They should have been searching for more weapons, but that mission stopped for a bit. Eden watched as Bryce and Mia faced each other, both wearing white buckets on their heads.

"Mia, you know you're going to run into my chest," Bryce said with a sly grin. "Actually, I bet you'll trip before you even reach me."

The two were playing that idiotic game Bryce created out of sheer boredom during detention. Their task was to clean the chalkboard using water, but they didn't fill up the buckets.

"Um, no? I'll be the first one to push you down," Mia retorted as she set her bucket down over her face.

"Go!" Will called out.

Bryce took his position, standing still with one foot planted behind and the other extended in front. Meanwhile, Mia took off running but quickly lost her balance. She tripped over the loose lace of her boot and stumbled onto the dirty flooring.

"I win!" Bryce exclaimed triumphantly, as he stuck out his tongue in mockery. He held the black bucket in his hand and dropped it on her chest.

"It's because you're tall," Mia complained as she tried to whip the bucket at Bryce.

Eden twisted a bow in her fingers, a weapon she had discovered in the box they found. It was one of those genuine bows, designed for hunting and capable of inflicting harm on animals. real ones that would be used to kill animals. The smooth wood felt cool against her skin as she examined it closely.

"Who are you going to kill with that?" Mia asked, her voice slightly slurred as she wobbly lifted herself up.

"That ugly thing," Eden said nonchalantly.

She glanced out through the darkened window at the east end of the school, her gaze drawn to the faint flicker of light in the distance. The glow of flames illuminated the night sky, revealing flames flickering from town.

"We need to gather cleaning supplies," Eden said.

Bryce raised an eyebrow and leaned against the wall with a smirk. "Are you in the mood to clean?" he teased.

"Cleaning supplies cause fires, which we'll need," she said.

One of the first chemicals she learned about that could start a fire was bleach. It was commonly used a starter object for fires, although people always warned her it about its dangers at school. In the gang, however, it was just used for creating fires.

"We're not blowing up the barrier," Will laughed.

"Looks like someone else is burning Simcoe," Bryce added.

Mia pressed her face against the dirty window. "I thought the downtown would be ash by now," she said.

"Of course it's not ash now, because she didn't burn everything. I told you this during the six-month period of freedom; do you not remember?" Eden snapped, her eyebrows narrowed.

It annoyed her when she had to constantly repeat things to these idiots. Everything she said should be remembered when people listened to her.

"Sometimes I miss when you acted like a religious freak, because at least you didn't get mad every ten seconds," Mia sighed, waving her hand.

During that free period, she wasn't actually religious. Once people realized she had been lying the whole time, she went back to her usual behaviour when they didn't things: demanding. It was always that everything had to go her way, or she'd create some type of violence.

"Well, she technically can't be religious when she's covered up murder. Well, you've done worse," Will laughed.

Eden's lips twitched into to a smirk. She remembered dragging the body into a dumpster, the dull thud of it hitting metal echoing in the alley. Nothing phased her anymore—not blood, not screams.

"Where do they keep cleaning supplies?" Mia asked.

"Somewhere," Will replied with a laugh.

"Obviously in a cleaning closet," Bryce said with a smirk.

"Do they clean the closet all day?" Mia asked dumbfounded.

Bryce smacked Mia in the back of the head.

"Follow the intelligent one," he said with a grin. "I'll be showing you the job you'll end up having, Mia."

Eden had never thought about having an actual job. She preferred running around with delinquent activities because then she didn't have to tell people about her past. Telling people about her past was always annoying and resulted in pitying looks because she hadn't seen her siblings in years.

"I'm not going to be a janitor! I'll work as a pharmacologist," Mia declared.

"Mia working in a pharmacy? They won't allow you to work there. We'd all end up working in some fast-food restaurant," Will laughed.

"It would be a plot twist if Eden ended up working at a church," Bryce said.

"Why the hell would I work at a church? My mind hurts from memorizing those Bible verses," Eden spat.

Memorizing Bible verses took months, and she had to reread them multiple times daily. The school social worker thought it was amazing that she had turned to a new outlook, but it was all an act. If she portrayed herself as a religious freak, people would avoid her or look for a new outlook.

