To Ally with the Guardians

Chapter 26: The Return of Beth Howard

The heat hit Haven and began thawing her freezing legs as she and the others teleported. She fell to her hands and knees and almost cried right then and there as she got up and shucked her coat. It had never crossed her mind to miss the warmth of non-Arctic summer until she was reminded of its existence. And the grass in her yard glowed a bright green, the sky above her was a brilliant crystal blue, adding to the beauty of it all.

"We'll stop here first," Jack said, motioning toward Haven's house, his face beginning to sweat already.

Her limbs felt all tingly again. What if her parents thought they were going crazy themselves when they saw Whisper and Sneak and refused to believe that the Prophecy People actually existed?

Haven marched up to the door anyway. The rest of the L.E.R., North, Bunny, Vivian, Jack, Whisper, and Sneak followed. Everyone else had stayed back.

Haven rang the doorbell and waited. She couldn't see anyone through the window in the door, but both of her parents' cars were here, so they had to be home.

Micah came into view as she turned a corner, and she began jumping up and down with a huge grin on her face when she saw Haven. She ran off, probably to tell their parents.

Haven's heart pounded. What would they say when they saw her? Would they be happy and relieved, or angry and worried for her becoming more "insane"? Whisper and Sneak moved closer to her, as did Matt.

Her parents appeared following Micah, and they rushed to the door, her mom with tears in her eyes and all of their faces glowing. Her dad threw open the door and wrapped his arms around her, and the rest of the Avery family followed suit, shouting and crying. Haven hugged back, grateful that their initial response wasn't to yell at her. And she was glad to see them, too.

The entire experience was dizzying.

"Where have you been?" her mom asked, casting a glare at Matt and the rest of the L.E.R. before she caught sight of Whisper and Sneak. She released Haven, bringing her hand to her chest. "Who...are they?"

Haven's dad and sister let go of her as well and stared at the Prophecy People.

"These are a couple of my new friends, Whisper and Sneak. They're here to show you something."

"What have you been..." Haven's dad began, his voice trembling with audible rage, but he stopped as his eyes bulged from his head, and his wife began to shake and take rapid breaths. Whisper had to be talking to them.

Whisper then gestured to Sneak, who promptly sprang into the air, touching the ceiling of the porch. That was the only power he use do on command- or, rather, that he couldn't stop doing, as well as his other passive ability of being able to find things more easily. According to Whisper, Prophecy People's powers took a while to master, and the only reason she had such great control over hers was that she had spent thousands if not tens of thousands of hours learning how to control them.

Haven's mom's face appeared pale and fragile, while her dad's looked frozen. Micah just grinned, definitely thinking that the two aliens were cool.

"Fearling cure? What...do you mean?" her mom choked out. Whisper took something out of the pocket of her new jeans: a curing orb. She still had one? Haven had thought Matt destroyed them all the day after curing her.

Whisper dropped it to the ground before crushing it under her boot and gesturing at the Guardians.

Haven's mom fainted as she followed Whisper's gaze, and her husband barely caught her in his arms. Haven felt kind of bad for putting them through so much shock, but everything would be so much better for everyone once they believed.