Sci-Fi, Fantasy Realism, Mystery
Five Betas and a pair of Martians reunite their old friendship to unravel the truth about their friend and leader from their former life of vigilante crime fighting.  

Characters 

Morse

• Beta Begavad
  

Maison

• Ability: Telekinesis 
  
• Element: Water
  

Cole

• Ability: Mind control
  
• Element: Fire
  

Laura 

• Ability: Speed
  
• Element: Earth
  

Maze 

• Ability: Toxicity 
  
• Element: Wind 
  

Vret 

• Ability: Seer
  
• Element: Wind 
  

Nitz 

• Martian
  

Sim 

• Martian
  

“What did the coroners say?” Cole asked. 

“It was a natural death,” Laura answered. 

“I don’t care about the mundane diagnostics, I want to know what the Begavad coroners said!” Cole yelled frustratingly. 

“They also said it was a natural death,” Laura exclaimed more firmly. Cole began to shake her head back and forth profusely. 

“No, no, no! That’s just not possible! She’s not dead! She can’t be… She was a Beta, they just don’t die that way!” Cole exclaimed angrily. Laura put her hands on Cole’s shoulders, trying to settle her down. 

“She’s gone Cole, I’m sorry, but she’s really gone,” Laura said as she attempted to calm Cole down. 

“No! I won’t accept that!” Cole said and then she stormed out of the room, slamming the door on her way out. 

That was 5 years ago, back in highschool, back when we called ourselves heroes. It was fun pretending like we could be something and do something no one else could. We thought we were special, gifted until we realized that we were not. And after that we learned the truth about what we thought was heroism, truly cost us all. 

Mr. and Mrs. Lock brought us back together, or more so their infidelity did. They both finally realized that their toxic relationship of constant cheating to get back at each other was, well… toxic and it came to the point where it couldn’t even be said if Mr. Lock was truly Laura, their daughter’s biological father. So they got a divorce and decided to sell the house and move out. That meant that Laura had to move out too, she was in her first year of college at this point, as we all were and was madly in love with Vret. They were going to get married one day, so it wasn’t much of a haste for them to get a place of their own. They could’ve done all this without getting the rest of us involved, but Laura just couldn’t keep her feelings to herself. 

‘You were supposed to bury those,’ I signed. 

“I know, but they seemed too meaningful to just be thrown down into dirt,” She said, 

‘Not just any dirt, her dirt, her bed, for her rest. That’s the tradition,’ I signed aggressively. 

“It’s not even how you properly perform the tradition so that part doesn’t even matter,” She turned around so I couldn’t communicate with her my opposing opinion. “I just thought you’d want yours back. It meant something to you, that’s why you were going to give it up. So take it back and remember her,”

I got up from her bed and patted her on the shoulder to signal that I had something to say. 

‘I don’t need a stupid trinket to remember her, I remember her everyday. And I’m certain that you and I are the only ones that still do, so you don’t need to come to me with this shit!’ I exclaimed. She looked at me shocked and then huffed. 

“That was a little harsh,” She replied. 

‘I’ve got a life you know. Things to do. I don’t have time for your blast to the past pity parties anymore,’ This wasn’t completely true though. I did have things to do, my work mostly, but it wasn’t much of a life if I’m being honest. Still, I prefer it to this. I don’t like looking back in the past, I hate it actually. The good moments, the bad, what’s done is done. People die and we should remember them in our hearts but we shouldn’t dwell on the circumstances that leave us only seeing them in our memory. I’ve moved on and Laura says she has, but once she’s reminded of what used to be she gets this way and it sucks for everyone who’s dealt with their trauma already.

She put the trinket in my hand and smiled. 

“Just take it, throw it out or keep it. I don’t care, but it’s not mine and I don’t want to take it with me,” She said, Then she lifted up the box and turned away. “Also send the others my way so I can return their stuff too. Okay you can show yourself out, you know the way!” She yelled as she ran out of her room and down the stairs. She does that on purpose. She likes to get the final word and she knows that she will always be able to with me. It angers me though and in my fits all I can ever muster is the finger and then I stomp away. 

