Chapter 151
- Evan -
Josh and I laid our hands on Becky and Kaysi's interlocked fingers.
Everything went white.
Not peaceful white—empty white.
The kind that meant something had collapsed, and we were inside the fallout without realizing it.
Time unraveled around us like torn fabric, strands whipping in every direction—pasts, futures, possibilities, mistakes—circling Kaysi's barely-breathing body like a storm tightening its grip around her throat.
BOOM—
The isolation room windows blew inward with a sound like a bomb going off.
The vortex of thundersnow burst from around Becky's body, twisting violently, threatening to rip the entire wing apart.
My lungs are freezing, and my vision is going blurry.
"Hold on, Josh!" I shouted over the wind.
Baby reacted first.
She thrust out her hands, and a glowing force field snapped around the room, trapping the chaos inside: the shattered glass suspended midair, thundersnow crashing in the force field, sealed the room in a bubble—the reality-warping pressure.
Baby braced herself—boots sliding across the floor.
Duke caught her shoulders, anchoring her.
Micah covered her eyes.
James tried to shield her.
The field bent inward, crackling with light.
"This is not fun anymore!" Baby yelled.
"Kinda, you're not supposed to hold a reality meltdown!" Duke barked.
The storm kept growing.
Josh stumbled, shielding his face from the freezing winds but refusing to let go of the girls. "Becky!" he shouted through the hurricane-force winds. "You're losing yourself!"
Josh's arm was glowing, and cyan fire lit across his back, and the power was wrapping a shield around us.
"Whoa—what is this? I didn't do anything." Josh exclaimed.
"I think she's pulling energy from you." Micah cried.
"I think Becky is trying to pull them both out," I said, "but she doesn't have enough power!"
"They're slipping..." Micah whispered.
Purple sparks shot across my skin.
Kaysi's essence—the slivers she'd once given me, the pieces of trust—answered her call.
It rushed out of me like a tide, flooding back to Kaysi's body, returning home.
Flowing back into her dying body.
The world tilted. Balance snapped. Time shuddered.
And—
For a second, our souls collided.
I saw the four of us suspended in that frozen moment—
Becky is reaching out to Kaysi, only to be pulled into a pool of darkness and shadows.
Was this a vision, or was Kaysi trapped along with the sickness?
Becky grabbed hold of her, refusing to let her sink again.
A surge of power tore through all four of us.
Josh's Soul-FireBecky's Eternity IceMy lightningKaysi's flickering sparks
—all collided and burst outward in a blast of divine light.
It threw us off our feet.
For one impossible second—
Four souls.Four powers.One heartbeat.
Every monitor in the room glitched or blew out.
The explosive wave of energy rippled outward, not just affecting us but racing through the hospital.
I heard doctors and nurses yelling.
Micah peeked through the cracked-open door. "Guys… patients are WALKING. Patients from the ICU. Hospice. Isolation. What is even happening!? This shouldn't be a place so lively?"
Machines everywhere went off as people hit call lights and removed their pulse oximetry monitors.
We gathered to look out the door. People started dancing, ripping off breathing tubes.
Miracles swept through the rooms, healing everyone.
Kaysi took a full, sharp breath as she had just stepped into the cold.
"Kaysi," Becky blinked, her snow-wet eyelashes fluttering.
Josh darted forward and propped Becky upright, breath shaking. "I thought—God, I thought the worst—"
I leaned hard against the wall and slid to the ground, drained, and let out a sigh of relief.
I slid down the wall, exhausted. "Jeez, you two had us scared."
"Mr. Coll and calm, I thought you said everything was fine," Josh teased weakly.
Heat rushed to my face. "I—uh—you misheard me."
Kaysi, cheeks finally full of color, glanced my way.
Yeah. My face got as red as Josh's bright red hair.
She let out a soft laugh to save me from further embarrassment. "Nice to know you care so much."
Becky flung her arms around her, sobbing into her neck. "Knucklehead! You and your deadly heroics—don't you EVER do that again!"
Josh wiped his eyes, pretending not to cry. "Beck, don't move so much! Your stitches—"
Becky moved her gown just enough to catch a glimpse.
"What stitches?"
Micah gawked. "Uh… what happened!?"
