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  “What the . . . ,” he whispered intensely as he stared up the tree the thing was standing by. There was a boy stuck to the tree—the same boy he’d seen way before the battle. The boy was plastered there with some strange pink stuff that seemed to be slowly growing around his body.

  “What is it with this place?” Oliver wondered. “I see this thing! Then I see this stuff! What the heck is going on?”

  Oliver used his Wind Power to send a very slight breeze through the material around the boy, hoping to wake him up a little. He saw the boy move his head around a little bit. Yes! The boy’s head then bobbed and looked straight ahead, his eyes only slightly open. Oliver sent another small Wind that slightly ruffled the boy’s hair. He shook his head, then went back to sleep.

  Oliver knew he had to play this smart. The thing had no clue he was there, and Oliver certainly wanted to keep it like that. Unfortunately, with the plan Oliver had, the strange monster would know instantly. Yet, he decided to put that plan into action. He gathered up as much strength as he could and used his Wind Power to blow the creature to the other side of the dome. It made a horrible screeching noise as it went, which seemed to have awakened the boy.

  “What the . . . hey! I know you,” the boy called sleepily.

  Oliver quietly walked toward the boy and held a finger to his mouth, signaling for the boy to keep quiet.

  “Hey, what’s your name?” Oliver whispered.

  “Spencer Knight. Why? You know my dad?” he asked hurriedly.

  “Uh, no. But we’ve gotta get out of here,” Oliver answered.

  Spencer and Oliver rushed out of the darkness of the trees. Oliver heard Spencer gasp as they rushed into the light.

  “What? What’s wrong?” Oliver asked.

  “I just remembered! Do you know how many days it’s been? I remember coming here in the morning, but it appears to be really early in the morning,” Spencer rambled.

  “You must have been here a day then,” Oliver answered.

  “Oh no! That means there’s only one day left until Nick loses his Powers!” Spencer cried.

  “WAIT! You know Nick?” Oliver shouted.

  “Yes. Wait, you know him too?” Spencer questioned, surprised.

  “Yeah, of course. The Boss sucked him and four of my other friends into wherever they are now,” Oliver responded.

  “I know where they are! I also know how to get there! Well, I know where Nick is at least,” Spencer exclaimed happily.

  “Really? Can you take me to him?” Oliver wondered, now anxious.

  “Dude! Of course. We just have to find the portal without getting mauled by the creatures of this domed jungle,” Spencer stated, nearly sounding sarcastic.

  27.2

  Mason glanced at his watch which read half past seven in the morning.

  “Darla couldn’t have meant what she said,” he thought. “I don’t think I’m cool. Actually, I’ve never thought I was cool.”

  Mason sat in his and Jason’s abandoned room. Black flames still surrounded the property. There were fire trucks all over the yard, but Mason didn’t realize that. He just sat on his bed trying to cool off. When a fireman burst through the door, Mason nearly had a heart attack.

  “We’ve been trying to reach the owners of this house for nearly a week now! Are you a resident in this home?” a grizzled man shouted.

  “I . . . uh . . .what? Yes, yes, I am!” Mason stammered.

  “Can we take you to the station for questioning? We’ve never seen this type of fire—if that’s even what it is,” the fireman exclaimed, angrily.

  “Uh, no! I have to go!” Mason stuttered quickly. Mason launched off the bed and ran to the open window. He placed his foot on the sill and began to push off. The fireman grabbed his shoulder and yanked him back.

  “Whoa! What do you think you’re doing jumping out that window?” he yelled.

  “I’m not jumping out the window! Get your hands off me!” Mason demanded, with a defensive mindset.

  The fireman stepped back and examined Mason’s features. He knew Mason was scared, so he decided to take a calmer approach.

  “Listen kid, you can’t be jumping out windows like that,” the fireman cooed calmly.

  Mason took a deep breath and decided he needed to look like he was calm in front of the fireman. On the inside, he was screaming.

  “Our home phone is in the kitchen. Can I just go get it to call Mom?” Mason asked, his voice barely shaking.

  “Why don’t I get it for you?” the fireman suggested.

