Shattered Souls (Short Story)

Hello, my name is Elaine Kali and I have special abilities. When I was ten years old the U.S. Government took me away from my family, my home, and my only friend, Malakai Thanatos. I was scared and confused at the time. They told me that they’ve been watching me for several years. Everything I’ve done and said, they already knew. They were like the super-secret stalkers of all time, but in reality they were just secret service agents.

They took me to the Government’s Facility in Washington, D.C. I was placed in the Supernatural Department for testing. It seemed like everyone wanted to know what these “special abilities” were. They were nothing special, they were scary most of the time. They’re like bad dreams that you try to wake up from, but you just can’t.

I had access to the other side, which in my mind is the dark side. There were all sorts of evil entities everywhere, but something that was connected with me always protected me and fought them off. I didn’t know what was connected to me until I found out at the very end and why it was connected to me. It all made more sense. It was a very huge weight lifted off my shoulders. It’ll make more sense to you too when I go deeper into the story.

Malakai Thanatos... he was my best friend. I tried everything in my power to make things right, but they were much harder than I thought. I just wish that I had more time with him. I lost eight years with him all because of the Government and because of my "special abilities". When I went to go see him again, time was somehow on my side at that moment.

Now I’m out of this facility and now it’s time I told my story to all of you…

8 Years Ago…

“Elaine I want you to stare at this glass bottle and concentrate and focus really hard to break it.” Dr. McCullens said this nervously as he set the glass bottle on the table.

“I’ll try my best Dr. McCullens.” That’s all I said to him. I wasn’t much of a talker anymore.

Dr. McCullens was a slim, nervous looking doctor most of the time. He had pale skin and thick framed, dark glasses. He usually wore a lab coat and a business casual suit. He had a wife, but she unfortunately passed away during this huge storm. Dr. McCullens went insane for a couple of weeks saying it had something to do with time, obviously no one paid attention, everyone just thought he was dealing with grief. Little did I know, I was going to go through the same thing he went through.

I concentrated on the glass bottle trying to break it. I felt this burst of energy go through me and the glass bottle broke. It felt as though this huge burst of energy inside of me was making everything happen.

“Great job, kiddo.” Dr. McCullens said sounding relieved that nothing bad happened, like last time.

“Thanks, I guess.” I said a little bit lower than intended.

Everyone else just stared in amazement as always. They look sort of relieved too. I guess what happened last week was really bad. I was just getting tired of the tests and everything in the facility. I got upset because I just wanted it all to stop and I broke all of the glass windows and tech equipment. That day everyone was a bit scared and wanted nothing to do with my abilities anymore.

The next morning, I woke up and looked around my room. It was painted purple, I didn’t even like purple. I wasn’t much of a girly girl and I’d prefer my room was blue, but if it couldn’t be that then it could at least be black. I looked outside my bedroom window and the sun was a bright shining diamond. The sun also looked like a person that got the wrong tan which resulted in them looking like an orange. I haven’t been outside in months; they keep me cooped up in this facility all day as if I’m some kind of animal at the zoo. I felt so alone in this facility which was like a prison in my eyes.

The door to my room opened very slowly and in came my mom. I ran to her and jumped in her arms. These visits were rare only because the Government thought it was best to keep me away from my family during this time in my life. My dad was standing in the door frame just staring at us. I was their only child and to have me taken away from them has been hard on all of us.

My mom put me down. “Hey Elaine, how are you feeling?” She said, sounding a bit worried.

“I’m fine, Mom.” I told her with a monotonous voice. I wasn’t really okay. I just wanted to go back home and be normal again, but I know that that’ll never happen again.

“That’s good, kiddo, how are you liking it here so far?” Dad said with a smile on his face, although his smile screamed doubt and fear.

“It’s okay, I guess.” I said yet again with a monotonous voice. There was just no need to be upset, I can’t leave anyways no matter what.

“We have something to give you honey, your father and I thought it would be great for you!” Mom said with a wide genuine smile.

She handed me a small black box with a red, silky bow on it. I untied it slowly, but surely. Once the bow was undone, I opened the box slowly. It was a heart-shaped locket necklace with a small golden clock on the inside.

“We know how much you like time-traveling movies and books and thought that you’d love it.” Dad said.

“Thank you, it’s great.” My dad put it on for me and it felt like it belonged around my neck.

“Well honey you can add more lockets to it if you want, but we must be going now, we’ll see you soon.” They both kissed me on the cheek then left.

I felt empty once they left. I was only ten years old, it felt as if I was in a crazy hospital or something. I was supposed to be at home with my mom and dad and my friend Malakai. I didn’t deserve this, the evil entities and the other side.

5 Years Later…

Now, I was fifteen years old. I was still in this facility, but the game has changed. They put me in the military to serve just because of my ability. It was dangerous out there. I went through training and I had to work out every day. I was even taught how to use a gun. In some ways, I was the new and improved Lara Croft.

Out there on the battlefield, I felt more alive than I’ve ever been in my life. After being stuck in that facility, it felt great to feel the sun on my face. Being on the battlefield was a piece of cake. My abilities came in handy and Alik was on my side as always. I loved it out here.

“Elaine, testing is in two minutes.” Dr. McCullens said. I still had to do my “testing” too, even while I’m out here.

“Okay, Dr. McCullens.” I said back to him. This was the only part of the day I dread.

