!

Before everything, before the universe, the planets, before even a thought could
come into consideration, the first star was born. It glowed differently than any star shining up in
the night sky now. It glowed and shined with the color of a deep red, as though blood had just
formed out of the darkness. That is the void of endless space. The star did not know why it was
there. It simply… floated in the nothingness alone. For years it stayed there unable to know if it
had moved or just sat there having succumbed to the void with no other choice.
The star awoke one morning, or what could have been perceived as a morning-like-
moment expecting to see nothing but black as usual...until... An orange light in the distance had
shown so bright that it had blinded the blood red star only approaching closer, the light starting
to dim. The star had come into vision finally, placing itself right in front of the red star. What
seemed to be intense stares had been exchanged until the bright orange orb of light had spoken,
“Do you know who you are?” Asked the star. The red one sat there, in silence, as
if confused by the current interaction.
“I do.” The star spoke again. “I am Vega, the second star, the soon-to-be. I have
been given the knowledge needed to interact with you. From who, I do not know. How, I can not
tell. Your name is Galaxes, the first. You were born before me out of the nothingness surrounding
you. Do you know how long you have been alive?” The star known as Galaxes looked at Vega
unable to respond. It did not know what it was talking about.
“I do not..understand.” The first words ever to come from the red star. They
echoed far into the void with a thunderous tone..
“Ahh, so you do have the gift of speech. The void granted you something, that is
for sure. Granted when you were first created 2,462 years ago. I am of the newer kind for I am
the newer kind. From me you will learn everything you must know and-”
“What is a year? You talk as if you know all these things that somehow make
sense yet I still don’t understand. Explain!” Galaxes’s voice shook shook the void along with
Vega. This voice alone held so much power behind it, one could only dream of what could come
of it… If one could dream.
“In due time my love...” Vega moved closer shining brighter and brighter until
Galaxes was completely blinded by the light, engulfed by it as it grew. Shifting from a bright
 !2

orange to the brightest white. Images shot through his mind allowing him to understand this
thing...this language as the images taught him. Everything erupting in his mind a thousand times
over. All of time, what was, what is, and what will be. Everything that he is.
The images started to fade from his head and his vision was coming back into
place. Vega was sitting in front of him and gave off the feeling of a smile.
“How am I to do this? Powerful I may be, but I can’t do this alone. You must help.
I saw images of rock formations, stars galore, and different sign of life. Different life forms all
together! How?” Galaxes spun and shot across the darkness in excitement and amazement until
Vega spoke.
“You will learn and we will create right now. But first...” Vega became stern with
her voice as if everything depended on what she was about to say. “What is your name?”
Galaxes looked at her, understanding that this was not so much of a question as it
was a demand. “Galaxes, the first star, the soon to be, and creator of all.” Vega pushed up against
him. Light from both stars started to shine brighter, creating an endless tunnel of red and orange
throughout the void. Sparks of life came from the colliding stars. Light streams floating through
creating figures. Bodies started to form. Creating seven new beings in total. The array of lights
flickered away throughout space disappearing into the darkness leaving behind the two stars but
now with new creatures in place. It seemed to be somewhat like a family. Two adults followed by
five kids. They were lined up in order of age from greatest to least.
Galaxes and Vega looked down on the people...the family. A man and a women first in
the line. The man was tall, masculine and strong. He had skin that was tanned to a light brown
and hair that was such a black that it pierced the void of darkness and made it seem like it knew
nothing of what darkness really was. His eyes were brown and gentle but the crooks in his face
made him look like he had survived 10 wars. He wore a sleek suit, of course all black, and
needed no description. He was obviously not to be underestimated.
The woman did not seem any more gentle. She had long brown hair that flowed like a
waterfall yet curled like the sky of a painting that had yet to come. She wore red glasses that
acted as doors to the eyes. She was not someone who you could make eye contact with but when
 !3

you did, there is no guarantee that it will ever break. Her smile was that of a mother but her voice
was one of a goddess. She had a simple dress on as though she was attending a dinner of the rich.
“You two are to take my power. I shall distribute some of the greatest parts of it to you
and your family. I trust that you will all be responsible for creating life here... I must go and find
more of my kind. You know what you must do!” He turned to the father who had received
Galaxes’s look. He proceeded to straighten up his coat and started pulling at his cuffs as if to
show his importance and attention. He nodded and opened his arms as if receiving a warm hug.
“With Vega’s and my power given to you, you shall also learn your names.” Beams of
light started to slowly emerge and shoot through the void in the direction of the suited man. The
light started surrounding him and the women, the children. All of them glowing. Some brighter
than others, as if it were to show significance to each one. The man and women glowed a
blinding bright light showing the power to receive. The second youngest child seemed to glow
just as bright. No one had noticed, or no one had thought to bring attention or importance to it.
But Galaxes was staring, smirking with a secret that could change everything.
The glowing stopped and they had looked stronger than before. Each one showed so
much potential, giving off a sense of power that would be terrifying to those later created who
could see it. And the boy, the small boy still learning of his new abilities, floated there in the void
next to what he now knew to be his older and younger sisters. He Gave off such a powerful
feeling that was diminishing to them, concerning his mother and father. Galaxes had taken a
form that was similar to theirs yet more abstract, a form which would in the future be called
human. He knelt down in front of the boy smiling, proud to say the least. He spoke.
“Marco Anthony...Have I got a fun future prepared for you. The two of us, we will rule
your world.” Marco stared at him blankly. A smile started to form on his lips, one of sinister
thought yet excitement for what is to come. “I will be seeing you boy, the long way around.”
With that Galaxes arose from his kneeling stance and walked over to the man in a suit and placed
his hand on his shoulder.
“Carlisle Concord... Your fate has been chosen. Prepare to lead them, prepare to teach
them, but be prepared - you have a fate that will never be avoided. That is all I must say. With
that we take our leave into the darkness. Good luck.” With his way of words, thunderous, yet like
 !4

a story being told forever more, he reformed into the star that he is and floated by Vega. With that
they vanished.
Carlisle turned to the woman. Taking her hand in his, he brought his mouth to her ear
and whispered something to her. He then turned to the five children and approached the eldest.
“Nathaniel Thomas, my oldest son, you will help your mother and I create this new
world. We must find something. I believe it is called-” He stopped and looked down at his feet.
The word having escaped him, he did not know what to say. Carlisle finally looked up and a
small little glimmer appeared over his head as if sparking an idea.
“I believe it is called trial and error, father.” Nathaniel smiled. The corners of his
mouth manifesting upward. His hazel eyes showed something darker in his personality. Brown
hair and hazel eyes...It was just weird to Carlisle. Nathaniel looked to be about 18. His physique
was strong and very well built. He showed bravery yet a little sinister dark side behind his ‘loyal
son’ mask.
Carlisle made his way to his eldest daughter. Looking her up and down to see a 16 year
old with long, straight, black hair that fell to her forearms which clearly showed in her muscular
structure that she was not one to get in the way of. Her red lips pursed showing the sass in her
followed by wandering grey eyes that showed she had a mind that would much rather stray away,
being elsewhere.
“Katrina Petro, You shall work with your younger sister Isabella Rose. You will create
the life. The inhabitants of this world. Whatever you can to keep life advancing.” Isabella Rose
looked no more than 15. Long hair of gold, she differed from the others. Her green eyes stayed
looking at her father. Anger engulfed her emotions but her face showed nothing. She looked like
a normal teen. Nothing more nothing less. Probably brighter than the rest of her family.
Carlisle was moving again. He passed Marco showing no importance toward him,
raising question and concern to the rest of the family but not his wife. The boy stared him down
as if he and his father new something, creating tension. Carlisle approached the littlest one, a
young girl.
 !5

“Hello my little Alyssa. You, Miss Thompson, have a very important job.” She giggled.
A small little 6 year old girl with curly brown hair just down to her shoulders. Bright blue eyes a
sweet smile that could not be ignored.
“You will be creating the story. With a world there must be a story, and what goes on in
the mind of a 6 year old can only be of the best.” She let out a big giggle. One that could only
attract the utmost attention and happiness. “Yes papa!” Jumping on him wrapping her little arms
around his neck with a big bear hug. Carlisle’s fatherly instincts were showing, placing his arms
around his daughter. The first loving affection he had received from any of his children...any
child really...despite the fact that they have only been alive for what seemed to be half an hour.
Releasing his daughter he proceeded to stand and move back to his youngest son.
Marco looked at his father, into him as if to study the man. Carlisle had a hard time looking into
his eyes. Knowing the power this boy had received...knowing it was equal to his own. Looking
into his eyes was like looking into a black hole. It had formed, hard to turn away from sucking
you in further. His hair was dark and he seemed only to be around 12 years of age. He stood with
his hands fidgeting like he needed to do something...they never stopped moving around. Finally
breaking concentration, he shook his head and looked down at his fidgeting son Marco but kept
slight distance between the boy and himself.
“Marco Anthony. You have a strong mind, strong power. You are in charge of what we
shall call Law and Order. Authority if we must call it. You will make the rules, put them into
place, and watch over them. Understood?” his voice was stern. It was meaningful but strong and
strict. However, Marco caught something wrong with the statement. Fear. He looked to his father
with a slight smirk. “Alright.” That was all, and with that, the end of that conversation.
Carlisle approached his wife. “Melinda Grace, you beautiful specimen. We will be
everything.” Melinda looked him in the eyes with a slight smile. “If you say so, it will be done.”
With that she placed a kiss on his cheek, pulled away and faced the children.
“Alright we must begin. Understand that we cannot just start all at once. We must
approach this one task at a time. Nathaniel - you, your father, and I will start. You can’t create
life without a proper home. Next, Katrina and Isabella will create the life of the planet - the
beings, the vegetation, etc.. From there we have Marco handle the laws and authority so they
 !6

