Chapter 10: Fight!
Athena held her breath as the red game piece slid across the finish line. Her heart hammered in her chest as she glanced up at Bobby, standing beside her, his jaw set, his eyes scanning the board with a tension she could feel radiating off him. "That's it," she murmured, her voice trembling, almost inaudible, as though she feared speaking the words aloud might undo the fragile reality in front of her. "We're done."
Hen's voice broke through the quiet, her brows furrowed in uncertainty. "Did we… win?"
Athena exhaled shakily, leaning slightly into Bobby, searching his face for reassurance, though his silence only deepened her unease. His voice, when it came, was steady but colored with apprehension. "Is it over?"
Her gaze shifted to Buck, his shoulders taut as he watched Maddie and Eddie, their forms still and unnatural on the couch. Hen moved toward Chimney, checking for something — anything — but the strange, symbols etched onto their foreheads remained, dark and unmoving.
"What's going on?" Hen's voice cracked with confusion as she turned back toward Athena. "Bobby finished the game. He won… so why are they still like that?"
Athena's hands moved instinctively, snatching up the game booklet from the table. Her fingers flew through the worn, dog-eared pages, desperate for clarity, desperate for anything to explain this nightmare. Her breath quickened as her eyes darted over the words, but before she could find what she was looking for, the three key tokens on the board began to glow.
The tokens pulsed brighter and brighter until the room was swallowed by a blinding white light. Athena shut her eyes tightly, shielding them with her forearm, but even with her lids closed, the light burned. And then… silence. A suffocating stillness settled over her like a heavy blanket.
She opened her eyes cautiously, squinting against the afterimage of the light. Her stomach lurched as she realized Bobby, Buck, and Hen were gone. The room was eerily still, save for the limp, lifeless forms of Maddie, Eddie, and Chimney on the couch. Her pulse thundered in her ears.
"Bobby?" Her voice rang out, sharp and desperate. "Bobby!" She moved quickly, checking the dining area, the kitchen, her steps growing frantic. "Buck? Hen? Where are you?!"
She rushed back into the living room, her eyes darting to the board. The game pieces had shifted, moving off the board on their own, lining up on the side as if waiting for a new command. The miniature buildings melted away into black glass, the surface of the board rippling like liquid ink disturbed by an unseen force.
"What is this?" she whispered harshly, her voice breaking. "We finished the game! It should be over!"
The black surface shimmered, and a vision stirred to life within the glass. Athena gasped, stumbling back a step. There they were — Bobby, Buck, and Hen — standing in what appeared to be the 118. Relief warred with confusion, her eyes scanning the image for details. They weren't in a void, she realized; they were still somewhere. But as she squinted closer, a chill ran down her spine. Something else was with them.
Dark smoke curled and twisted into the form of a hooded figure, its tattered robes billowing as if caught in an unseen wind. Beneath the hood, a grotesque maw lined with jagged teeth protruded, and in one skeletal hand, it held an hourglass. The sand trickled downward, each grain carving a hole in her stomach.
Athena's voice caught in her throat as she watched. Hen ran off first, disappearing from view. Bobby hesitated, his hand twitching as though torn between staying and following. Buck's hand shot out, grabbing his arm. They exchanged a few words — she couldn't hear what they were saying — and then Bobby nodded and took off in another direction. Buck stood frozen, his broad shoulders squared, his face pale but resolute, staring the creature down. Her heart clenched as she watched him sprint toward the ladder truck.
The image flickered, splitting into three panels. Bobby was in his office now, Hen in the locker room, and Buck… Buck had stopped dead in his tracks. Athena's breath hitched. A man she didn't recognize stood before him, blocking his path.
"Who is…"
Before she could begin to piece together what was happening with Buck, her eyes were drawn to Bobby as she watched him talk to a man who looked a lot like Wendall. Her eyes widened as three more figures appeared in the room, she recognized them instantly but for the first time was seeing them in person - sort of - and not through a faded photograph. Marcy, Brooke and Bobby jr.
Athena's chest tightened as she watched her husband falter as he faced his past. Her eyes widened as burns began to appear on the three of them, her hand lifting to clasp over her mouth. "No," she whispered, sinking to her knees. "No, you can't do this to him… Bobby…"
Her hands shook as she turned to Hen. A young woman with fiery red hair loomed over her, but Hen's focus was on someone else entirely — Eva. Athena's stomach turned.