I went inside the tent where we do the testing. He had everything set up already. “You know; you may be going home in a few years.” Dr. McCullens said this just to lighten the mood.

“No offense Dr. McCullens, but a few years still feels like a lifetime, I’ve been in this facility for 5 years. You have no idea what it feels like to be in here 24/7.” I said to him in a voice that was filled with so much attitude, even I didn’t recognize it.

“C’mon Elaine, it’s not so bad, let’s not go back to square one all over again.” Dr. McCullens said with a deep sadness in his voice.

Suddenly there was gunfire and my heart was pumping with fear. Dr. McCullens looked at me with fear in his eyes too. I went outside the tent to see what was going on. There were grenades being thrown and shots being fired from every direction it was hard to see a thing. I went back inside the tent to calm down.

“We have to leave now!” I screamed at Dr. McCullens. I picked up an AK-47 and tossed him a regular pistol.

“C’mon we have to be quick about this.” I said to him, he was so nervous about this, but he came along anyway.

We took cover and shot our way through the people. It didn’t matter who they were, it only mattered if we were protecting ourselves. That’s what the army taught anyways. Shoot first, ask questions later. The dust flying around was like a huge tornado trying to get me in and tear me up into little tiny pieces.

We made our way through and there was a helicopter waiting for us. We got into the helicopter and flew away. As we were in the air, I tugged onto the necklace my parents gave to me years ago, it reminded me of a happy time in that dreadful place. As I held it in my balled-up fist it felt like everything was going to be okay, I was going to be okay.

3 Years Later… Present Time

I’m finally out, after being in that place for eight years I finally get to feel freedom. I promised myself the first thing I was going to do was see Malakai. It’s been so long and I hope things are okay with him. I wonder what he looks like now, I’ve missed him so much. I tugged on my necklace for good luck before I hopped into a taxi.

The taxi stopped in front of Malakai’s house. It looked the same as I remembered, painted halfway blue and paint chipping off. His foster dad never got to finish the house, unfortunately. I walked slowly to the door, with each step my heart was beating fast like a drum. I stood in front of the door and took a deep breath and knocked.

The door slowly crept open and it revealed Mrs. Thanatos, Malakai’s foster mom. “Hey, Elaine, it's so nice to see you again! How are you?! How are things going?!”

Mrs. Thanatos bombarded me with questions and all I did was smile and said, “Hi, Mrs. Thanatos, it’s so nice to see you and things are great, you look the same as I last remembered you.”

“Oh you are so kind Elaine, I know Malakai is going to be just happy to see you, but he’s out at the moment. Do you want to wait for him?”

“I'd rather I see him now.” I laughed, it’s just been so long since I’ve seen him and I want to surprise him.

“Hahaha, you’re the same as I remember, Elaine. He went to a basketball game at the local high school, you know senior year and all, make it count right?”

“I wouldn’t really know.” I scratched the back of my head and smiled.

“I’m so sorry Elaine, your experiences were basically ripped away from you, now go on and see my son and put a smile on his face.” Mrs. Thanatos told me.

“It’s not your fault, Mrs. Thanatos, and thank you, I will.” I said to her with a smile.

It really wasn’t anyone’s fault, but the Government’s. HE took my life away from me. THEY took my life away from me. All they cared about was testing and me serving the U.S. Military, it wasn’t fair to me. Sometimes I blamed my parents for not protecting me better, but I know that they tried their best.

I get into another taxi and ask the taxi driver to take me to the local high school which is Mount Rush High. The last thing I remember about the school is that the kids went crazy and did all kinds of pranks. One prank I remember specifically is that some group of kids got three people to act like zombies and got on the intercom to tell other kids to keep calm “it’s just the zombie outbreak.” After that, the school went on lockdown.

Before I knew it I was at the school and everything seemed to be lively. People had their faces painted in the school colors, cheerleaders were cheering, and people were joking and laughing. I tried to spot Malakai, but I couldn’t find his set of blonde hair anywhere. When I couldn’t find him, I decided to go to the restroom to catch my breath. I was uneasy around big crowds, being in the facility so long does that to you.

I walked through the halls of the school thinking, I could’ve been in here instead of that facility. I would’ve been much happier and grateful. I dragged my hands along the lockers as I walked. I took in the smell of musky teenagers and smiled. I even took a glimpse of the classrooms, but I stopped once I finally reached my destination.

I opened the restroom door slowly making sure no one was in there, so I can have my miniature break down. I went to the faucet, twisted the handle, and splashed water on my face. I felt better already. I heard the door slowly open and it was a boy, I hurried and hid behind one of the stalls. Um, did I enter the wrong restroom, I know for a fact I didn’t? He looked so nervous and worried, not to mention he looked very familiar.

“Oh God, what have I agreed to?” He sounded worried too. He was sweating bullets.

He had black hair and green emerald eyes. He was lean and tall. He also had pale skin. He really looked like someone I’ve seen before. I will never forget those eyes. Why is he in the girl’s restroom? Suddenly the door bursts open.

“Hey there, nice to see you again. NOT. Now, where’s my money at?” A girl wearing a red beanie said to him in a calm, yet scary voice.

“Look, I know I got the drugs from you, but I came here to give them back to you.” The boy said. Drugs?! He wouldn’t, would he?

“No, you keep the drugs because I came here for MY money, I gave you three days, THREE!” The girl screamed at him. “And you’re going to give it to me.”

