The Stone

Chapter Nineteen

“Guess you don’t need me anymore.” Celeste turned, looking for the source of the voice. “What do you mean? Why not? Dimitra!” She shouted into space. “You’ve overcome an obstacle...You summoned Ju-geum...You survived...You have my book...you don’t need me...”

    It was bright, and the sound of beeping filled her ears first. Groggily, Celeste sat up and when she did so, there was a collective gasp and a rush of people and words. “Oh my lord Celeste!” Asher cried pulling her into a death-tight hug. Everyone else took this as a que to all hug her. Celeste felt faintly aware of what was happening. Her chest felt tight, as if she’d just lost someone. She looked around at the crowd of familiar faces and paused when she saw Nikki’s, then she began crying. “The dress! I-It got torn a-and all messed up!” She cried. Nikki let out a nervous laugh before patting Celeste’s back. “Seriously? After everything you’ve just been through, and you’re crying about a dress?” She asked. Celeste looked up at Nikki. “B-but you worked so hard on it...” She said. “So what? All I care about is that you came intact!” Nikki said before hugging her again.
    “Oh my lord when we saw you, y-you didn’t look like yourself, a-and then you fell over! I felt my heart stop!” Mrs. Link said pulling Celeste into a hug. Ben fought his way through the crowd and her and Ben stared at each other for a couple minutes before embracing each other with a hug, Celeste crying more tears and she could hear him crying too. “Shadow’s here.” He said after they pulled away. “I’ll go get him.” He said before Celeste had time to say anything, then he and Samantha walked out the room.
    Celeste looked down at her hand and was oddly relieved to see that the stone was still there. “W-where’s Nate?” She asked, she could feel her insides turn to ice when she said his name. “Zatvoru.” Bethany answered. “He was charged as an adult, he confessed to everything. Many people are suggestion he go to a psyche ward, they think he’s unstable.” Celeste nodded at this news then asked; “How long was I out?”
    “Two days.” Asher said. “The doctors couldn’t do much for you so, I- we all have been pretty worried since you weren’t getting any nurturance.” The sound of pounding footsteps approaching caused everyone to turn their head. Shadow appeared at the doorway, he was breathing heavily from running and he didn’t look like he had been sleeping; his hair was unkempt and he had bags under his eyes. Celeste smiled at him and he raced across the room and hugged her. “Y-you’re alive!” He said then, noticing everyone looking at him, blushed and looked down saying; “I-it would’ve really sucked if my first girlfriend died the day we started dating...” Celeste began to glow a bright shade of pink and everyone awed causing both her and Shadow to shut them down (although Shadow was quieter than Celeste.)
    Celeste had to stay at the hospital overnight just to get her vital signs checked and she was free to go in the morning. Everyone had told her what happened after she teleported Shadow away.
    Apparently, instead of sending Shadow to his home, Celeste ended up sending Shadow to the Link’s house where he told them everything that had happened. After that, they called Asher, the police and ambulance and rushed over to the dance hall where they met up with Ben and Samantha. They asked him where Celeste was but they didn’t know. Shadow urged them towards the woods and into the inner ring where he last remembered Celeste to be, but when they didn’t see her or the others, they were perplexed. Where could she have gone? They were all about to head back to the Link’s house and file for a missing person’s report when they’ve seen fire burst into the sky then disappear. Then they all rushed through the woods.
    They neared the hill and Nikki noticed Celeste’s shoes, so they knew that they were close. Then they heard a man screaming and cautiously went to investigate the sound. Abruptly, the screaming stopped. But that’s when Ben noticed Celeste standing atop the hill, with glowing red flames, with two horns atop her head, barefoot and in a tattered gown. He called after her and Celeste looked at him, pointing at Nate before falling over, the sword floating upward before disappearing into tiny little pixels.
    A few minutes later, the emergency vehicles came along with the cops. There was a small trial held against Nate, who confessed to everything and Shadow bared witness. Nate would be sent to Zatvoru, a maximum prison located on one of the islands of Perennius.
    During her absence, school had let out and she was glad to hear that she had passed eleventh grade and was moving onto the twelfth. As a celebration, she, Shadow, Ben and Samantha decided to go to the movies. Celeste was glad Samantha was now being nice to her. Although, she wasn’t sure if it was because she didn’t see Celeste as a threat anymore, or because she was afraid of Celeste, because she was a threat. But either way, Celeste needed Samantha, she had no idea how to have a meaningful relationship and she needed advice. Luckily, Shadow was just as bad at relationships as Celeste was.
    “Senior year! I can’t believe you made it Cel!” Ben said, playfully punching Celeste’s arm as they sat on his porch eating ice cream. “Ha ha. Shut up.” Celeste said rolling her eyes. “Have you thought about what you wanna do after school?” Ben asked. “Hmm...Sorta.” Celeste said as she licked her ice cream. “Really? What?” Ben asked, tilting his head. “I’m gonna be a superhero.” Celeste said straightening up and doing a superhero pose. They both broke into laughter. “But seriously...” Ben said as they sighed and wiped away tears. “I’m gonna be a computer engineer.” He said proudly. “You seem like the type.” Celeste said. Ben looked at her as if she said something offensive. “And what’s that supposed to mean?” He asked. “You’re a nerd, that’s a nerd job.” Celeste said as if it were obvious. Ben rolled his eyes and licked his ice cream.
    “I dunno what I’m gonna do...Maybe I’ll be a body guard...Put this stone to good use...Protect the lord.” Celeste said after a while. “I can see you doing that...” Ben said nodding. “Remember when-Remember when what’s her name? Oh yeah, Zelda! Remember when Zelda broke my heart and you were literally about to kill her?” Ben said laughing. “Hey! What did you expect me to do? You came to my house all crying and depressed!” Celeste laughed. She checked her phone then stood up. “Gotta go, me and Shadow are going to the carnival.” Celeste said. “Shadow and I.” Ben corrected. “Whatever. Down.” Celeste said rolling her eyes before falling into the dark hole that appeared at her feet.