I opened my hand to look at the trinket. It was just a key. I didn’t know what it opened, it wasn’t even my key, Morse had given it to me before she died, that’s why I planned to bury it. I didn’t want to know whatever secrets it let out, I thought it better for them to die with her.

I was reluctant to inform the others that Laura had their stuff. I wasn’t even sure of all their whereabouts. We were a group of eight, then Morse died and we became seven, just as quickly we became one, one, one, two, and two. Meaning that we split apart. I stopped talking or rather hanging out with most of them, aside from the occasional acknowledgement from Laura. Maison and Cole also decided to become lone wolves. Laura had Vret, Nitz and Sim were twins and practically the same person. Really I only had to confront three entities, but still too many. I wasn’t going to kill myself to do it though, if I happened to run into them I’ll let them know Laura has their stuff but I don’t see how it’s my responsibility. 

Maison and Cole would be the easiest to talk to, in the sense that it would be easy to come upon the opportunity to talk to them, actually signing the words would be difficult. I see them both most days on campus, Cole never makes eye contact, but Maison will occasionally wave hello, we haven’t spoken since Morse died though. We tried to stay connected, I think I might’ve helped him get through his grief, but in the end I wasn’t enough to fill the void that Morse left. Maison loved her, she was his betrothed, Cole loved her too, but in a different way. Cole had to deal with the constant heartbreak of knowing that she’d never be more than a friend to Morse and then when she lost all opportunities to even be that, it broke her. I wish I could’ve helped her move on like I did Maison, but she was unattainable. I don’t think she even believes Morse is actually gone. Nitz and Sim were Martian immigrants, so they didn’t go to our school and honestly, even before they kept pretty quiet. They’re undocumented, because they’re simply not from this world, so none of us never really knew where they lived or what their situation was. I don’t think I’d be able to find them, if I do it would be a miracle. 

The next day after my morning class I ran into Maison like I usually do Monday morning, but instead of the simple wave hello I stopped in front of him to let him know that I had something to say. 

‘Laura, has something for you. You remember Laura right?’ I signed. 

He laughed and then nodded. 

“Of course I remember Laura. What does she have?” He asked with a slight smile. 

‘Something of yours. Whatever it is you put in the box, I don’t remember which one was yours.’ I signed in reply. He looked down at his shoes and shook his head before he looked back at me.

“I don’t understand. I thought she buried that,” he asked, confused. I shook my head. “I’m not sure I want it back. I don’t know if I can handle it.”

‘I get it. You made so much progress. You’ve dealt with your grief, it’s in the past, but if you don’t take it she might throw it out or burn it, I don’t know. Don’t you think it would just be better if you took it back and just stashed it away yourself? Just in case you feel differently later. It was significant to you, that’s why you gave it up to her, so maybe you should keep it,’ I signed using Laura’s wise words. 

“You’re right. I’ll meet her, is she still living on Mull street?” He asked. 

‘For now. You better go as soon as possible,’ I signed. Then I turned away, just as I was about to step away I felt his hand on my shoulder. I turned around and he gave me a hug. 

“Thanks for letting me know,” he said. I nodded. “I know things with us didn’t work out before, but I’d really hate to lose you as a friend, I mean lose you even more than I already have.”

‘You haven’t lost me. I’ll always be here. When you need a friend, I’ll be here to be your friend, just let me know,’ I signed sympathetically, giving him a soft smile. He nodded and then waved me off. I knew where I could find Cole at this hour and after the pleasant interaction with Maison, I had enough confidence and energy to confront her, but I wasn’t sure I wanted to ruin this pleasant feeling with a meeting with Cole.

After my lunch I went to the local police station, I passed on the decision to speak to Cole right away, I wanted to feel good for a little while more. The station was bustling with officers as I made my way to the front desk. I took a second too long and I think it aggravated the officer at the desk.