“I don’t have the money, I helped my mom pay her bills.” He said to her.

“Aww how sweet, mommy’s boy huh?” She laughed at him. “Well when I ask for my money, I mean give me my money.” She pulled out a gun.

“Hey, HEY what are you doing?” He tried to take it away from her, but the trigger was pulled while they were fighting over it. BOOM! The boy slowly fell to the ground, it felt like it was all happening in slow motion.

I stepped out and screamed, “NOOOOO!”

Everything seemed as though it was going backward. It all happened in a frenzy. Colors were blinding me and the wind around me was roaring. I didn’t know what was happening, it was all new to me. Finally, it all came to a stop and suddenly I was in front of the school again.

Everything was happening all the same again. The cheerleaders singing the same cheer and people still joking around with the same exact joke when I got here. Did I really just go back in time? I tugged on my necklace and realized that must’ve been the source. This time I was going to do it right with the help of ALL my power, so I ran to the restroom as fast as I could.

Nothing happened yet, so I retraced all of my steps. I went to the faucet, twisted the knob, and splashed water on my face. Then the door slowly opened, I went back to my same position as before. The boy repeats what he said when he first walked in last time. Now the girl reappears.

Okay, now it’s time to get into action. They start arguing again and the girl pulls out the gun. Right before the boy reaches for it, I break the restroom mirrors and I flickered the lights. They both stopped what they were doing. I pulled down the fire alarm that’s right next to me and that’s when the boy gets away and the girl leaves.

Everyone is evacuated from the school and the basketball game is canceled. Crap, I just totally ruined a basketball game. Oh well, they probably were going to lose anyway, that’s another thing I remembered this school for, they always lost. Everyone left grumbling and kicking their feet on the ground. I wasn’t sad that I got the game canceled, I saved someone’s life, possibly my best friend’s life.

As I was walking through the parking lot, the girl I saw in the restroom walked up to me.

“It was you wasn’t it? Look I don’t know how you did that, but no one messes up one of my business deals.” She shoved me back.

“Leave her alone, Daeva. This is between me and you.” The boy appears once again.

“No, Malakai, she interfered, now it’s between me and her.” Daeva said.

“Malakai?” I turned to look at Malakai. He dyed his hair black, that’s why I didn’t recognize him. He had tattoos running up and down his arms. He had piercings. I mean what did I expect, it’s been so many years.

“Hey, Elaine.” He smiled at me. His voice was really deep now. Well of course it was.

“Let me give you a ride home.” He said, looking down at me. He was always taller than me.

“Sure, but we can go to your house. I just wanted to hang out with you. You know after all these years.” What would happen if I didn’t have this necklace? I don’t even want to think about it.

“Yeah, c’mon let’s go and back off Daeva.” He glared at her.

“Yeah, whatever Thanatos. Hmm, see you around girly.” She smiled at me, a cold-hearted smile.

Malakai and I walked to his car. It wasn’t anything special, but I wasn’t expecting it to be. Malakai unlocked the doors and we both got in. The air was comfortable and awkward at the same time. He was so different, but it’s been eight years.

Malakai started up the car. “I can’t believe you’re here, it’s actually you. It’s been eight years’ bestie.”

“Malakai you’re such an idiot and yeah that is a long time, I know.” I laughed.

After some small talk and catching up with each other, we finally pulled up to his house. It didn’t take long to get here. We both got out of the car and walked up to the house. He unlocked the door with his key he had and yelled to his mom that we were here. We didn’t hear her reply back, so we assumed she was at work. She ran a small grocery store, we used to run around there when we were young.

“Hey, I want to talk to you about something.” Malakai turned to me with a questioning look on his face.

“Okay, what is it?” I looked up at him.

“Let’s go sit down and talk.” We went upstairs to his room. Clothes were scattered everywhere and I saw a weird collection of rocks on his desk. He saw me looking at it so he said, “I take geology, geology rocks!” He said while pumping his fist into the air.

I rolled my eyes, “Ha, very funny Malakai, very funny.” He smiled at me and told me I could take a seat at his desk, so that’s exactly what I did while he sat on his bed.

“I know what you did, Elaine.” He looked me dead in the eyes.

I knew exactly what he meant, there was no need to deny it. He knew the reason why I left. So, thinking of me saving his life was not really surprising.

“Thank you so much, I mean it. How did you do it?” He asked me.

“I went back in time. I saw you get shot Malakai, I SAW you DIE! I didn’t want that.” I told him with tears in my eyes.

“Whoa, whoa, you went back in time?” He asked with eyes as wide as saucers. “Won't that mess up the universe?”

“Well nothing is happening, so everything should be fine, don’t worry.” I told him.

“Yeah you’re right I guess, some people cheat death sometimes right?” He asked with an unsure smile.

“Right, you’ll be fine Malakai.” I reassured him.

“Well tell me about all your adventures these past years.”

I just told him about the tests they conducted on me and the battles I was in. He thought it was cool, but in reality, if he actually experienced it, his opinion would change in a matter of seconds. This isn’t a healthy life for a person to have, not even a person with my abilities. He asked me how long have I had the time travel powers for, I told him that they were discovered today. He said that he was lucky I discovered them today, otherwise, he’d be dead.

“Well it’s getting late now, do you want to go home?” Malakai asked me while yawning.

“No, we should do a sleepover for old times’ sake.” I told him.

