The Secret of Soul

A Cold Truth

July 3, 2113

Whitney

            Months have passed and we’ve lived in constant battle. All of the creatures have moved into Central Park, constantly looking out for signs of President Emerald. Sarah and I ventured north to hike through the Appalachian Mountains in a desperate attempt to find all of the creatures. The summer laid upon our skins, but the air felt as though it were still December. I hugged my robin egg-colored jacket close to me and the wind blew through my coarse hair. I continued to hike through the mountains, noting that no birds sang and nothing green grew. The trees were barren, and the clouds that kissed the mountain tops lingered grey and menacing above our heads. “Whitney, wait a second,” Sarah commanded, running behind me to catch up. “What’s wrong, Sarah?” I asked. “Do you feel it?” She asked me. The snow began to fall around us. “It feels like he’s breathing down my neck,” I whispered. She nodded. “We need to head back. He’s going to attack everyone soon,” she told me. We began to run at an unnatural pace towards Manhattan.

            The trees blurred as we ran for miles. I grew tired quickly, but she seemed unstoppable. I gasped with each breath. “Sarah,” I inhaled, “I need to stop.” I inhaled, gasping for more air. Sarah picked me up and threw me on her back. I quickly placed my hands in front of her next and clasped my hands. Then, we were moving. We moved faster with each step, Sarah seemingly addicted to the rush of adrenaline. The harsh wind whipped my face, causing lashes of frostbite to pierce my cheeks. My hair fell from its bun on the top of my head.

            A few hundred miles later, we were in Manhattan. Sarah slowed to a jog, and then stopped right before entering central park. She set me down and sat down to catch her breath. She pulled out a milk jug filled with water and downed it. “Do you want some?” she asked me. I shook my head. I looked around at the destruction from the war. Buildings had collapsed. The Empire State building had been boarded up and no longer stood tall and proud. Looking towards the water, Lady Liberty seemed to be weeping over the loss of many lives due to this unnecessary war. She cried out over the diversity and the cruel treatment of her children. I felt a warm river of liquid falling down my cheeks. That’s when I, too, began truly crying. Sarah wrapped me in a hug and I rested my head into her shoulder. “It’s okay, sweetie. It’s almost over,” she cooed, as if I were her child and she my mother. “Why don’t you go take a nap? There’s a tent just inside the park before you are into the woods. I’ll stand guard. I don’t have to sleep,” Sarah said with warmth. I nodded, crawled into the tent, and placed my jacket on top of my body. Sarah zipped up the tent and sat outside. I listened to the wind howl as I closed my heavy eyes, willingly succumbing to sleep.

            The piercing sound of the howling wind rattled my bones as my eyes quickly opened. I abruptly sat up and looked around. “Central Park. It’s July. He’s here,” I whispered into the thin air. I unzipped the tent, clasping my jacket with my right hand. “Sarah?” I called out. She was not in sight. “She must be feeding,” I thought to myself. I tucked my light brown hair behind my ears and placed on my warm, light blue winter jacket before heading for the woods. As I walked, I felt like President Emerald was around me. He was here, breathing down my neck, yet not here at all. I felt his presence consume me, yet I felt nothing. The cold air whipped into my face and I looking into the July snow. “Whitney,” the trees seemed to whisper. He was here. I quickly ran into the clearing within the woods.

Soul and Anti-Soul stood in a huddle. Sarah ran up to me. “Go back to the tent, Whitney. It’s not safe here.” “I can handle it,” I assured her, hoping my worry didn’t give me away. “You’re human. He can hurt you!” Chloe bit her lip. “It’ll be okay. We’re going to stick together,” I told her. Bombs began to fall from the sky as the ground suddenly shook below us. “It’s time,” Sarah whispered. “POSITIONS!” Aiden yelled into the air. Everyone took a defensive stance as the human form of President Emerald appeared.

Aiden was the first to charge. “FOR SOUL!” he yelled, but then was quickly thrown back. He landed with a THUD and cursed out loud. President Emerald began to multiply, surrounding the clearing with infinite copies. Aiden shifted into his wolf form, a furry, menacing wolf with black fur painted with brown highlights. He snarled at President Emerald. A few creatures charged at various copies. A bright light flashed, and they all collapsed. Aiden snarled and began to charge again, but Chloe yelled, “STOP!” and no one moved. The fairies gathered in a circle, each one facing a different direction. The fairies each blasted energy balls in every direction, allowing the energy balls to bounce off of each fake President Emerald until the real one fell, causing the illusion to disappear.

            Suddenly, Victoria came out from between the trees. Payton, Kara, Breena, Aiken, Deseray, and Kyla followed on her heels, reciting:

                        “You have lied, and you have failed.

                         You cannot, will not prevail.

                         Your life has come to an end.

                         Go back to where you came from, for you have sinned.”

            They repeated the chant three times, and then President Emerald disappeared in a cloud of smoke. Victoria took a few steps forward, and then disappeared as well. The sun began to set, creating a watercolor image of different hues fading into one another. The air became warm as the snow ceased to fall. All in the park was quiet except for the chatter of animals coming out from hibernation. For the first time in 100 years, all of the supernatural beings were safe. They were all “people” again. I hugged Sarah, grateful for all of the hardships and distrust to finally have ended. Aiken, standing behind me, tapped on my shoulder. “What?” I asked, startled by the notion. “I’m sorry for what I said a few months ago. He manipulated me,” Aiken told me. I gave him a weak smile. “It’s okay, Aiken.”

            “It’s all over,” Payton said, inhaling the warm, summer night air. Fireflies began to dance around in the field, seemingly celebrating our great feat. “I thought you were dead,” I told her. For the first time, I was happy to see her. “No,” she scoffed, “I just disappeared. He was an idiot. You can’t kill a demon.” Payton laughed at her own inner joke. Breena looked up at me, still so innocent in this whole ordeal. “What do we do now?” she asked. I smiled, sure of what could be done to restore our way of life. “Whatever we want to do. It’s time to fix New York City,” I said. “How?” Kara asked. “Everyone can go claim a place to live, and then we’ll go from there,” I told Kara. Kara smiled and everyone dissipated, ready to begin their new lives.