The Crystal 3 - Jones M (best ereader for pdf TXT) 📗

was time for me to go back to Crystalia. The thought made me sad, and it took everything in me not to break down on the spot.

I forced my mind back to my surroundings. I was at home, cleaning the kitchen with music softly blaring from the nearby small speakers. A couple of seconds later, a knock sounded at the door. I walked towards it with gloved hands, wondering if Ashley or Rachel had come to visit. With a smile on my face, I opened the door.

It was neither Ashley nor Rachel. Two men were in front of me. They both had black hair, and they had both worn black tuxedos. They had also worn black shades over their eyes, and so it was difficult to see their eye color. They were about the same height, and it made it impossible to tell them apart.

"Can I help you?" I asked with an uneasy smile. My eyebrows furrowed after seconds went without the men answering my question. I suddenly felt a chill run down my spine.

"Hello," one of the men finally replied. "Is this where Ashley Corrins resides?"

"Um, no," I replied. There was a moment of uncomfortable silence before the man continued with another question.

"Have you seen her around?" he asked. I went to speak that I knew her, but something about the men seemed completely off.

"I don't know who she is," I replied with a calm smile. I felt the gazes of the men on my form. It was hard to maintain a pose of confidence even when I was internally freaking out. If they were to attack, I wouldn't think twice about lighting them on fire.

"I'm so sorry for wasting your time, ma'am. Have a great day," the man spoke with an emotionless voice before he and the other man walked away. I stuck my head out the door, seeing the men heading towards the elevator that was in the building. I swiftly went back into my house and closed the door.

Twenty seconds later, I was in the kitchen and calling Ashley.

"Hello?" she asked with a low voice.

"Some men came here looking for you," I went straight to the point. There was a sudden sound of shuffling before a thud sounded. It seemed like Ashley dropped something.

"What?" Ashley asked in shock.

"Did you go to some kind of illegal bar or something? Did you get in trouble betting and lost the money?"

"Emery, what did they look like?" Ashley asked, avoiding my questions.

"They looked weird. They were both brunettes with black tuxedos. It's like they came straight out of Men in Black!"

"Emery, you need to leave."

I stayed rooted on the floor, not knowing what the hell Ashley meant.

"You need to come back to Crystalia," she said, and her earlier statement made sense. A mixture of emotions rattled through me. Fear, anger, unexpected longing and sadness.

"I can't do that!" I yelled.

Ashley sighed through the phone before continuing, "Last week, after I visited you, I went to a bar. I was having some fun on the dance floor, and I let some guy take me out to his place, or so he said."

"Ashley..." I grounded through my teeth, not needing to know any more details. I thought it was another one of her random hook-up stories, but what she told me next freaked me out.

"I thought he was leading us to his car, but he was leading us to an alley behind the bar. He wanted to... you know... but I stopped him. I mean, I was for the idea, but I didn't want to do it in public. Anyway, the guy was stubborn, and I was forced to use my powers to throw him away from me."

"Ashley!"

"He passed out on impact, and I didn't realize someone had seen everything. Okay, not even someone. A couple of someones. I guess they had heard my cries for help because they were there."

I wanted to reach through the phone and smack Ashley. I was so angry with her for what she had done, but I was also glad she pushed the guy away before he went too far.

"I told the King, and he is calling every witch who is still on earth to come to Crystalia."

My anger returned. If only Ashley hadn't used her powers to deal with the guy... I mean, other people were going to her aid!

For a moment, I felt selfish. Ashley thought no one was going to help her and she decided to help herself. I shouldn't have been angry with her.

"But why? It was just a couple of people who saw you! No one will believe what happened if they were to tell other people."

"Emery, listen to me. In the past, before we discovered Crystalia, we used to be killed. Have you forgotten that?"

"No, I haven't."

"What if it's happening again? That's why you need to come back to Crystalia. I'm worried about your safety!"

"Ashley, I can't!"

"Can't or don't want to? Emery, listen to me. Those people will probably realize that I'm tied to you, and the next time they come to visit you, they will come for you. They will do everything in their power to get me and you to them, even if it means threatening the lives of Zack and Rachel."

I felt like something had pierced my heart once Ashley finished speaking. Tears had started forming in my eyes and quickly blocking my vision.

"Emery?"

"I'm fine. I just... wow."

"Look. I know it's awful, and I know that you weren't expecting to have to leave so suddenly."

Tears kept flowing from my eyes as I struggled to pay attention to Ashley's words.

"It's okay," I spoke with a calm voice. "Look. I've got some stuff to do. Talk to you later."

"Emery, will you come?"