“Yeah you’re right, okay I’ll take the floor and you can take the bed.” He said this as he made a pallet on the floor and started to put on a movie.

“Really? Scary Movie. Ha, I haven't watched that in forever.” It’s been so long since I’ve watched a movie with someone. The last person I watched a movie with was Dr. McCullens and it was a scary movie, so he ended up vomiting every two seconds.

I laid down in the bed while he laid down on the floor. The movie started and there were a few occasional laughs here and there. We made fun of the movie of course, like we used to. It was fun to do this again with him. Before I knew it I was drifting off to sleep.

I was in a dark place. All entities swarming around me, trying to get to me. One of them took Malakai and tore him into pieces. I tried to stop them, but I couldn’t. Malakai was gone for good.

I tried to fight off the entities, but they were too strong. For the first time in my life, my power was gone. I couldn’t feel the presence of it anymore. They had destroyed it too. I was all alone. There was no one or anything to help me fight these demons.

Suddenly I’m in town, everything is on fire and everyone is screaming. There’s nothing to save these people. There’s this huge ball of fire, almost like the sun, coming towards us. It’s coming for the whole entire world. I didn’t have my normal powers, I didn’t have a rewind power, and I didn’t have Malakai. Everything was complete chaos.

“You shouldn’t have done that.” An entity said in a dark, menacing voice.

“Done what?! What are you talking about?! PLEASE!” I screamed at it.

“Oh darling, you'll find out real soon.” It disappeared.

Everything was pitch black.

“Wake up, Elaine!” I heard Malakai exclaim.

I woke up slowly, but surely. “I was asleep? Oh my gosh, that dream felt so real, like it was all happening and I was actually there.” Maybe time travel does have its consequences.

“What dream? What are you talking about?” Malakai asked me in a worried voice. Even though he looked like a hardcore person he was still a big old softy.

I didn’t want to worry him, I just said, “Oh, it was nothing, but something silly, that’s all.” I gave him a wide smile.

“Well, okay then.” He seemed to have let it go. “Are you ready for breakfast, you know? We have the usual eggs and bacon?” Mmm, I could surely smell something delicious.

“Yeah, I remember the smell of Mrs. Thanatos cooking every morning when we were kids, gosh I love her.” I told Malakai and smiled while thinking of the memories.

We ran downstairs to breakfast. “Nice to see you again, Elaine. Ready for some breakfast?” She asked me in her motherly voice.

“Yes, thank you.” She handed me my plate. My phone started to beep. I took it out and it was my parents, 18 missed calls, and 16 messages. Crap, I forgot to call them, so much happened yesterday. I finished eating up my breakfast quickly. “Well, I have to go now, bye!” I told them.

“Wait, where are you going?” Malakai asked me.

“To my parents’ house.” I told him.

“I’ll come with you.” He suggested.

“Well, okay then.” I smiled at him.

As we drove to my parents’ house, we played I Spy games and listened to music on the radio. We sang our little hearts out. In reality, we sounded like dying cats and barking dogs. After all the fun, we finally arrived at my house.

I knocked on the door like I was the police. My parents came quickly. Once they opened the door and saw me, they hugged me almost immediately. They hugged me very tight, to the point where I could barely breathe.

“Can’t…. Breathe.” I wheezed out.

“Oh god, honey we’re sorry, we’re just so happy to see you.” My mom said.

“Yeah, welcome home honey.” My dad said.

“Sorry, I didn’t answer my phone, I was with Malakai.” I told them

“It’s fine as long as you were with someone you know, everything is fine.” They both told me while combining their sentences.

“Hey, Malakai, it's so great to see you.” My mom said.

“You too, Mrs. And Mr. Kali.” Malakai said in a hushed tone.

I guess it pained him to see a mother and father together. He blamed himself for his foster dad’s death. Malakai found out he was adopted; he was only ten years old at the time. He ran away temporarily to his secret hideout. While Mr. Thanatos was on his way to retrieve him, he was caught in crossfire and got shot twice in the head, dying instantly. Malakai blamed himself ever since.

“Hey, do you wanna go to our junkyard?” Malakai asked me.

“What’s at the junkyard?” I stared at him curiously.

“My chill zone.” He answered with a smile.

“Yeah sure, let’s go, see you later mom and dad.”

“See ya later kiddo.” My dad said to me.

“I’m not a kid.” I retaliated, but we were just joking and we both knew that.

Malakai and I got into his car and drove off. It was a peaceful drive overall. Out of nowhere it started to freeze oustide. “Umm, wasn't it like 80 degrees outside?” Malakai asked me. I checked my phone and surely enough it said 85 degrees... what the hell?

“Yeah, it is, hmm.” This freezing cold was unexplainable. I wondered if it had something to do with that dream I had. What if that dream was a warning. I felt warmth come through my body. It was starting to get cold and I used my special abilities to heat myself up. We finally arrived at the junkyard and the weather we back to normal all of a sudden.

“Hey, I thought you two ran off somewhere.” Daeva yelled. Ugh, what is she doing here?

“Oh, really why haven’t we seen you until now?” I asked her.

“And so she speaks, you barely uttered a word during our last meeting.” She said to me.

“Look, Daeva, just leave us alone, you’ll get your money eventually.” Malakai jumped in.

“Yeah, I better get it, I’ll see you two idiots around.” She said while walking away with the peace sign up.

“Man, when will she leave us alone?” Malakai was frustrated, I could tell.

