Chapter Three: The Allgood Leaders

WHIT

I sat in my seat at the large round table with Emmet, Ross, Janine, and the other twenty-nine kids chosen to be on the Council, listening to the ticking of the large clock on the wall. We waited silently in the City hall chamber for my sister Wisty to arrive.

Three months had passed since Wisty and I defeated The One and Pearce in battle at the City square. Our citizens named us "leaders of the City" a week afterwards. We decided to uphold our people's idea of having a Council to restore the City and turn it into a place of peace and prosperity. The new Council that Wisty and I formed consisted of thirty-four kids chosen from members of the Resistance, aged around twelve to nineteen. Amongst the thirty-four kids were seventeen boys and seventeen girls. We banned anyone over nineteen from serving on the Council, of course, as my sister and I had learned the hard way that adults couldn't be trusted with City leadership because power corrupted them too easily.

The Resistance members appointed Wisty and I, a witch and a wizard, as Speakers of the Council. We refused to accept the title at first and suggested that for each meeting we change to a new Speaker instead, you know, to prevent us from turning into power-corrupted kids; but the rest of our group would not have it. They went on about us saving the City thrice from destruction—first from The One Who Is The One and his New Order, then from the Wizard King in the Mountains, and from Darrius and his army after that. They reminded us of our heroic deeds in the past and emphasized on how vital it was for Wisty and I to lead. They reminded us of the Prophecies written about us in the Book of Truths—I still remembered each and every word. They told us that we were different from all the previous Speakers of the Council such as Terrence Rino and Matthias Bloom, that power won't be able to corrupt us. Our people claimed that we were meant to be their leaders; we were meant to rule.

And Wisty and I both realized that they were right.

The Council held its meetings once in every two weeks at the City hall chamber, at nine o'clock in the morning. We've held six meetings so far, and Wisty had arrived late at every single one of them apart from the first. Apparently she was late for this one as well. I stole a glance at the clock on the wall, which read 9:08. Her constant lateness was beginning to embarrass me. As leaders, Wisty and I were supposed to wait on the rest of the Council. What kind of a leader lets the Council wait on them?

Where is she? I wondered anxiously to myself. What could've kept her so busy this time?

I cleared my throat. Just as I was about to begin without her, the doors to the chamber swung open and banged loudly against the wall, and in walked Wisteria Allgood in a chic green dress.

"Sorry everyone," she said guiltily, "I woke up early to start a new book I've been dying to read. I got so engaged in it that I lost track of time."

She quickly slipped into the vacant seat on my left. I noticed that her long red hair was matted and tangled. I guessed she didn't have the time to brush it.

"This is a habit for you now, isn't it?" I sighed, "It's okay, Wisty, just don't do it again."

"I won't," she whispered.

We sat around a round table instead of a long, rectangular one because everyone in the group believed that a round table represented equality. Although Wisty and I were the Speakers, everybody else on the Council had an equal right to share their own views.

I turned to my fellow Council members, "Welcome," I addressed them. As much as I hated speaking in front of an audience, I've gained a lot of experience as a leader from the meetings we held in the past, with a little help from Janine, who was an excellent speaker. I continued, "Before we move on to our agenda for today, lets pick up from where we left off last time. Bring forth any tidings that you have about our City." Yep, that was how I always liked to begin each Council meeting, by allowing my fellow members to share any news, opinions, and suggestions they might have. Wisty had agreed it was a good idea.

Emmet was the first to speak up, "The pillar from the Old Palace that came crashing down during the last battle has been replaced with a new one. Its construction was completed two days ago. The builders are now working on hoisting it upright."

"That's great," I nodded contently at Emmet and said.

Ross was the next to inform me, "The abandoned toy factory which had formerly been The Family's headquarters was now thriving with business. A bunch of new children's toys had arrived at a supermarket in the last week. Its owners reported that the number of customers there had risen by fifteen percent in just a few days."

"Sounding good," I told Ross. I remembered telling him to put the toy factory to good use during our very first meeting.

Wisty piped up, "What about Garfunkel's, the bombed-out department store that was the first Resistance hideout?"

Emmet turned to me and Wisty and said, "Garfunkel's was so seriously bombed by the N.O planes that I thought it was completely destroyed, but builders were set to repairing it over two months ago as you had both requested. Its construction is currently still ongoing, and I don't think the process will be completed in another month or so."

I nodded and said to Wisty, "Emmet's right. He and I visited the construction site the day before, and that was the conclusion we came up with."

Wisty said, "Okay," she turned back to the others and asked, "Is there anything else?"

