed toward the ravine. He pressed the brakes again, but it was too late to stop the car.
The vehicle flew off the side of the road, its nose going down. The car rammed into the ground and rolled over several times, slamming into trees. The collisions bent the metal and broke the windows. The vehicle crashed into the trunk of a big, powerful tree and stopped in place. That sudden halt threw Cayden out through the front windshield. He landed a few meters in front of the car, surrounded by dust and broken glass, the taste of coppery blood filling his mouth. His body hurt all over. He could barely move.
Yet his only thought was about his family.
Despite the pain, he turned on his stomach and, wheezing, crawled through the broken glass toward the smashed vehicle. Adonis' red ribbon waved through the hole where the windscreen of the car had previously been. Cayden reached for it. Every molecule of his existence pushed him toward the thread, but no matter how hard he tried, he couldn’t get to it.
He buried his fingers in the wet, moss-covered soil and pulled himself forward. Tears and blood dripped from his face on the ground, before the rain washed them away. His bones cracked and his teeth chattered, his eyes fixated on the ribbon. He needed to get to it if he wanted to save his family.
He stretched his arm out again and felt a piece of paper. Cayden brought it to his face. Adonis smiled up from the torn page. Cayden out the other part of the picture from his pocket, which had him and Mira on it. Both halves fit perfectly together. He turned the piece of paper over. On its backside were words written in red marker: You are guilty! Pain flooded him like a sea of lava, and the world became dark. Before he lost consciousness, he heard a voice in his head: It’s not the past that creates the present, it’s the other way around.
***
Blink.
The floor of Miss Dimitriou’s office was covered with sheets of paper, documents, and books, which had been scattered during their battle. Persephone pressed him against a wall. He was fighting her, but she was far stronger than she looked. In one hand, she was holding a syringe, which had pierced the upper layer of Cayden’s skin. He grabbed her hand and pulled out the syringe before Persephone managed to push the plunger all the way in.
Blink.
In the throne room in Agapea, Cayden was enveloped by the Evil. Its numerous tentacles had bound him and had brought him on his knees. It was choking him, draining his life force. The Evil took the form of Cayden again, pressing his head into the floor.
“It’s not the past that creates the present, it’s the other way around, don’t you see? You’re the real villain. You caused all of this! You created me! You are guilty!” It whispered in his ear. “They died because of you! Because you’re weak, pitiful! You couldn’t save your own family! And now you will become my slave until the end of your days!”
If the other Cayden was trying to make him mad, he had accomplished his goal. Cayden stopped fighting with the pain and the fury and allowed them to fill him. He let the hatred give him strength and rose to his feet.
“You’re getting angry, aren’t you?” asked the Evil. “Good. I want you angry. That’s the only way you can defeat me! Only through true rage can I be destroyed!”
Blink.
Cayden roared and pushed Persephone to the ground. The syringe hit the floor and broke, spilling out the liquid. Persephone shoved him away and stood.
“There is no other way to end this,” said Miss Dimitriou. “I’m sorry.” She pulled out a gun.
Blink.
The Evil returned to its former, monstrous form. It wrapped itself like a snake around Cayden and strangled him. Although Varvara's sword was lying on the ground beside him, he had no strength to reach it. The Evil’s tentacles constricted him even more, making his ribs crack. A ray of sunlight came through the glass window on the ceiling, blinding him. Would this be the last time he would see the sun?
Blink.
Cayden jumped to the side, trying to avoid the weapon directed at him. He stumbled over a cable and fell. The clicking sound of Doctor Dimitriou’s heels approached him. He looked up, and the small sun in her room blinded him.
Blink.
The sun. Cayden remembered the conversation he’d had with Charles on the raft after they’d escaped from Agapea. The Sloth had stretched out and had grabbed the moon. It seemed impossible, but how could he know when he had never tried? Still, even the Sloth hadn’t dared grab the sun. Was it possible? Only one way to find out.
Cayden started growing. As he became larger, the Evil’s grip weakened. The more his size increased, the more space he created around him and the easier it was to continue growing. Soon, he reached the size of the Evil’s monstrous body and surpassed it. He leaned against the ceiling and broke it, scattering debris everywhere. Cayden stretched out his hand toward the sun, accepting the pain of the intense heat burning his fingers. The Evil’s futile efforts to pull him down with its tentacles h
ad no effect. Cayden grabbed the big, flaming ball in the sky.
Blink.