know where they may go, where they must not go, what they can and can’t do. From there, once
everything is put into place, we connect the mind of our youngest, Alyssa. I know that some of
you might be wondering why and may be thinking that a 6 year old mind connected to the life of
the planet would have everyone acting like 6 year olds. First, no it will not. Second, the mind of
a 6 year old is cheerful and happy and they always find a way to be happy. That is what we shall
incorporate into this new home. This new world.” Melinda Grace took a step back and realigned
herself with her husband to show that she was finished talking. Marco stepped forward.
“Mother, father, with all due respect, when you and Nathaniel finish your part, what
will you be doing?” He stood there so confidently asking, looking at the angering expression on
his father’s face showing his disliking to the question of the thought process. “We will be
creating our home my child. We will be creating a place for you all. Don’t think we won’t all be
busy. Creating an object of this power and mass will take time alone. We all have jobs to
do...once the world is created think of the house as a last minute project.”
Isabella spoke up, “But until you finish your job we all have nothing to do. And
Katrina’s and my job will be much more to handle than yours. You are essentially creating a rock
floating in the void that created Galaxes and Vega. We will be creating multiple sentient beings
living here which will take a thousand times more strength than you will be using. Not to
mention these beings will be able to speak and think for themselves and you want us to put them
on a chain and have your youngest son tell them what to do?”
“You will not speak to your mother or superior that way. She is giving you a proper
strategy that will indeed work but you are throwing all these holes into it. Your disrespect will
not be tollerat-”
“My disrespect will be tolerated. You can cover your excuses with more building once
the world is done but you want us to create a prison for these sentient beings and most likely
want them to not travel outside the world or know an outside exists. Oh but it’s okay because
they will all have the happiness of a 6 year old. Explain to me what happens when she grows up
and actually grasps the concept of fear, anger, and sadness. What then?” Melinda and Carlisle sat
there baffled when Nathaniel stepped forward.
 !7

“We will approach that problem when it approaches us little sister. Now shut it.” He
faced his parents with a look of encouragement and anxious gestures, “Shall we begin?”

Light flooded the void shooting across the darkness as the three worked their will.
Magic shot from their bodies as their arms were raised up forming a shape above them. Green
light, gold, blue, white. Every type of color from the uncreated spectrum came from them.
However you could tell they were getting weaker by the minute.Whether it was the sharp pain in
Carlisle’s back and excessive expressions on his face, the lifeless stance taken by Melinda, the
weak knees of Nathaniel. The ever arching pain of the three beings together growing
continuously. You could see shapes forming above. Unknown and unnamed, getting larger,
connecting. While the three were forming this planet the oldest daughters were discussing the
way life would work. How the plants and trees would grow, who would plant them or if it would
be born with the magic as well. What the animals would look like, the inhabiting it whether or
not they were prey or predator. Their discussion went on more in depth of what these beings
would be able to do and what they would look like until their little sister, Alyssa approached.
“What’s that?” Alyssa asked.
“A plant.” Isabella responded short and quick so she could get back to work.
Isabella looked at the image floating in the air shimmering in front of Katrina“Is it only
plant?”
Katrina turned to the 6 year old to see a curious yet adorable smile across her face.
“Well little on, I was thinking of a name for it...I don’t exactly know yet but maybe something
like a Fon? Fin?” Alyssa shook her head. Isabella leaned down and wrapped her arms around
Alyssa lifting her up so she could be at the height of image.
“What do you think Alyssa? What does it look like to you?” She sat there in Isabella’s
arms looking at her then back at the image. She looked deep into the image and then turned to
face Katrina.
“Fern.” She said. “I like Fern. Now down please.” Isabella looked at her and then at
Katrina. She shared an expression of confusion followed by a shrug of the shoulders from her
older sister.
 !8

“I’m fine with Fern.” Katrina said.

“Yes. Now down.” Isabella placed her little sister down and let her go on her way
toward the next sibling.
“What about the people. I have this image in my head of the right word, but I don’t
think it’s time for that yet.” Isabella said to Katrina.
“Yes I see the word you’re thinking of. I believe it’s a word for the future. Using that
now could probably break something if it’s too-” Katrina was cut off by the return of her little
sister now tugging on her arm.
“Yes Alyssa what is it?” Katrina got down on her knees to look at her.
“A snake!” Alyssa yelled followed by laughter. Isabella looked up nervously.
“Wait. I know that word.. Bad word, very bad word.” She looked to Katrina who was
already facing her in fear. Snake, it brought something to their thoughts that showed too great of
a power. It was terrifying just in it’s name.
“Yes I know what you are thinking of but I don’t know where it belongs. We must not
invoke that now. Not time for-”
“And it talks!” Alyssa was jumping up and down with excitement. She was so happy
with her new word. The more she thought about it the more the idea started taking shape. A form
started shaping into existence. You could hear the hissing voice, word after word, sentence after
sentence. A head emerged from nothing and soon after a body of a long black coil with a scaled
diamond back. Each diamond was gold shimmering into silver with its every twist and
movement.
“Yess finally. My form is taking. Trapped in the mind of a child only to be set free by
the excitement of imagination.” He turned to see the three girls. Two in horror whilst one stared
at him as if to admire his beauty. “My name iss Eden. I am the-” Isabella threw her hand up and
waved it through the air in its direction. The snake burst into flames. Eden’s hisses and screams
were heard throughout the void as he burned out of existence.
“Too early. Way too early.” Isabella said. The look of horror had subsided as she turned
to Katrina. Katrina looked to her then back to Alyssa. “Maybe we should wait for that one little
one. That was not supposed to happen yet and we could’ve ruined a lot of things before they
 !9

started.” Alyssa saw the seriousness in Katrina’s eyes. It dug deep in her even for a 6 year old.
Her eyes started to water until endless tears rolled down her face. The little one ran away crying
into her arm gasping in between sobbing complaints about how her sisters were angry when she
tried to help.
“I thought we went easy on her.” Isabella spoke out of the silence. Katrina turned to
her, “We did. Remember she’s only 6. To her we just ruined her fun that she wanted to have with
us.” “Yes but she’s gonna learn at some point, why not now?” Katrina looked at her mentally
asking ‘are you stupid?’ She said nothing but raised both hands and holding up 6 fingers before
continuing her work.

Alyssa tried to clear away her tears until she bumped into someone and fell back, butt
first. She looked up through the water to see a blurred out figure of a boy. Marco Anthony was
looking down on his little sister confused by the tears let loose dropping onto her leg. He knelt
down to one knee and and started wiping away the water, clearing her vision.
“Alyssa Thompson, what are you doing running around crying for, little one?” Alyssa
looked at him. She sniffled slightly before deciding on how to respond. “Isabella ruined my
idea!” More tears ran down before she could explain. “And what was this idea you had baby
sister?” She looked back at him worried, compared to the last reaction. “Promise you won’t get
angry?” She asked. “I promise,” He responded with a warm smile, the kind that makes you want
to embrace them and never let go. Alyssa took a big breath before sharing what happened.
“Well they are making things and I wanted to help. I said they should make this little
thing that slithers around and is black and silver and is really pretty. I called it a snake and it
could talk and was still very pretty. I started to make it and then Isabella blew it up. Now, no
more snake.” Marco looked into her eyes. He knew of the snake, he saw his older sister’s worry,
and he understood the destruction that would follow. He grabbed Alyssa’s hand and helped her
get up then took her in his arms, lifting her off the ground. With his little sister in one arm, he
took his other and with the wave of his hand light started forming, dust took flight starting to
glow, soon a wooden leg appeared, followed by another, then two more. A seat shaped out of
 !10

nothing the the back rest was created which made a grand throne. He sat down and placed Alyssa
in his lap. Pulling her close, he continued to wipe what little tears she had left out of her eyes.
“Alyssa, you are so important, you are also so young. Your imagination exceeds all
expectations that we have wanted from you, not to mention it is greater than all our own. Your
job is the most important of all of ours. We all have specific roles, yes, be you have the one the
matters. You give the soon-to-be-living happiness. That is so much more than talking snake
could ever give. Now, is a talking snake awesome and totally amazing? Yes, of course!” Alyssa
giggled at the level of excitement he showed for her thoughts, “But, you have something that
matters way more than this really super exciting, talking snake. SO! When the time comes, do
your job, if you need help we will be here. But after you do your magnificent work, we can talk
about this super cool snake. And I can promise you that Isabella was not trying to ruin your idea.
I will talk to her when I am done here ok?” He looked her in the eyes awaiting her response. She
nodded her head and wrapped her little arms around him giving him the biggest and warmest hug
she could before jumping down.
“Thank you Mar Mar.” She twirled around on one foot like a ballerina, happy that her
brother had made her feel better regardless of whether or not she completely understood the topic
of what he was trying to make her understand.
Marco watched her her walk away from his own little work station. The nickname Mar
Mar confused him considering no one else gave him a special name, but other than that he didn’t
really think much of it. He rather seemed to enjoy being called that. He continued with his work
making plans for rules and regulations that had to be followed in order for the society to be civil.