And then there was Buck. Athena's breath left her in a ragged gasp as the man blocking his path transformed into a small, blond-haired boy. Buck visibly folded in on himself, his towering frame crumbling as other figures appeared around him — Maddie, Eddie, Christopher, a young man she couldn't place. All looking broken and disheveled - like they were revisiting not just some of their own worst moments but Buck's too.
"Buck," she choked out.
Turning back to Bobby, she found new people surrounding him, Claudette she recognized but there was a young man she hadn't seen before. They surrounded Bobby, their mouths moving but she couldn't tell what they were saying. As they closed in on him Bobby covered his ears with his hands as he fell to his knees.
"No, Bobby!... Bobby!"
The screen on the left showed her Hen wrapping her arms around herself the girl, Eva and now Chiimney dressed in a hospital gown surrounded her.
"Hen!"
She looked over at Buck to find him backing into the truck, shaking is head furiously as he slid down the side. Maddie, Eddie, and the others surrounding him.
Athena's chest burned with fury and grief. She slammed her palms onto the table, her voice trembling but fierce. "You're messing with their heads," she spat, glaring down at the glass. "You're using the worst moments of their lives against them. The riddles, the monsters — that was just a game. This? This is how you break people."
Her hands curled into fists, her nails digging into her palms as her voice grew louder, steadier. "But you picked the wrong people to mess with."
She leaned closer to the glass, her tears falling onto its surface. "Do you hear me, you three?" she called, her voice raw but commanding. "I know it's showing you hell right now, but you've faced every one of those demons before. You've survived worse. You've fought through more. And you'll fight through this."
Her eyes fixed on Bobby's image, her voice cracking with emotion. "Bobby Nash, you listen to me. You have fought tooth and nail to rebuild your life. You've carried guilt and punished yourself — more than anyone should. But it's time to stop. It's time to fight for yourself. The people who love you need you. I need you. So get up!"
She turned to Hen, her voice fierce. "Henrietta Wilson, you don't get to give up. None of this is real, and you know it. You're the person everyone counts on to stay steady in a storm. You've made mistakes, yes, but you've always found a way forward. You always bounce back. You've got people waiting for you — so figure this out and fight back!"
Her voice cracked and tears slid down her cheeks. "And you, boy you are the most impulsive knucklehead I've ever met. You are also the bravest and have the biggest heart I have ever seen despite the world doing a number on you. Hell, you faced Mother Nature, twice and still got up. I know it's hard and I'm not going to tell you to get over what you're seeing, but you can't let them hold you back, you have so much further to go. And you are not alone Evan Buckley. Right now I need you to go full Buck and get your ass back here!"
She pulled back and slammed her fists into the table. "You hear me you three? You need to get your heads together and fight, fight like you have never fought for anything before and get back here. That's an order!"
As the last word left her lips the hourglass turned red.
Failure. Failure. Failure. Failure. Failure. Failure. Failure. Failure. Failure. Failure. Failure. Failure. Failure. Failure. Failure. Failure. Failure. Failure. Failure. Failure. Failure. Failure. Failure. Failure. Failure. Failure. Failure. Failure. Failure. Failure. Failure. Failure. Failure. Failure. Failure. Failure. Failure. Failure.
Bobby pressed his hands against his ears, fingers digging into his skull as if he could block out the rising cacophony of whispers surrounding him. The air felt heavy, stifling, as though the room itself was pressing down on him as he felt his breathing turn ragged.
"Please stop," he whispered, his voice barely audible.
But the words had no effect. The figures began to move, circling him, their faces contorting in pain and accusation. The whispers grew sharper, and louder, drowning out his thoughts as images of the fire that claimed his family, finding Wendall's remains, finding Hen and Chimney at Jonah's house and more flooded his mind.
"It's time to fight for yourself…"
"Fight like you have never fought for anything before…"
"Get back here!"
Like a fog horn, Athena's voice sliced through the storm of whispers and images. Bobby froze, his breath catching in his throat. The sound of her voice, so clear, so steady. They were just fragments but they were enough. The whispers were silenced for a moment and the fog that had settled in his mind since the first time he entered the game cleared. As he looked up with wide eyes, the forms of the people standing around him flickered and they became almost transparent. In a blink, they returned to solid form and the whispers returned, but Bobby was still staring at them.