Cayden jumped on Persephone's desk, and, before she could react, grabbed the small sun hanging from the ceiling in her office. Persephone pointed the gun at him, her finger on the trigger. Her eyes flashed—she intended to kill him. Right as she was about to pull the trigger, a shadow ran over her face. Her look of complete confidence dissipated, replaced by doubt. She hesitated.
Blink.
Cayden looked down at the little, pitiful Evil, which now looked more like a microbe than anything else. He pulled with all his might, moving the sun from its place. The sky creaked when the fiery ball shifted from its spot. Cayden let the burning pain in his hands pass through him like a wave, fueling the anger and the hatred he felt toward the Evil. As the sun came closer, its heat scorched the Presence. It wailed and shrank.
“I’m going to destroy you!” Cayden’s voice roared. “You killed my family!”
With a final pull, he crashed the sun into the Red Evil.
Blink.
Cayden tore the chandelier from the ceiling and threw it at Persephone. It broke into a thousand small pieces when it hit her.
Blink.
The sun exploded, and its fire swallowed the Evil. A thundering grumble rumbled all the way to Windhaven, drowning out every other noise. The light went out.
***
The armies of Agapea and Windhaven collided on the battlefield. Blood flooded the ground, the screams of hundreds dying men rising above it, their bodies covering the earth. Queen Mira, possessed by the rage of the Red Evil, chased Count Porcius, trying to capture him. The count was bloodied and weary, and the battle raged with full force around him, death surrounding him on all sides.
Neither of the two armies could prevail. This battle was going to lead to their mutual destruction. Mira charged the count once more, swinging at him. An Agapean soldier appeared in front of the count, taking a hit in the shoulder and slashing the queen’s hip in return. They fell on their knees, powerless.
Somewhere to the west, the earth rumbled. The sun vanished. When Count Porcius and Queen Mira looked up, their eyes widened in disbelief. Cayden, who was now the size of a mountain, was reaching up, grasping the sun in his hands. An enormous and ugly Monster was clinging to him with writhing tentacles.
Cayden moved the sun from the sky and crashed it into the Creature. A bright light and a deafening rumble followed the explosion. The world disappeared.
Chapter 19
T he pulses came and went in waves, slowly subsiding. Each wave sent vibrations into the all-consuming darkness. In this space, Cayden opened his eyes. He was completely alone. Agapea and Windhaven were gone, and so were Charles, the brothers Gèroux, and the Evil. Only the thumping remained.
He reached into his right pocket and took out the half of the picture with him and Mira on it. They had taken it one Sunday when they had gone out for a walk with Adonis. From his left pocket, he took out the other part with the child. Adonis smiled and, in Cayden's mind, he was alive again. He ran around him in the darkness, the red ribbon flapping after him. The sound of laughter filled the space.
The child sank into the blackness, the red ribbon disappearing with him. Tears stung Cayden’s eyes as he held on tightly to the two parts of the picture. He remembered. The memories of his first encounter with the Evil from both worlds merged into his head. They were somehow connected—one couldn’t exist without the other The night he had lost his family. The ambush in the throne room. The car crash, which he’d caused. A burning, all-consuming rage had overcome him, and he’d lost control. It was the same anger he’d felt when the Red Evil had touched him.
“Why? Why?” somebody asked.
The darkness opened, and Mira’s figure appeared. She looked sad, her blue eyes full of pain.
“Tell me why you left us.”
Cayden opened his mouth, but it made no sound.
“Tell me why.”
Tears ran down his face. He didn’t know how to answer.
“I... tried...”
Mira looked at him with a warm smile. There was no trace of the hatred he’d felt from her in Windhaven. All he sensed now was compassion and love.
“I really tried...” he cried. The tears dripped into nothingness. “I couldn’t save you...”
His legs gave way, and he collapsed.
“I'm sorry,” he said. “I'm sorry.”
He hugged her, placing his head on her stomach.
“I can’t do it alone,” he said. “Stay.”
Mira fell on her knees beside him, wiping the tears from his face.
“I can’t do it anymore,” she said. “The anger and hatred are eating me alive. You have to let me go.”
“I can’t. You're the only thing...” Cayden choked on a lump that was stuck in his throat. “The only thing I have left.”
“I'm not her,” said Mira. “Your Mira died in the crash. You created me, as well as the Red Evil, from anguish, pain, and suffering. I am the personification of your guilt. You use me to punish yourself. I can’t continue playing this role. Release me from this curse, I beg you.”
“It’s my fault,” he said. “Mira and Adonis died because of me!”
