Tragedy ✔️

Chapter 21

"Concentrate. Think of what you are trying to accomplish. What is your goal? What are you trying to do? Where do you want to be? Imagine that place with clear, crisp detail in your mind and feel yourself as if you were there. Trick your mind into thinking you're there."

"I'm trying!" yells Charlotte. She gives a loud huff and opens her eyes. She folds her arms over her chest and makes a frown. "It's no use. I'm doing everything you say, Colin, but I can't do it. I'll never be able to teleport."

It's been two weeks of hard training, all day, seven days a week. Sometimes we would even stay up late to put in extra hours of training. There's no reward system for the hardest trainer or anything of a sort, but Ms. Pudge said we would soon be moving to the next phase. I assume that is moving our militia, to say, to the living world. We want to be prepared.

Who knows what is happening on Earth. When Starla and I fought, the king was already on Earth. Then I fell in a coma for six weeks and now, two weeks have passed since the accident with Charlotte plus her trying to learn how to teleport. Ms. Pudge insisted everyone to learn the skill as it could be useful in battle.

"Maybe you're trying too hard, Charlotte," I say. "Try to concentrate just on the place you want to be and not how you want to get there. Try again."

"Okay," says Charlotte, "I will. Just one more time because I haven't eaten lunch and I'm very hungry."

"I could use a sandwich," I chuckle, "So you better hurry up and knock down teleportation."

Charlotte closes her eyes one more time and takes a deep breath, gives her body a shake and stays still. A minute passes by and I'm about to ask her what kind of sandwich she wants, when I see a spark ignite by her feet. The spark grows brighter and catches flames on Charlotte's red joggers.

I expect Charlotte to freak out, but she keeps her eyes closed as if her body isn't on fire. The flames grown faster and more furious and they are up to her head now. A feeling of satisfaction fills me knowing Charlotte managed to teleport, but then I realize I don't know where she is going.

Her body is no longer visible. Just a vertical stretch of flames where she stood. The fire starts to fade and my pride is replaced by fear. What if Charlotte doesn't know how to get back from where she is teleporting herself? Without thinking any second longer, I lunge myself to the last remnants of flames and I feel my body pixelate. White light fills my eyes and a steady rush of air hits me in the face. The bright light in my eyes fades away and my mind is confused of its whereabouts.

My eyes begin to adjust to the environment surrounding me. I know where I am before I see a UPS truck heading straight toward me. It's too late to move out of the way. I flinch as the truck barrels into me. I only feel a small tickle and when I look around, I am intact, the truck already farther down the road. Oh, yeah. I forgot that I am a soul that is dead.

I take in more of what I am seeing. I am standing in the middle of a small farm road. The sky is blue, the grass is green. I can sense life all over me.

"This is so cool!"

I flip around and see Charlotte sitting in the grass on the side of the road. She has her eyes closed, taking deep breathes of life.

"What is wrong with you, Charlotte?" I shout, "Teleporting to the living world is forbidden! Come to think of it, I didn't know it was possible. The only way I've been back to Earth is by a Zapper. How did you do it?"

"I just thought of all the things I missed the most. It seems this is where all that is, or was. It feels great. It feels like I'm alive again."

"Don't get too comfortable. I felt the same way the first time I came back. It all comes crumbling back down when you see its just your mind playing tricks on you. If you hold your breath, you will never suffocate. Or in my case, a UPS truck just ran through me. That doesn't make me feel very alive."

I see Charlotte's smile melt. I didn't mean to throw reality at her but I didn't want her to feel crushed if she got too attached to all of this. It can all be very tempting.

"Look," I say, "I know you miss all of this, but we could get in big trouble. Teleport us back to The White Box."

Letting out a big sigh she says, "Alright."

Charlotte closes her eyes but quickly opens them again.

"Is everything okay?" I ask.

"I don't know," she says, "It feels like as if something is... blocking my magic."

"That would be me, honey."

Me and Charlotte are startled by the unfamiliar voice. We look behind us and see blazing eyes that burn right through us. It's Starla.

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AUTHOR'S NOTE:

Hello, readers! It has been a while since I've updated Tragedy but I'm going to be honest. We got out of school about a week and a half ago for summer break and I needed a break. After final exams and studying, I was worn out. I have been binge watching, sleeping late, and waking up late. You know, enjoying my freedom. I have rested for almost two weeks now and I couldn't keep procrastinating on my story anymore. I promised I would be writing more during summer and I plan to do so. I hope you enjoyed this chapter and the ones to come. I am very exited because there will be about ten more chapters before I end the story and I have big plans. Now that I have more time in my hands, I can plot out the final chapters thoroughly. Make sure to check back every week. I am back to regular schedule: weekly uploads on the weekends. But, since I promised more writing in summer, I will update twice a week. The second weekly update will not have a designated day, but it can come at any given day during the week. Thank you all for understanding and if you are on summer break, enjoy it to the fullest!