How didn't he see it coming? Jason should have seen the sign when she started talking about how she'd die for him. Bella smiled, like everything was going to be okay. It wasn't because he had seen that her eyes weren't blue or soft anymore, but black and cold.

There were tears sliding down his cheeks because she was actually gone. He should have known that would come because she had wanted to find a way to truly make up for using him.

Now they have to finish the other problems before Divina gets her powers back.

When he felt a tap on his shoulder, he knitted his eyebrows because nobody had come in. He saw Bella as he looked up, rubbing his eyes multiple times.

"Cassandra found a way," Bella said with a smile. She didn't exactly look like Bella because she was transparent and still wearing the clothes she wore yesterday.

Jason reached for her hand, but it didn't feel like anything. It was almost like she was an actual ghost.

"Why didn't you say anything?" Jason asked, his voice cracking.

"You'd try to find a way to stop it. It's not that I actually expected to have my body taken over," Bella whispered. "I can't believe I'm talking while I'm dead, but I'm not exactly dead until my body burns."

Jason wanted to hug her, but he couldn't. He knew it wasn't her in physical form when he could actually feel her.

"You aren't dead?" he asked.

"I'm just a soul waiting to physically die," she whispered, shrugging. "That's why you can't sit around over this. I did something to save us, so you have to finish it."

"I was going to stay back for distributing the food," Jason stated.

In general, he didn't want to help out at all. Just knowing that Bella wasn't actually her, but Divina going around to torture Ashley pained his heart. He knew the sight would just bring back a rush of memories.

"Go fight like you've always done," Bella remarked with a smile while wiping her tears.

Jason stared at her but didn't say anything. He didn't have the energy nor motivation to fight Ashley with a group of people.

"Don't be mad either," she trailed off. "This was handed to me before this chaos started, Jason."

Bella placed both her hands on his cheeks. Jason didn't feel them at all, which he could tell she had figured out when she slowly lowered them.

"I've always thought highly of myself. Having older friends, going to parties, or dressing older than my age. Just like Stick, we were always stars of being golden boy and golden girl," Bella spoke, tears threatening to spill. "We lost our popularity when those fifteen and older vanished. Popularity has become what someone accomplished or something happening."

Jason watched tears flow down Bella's cheeks. It felt like agony that he couldn't do anything for comfort.

"Scarlett was popular for her looks, while you were popular for everything. I was jealous," she mumbled, lowering her eyes to the floor. "I think that's why I did it. I'm not used to being jealous or even ambushed. I wasn't used to Eden or Cindy calling me out, but they both knew, which I couldn't face the reality."

Jason wondered if Bella would be a ghost until they defeated Ashley. He didn't exactly know, but it pained him to see this. Even if she touched something, it didn't move but stayed in place. All Bella could be now was an illusion until the final battle happened.

"Do you fade away when Divina dies?" Jason asked, his voice cracking.

"Sad, isn't it? You prepare all these dreams and goals, but then something changes," Bella started. "I looked up to someone for my dream career, but she wasn't the true image. I even dreamed of getting out of this place, but it didn't happen."

"Are you going to randomly pop up?"

"It's a one-time thing. All I do is wait somewhere. Maybe it's in isolation that Eden pestered me about."

"Only one time?" Jason didn't realize his voice had cracked.

"It's that goodbye I didn't get to say," Bella trembled, opening her eyes with tears sliding down her cheeks. "I'm so sorry for the damage I caused you. All the controlling behaviour, or even actions, but I wish there could have been a way to change that."

Jason felt tears streaming down his cheeks, and his chest ached because this wasn't how he planned for their final goodbye to be.

"However, don't let my death overrule your thoughts on stopping Ashley because that thing has to be defeated," Bella gulped. "I enjoyed my time here with you. Perhaps we'll meet again someday, but until then, keep fighting the wrongdoings. You deserve your happiness and freedom. I hope I gave you happiness, because I know you brought it to me."

Jason wanted to hold her and tell her it was okay and everything would be fine, but it wasn't. This would be his final conversation with the Bella he had fallen in love with.