  “Uh, no, it’s . . . ”

  The fireman was already off to get it. As soon as he walked out the bedroom door, Mason cursed to himself. He was still freaking out and didn’t know what to do. He did the only thing he knew he could do: He jumped out the window. As soon as he did, the fireman walked back into the room and yelled, “HEY! What are you doing?!”

  Halfway down to the ground, he pushed off using Wind and flew out of the yard. With all the nerves going crazy inside him, his flying faltered, and his feet hit the ground. He yelped from the impact but kept running.

  He was terrified. Mason was fearful of the firemen and of the separation from his twin. He stopped and hid in between two houses and, when no one followed him, he figured he’d made a clean getaway. Mason leaned against the wall and sat down hard. He put his head in between his knees and began to breathe forcefully, trying to calm himself. Suddenly, his cellphone rang.

  “Hello?... Jason!... Why am I breathing hard?... I’ll tell you later. Yeah I’m okay. Hey, meet me at the school if you’re not still there,” he said to Jason. “You need advice? Well, Teddy can Teleport to a certain person if he concentrates hard enough. Let him sleep to gather his energy so he can Teleport. Yeah. No problem. Bye, dude.”

  The phone call did nothing to calm Mason. To know that the others were still gone was actually really alarming. Little did he know that a bystander happened to record his window stunt and post it on social media. Mason came out of his hiding place and began Wind-Flying to the school.

  27.3

  As it was nine o’clock in the morning, Ondrea was tired and hungry. She realized she still had no clue where she was. Something or someone must have Teleported her away from her friends. That was a few days ago. She had discovered some kind of portal to a strange land, and she’d been venturing back and forth between worlds.

  This new world was unlike anything Ondrea had ever seen before. It had gold waterfalls, chocolate rivers, and trees that never died. She decided to venture farther in today.

  “Here I go,” she said to herself. “Out of this nightmarish and messed-up reality and back into the weird world of whatever.” She sighed. She had been venturing into the new world for about three hours when she saw something up ahead. Ondrea walked closer. It was a person!

  “Uh, hello?” Ondrea said, carefully approaching.

  The figure turned around gracefully and elegantly. Ondrea didn’t even know anyone could move like that! This figure was almost blindingly bright. She had red hair and a smile that literally glowed. She was wearing a beautiful bluish gown and an emerald crown.

  “Wow, who are you?” Ondrea questioned, awestruck.

  “Hi, stranger! My name is Solis Caldria. You must know my mother if you’re here!” she said happily.

  “I don’t think I know your mother and I don’t know why I am here, but you look like an angel! You’re so bright!” Ondrea quickly replied.

  “Oh, wow! Uh, thanks! Let me just turn this off,” Solis laughed, pressing a button on the strap of her gown.

  The light stopped and Ondrea could suddenly see. She laughed as she realized there were little lights embedded in Solis’s gown. Her laugh turned into a gasp of surprise as she noticed the wings protruding from her back.

  “Geez! You’re just full of surprises,” Ondrea chuckled.

  Solis looked at her curiously. “Thank you! I’m still not sure why you’re here. Maybe my mom will know,” Solis exclaimed. “MOM!”
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  A tall and beautiful woman walked out from the shelter of the trees and looked forward, smiling. When she saw Ondrea, she smiled wider.

  “I’ve been waiting for you,” she said to Ondrea, her voice practically singing. “I guess you found my daughter first.”

  “You are also beautiful,” Ondrea sated bashfully, “What is your name?”

  “Ah, thank you, young one. My name is Lady Caldria. I have summoned you into this world to tell you that a malicious force has opened a gateway to your world—a gateway that is highly unstable. Soon, it will collapse, and your world will be in grave peril,” Lady Caldria warned.

  “WHOA! One second I’m seeing angels, the next I’m seeing red! What is going on? What is going to happen to our world?” Ondrea yelled, suddenly very nervous.

  “Calm down, girl!” Lady Caldria hissed.

  “Yeah, don’t shoot the messenger, girlfriend!” Solis echoed, crossing her arms at a slight angle.

  “I’m sorry. It’s been a rough few days,” Ondrea apologized.

  “Apologies for my outburst, Ondrea. I may not give you more information. But for your troubles, I can do you a favor,” Lady Caldria offered.

