The Worst Story Ever (Part Two)

Chapter Nine

This is the chapter where the plot finally reveals itself

Marcus is dead quiet. It's weirder than him smiling out of genuine kindness. I guess learning your dad is probably dead is a big shocker,

If you're not convinced that Paige is a fucking genius after this than I don't know what will convince you.

especially when you learn that on your birthday. He's not crying or anything, I mean, he and his mom and his hermit older sister never ever talk about him.

His mom and his sister don't talk about Marcus? Okay...

"Are you okay?" I ask him gently when we sit down on the sofa. Why did I ask that? Of course he's not okay. He shrugs without saying anything. Abhi jumps onto his lap, and Nadime climbs onto the sofa next to me, and lays down, resting her head on my lap.

Paige has shown no sign of compassion until right now, and it was the bare minimum amount.

Winter is standing on a coffee table in front of us, wolfing down a bowl of food.

Wait, who the fuck is Winter again?

I hadn't realized how starved she looked until we were in the light. I rubbed my back and glared at Alise, who was filling up a bowl of water for the cat. I wasn't sure if I wanted to be on her bad side anymore, but I had heard before that if the picker abuses his or her powers, their magic becomes revoked and given to someone else.

So you heard about that, but you had no idea who the picker even was in the first place?

Winter looks up from her bowl and yawns.

"Before I waste any more time, it is best for you all to know why I am here." she pads softly on the table, facing all of us. "A few years ago, while I was hunting for mice at night, I was abducted by a small group of people,

Why, instead of "small group of people" did I read; "group of small people"

who I overheard that they were working for some guy named Adam. Jack, Marcus's father, who I was assigned to at the time, tracked us down. I couldn't see him, I was stuffed into a small fabric bag, but I heard him arguing with the people who had captured me. They must have knocked us both out, because the next thing I remember, I was in a cold metal cage. Jack wasn't anywhere in sight, and I haven't seen him since."

Wait what? That was a fuck ton of words just to say that Marcus's father's familiar was kidnapped.

Marcus coughs into his shirt, and rubs his eyes.

Okay? Why was that description necessary?

"For a very long time, I was trapped in that cage. Slowly, other familiars began filling up the large white room. I heard people talking, Adam's name was continuously mentioned."

"From what I could hear, we were somewhere underground in the rubble of New York, in the U.S." Winter pauses for a moment, and then continues her story.

Oh right, because New York and the rest of America was fucking obliterated and we just glossed right over that.

"Every few weeks, a tall man would randomly select a familiar, and test some sort of serum with it. Usually it did almost nothing. Sometimes, the familiar would suddenly die. But, the very last test I witnessed, nothing happened, I mean, at first, but when the tall man opened the cage and let the familiar out, it began to follow him around and do everything he said. Over the next few days, this happened more and more times with other familiars. Eventually, the man tried to inject me with the serum. Someone yelled at him, called him Adam, Adam Willow actually, and while he was distracted, I escaped and found away out of the labyrinth. That was a few weeks ago. I found my way back now, obviously."