Eden watched as Bryce opened a small door that appeared to be broken. As the door creaked open, a wave of cold air swept out from inside the dark room. The dim light revealed a cluttered space where mops leaned against the wall. Scattered throughout the room were various bottles and sprays filled with an assortment of cleaning supplies, and her eyes glowed at the sight.

Will reached forward and picked up one of the bottles, shaking it violently. "This will all start a fire?" he asked.

"No, some are more reactive than others," Eden stated.

As she grabbed a bottle of Windex and she shook it repeatedly. When it came to causing fires, it may have been known as a passion to her.

Mia pressed her face against the window. "What's that!"

Eden's gaze followed hers. Down below, a cluster of purple-skinned figures moved unnaturally, their limbs jerking like birds taking flight.

"Maybe it's a tree?" Will suggested.

Bryce snorted. "Right, moving trees."

"Ashley thought Divina was going to be a tree," Mia said dumbly.

Eden turned to search through the various chemicals in the closet. If there was a new threat to face, then burning down Uden Academy seemed like a viable option. Most of the bottles on the shelves were empty, but she still knew how to easily create fires.

She still liked playing with fire, as she found it interesting during a summer camp she went to. People had been playing around a bonfire one night, trying to jump over the fire. Seeing how the orange light glowed filled her with awe.

Watching flames consume everything in their path filled Eden with an overwhelming desire to create chaos around her. It started with simple acts—burning scraps of paper or pulling up dried plants from the ground to set aflame and others objects, she felt an absolute thrill.

Unlike Luke, who was driven by psychopathic urge, her excitement stemmed from watching the beauty of it. There was something enchanting about flames flickering or things turning into ash.

Sanguine gave her that experience of burning things as she stared in awe, seeing fire burn, like how she'll always be burning.

"Eden couldn't care less but wants to blow up something," Bryce said smugly.

"I get to light my fire," Eden said.

This became her time to reveal who the true Eden Weber is under her true persona. She wasn't the girl who acted on the outside until the right opportunity came to act on her actions. She could release everything she's been wanting to do.

Divina stared at Cassandra with narrowed eyes. "Where's that stupid God?" she spat.

Cassandra closed her eyes, locating the location of Ashley in her mind. They stood in some random field with tall grasses and wildflowers that Divina couldn't care less about. All Divina could think about inflicting torture on God until it was nothing.

"It's doing something," Cassandra grated as she glared around the area.

Divina felt a surge of excitement coursing through her as she revelled in the fact body that she had finally acquire a physical body. Gone were the days of whispering taunts into God, but she had the power to inflict real torment upon it.

"It will use those illusions," Divina declared confidently.

The fearsome child had been granting numerous advantages to the humans, and it irked Divina immensely. Casandra's powers overshadowed hers, especially since she possessed the ability to obliterate bodies with ease.

Divina sneered, "God's too foolish to kill them that way. It will fail because it needs sight," Divina sneered.

As Cassandra casually floated casually, Divina suddenly found herself thrown and flipped upside down.

Ashley's lack of flight ability gave Divina an advantage. She planned to drain all of God's abilities and allowing Divina to regain her powers.

Suddenly, Divina felt herself dropped quickly to the ground. With a devious grin, she slammed her legs against Ashley's skull, sending her flying through the dirt.

"You can't stop me," Ashley spat.

Most of Ashley's hair was no gone now, leaving patches of her scalp exposed. Her entire face was blood red, and swollen from everything that happened. As she lay there with her body crippled, Divina relished the moment as she grabbed Ashley's arm, twisting it harshly that made her scream.

Ashley attempted to create illusions in her head, but Divina did not fear. Suddenly, there was a loud snap, as Divina forcefully broke Ashley's right arm hang like a noodle. Ashley cried out in pain as Cassandra still floated in the air, watching the sight.

"What are you using now, pathetic God? Talking trees or barking fish?" Divina taunted mockingly.

"Something I'll stop," Cassandra said as she fired a white light at Ashley. The whole body caught fire with a bloody scream, running around the field.