The power that his family had been using to create the new world was surging through
all of them. Marco could feel their strength both growing and weakening as they went but he
knew that it would come to an end. The world was almost complete, all that was needed was
only a few more minutes. The only question being asked in both his parents’ and his brother’s
mind however was if they had a few minutes left. The power they had put into this creation was
more than they anticipated. It was only seconds now.
 !11

“Almost...There!” Carlisle grunted. The pain in his voice was obvious. His expression
showed how over this he was through the consistent eye rolls and the painful grunts he let out
here and there. The light had stopped. It was complete. The world had formed holding a strange
shape. The three stepped away from their creation and three lazy boy chairs had appeared in front
of them as they fell, catching them mid-fall. They turned over to face their creation while the rest
of the family approached and stood by them. The shape was odd. It rounded out well, a little too
well.
“I don’t quite understand what you guys were going for here...” Katrina claimed.
Isabella nodded as well, “It’s round...but there’s something, not a major something, but
something missing from it. Not saying it’s bad, just that it is quite an odd shape.” She turned to
Marco who was watching his parents and brother slowly pass out from exhaustion in the
cushioned reclining chairs. He turned his direction toward Isabella who was still looking at him,
then directed himself to the world.
“I believe that the word for this is a planet...but there is a word for the shape however.
It is on the tip of my tongue. Different time frame however. I can’t think of the word though!”
Alyssa tugged on his arm and then Isabella’s. She walked forward and pointed at it. “Doughnut! I
want a doughnut.” Marco walked up and knelt down to get to her height.
“Little one, what is a doughnut exactly?” His expression was lost. He looked into her
eyes trying to see if he could see it, if he could find just a little clue of what was going on inside
her head but immediately it backfired and he was blacked out. Before he could react, Alyssa
grabbed his hand and held his palm up. Marco could not pull it back and next thing he knew, she
had taken her unused hand and stroked her fingers down his palm. The lines in his skin started
glowing and next thing he knew a small object started to form that held the same shape as the
world. His veins had been glowing gold while silver came from the lines in his hand. The gold
formed into a little ball of dough with the center missing. The silver came up and started coating
it. The treat had been created and a small glaze had been added. Alyssa looked at him and smiled.
“Krispy Kreme!” She giggled and ran off in a random direction. Isabella came over and helped
him off his knee. She looked at him and then the doughnut in his hand waving for Katrina to
come over.
 !12

“I think we eat it...” Katrina spoke up. “Why do you think that?” Isabella asked in
slight disgust. “I’m hungry...” She responded. “As am I” Marco proclaimed. Isabella’s look of
disgust dropped from her face. She looked at her siblings, then at the treat. “Alright.” The three
split it equally between them, shared their expressions with one another, all being amazed for the
most part, and then immediately turned in the direction that their little sister went and hunted her
down for more.

Nathaniel, the eldest brother, awoke with his father looking down on him. He shot his
head around looking to see what was going on. His father was with him, his mother was off with
Alyssa, his sisters were forming different creatures as he sat there, and his brother was making an
instruction list of rules and regulations that must be followed. Something seemed wrong
however. The area around him was bright, there was light shining down everywhere and beneath
him was a green substance that tickled at the touch. Strands of it went across the land over
mountains so tall you could barely see the top. Trunks of wood were sprouting out of the ground
releasing branches that spread out wide, dropping down vines with rounded greens attached
creating a nice shaded area above him.
“How do you like it? This is only a portion of the whole planet.” Carlisle said to his
son who had risen from the recliner. “What is it? Where is it? Who else is here?” Nathaniel’s
mind was racing with questions one after the other; he was shouting them out as quickly as he
could until his father stopped him. He placed a hand on his shoulder as if to try and calm him.
“The girls have quite a few people created. It is becoming very popular. We were
thinking a small civilization then grow into a colony, sound good?” Carlisle looked to Nathaniel
who nodded. “Good! As for a name...I don’t exactly know. Alyssa was saying something earlier
that did sound quite nice so we might ask her soon.”He turned from his son leaving him in the
field of green under the tall tree.
Nathaniel was relaxed, calm. It was nice to be awake understanding your surroundings
rather than being passed out dreaming up some reality of war and hatred and love and distraught
emotions all at the fingertips of a man with fake hair. The dream meant nothing for now but he
knew there was a message within that that should be brought up later to the rest of the family.
 !13

Nathaniel leaned down and plucked some of the bright green strands growing from the ground
bringing it to his face so he could see closer. It smelled weird, like a cabin in a forest of dark
green shadows, the wind blowing through it as it whistles and sings the slow song of the dark,
the void.
“Grass.. Familiar word. It fits.” Nathaniel felt the breeze hit and he released the strand
of grass from his finger tips and let it blow away. A leaf from the tree above fell in front of him
gently touching the field. Nathaniel turned to the trunk coming from the ground and put a hand
on it. A rough surface but energy flowing through it. Branches spanning out releasing the energy
from its leaves. “Beautiful tree. Isabella, how in the world did you think of this...utopia?”
Isabella turned to her older brother. She approached him slowly while creating a small little tulip
in her hand. It bloomed into a dark red with frosted yellow tips absorbing the light from above
swaying gently as if it were expressing happiness. She knelt down and placed it on the ground.
Bringing her hand above, Isabella waved over the flower. Soon more bloomed into existence
growing to the beauty of the first joining it as a family.
“I did the trees, the grass, all the wildlife. Katrina is working on the...umm...the.. There
is a word for this I know it. I just can’t-”
“People?” Nathaniel cut in getting to the point. “Ahh yes that’s it!” She wiped her
hands on the sides of her dress, “I prefer the animals, she prefers the people.” Nathaniel showed
more interest in the animals as well for as soon as his sister had mentioned the word his face lit
up. “What kind of animals have you thought up so far?” Isabella waved her hand and pulled a
caterpillar out of thin air.
“All friendly for the most part. Protective of course. The first is called a Pegasus. A
winged creature. Calm yet majestic. Another is kind a of lizard like creature, Alyssa thought of
the name, dragon. It flies as well. Not as calm more on the protective side. Some half person half
creature. I think the words are human and horse making it somehow a centaur...I don’t really
know it wasn’t my idea. Oh we have this thing, kind of like a lion but not completely. It is bigger
and looks like one but with a hide of solid gold and it’s impervious to anything really. Katrina
found out that one is only friendly to our family. It ate one of the people so it guards the garden
 !14

entrance to our home.” An eyebrow rose, “And where is our home?” Nathaniel asked. Isabella
gestured to follow her and started walking in a direction.
“How long will this walk be?” He asked. She turned back,
“About 7 minutes. Depends.”
“On what”
“Whatever we run into on the way. I wasn’t finished with my list and I made a lot of
new things too. Probably doubling the population.” Nathaniel looked confused before asking
curiously, “And how big is the population?” Isabella stopped walking and turned to him,
“At the rate she’s going at, probably 400,000. You were out for a while.”
The walk was short. They crossed through fields of grass that had blossoming flora
that seemed to be unheard of. Trees were sprouting up everywhere Isabella walked creating a
pathway to their home. The two approached a bridge crossing a slow moving stream. Nathaniel
looked into the clear water. A small scaled object broke the surface. It had dark eyes showing
nothing behind them. Its scales shimmered as they reflected a dark grey-silver in the skylight.
“What is it?” He asked curiously.
“We are still finding a name for it sadly. It is just very calm and doesn’t really react
that much. Beautiful creature though. When it gets dark he glows a deep blue.” Isabella
responded.
“It’s a she.” A voice said behind them. Nathaniel stood up to see a girl. She had curly
blonde hair and bright skin. She had a white dress that dropped to her knees but flowed in the
wind. Nathaniel looked into her blue eyes as she smiled at jim and his sister.
“OH! This is Sophia. She is probably the age you were when you were created.” She
placed her hand on her brother’s shoulder.
“How do you know it’s a she? Also what do you mean when I was created? How old
am I now?!” Nathaniel was confused and slightly worried. He looked back and forth between the
two of them waiting.
“I can hear it. In my mind I mean. Perks of being connected to the mind of your sister.
She’s little but she doesn’t know how to control what goes where in whose mind. As for the other
questions, your sister can answer that. I think it’s important you hear it from family rather than
 !15

random girl.” Sophia turned to Isabella and nodded her head, waiting for the explanation.
Nathaniel turned to her ready for the storm.
“We found out that we were in the void longer than what we thought. What felt like 30
minutes was actually around 35 years or so. Time wasn’t accounted for when Galaxes created us
or when we started working on our jobs. That alone was about 17 years. It took another 17 years
for the creation of the earth. But time didn’t actually start ticking until this world was created,
until the gravity of it was there, the people started walking, you know? When I said that Katrina
had 400,000, that you were out for a while, I meant a year. Sophia was one of the first. Once we
got our home ready, we started on the wild life, the animals, then the people. It’s quite a big
world, and we created it. As for Sophia, she should be getting ready considering she gets married
soon. What is it, 96 hours until the wedding.”
Nathaniel couldn’t find the words. His mouth moved but nothing came out. He
watched Sophia play with the ruffles in her dress and walked around with her bare feet in the
grass.
“She is getting married so soon?” He asked. “Yes.” Isabella responded redirecting
herself toward the girl. “What do you need Sophia?” Sophia stopped playing with her dress
ruffles and looked up.
“I was just following. Listening to the world talk. Listening to the animal's thoughts.
The cows like the grass by the way, say it tastes good. Not sure if your were intending for them
to eat your creations but that’s what’s happening. Also I was visiting the lion. I think I’m the only
human he doesn’t try to kill. I call him Nimi, considering that’s what he said his name is. He
likes how we taste. Creepy I know, but it’s true. He likes you guys. Thinks it’s cool you let him
live in your garden.” Isabella lit up with a smile as soon as she mentioned the lion in their
garden.
“That’s what I was gonna show you. The lion with fur made of gold. Interesting name.
Nimi...as in Nemean right?” “Yea how’d you know?” Sophia asked Isabella.
“Ancient Greek I believe...” She said.
“What?” Sophia responded.
 !16

“I don’t know. Anyways let’s go meet him.” She gestured toward Nathaniel, “You on
the other hand have to go prepare for your wedding.” Sophia nodded and turned in the other
direction walking gently through the field. Nathaniel and Isabella were crossing the bridge
toward a tall gate where a bright gold animal lying down with its tail in the air was rolling in the
grass.