“Well not trying to be mean or anything, but when you get the money she’ll leave us alone. Why do drugs in the first place?” Surely he was in a rough spot, but is drugs really the answer?

“I was just in a tough spot, Elaine. My grades were dropping, I could barely sleep, and you know just a lot of stuff. Man, I wish my dad was here to help me.” I felt bad for Malakai, I truly did, foster dad or not, he still raised him.

“I’m sorry about that day, Malakai, but know that he is watching over you, he’s always watching over you.” I told him to give him some hope and reassurance.

“Yeah thanks, Elaine. Well back to you now. What happened with the tests?” Great and we’re back to me.

“Well there was this one test, I could see a person who passed away whole life story. It was a test on this one girl who committed suicide, I’ll never forget it.” I told Malakai. She was so broken.

“Tell me, what did you see exactly?” Malakai was full of curiosity now.

Flashback: 2 Years Ago

“Hello Elaine, are you ready for today’s test?” Dr. McCullens asked me, looking nervous as usual during every test I do.

“Yes, Dr. McCullens.” I replied back to him.

Today we were in a morgue. They wanted me to view a past life of a girl who committed suicide, so they could get the full story of what happened and why it happened. Her name was Mallory Evans. Her family was devastated and her school was gloomy. She was found in the girl’s restroom at school, she had swallowed pills.

I walked slowly to her body. She was pale and there were dark circles around her eyes. Her blonde hair was slicked back and shiny. She was very pretty, she looked peaceful and angelic.

“Take a deep breath kid, everything will be fine.” I don’t know why

Dr. McCullens said that… he was shaking more than me. I just nodded my head.

I took the girl’s cold hand in mine and my head flew back instantly. I was her. I couldn’t do anything; I wasn’t controlling her. I could hear her thoughts and knew what her actions were going to be. It was a few days before she committed suicide.

“Hi honey, how are you feeling today?” I’m guessing this was her mom. She had blonde platinum hair. She was short and she had the widest, genuine, caring, mother smile on her face. I could tell that she really loved Mallory and wanted the best for her.

“I’m okay I guess, even though you put me in a school I didn’t even want to go to. I have no friends, I get bashed on every time I accomplish something, mom why is this so hard? Why is it so hard living this way?” I could feel the tears glistening in Mallory’s eyes. Not only did this hurt me, I could see it hurt her mother also.

“Mallory, it’ll all be fine. You’ll be okay, I promise you. You can make it through this, I just want the best for you and only you.” Her mom was on the verge of tears.

“Okay, I’m trusting you on this, Mom, I really am.” I could hear the hope in Mallory’s voice dripping out. She truly wanted things to work out.

After that, I skipped to the next day at school. There was this boy with thick, black glasses. He was tall and out of shape. While Mallory was walking down the hall, he pushed her against the locker. This had caught her off guard and she was trying to fight him off.

“Let go of me, Aeron!” Mallory screamed at him.

“Hey, shut up! I don’t like you. Everyone here is better than you. You’re nothing, but a waste of space.” I could feel the sting in Mallory’s heart. C’mon Mallory be strong, I know you can, those were her thoughts.

She finally got out of his grip and pushed him off. “Why do you do this? Why do you torment me? I don’t even mess with anyone. Every time I do something right, it’s always assumed as, “Ohhhh, she’s cheating,” or, “Look at that she won, she would’ve lost if everyone was on their A-game.” I could see her flashbacks as she remembered those moments. I could feel the sting in her heart every time.

“You’re just a little cry baby, this is why no one likes you.” Aeron screamed at her.

No one knows about my depression and my social anxiety. Only if you truly knew how hard it was for me. Her thoughts kept jumping out at me. They weren’t pleasant at all. So, that was the case? Depression and social anxiety. Don’t judge a book by its cover.

I skipped to the next day. I was on her bed and she was looking at a picture of what appeared to be her father. Apparently, he was deceased. One night he was abusing Mallory and her mother grabbed the shotgun. She shot him in self-defense. Her mind and past were troubled. Her mind used to be so full of light, now it was complete darkness.

I skipped to her last day here on Earth. She walked slowly to the girl’s restroom. When she finally reached it, no one was in there. She splashed water on her face and looked into the mirror. She replayed the conversation that she had earlier that morning with her mom.

“Darling, have a wonderful day at school today.” Mallory was sad because she had her mind made up.

She smiled at her mom one last time, a genuine smile. That’s what she wanted her mom to remember. She hugged her mom tightly and said, “I love you, mom, thanks for being there for me when no one else was.” Her mom hugged her back tightly.

“Always honey, always.” Those were the last words that she ever heard her mom say.

I was back in the restroom again. Mallory already had her pills out. She lifted them up in the air and said, “To good fortune. Goodbye cruel, sick world.” With that, she swallowed the pills and everything went black.

“Elaine, you're back! Are you okay? What did you see?” Dr. McCullens asked me.

I felt something dripping from my nose, it was blood. It happens every time when I’m gone for far too long. Dr. McCullens handed me a tissue and I wiped my nose. “Thanks.” I thanked him for the tissue. I told him everything that I saw.

The doctor and Dr. McCullens were shocked at what I told them. Just experiencing another person’s last moments is haunting. The case was closed and the family was informed that Mallory was being bullied. Aeron was never arrested, I didn’t expect him to be, something tells me that he did more to her, however that is their story, not mine.

