Jason's breath formed ragged clouds, freezing instantly in the biting air as he wrestled the snowplough through Sunny's campground. What should have been a simple push of snow felt like shovelling mountains, each turn threatening to crush another trailer.

"You nearly flattened that one!" James yelled.

"No, I didn't!" Jason snapped back.

Clearing snow with a snowplough wasn't as easy as it looked. The blade jammed constantly, forcing him to use his power to melt the stubborn snow.

"Well, this is how we die. Crushed by bad driving," James muttered with theatrical dread.

"You could just punch your way out of here," Jade said dryly.

Jason swung the plough blade and dumped a heap of snow near the entrance. "See? I won't crash," he declared.

He immediately plowed into a buried tent.

"Flawless execution," Jade deadpanned.

Jason jumped out of the machine with a scowl, trudging through knee-deep snow to the collapsed tent.

He raised his hands, and twin beams of blue light flared from his palms, slicing through the icy mound. Steam billowed upward as the snow hissed and melted, but the cold refused to budge.

He crouched beside the wreckage, fingers fumbling with the frozen fabric. The tent clung together like sheets of wet paper pressed into a block of ice.

With a sharp tug, he ripped part of the tarp free, tossing the icy scrapes aside as he carved a narrow path through the snow with growing irritation.

"If we need more tents, we'll have to head back to town," Jason muttered, climbing back in.

"Official announcement: you're the worst driver alive," Jade sighed, arms crossed.

"I'm not that bad," he snapped, throwing the truck in reverse.

"You've nearly launched us into a tree twice."

Jason shot them both a glare but didn't argue. It wasn't the driving that shook him—it was the edge he rode every second, knowing one wrong move could crush something or tip the whole thing.

He pulled up near the warped campground sign, killing the headlights. The engine coughed, and then settled into a sputtering hum that echoed in the silence.

Jason scanned the campground, jaw tightening. Snow had swallowed most of it whole, leaving tents crushed and gear twisted beyond recognition.

"Pretty sure you destroyed half the gear," James muttered, kicking at a buried cooler.

Jason said nothing. His eyes narrowed as he surveyed the wreckage: shattered coolers half-buried in snow, bent tent poles, and supplies scattered like debris across the frozen ground.

"Let's at least check the RVs," he grumbled, killing the engine.

He stepped out and trudged through the uneven snow, slipping once as he made his way toward a half-buried white trailer.

The door wouldn't budge. Jason pressed his glowing hands to the frozen latch, heat crackling against the metal until it hissed and popped free.

He slid the door open quickly. Cold air spilled out as he stepped inside, his dim blue light casting eerie shadows across the cramped, silent space.

Jade peeked inside. "Looks like a dozen kids could squeeze in here."

Jason ducked under the low ceiling. "We'll have to clear out some tables if we want to make it livable."

"No construction sites around here," Jade said. "You could try fire department, but Zane's still sick."

Jason had almost forgotten about Zane being sick. One more reason he wasn't leading this place like he was supposed to. He felt awful, but he was too exhausted to pretend he had it together.

"Did we bring any tools?" Jason asked.

"We weren't sure we'd find anything," Jade said, pressing her hand against a connected table. She froze it and kicked it as the small table snapped off. "Well, our supernatural abilities are useful."

"Just don't burn down the whole RV," James cautioned. "If you want to move to this place when the snow ends, we're going to need a lot of help."

Clearing the snow was only the start. They'd need to build sleeping spots for everyone—and that meant keeping the land clear and organizing teams to gather firewood to keep them warm through the freezing weeks.

"At least we've got water," Jason said, nodding toward the frozen lake nearby.

Jade sighed. "Problem is, we can't break through that ice. Not even I can change its density."

"We could just wait it out..." Jason trailed off.

Jade rolled her eyes. "Oh yeah, sure. Let's just wait out a storm created by your evil stepsister."

The darkness pressed in on them, swallowing the faint light. Shadows shifted among the piles of debris, making every creak and rustle feel like a threat.

A sudden noise made Jason raise his hands defensively.

"This is the part where we get murdered," James mumbled.

Then, in a blur, Esme zipped by them, laughing. "I win!"

"No," Cindy said flatly.

"I found them first!" Esme shot back, waving her hands around and puffing out her cheeks. "Because I'm the fastest! Wait, where's Highlighter?"

Jason squinted through the swirling snow, trying to piece together the chatter. He didn't quite catch who they meant, until a faint, wavering glow caught his eye. A figure stumbled clumsily over the snowdrifts, barely keeping balance.

"There," Cindy said.

"Why are you three here?" Jason asked.