“What! You don’t speak?” He asked irritatingly.

‘No, I don’t,’ I signed.

“Oh! You sign. I can do that! Lay it on me!” He exclaimed, rather excitingly.

‘I need to find someone special,’ I signed.

“Alright, Sergeant Darren is just down the hall in the office over there, you can’t miss it,” he said. I checked the note I had written on my hand, ‘Srg. Darren, precinct 105’ yep, this was the right guy. The phrase I signed was a code for a Begavad resource. Almost every government institution had some type of Begavad authority for Begavads working in human affairs or Semibegas in need of supernatural aid. Most of them treated us Semis like ghetto scum, but I had heard good things about this precinct, I’ve never actually had any issues, we always used to solve them ourselves back in our hometown, but I knew that going through Begavad resources would be the fastest way to find an undocumented Martian. 

“Can I help you little lady?” He asked.

‘Not a lady,’ I signed.

“Young man.”

‘Nah.’

“Youngster?”

‘I’m 20 years of age Sir, you can just call me Maze.’

“Alright then, how can I help you, Maze?”

‘I need to find a Martian, well… really two Martians, but you find one and you find the other, their kind of a pair.’

“Do you have the name of these Martians?” He asked. I nodded and he slid a notepad to the edge of his desk. I sat down in the chair in front of it and wrote down their names.

‘They’re undocumented, or they were last time I saw them about 5 years ago,’ I explained.

“Nitz and Sim Paint. I know exactly who those two are,” he said immediately after looking at the pad.

‘You do? Wow, so easy,’ I signed excitedly.

“I know who they are, where they are is the tricky part. They hop around all over the place, they cause all sorts of trouble. Minor transgressions, nothing too serious, not enough to order an execution or extraction over though. I’ll figure out where their last hit was and bring them in. Leave your name and number here,” he explained. “If I may, Maze, why do you want to find these two so bad? I mean they’re nothing but some lowly Martians.”

‘Old friends of mine. Have some things of theirs I think they should have,’ I signed.

“Friends?! You seem like a nice… uh, person, not someone who runs with these types.” 

‘Well I did, I used to be a vigilante, ya I was. It was me, them, and five other people. You may have heard of us, we protected our little hometown not too far from here. We called ourselves the GoodRight Boys.’

“I thought you didn’t identify as a boy.”

‘Oh I don’t know what I am sir. Boy, girl, I may not even be a person. You wouldn’t get it, but us Semis are out here having full on identity crisis’. Too Begavad to be human, too human to be Begavad and technically not a Beta. I don’t know what I am, I might not even exist at all.’

“Is this conversation even real?” He joked. We both laughed. “But hey I do understand. I’m in human affairs for a reason, because I have what the Begavads fear, empathy, feelings, aspirations.”

‘Ewww gross,’ I joked. He chuckled.

“I’ll help you find those Martians and I’ll let you know as soon as I do,” he said assuringly.

‘Thanks a bunch Sir, speak soon,’ I signed. He nodded and I left.

He may have empathy and some basic human emotions, but he’ll never experience what it’s like to be cast away from your own people and tossed aside as if you’re nothing but a piece of trash. I didn’t want to say any of this to him though, because I’m thankful for his help, but he’ll never truly understand. Begavads have the resources to take care of every single person on this Earth, end world hunger, poverty, but they choose not to and to make it worse, they don’t even take care of their own people. In the Begavad world, family and community is valued, but if you find yourself on the other side of the line, it’s every man for themself. He may be in Human affairs, whether willingly or not, but he can still go back, I never even got a chance to go in. 

I thought now might be a good time to speak to Cole, but then I got a text from a group chat that I haven’t seen in a while. 

[Message] GoodRight Boyz: 

[Laura] Party at our new place, there will be booze… and drugs. Please come, I have your shit.

