The Curse of Cain (part 6)

Susan Eval, an eight-year-old girl with light copper hair, was shy and was the younger sister of the original Ethan Eval. Her heart may have been the heart of a fairy tale princess for she was kind and pure. She liked to think that she was born to be Ethan’s light in life. Ethan, her older brother, was dark and cold-hearted, but in the eyes of a young sister Ethan was smart and brave for he did not fear death. In fact, Ethan enjoyed death as if it were a game. Susan knew her brother well and could see the words that made him. She saw what her world was; a story. She saw words everywhere and she was okay with that, but that night her world came to a sudden stop... 

She stood above his body in horror. She bolted out of his bedroom and down the stairs where their parents sat watching TV. Susan’s knees gave out beneath her as her Dad rushed to catch her, “Susan!” She tried to breathe but it felt like someone was shredding her throat with a razor. The TV was still on and a breaking news headline appeared on the screen. The lady was wearing a gas mask when the camera came on, “A new pandemic has come out of nowhere and has already wiped out hundreds of people. The government has asked that people still inside with the windows closed and not turn on the taps. They haven’t figured out where the virus came or how it moves, so be aware and stay safe.” Susan couldn’t make sense of any of this; her big brother is dead and upstairs, the world’s population is slowly dying down to almost nothing, and everything around her started to lose its color. Breathing at this point was too painful; Susan had to hold onto her mother for support. Then the lights went out... 

Adaline stood in a blank world. This wasn’t the landscape she had written all those years ago. The hills shot up like knives and the air was crisp and brutal. The world had completely been wiped of all humanity. Adaline walked over to rock and sat down, waiting for Ethan to show up. She was going to end this once and for all, she thought as her grip tightened around the Devil’s Pen... 

The group found themselves in a forbidding world. The nearby buildings were worn down and smelt of decay. Zack’s eyes moved quickly around his surroundings, “I don’t like this.” The girl fixed her bandages, “Ethan killed someone that this world depended on. Each world has to have a problem, otherwise they would all be like this, and would eventually fade away,” she said as she pointed to a fallen power line pole. The pole had lost its color and had started to melt as she continued, “If Ethan tries to solve the conflicts by killing we will all die.” Krystal turned to the others with a worried look in her eyes, “That would affect us, right? B-because we are real, right? RIGHT!?” Angel’s face lost its color, “You would be fine, but Adaline wouldn’t be,” she said grimly. Dan and Maddie pulled Zack aside and away from the others, “Should we tell them that you were the one who wrote us, not Addie?” Zack shook his head, “You guys would be here if I had never met Adaline. She was the one who took you to the next level. Without her, you two would be just ink on paper.” Maddie nodded, “She may not be our mom or our creator, but she is still family.” Damian called out, “HEY, I SEE SOMETHING!” pulling the three of them out of their meeting to look up. Ethan had stepped out a portal a few yards away...

Ethan looked in disbelief at the world around him. Adaline just sat and watched his reaction, “This is what happens without evil.” Ethan shook his in denial, “No, this is not what I wanted!” Adaline kept a distance between them so Ethan couldn’t see her writing on her arm. The wolf paw print now had a bible verse in it, Genesis 4:1–18, and the word “wanderer”... 

The girl saw Adaline writing and grabbed Zack’s arm, “WE NEED TO GET THAT PEN AWAY FROM ADALINE, NOW!” They all bolted towards Ethan and Adaline... 

Ethan and Adaline both had looks of shock when Zack approached them, leading the others. Adaline dropped the pen and charged at Ethan, tackling him to the ground. She looked up towards the sky and mouthed something...

Tina sat across from Ethan at lunch. It had been two weeks since Adaline had vanished from both the real world and the world that had been almost wiped out due to Ethan. Something inside of Ethan changed that day. When Adaline tackled him, his heart had more love in it now. His eyes were brown now and he had a Bible verse on his wrist even though he had never read the Bible. Zack pointed it out when Ethan came to. Zack, Damian, Katrienna, and Krystal were the ones that Adaline’s disappearance affected the most. They took turns going through each world searching for her. Everyone slowly returned to their own world to attempt to get back to normal life and hoped Adaline would show up on her own. Zack kept replaying that last moment... 

Adaline looked up towards the sky, fighting back tears, and mouthed “I’m sorry” as a blinding light stopped everyone in their tracks. After blinking for a few seconds, Zack saw the last of his best friend... 

Somewhere unknown, a girl sat in the dark, her lime green eyes glow as she watched a camera monitor. There was a girl on the other side of the screen chained to a wall. As the green-eyed girl went to inch her arm, a masked figure walked into the room. “Ma'am, the preparations are ready.” He said as she pulled her sleeve over a wolf paw tattoo with the word "wanderer" in the middle of it. “Perfect. Now it’s time to find the next devil’s spawn.” She stood up as he turned to leave but he hesitated, “Ma’am? What does that tattoo mean?” She smiled sweetly, “It is the curse of Cain, the wanderer in Genesis.” ... 

This is the end of book 2.