Katrina had finished the people. With 2 billion new beings exploring a floating
doughnut in a void of darkness, it was time to let them know the laws. Marco gathered every
man, woman, and child that was created in the last year. Everything was working as the family
planned. It was a year of freedom, but they all knew what could happen in one year with no
rules. Luckily very little people disagreed to the ideas of law. Those who did were sped up to the
final process and connected to the mind of the littlest one, Alyssa. If they would not listen to the
rules first, the only other option was to assimilate them to happiness...or what had seemed to be
happy for the near future.
Katrina had helped the new species with creating homes. For people who were
supposed to strive and evolve, they relied a lot on the family of gods. However it did not matter.
The family was being generous and they only helped them to get started. The sort of...baptismal
action that had connected the people to Alyssa’s brain had brought up question in the minds of
many and that question was,
“So what are we?” Asked multiple to Marco one day as he was strolling through a
small town on a northern part of the planet.
“I beg your pardon? What do you mean?” He responded. An onl man had emerged
from the group to lead the conversation. He seemed to be the one in charge, also the most
responsible.
“Marco, a year has passed and we do not even know the name of our people. We can’t
be ‘The Happy One’s’ for the rest of our lives...at least that is what the mistress in our head likes
to call us.” He showed his concern for the topic by the movements of his hands, the straightening
of his bright red shirt, along with the twisting of his cane in his knuckles. His grip grew tighter
with frustration as the cane started to give. For a new species they certainly were strong. Marco
 !17

tried to show his care towards the conversation but his mind kept going back to one thing that he
had mentioned within his small little argument.
“I’m sorry did you say the ‘Mistress in your head’? What in fathers name are you
talking about?” His look turned to worry. It intrigued the group. The old man could not respond.
The thought of a ‘Mistress’ talking to their minds sounded more ridiculous out loud than it did
within.
“Maybe it’s your sister sir! The lady god is connected to all of us remember?” A young
boy came to the front. He had a coat that fell to his knees as if to be oversized and clothes that
would be seen on a boy going to a fancy picnic. The clothes alone confused Marco but it was the
boy's preference.
“First off, she is a goddess. Second that wouldn’t make sense because Alyssa only has
an influential link of happiness. It isn’t necessarily telepathic. Just emotional. That would mean
that the link is coming from someone else, somewhere else. My family swore we would stay out
of your way and only assert ourselves in times of need. I would hardly think that a name for your
species is a time of need that would require a telepathic link to every single one of you.” He put
his hand to his head and tried to think of another way that could be possible but the only thing
that came to mind was Alyssa. It couldn’t be. Unless there was a link between Katrina, Isabella,
and them.
“What in the hell did you even say.” The old man asked, placing the bottom of his cane
to the ground.
“Things you obviously don’t get. I am sorry I must go. Something is very wrong here
and none of you seem to understand it. I have to discuss with my family. I promise when I return
I will explain everything.”
“And if you don’t return?” Asked someone in the crowd.
“Then I won’t explain everything.” With that Marco evaporated and left nothing but
footprints in the dirt.

“Nathaniel you obviously don’t understand that these people are not cattle for us to
heard around! We cannot claim royalty over them. The only way that would be possible is if they
 !18

came to our doorstep and asked!” Isabella yelled in his face. The two were going at each other in
a fierce argument while Katrina sat at the dining room table watching the whole thing seeming
annoyed with the whole argument. She spoke from the table.
“Brother, we made an agreement that we would stay out of their lives unless they truly
needed it. They obviously haven't yet considering its been 32 hours since we made the link
between them and our sister. Isabella is right, the only way that could happen is if all 600,000 of
them came to our doorstep and asked us to rule them. But until that day happens, and I pray that
it won’t as I barely have the patience to listen to the two of you bicker, we won’t do it.” She got
up and left the room. Her anger could be felt out as she stormed down the hallway and up to the
second part of the house. Marco appeared between the two siblings mid argument and startled
them both.
“Where is Katrina?” He asked frantically.
“She just left, why?” Isabella asked.
“KATRINA! COME BACK!”
Immediately the sister stormed back in the room with a fierce look in her eye.
“WHAT!?” She yelled
“We have a problem. Someone has a telepathic link to the people and is making them
question a lot of different things. It is like it’s thinking for them. It’s like a monarch for the mind
in a way. It couldn’t be Alyssa because she doesn’t know how to do that. She’s only 41. I know it
isn’t me. I trust none of you would do that. It has to be one of them.” Marco was so nervous he
didn’t know what to do with his hands. They were flailing all over the place while he talked.
“Where’s mom and dad? We have to tell them!”
“In the garden growing all the new plants and trees to protect our house.” Katrina said.
She looked at Nathaniel not breaking her gaze.
“I think you might want to look to your brother for this, Marco.” Isabella said.
“Why do you say that?”
“Because he’s the only one who's been talking about creating a society where we are
the monarchs and they are ‘our’ people.” Isabella was furious, more so than before. She looked
 !19

to Nathaniel, who now had the gaze of three angry gods on him. He smiled and giggled a little
bit. Bringing his hands to his face, he laughed into them eve harder.
“You broke one of my laws.” Marco said almost monotone but still able to sense the
infuriation.
“It was a stupid law I must say. You can’t expect a new species to expand if they don’t
have the proper leader. And what better leader to rule than a god.” He was smiling at his little
brother as if he was talking to a child.
“You are only a child, you wouldn’t understand the importance of ruling these people.
When you get older, you will.” He laughed in Marco’s face about to pull away when the little
brother grabbed his neck.
“I know we don’t need to breathe, Nathaniel, but that doesn’t mean this won’t hurt.”
He whispered into his ear. Nathaniel felt the pain rush through the bones in his neck as they
started to crack under the force of his brothers godly strength. He looked Marco in the eyes only
to see his brother snicker in response.
“Stop that hurts!” He shouted.
“Okay! I’ll stop!” Marco used all of his strength and with one swift motion threw his
brother through the wall and into one of the newly growing trees. Their mother at the bottom
helping it grow, saw The oldest son hit the trunk of it and fall beside her. Nathaniel's neck had
snapped from the pressure. It was only a minor injury that would heal in minutes but for now he
was out. His temporary death had cut the connection to all of those trapped under his psychic
curse. Melinda turned to the hole in the wall only to see Marco standing in it looking unfazed.
“What is the meaning of this?” She asked.
“Blame him. He broke a law, I gave him a punishment. I’ll fix the hole in the wall but
the rest of this is on him.” Marco Turned and walked away from the wall as it started to
reconstruct itself. He looked at his sister's and nodded to them. It was getting dark so he made
way to his room. Once inside he had placed himself in his bed only to look up. The roof was
purposely open so that he could see the sky above. He assumed Galaxes stayed true to his word
because every night he saw a new light in a part of the void that hadn’t been there the night
before. He smiled and let out a whisper.
 !20

“My future is coming. Trillions of years from now it will be here but it’s coming that’s
for sure. I don’t know what it will be like but I know for a fact it will be great.”
“Is that so?” A voice came out from the corner of his room. A bright red light appeared
in a form similar to Marco’s. It was Galaxes.
“35 years and you don’t look a day over 17 my boy. I just wanted to check on my
favorite God of Time while passing by.”
“God of Time?” Nathaniel showed a look of confusion.
“Ahh it seems I have strayed too far into the future. My bad.” Galaxes approached his
bed side. He looked at Marco as if he were his own son. In a way, he was. He had placed his
hand on the young gods shoulder. Galaxes thought to himself ‘How could a boy so young hold
the power of the universe? Marco would soon be, in the far future, the dominant being of all and
all he had to do was kill one person. All that power locked up inside and the boy doesn’t even
know how to use it.’
“Who would have to kill who?” Marco asked.
“I said no such thing!” The red star was shocked. Without trying or even realizing,
Marco Anthony had gotten inside his head. He had hoped that he didn’t listen to everything, it is
crucial that time happens in a single line and no one could skip ahead.
“Oh,” Marco responded, “Must have been in my head.” His eyes were starting to close
and his mind starting to drift.
“Goodnight my child. I imagine the dream you have will be quite an interesting one.”
And with that, the room lit bright red. After it died, all that was left was Marco, alone in bed, fast
asleep.

He fought with an iron fist, quite literally. Each punch creating a loud clang followed
by sparks. Marco took a kick to the stomach pushing him back with the force of a bus at full
speed. He flew off the cliff and started falling down. He broke through bushes and plants with his
body still falling, rolling. Finally he stopped at the water's edge, looking up to see Nathaniel at
the top of the cliff laughing with his little sister, Alyssa. Two people with so much hatred for
their brother. It somewhat amused Marco. The wind picked up,
 !21

“I’m coming for you!” Marco yelled. He laughed in hatred and started elevating off the
ground. Stronger the wind had gotten, surrounding him. A wind tunnel formed under his feet
shooting him back up the cliff. Landing at the top, he faced his siblings. Nathaniel seemed
unimpressed. Alyssa, however, seemed amazed at the quick recovery. A crowd started forming
around them, watching this amazing display. Some thought it was special effects. Others thought
it was real, and they were right.
“I told you I was coming for you.” Marco said. He looked into the dark eyes of his
brother.
“And yet here you are with no advantage.” Nathaniel responded.
“I don’t need one, I’ve got an idiot for a brother.” Marco said smirking as he placed
himself on solid ground. The older brother grew angry and launched himself at the younger one.
Marco reached out to grab him mid-air. With his strength and power, he pulled Nathaniel’s body
over him and threw him back along with himself. He brought him down on his neck. All you
heard from Nathaniel was a loud snap. At this point the crowd grew frightened and started
screaming for the police. Some started running away. All were afraid. Marco got up and looked
at his brother’s lifeless body. He knew he would be fine. 15 trillion years of living, being gods,
he’d be fine with a simple neck snap.
“ You asshole!” Alyssa screeched. Marco turned to see his little sister trembling in fear
but at the same time radiating with anger. She shot her right hand forward. The power pulled a
chunk of rock out of the cliff, launching it at him. He threw himself out of the way before it had
hit where he previously stood. The rock knocked off the edge of the cliff, breaking it away with
all its force.
“You’re going to try to run?” She asked, “how cowardly of you, big brother.”
“Not running, little one. More of a common distraction from the situation.” Marco
responded. Alyssa grew afraid and confused with his reaction. He stopped running. His hands
started twitching, his fingers flexing out as he placed his palms to the ground. The cliff started to
shake. Roots came out of the ground around Alyssa’s feet. She could no longer move. Every shift
of her body caused them to grow faster until she was nothing but a trunk, branches, and leaves.
 !22

