What would you choose?

Chapter Twenty-Six

"Autumn you need to choose now. They're coming. Hurry!" Aiden shouted, "the devil's awake." Aiden and Luka tried to hold the door shut but the devil easily kicked it open which sent Luka and Aiden flying. Aiden hit her head and got knocked out, I could see blood pouring out. "Aiden?" I shouted, worried.

Luka crawled over to her, "she's got a pulse."

"Thank god." I replied. Luka sat up and winced in pain as he grabbed his side. "You okay?"

"I'll be fine."

"You'll be dead soon," the devil said as he walked in. "You won't be in pain for much longer. I'm going to enjoy killing you." My uncle smirked.

"I'm not going to let you hurt either of them," I shouted.

"And how do you expect to stop me?" My uncle laughed. I have no idea how. What am I supposed to do? He could defiantly sense my fear. He terrifies me. It's the man who haunts my life and the monster that haunts my dreams. I'm never going to be able to stop him. My uncle started charging towards me. I quickly reacted and used telechensis combined with fire to hold him back. It's working but I won't be able to hold him forever. I can feel my power draining. What Jay said kept replaying in my mind. What did he mean? Each floor is one of my fears, I understand that but why would we tell me? Clearly, it's more important than I'm realising. He also said this floor is my biggest fear and my personal hell but I can't think what that could be. My uncle's the horror of floor eight so what could be the horror of floor nine?

I'm still forcing the devil back but getting weaker by the second and still no closer to figuring out the answer. "You two need to get out of here, I can't hold him for much longer" I shouted.

"No. We're not leaving you. You're not alone anymore. You're our friend and friends don't leave friends behind. Jay's right, you're stronger than you think and I've seen it over and over again. You're strong enough to defeat him. I believe in you." Luka encouraged.

"That's it!" I shouted.

"What?"

"I know what to do. These are my fears. No one else's. Mine." Jay and Luka are right, I'm more powerful than I think. Even without my powers I'm still strong. I've dealt with so much in my life and I'm still here. I survived. My uncle has the power because I gave it to him. I fear him which gives him power over me. No more. I'll not give him the power anymore. I stopped using my magic. I stood up straight looking my uncle dead in the eye. He started charging towards me. "I'm not scared of you anymore! You don't control me and you never will again. I'm the one with the power not you. I've faced all my fears in this tower and over come every one of them including you. I don't fear you anymore. I've even overcome my biggest fear. The fear of floor nine. Being alone. But I'm not alone. I have my family in my heart and friends by my side. I'm not alone anymore. I will not let you hurt my friends. I will not let you hurt me anymore." My uncle's now inches away. "I'm not afraid!" I screamed at the top of my lungs.

My uncle was about to attack when he slowly started to shrink. He kept getting smaller and smaller. "What's happening?" Luka asked, confused.

"My fear gave him strength but I'm not afraid anymore and I'm not alone anymore, I have you guys. You lot give me strength." My uncle's now the size of a mouse. "You're the weak, pathetic one now." I stated. I've overcome my fears and stopped my uncle. The devil will no longer be able to haunt my dreams. Now all that's left to do is destroy the crystal and set things right.

I turned around to face Luka and a slowly awakening Aiden. "What happened?" Aiden said, dazed and confused.

"Autumn did it," Luka answered.

"And now it's time to say goodbye." I added, "you'll wake up home safe and with your families and with no memory of what happened."

"I wish there was another way. It's not fair that you have to die," Luka said.

"Goodbye." I grabbed the dream gem and smashed it on my uncle. The second the dream gem shattered the room started to crumble away. Aiden and Luka vanished. I may be about to die but I'm happy I was able to fix things. My dream world should've never became a reality but I'm glad it did. I made some unlikely friends, managed to stand up to my uncle and got to say goodbye to my family. These last few months have been the best months of my life and I wouldn't exchange it for anything. "Goodbye world." Suddenly, the entire room vanished and everything went blank.