His hands dropped to his sides and he stood up. "You're not real," he said, his voice trembling but growing steadier with each word. He was aware of a gentle pressure pushing against his mind and he pushed back. As he did the voices in his head receded to a soft buzz in the background.
"You're not real," he repeated, louder this time. His shoulders squared, and his hands curled into fists at his sides as he focused on pushing back against the force pressing against his mind.
"Now Bobby that's…" Wendall's voice began.
"My fears, my regrets… all of that is very real," Bobby interrupted, opening his eyes to meet Wendall's gaze. "But you are not really here, are you? You are just a reflection of the things I blame myself for."
The figures fell silent and stopped closing in. Bobby opened his eyes and turned to Claudette and Perry. "I am so very sorry for what happened to you. You didn't have to die, shouldn't have. What Jonah did… that's unforgivable and he will answer for it. And I am sorry I didn't realize something was wrong earlier. In the end, it took a very smart paramedic and her relentlessness to figure out what was going on. I've beat myself up over not paying attention to what was going on with my team. But Jonah's actions and his choices were his own."
Claudette's lips parted as if to respond, but her form flickered. She stood there, silent, as if Bobby's words robbed her of whatever power she had over him.
"And Perry," Bobby continued, his gaze softening further, "I'll carry the weight of that night with me. I let my fear get the better of me, and it cost you. But I'm still here, and I can promise you this: I'll never let fear rule me like that again."
Perry's figure shimmered and then faded, vanishing completely. Claudette followed a moment later, her expression unreadable as she disappeared.
The pressure on Bobby's mind surged, sharp and punishing, like a vice tightening around his skull. He winced, his hand instinctively pressing against his temple, but he didn't falter.
He turned to Wendall. "One of the first things you told me was that I would have to learn to forgive myself and that it wouldn't be easy. That's probably the one thing I'm not good at. I learnt to live with myself but forgiveness, like you said, is a process. And I didn't forgive myself for what happened to you. I pushed myself and my family to the very edge to get justice for you. And I would do it again. I may not have been able to save you but I did what I could and sometimes that has to be enough, isn't that what you told me?"
Wendall's lips twitched into a smirk as his form became translucent but he didn't fade.
He turned then to face the figures of Marcy and the kids. His breath caught in his throat as he looked at them, the sight of their faces tearing at wounds he thought had healed. "I don't know what to say to you," he admitted, his voice thick with emotion. His hands trembled, and he clenched them into fists to steady himself. "There's nothing I can say or do that will ever undo what happened. Losing you… it broke me in ways I didn't think I could be broken. I've carried that guilt, that pain, for so long."
He took a shaky step toward them, his gaze locked on Marcy's face. "But I've also carried the love you gave me. I've carried the lessons I learned from being your husband and your father. For a long time, I thought the only way to atone for my mistakes was to punish myself — to give up. But I've learned that atoning isn't about giving up; it's about moving forward."
Tears streamed freely down his face now, but he didn't wipe them away. He stood tall, meeting their gazes even as their expressions remained angry, accusing. "There will always be a part of me that wants to let go and join you. But there's a bigger part of me that knows I still have work to do. I still have people who need me, who love me. I need to get back to them. And that is what I am going to do."
The forms of the three figures began to fade, their outlines becoming translucent. The pressure on Bobby's mind disappeared completely, leaving him standing in silence. His shoulders sagged, and he let out a deep, shuddering breath. The key in his hand began to vibrate, glowing with an intense light. Bobby stared at it, a sense of calm washing over him as the key shot out of his hand and into the lock on the cabinet beneath the desk.
Selfish. Selfish. Selfish. Selfish. Selfish. Selfish. Selfish. Selfish. Selfish. Selfish. Selfish. Selfish. Selfish. Selfish. Selfish. Selfish. Selfish. Selfish. Selfish. Selfish. Selfish. Selfish. Selfish. Selfish. Selfish. Selfish. Selfish. Selfish. Selfish. Selfish. Selfish. Selfish. Selfish. Selfish. Selfish. Selfish. Selfish. Selfish.