I rolled my eyes. She made me go through all that trouble, just to send a text. Well, my efforts might not be in vain, I hardly doubt any of them will be down to party and I’m not even sure, with the life of crime they’ve succumbed to, that Nitz and Sim even still have a phone. 

“Now why the hell would you ruin a perfectly good apartment with a raging party, you haven’t even been here two days!” Maison exclaimed as Laura greeted us at her door.

“Maison!” She screamed, jumping onto him for a hug. He laughed.

“Hey dude, it’s been a minute,” Vret said, giving Maison a side hug.

“It has been… quite a while,” Maison agreed.

“Did you speak to Cole?” Laura asked.

‘I didn’t get the chance, I started tracking down the twins, although I see you got to them first.’

“Alright! I’m here, everyone can go now, I’ve arrived… Hey! Hey! The party’s over, everyone out!” Cole shouted as he mounted the table. “Get out!”

“Um… what no… Cole this is not just an excuse to see you guys this is an actual housewarming party. No, don’t go. Oh well alright.” Laura said, frazzled. 

“Cole, you just ruined our housewarming party. What the heck?” Vret exclaimed annoyingly.

“Ya, ya, ya, congratulations on your home and 5 beautiful years of marriage.” Cole exclaimed as he jumped off the table. Everyone had left the party due to Cole’s control over the mind, except for the twins, Laura, Vret, Maison and I. She threw her bag on the table and pulled out a thick book. She swiped her bag away and looked at us in suspense as we all gathered around. “Listen I know you lured me here to pick up whatever it was you were supposed to bury Laura, but I actually have a solution to our problems.”

“What problems? None of us have any problems. We’re all here to get our stuff and celebrate Laura and Vret’s new milestone,” Maison explained.

“Okay cut the crap Mace, I know that you all still think about her,” Cole said.

‘Ya, that’s why we came to pick up our shit dumbass,’ I signed. Maison snickered. Cole snapped her head towards me and then forced my hands down. I grunted and we stared at each other angrily.

“Cole release them,” Laura commanded gracefully. She complied and then scanned the group again. She opened up the book and then turned it around to display it to us.

“This is a Timpani spell book and it has a spell that can bring people back to life, uh, more or less. All we need is a sacrifice, a host and a very basic altar configuration, that’ll take me three days, max!” Cole explained excitedly.

“Cole…” Laura sighed. “Cole, she’s gone, she’s been gone for years now. We can’t bring her back.” 

“You’re not listening to me! We can bring her back, I’m showing you how right here,” Cole said as she pointed to the book.

“I don’t think you’re listening to me. We are not bringing her back to life. Besides the fact that we have all moved on and accepted the fact that she is gone, this… this is actual witchcraft. A spell like this requires not just a human sacrifice but an additional soul from whomever performs the ritual. We are not doing this!” Laura shouted.

“I could just make you help me,” Cole said threateningly towards Laura.

“Ha! If you exert that much power you’ll kill yourself in the process, and then what would even be the point of all this if you don’t get to see her too. Don’t even try to say that you’re doing this for us too, we all know that you have never fully accepted Morse’s death and because of that you have never been able to fully move on,” Laura exerted. Cole pulled out a chair and collapsed on it, slumping her head.

“I loved her,” she said. Maison scoffed.

“We all did Cole. Yet you act like you were the only one in her life that mattered,” Maison said. “You pushed us all away, when we needed each other the most to get through this you shut us out.”