I went over to Mallory’s body and looked down at her. “May you rest in peace.” I said and pulled the sheet over her. After that, I left the morgue and went back into my wormhole, the Government’s facility.

End of Flashback.

“Wow.” That was all Malakai could say.

“I know it’s weird, but it’s what I do.” I told him feeling like I had to defend myself.

“No, don’t worry, I get it.” He told me.

This whole time we were just walking and we decided to stop at a bus station. No one else was here, but the bus is supposed to be here in five minutes. We talked more about my life and his. Suddenly, the bus was storming down the road and was coming towards us. I jumped back and Malakai was stuck just staring, I tried to get him, but it was too late, the bus had run him over.

I went back in time and tried to stop it. Again, colors flew past me and I was back five minutes into the past, right before the bus showed up.

“Malakai we need to get back or else that bus is going to run you over.” Malakai looked at me with wide eyes and jumped back from where he was standing.

The bus was speeding towards this way again and I hurried up and tried to slow it down. The bus came to a complete stop and everyone was safe. I looked at the bus driver, he looked scared out of his mind. Malakai looked relieved.

I felt so weak and my nose was bleeding. “Whoa, Elaine, are you okay?” I heard Malakai say.

“Yeah… I’m okay.” I fell down to the ground.

“Elaine, ELAINE!” His voice sounded so far away.

I was in the city again. The ball of fire was coming towards us. Everything was on fire. I saw a newspaper flying in the distance. I quickly ran to it and grabbed it. I read the date: Friday, June 3, 2016. Oh goodness, today is Tuesday, May 31, 2016. THIS IS GOING TO HAPPEN IN THREE DAYS?!

I woke up in someone’s lap. Malakai was holding me tightly. “Elaine? Are you okay? What happened?” Malakai seemed worried out of his mind.

“I’m fine, just some kind of vision I think.” I told him while getting my long, black hair out of my face.

“Okay as long as you’re fine it’s all good, I’ll take you home okay?”

“Okay.” I felt defeated.

The drive home was comfortable, but my mind was raging. What do all of these dreams and visions mean? I mean first, the freezing cold, these time travel powers, and Malakai dying. So many questions that can’t be answered right now.

We finally reached my home and Malakai said, “See ya later.” I told him I’d see him later too. I walked up to my front door and knocked. My dad opened the door. “How are you, kiddo?” He asked.

“I’m fine, Dad, Where’s Mom?” I asked him.

“She’s upstairs getting some shut-eye.” His eyes gestured towards the stairs.

“Okay, I think that’s what I’m going to do too, good night, Dad.” I told him while yawning and stretching.

“Okay and Elaine?”

“Yeah?”

“It’s nice to have you back.” He smiled.

I smiled back, “It’s good to be back.”

I went upstairs and sat down on my bed. I took my shoes off and laid down. While I was looking up, black stuff started to drip from the ceiling. It was almost like a black liquid of some kind. I jumped off my bed and sprang into action. It was an entity.

I gave myself a burst of energy and started to fight off the entity. As I was fighting the entity another one suddenly appeared in the mirror causing me to jump back and fall. As I fell, I felt the entities grabbing my feet and dragging me, I held my hand up and gave out another burst of energy getting rid of them completely. I felt weak after this little encounter. It seemed as if no one in the house heard anything.

I passed out again, only this time I fell on my bed. Everything was pitched black. An entity popped up and said, “Your actions will have consequences.”

“What do you mean? What are you talking about?” I asked, panting.

“Aw, so naïve. You’re so oblivious and in denial. It’s sad. As I’ve said before, you'll see soon.” After the entity said that everything went pitch black.

I woke up again and it was morning. Wednesday June 1, 2016, two days until that fiery freak storm happens. My phone started to ring, I picked up immediately. “ELAINE, ELAINE! MALAKAI’S BEEN SHOT GET OVER HERE QUICK!” It was Mrs. Thanatos.

I asked no questions, I went to Malakai’s house in a hurry. Before I knew it, I was there. I hurried and went into the house. I saw Mrs. Thanatos with a Malakai gasping for air. “What happened?!” I asked.

“Oh God, I don’t know, Elaine. Gunshots came out of nowhere.” She was crying nonstop, but who wouldn’t, it’s her son.

I held onto my necklace and started to go back in time. Colors zoomed past me once again and everything was going backward. I was back at my house and Mrs. Thanatos hadn't called yet. I hurry up and run over to Malakai’s house. I see a black car pulling up. I hurry up and open the door and tell everyone to duck and take cover.

That’s exactly what everyone did. Gunshots rang throughout the house. After it was done, no one was hurt and everyone was fine. Strange enough, I saw this blue mystical-looking butterfly, it was so mesmerizing and beautiful. Malakai ran over to me, accidentally squashing the butterfly in the process. I didn’t want to believe in the butterfly effect.

“Wow, thanks for saving my life again. This is like the zillionth time.” He hugged me tightly.

“I could never lose you, Malakai, not again, especially after all these years.” I said to him with tears in my eyes.

“You won’t lose me, I’m like your partner in time.” Wow, he’s so corny.

“Ha, good one.” I said while rolling my eyes.

“I have to go to school, I kinda skipped yesterday hanging with you, today’s the last day of school anyways.” He told me.

“Yeah, I know, have a good day.” I hugged him.

“You too!” He left out the door.