Hen stood frozen in place, her heart hammering in her chest as she stared at Chimney. He moved toward her with an unsettling calmness, the hospital gown hanging loosely from his frame. His expression, usually warm and familiar, was eerily blank. Behind him, Eva and Evelyn emerged, their steps slow and deliberate, their gazes unrelenting. They surrounded her, a tightening circle that seemed to shrink the air in the room.
"No, that's…," Hen stammered, her voice barely audible as she stumbled back a step. Her breathing turned shallow, each inhale a battle. The whispers clawed at her mind, a relentless chorus of voices blending into an unbearable cacophony, sounding distinctly like her mother, Karen even Denny.
"You always bounce back."
"Find a way a way out."
"Fight!"
Hen blinked and looked around as a new voice cut through the whispers. "Athena?"
She looked around but there was no sign of her friend.
Chimney tilted his head, his lips curling into a mocking smirk. "Athena's not here, Hen," he said softly, his tone dripping with insincerity. "She's not going to help you. She doesn't want to. She's not waiting for you."
For a moment, his form wavered. His body flickered, turning translucent, almost ghostly, before snapping back into solidity. Hen blinked, her brow furrowing. Her chest heaved as she shook her head, trying to make sense of what she was seeing.
The fog in her mind thinned, just enough for her to feel it—a foreign pressure, a force pressing down on her thoughts, invasive and wrong. She squeezed her fists so tightly her nails dug into her palms, the pain grounding her. Her lips trembled, but she bit down hard, forcing herself to focus.
"No," she said, her voice gaining strength. "You're not real. None of you are. You're just this… this thing, this game, playing with me."
The whispers faltered, their chaotic rhythm slowing into a more subdued hum. Hen stood straighter, her shoulders squaring as she steeled herself. Her eyes locked onto Evelyn, her expression softening despite the storm raging inside her.
"What happened to you," Hen began, her voice trembling, "haunted me for the longest time. I doubted myself in ways I never thought I would. But there was nothing any of us could have done differently. I am so sorry your life was cut short, sorry that you didn't get to live the full life you deserved. But I can't carry that guilt anymore. I forgave myself because I had to—to keep doing what I do, to keep helping people. And that's what I'll keep doing."
Evelyn's form turned translucent and she disappeared. The music faded and the whispers softened. The whispers dulled further, but the pressure in Hen's mind intensified, shifting into a sharp, stabbing pain that made her wince. Her knees buckled slightly, but one voice in her head - one that sounded a lot like Athena - told her to push through.
"You," Hen said, her voice low and trembling with fury. "You don't get to call me selfish. Not after everything you've done. You broke me in ways I didn't even think were possible. You left me in pieces, and it took every ounce of strength I had to put myself back together. But guess what? I did. I came back. And I'm done with you. I've let you needle your way into my life too many times, and I won't let the thought of you take one more second of my peace. You're done. We're done."
Eva's expression twisted, her face contorting as if she wanted to argue, but Hen's fury was a wall she couldn't breach. Her form flickered, wavering in and out of existence, before dissolving into nothingness
Hen's breathing quickened, her anger still bubbling just beneath the surface as she whipped around to face Chimney. Her hands trembled, but her gaze didn't waver.
"And you," she spat, her voice sharp and unwavering, "you are not my friend. My friend would never turn on me like this. My friend would stand by me, even when I made a mistake. And yes, I took a chance—a dangerous one—and I almost lost him because of it. But that's what we do. We take chances. We trust each other's instincts. We have each other's backs, even when the odds are impossible."
Chimney's form froze, his expression softening as his form shimmered into nothingness.
Hen stood alone now, the silence of the room deafening in the wake of their absence. Her chest heaved with every ragged breath, her body trembling from the effort of pushing back against the oppressive force in her mind. The pain in her head flared one last time, sharp and white-hot, but she didn't falter.
Her voice, raw and unyielding, echoed in the empty space as she yelled, "I don't know what you're trying to prove, but I make choices every day. Some of them are mistakes, and some of them save lives. I have regrets, sure, but they will not hold me here. I am going home. I have people waiting for me, people who need me, and nothing you do will keep me from them."
As the final word left her lips, the pain in her head ebbed. Her breaths came in short bursts, but with each exhale, the tension in her body loosened. She reached up to touch her forehead, marveling at the lightness that replaced the oppressive weight.