“I forgive you. Find the strength to forgive yourself.”
“How can you forgive me when I killed you? I am the one who destroyed this family!”
“If you don’t find a way to do it, the Red Evil will consume you,” she said. “I love you.” Her breath gently kissed his face. “I loved you even when you showed up in those ridiculous green tights on our first date in Agapea.”
“I love you,” said Cayden as he stroked her face. How could he ever let her go? Without her, he was nothing. If she wasn’t there to repel the darkness, it would swallow him, and nothing would remain.
Mira placed her hands on his cheeks and put his head on her shoulders. She hugged him firmly. Cayden buried his head in her hair. Her smell took him to another place, and for a moment, he forgot everything. They remained like that for what seemed like an eternity. Finally, he let her go, a flood of emotions washing over him.
Mira got up and stepped back, looking at him with all the love there was in the world.
“I don’t want to lose you again,” said Cayden. “We could live together, forever.”
“No, we can’t,” said Mira. “Don’t you see? This is Its work; It’s trying to deceive you. You have to fight It; be strong! Otherwise you’re dooming hundreds of thousands to a fate worse than death.”
“I struggled for so long,” said Cayden. “How can I let you go when I finally have you back?”
“The Red Evil will never be fully destroyed until you do,” said Mira.
“You don’t have to let her go, you know,” the Red Evil said from behind his back.
“How…?!” asked Cayden in a hoarse voice. “I destroyed you. How are you still alive?”
“I am a part of you. You can never truly destroy me. Take my offer and live forever with Mira. You don’t have to lose her.”
“Don’t listen to It,” said Mira. “It’s lying.”
“She’s the one who’s deceiving you,” said the Evil. “You can have everything you ever wanted.”
“And my son?” asked Cayden. “Will you bring him back?”
“Just ask and it will be done,” said the Evil. Before it finished the sentence, Adonis emerged from the darkness, carrying his red band and laughing as always. Cayden was unable to speak. His son and his wife were back. They could be a family again. “This is what you can get. Just allow me to take over, and you’ll live happily ever after with your family.”
“No,” said Mira. “This is an illusion. Your real family died in the crash. We’re just images of them, projected by your consciousness. Please don’t do this. If you let the Evil take charge over your body, it will bring only destruction to the outside world.”
“I just got you back,” said Cayden with tears in his eyes. “And you’re asking me
to let you go?” He stood up, his feet trembling. “I can’t do it. Not this time.”
“Take my hand,” said the Evil and extended its hand toward Cayden.
“Don’t do it,” said Mira, also reaching out. “Please!”
“I…” said Cayden, not knowing what to do. He stood between the Evil and Mira, torn between them. The pain he felt in his body quickly became unbearable. He screamed to the skies, and darkness enveloped him.
***
After defeating the hospital staff, the patients started a fire that spread rapidly through the hospital. Everyone had already evacuated the building, except for Charles, who stayed behind to look for Cayden. As the psychiatric hospital slowly filled with smoke, “The Rabbit” headed for Doctor Dimitriou’s office. The room was locked. After trying several times to open the door with brute force and failing, Charles started banging on the door. “Cayden!” he shouted. Through the blurred glass, he saw someone stand up and come toward him. The figure collapsed on the floor before it reached the exit. Charles broke the glass with his elbow and saw Cayden lying on the floor. Charles didn’t pay attention to the small cuts he received, for all his attention was directed at Cayden. He helped him get up, and they both headed for the exit.
Cayden tried to pull Charles in the opposite direction.
“No...” he said, coughing. “We can’t leave her.”
“Who?” Charles asked, confused. “Her?!” he said, his eyes opening wide, when he realized that Cayden was talking about Doctor Perfect. “Are you insane?! She tried to kill you!”
“It doesn’t matter,” Cayden said. “We’re not leaving her behind.”
He hobbled back and grabbed Persephone’s unconscious body. Charles helped him carry her as they walked through the smoke curtain, looking for the exit. The smoke was choking them, their eyes were watering, and their vision was blurry. Each step cost them more effort than the previous one. Fumes and fire surrounded them on all sides.
A fresh breeze touched Charles's face. He followed it, and soon the smoke cleared, uncovering the exit ahead.
Once outside, they collapsed on the meadow in front of the burning building. There, the rest of the patients were also lying on the ground, including Jean, Fraud, and Gèroux, as well as the hospital staff on duty. Charles was relieved to see that Nurse Venari was among them, still breathing.