Esme swung her fists playfully in the air. "We came to beat up Ashley and find Lukey," she declared with a grin.

"We were going to look for you later, but we found this place first," Cindy said flatly.

Jason gestured around the mess. "Are you guys going to help with this?"

They definitely needed extra hands to move trailers, arranging them just right to make the most of the space. But the snowfall kept coming that blurred their vision and buried their process in minutes.

"We're here to fight and stop this storm," Cindy said.

Jason nodded. "How's town?"

"Interesting!" Esme beamed.

Jason's stomach tightened. It meant things were only getting worse. Zane was still sick, patients were still dying and being burned, and the storm still hadn't stopped.

"How bad are we talking?" He pressed for details.

Esme shrugged, waving a hand. "Emma's having a breakdown. Hanna's being mean. Mark's clueless. Oh, and the housewife took off somewhere," she added casually.

"Went where?" he panicked.

The thought of Bella leaving on her own was alarming. She could easily run into Ashley, or her scarf could fly off, leaving her sick and burned.

"I don't know, just rumours," Esme replied with a casual shrug. "We're here because we're bored and Luke's back. Cindy and I will actually kill him completely."

"Actually, we want to kill ugly Ashley," Cindy interjected.

"We'll kill her and then stop all this," Esme said, waving her arms at the sky. "Then we can have decent food and warm weather."

Well, they all had some type of game plan in operation. It was better than just going full force, but Ashley wasn't going to be easy to stop.

"How do you know you can stop Ashley?" Jade asked with a hint of worry in her voice.

"Because I'm fast, and so is Cindy," Esme confidently assured.

"We aren't even sure if we can kill Ashley," Jason stated.

"If you try to kill Luke, he'll just pop. We've never technically tried to kill Ashley, right?" Cindy inquired.

They had never actually physically attempted to stop her. Divina had consistently tortured her, using increasingly brutal methods in an attempt to murder her. The methods went from drowning her to even setting her face on fire, which left it looking gruesome.

"See! That's why we've got to fight her!" Esme exclaimed as she bounced around in the snow.

"No." They whipped around and spotted Ashley, wearing a hard glare.

In the dim light from River's glow, they could see Ashley's face. The burns were still evident, with red patches that looked infected and raw. New hair had begun to grow back unevenly on her head, and she no longer wore her glasses.

"Yay!" Esme cheered.

She sped at Ashley, arm swinging out to hook around her neck.

Jason's hands shot up. Ashley growled, low and furious.

Two of the followers broke from the dark at once, charging hard. Their footsteps crunched fast across the snow.

Jason and the others scattered, boots slipping over ice. He reacted on instinct as two sharp beams of blue light flashed from his gloves, striking the followers and sending them popping to the ground.

He barely had time to watch them disappear before Cindy darted behind Ashley. She kicked hard. Ashley jerked forward and hit the ground with a thud.

Esme was already moving. She snatched up a jagged chunk of broken ice and brought it down on Ashley's head. The crack echoed. Ashley's eyes rolled, dazed and unfocused.

Then everything slowed.

Jason felt the shift first—the subtle shift of air, the sudden falter of the wind. Snowflakes hung suspended, hovering mid-fall. The storm, relentless just a moment ago, was fading.

As he surveyed the scene, he felt an unsettling shift within him; something deep inside stirred as they all paused to look around in disbelief.

The once-raging storm had finally stilled. Snowflakes no longer hung in the dark sky. The fierce wind stopped completely. All that remained was darkness, with River standing as their only source of light.

"It's not an illusion like in the car, right?" Jade asked in disbelief.

They all looked around. Nothing moved. No snow fell, no wind howled—just an eerie stillness. The scene was chaotic: large snow piles, a pitch-dark sky, and the faint outline of trailers.

"Wait, does that mean I actually beat her?" Esme exclaimed, jumping up.

No one answered. The whole situation was too shocking to process. Then, Ashley's glowing purple eyes grew wide, her gaze darting frantically around the area. She looked lost, almost panicked, as if she had forgotten something.

"What's going on? How is this happening?" Ashley whispered.

Esme slammed the same chunk of ice on her head. "Night," she said to herself, nodding.

Ashley's voice was barely audible, trembling as she forced the words out. "It's bad," she mumbled. "This can't be possible."

"Esme, knock her out again," Jason said.

Esme didn't hesitate. She raised her pistol and pointed it directly at Ashley. There was one final line that Ashley said, and Jason knew something was definitely wrong by the way she was trembling.

"Nobody should be able to stop my storm, including Goddess."

Emma's eyes shot open in the darkness of her bedroom, her heart pounding. She sat up quickly, pressing a hand to her stomach. A strange sensation pulsed inside her—cold, but not like the storm.