"Most of the houses that were damaged by N.O bombings had been rebuilt," said Janine, "And people are still working on repairing a leisure centre and a shopping centre."

Terrence Rino, the small, pale, and blonde seventeen-year-old who was Speaker in the previous Council, and the one who promoted the precise and methodical process whereby unnatural powers are extracted from their host known as Excision, announced, "All corpses of the Horsemen left over from the last battle have been cleared from the City square by the magicians." Neither Wisty nor I liked the guy, but we allowed him to be on the Council because lots of people thought that his power of speech was legendary.

"Ever since The Family's theft at Robert and Sons, the supermarket has been shut down for fear of ever being attacked again. Now the place is bustling with people," said Serena cheerfully, a girl with black hair and green eyes who lately joined the Resistance.

"The Academy Theatre at the western edge of town had its front windows smashed to pieces by The Family. Now all that damage was repaired and the theatre has returned to the welcoming and popular state it was once in," informed blonde-haired Greg, also one of the newcomers of the Resistance.

"It sounds like we've made excellent progress so far," I told everyone with satisfaction.

Wisty then said, "Oh, I've wiped out all messages that The Family have written on the side of buildings with my magic, by the way, including my own messages too."

"And I gave the Needermans a new apartment to live in. It's safe and comfortable," I added.

Janine smiled and said to me, "After having spent years of hiding from their enemies, they totally deserved something as wonderful as this."

I smiled back at her before turning to the others, waiting for more news from them.

"I think that's pretty much all that we've got," Emmet looked around at everybody and told me after a moment.

"Great. Thank you for all the information," I addressed them, "My sister and I have a couple more things to discuss." I glanced at our agenda list on the table, and then suggested, "I know that we've covered a lot of ground already, but the interior of the art museum at Kathsden Street still needs to be repaired. Plenty of paintings that hung on the walls were destroyed and torn to shreds by The Family. I suggest that we get some artists to start working on new paintings."

"They already started working on those months ago, but I heard they've been handing their finished pieces to be displayed in another gallery," Ross told me, "I'll visit the gallery and tell them that the art museum is also in need of new decorations."

"That sounds like a good idea," said Wisty. I nodded in agreement.

Wisty continued, "Does any of you remember the Stockwood Music Festival?"

Many kids nodded delightfully and some of them whispered in excitement.

A brunette boy in a blue T-shirt said to my sister, "That was ages ago, but of course we remember! You were a total rock star up there on the stage."

My sister beamed at him and said, "Yeah, I guess I was. The Freelanders held the concert in what was once the underground reservoir for a small village called Stockwood. The reservoir had been totally drained and is now just a stadium-sized cavern. I heard news of people wanting to inhabit the village once again. There was talk about moving in to the place within the next month," she looked around at the rest of the Council before continuing, "I think that the Council should get citizens to fill up the Stockwood reservoir again. If people are going to live there, they'll most definitely have to rely on it for their water supply."

I added in support, "Plus, we already have a central stadium where we can host everything from foolball matches to rock concerts. We don't need the reservoir. So why not fill it with water again?"

The kids considered this for a moment and then began to nod in assent.

"Yeah, sure," said Greg, "Should I tell the citizens about our intentions for the Stockwood reservoir tomorrow?"

I told him, "Of course, Greg." Then I returned my attention to everyone else and said, "I believe there's one more thing we need to sort out. The giant machine that was used to Excise magicians in this City is still in the Government Lab. No one has any use for it. It had been sitting there for three months now. We should do something about it, don't you think?" I kept a steady gaze on Terrence while I spoke.

"The Excision machine…I completely forgot about that," Janine said.

"Anybody has an idea on what we should do with it?" Wisty asked.

"Destroy it," replied the boy in the blue T-shirt, "My older brother was one of the magicians who had submitted. After the battle, he began to heavily regret the decision he made. He wished he could have his powers back."

I remembered the emptiness and nothingness I felt when I was Excised that day, and how much I regretted my stupid decision. "How do we destroy it?" I asked the brunette boy.

Wisty looked at me like I'm a total freaking idiot, the look I've gotten so used to, and answered impatiently, "With magic, of course."

"Yeah, how else are we going to do it?" The boy asked me.

Terrence suddenly interrupted, "I don't think we should destroy the machine at all. I say we move it to a rarely used room in the Lab and then lock it up in there. If any magician wants to give up their powers, the machine will be available."

Wisty glared daggers at him, and retorted, "Magic was the key in healing this broken City. You're beyond crazy to think for a second that the magicians want to give up their powers, Terrence."

