The Pens of Fate [2](Saga remastered) {Jun.27, 2023}

Note from the Author

This book contains and mentions sensitive material relating to mental illnesses, several personality disorders, suicide, suicidal thoughts, post-traumatic stress disorder, murder, death, alcoholism, self-harm, and depression. Reader discretion is highly advised and it is important to practice self-care during and after reading. There is foul language, substance abuse, multiple types of abuse as well. Some of the events, people, and timelines are based on true aspects of my life, so keep a clear mindset.

We all had a childhood, either it was good or bad, everything had to happen for one reason or another.

 I hope you can play nice with the demons hiding in the sandbox, waiting for you to grow out of your childhood. They are hiding in the shadows of the playground, waiting for fresh prey. And I will be there too, watching you grow. Will you play the demons or will you leave your past self alone at the park? I will extend my hand to guide you on this journey of fear, the real question is if you will take it or not...

The October evening breeze blew through the crisp leaves that littered the pavement. The leaves made a soft crunch as a group of teens passed by. As the group progressed forward one of the teens slowly fell behind the others. As the teen’s wheelchair rolled over the dying leaves, the boy’s mind drifted into the past and left him dazed. One of the members of the group looked back to find the boy just sitting in the middle of the sidewalk. 

So his ‘ritual’ took over sooner than expected, the girl thought to herself as she walked behind her best friend’s wheelchair. The girl continued to think to herself as the corner of her eye landed on her friend’s name tag; Ashton Winger was written in glossy ink with a bland border. His matched her own name tag that read Tina Willer. Tina tried to start a conversation with her friend, but she knew it was useless when he got into these states of personality numbness. Tina sighed as she pushed Ashton’s wheelchair on their way to the nearby children’s center… 

Ashton is the student body president of Phoenix Mountain High School and a part-time employee at the center. Dream jobs come easy to some teenagers, but that’s not the case for him. For Ashton, it is harder because he lost his ability to walk when he was five years old trying to save a classmate from an abusive situation. But when he couldn’t save her, the girl’s abusive mom ran him over in retaliation to him calling the cops and CPS on her. She was put in jail, but after the death of his classmate, Ashton was diagnosed with depression and suffers from PTSD from being under those tires. He tries to have a positive outlook, but the past still haunts him. His PTSD will happen  without the triggers, which confused many doctors. So Ashton tried to cope with the past by letting the thoughts play over and over again. Hoping for a way that there was another way to save his classmate…  

December 3rd, 2006

Ashton’s mother held his hand in hers tightly as the winter wind tried to nip at his little five-year-old nose. The weather was pretty bad even though he had multiple layers on. The snow reflected the red and blue lights from the cop cars across the street from him and his mom. The scene in front of Ashton wasn’t like anything that he had seen in the cartoons. Cops were rushing around looking for the reason they were there. Two officers had come out of the little rundown house with a woman screaming and barking at them. 

The woman’s appearance was that of what Ashton thought a corpse would look like; pale-ish gray skin and her bones in her cheeks appeared to be right under a very thin layer of skin. Ashton’s mom muttered under her breath about drugs, but that word wasn’t familiar to him. 

The woman was still shouting to be released when her faded green eyes landed on the boy across the street from her; Ashton. The woman snapped and went farrell.

“YOU FUCKING BRAT, YOU DID THIS! I’LL KILL YOU!”

As soon as those words left her lips, Ashton felt his mother’s hand tighten around his. Ashton didn’t really understand any of the woman’s fits of rage. All he wanted to know was if She was safe. As the cops put the woman into the back of one of the cars, Ashton pulled away from his mother. He couldn’t nor did he want to listen to the adults around him, telling him to get back. Why he didn’t was simple; he saw a dark figure moved around the corner of the house. 

He turned sharply as an officer ran after him, and that was when he saw the footprints in the snow leading to a locked shield. The shield looked terrifying to the young child but he couldn't figure out why until later. 

The cop saw the shield as well and motioned to one of his nearby co-workers to take Ashton back to his mother as he slowly approached the door. Ashton continued refusing to move as the cop rushed the door open. 

The cop immediately ordered his coworker to get over to him and radio for an ambulance. Ashton just stood in the cold as his eyes looked past the two cops. The body of a small girl was curled up on the wooden floor…   

Adaline watched the little boy’s expression become cold. As their brown eyes reflected the lights of the oncoming ambulance, they opened their book again to return to their own world… 

Adaline stepped into the room where two people were already waiting for them. Their boyfriend sat in front of the laptop while the second person, a taller girl in cozy sweats, looked confused at Adaline. 

Adaline locked eyes with the girl, “What’s up, V? You look like you want an explanation.” The girl called V nodded and started to pace.

“Why did you go back that far in time just to lead a boy to a dead body? Wouldn’t it be easier to, oh I don’t fucking know, go BACK TO WHEN YOU LOST THE DAMN PEN OF DEATH?!”

Adaline sighed, “Unfortunately, I am not a god. I cannot control when or where my portals open up with this world. And I showed  someone who I think will make a great asset the truth. So stop fucking yelling at me.” 

TO BE CONTINUED