Marco had grown a thick, dark, oak around his little sister. You could no longer hear her screams
or struggling. Just the rustling of leaves from a tall oak tree in the strong wind.
Marco faced the beach. He stood at the edge of the cliff and started moving his hands
in a clockwise motion. Black sparks formed in a circle until a small black spot, almost similar to
a drop of oil, had formed, constantly growing. Now sat a floating puddle of black, murky water
off the end of the cliff. With it still spinning clockwise, Marco looked into it. Without any
thought, he jumped in. Nothing came out of the other side. Marco had gone.
Nathaniel’s neck had snapped back into place. He lifted his head, slightly dazed, but
fully aware of what just happened. The old god hurried to his feet, checking his surroundings for
his little brother. No sign of him. Nathaniel quickly changed his attention to something of greater
importance. Alyssa. He could feel her strength, her anger near him, but the only thing giving off
any form of that was an old oak tree that had not been where it was before he was incapacitated.
He approached the tree, placing his hand on it. A shock went through his mind and all he felt was
his sister's rage. He knew it. Marco had trapped Alyssa within the tree. He pulled at the strong
bark. It had been purified by magic - making it stronger. The first piece tore away, then the next,
until he heard a gasp and saw her face. Nathaniel backed away and watched Alyssa get even
more mad. Her face infuriated, her eyes more red than the devil he created. The leaves of the tree
started browning, withering, and dying, falling to the ground. The tips of the branches started
charring until small little flames lit going down each branch until the whole tree caught fire. As it
died, all that was left was the little goddess. She whispered under her breath over and over, “I’ll
kill you, I will kill you.”
And so, the two beings, some of the most powerful people in the universe, were left
alone on a cliff, defeated.

Marco shot up in his bed. Beads of sweat dribbled down his face as he panted catching
what little breath he could. He looked down and saw his bed sheets thrown on the floor. Blood
was on his arm, his eye bruised.
 !23

“What the hell?” Katrina whispered from the doorway. Marco had forgotten the link
between his siblings and himself. Whoever was near him would feel his feelings, think his
thoughts, share his dreams and vice versa. Katrina had just seen that whole dream.
“Your dream...you just-”
“No Katrina, no! It was a dream. That is all it was, don’t make anything of it. I think I am
still just a little upset with Nathaniel.” Marco was quick to defend. He was confused on what the
dream meant and how he should interpret it.
“You…you killed our family. Our brother, sister. Is that what you want? You can be upset
with someone but it should not result in killing them over it. Whatever this is, you better sort it,
or else I will be the one to tell our parents that you are planning something against the family.”
Katrina was trembling. She mumbled under her breath, “You’re the weakest of us. That shouldn’t
be possible.”
“Excuse you? The weakest? Who, on this fucking space donut, told you I was the
weakest?” Marco was angry. He didn’t think he could get this angry so fast. “If anything, I am
the strongest. Would you like me to prove that?” His emotions were doing the talking now.
Katrina’s fear was overwhelming her. She did not know how to respond, however, the look was
the same as Alyssa’s from his dream - fear mixed with rage. She stood in the hallway looking at
Marco, not breaking eye contact, until finally she stood up straight, turned away from him, and
walked down the hallway and around the corner until she was out of Marco’s sight

Civilization was rising more so each day. People were beginning to open shops, trading
goods and services for things of interest. Isabella Was walking through a small town across the
world. There were shops with clothings, bread, toys. Surprisingly all run by children no greater
than 16 years old. She walked inside one place called Kicks for Chicks, a small shoe store that
had a nice little sign surrounded by vines that grew all over the building. It was made for women.
A lady approached Isabella asking if she needed any help today but she responded with a no and
just asked for the owner. The lady smiled and walked to the back. A few moment later a young
girl with thick black hair and a dress spotted with flowers walked out, “Hello, my name is
Elizabeth, you asked for me?” Isabella looked at her in amazement. “You are the owner? How
old are you, 15?” Elizabeth smiled softly and responded, “Yes I am. Just today actually, good
 !24

guess. Did you have any questions for me or complaints?” She waited. “Yes. Why is a child
running a store?” “My parents didn’t want the responsibility of work so took it into my own
hands.” The goddess stared, concerned. “And where are your parents?” The shop owners smile
died slowly. “Dead in a ditch somewhere I hope. They saw I was doing more for myself than
they were and kicked me out because they felt inferior to their own child.” They stared at each
other in silence. Isabella was more or less concerned but mainly surprised. A young girl running
a business for herself, certainly proving that she deserved it. However, the family aspect of her
life leading more negative was questionable. ‘They should not be like this’ she thought to herself.
“So can I ask for your name? What are you looking for here?” Elizabeth asked. “My
name is Isabella. As for why I am here…just browsing, checking out there southern parts of the
world.” Elizabeth lit up. “You are from the north? What is it like? I have always wanted to go
there. It is so close to the royal family.” She was excited. Isabella’s face changed. Her smile
disappeared as her face grew a look of confusion. “What royal family..?” Elizabeth was quick to
respond, “The ones who created my parents, the reason I am alive today! The king and queen and
the princes and princesses.” Isabella laughed. She laughed hard in fact she had to hold herself up
on a table to support her laughter. She grabbed her stomach from the pain of noise that kept
coming out of her mouth. Now Elizabeth grew confused. Her face got angry and showed an
offended frown so much so that it could’ve been touching the ground.
“Is something funny?” She asked angrily. “You can’t be talking about Carlisle and
Melinda? Can you? Are you?” Her laughter grew, “They are no more royalty than a dog in a
supermarket!” Isabella was slapped right then and there. No warning, signs. “How dare you!”
Elizabeth yelled. “How dare you talk about royalty in that tone. OUT! I don’t know who you are
or what a dog is but get out. Now.” She was stern with her words. She held her ground ready for
backlash. Isabella Stood tall - a few inches taller than the shop owner. She clenched here fists
ready to fight back, yet she stood down. “You just slapped me.” She said calmly. Elizabeth
nodded. “Do you know who I am, or do I need to inform you?” Isabella’s voice cut the air like a
knife through meat - thick and forceful. “Obviously no one important if you feel you are better
than the royal family.” Elizabeth said sassily. Isabella looked down on her. “My name is Isabella
Rose, daughter of Carlisle Concord and Melinda Grace, creator of all life that walks. I am the
reason your parents are alive.” The Goddess stood tall over Elizabeth, angrily staring down at
her, ready to take her win and leave the store. Elizabeth went from angry to scared as if she was
 !25

looking for the nearest exit to run to. Isabella bent down and got face to face, noses almost
touching. She stared into her eyes, ready to attack her soul.
“You are lonely. Your family mentally abandoned you and you are looking for your own
path because the one that your father threw you off of when you started this job was the only
thing you knew.” Isabella said calmly. Elisabeth looked confused. Her mouth seemed crooked
and eyes wide open. When she finally processed what Isabella had said, she got teary eyed. Her
palms were brought to her face as she let lose little tear drops. Isabella watched her mentally
disintegrate right then and there. She brought her arms up around Elizabeth and embraced her
gently. “I am sorry your family did that to you. I will figure something out, don’t worry.” In the
mean time the goddess had other things to think about. First starting with, what the hell is going
on and how the hell did a family do this when Alyssa is basically patched in to each person like a
mainframe. Second, what is a mainframe?
Katrina materialized outside the small shop. She ran in and pulled her sister away from
the young girl.
“We need to leave now.” She said frantically. Fear was in her voice as she dragged her
sister by the hand. The left Elizabeth in the shop as the door slammed behind them. Before
Isabella could say anything, Katrina dematerialized taking her with. Elizabeth ran outside after
them but when she got there, there was nothing left but footprints in the dirt.

Katrina and Isabella flashed into existence on a beach surrounded by green trees and
sand. The waves pushed lightly against the shore as the two women stood there.
“What the hell was that about?! That girl was in pain, I was trying to make her feel
better.” Isabella screamed at her sister.
“It is nothing now. Trust me, I have something more important to tell you. It’s Marco. He
had a dream, I just so happened to walk past his room at the time and catch it in my mind.
Completely by accident let me remind you. It was bad. Very bad.” Katrina was shaking by the
thought of it. “The raw power that he holds in it. It is terrifyingly strong.” She closed her mouth
as a tear rolled down her cheek. Isabella dropped her frown and immediately was concerned.
“How powerful was it.” She asked. “Stronger than father is now.” The two looked at each other
before Isabella began to speak. It was a hard concept to grasp considering their father was
supposed to be the strongest of them all.
 !26

“What was the dream, sister?”

“A fight. A big one.” Katrina responded.
“A war?”
“No, but powerful enough to be equivalent to armies. It was Marco. He was fighting.”
She began to shake more, holding herself.
“Who was he fighting? Is someone trying to hurt the family?” Isabella asked. “No. It was
against Nathaniel and Alyssa. Everyone was older. It was them against Marco and…” She
stopped. It was too hard for her to continue the sentence.
“And what? Katrina you can’t just leave it on a cliff hanger like that.”
“And he killed them, effortlessly. He snapped Nathaniel’s neck and trapped Alyssa in a
tree trunk leaving her powerless unless someone outside took it down. It was horrifying yet
somewhat amazing. I could never conjure up the type of magic he had in that fight.” She released
her hands from her arms and brought them to her side. Isabella was quiet. She did not seem
surprised. It was like she had already known and had been keeping quiet. Her face turned white
and Katrina instantly knew she was bottling something up and now she was determined to find
out what it was. Isabella turned away keeping from eye contact making sure that her sister could
not see her face. Katrina came around to face her, staring her dead in the eyes. “What? You had a
similar dream didn’t you?” She asked. Isabella nodded slowly. Her face was blank like a sheet of
paper and Katrina was waiting for the words to be written out on it.
“I had a dream. Similar but different people.” She said softly. Katrina backed away as if
her life was just threatened. “It wasn’t you sister. My dreams never contain negative thoughts or
images of you. I promise. However, this was mother. She appeared with a group of men in
metallic uniforms. They had shields and swords, as if they were ready to attack me. Our own
mother was leading them, her long nails pointed at me as she directed their attention toward me
like a target. Why do. You think I had been avoiding home recently?” It is true, the older sister
took a second to think about how, even though there home was huge, Isabella was nowhere to be
seen. Not the bedrooms, the great rooms of furniture, not even their garden that fills the complete
inner circle of the planet. Isabella is always gone. Katrina looked up to see a tear run down her
sisters face. Isabella was quick and wrapped her arms around her as if she was the mother.
“It is so hard to have such a realistic dream, to have mother send an army after me to beat
me down continuously. She just stood back watching them stab and kick and punch until they
 !27