She threw off the covers and swung her legs over the side of the bed, stumbling toward the window. Her fingers trembled as she pulled the blinds open, expecting to see the same relentless snowstorm. But instead, the snow had vanished from the sky. A thick blanket covered the ground, piled high enough to seem impossible to melt.

Pressing her forehead against the cold glass, she wondered if Ashley had died. She remembered Cindy and Esme going out to try and kill her, and maybe they had succeeded. If that were true, The Bubble would have fallen, and the sky wouldn't be pitch black.

Before she could think further, her body lifted from the ground.

"The storm stopped," she mumbled as Bryce carried her through the hallway.

She didn't protest. She was too confused by the sudden stillness outside.

"It probably got annoyed that you kept staring at it," Bryce said.

Emma blinked, "I wasn't," she whispered.

Bryce set her gently onto the plush sofa. The cushions sank beneath her, and she immediately curled into a tight ball, her back to him. The silence closed in. It wasn't just the embarrassment of being carried.

It was that heavy feeling again—being useful, not important. Needed, but not wanted. A tool people picked up until it broke.

Her mother used to say that suffering can lead to strength, but she knew she'd remain the same insecure girl she's always been.

"Are you crying again?" Bryce sighed.

"My eyes are just producing water," she murmured.

"We're supposed to show them it doesn't affect you," Bryce said.

She bite her lip. "It's hard. And now I have a bad feeling."

"Worse than the storm?" he asked. "Or bad that I'll throw a snowball at you?"

"Really bad," she said. "The storm stopped, and that's not normal."

She wondered if someone who got killed caused this. Someone who shouldn't have died. Ashley's name flickered in her mind. Ashley had always been unpredictable, but this was different.

"Someone broke in," she whispered.

He tilted his head, a grin tugging at the corner of his mouth. "This isn't a robbery."

"The Bubble," she said, her voice tightening. "Something had to interfere with it to stop the storm. And only two people have ever come close to messing with it: Ashley or Divina."

"Shouldn't you worry about the sick still?"

Emma's gaze dropped to the sofa, her chest tightening, and tears slid down her cheeks. She wiped them away, but the weight of it all pressed down on her mind. The sick. The burns. The unknown.

"I need to help them," she whispered.

"The doctor has to be in proper care," Bryce said.

"No, I've slept enough," she insisted, climbing off the sofa, but she tripped instead.

"Relax, Emma," Bryce sighed, crouching in front of her with a faint smile on his lips.

She looked up at him, her heart skipping a beat. He had been her rock through everything—the storm, the chaos at the infirmary, and the endless hours of her crying. Thinking about his support tightened her chest with gratitude, and something else she couldn't name.

The warmth of that feeling lasted only a second before the guilt crept back in.

"I have to worry about healing that illness," she said, sliding on the floor. "Zane's still sick, and Jason's out of town."

Bryce shook his head. "Hanna said she's got it. You're supposed to be sleeping."

She didn't understand why people wanted to see her besides healing. She was just some healer, and nobody cared about her own feelings. As she lay there, she felt herself being dragged by her ankle by Bryce.

The door then opened to Mark, who seemed breathless. "The storm stopped," he gasped.

"We've noticed," Bryce said.

"I'm guessing they already beat Ashley, or someone broke in," Emma implied, pushing herself up.

"The temperatures aren't as harsh," Mark said.

Emma crawled to the door, opening it, and felt the freezing weather had decreased. It was not all the way that it gave a neutral feeling, but it was not so freezing that it gave hypothermia.

"I want to find someone and ask, but I can't," Emma murmured.

"I figured I'd just wait it out until something came," Mark implied.

What will come of it this time? Some monster that will eat them all? Perhaps they will all get sucked in by something underground, like an anteater.

"I think it's bad rather than good," she mumbled.

"What's worse than a deadly storm that's already killed half of us?" Mark asked.

It could be infections that eat away at the skin. That'd be gross, and she'd be vomiting every minute until she had nothing. Maybe because Luke joined Ashley's side, he stopped it.

It twisted around her head like a math equation. It was just like her insecurities and being used. Tears slid down her cheeks, but she attempted to wipe them away.

"You think someone broke in?" Mark asked.

"An adult?" Bryce questioned.

"Why'd Ashley want to have someone break in?" Mark asked.

"Ashley isn't the one who wanted the storm to stop," she said, lifting her gaze. "Divina was the one who did. Nobody knows her true powers, but what if they control matter, except The Bubble?"

It wasn't just controlling objects, like Greyson, but something much grander. This wasn't just about the mind, like Nevaeh and Eden's power, but something else.