The key in her hand vibrated, a soft hum filling the space as it began to glow. Hen watched as the light intensified, radiating warmth. Then, with a sharp burst, the key flew from her grasp, shooting across the room and into the locker bearing her name.
Disappointment. Disappointment. Disappointment. Disappointment. Disappointment. Disappointment. Disappointment. Disappointment. Disappointment. Disappointment. Disappointment. Disappointment. Disappointment. Disappointment. Disappointment. Disappointment. Disappointment. Disappointment.
Tears streamed down Buck's face, warm trails cutting through the cold sweat on his cheeks as he stood frozen, his breath ragged and uneven. His hands gripped his sleeves so tightly his knuckles whitened, his fingers digging into the fabric like it was the only thing tethering him to reality. Maddie, Christopher, Eddie, Daniel, and Devon loomed closer, their expressions shadowed, eyes dark and hollow.
The whispers echoed in his mind, relentless and cruel, clawing at his resolve.
"Of course, it's real, Evan," Daniel's voice cut through, soft but piercing. Buck's breath hitched at the sound of his brother's voice. "All of these things happened. I'm just reminding you of them. Of everyone you failed. So that you can stop fighting now. There's no need for you to go back and hurt more people."
Buck's lips parted, but no words came. He felt his heart pounding painfully in his chest as his vision blurred with fresh tears.
"What...?" he croaked out weakly, his voice breaking.
"The biggest heart…"
"Not alone…"
"Go full Buck!..."
The words rang out like a clear bell, piercing through the whispers. They pushed back the noise for a moment, granting him a brief respite. Buck's head snapped up, his tear-filled eyes wide and searching.
"Athena?" he whispered, hope flickering faintly in his voice like a dying ember.
The figures before him flickered, their forms becoming translucent for the briefest of moments. But then they solidified again, their faces twisting into something more sinister as the whispers resumed, louder and sharper than before. In that brief reprieve, he once again became aware of the force pressing into his mind and the fogginess that seemed to weigh him down. And he smiled. Then threw his head back and laughed.
"I'm such an idiot," he said, his voice dripping with self-reproach and amusement. "I can't believe I fell for that."
The whispers roared in protest, a cacophony of voices bombarding him with venomous words. His head throbbed, the pain lancing through his skull like a vice tightening. But Buck pushed himself upright, one trembling hand clutching the side of the truck for support.
He closed his eyes, his chest heaving as he forced himself to stop fighting the invasive force pressing into his mind.
Then it came — a tidal wave of memories, each one sharper and crueler than the last. Buck gasped as they crashed into him, and doubled over under their weight. He gasped and placed his hand on the truck, using it to help him stand upright. A flash of green filled his vision before….
"You're fired…."
"You didn't make things any easier…"
"You're a liability…"
"Such a difficult child…"
"Suck it up…"
The voices layered over one another, each word stabbing into him like a knife. More figures materialized around him — Chimney, Abby, Taylor, Bobby, and faceless shadows that loomed threateningly. The pain in his head intensified, his vision swimming.
Buck's knees buckled, but he caught himself, his hand slamming against the truck for stability. "Nice try," he hissed through gritted teeth. "But not again."
He dug his nails into his arm, pressing hard enough to leave crescents in his skin. The sharp, real pain cut through the fog in his mind, the whispers momentarily dimming. His lips twisted into a grim smile, his chest heaving.
"Using my guilt against me," he muttered, his voice heavy with disdain. "I've got to hand it to you — that's a nice distraction. You definitely figured out which strings to pull."
His eyes locked on the hooded figure floating silently at the far end of the bay, its hands clasped around an hourglass. The sand inside glowed red, pulsing ominously.
Devon dissolved into smoke beside him, and Buck's expression hardened. He felt the key in his pocket pulse, its warmth grounding him as he slipped it into his pocket. Without hesitation, he opened the side panel of the truck, his movements deliberate as he pulled out a halligan.
"What do you think you're doing, Buck?" Eddie demanded, stepping in front of him, blocking his path.
Buck took a deep breath, his grip on the halligan tightening. His voice was steady, his gaze unwavering. "I might never forgive myself for not doing more for you, Eddie. But you," he said, his eyes flicking past Eddie to the hooded figure, "don't get to use it against me."