Divina lunged toward Ashley, ignoring the ache in her legs. A feral grin spread across her lips. Ashley could suffer in pain because Divina enjoyed seeing it suffer.

"I'm not stopping," Ashley growled.

Suddenly, Divina was thrown back by an invisible force, crashing onto the ground with a hard thud that knocked the breath from her lungs. She landed on her back and groaned with a smirk.

"It's not like you can kill me either," Divina sneered, feeling a sharp pain shot through her back.

Divina watched Cassandra direct her palm at Ashley with that white purple light. Ashley screamed on her knees as Divina grinned. However, this made Cassandra slightly tumble back, holding her head.

Seeing a stick on the ground, Divina snatched it. She plunged it the stick into Ashley's eye with a squelch.

"I don't need powers to torture you," Divina sneered.

Ashley's body withered on the ground in pain, like a fish out of water.

"We need to find some rope. I have an idea what to do," Divina told Cassandra.

Instead of agreeing, Cassandra fell asleep on the ground. If this child kept sleeping, Divina would have to come up with a new idea. She clenched the back of Ashley's shirt in her fist and dragged her body.

Ashley struggled against Divina's grip. "You can't drag me far. I have powers," she sneered.

Divina smirked, adjusting her hold."Yes, but I have the power to torture you. I'll find chairs to hit you with or forcefully drown your body," she taunted.

She knew God was an idiot for thinking it could escape from her. There was no way God could ever be the ruler of this place. She was the goddess, which meant she would always have the upper hand. She couldn't rely on some mutant child to continue her work.

"Don't you miss our fun times together?" Divina taunted as she spotted the Paradise Hotel in the distance.

The hotel had smashed glass for the doors, and Divina threw Ashley with the thin hair she had left. Blood seeped down her arms and face, with the stick still in her eye. Each time Ashley blinked, the stick but remained in place.

As Divina hovered over Ashley, the glass cracked beneath her shoes. She watched with a devious grin as Ashley attempted to pull the stick from her eye, but she knew that wouldn't work.

As she swept her gaze across the ground and spotted a piece of glass. She reached out and grabbed the sharp piece, feeling its cold edge cut her hand. She swiftly brought the shard down Ashley's gruesome face as blood fell.

Divina enjoyed seeing blood since that body was human. Even if that human had been released from its own body, she would have enjoyed the endearing amount of pain.

"I can throw you into that wall," Ashley spat.

"Wouldn't it suck if you became armless, God?" Divina snarled.

Blood ran down Ashley's face, but her eyes burned with fury. "You think that will stop me?" Ashley hissed.

"Why aren't you using your powers, then?" Divina sneered, tracing the sharp edge of glass down her cheek.

"I'm standing up to everything you've done," Ashley snarled, rolling onto her side.

Divina dropped the sharp glass onto the floor, and clenched Ashley's hands. As she watched Ashley's hands slowly grow pale, a wicked grin formed on Divina's lips. How foolish of God to think it could stand up to her.

"We're going to have some fun. Hit me or burn me, but I won't disappear," Divina taunted, watching as Ashley stood up.

They faced each other in the dark resort, Ashley glaring at her. There were knocked-over chairs with papers on the floor. Divina didn't care if this body got injured or beaten to a pulp. All she wanted was to torture this thing for pure amusement.

The three of them floated in the boat near the bubble. James felt shock run through his body with his eyes wide. It wasn't the sheer number of fireworks but the dark sky on the outside.

Police officers surrounded the scene in the real world. From the dark sky, both inside and outside, James found it hard to see if there were more bodies around. Some police officers flashed a flashlight at the bubble. The brightness flashlight forced them to shield their eyes with their arms.

"We should set one off to mess with them," Nevaeh remarked, holding an unlit sparkler in her hand.

James looked around the whole area of water before shaking his head. "We'll end up burning the whole area if we even think of doing that," he said.

The police officer had been talking as River's eyes darted away. "Let's go," he muttered.

James adjusted the boat's engine, the motor sputtering under his hands.

River held a faint glow around his body, casting just enough light to see the rippling water.

"Where are we launching the fireworks?" River asked.