"You did bring me happiness, Bella," he said.

"I didn't want it to end this way," she sobbed, shaking her head and dropping to her knees. "But you'll always stay in my heart."

Jason extended his hand as she took it. He didn't feel it, but he still held on. She looked at him with her lips quivering, trying to smile.

"You'll always be in my heart," Jason said. "I love you."

This was truly becoming their end. They wouldn't be running to Uden Academy to stop Greyson or walking out of this place together hand in hand. No asking her to prom or going to Paris together like she wanted. It was truly the end.

Bella leaned forward to kiss his lips, even though he didn't feel it. She looked at their intertwined hand, putting her other hand over her mouth.

"I love you," she said, looking at him again with tears running down her cheeks. "So much."

He didn't want to say goodbye to her. Every memory with her was flashing through his mind, including the times that they fought. The feeling of her lips on his lips lingered, or the smell of vanilla perfume she wore in the beginning. All of that was now just going to be a memory.

"Goodbye for now, Jason. I love you, and I'm so sorry," she smiled sadly, then vanished away.

Jason sat frozen in place, trying to wrap his head around everything. Her soul was truly gone, but he would still see her body roaming, although it wouldn't be the girl he fell in love with. The one in her body was a sadistic psychopath who only wanted to torture Ashley.

Jason wobbled to his feet, setting a hand on the plastic table and taking a breath. Everything felt as if it didn't happen, but it did. He couldn't just sit around, because Bella ended up sacrificing herself to help beat this monster. He had to fight not just for Bella but for all of them, who were still running from death itself.

Wiping his tears away, he walked through the narrow RV, opening the door where Jade stood, startled.

"Zane wants to know if you're going to ambush with us," Jade said, while Jason nodded his head. "That means we split."

"Split?" Jason asked.

They walked through the campground, where people gathered together in groups with weapons, and coloured tents lined up together.

"Zane said something about it, but he might be having you and Greyson alone," Jade said, stopping in front of Zane.

"I'll ambush," Jason said.

They'd somehow stop Ashley, but he watched the sky turn into dawn. That had been the signal to start collecting anything that could help. Maybe they'd find Ashley, but Jason felt someone had found her and would end up destroying her.

"I'm sorry, my dear, but I must leave. I wish I could stay," Bryce said dramatically.

"Um..." Emma started, her face red, avoiding eye contact and chewing on her lip.

He crouched in front of her, who was staring at the blue tarp in the infirmary. It took awhile to get his legs fully recovered, but now he could finally walk properly.

"Be careful," she whispered as she eyed him.

Bryce pulled her close to kiss her, caressing her cheek. She placed one hand on his cheek, causing him to wrap his arm around her back. He slowly pulled back, resting his forehead on hers.

He understood the importance of having self-control in relationships, but it's not the easiest when he's actually dating the girl he's always loved.

"Thanks for healing my legs. I'll try to avoid breaking another bone. I love you so much," he whispered, kissing her forehead.

He stood as Mia jumped on his back. "You're such a tease," Mia slurred out.

"At least I'm not a dumbass," he said, slapping a hand on her face.

"I've got the keys," Will called, jiggling them in his hands.

Bryce grabbed the keys from Will because he would be the locator. It was a useful power when it came to finding anything, especially people, when they used to play manhunt during the dark period.

"They've got some gasoline for cars, which means driving," Bryce implied with a smirk.

They all headed to a bright blue pickup truck parked out front. It was rusty, but he wasn't complaining because walking was painful enough.

"Mia gets the ground," Bryce said.

Bryce climbed inside the small truck, which only had three seats. They were all crammed inside the truck, with Eden in the middle and Will on the other side.

"Which way, Will?" Bryce called as he started driving.

Will closed his eyes as they sped down a road, veering right. "This is the right way," he stated.

"I have an idea," Eden started. "Can we burn down Uden Academy?"

All of them stared blankly before Mia burst into laughter. "What even is there to start a fire? That building is huge."