With a single, purposeful step, Buck brushed past Eddie and charged at the creature. Christopher appeared suddenly in his path, but Buck clenched his jaw, shutting his eyes as he barreled forward. The resistance felt real, almost physical, but he didn't stop. He slammed into the creature, both of them tumbling to the ground.
The hooded figure hissed, its elongated, clawed fingers scraping at his arms. Buck grunted, twisting his body to shield himself as he swung the halligan with as much force as he could muster. The creature shrieked, the sound piercing and unnatural, but he didn't let up.
"Buck! What are you doing?"
Hen's voice rang out as she sprinted out of the locker room, her face pale with worry. Bobby followed closely, his expression grim.
"Buck!" Bobby shouted.
Without looking up, Buck called out, his voice strained but resolute. "Get to the truck! Just trust me!"
Hen faltered, torn between running to help him and following his orders. Bobby grabbed her arm, his grip firm but gentle. "Trust him," he said quietly.
Hen nodded, her lips pressing into a thin line as she turned and ran toward the truck. Her eyes widened as she spotted Maddie, Christopher, Eddie, and the others standing eerily still, their blank eyes staring past her. Bobby's breath hitched as he saw a version of himself among them. Hen reached for his hand, squeezing it tightly.
"He knows the truth," she whispered, her voice steady despite the fear in her eyes.
The creature lashed out, its clawed hand glowing with a sickly green energy. Buck was thrown across the bay, his body hitting the ground near the truck with a bone-rattling thud.
Bobby rushed to his side, pulling him to his feet as Hen helped steady him.
"What are you doing? Time's almost up!" Bobby urged.
Panting heavily, Buck straightened, a small, triumphant smile on his face. He held up his hand, revealing a glowing orb he had torn from the hourglass.
"There's one thing we couldn't leave without," he said, his voice hoarse but defiant.
The creature let out an ear-splitting shriek, its hood falling back to reveal a pale, hollow-eyed face. Its jaw unhinged unnaturally as it lunged toward them, gliding across the floor with horrifying speed.
The now-forgotten hourglass pulsed.
"Time to go," Buck muttered, stumbling toward the truck. He yanked the door open and slid into the driver's seat. Digging into his pocket, he pulled out the key. "I am not giving up and I am going home," he said as he slid into the driver's seat. The key vibrated and began to glow. And where normally the ignition switch would be was a keyhole. The flew out of his hand slipping into it with ease.
Athena sank back on her knees and pressed her palms tightly together as she fixed her gaze on the screen. Her fingers trembled, but she held them firm, her breaths shallow and deliberate as she watched Bobby and Hen battle the horrors in front of them. The flickering forms surrounding them flickered, destabilizing momentarily and that seemed to pull them out of the nightmares they were trapped in. She wished she could hear what they were saying but whatever it was it was having an effect on the people around them. She held her breath when something in their hands started glowing and flew out before the spaces they were in began to collapse.
"Yes!" she cheered before turning her attention to the youngest of the pack, her eyes drifting to check on the hourglass.
"Come on Buck," she whispered as she watched him. Her eyes narrowed when it looked like he was laughing but he seemed to pull himself together and stand. Her heart stopped when she saw him yank open the side of the truck and pull out a halligan. "What are you doing, boy?" she muttered under her breath, her hands tightening into fists.
And then he charged.
The sheer audacity of the move made Athena jolt upright. Buck slammed into the hooded figure with a ferocity that seemed to defy the despair surrounding him. The two of them rolled across the floor, locked in a brutal struggle. The creature's hands, tipped with claws like jagged obsidian, raked across Buck's sleeves, tearing through fabric and leaving angry scratches on his forearms. Buck gritted his teeth, sweat dripping from his brow, as he used the halligan to block the swipes.
What are you doing?" Athena shouted at the screen, as though he could hear her. Her voice cracked with desperation.
The tide turned violently as the creature shrieked, an unholy sound that seemed to pierce the air itself. It flung Buck across the room like a ragdoll, his body slamming into the concrete near the truck. Athena winced, her hands flying to her mouth.
She watched as Bobby and Hen ran to his side as the hooded figure opened its jaw and moved toward them with unearthly speed. But Buck remained unphased as he ducked into the truck, the hourglass pulsing violently, and then the screen went black.