Kaysi frowned in confusion. "Did I do that…? I don't even know how."
"I think I'm starting to understand," Micah said slowly. "Your power amplifies whoever you choose to touch. Evan, Josh… now Becky. You boosted her healing."
"Wait—WHAT?" Kaysi squeaked. "I didn't— I mean— I remember sparks but—"
"It's okay," Baby said gently with an encouraging smile. "You'll figure it out."
Kaysi's voice trembled. "I saw you down there, Becky. Where I was. And I thought… I thought you wouldn't make it back."
I moved before I could think.
I leaned in and pressed my forehead to hers, quietly."I promised I'd follow you anywhere," I whispered.
"AHEM—" I jerked away as everyone stared. "Fever's gone. Totally gone. Uh. Good."
Josh elbowed me in the rib. "Smooth, Romeo."
The door burst open.
Doctors rushed in, panicking, shouting—
"You're not supposed to be in here!" The nurse shouted.
Then they got quiet and stunned.
The doctor stepped closer to Kaysi.
"I don't get it, you—" the nurse sputtered, pointing at Kaysi. "You were on death watch. You weren't supposed to last the night. And now she's upright, flushed, strong, and breathing steadily?"
"Who am I kidding?" Doctor chuckled. "You're not the first; almost all the rooms are reporting fully cured patients. Only a miracle can explain this. Absolutely miraculous. We will keep her for a few days for observation."
"Miss?" The nurse said, looking at Becky in her hospital gown. "You're the other girl that had surgery and came in with her, weren't you?"
Becky nodded her head.
"I am fully healed somehow." She played dumb. "Even my stitches have been removed."
The doctor pulled up her gown. "Unbelievable!"
"DOCTOR!" Another nurse pulled his attention. "A patient who was wheelchair-bound from the wreck after the dome opening is walking. You've got to see this!"
"His spine was obliterated; he was never to walk again???"
The doctor looked back at us, bewildered. "All of you… rest. We're keeping you overnight for observation, but… this is nothing short of a miracle."
He left, shaking his head but smiling.
Baby laid a hand over her heart. "Children, only the divine could've worked that healing wave. You are incredibly favored."
The hospital called out families and reported that we were safe and ready for pickup now that the dome had been released.
I sat in Kaysi's room and watched over her. And Josh stayed with Becky.
Rosa—the nursemaid who raised me, now Josh as well, after my mother died—rushed in and hugged me. It was one of the few times she failed to maintain her "professional distance." She'd always tried to let me choose whether to see her as family.
When she left to check on Josh, I looked up at the TV, which was showing the news.
- NEWS REPORT-
— The devastation from the dome that struck our town has finally ended, leaving widespread destruction across the city. Entire neighborhoods were leveled, yet families are beginning to reunite as rescue crews move through the debris. Many describe the event as "unnatural," with several witnesses reporting flashes of light, violent storms, and phenomena that defy explanation.
People must now rebuild and reclaim what was lost.
But amid the ruin, a new beacon of hope has risen. Marcus Flatter — lovingly known by the community simply as Uncle — has been sworn in as the new lieutenant governor, serving alongside the former mayor, who has now taken the role of governor.
And behind me, ironically untouched by the devastation, stands Uncle's bakery — one of the few buildings left intact after the destruction. Survivors have gathered there for warmth, food, and support, transforming it into a symbol of resilience.
In political news, our former governor has been arrested after evidence surfaced of money laundering, fraud, blackmail, and multiple counts of corruption. He is expected to face trial within the coming weeks.
And finally, reports continue to flood in from the regional hospital. Dozens of patients, many of whom had been in critical condition, were suddenly healed within the same hour. Staff describe it as "impossible," "a miracle," and in some cases, "divine intervention."
Combined with the surge in eyewitness accounts of monstrous, demon-like figures, many are questioning what exactly is happening.
Some suggest that the veil between the physical and spiritual worlds may be thinning.
Are you prepared for an awakening? —
I frowned. "That's not our usual reporter. A strange way to phrase that… right, Kaysi?"
Silence.
I turned to look back.
Kaysi's eyes were wide, locked on the TV screen.
"She…" Kaysi whispered, voice trembling. "She's from the cult. The one who helped kidnap Becky… Josh… and me."