"A lot of things," Eden said.

Bryce's intention of going back to Uden Academy certainly wasn't helping Eden blow up the school. He knew that since she doesn't wear her facade, she's acting with her true character.

"Doesn't that cause a scene? You'd destroy at least everyone's things," Mia slurred, rocking from side to side.

"No, instead of burning, I have an idea if we encounter Ashley," Eden said with a nod.

"It obviously isn't calling the police," Bryce remarked.

"Actually, let's not do that." Eden sighed, placing her hands behind her head.

Bryce knew deep down Eden's intention of burning Uden Academy was in her mind. He wasn't an arsonist, but he assumed setting the school ablaze would be the revenge against the school.

"Okay, we aren't setting Uden on fire, as much as I want to," Will stated.

"All we have to do is find some type of weapon, right?" Mia asked in a daze.

Bryce stopped in front of Uden Academy, which still seemed the same as six months ago. The doors were shut with the large, interconnected buildings together. They opened the door to the dark school as he flashed the light around in his hand.

"Most of the guns or knives have probably been taken," Eden stated from behind.

They entered the cafeteria, where the kitchen would be. The cafeteria was designed for losers who didn't want to eat with others. However, eating in the cafeteria meant security had been extra careful.

Will pushed open a black door into the kitchen and stared at the empty place. The cabinets and fridge had been wide open, bare of food. Bryce grabbed a dirty frying pan from the brown counter, holding the silver handle.

"That's good for hitting someone in the back of the head," Eden said.

Bryce shot his eyebrow up at Eden. This girl knew every tactic to use when it came to attacking someone with any weapon.

"Why don't we bring the whole stove?" Mia asked, pointing at the large black stove.

"Are you intending to throw it at someone? Last time I checked, you had noodle arms," Bryce said.

"No! Maybe it'd work to cook food!" she remarked.

"Mia, ovens need hydro to work, which we don't have," Will laughed.

"Honestly, hydro isn't light and water," Bryce said.

"Ecclesiastes said that even when the fool walks on the road, he lacks sense, and he says to everyone that he is a fool," Eden preached, lacing her hands together.

Mia had her jaw dropped, grabbing an empty silver pot and aiming to hit Eden. That was stopped when Eden instantly took it from her and gripped it like a bat, ready to hit her.

Bryce walked through the wide kitchen, which had been designed in the shape of a horseshoe. As he rounded a corner, he discovered shelves bare of food. He noticed a small latch at the top of the dark shelves that he could reach. Pulling open the brown latch, boxes crashed to the ground. They came running over as he opened the boxes, and a strange sight appeared.

"These are things they've taken from students." Bryce said, sitting on the black-tiled floor.

One of the first things he pulled out was a pack of cigarettes. "Ew, who smokes cigarettes anymore?" Mia irked.

"We can stab her in the eye," Eden remarked, pulling out a long knife and staring at her own reflection.

"Whoa, they have so many. I wonder if they are all from Luke," Mia awed.

"This is what we need," Eden said while staring at another box. She pulled out a bow and arrow, trying to adjust the aim.

"We'd be like in the Hunger Games," Mia laughed, holding one of the arrows in her hand.

Eden drew back the arrow before firing directly at one of the white walls. It stuck in the wall, pointing directly as they stared.

"If I aim it discreetly, I could hit an artery in her neck," Eden confirmed.

"It won't exactly kill her, but it will injure her. My power doesn't allow through the neck for objects, only the stomach," Bryce said.

He watched them all stare blankly at him, as if he had failed to share this information. It was something he learned about his powers when he had been trying to figure out how they worked.

"Bring the knife that way to the neck, and we can hit her in the back," Eden informed.

Bryce grabbed the knife himself, knowing that Mia would end up stabbing herself if she carried it.

"Let's keep looking," Bryce stated.

Will pushed the cardboard box while running out of the kitchen. "I doubt we will find anything like TNT or dynamite in here," Will called.

"Let's hope Eden doesn't blow us all up," Mia laughed.