Janine immediately cut in before Terrence could say another word, "Calm down, Wisty." She then addressed everyone, "I don't think it's necessary to destroy the machine. Leaving it in the Lab won't cause us any harm. Plus, destroying it would mean more debris to deal with, and we already have enough work cut out for us in the City."

I told her, "That sounds reasonable. All right then, we'll go with Terrence's suggestion. We lock up the machine," and then I added, "but not for the reason he just explained."

Terrence put up his hands and said, "All sorted."

I rolled my eyes and then announced, "That's it everybody. We've covered all that needs to be discussed. Let's wrap up this meeting. Thank you for your time and attendance."

The kids said their goodbyes to me and Wisty and began to file out of the chamber. Janine stayed behind. Wisty and I stood up.

"That was nicely organized, wasn't it, Whit?" Wisty asked me after the last of the Council members had left.

I let out a sigh of relief and replied, "Yeah it was. Now we have the rest of the day to ourselves." I looked at Janine and we smiled at each other.

Wisty narrowed her eyes in curiosity and asked me teasingly, "So, Whit, what are you planning to do for the rest of your day, hmm?" She glanced at Janine, then back at me, and I could tell that she already knew the answer before she asked the question.

She shrugged and said, "Never mind. Have fun guys." She headed for the doors.

"And where are you heading to?" I called after her.

Wisty called back at me, "The beach. I'm gonna go back to my apartment to fetch my book, and then I'll settle down somewhere on the beach to read! " And then she hurried out of the chamber and disappeared.

Janine and I ambled along a meandering path in a public garden during the hot summer afternoon, hand in hand. Janine worked as a trauma nurse at the City Hospital. She was usually quite busy, so I didn't get to see her much during weekdays, except when the Hospital called me in to help the sicknesses that the doctors couldn't treat with some magic. But today was Sunday, so Janine got a day off. After the Council meeting this morning, we took the opportunity to go on a date. I loved moments like this, where she and I could spend the day relaxing and doing something normal together.

The garden we strolled in was full of lush trees and fields of beautiful flowers. We passed by benches and statue of figures from time to time. There was a huge water fountain at the centre where children loved to play. There was also a pond in another area of the garden which kids often splashed around. I enjoyed hearing the sounds of their laughter the previous times I'd been here.

"See? I told you that you would last through all those meetings," Janine said to me, "I think you and Wisty were doing a pretty good job as Speakers of the Council and leaders of the City. Governing may be difficult for you in the beginning, but after you've done it for a month or two, you'll start to feel like you're getting used to it."

I agreed, "Yeah, I think I am." I asked her after a moment, "So, how was work at the City Hospital last week?"

She shrugged and said, "Oh, you know, the same old same old. I have to say I was a lot busier before the battle, with the threat from Darrius and The Family and all of that. We had a lot more patients being carried to the Hospital back then, and so many people were injured. Since then most citizens are well and healthy, I have fewer patients to treat now."

I stared at the path ahead of us and said, "Everything is going so well in the City. We were given back all things that were taken from us. Books, music, movies, and art are no longer banned. Those with magic use their powers and abilities for good, and they're allowed to practice it whenever they want. This City is finally free from tyranny, once and for all. It's like we are back to living in a peaceful world before the New Order. It's as if all the evil that took hold of this City had never existed."

Janine said, "Yeah. I can't believe how amazing this is. Things will be like this all the time now, wouldn't it?"

I gazed at her sage green eyes and smiled down at her, "Of course it will," I said.

I put my arms around her waist, leaned in, and kissed her sweetly. She laughed, wrapped her arms around my neck, and deepened the kiss. Janine was compassionate, calm, serious-eyed, brave and optimistic. She was the girl who helped me find happiness again after losing Celia. She had always been there for me and saw the best in me no matter what. She and I had been through so much together in the past, and I was more than elated just to be with her right here, right now.

Janine backed me against a tree trunk, her lips still connected with mine. I pulled her close toward me, and then closer. She fumbled for my shirt, trying to lift it over my head. I took mine off and she quickly shook off hers and let her top drop to the grass at her feet. She leaned in and pressed her lips against mine, kissing me more fiercely this time. I ran my fingers through her wavy dark hair and felt the softness and smoothness of her skin. With a sudden feeling of hunger and desire for her, I took hold of her shoulders and pushed her against the tree this time. I gave her a little kiss on the mouth before moving my lips to her neck, down to her chest, and then back up to her mouth again. We stayed like that for a long time, and when we broke apart, we were both laughing in joyfulness.

"When was our last date together?" She asked me.

I replied, "I can't remember, but it felt like ages ago," before I moved in to kiss her again.

