Hopelessly Broken

34. Take 2

6.01.20

Devon's POV

"Hello!?" I screamed for the fifteenth time, but nothing came of it. My lungs were being squished slowly, and I couldn't see anything. My skin was turning numb in the cold, so I began to wonder... Is this what death feels like? Am I going to be floating in darkness for the rest of my days?

I allowed myself to lean back and slowly drifted through the thick darkness weightlessly. The jelly like consistency hugged me tightly, and I was about ready to resign. There's no use in fighting... "This is my fault." Jack's voice alarmed me, and I sat up to look around for him. Nothing showed, and I wanted to scream. Why? What did I do to deserve this death? It isn't Jack's fault, so why does he think that?

I want to get up. I want to pretend like this was all just a horrible dream. I want to tell Jack that none of this is his fault, but I can't. It's impossible. My heart doesn't beat anymore.

"We tried, Devon... I don't know if you can hear me, but you need to believe in yourself. Trust you can make it out, and follow my voice." It was something my father was saying to me, so I assumed he knows something I don't. I started to trust not in myself, but that he knows what he's talking about. I can get out of here! The man above me was rambling on about who knows what, but I was just following the sound.

Suddenly, I went to take another stroke upwards, and my hand emerged into open air. I slid my other arm out before dragging my head through the hole with a pop. As it turns out, I was underneath the meadow I had first met my wolf in. Once my shoulders were through the ground, the rest of my body slid out like butter, and I found myself free of the suffocating darkness.

Through the tranquil air, I heard the eerie howl or Sebastian, and I tried to walk towards him. However, my right leg just straight up wasn't working, so I ended up dragging myself across the dirt. Finally, I saw my wolf on the horizon, and I finished my trek by collapsing beside him. That was the first time he noticed my presence, so he began prancing around me while sniffing. "I didn't know you were supposed to be here!"

"I wasn't. At least... I don't know. I was stuck in the ground a few minutes ago. I had to get myself out." Suddenly, a voice behind us breathed my name, and I spun around to see someone I never knew when I was alive. "Who are you!?"

"My name is Julia Winters. I'm your grandmother."

"Why are you here? Why am I not dead?"

"Stand up."

When I tried to follow her order, my leg was still not working, and I would have fallen over if Sebastian wasn't beside me.

"You are very important to the world, dear. I may have wreaked havock on the lives of your father and grandfather, but as of right now, that is unimportant. You have a job to do, Devon Jackson Quinn, but you still have a choice. I can send you back to fulfill your earthly duties, or you can truly die and face whatever occurs after you pass on. Chose very wisely, young one."

"You say I have a job on earth. If I go back, will I still have Sebastian?"

"Of course. If you go back, your life will be anything but peaceful, but if you don't, the world will die."

"I... I can't sacrifice all of those people just for my own comfort. Send me back."

"Very well. You have a very large heart for someone your age; don't let others take advantage of it."

Her hands touched my forehead, and I found myself spinning through time and space. Suddenly, I was shot back into my body, but I still wasn't breathing. Not yet.

"Are you sure that using whatever weird wolf magic you have on him will be helpful?" Jamie's voice sounded all nasally, and it was obvious she had ether been crying or was currently.

"Not sure, but hopeful. He's a strong boy, ma'am."

"Alex~ I'm bored!" A male voice complained while footsteps came down the stairs, but I heard the exact same voice gasp. "What happened? Is he your son, Jamie?" It sounds like Dan's– well, my– other father.

"Ash there's something I need to tell you. I wanted to tell you before, but I was too ashamed of what I had done."

"Anything."

"Dan... Dan wasn't our only child. I never got the chance to tell you that I was having twins before we were separated. It was stupid, but I couldn't handle them both on my own... I had to give one of our children away."

"And based on the context, this is our other child."

"Yes."

"I think we're going to have to work together to save him."

"You don't hate me?"

"Never, baby. I couldn't hate you."

Suddenly, my lungs began to burn with the need for a breath, and I jerked up into a sitting position while coughing my lungs out violently. "Get the others, he's awake."

Jamie ran out of the room, and I realized that we had moved into a nice master bedroom. "How long?" The croaking of my voice made me sound like one of those "I've been smoking for 60 years" commercials, and I was immediately shushed.

"Don't worry, you've only been out for two days. Nothing much has changed except Dan realizing what he had done. An evil spirit had gained control over his mind– our family is pretty susceptible– and he was unaware of his actions. He wanted to apologize to you when you woke up."

"It's fine. I knew he wasn't exactly him; there was a blaring different between him while I was in the hospital and him a few days ago."

Suddenly, the door was flung into the wall, and I had the impact of a sobbing Jack on my chest. "I wa-was so-so-so sca-scared. I-I did-didn't want t-to-to lose yo-you." I sat up despite my father's complaints and hugged Jack's body tightly while he balled into my shoulder. His fingers knotted up into my shirt, and I guess this is the first time I realized how much I meant to him. "Never die again, you hear me?"

"I'll do my best, Jack."

"You won't try, you'll do. Next time I'll save you instead."

"Jack I don't think that's how it works. Fate is a strange force."

"I can try, Dev. We've got each other's back."

I layed back on the bed, and he crawled up closer to the top. His arms curled around my neck, and I felt my face heat up. Why am I blushing? I can't like him, he's my brother. I mean, we aren't related, but...

I let my own hands join behind his waist, and I could hardly hear the adults over all the focus I have on the boy in front of me. By the time he studied me with his pale blue eyes, I had forced my blush down. His black hair was brushed down into his eyes, and I reached up to rub it out of his face. "I won't leave you again."

"You'd better not, bully."

Happy Pride month my beautiful readers, and stay safe out there :)