“What a crazy start to the day,” Mrs. Thanatos said while wiping her head. “Also nice call, Elaine.” She thanked me.

“It was just luck on my side, no problem.” I told her.

“Well, what do you say about a visit to my husband?” She asked me.

“Sure, I haven’t seen him in a while.” It's been eight years since I visited Mr. Thanatos' grave.

Mrs. Thanatos drove us to the cemetery. The day Mr. Thanatos died, it was a sad day. Not only for Me, Mrs. Thanatos, Malakai, and my parents, but for the whole entire town. Mr. Thanatos was the head of the police department. He could've called for backup, but he only saw the situation as trying to find his son. Maybe if I had this necklace at that time, I could've saved him.

We finally reached the tombstone. I sat down in front of it. I reached out to touch it and when I did, my head flew back instantly. I saw glimpses of his death and what happened. We had it wrong this entire time.

"Elaine, are you okay?" Mrs. Thanatos looked concerned.

"Yeah I'm fine, sorry this happens at random times." I decided not to tell her what I saw.

"Well you can have a few words with him, I'll be in the car." I nodded my head.

Once she left I started talking. "Hey, Mr. Thanatos, it's been a while since I've seen you."

"I guess you didn't really get caught in the crossfire. You were murdered and for that I'm sorry." I started to shake my head. "I have to go now, but I hope that you've found peace.”

I walked my way back to the car. Mrs. Thanatos was there, wiping away her tears. This is the reason why I couldn't have just let Malakai die.

Mrs. Thanatos has lost so much already. Why was all of this death happening?

"I'm ready to leave now, Mrs. Thanatos." She quickly straightened herself up.

"Okay, Elaine let's go." I put my hand on her shoulder and said, "It's okay to cry sometimes, it just shows how strong you are." She smiled and nodded her head, then she started up the car.

The drive back to the house was awkward. I've rarely ever seen Mrs. Thanatos cry. I know I've been away for a while and things have changed. Malakai trying drugs and everyone just seeming gloomier than usual. Before I knew it I drifted off to sleep.

"That day is getting closer, make a decision!" After that, I heard evil laughing, but I couldn't see anything.

"Elaine, we're here." I heard Mrs. Thanatos' voice as she shook my shoulder gently.

"Okay, thanks for taking me there to the graveyard today." She nodded her head as if to say no problem.

"Malakai should be home." And with that, I ran to the door, ready to tell him about what happened the day his father died.

"Hey, Elai-" I cut him off. "I have something to tell you, it's important."

He looked at me weirdly and took me to his room. "What is it?"

"I went to your father's grave today and touched his tombstone, I saw something. His death wasn't an accident; it was on purpose." He looked surprised by my words.

"How was it a murder?" He looked like he wanted to murder someone.

"I saw some people planning it the day before he died, it was two men, but you'll never believe who it was."

"Who was it?"

"Pete and Steven." His fist instantly punched the wall. Pete and Steven were both police officers, but Malakai's dad held all the power over them. They were just fed up with him that they wanted to end his place as head police officer by ending his life. This was eight years ago, any evidence there was is now destroyed. I saw them destroying it in the glimpses that I had.

"Why would they do this?! All because of envy?!" He was livid. I calmed him down to the best of my ability. Suddenly, we heard a crackling noise in the ceiling. The ceiling fan was falling from its place. Once it fell it landed on Malakai and crushed his skull.

Oh God, was it the punch to the wall?! That didn't matter right now, I re-winded before it was too late. I was back exactly five minutes before it happened, I used my power to push Malakai out of the way and the ceiling fan fell on the floor causing this huge dent. I see a huge bill for this in their future.

"Oh wow, are you okay?" Really, why would you even punch the wall in the first place… I thought to myself.

"I see that look on your face… I was angry, what could I do? Anyways, yeah I'm fine thanks, yet again for saving me." I shook my head at him. This was getting ridiculous. My nose started to bleed again and my head felt like one hundred degrees. I passed out again.

"Little girl, you'll never learn." I heard the entity say to me. "You need to know when you mess with the universe, you must pay the price."

"What are you talking about?! All I did was save a life." I yelled at it.

"This is not a life for a life dear, this is a life for a whole entire world!" It did its evil laugh and everything was dark again.

"Elaine, dude why does this keep happening? Is it because of me? Is it because you saved me?" He was in a frenzy and frustrated.

"I don't know, how long was I out for?" I asked him while looking around frantically.

"Elaine, today is Thursday." My eyes opened as wide as they could. Thursday, June 2, 2016. Tomorrow was the day and I needed to tell him all about it.

"Malakai, I think it does have something to do with me saving you. I messed with the universe and now I have to choose between you and the world." Malakai nodded his head understanding what I was saying.

"Maybe there's another way, maybe nothing has to be destro-" Malakai cut me off.

"No, there's no other way Elaine. It's okay." He held his head down a little.

"But there has to be something I can't lose you again, I won't lose you again." He was my only friend in this world. Of course, I had my parents, but Malakai… he’s… my friend.

"It's okay, we have one more day together, let's have fun!" He said this while pumping his fists up in the air.

"Fine, what do you suggest we do?"

"Let’s go rob a bank or something, no one would remember anyway." My eyes got really wide. "I'm just kidding, let's go to the places we used to go to when we were kids." I nodded my head, that was much better.