I breathed through my mouth as I tried to accept the situation. What Ashley said was true, and it was about time I returned to Crystalia. I had spent most of the past year pushing the day I would leave. I kept pushing it until I couldn't push anymore. Someone would threaten to kill Rachel and Zack to get to me, but if I had to leave to protect them, then I had no other option.

"Yes," I said. Ashley took some time before replying.

"Okay. I'll see you later?" she asked.

I nodded my head before realizing she couldn't see me. "Laters."

With that, I ended the call. I still clutched the phone as I stared at the wall in front of me. Milliseconds later, I began bawling my eyes out. I was thinking as I cried while pacing around the room.

Moments later, I dialed Rachel.

"Hey," she answered with excitement, a high contrast between our moods.

"Hi," I replied. She went to say something, but there was a pause.

"Did someone die?" she questioned. My eyebrows furrowed in disbelief.

"No," I answered.

"Then why do you sound gloom?"

I sighed.

"It's nothing. I was watching the Titanic."

"Ooh. That is a sad movie. Wonder why you decided to put yourself through such torture. Anyway, what did you want to tell me?"

I was the one who paused at that moment.

"Rachel, I'm planning to go away for some time."

"Oh," she said. "Where are you going?"

"Vegas; Ashley's joining me. She said something about me getting out and getting a boyfriend," I lied.

"Thank heavens she finally listened to me," Rachel spoke, and I laughed. It was moments like such that I would miss. It was the last conversation I was going to have with Rachel, and I felt like I was breaking in two.

"When will you be back?"

"I don't know. We plan to spend a lot of time there."

"Okay. I want you to have fun and get around with boys."

"Rachel..." I trailed off.

"You know what I mean. Have fun!"

"Thank you," I said just as a tear escaped my eye. The waterworks were coming again. "Rachel?"

"Yeah?"

"You've been a good friend to me. I love you."

"Emery, I love you too. But why are you making it sound like the last time we would see each other?"

She had no idea.

"Just wanted you to know."

"Okay... Love you too, and so does Zack. You will call me when you get to Vegas, right?"

"Yeah. I'll call you. Laters."

"Laters!" Rachel ended the call. I stared at the phone for a while before springing into action. I cleaned the house as a manner of calming the nerves I felt for what I was about to do. Once I was done, I wore a heavy coat before walking out of the house. I closed the door behind me and locked it, knowing that Rachel also had the keys to the apartment.

With a leisurely pace, I began walking out of the apartment building. I walked past the hallway and entered the elevator. Once I was outside, I took a moment to observe my surroundings.

The weather outside was cold as New York was still experiencing winter. The sun was setting, partially blocked by a couple of cirrus clouds. 

I moved towards the back of the building where the parking lot was located. I greeted the guard, showed him my ID and filled a couple of forms before heading towards my car.

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Hours later, the sun had set with the night having rolled in. I decided then to think of how I could fake my own death, but with everything around me, I couldn't come up with an idea. 

There were no city buildings. The only light that was available was from the moon and my car.

I looked sideways, noticing that I was in an empty, forestry area. There was snow all around, and there seemed to be nothing to show there was civilization. As I continued observing my surroundings, something caught my eyes. I narrowed my eyes to focus on it, seeing a bridge that curved to the left. There was likely frozen water that was about ten feet below it. 

An idea came to mind.

I stepped on the gas pedal with my heart beating fast. My eyes widened as I began having quick thoughts of chickening out. I shook them away, telling myself I needed to do it. In an instant, I was driving along the bridge.

I went to turn the car, but I didn't need to. The road was slippery, and I was sent spinning for a few seconds, the car wheels screeching along the road. Having endured enough, I quickly teleported from the car just as I heard a loud smash. I teleported onto the ground, seeing the point where I hit the bridge rails. I walked onto the bridge with rushed steps, coming to a stop at the missing rails. I looked down, observing as my car sunk into the water. It kept sinking until I couldn't make out the shape of it.

Then I cried. I sobbed out loud, hating myself then for what I had done. Rachel and Zack were going to be crushed, but it was what was best for them. If I stayed, their lives would be ruined before I could even run away.

I spent more time on the bridge as I watched the spot where my car had sunk into the water. I had no idea of how deep it was, but I was hoping it was deep enough to make it hard for the police to get it.

It was soon time for me to go to Crystalia. Being uncertain of how the place currently looked like, I went with the traditional way: I chanted a spell that had a door materialize in front of me in the form of stardust.

It reminded me of the first time I led my ex-bullies to Crystalia. That was months before everything went so wrong for me.

I felt hesitant for a moment, but after some minutes, I took hold of the door. I sighed, opening it wide to see darkness. With quick steps, I walked into the darkness, accepting that my life on earth was over.