River stared down at a small fishing boat because he had never seen such a small boat. Cecile used to refer to those boats as being for poor people, when in reality most people had those types of motorboats. It left all three of them staring at the boat that some boy named Eli had.

"How do you start it?" River asked.

"You don't know how to start a fishing boat?" James asked.

"You just start the engine," Eli said.

Nevaeh wobbly stepped inside the boat, which rocked slightly.

This boat didn't have any fancy features like a couch, a mini fridge, or even a television. It had been a regular motorboat that people his age would know how to drive. Well, he wasn't exactly sure if that had been true, considering how lost Nevaeh looked.

"We just start the engine?" James asked, standing at the edge of a wooden dock.

It had been located near a sharp incline in the wide tunnel leading onto the highway. All of it seemed strange, but he had always been used to a luxurious life.

"Yes," Eli said as he stood on the dock.

River watched James step in before tripping over some rope in the boat. Nevaeh started to laugh as River tried to figure out a way in. He lowered himself using his long legs and stepped inside the blue boat that swayed.

"You will have enough gas for there and back," Eli implied.

River stared out into the clear water that was bare of people. Despite the fact that the bubble was transparent, nobody had been boating on the other side.

River watched James start the boat, but the roar startled him.

"You know the way from here, right?" Nevaeh asked over the loud roaring of the engine.

"I'm pretty sure it's right," River said.

James started guiding the boat away from shore, but all of them still didn't know how to exactly guide this motorboat. River could see the outline of the island, but something else seemed to catch Nevaeh's attention.

"Are those sirens?" she pointed out, near one half of the bubble bare of land. From the dawn sky, there had been flashing red lights surrounding the outside.

"We'll look after," James said.

Maybe it had more to do with Cecile's arrest? It's not that they could pull off a court session without him actually being there. However, people still want him to talk about it. Police officers or reporters were clouded with questions about when this happened or his feelings.

Do they assume he'd be happy that he had been sexually assaulted by his own mother? No, he's still scared that someone will perform the same thing.

That's why he feared when Nevaeh said she loved him. However, it wasn't out of that romantic love, as he had assumed, but family love. It was the type of love his mother could never give him.

"Do you know how to fire fireworks?" Nevaeh asked James, who looked back at her.

"Are there instructions?" James asked, staring at him.

"I don't know. I've never fired them myself," River said.

"I thought about filling them with some type of cleaner. Maybe bleach or some chemical," James rambled.

The round island came into view with sand gated around the bottom as he slowed the boat into the sand. It skidded with a thud as River carefully stepped out, looking around to see the snow on the island had melted. He looked at the high ground above, but River widened his eyes, seeing something.

"The stairs are restored," he gasped.

When he left the island, River had plainly seen how the wooden steps were destroyed. There was no way to restore them unless he called someone to fix them, but that didn't work here.

"They are..." Nevaeh trailed as the stairs seemed repaired in sight.

"Cassandra must've done this," James confirmed.

River rushed over to press a hand on the wooden staircase. It did not break, which he widened his eyes at the sight. It wasn't humanly possible for something to be restored, but Cassandra's powers were always surprising.

"Are the fireworks in the mansion?" Nevaeh asked.

"Yes," River said.

From a distance, Simcoe looked like a blob of grey. All of it wasn't lush or green but dark, as if it were no longer Simcoe. There would no longer be fireworks blasting from the mansion in the sky on Canada Day, but everything in it looked deadly.

River may not have been an actual citizen of Simcoe, but this wasn't a town anymore. It had become a world of supernatural abilities, chaos, death, and violence.

"Holy!" James exclaimed as he searched through the rooms with open doors.

All the blinds were closed as he opened an end room in the basement that was dark grey. It was like a square as he spotted the dozens of fireworks against the wall. There had always been sparklers lined up in boxes on a white shelf, as River held a box of fireworks.

"It'd be pretty if they were to be displayed over the lake," Nevaeh said as she picked up a box.