Athena lowered her hands and stared at it. She peered into it but only saw her reflection. "No, no, no, they did it, they won. Let them out damn it! She smashed her fist against the table. The glass flared back to life, glowing so brightly that Athena had to shield her eyes. A thunderous crack split the air, and three streaks of light shot out of the screen, solidifying into figures that stumbled onto the floor with heavy gasps.
Athena's breath hitched as the light dimmed, revealing Bobby, Hen, and Buck standing there, disoriented but alive. Relief crashed over her like a tidal wave. She surged to her feet and ran straight to Bobby, throwing her arms around him and pulling him into a desperate kiss.
"Welcome back," she murmured against his lips, tears streaming down her face.
Bobby took a deep, shuddering breath, his arms encircling her tightly, as though afraid to let go. Behind them, Buck and Hen exchanged weary but victorious smiles.
"Thank you," Bobby whispered hoarsely, his voice breaking as he held Athena close. "I heard you."
Athena pulled away slightly, her hands cupping Bobby's face before turning sharply to Buck. Her voice was firm, but her eyes betrayed her fear. "What were you thinking, Buck? You could've gotten all three of you stuck in there!"
"You're the one who told me to go full Buck," he shot back with a tired grin, his tone teasing but his expression deadly serious.
"Boy…" Athena started, but Buck cut her off, holding up the green orb.
"I couldn't leave without this," he said simply. The orb, now free of its oppressive glow, revealed delicate wisps of light swirling within like a galaxy trapped in glass.
"What is that?" Bobby asked, his brow furrowed.
"It's the souls," Buck replied softly, his voice tinged with reverence. "The ones it stole."
"Wha…?"
"How do you know that?"
He fidgeted with it before looking up at them. "I'm not sure. I could feel it in my head and while it was picking at all the memories I think I saw into its head too. This was what it was focused on."
"We were all there Buck. I didn't see or sense anything," Hen said as she turned to Bobby who also shook his head.
"Hmmm…. Maybe it was coz I was in there more than you were. I don't know how this stuff works. I just got these images that weren't anything I was thinking of, so I just went with it."
"That is scary and a very Buck thing to do."
"What do we do with it now?"
"We set them free."
Before anyone could respond, Buck knelt down and smashed the orb against the floor. It shattered instantly, releasing a dazzling explosion of light. The room was plunged into darkness as hundreds of tiny specks swirled around them, their glow casting ethereal shadows against the walls.
The four of them stood frozen, mesmerized by the dance of the lights. The motes of energy rose higher and higher, like fireflies ascending to the heavens, before disappearing into the ceiling. Three of the lights, brighter than the rest, broke away from the group. One shot into Maddie's limp body, while the others found Eddie and Chimney.
The room was silent save for the sound of their breathing. The lights flickered back on, and Buck turned to see Maddie's chest rise sharply as she gasped awake.
"Maddie!" Buck cried, falling to his knees beside her. He pulled her into his arms as she burst into tears, her sobs wracking her fragile frame.
"Buck? Buck!" she whispered, clutching him tightly, tears pouring down her face.
"Maddie? Maddie!" Chimney pulled out of Hen's arms and scrambled to his feet. Buck stepped aside, allowing him to pull her into his arms, while Buck turned to Eddie and pulled him into a hug.
"Do you believe in curses now?" he whispered.
Eddie scoffed but wrapped his arms around his friend and held on tight. "Thank you."
"Alight you three park it," Hen called out gesturing to the couch as she took charge.
Buck stepped aside, allowing Eddie to make his way over and chuckled as he watched his friend protest while Hen ran him through a basic check. "You lost your soul for a moment there, Edmundo, you will do as I say."
Still smiling Biuck turned to see Maddie and Chimney still holding each other as they waited their turn and he let go of a breath he didn't realize he was holding. He felt a gentle pressure on his shoulder and turned to see Bobby smiling at him. "You did good kid."
Buck smiled and wrapped his arms around Bobby in a tight hug and let his shoulders drop. He felt a gentle pressure on his back and knew that Athena was there too.
"Buck… I…" Bobby began but was cut off.
"It's okay. We're good." he pulled back and looked the older man in the eyes. "We're good."
"It looks like it's all over now," said Athena.
Buck looked down at the shattered orb and nodded. "Yeah, it's over."
That's it for now. There's still a couple of chapters to go but we're almost at then end.
Thanks for reading.
Till next time...