"Matter manipulation," Bryce started. "It was in a movie once where they could control everything."

Since the storm stopped with the dark sky, it left numerous questions. It had to be something or someone. Esme and Cindy had already gone off, and adding more could risk injury if someone went out to look.

She put her head on her knees and tried to think about something unrelated to the widespread illness or being used for personal gain.

"James would know this better," she mumbled.

"Are you planning to go find out the information?" Bryce asked with amusement in his voice.

"Cindy will probably come back and tell you," Mark said.

Emma just sat against the door, her back resting against the cold, unyielding surface as she stared at the washer that didn't work. She wasn't sure if Cindy would tell her, but she assumed.

"I'll try and get people to move the snow," Mark stated.

"It could be a trick, so don't let your skin touch the snow," Emma said, rubbing her raw eyes. They ached, and they have been like that with the constant crying.

"Be sure to check on the housewife, or Jason will beat us," Bryce snickered.

"Yeah, she kind of left without telling anyone," Mark implied.

"Where?" Emma asked.

"No note or anything," Mark said.

Emma started chewing her lip at that thought. The possibility that Bella might not return safely repeated in her head. If that were to happen, Jason would obviously yell at her, and it would be her fault if Bella's hands ended up getting infected.

"Don't tell me she's looking for the soldier," Bryce snarked.

"That's my guess, bro," Mark said.

If more people are gone, that means more injuries or deaths. She has seen enough people die from coughing up their intestines that she barely throws up anymore.

"Jason and them probably ran into Ashley, which already puts harm on all of them," Emma began to ramble. "I could barely heal all those injured at the power plant!"

"They'll be fine. Don't they eventually end up okay?" Bryce inquired casually.

No, they don't. The injuries from those at the power plant made her exhausted with how injured each of them was. She mainly healed the pain that they experienced and closed the wounds, but that still didn't heal everything.

"What's that?" Mark asked.

Emma lifted her head to see Mark pointing to part of The Bubble through the open door. The sky glowed white before all of it became completely dark.

"Something terrifying is coming," Emma whispered, her voice shaking.

Bella slammed the car to a halt in the middle of the road. She had no idea where she was, but the storm had ceased. What remained was an eerie, unnatural stillness.

She rubbed her eyes, blinking hard. Maybe this was some kind of trick, a hallucination conjured by Ashley. Her gloved fingers trembled as she reached for the door handle. Outside, the darkness loomed—different from the usual kind.

It felt wrong.

Cautiously, she stepped into the snow, her boots crunching against the frozen crust. She bent down and scooped up a handful, excepting the usual sting of cold—but the burn never came.

She yanked off her glove, wincing as the cold air bit at her exposed skin. Holding up her bare hand, she waited for the cold wind to burn skin—but nothing came.

"Impossible," she whispered, barely able to comprehend what was happening.

How could the storm just randomly stop? It didn't make sense. Her mind raced, trying to think back on some of Divina's words—something about how she controlled the holes being filled and fixed the broken door of a house.

"It's horrifying," Vickie gasped.

Bella spun around, her heart pounding. Through the car's weak headlights, she spotted Vickie, barely more than a silhouette. The only thing visible was the faint glint of her running shoes.

"The storm stopped," Vickie said, her voice trembling. "Which means Ashley is in danger."

Bella's stomach churned. "Why?"

"Divina's back," Vickie gasped, her eyes wide.

Bella sucked in a sharp breath, her mind racing back to Divina's past actions. That creature was unhinged, relentless, and completely indifferent to who got caught in the crossfire. And Ashley was her favourite target. If Divina was back, it meant they were all going to deal with that thing again.

"How?" Bella asked, her voice tight.

Vickie shook her head, her voice strained. "It shouldn't be possible. The healer... she feels something."

"Emma?" Bella asked.

"Terror is coming," Vickie whispered, her voice trembling with fear.

Bella widened her eyes. Terror? What kind of terror? The terror of this nightmare finally ending—or the terror of it never ending? The terror of losing everyone, or watching them all fall one by one? There were an endless number of possibilities, too many horrors waiting to unfold.

"Ashley doesn't have them all yet," Vickie mumbled.

"Did someone break in?" Bella urged.

"Nobody knows who," Vickie replied, her hands clenching and unclenching as if trying to grasp something solid. "Ashley doesn't understand."

If Ashley didn't even understand what was happening, then this wasn't about her. The storm stopping, the calmness—it couldn't just be Divina. There had to be something else, something lurking in the shadows.

"Why would they bring all this terror?" Bella asked, swallowing hard.