All of the boxes were different types, such as brocade. The fireworks boxes were so stacked that River couldn't remember why they had so many. Perhaps it was some celebration, but none of those he wanted to remember.

"With the number we have, this could definitely work as a blinding weapon," James implied, opening one of the long boxes.

River didn't have any idea how to light fireworks, given that he had to always stand back and watch them light up.

"Should we put something inside of them?" River asked.

James scanned over the readings on the long black boxes. He glanced at Nevaeh because he didn't understand how setting a single fire even worked. Nonetheless, he didn't know how to blind someone with fireworks.

"Are we expecting to fire them now?" River asked.

"It would be smart now to almost blind her. Due to the inflammation, it gives us the opportunity to exploit her sight," James rambled.

They were all bullies to a girl who had been bullied in the past; however, they also became targets for murder.

River didn't want to die this early. He wanted to experience the life of a normal teenager, such as going to the mall or arena, where you could create bonds like he has.

People who have embraced him for being sexually assaulted since everyone else turned away. Maybe when they did get out, he could build something for those without parents.

"I don't think she can use Will's location power. If she could, we'd already be dead," Nevaeh said. "We have to survive another two months here."

Two months meant constant ambushes from Ashley. It seemed she'd find a new way to interfere, even when they waited.

"We could look around for weapons, but Ashley's somehow going to burn the place down," James stated. "That's why I think we should bring all the fireworks. We light half of them when we know Ashley is coming, since Cassandra is getting rid of Ashley's powers."

River sat on the grey carpeted floor, looking at a box of sparklers. They've taken photographs of him with sparklers in Paris. He held it as if it were amazing as the bright flash went on repeatedly. Sparklers are supposed to be for fun, not for a photo shoot.

"Maybe Cassandra taking Ashley's powers away isn't something that can be done in one day," James mumbled to himself.

"What?" Nevaeh asked with a smirk, holding a box of sparklers.

"Maybe those two months are what it takes for Cassandra to completely wipe away Ashley's supernatural abilities," James remarked.

"Wasn't Cassandra trailing Ashley?" River asked.

"She's supposed to be with Divina. I don't know what's going on with those sirens in the real world either," James explained.

All of them had faintly heard sirens from a distance. It could be those hungry reporters wanting to take pictures of him to post on social media.

"We could probably see from the sunroom," River implied as the two of them stared at him.

They rushed up the stairs as River followed behind all the way into the sunroom. Nevaeh peeked into the first of the long telescopes that faced the town. She moved directly to where they last saw the sirens. River wasn't even sure if the telescope could see that far, but it had been expensive.

"I see people being lifted into ambulances. Police officers and fire fighters are present with people that appear injured," Nevaeh stated as she stepped back.

River peered in to see where, on the blocked road, people were lying on the ground. There were police officers trying to help the paramedics, while reporters crowded around the scene.

"They have American reporters," River gasped.

Everything that happened became important for America? Maybe it wasn't that, but Hollywood needed to see everything happening. Reporters from CNN or Fox News present this grand problem. River stepped back for James to look into the telescope.

"I don't think this has been random because all buildings are still present, but people are on the ground. I'm guessing Cassandra created one of those earthquakes," James said.

"Cassandra wouldn't do it randomly. She's smart, so I wouldn't be surprised if she saw something she didn't like," Nevaeh said.

"You think she saw Heather?" James asked while looking back at Nevaeh.

"That's my guess. Cassandra hates adults with a passion due to how Greyson and Scarlett grew up. I wouldn't be surprised if she purposely wanted to kill her," Nevaeh remarked.

Trying to intentionally kill someone never crossed his mind at all when Cecile did what she did.

"Let's bring these fireworks and sparklers back. We need to ask Zane where they should be set," James said as he wobbly stepped back.

It almost seemed like Nevaeh's words sparked a truth inside of him. All of it had to be true because no earthquake had hit recently, nor could anyone make them.

Bella's talk with Jason... our golden girl finally broke down too late.

I had to literally stop writing their conversation at least ten times because I kept crying. I'm going to miss writing this couple together...