had me held down open the ground pressing their shields against me so I couldn’t move. Our
own mother. It was like I could feel everything happening. It was torture.” She cried hard into
Katrina’s shoulder soaking her top.
“Isabella look at me.” She grabbed her sisters head facing her to look into her eyes. “It
was a dream sister. That is all. Nothing about it makes it real. None of mine are. Why? They are
just dreams and that is all they will ever be. Your imagination is just playing with you in weird
ways.” She distanced herself giving good space between the two of them so that she wasn’t
holding up a girl who was as tall as her. Isabella looked at her confused. “If that is your response
then why would you come to me worried about our brother. It was, in fact, just a dream. Nothing
else. You came here worried about a dream that you barged in on unannounced, I share a similar
situation which is actually quite the same, and you disregard it.” Isabella showed her anger and
was ready to leave. She put her hand straight up in the air and brought it down to her chest as if
dividing the wire in front of her. A spark of electricity emerged from her hand and started
engulfing her slowly.
“Wait Isabella I didn’t mean that. Please don’t go, I am genuinely concerned with this
topic. I didn’t mean it like that. I didn’t see your dream so I can’t give you a definitive answer on
what it might mean. It doesn’t mean don’t believe you.” Katrina tried to defend her point and
stop her from leaving but it was too late.
“Yes Katrina because you needed to see my dream to understand the physical pain I went
through, and woke up in, that day. That is exactly what is going on.” Her words pierced her older
sister as knives pierced skin. They cut deep and left blood in their place. With that Isabella
sparked out of existence leaving her sister alone with nothing but her fear of her brother to
comfort her.

Carlisle awoke. He was laying in his bed, exhausted and sweating. He brought his hand to
his forehead and all he could feel was a burning heat so hot that it singed his skin. He lifted the
blankets off of him slowly and had risen from his bed. Making his way to the bathroom, he
noticed he had a slight limp in his right leg. It wasn’t until then that he started to feel the pain. It
shot through his leg every time he stepped on it and only grew worse. It became harder and
harder for him to walk until, eventually, he fell only to catch himself on a dresser. At that
moment Melinda walked in only to gasp. What she saw was indeed her husband, but with battle
 !28

scars from a war, as though he just returned from fighting in it. His head had scorch marks
resembling a blunt yet flaming strike to his head. His leg was completely bloodied from a stab
wound through his thigh. His hands were marked up with dirt and scratches leaving them red and
swollen, making it hard from him to use them. Melinda rushed to him for a walking support. She
placed his arm over her shoulder and redirected him back to their bed where she helped him
down on his back. Carlisle was shaking under her hands and whenever she moved them to a new
injury on his body, he would jump and try to move his almost paralyzed body out from under her
touch.
“Carlisle it’s okay. It is me, your wife. It’s Melinda. I am going to take care of you. We
are going to make you all better…and then we are going to find whoever did this to you and beat
the shit out of them. Understand?” She said to him calmly yet worried. Tears started rolling down
her face as she called for one of her children to come assist her. You could hear the fear in her
voice as her crying grew more so with every shout for help. Seconds later Marco and Nathaniel
burst into the room in a panic to see their mother crying over their lifeless body afraid for her
life. He was not healing on his own and no-one knew why or how.
“Come here!” She said to them. “Marco you take the leg wound. Nathaniel, you take the
forehead. We are going to heal him ourselves. He need our help. After that, us three are going to
let him rest and gather your siblings. We are going to find the asshole who did this and burn their
village to the ground. Understand?” The two brothers looked at their mother who was practically
leaning over their father, wetting him with her tears from the constant crying. They turned to
each other and exchanged faces, then turned back and nodded to her. Nathaniel went to place his
hand on Carlisle’s forehead, and Marco’s hand to his leg. Melinda grabbed his mangled hands,
“Ready? Go.” Golden light emitted from her veins and into her hand which slowly went into her
husbands and transferred into his veins all the way down his forearms. Nathaniel placed his hand
on the head wound doing the same. Light appeared slowly going into his fathers wound as if it
were plugging up the blooded spots. Lastly, Marco grabbed the stab wound in his leg and started
to work his magic. However as soon as the gold stream entered the wound something happened
and backfired. Marco’s head shot back and his eyes went white with a light shining through them
up onto the ceiling as if they were projecting a scene.
 !29

Carlisle was out walking the night before. He was at the beach looking across the water.
Alyssa was at his side staring into the sand, wiggling her toes around to see the grains of rock fill
the space her feet once were. She giggled and pulled on her fathers arm to get him to look.
Carlisle looked down at his daughters actions. He got down on his knees and looked into her
eyes. She was giggling even more which just turned into laughter of a 6 year old. That always
seemed to amaze him. Time moved so fast for some reason yet they did not. Alyssa was the face,
body, and soul of a 6 year old girl. However, her age was not that. Her age was that of a 56 year
old. Then that whole concept seemed to amaze him even more. It had been 50 years since they
were created. 50 years ago two stars birthed them in a dark void where they were all given
responsibilities and, without question, fulfilled those tasks. And they did so wonderfully.
“Is that what really happened?” Alyssa asked,
“I’m sorry, what?” Carlisle responded confused. “What do you mean my little one?”
“Were we born from stars? I don’t remember that happening.” She said. She sounded
older for some reason. It looked as if in that moment, she grew up.
“Why are you talking differently Alyssa?” He asked.
“Well I am 56, why do I have to be 6 all my life? Why can’t I grow up a little bit? I was
thinking like 15 or 16?” She started changing right there. He body started growing, hair getting
longer. “I can look however old I want, why would I stay this way?”
“Well why would you want to grow up? There is so much more to do as an older person.”
Carlisle said. It seemed as though he was trying to change her mind, stop her from getting older.
“Father, Nathaniel is already the age of a 26 year old, Katrina and Isabella share 23, and
Marco is 20. I will age if I please.” She frowned. It was the frown any teenager would give their
parent when annoyed. “ I am gonna go home and go to bed. It was a big day today considering
I’m caring now over one million thoughts in my head.” Alyssa turned and started walking back
toward their house. “Goodnight little one!” Carlisle said. “Goodnight father.” She replied quietly.
He watched her walk back slowly until she was out of sight and all that was left was the sound of
waves.
he continued his night on the beach sitting in the sand staring at the tide, it continued in
and out, pulling the wild life with it. It was a motion in which it stuck with, not much like his
family who followed their own paths. He wished they would stick to one motion, one plan, but
everyone seemed to be doing their own thing and he wasn’t too happy about it. Now that his
 !30

daughter had aged more, she had had allowed her mind to grow. A six year old has basic
emotions that change at the sight of a happy picture or food. A 16 year old has advanced
emotions that she can’t even control. Now this 16 year old controls the emotions of every single
person on this floating rock and there is no telling what will happen if she sheds a tear.
Carlisle stood up. He dusted the sand off his legs and watched it regroup on the ground.
He looked toward the ocean, it was quiet and reflected the night sky. It reflected the stars hanging
high. He remembered what Galaxes said, his plan to find more like himself and Vega. It was
obviously working because he had never seen so many before tonight.
He started to walk back in the direction of his home. Taking his time as the breeze flowed
around him. When he came upon the entrance to his family’s garden, golden sparks shot up the
fence rounding at the top. It created a beautiful gate that swung open allowing him to enter the
garden. As he walked through, he was greeted by the Nimi, their lion that guards garden. Carlisle
pet Nimi’s head slowly to let him know he was friendly. The golden beast licked his hand and
backed away into the tall rose garden.
“Stop struggling you little worm and tell me where they are. It is important and I don’t
have time for you to mess around and screw me over.” A voice from within the rose garden
echoed over. Carlisle’s curiosity drew him in that direction. He entered the rose garden and
traveled through the vine walls to come to a small opening surrounded by red and white roses
with long sharp thorns that seemed ready to attack. As he walked through the flowered opening,
he came into a room with hedges of flowers 10 feet tall as walls. A man stood in the corner
holding down the Nemean Lion with one foot and holding back its paws with the his hands. He
was a tall man, a little taller than Carlisle himself. His hair was a platinum white and slicked
back while he wore a silver suit. He glistened in the moon light coming through the center of the
earth, not just his hair and suit, but his skin as well.
“Sir. I don’t think you’re supposed to be in here.” Carlisle said sternly. The man turned
his head slowly showing his black eyes and crooked smile.
“Oh really? Who the fuck cares where I am supposed to be. Why don’t you just run along
so I can deal with this vermin.” He responded. His tone was strict and piercing, and he did not let
up on his words.
“Let me make myself clear. Get the hell off my cat, get the fuck out of my garden. Thank
you.” Carlisle said annoyed. A man showed up randomly in his garden and threatens to kill a
 !31