"Grower," Vickie whispered.

Bella remembered that word. She'd been in Jason's house with Ashley, listening to her mumble about someone—or something—called the Grower. Back then, it had turned out to be Divina. Now the word felt darker.

"It's Divina?" Vickie didn't say anything.

"Something like Divina, but this is different," Vickie said.

Bella could think of hundreds of ideas. It could be some adults breaking in or Divina being a tree this time to come and torture Ashley again.

"They're dangerous," Vickie said. "Everyone could die."

Vickie then popped, leaving Bella to stand frozen. She slowly opened the door of the car and slid into the driver's seat. Before she went to push the gas, the car lurched upward. It shook violently, tossing her like a doll, slamming into the seat.

The car rose higher, tilting and swaying in the air, the motion making her head spin. Her vision blurred, and her forehead hit the steering wheel with a dull thud. With a sudden surge, the car shot forward, soaring through the air. It shook back and forth, which made her mind spin, setting her head on the steering wheel.

Breathing hard, she squinted through the blinding glare of the headlights. There stood the strongest Catholic herself with a smile, dusting the ice off her hat.

Stick knocked on her window, making her jump. "You picked up the car!" she freaked.

"Bella," Eden said with an innocent smile on her face. "You shouldn't be out here. God tells me it's dangerous."

"Why are you out here then?" Bella mimicked.

Eden's smile didn't falter. "Searching for a place to connect with God," she replied. "The world is vast, and His presence is everywhere."

"Where am I?" Bella asked, genuinely unaware of her location.

She had been driving for what felt like hours, but she had to reach all the destinations Jason could possibly check. The hospital had been her best guess—it was abandoned.

"Near the hospital," Eden chimed.

Bella's eyes narrowed. "Do you know where Jason is?" she pressed.

Eden didn't answer. Instead, she walked around the car, opened the passenger door, and slid in casually as if she were getting into her own vehicle. She settled into her seat, smoothing out her coat before shutting the door.

"I'm going to show Stick the type of person you shouldn't be," Eden said.

"I'm not taking you anywhere," Bella spat.

Eden tilted her head, her smile never wavering. "It's important that we help our friends," she said.

"I'm not friends with you," Bella growled.

The last thing she wanted was to be friends with this freakish girl. She was nothing like Scarlett, whom Bella despised for her manipulative, seductive behaviour and everything she's done to her.

Eden's smile faltered for a moment, replaced by something darker. "You remember what happened last time you made me angry?" she taunted.

Bella didn't get this girl's personality. One moment, Eden was all about religion—quoting scripture, talking about forgiveness, and acting like some sort of saint. The next, she'd snap.

"Are you threatening people now?" Bella shot back.

Eden's expression hardened, her eyes narrowing with intensity. "You should listen because I know how to fight," she said. "Now listen to my order, or I'll abandon you in the darkness. So, get going before I numb your movement!"

Bella stared over at Stick, who had climbed into the back of the car. All he did was look out the window into the dark sky, staying silent. She wondered why he wasn't saying anything, especially because he often voiced his opinion.

Eden's tone shifted again, her face softened, and she tilted her head upward. "Sorry for my cruel actions, God," she murmured, her voice almost tender. "This girl just needs to understand the importance of friendship and forgiveness."

"Do you know where they were going?" Bella asked in a whisper.

"Nevaeh may have told me," Eden said. "They were going to Paradise Hotel, then Sunny's."

"It's a campground for poor people," Stick mumbled.

Normally during the summer, she'd spend her days at a private campsite—a place bustling with familiar faces.

"Why Paradise Hotel?" Bella asked.

Stick's expression darkened. "They want to find Ashley and kill her," he said, his voice low.

"We must kill Ashley," Eden remarked. "Who knows what will happen if we don't kill her?"

Bella felt a chill spread through her body at that thought. It wasn't something she liked thinking about.

"We'll all die," Stick mumbled.

"I'm sure the Lord will give us something that could save us," Eden beamed.

They didn't need a lifeboat to sail away or some grand escape plan—what they needed was a miracle. Not the kind of miracle that brought light and hope. No, this was the kind of miracle that twisted reality.

"Get moving!" Eden hissed, her voice sharp. "Have you ever heard of the crackheads named Bryce and Mia?"

Bella obviously knew Bryce after seeing him around, but Mia she heard about from Nevaeh in bits and pieces. Apparently, Mia is like someone who is drunk and doesn't care much about what's going on.

"They knew me before I found God." Eden's voice sounded amused. "We all hung out together. So, it's important you keep that in mind, considering who they are."

The storm has finally stopped, but how?
Comment your thoughts!
-Lexi