“I didn’t push you away, we fell apart. She was the only thing keeping us together, she was the one who made us the GoodRight boys,” Cole exclaimed and he wasn’t completely wrong either. Morse was the one who taught everyone how to sign, so that I could communicate with them. She was the only one who spoke Martian Tongue, so she served as a translator for the twins in the beginning, which allowed us to accept them into our group. She brought Vret and Laura together and she saved Cole’s life when she was at her lowest. She really was the glue that kept us together, that’s why when she died, we all fell apart. We couldn’t be friends without her, for most of us there was no reason to stay in touch. Laura and Vret were nice and all, but I personally always found Laura to be very annoying and if it were not for Morse and this group we would not be friends, erm no, acquaintances. Cole and Maison hate each other, Maison being the cis, straight boy that had Morse all to himself and Cole being the trans female who could never have her due to Morse simply not being attracted to females. Nitz and Sim were, well they were Martians, none of us could speak Martian, or were willing to learn because honestly, even without immortality, Martians are still Earthly Begavads natural enemies. It was only Morse’s compassion and kindness that kept us from shanking them, honestly I’m surprised Cole didn’t off them the moment she died. We had no reason to reunite, to bring her back, to even keep in touch. Cole was being selfish and she needed to go through her grief and move on, just like the rest of us.

“If I may?” Sim asked. We all looked at her surprisingly.

“You speak english?” Cole asked.

“It has been five years, we have learned some things,” Nitz answered. “We also speak French, Spanish, German and Klingon, don’t ask.”

“I think it is wise not to go through with this. I think Morse would have wanted us to move on, somehow, I feel she was ready to go,” she said looking over at Vret. 

“I’m not going to let you sacrifice someone, yourself or anyone else for this selfish desire. You are right though, Morse is the only reason we’re all friends and I don’t particularly like you Cole, but I have enough human decency to make sure you don’t continue destroying yourself over this. If you can’t move on on your own you need to get help,” Laura insisted.

“Fine. At least help me with this one thing before we part ways again. We won’t have to kill anyone, it only requires a drop of blood from each of us and a little travel,” Cole suggested.

“What now?” Maison asked.

“It’s called The Stone of All Ends, it can show us who killed Morse, the last few people she saw before her death. Don’t you want a little closure,” Cole asked desperately.

“It was a natural death Cole, she wasn’t murdered she just died,” Maison explained.

“Oh come on. I know you all don’t seriously believe that. Betas just dont die that way, middle aged humans don’t even succumb to natural deaths at that age. You let yourselves believe that she just naturally and randomly died one day so that you could move on easier, but I know that’s not true. I can’t have her back, you said you wanted me to have closure, well this is what I need to move on, you should at least give me that,” Cole pleaded.

“We don’t owe you anything Cole, but if the rest of the team agrees, Vret and I will help you with this,” Laura said.

“We will?” Vret asked.

“Ya we do this one thing and then she’s out of our lives forever, for good this time,” Laura replied.

“I don’t think this is a good idea,” Vret protested.

‘I don’t think we should do this either,’ I signed.

“I will do it if Sim does,” Nitz said.

“I will only do it if Maison does,” Sim said.

“I’ll do it if Maze agrees,” Maison exclaimed.

“Oh well come on! Y’all can’t just do this one thing for me!” Cole exclaimed irritatingly.

“I mean you’re asking a lot from a group of people who aren’t terribly fond of you, where is this Stone of All Ends anyways?” Maison asked.

“It’s in the… frica…” Cole mumbled.

“I’m sorry?” Laura exclaimed.

“It’s in the heart of Africa! My Gosh!” Cole screamed.

‘And where exactly is that?’ I asked.

“Wherever the heart of Africa is I don’t know! That’s what the book says. Don’t you think Morse would want us to solve this mystery of her death? I think she would,” Cole said. 

“I normally wouldn’t do this, but I believe Cole to be correct, on the fact that Morse’s death was not natural at all. I believe she was killed,” Sim said, looking at Vret. We all looked at each other, contemplating whether or not we were nice enough to help Cole with this one thing. We stood in silence for several minutes until Laura broke it. 

“How about we sleep on it? Y’all can pick a corner and stay here for the night,” she suggested and everyone agreed. As we dismissed ourselves from the table Sim glanced at Vret again. He then looked at me and pulled me aside into their bedroom. 

“We cannot let Cole and the others go chasing this mystery,” he whispered, putting air quotes as he said ‘mystery’.

‘Wait I’m confused, I know why I don’t want to solve this mystery, but why don’t you want to?’ I asked.