beautiful creature and act like it is nothing. The man lifted is foot from Nimi’s neck and released
his paws from his grip.
“You must be Carlisle…” he said while adjusting his suit. “My name is Arcturus.” He
held out his hand for a hand shake but Carlisle just looked at it. His eyes brought a look of worry
and annoyance.
“You’re a star. Why are you here?” The god asked.
“Well I want to study you. I want to create similar beings but with a different purpose.”
Arcturus rescinded. He brought his hand back in slowly and stared Carlisle down.
“You want beings that can kill us. Hunters. No, leave.” Carlisle responded calmly. He
waved his hand as a gesture for him to go. “As for you, Nimi, get out of here before this man
touches you again.” He warned the lion. The Golden creature got to its feet and turned toward a
wall of thorns and vines. The leaves spread apart creating a pathway and the Nemean Lion
escaped through there, running into the darkness of the Garden.
“How did you know?” Arcturus asked.
“I was created by the first and most powerful star in existence and you’re wondering how
I know. My mind can link up to any living thing. Not to mention I can sense you. Your strength is
immensely strong and I feel as though I have recognized it before. But it won’t stop me from
kicking you off this planet. Leave.” Carlisle was angry now. The corner of his mouth twitched
with a great rage.
“You think you can kick me off this planet? Boy, I can create one of these in a matter of
seconds. You had to get help from others. What was it, your wife and eldest son? Do not speak to
me with threats. I am a superior being to you.” The star was shining brighter and brighter with
anger his strength grew more to the sense. His hand started to spark.
“I am Carlisle, leader of the gods and you will leave, or will I have to force you?” He
took am intimidating fighting stance and held up his fists. Arcturus laughed and his fist formed
into a ball of metal and fire. “If you think you can fight a star, please be my guest. I will study
your family, but you won’t be part of it.” He swung his fist at Carlisle fast. In a second it was
stopped as the god caught the ball of fire in his hand. The hot metal burned but he was not going
to show weakness. Arcturus swung his arm back, bringing Carlisle with, placing him on his back
in the dirt. The star stood over him lifting his fist in the air ready to bring it down hard. Carlisle
kicked upward and hit him in the face knocking him back. In an instant he was back on his feet
 !32

facing Arcturus. The god pulled out a knife from his back pocket and held it in his other hand as
a secondary weapon. “You asked for this, god. One cut from this and the venom will leave you
paralyzed. My own special treat, you could say.”
Punch after punch, one dodge after another, the two clashed continuously. Bruises were
brought to the two beings faces until Carlisle at one point lets his ego take control. The god
brings his leg around for a forceful kick when Arcturus catches his ankle with his flaming hand
and brings the knife through his leg. The power behind his thrust brought the hilt to his leg
snapping the bone in half. Carlisle let out a loud painful scream. The star retracted his knife and
pushed his leg down bringing them eye to eye. Within seconds his fist hit was brought to
Carlisle’s face and the god went flying. At this point he was on the ground unconscious. His body
bruised, blood going down his leg and face.
“I will admit you put up a fight. However, you’re weak. You can’t even get up right now.
Do yourself a favor, stay there.” Arcturus laughed and placed himself over Carlisle. He held out
his hand and put it in the air as if he was holding something. At that point the sparkles went from
his skin and into his palm. They went up and up creating a bright sword that reflected everything
and shined as bright as a star.
“Nothing can kill you, but a little birdie told me that if the magic of a star brought you to
life, there it can also take that away from you.” He held the long blade over Carlisle’s body,
ready to bring it down. A bright flash came down from the sky. It was sparkling and orange.
Suddenly, a woman emerged from the light. She wore a black pantsuit. Her hair was down on her
shoulders and she had sunglasses resting on her forehead. It looked as though she had just come
from a meeting and was headed on her lunch break. She stared down at the gods body and waved
her hand. In a second, he was gone.
“Vega What the hell is your issue. You had nothing to do with this. Bring him-” Arcturus
was immediately cut off. Vega grabbed his arm and knocked the sword out of it. In an instant, it
vanished. She brought him into a bent over position and brought her knee to his stomach. She
twisted his arm up and punched him in his side then released him and kicked him in the chest.
The star flew into the thorny vine wall and hit the ground hard. She came back and picked him
up by the hair.
“If you even think about coming near this family for any reason, I will take you out of
existence just as quick as my husband put you into it. These gods are like my children, and if
 !33

anyone is ever going to put them out of existence, it will be myself and Galaxes. Understood?”
She held a smile the whole time. Her red lipstick was mesmerizing with every inch of that threat
she just spewed into his battered face. He let out a slight groan and then nodded. “Good, Now get
out of my fucking face.” She let go of his hair and grabbed him by the chest. She hoisted him up
with one arm and threw him at another wall. Before he could hit it, he formed into a ball of light
and vanished.

The projection ended and the light escaped Marcos eyes. He fell back off the bed. At that
moment Katrina came running in the room. She seemed worried and in a hurry.
“Mother I need to talk to - holy shit.” She stopped herself.
“Don’t just sit there Katrina help me he’s paralyzed. Something happened to Marco. Your
fathers leg is cut open. Seal it and it might help.” Melinda yelled. Katrina ran to the bed and
placed her hands on it. A glow of gold seeped into the leg wound sealing it back up. The blood
flowed back into the wound and the skin was brought back together. Carlisle shot up immediately
gasping for breath. Melinda tackled him back down holding him in her arms. She cried tears of
happiness into his shoulder.
“Dear I am okay, it’s alright. I am up and running again. Thank you.” He exclaimed. She
would not let go. He turned to Nathaniel and grabbed his hand. “My son, this could not be done
without you, thank you.” He nodded and released Nathaniels hand. Melinda released him and he
got up from his bed. He walked around to the side to see Marco unconscious on the floor at the
end of the bed. He knelt down and picked him up by the ear.
“Get up you useless child.” He tossed the boy on the bed. Immediately he woke up and
jumped back off. “What happened?” Marco asked panicked. “You are incompetent that is what
happened. You could barely heal my leg without passing out. Does the sight of blood frighten
you? Ridiculous.” Carlisle was angry and expressed it more and more with each word.
“Dear I don’t think you should be that harsh with him. He was drained because he
showed us what happened to you.” Melinda intruded.
“It doesn’t matter. I was stuck in a fight last night and even when I felt drained I kept
going. He is weak.” He yelled back.
“If by ‘kept going’ you mean you got a paralyzing knife in your leg and bludgeoned with
a fucking fist then yea, you’re a real trooper. You held out for a solid 10 minutes before he put
 !34

you down. Don’t ever call me weak after I just found out exactly what happened to you. Not to
mention if it wasn’t for Vega then you’d be dead. Didn’t you think of that?” Marco fought back.
He was coming closer to his father, step by step, word by word. His anger was now unparalleled
in the room. His power sky rocketing before all of their eyes. “I do one thing to try and fucking
help you and you treat me like I’m the scum of the earth. In reality if it were me in that fight I
would have thought about the strength difference and gotten both myself and Nimi out of there.
Never EVER tell me that I am useless. I am not useless. You call yourself a king and a leader of
the people. You’re nothing.” Marco stormed out of the room without looking back. Katrina
followed after him
“Well that was dramatic.” Nathaniel mumbled. “Yes very much so. The child is slowly
becoming less and less entertaining to me.” Carlisle exclaimed. Melinda stood up from the
couch. She approached the door but before leaving the room she stopped and said, “Dear you
should clean yourself up. You still look like a mess.” She did not face him or Nathaniel. “Marco
was right. You handled the situation poorly. If he killed you, he would have immediately come
here and threatened us as well. I don’t want to seem mad, I don’t want you to be upset-”
“Mother please you can’t side with the boy who was too weak to heal a stab wound.”
Nathaniel interrupted. She stood there quietly.
“This may be a kingdom to you and your son, but this right now is a family to me. And
until we can truly have them grow as a civilization and advance, we are far, far, from a
kingdom.” She started to take a step out the door before Carlisle stopped her. He turned her
toward him. “What do you mean your son? He is our son. He helped us create this planet-”
“Yes but that’s all we did. Carlisle, our children created life, they created rules and laws
to abide by. For fucks sake our youngest daughter was linked to their minds at the mental age of
six years old. The people in this room right now created a rock with one purpose and then
immediately assumed royalty as kings and queens after we did our part. Our daughters birthed
the things that walk this earth from the spark of magic in their hands. They all hold potential for
millions of purposes. Who knows what could happen in the future. Our son created laws that
they all abide by in order to achieve those purposes. That same son is treated as a pebble thrown
in the ocean by his own father and is stuck in the shadow of his older brother who shows
absolutely no interest in him. Yet the civilization on this planet praise him as their king because
he actually goes out and talks to them. Same with your daughters. Alyssa constantly keeps happy
 !35

for the sake of the people. We sit in out home, our garden, and do nothing. Yet you feel it’s okay
to assume authority over them as well.” Melinda pushed his hands off of her and left the room.
Carlisle walked out of the doorway to call her back as she walked down the hallway but by the
time he got there she had already rounded the corner, out of sight.

“Useless… Who the fuck does he think he is. I am no where near useless. I didn’t create a
rock and then sit on my ass in a garden for the rest of the time.” Marco stormed through
rosemary plants along the wall of his family garden on the south center of the planet. He came to
a nice area surrounded by flowers of multiple colors as well as trees and waved his arm. Roots
grew from the ground forming a chair to sit in partially in the shade and sunlight. He threw
himself in it and sat there to rest in anger. His head laid back to look at the sky and the other side
of the world.
“What’ss wrong?” A voice from the bushes hissed. Marco looked up to see a small snake
emerge from a rosemary bush. His small black scales shimmered in the light as he moved closer.
“Why are you talking? Nimi doesn’t even talk. What are you?” Marco was quick to
interrogate the creature. He sat up and inspected it as it slithered closer to him.
“I talk. Sso do you. It’s a funny little world we live in. Magic comes in the strangest
forms.” The snake responded.
“You’re magic… A talking snake.” Marco was intrigued yet his tone introduced sarcasm
to the conversation.
“Yes and you were born from two stars floating through space.” He gave a look of
disapproval, “Sarcasm goess both ways boy.” The snake slithered over to his feet and up the leg
of the rooted chair. He sat on Marcos arm coiling slowly but not braking eye contact.
“Who are you?” Marco asked.
“I am Eden. Who are you?” It responded.
“I’m Marco. Marco Anthony. Why are you in my garden? My sister didn’t create you.”
The god analyzed the snake closely. He placed his hand on his soft scales and gently stroked
down. The snake shook at the feeling.
“Thiss is my garden. I live here. These are my plants. They were grown for me.” He
responded. He gestured towards the trees and flowers. Then the rosemary bush where he
slithered out from.
 !36