The first place we went to was the greenhouse, we used to come in here every time our mothers were gardening together. We'll sit in there for hours just talking and running around picking out the flowers that were in full bloom. It was before my life went to crap and before Malakai's dad died. Everything was so wonderful and peaceful, but all good things must come to an end. I became an adult at such a young age, it was unfair.

"This place seemed so big back then." It looked smaller than the last time we came, well the last time I came.

"Or maybe we just got older." Malakai looked down at me. "Ready to go inside?" I nodded my head.

When we got inside the place looked dead. The flowers were dying and everything was just so out of place. The paint was chipping off and some of the glass windows were broken, most of them covered in dust. There was also vandalism, but only one stuck out to me, it said: You can't just change things the way they were written and not have consequences. After reading that, completely out of the blue, the blue mystical butterfly appeared again. Just like before, Malakai accidentally killed it.

"Whoops, sorry butterfly." After he said that he just shrugged it off.

For the rest of the time we just talked about life and why was I even given the gift to change things in the first place. If I have this gift, then why are there consequences? We were in the garden house for most of the day, just enjoying each other's company for one last time.

After that, we drove home. We walked into his house and went into his room. We were both in our own thoughts. I could tell that he was scared, he wasn't ready to go just yet, who wouldn't be scared? I put my hand on his shoulder for comfort.

"Thank you." This was a surprise. Why was he thanking me? He was about to be sacrificed.

"For what?"

"For giving me the whole week to live, thank you." I just nodded my head.

There was a big boom outside. It's happening, the storm is happening. There was this big, bright, orange light outside. It was only 12:00 a.m. "Is it happening?" Malakai asked frantically.

"Yeah, it's happening."

"Just let me say goodbye to my Mom first and your parents." I nodded at his final request.

Malakai zoomed downstairs. I was on my way to go with him, but I noticed something. There was a picture of a blue butterfly crumpled up on the middle of his floor. Three strikes you're out. It is the butterfly effect.

I ran down the stairs. This was my best friend, but he needed to be quick about it. Mrs. Thanatos looked broken and so destroyed while Malakai looked defeated. He quickly ran out of the house, and around the corner to my house. I left after him, but while I was leaving a blast of fire shot out at his house.

"NOOOO! Mrs. Thanatos?!" I needed to do this quickly.

I ran to my house as fast as I could. I was only down the street when I tripped over something or someone. It was a boy who looked very familiar. It was Aeron, the boy who bullied Mallory to death. Yes, he is a horrible person, but he doesn't deserve death, he'll deal with the guilt for the rest of his life. I finally made it to the front of my house and I saw Mom, Dad, and Malakai all on the floor crying and saying goodbyes. I checked my phone and it was 8 a.m. Whoa, how did we jump eight hours ahead? Maybe time is messed up somehow.

"Malakai it's time, we have to do this now!" He hurried up and hugged me and said, "Okay, let's do this." Then he kissed my forehead and smiled. He wanted me to remember him like this.

We got out of my house and went into the middle of the street. Cars were scattered everywhere. Just as I was observing the scene a huge blast came towards my house. "MOM, DAD, NO, PLEASE!" I could barely stand. I could hear my every breath and my heartbeat. This needs to be done now!

"I love you, Malakai." I looked him straight in the eyes. "I love you, too Elaine." I held onto my necklace and thought about that fateful day.

I was back and they were midway into the argument. “No, you keep the drugs because I came here for MY money, I gave you three days, THREE!” Daeva screamed at Malakai. “And you’re going to give it to me.”

“I don’t have the money, I helped my mom pay her bills.” He said to her.

“Aww how sweet, mommy’s boy huh?” She laughed at him. “Well when I ask for my money, I mean give me my money.” She pulled out the gun that was going to kill my best friend.

“Hey, HEY what are you doing?” He tried to take it away from her, but the trigger was pulled while they were fighting over it. BOOM! Malakai slowly fell to the ground, it felt like it was all happening in slow motion, all over again.

I fell to the ground and started crying instantly. I ripped off the necklace and threw it. Something happened to me… I felt empty… I tried to give off bursts of energy, but my special abilities were gone… it was all gone.

"NO! PLEASE, NO!" I felt empty, there wasn't anything there anymore. I've gotten used to it after all these years. I wasn't paying attention to the scene, but it seemed that Daeva left and Malakai was just there, not moving, not making a sound. The blue butterfly appeared and landed in his blood, then it dissolved.

I went to the school's guard outside and told him everything I saw. He called for the police. Once they arrived, I told the police the name of the girl and gave them her description. I looked at the school doors, they came out with a body bag and loaded it up into the ambulance. "Goodbye, Malakai."

Later that day, Daeva was in a police chase. At the same time my parents were on the road. They both crashed into each other. My mom and dad were pronounced dead at the hospital and Daeva died too, also a lot of the police officers were injured. While I was walking down the street I saw Aeron. I looked down as we passed each other.

On Friday, June 3, 2016, I attended my Mom's, Dad's, and Malakai's funeral. Mrs. Thanatos and I were given flowers and "sorry for your loss cards." Not only did I lose the three of them, but I also lost my power, the thing I had with me for all of these years.

I went to California the day after the funerals. I needed a new change of scenery and a new way of life. I had the chance to start over again. I haven't seen any entities and everything seemed to be normal.

My first week in California was great. However, one night when I went to sleep the dream was very ominous. It was a Monday, the start of the second week. I saw something in my dreams. The storm was back and someone was wearing the necklace.

The End.