“Because there is no mystery to solve, I know the truth, I know that you killed Morse,” Vret confessed.

‘What, how? You were there?’ I asked shockingly.

“No, I saw it, a few days before the murders started, I told Morse, I tried to help her find a way around it, but she didn’t want to avoid it. She said that it was her fate, that my eyes held the truth to her end. She was ready,” Vret answered.

‘You’re protecting me. All these years you knew, and you protected me from the others,’ I signed.

“Not just you. I would never throw you to the wolves like that, but at this point, I’m also protecting myself. If the others found out that I knew, they would never forgive me either. I can’t even imagine if Laura… no, I can’t even say it,” Vret explained and then Sim entered the room. We looked at her in suspense to what she might say. 

‘Don’t tell me you know too,’ I signed.

“I do. I overheard Vret and Morse that day. I never told anyone either, not even my brother,” Sim explained. “I am worried though. My brother will stand by my side no matter what, but Cole is crazy, she seems ready for revenge. I do have an idea though.” 

“What do you mean?” Vret asked. 

“We should kill Cole,” Sim suggested. 

‘Listen, I don’t like Cole just as much as any of us, but I don’t like killing people,’ I signed. 

“If we don’t kill her she’ll kill us first. Let’s be honest, none of us are going to agree to go to Africa. And she won’t stop searching for the truth. And once she finds it, we’ll all be on our own, we’ll be vulnerable, easier to kill.”

‘Then we should tell her the truth now, we should tell them all the truth. It’s four against three and what are the odds Laura or Maison will attack? Really it’s us against Cole,’ I signed. 

“Yes. She’s the only one I’m worried about,” Sim agreed. 

“Let’s do it,” Vret said. “Tomorrow though, tonight we rest.” 

We nodded in agreement and went to our separate corners. I left Vrets room and was stopped by Laura in the hallway. 

“Remember that key you took back?” She asked. I nodded. “Well I think I know what it opens.” 

‘What?’ I asked. She held up a small titanium box and pushed it in front of my face. I checked my pockets for the key, I was holding it around till I found a good place to chuck it, but I hadn’t yet, so I brought it with me and thought I just might leave it at Laura’s. 

“Well, unlock it.” Laura pushed. I shook my head. “Why not?” I grabbed her hand and brought her into her room where Vret was still standing. 

“Hey… everything alright? What’s that?” He questioned. 

‘Secrets, probably. We should tell her now,’ I signed to Vret. 

“What’s going on? What are you saying?” Laura asked. I looked back at her and snatched the box. I turned to Laura with Vret by my side and signaled at him to tell her. 

“We can’t go to Africa,” he said. 

“Well of course we can’t, but what is this really about?” Laura asked. Vret sighed. 

“I know… we know what happened to Morse,” Vret explained. Laura looked down and then up again glancing at the two of us before setting her final gaze towards me. Her eyes started to fill with tears. She knew. 

“All these years. I hoped I was wrong…” She said, “Who else knows?”

“Sim and probably Nitz by now. She uh… she anticipated that Maison wouldn’t be a problem but, Cole…” Vret explained. 

“She might lose it,” Laura said. 

“Ya,” Vret agreed. 

“We have to kill her,” Laura said. 

‘I don’t want to kill anyone. I didn’t mean to kill Morse either. It was an accident I swear.’

“I know Maze, but Cole won’t care,” Laura said sympathetically. 

“How should we do it?” Vret asked. 

“Wait for her to fall asleep, take her in her sleep so she can’t use her mind control,” Nitz suggested, making himself known as he stood under the doorway with Sim. 

‘I Don’t Want To Do This!’ I signed aggressively. 

“We don’t have a choice. You can’t reason with Cole,” Laura explained. 

‘We should at least try,’ I suggested. 

“No. It’s too risky,” Nitz said.