"One of those safe houses. If we do it in an open space, it will cause attention," James yelled over the roaring engine.

"I thought they were drug houses," Nevaeh called.

Jams spotted the edge of the dock where two figures stood at the edge. When the boat slowed down, it nudged into the wooden dock. All three of them looked up and made contact with Eli and Emma.

"Holy!" Eli exclaimed, looking directly at the fireworks.

Nevaeh grabbed some fireworks from the box, and flung them onto the wooden dock. "Let's hope you have a car. We have enough to cause a display for both fun and the endgame battle," she said.

James couldn't help but wonder why Emma was there instead of Esme or Jade aiding in place. When Emma picked up one box, her eyes widened in disbelief.

"How many are you intending to shoot off?" she panicked.

He stumbled as he climbed out of the boat. He effortlessly grabbed the boxes with his superhuman strength that allowed him to carry things weightlessly.

"All of them," Nevaeh stated.

James wasn't sure why she was panicking, but he assumed they probably didn't have enough to light all of them.

"I don't think we can do that at the same time. I mean, we don't exactly know the locations of everyone, which could cause danger," Emma rambled.

Meanwhile, River and Nevaeh kept hurling out fireworks and sparklers, that seemed like they had raided an entire fireworks store.

"We thought of taking those Instagram-worthy photos with our sparklers first," Nevaeh chimed in, holding up her sparkler like a wand. "Since we're nearing the endgame, we thought of providing a show."

Eli eyes widened in awe as he grabbed one of the boxes filled with sparklers. "That would be so cool!" he exclaimed, bouncing on his toes.

James tried to read the instructions, but it became difficult over the darkened sky. "We obviously have to do it in a secret range. I think our best option is near those safe houses," he suggested.

He looked over to see Nevaeh looking at Emma with a smirk. "Is Emma worried that Bryce will get hurt?" she teased.

"I'm just worried about safety!" Emma panicked, chewing on her lip.

James wasn't the best when it came to liars, but Emma was lying about being worried.

He scanned group, tension coiling in his chest. "Does anyone else know where those safe houses are?"

River had began hauling several boxes of fireworks towards a black car parked nearby. Eli was right beside River, helping him carry the heavy loads.

Emma bit her lip, shrugging nervously. "All the crackheads do," she muttered.

As James took a cautious step forward on the cracking dock, anxiety surged within him. He stared down a the warm out planks beneath his feet, feeling a knot form in his stomach. If this unstable dock were to give out, it would spell disaster. That had been why they started rushing all the fireworks into the car, fearing they'd lose all they had gained.

"I've seen it, but I'm not good at directions. The only other place we could shoot them from would be the hospital. It's one of the only locations that hasn't been fried," Emma remarked.

River shut the trunk of the beat-up sedan, having to slam it repeatedly before it finally shut. Once the y settled into theirs seats, James noticed there were boxes stacked by his feet, making the cramped space narrow.

Eli started the engine as he glanced back at them."We either stop at Uden Academy to pick up one of them or at the hospital," he said.

James thought this over because he knew that safe house had been surrounded by trees. "The hospital," he said.

The car was so tight that his arms actually felt numb. The dark area around them with the patches of light gave them that light they had failed to have for months. It fooled Ashley's vision but left them still terrified. He knew Cassandra or Divina couldn't hunt down that thing forever.

Cassandra is an actual human, unlike Divina, even if she is inside Bella's body. It made James wonder if Divina would ditch Cassandra.

As Eli drove, their surroundings shifted abruptly when they found themselves behind the hospital. They parked in a declared area shaded by lines of towering trees. Nearby there were ditches that once had that purple substance.

Cassandra stood in front of them, her palm directed outward as she scanned the area, glancing carefully right and left. Emma was the first to slide out from the car, moving cautiously to survey their surroundings.

Once outside, James caught sight of Cassandra's focused expression and quickly waved a hand, keeping her eyes locked on the Paradise Hotel.

"They are in there," she pointed out in a whisper.

"Did Divina ditch you?" Emma asked.

"Yes," Cassandra replied sourly.