  “I would love to go back home,” Ondrea said softly.

  “Home? Or rather to the heart and soul of your home?” Lady Caldria asked.

  “Well, I’d like to see them . . .” Ondrea mumbled, having an idea of what Lady Caldria meant.

  “It will be done then. Goodbye, sweet girl. I hope I haven’t frightened you too much!” Lady Caldria laughed with a twinkling smile.

  “Wait, Mom, can I do it?” Solis questioned hopefully.

  “Of course, my bright shining sun! It’s good practice,” she agreed, happily.

  “Goodbye, Ondrea! It was really nice talking to you! If you ever need me, think of the sun. Oh, but not during the hour of one. That’s my time! Bye, new friend!” Solis called. She waved her hand and blinked.

  Suddenly, Ondrea was standing against the new titanium wall that made up the back of the Super School. Ondrea glanced at her phone timer. “What do you know? It’s one o’clock,” she said to herself.

  27.4

  The gang had gotten back to the school about three hours earlier. They had been looking for Darla when they got a phone call from Mason telling them to rush back to the school.

  “I’m glad the school is finally entirely rebuilt,” Jessica said from inside the teachers’ lounge.

  “I just can’t believe Mrs. Macintosh let us in the teachers’ lounge,” Jason said. Mrs. Macintosh had let Jason and Jessica nap, and they were just waking up. But Teddy would need his strength if he were going to try to Teleport to Darla, Mason, Ondrea, and Oliver, and he wasn’t awake yet.

  “I just can’t believe Teddy is still asleep,” Mrs. Macintosh exclaimed as he walked in and closed the door behind her.

  “Really? We’ve been awake for almost four days straight! I’m surprised we’re still functioning!” Jessica whispered harshly.

  “Well, I am sorry,” Mrs. Macintosh responded sincerely. “Now, you said you’re waiting for Mason, right?”

  “Yeah, we are. But I checked ten minutes ago, and he still wasn’t there,” Jason yelled nervously. “He seemed to be in trouble!”

  Teddy still slept, despite Jason’s yelling.

  “Look, I’m sure he’ll be okay, but shouldn’t you two wait outside the school for him?” Mrs. Macintosh suggested.

  “We probably should. He’ll be expecting us,” Jason agreed.

  “What about Teddy?” Jessica asked, pointing.

  “I’ll stay here with him and send him out if he wakes up,” Mrs. Macintosh promised.

  With that, Jason and Jessica ran outside the school and waited in front for Mason. They had just gotten there when Mason ran up, breathing hard with his face red.

  “The fireman, the fire! People are at our house!” Mason yelled, trying to catch his breath.

  “Whoa, are you . . . ”

  Ondrea sprinted from the other side of the school and accidentally ran into Jessica.

  “The world’s going to end or something!” Ondrea screamed, panicking.

  “Well, this isn’t…”

  Darla appeared suddenly through the clouds using her Super Heat fire jets, with her phone in her mouth.

  “OKAY, EVERYONE SHUT UP!” Jason yelled. Everyone did, in fact, shut up.

  “Ondrea, you first,” Jessica demanded.

  “Okay, so I was randomly Teleported to this strange place where I found this strange portal that led to this strange land with this strange girl whose name is Solis Caldria, and she looks like a freaking goddess! Apparently, her mother told me that our world is going to collapse because of some kind of gateway or something! Her mother’s name is Lady Caldria,” Ondrea explained.

  “Certainly not the strangest thing I’ve ever heard,” Jessica mumbled.

  “Mason, you next,” Jason commanded.

  “There are firetrucks in our driveway! A fireman is in the house. He started asking me questions, so I panicked, jumped out the window, and used my Wind Power to fly!” Mason yelled.

  “WHAT! You used your Wind Power and flew in front of them?” Jason screamed.

  “Oh, Jason! Now they know!” Jessica sighed.

  “THAT’S MY NEWS!” Darla screeched.

  “Wait, what’s your news?” Jessica asked.