“This is not your garden. My sisters and parents planted these plants to represent the
home of the gods.” Marco was defensive towards his family’s home. He picked up the snake and
placed him back on the ground.
“Exactly. I am the godss you built this for.” Eden lied to the boy. Marco put on a sinister
smile. “You know, snake, you shouldn’t lie about being a god when your talking to one..” He
said. His smile grew more so. “Isabella warned me about a serpent she burned out of existence
years ago. You just so happen to match the description. Why are you in my garden you slithering
little twit?” He gripped the snake by the neck and held it up high. Marco lifted himself out of the
root seat as they started pulling themselves back into the dirt. He walked in the direction go the
rosemary bush keeping eye contact with the snake. When they approached the plant, he waved
his hand and it sucked itself into the ground to reveal a small hole. Marco knelt down, Eden still
in hand, and placed his free hand over the space. He felt the earth moving as well as a connection
of tunnels through the garden, through the rose maze, under their home. It went everywhere. His
grip tightened around the snakes neck as he grew with rage.
“Have you been spying on my family?” Marco interrogated.
“No…I have not. Pleasse release me ssir I am sorry.” Eden pleaded, slowly losing breath.
“You should not be on this planet in general. My sister literally burned you. To death.
How are you alive?” Marco’s questions grew more intricate the angrier he got. Eden wiggled into
a more conformable position and widened his mouth. He bit down on Marco’s hand piercing his
fangs deep into his skin. The god flinched and dropped the snake. Eden slithered into his hole
immediately before Marco could catch him.
“You little shit!” Marco said while shaking his hand in pain. “Get back here!”
“You can’t kill ssomething that was created by the gods. We just keep coming back
sstronger than before.” Eden’s voice echoed from inside the hole.
“What do you mean we?” Marco asked nervously.
“Thosse who are created for Hell, come together to form Hell itssself. Have a lovely
afternoon, God of Time.” And with that the sound of the snakes voice grew quieter and quieter as
he slithered further under ground. Marco placed his hands over the hole. His veins started to
glow a bright red and then seemed to flush out underneath it. A sudden burst of heat flew back
into his face. Bright orange and red escaped through the tunnels now. As he looked around he
could see different parts of the garden erupting with flame.
 !37

“Come back from that.” Marco whispered.

“What the hell is going on in the garden?” Isabella flashed into her living room where her
mother and sister sat. At that moment Alyssa and Nathaniel ran into the room in a panic. “THE
GARDEN IS ON FIRE!” Alyssa yelled. Melinda got up from her chair and ran to the window.
The trees were lit up and the sky filled with smoke as the fires grew across the garden. Marco
Anthony was outside extinguishing one near the house. Melinda flashed outside immediately,
followed by the rest of the children. They met Marco fishing off one fire ready to move onto the
next.
“What happened?!” She asked her son. He turned to see his family surrounding him with
questions.
“No time to explain. Mother, you and Katrina take the rose garden fire. Make sure Nimi
is ok. Nathaniel, go with Alyssa and handle the Apple orchards. Isabella, come with me to handle
the fuchsia fountains. Put out the fires immediately. When you’re done I want you to find me the
body of a black snake. Let everyone know when you do. Now Go!” Everyone nodded and
flashed out. Isabella grabbed Marcos hand and instantly appeared in the Fuchsia Fountains: a
normally beautiful place where colors of purple, red, and green exploded out of the concrete
walls dropping flowers down like water to hang in a beautiful color. Fountains of flowers burst
out flowing down a colorful stream throughout leading into a lake in the middle. However right
now, the Fuchsia Fountains were engulfed in flames that took over leaving ashes behind. Isabella
and Marco waved their hands pulling water out of the lake. The water ran through the flames
extinguishing the destructive masses of death that it carried.
It was quick putting out the fires but the flowers had been destroyed. Ashes took place of
most life in that area, which meant a lot of magic was going to be used to Reb build it to be what
it once was.
“Where did the fires come from? They didn’t appear out of nowhere.” Isabella said.
“I did it.” Marco replied.
“How come? You destroyed most of our garden. Our garden that is 30 miles long and 11
miles wide. That was a lot of power for one little snake. And very unnecessary. Mom and dad
will actually kill you.”
 !38

“This wasn’t any snake. This was the one you supposedly burned out of existence years
ago. Eden.” Marco told her. Her face went blank. She stopped and stood where she was,
completely quiet. She immediately fell to her knees as though she was drained.
“That can’t be possible. I made sure-“
“Well obviously you didn’t do that well of a job with it.” He turned to see her on the
ground. Tears had filled her eyes as fear had overcome her body. “You know something, don’t
you Isabella? What is it. He seemed like a threat to me, but if he has you on the ground like this,
there must be something that I missed.” He sat down n front of her and grabbed her hands and
held them tight to remind her that he was there. “You can tell me.”
She looked up at him before wiping the tears away. “He is part of something brother.
Something that I know exists but I can’t piece it together. There is something big out there. It
isn’t soon, but it will definitely happen at some point. We can’t let that snake be alive.” She
squeezed his hands tight like they were balloons about to pop.
“Why not sister?” “Because he will destroy everything our family is working towards. He
will bring fire and death. We need to find his body.” She jumped to her feet. Placing her hand to
her neck. “Hello, have the fires been extinguished?” Isabella asked. It echoed over in Marco’s
head as if she was in there.
“The fires out on our end.” Melinda answered. “Same with us.” Alyssa responded. “What
caused that to happen? That wasn’t an ordinary fire.” Katrina asked.
“It was Marco, and he had good intentions to do so as well. If you ask me I don’t think it
was enough.” Isabella responded. All these voices echoed in Marco’s head with questions and
accusations behind them.
“What the hell is wrong with that boy?” Nathaniel yelled into their heads.
“He did what he could. Has anyone found the snake?” Isabella asked.
“No sign of it. Why is it so important?” Melinda responded.
“We will explain at the house.” Marco said.
“We haven’t found anything either.” Alyssa said.
“Yea we aren’t having any luck here either.” Isabella said. “We will see you guys in a
second.” She released her hand from her neck and grabbed Marco’s arm. The two flashed out
leaving the Fuchsia Fountains to grow back on its own.
 !39

The family met in the dining room over a feast which appeared when they entered. They
all gathered around the table and grabbed plates starting to pack them with food. Once everyone
was ready, they began their analysis of the situation.
“What happened?” Their mother asked, staring directly at Marco.
“After I left you and father, I left to go to the other side of the garden, get some space in
the rosemary fields. I sat down for a little bit and a snake came out. He said his name was Eden,
said this was his garden and when I said that we had made this as a garden of the gods, he
claimed that he was the gods that I was talking about, unaware that he was, in fact, talking to one
of the gods. I grabbed him and found his hole in the ground which he slithered out of. Apparently
it was connected to the main places of our Garden, the orchards, the rose garden, the fuchsias. It
went under our house. He bit my hand and escaped back into the tunnel. He said that Hell was
coming. The thing is that Isabella told me about a snake named Eden that she killed with the
same name and description. He said once a god creates life, it can’t be destroyed. So I did what
any of us would do to ensure the safety of our future. I decimated it, no matter the cost.”
“You destroyed our gardens, almost destroyed our family home. The cost was us.”
Nathaniel said. He seemed strict with his tone but Marco was prepared.
“The cost was nothing. We can’t die you idiot. Also if you took part in actually creating
our garden instead of sitting on your ass like you normally do, you’d know that the garden is
magic and grows back instantly and adapts to any threats it faces. That is why I am not nervous.”
Marco said. His voice was stern and he didn’t break eye contact with his brother. Everyone
turned their attention to Isabella.
“What about you sister? What do you know?” Katrina asked. Everyone was staring at her,
waiting for a response.
“It is the same snake we saw when we were forming the world. When Alyssa came to
Katrina and I as a young girl wanting to help. From what I can see in my head, from time itself, it
means something terrible will happen. Not now, not near future. It is far along. We have time to
prepare.” She started to cry, bring her hand up to wipe away her tears.
“Yes but what will happen dear?” Melinda pushed.
“It means death. Destruction. Whatever else there is. I knew it would come one day but I
didn’t think it would be so early in our lives. That is why I extinguished it, or thought I did, as
soon as possible. Time told me something and it wasn’t a good something. Please accept that as
 !40

my answer. I have no other.” She got up from her chair and illuminated her hands. A ball of light
appears in her palms and she tossed it in the center of the table. “That ball contains all the
information that time has shown me. I request that mother be the one to take it please. That’s all.”
She turned and left the room.
Melinda reached for the light and it entered her hand slowly. When she grabbed it fully
she opened her palm to show it sitting there. It absorbed into her veins as she took in the
information from it.
“Well she’s right. It is far in the future. Generations ahead. The people living on this
planet currently, will already be dead. However this one part doe not quite make sense. It speaks
of an eve, but I do not know what will happen that eve. We must be ready for it though.” Melinda
began to clean up her portion of the table, gathering her plate.
“Something comes to mind.” Nathaniel said. “Christmas Eve. Meaning night before
Christmas…what is Christmas?”
“The holiday in which people receive gifts from a man in a sleigh pulled by weird
animals? That can’t be right.” Marco responded.
“Unless it was something the day of Christmas. It might make sense.” Katrina said. She
started clearing her place as well. Alyssa spoke up abruptly. “It would make sense if it were in
the same time frame. Christmas is something trillions of years from now. If you’re going to pick
something from the future, shoot for a closer date.” She grabbed her plate and utensils and
brought them to the kitchen.
Nathaniel, Katrina, and Marco sat around the table. They shared looks of confusion
before picking up their things and bringing them to the kitchen.
“Whatever it is, we will deal with it at a later time. We have plenty of time as well to
ready ourselves and prepare for whatever it is that is coming for us. Can someone please tell
Isabella to come back down here and clear her place at the dinner table? I am going to go find
your father.” Melinda waved her hand and flashed out. Nathaniel ran upstairs to get Isabella