They could see the gran structure of Paradise Hotel looming in the distance, which hid them from all sight. The only sound sounds that pierced the stillness of the night were intermittent crashes, like echoing from shattered glass somewhere in the hotel.

"We're going to fire those fireworks," Nevaeh whispered.

Cassandra eyes widened in awe at Nevaeh words, her eyes lighting up with wonder at the mere idea of launching fireworks in the sky.

Meanwhile, River stealthy approached the open car door, and grabbing a large box filled with fireworks. With a flicker moment, Nevaeh ignited a sparkler using a lighter she had in her hand. The sparkler erupted into vibrant sparks that popped and twinkled around them like tiny stars coming to life.

Sparks shot from Cassandra's sparkler, arching high in the dark sky. She twirled in place, laughing, and for a brief moment, James almost forgot about the danger surrounding them.

But then his gaze landed on Emma. She froze, one hand pressed to the edge of the car, the other hovering near the stacked fireworks. Her eyes darted between Cassandra and the pile, and James felt his stomach knot.

He stepped closer, bracing to pull her back of she faltered—or to shove a box out of the way.

"Fireworks are prettier," Eli said.

James watched River as he struggled to figure out to properly set up the fireworks. He held them from the side of the parking garage, as he fumbled with various boxes containing an assortment of fireworks. With every box James unloaded more boxes, River's confusion seemed to deepen.

"If we have them directed at Paradise," James said. "It could cause an explosion."

"That way we can cause a distraction," Nevaeh said.

"It could be a show before the final battle," James implied.

He squinted at the dark silhouette of Paradise Hotel in the distance. Sparks from the nearby fireworks illuminated patches of the parking lot, but the shadows still hid any movement inside.

He glanced at Cassandra, her hands hovering uncertainly over a box of rockets. Even she seemed unsure how to set them up. Nevaeh was already tossing sparklers in the air.

Eli fumbled with a heavy box, nearly dropping it, and James moved to steady it before it toppled.

Carefully, he positioned a line of fireworks so they would arc toward the hotel windows. He calculated the angles in his head—too high, and the rockets would explode harmlessly; too low and they might hit the trees.

Nevaeh held one lighter firmly in her grasp while Eli clutched the second in his hand. "Ready?" Eli asked, looking at Nevaeh.

In union, all five of them dashed to the side, their gazes fixed upward as the fireworks shot high in the sky. They started out small, with pink and blue over the water. The ones directed at the hotel shot right through the windows, causing small fires at the top of the building.

The sky glowed in different colours as they all stared. They all popped in the sky as explosions of colours shined all over this place. They would have to move soon, but they couldn't from where they stood.

James watched two bodies go soaring out of the top of the Paradise Hotel. Each went flying in opposite directions, landing flat on the ground. If one was Ashley, she couldn't see them from the darkness around them. He assumed it had been the two fallen stars from up in space.

"Aim one that way," Cassandra instructed sharply, her finger pointing towards the body closest to the hospital.

James quickly adjusted one of the fireworks position nearby. With a loud whoosh, it shot into the air, illuminating the darkness with a vivid red light aimed directly at Ashley direction. The moment it exploded in a shower of sparks overhead, they heard bloody scream.

"It will damage more of her sight," Emma said.

James knew the dangers of firework malfunctions since it had been in the instructions.

"Which damages her sockets unless Divina somehow removes them," Emma said, appearing nauseous.

"She doesn't have her speed or the powers that make her body light on fire," Cassandra said.

That put Ashley at a disadvantage, but Divina can't toy with her forever. It had been the same with Cassandra draining Ashley's powers away. All of the process had been slow, but they were all fearful of what came next.

Cassandra had her eyes closed, as if she were looking for something. "Ashley did something," she grated.

With a sudden movement, Cassandra lifted both of her arms, and watched a bright light emerge from her hands. The radiant beam shot forth like a tornado, encircling Ashley in its bright grasp. Ashley slowly lifted into the air, held down by the force.

"Illusion power is gone," Cassandra spat bitterly.

All those illusions would be gone, but for how long would it all last? James didn't know, but he knew they weren't safe from harm.

Did you expect Ashley to be the overall villain in the beginning?