We spent the rest of our afternoon chilling out in the garden, talking about our common interests like our favourite books, movies, TV programmes, music, and of course: magic. Then we walked to my apartment where we got in my car and I drove us to a fancy restaurant for dinner. We ordered our favourite food and drinks and had a nice and lovely chat with a few other Resistance kids who were also dining there. After Janine and I left the restaurant and waved goodbye to our friends, we took a long walk on the beach with the cool summer evening breeze drifting around us.

It wasn't until nearly midnight before I bid Janine goodnight and returned to my apartment. I was a bit surprised to see that Wisty was there, sitting on the couch with her feet propped up on the coffee table, flipping through a magazine. Wisty got up when she saw me.

"I thought you'd be in bed by now, Wist," I said and then asked, "What did you come here for?"

"I finished all the books in The Dark Dance trilogy. They were gripping," she told me and handed me the books, "Here, I brought them for you. I highly recommend that you read them. I bet you'll love it."

"Thanks," I said, placing the books on my shelf, "I'll definitely check it out soon. I could do with a few hours of escapism."

"Escapism is something we haven't had in a long time," said Wisty.

"Have you spent your whole day reading?" I asked her.

"I read for most of the day, yeah. Then I rode my kickass motorcycle all around the City after dinner. It was great fun," she said, "How was your date with Janine?"

I told her, "Pretty amazing, actually. We had a spectacular time together."

"That's great." She smiled and spoke after a moment, "Whit, do you find that you still missed Celia?"

"Yes…I do. I do miss her once in a while, but I'm glad I've found someone else now. Why?"

My sister hesitated and then said, "It's just…I kind of missed Byron once in a while too, you know. I don't think I'll ever be able to forget that moment when he sacrificed himself to save the City, to save me. Now he's gone forever."

"And so is Celia," I admitted quietly, "Byron sealed all the portals between our world and the Underworld when he leaped into the black pit. The Half-Lights won't be able to travel through portals into our world anymore. Celia is stuck in the Shadowland and I won't ever see her again." I recalled the marvellous moments when we merged our bodies together.

"I know," Wisty told me, "You're lucky that you've found someone else, Whit. Life in the City is wonderful again, but with Byron gone, I sometimes still felt emptiness inside me, loneliness. It's like there's a hole in my heart that never really mended." Tears began to well in her eyes.

"I'm sorry, Wisty. I'm so sorry," I went over and pulled my sister into a strong and fierce hug. She hugged me back tightly and buried her face in my shoulder.

"There is so much I still want to say to him," Wisty sounded like she was crying now. "Byron didn't deserve to die. He didn't deserve any of this. It should've been me who jumped into the Portal."

I pulled back and held Wisty by the shoulders. I waited for her to look at me, and then I said to her gently, "If you gave yourself up, who will be left to lead this City, Wist? I don't think I could've survived through all those Council meetings without you."

Wisty was crying, but she laughed a little at this.

"We were born to be the leaders, Wisty. We were born to run this City. The people here need us. They need you," I told her, "Byron was the bravest and most courageous person I've ever known. He did the right thing. He was ready. He died a noble death, a heroic death. We will remember him, always and forever."

She nodded and I hugged her again.

"Thank you, Whit," she whispered, "I don't think I could've survived through the last three months of governing without you either."

We broke apart from the hug after another few minutes.

Wisty wiped her tears away with the back of her hand and said, "It's late. I'm gonna go to bed. I'll see you tomorrow, Whit."

"Yeah, see you tomorrow," I said. I held the door for her as she went out, and then I changed into my pyjamas and climbed into bed.

After spending half an hour lying in my bed the next morning, thinking about the conversation I had with my sister last night, I got up and shuffled sleepily to the window. It looked like it was going to be a cloudy day today, I judged before pulling back the curtains.

My eyes widened in disbelief at the weather. I felt like someone had just splashed ice water over my face.

There was a blizzard outside. From the window of my apartment, I saw snow everywhere, thick blankets of snow, and it was still falling heavily in larger than normal snowflakes. The fog and the fierce wind made it difficult for me to see the houses at the opposite end of the street clearly.

It's snowing in the summer?

I rubbed my sleepy eyes and blinked several times to make sure I wasn't dreaming or hallucinating, but when I looked through the window again, the snow was still there.

Nope. This was not a dream. It was very real. It was really snowing outside. But how could that be? I thought to myself, it's July!

Apparently, in all of a sudden the weather had turned from nice, hot, and sunny yesterday to windy and snowy just overnight. This was extremely peculiar indeed.