  “Apparently, the firemen aren’t the only people who saw Mason fly,” she stated, shoving her phone screen in their faces. On the screen was a video of Mason leaping out of the window and a fireman reaching for him. Mid-fall, he shot Wind out of his hands like jets, propelling himself into the air. Halfway down the street, he stumbled with his flight, then kept going all the way down the street. The video ended when Mason was completely out of sight.

  “This has so many views on YouTube™ already! Titled, ‘Kid Actually Flies, This Can’t Be Fake!’” Darla yelled.

  “Oh no, no, no, no!” Mason mumbled, plopping onto the ground. Jason sat beside him and put his arms around Mason’s shoulders for support.

  “Look, this is not your fault,” Jason assured him.

  “Yes! It is! Darla, before you say it, I know I’m not cool! I can’t be cool! I got so freaked out from that situation that I exposed us!” Mason cried.

  “Look, I was really upset and overreacted. I’m sorry. But I’m not going to take it back, you softy,” Darla muttered. Mason gave a crippled smile. “Guys, I’m really sorry about all of it. I didn’t mean . . . most of it. Please don’t stay mad at me,” Darla pleaded.

  “At least we’re all together now, or at least more together,” Ondrea said. “And we totally forgive you, Darla. Right guys?”

  Everyone nodded their heads in agreement.

  “Now we just need to find Oliver, then we can figure out how to get the others back,” Jessica concluded.

  “Wait, Mason, didn’t you say Teddy could Teleport to someone specific if he gathered his energy?” Jason inquired.

  “Well, yeah. Where is he?” Mason questioned.

  “He’s inside sleeping away,” Jessica answered with a small chuckle.

  “Wait, how did you know that, Mason?” Jason wondered, incredulously.

  “I remember reading a little bit about it when we’d made our bet some time ago,” he replied, sighing.

  “Nice,” Jason complimented. Mason just smiled.

  “We should go inside and get Teddy then,” Darla said.

  “But has he had enough time to rest?” Ondrea asked, addressing Darla with the question.

  Jessica answered instead. “I believe he has. It’s . . . ” Jessica glanced at her phone, “1:53.”

  “Three hours then?” Jason wondered, getting up. He stuck out a hand to help Mason up, and he took it.

  “That’s right. Let’s go talk to him,” Jessica commanded. Jessica, Ondrea, Mason, Jason, and Darla began walking into the school. As they walked through the halls, Ondrea, Mason, and Darla were looking all around examini
ng the new souped-up school. Titanium walls, metal doors, and there were now buttons to get into the classrooms. They also passed a war bunker, not to mention a literal bomb shelter.

  “If this school gets destroyed one more time, it’s going to be rebuilt to look like a prison,” Mason said.

  “As if it’s not already there,” Jason said in a huff.

  The gang entered the teachers’ lounge, jokingly screaming for Teddy to wake up. He literally jumped off the couch and sailed to his feet.

  “What! What’s going on?” Teddy yelled.

  “Dude, it’s just us. We need to talk to you,” Mason stated seriously.

  TWENTY-EIGHT

  In Which Wanderers Make a Discovery

  At sunset, Will, Avery, Damian, and Rachel were back on the run—literally running.

  “Why are we running?” Will asked, gasping for breath.

  “I’m done with this stupid world!” Damian yelled, “It’s time I find my kid, we find the way out of here, then we go home!”

  “I agree—just a little less aggressively,” Rachel exclaimed at the front of the group.

  They had been running and stopping and running again for the entirety of the morning, afternoon, and now the evening. Damian had been carrying Avery the whole time, keeping a constant speed. Suddenly, Rachel stopped.

  “Guys! STOP!” she screeched. Everyone skidded to a stop. “I smell something. It smells evil!” she whispered.

  “Then let’s not go that way!” Will urged, turning around.

  Damian grabbed him under the arm.

  “Stay, Will!” he growled. “We may need to go there.” With that, he continued to walk forward. The sun was about to set, nearing the end of the day. Nick’s last day.

  28.2

  Nick stared anxiously at the timer counting down. He had seen it since the beginning, but he’d never pondered what might happen when it reached zero.

  “I’ll find out in two hours,” he mumbled sadly. He put his head on his knees and waited, crying silently to himself. Thirty minutes later, Nick heard footsteps and tensed. He quickly dried his blood-red eyes and stood up.