‘Let me try. I’ll keep you all out of it. I’ll tell her it was all my fault, because it was and if she kills me then she kills me, but you shouldn’t have to risk your life,’ I signed. We stood in silence for a while as they all contemplated my offer. Laura smiled and put her hand on my shoulder. 

“Okay Maze. Thank you for your sacrifice. Do it tomorrow okay?” Laura suggested. I nodded. As I fell asleep that night I thought about what I would say to Cole. The answer was clear, I’d tell her the truth.

The night Morse died, we were hunting down a group of serial killers in our neighborhood who were committing multiple acts of murders all at once, so we split up. Cole and Vret went off on one side, the twins took another side, Laura and Maison another and then Morse and I. When I came upon my street I ran ahead to my house first, Morse was far behind me so I got there first. I just wanted to make sure my mother was okay, but she was dead. I screamed in agony, just as Morse walked in, inhaled my toxins and immediately collapsed. 

“Hey, hey, it’s not your fault,” Morse said through gasps.

“Yes it is, it is, I’ve killed you, you’re going to die!” I screamed through tears. I then covered my mouth and scurried to the corner of the room. Morse struggled to pick herself up and then crawled over to me. I shook my head in protest but she still made her way over to me. She held me in her arms and caressed my arm to calm me down.

“It’s okay, it’s okay. If I’m dying it’s because I’m dying. It is what it is supposed to be,” she said and let me go as I began to settle down.

‘But maybe someone can help you. Yes, we can take you to the fortress, they can help you. If we tell them who you’re related to. Maybe they can —’ I signed quickly. She grabbed my hands and pushed them down as she shook her head.

“No, they don’t care about us. It doesn’t matter who my family is, it doesn’t even matter that I’m a Beta. They don’t care about us Betas. We’re all we got, and that’s why you’re not going to tell anyone about this okay?” She exclaimed.

‘What? What am I supposed to say happened?’ I asked.

“Shhhhh. I have… maybe five minutes left. Just listen, they will never forgive you if they found out, but both human and Begavad coroners will only assume that my death is natural, so they’ll never have to know, only you and I will know the truth and I’m dead. So it’s only your secret to hold, but please don’t let this sit on your conscience, it was an accident. I… oh,” she said as she fell to the ground again. I looked over at her and started to cry, my poisonous tears falling on her cheeks. “You’re my best friend okay? You’re my family, I love you. Please, don’t forget that, take this. It was an accident, okay? It’s not your fault.”

And those were her final words, then the rest of the team busted in. 

“Your tears, you’ll kill her! Get away!” Maison screamed.

‘No she’s already dead!’ I signed in tears.

“What! How’d this happen? What did you do?!” Cole yelled.

‘Nothing! I just came here and she was dead and my mom was too. And they’re both dead and I just came here and they were both dead and I lost them both, but I just came here!’ I signed the explanation. Laura ran towards me and gave me a hug to calm me down. 

“It’s okay, let’s just get out of here before whoever did this comes back,” Laura said. She helped me up and we started heading for the door.

“But we can’t just leave, whoever did this might be coming for us too!” Sim exclaimed.

“I just meant we were leaving, you three can stay here and catch whoever did this. Avenge Mazes mother and avenge Morse,” Laura commanded. Then we left, and she took me to her house. We let the police find my mother and Morse’s body. A week later we got news that my mother had indeed been murdered with brute force. However, both human and Begavad coroners concluded that Morse’s death was natural, just like she said it would be, just the way my toxins work. I didn’t think I would be able to, but I found a way to forgive myself. It was Morse’s dying wish that I forgive myself, so I did and once I accepted the reality that I made a mistake just like any other person does, it was easy to move on.

I was ready to confess to Cole when I woke up that morning and I was ready to die if that be my fate, just like Morse. When I got up and entered the living room I was met by the backs of my friends. I cleared my throat and They all turned around. Laura was in the center, her hands dripping with blood. 

‘What did you do?’ I asked.

“I wasn’t going to let them hurt you, I promised Morse, I wouldn’t let anyone hurt you.”