Ian:
He grunted, shoved my father aside, and held the dagger at .
"I am telling you the truth. I said no to the deal," I said to my brother, watching a tear roll down his eye.
"But he suggested it, and he would have done it. Because, let’s be honest, he is not wrong," he uttered, smiling softly, but in defeat.
"I have never done anything right. It is not like I am a good person," he continued, speaking very softly, causing my heart to ache for him.
"Because sooner or later, I would have shown you that I am not worth it," he continued. "That I am incapable of thinking right."
His body showed that he was going through imnse pain.
"But I would have stayed with you. I would have been right there with you. I would have made you change your mind, to do better, to do the best," I said.
As I continued, my brother shook his head, laughing a little at my words.
"It does not matter. Even you would have changed your mind. Because you are starting a new life with the perfect Clentine. You would have gotten tired of . And I do not bla you, because I would have done the sa."
As soon as Zian stopped speaking, he rushed at with the dagger.
I do not know why I could not stop him.
The dagger ca straight toward my chest.
Only the tip pierced my skin before Zian was suddenly pulled away from .
It was my father. He had wrapped his arm around Zian’s neck and dragged him back.
My father landed on the road, holding Zian’s neck from behind and locking his legs around his, not letting him get up from the ground.
"Ian, I am proud of you. Spend a good life with Clentine. Have kids and be happy. But please take care of your pack and finish the academy."
As soon as my father said this, I saw the monster, the Hollow Man, suddenly leap toward my father and my brother.
We had been so busy fighting each other that I did not realize when the monster had co so close.
Their blood splattered onto . Right in front of , that monster crushed them under its body.
For the first few seconds, I just kept watching. Then my throat started to tighten.
"No," I let out a small whimper, so faint that it barely registered in my own head.
Then I looked up and saw the monster starting to co toward . I was so numb that I forgot to move.
The monster approached and lifted its foot. I watched in silence, not moving, not trying to get away.
I just stood there, almost as if I had accepted what was coming, until sothing dragged back.
I was suddenly jolted awake as my body hit the ground hard. I looked up and saw Clentine holding tightly.
"Have you lost your mind?" she uttered as she got up and helped to my feet.
We watched the Hollow Man walk away because we were already deep in the woods, among the trees.
Her eyes shifted to the road.
There was almost nothing left of my family, just blood, crushed bones, and pieces of flesh.
The rest had been dragged away by the monster.
"Oh no, is it...?" Clentine asked, pointing toward them.
I nodded before dropping to my knees, crying hysterically.
"I am so sorry," Clentine uttered, wrapping her arms around and pulling into a tight embrace.
For the first few seconds, we both cried. Then I sniffled and looked at her.
"What happened to them?" I asked her, barely able to speak.
"Troy is still there, and I buried the stone. I am sure the others have done the sa," she said, pointing toward the sky.
I noticed the sky was growing darker, but there was sothing else too. Sothing was shifting.
"Co on, Ian, we have to go. Rember, the dark side is getting detached from the mainland," Clentine reminded , dragging backward toward the woods again.
As I moved forward, I suddenly stopped. Clentine felt the resistance and stopped as well.
"What happened? Why are you stopping?" she asked, watching with a frown.
"What is left? What is there to go back to?" I asked softly.
"I wanted to go back earlier because I thought my father needed , so that together we could bring Zian back to the right path and fix everything. But now I think about it, my brother is gone, and my father is gone. So what is the point of going back?"
As soon as I said that, I saw Clentine quietly staring at my face. It was the first ti I had seen her this confused.
She was probably thinking about what to say to make go with her. Then she began to shake her head.
"No, I will not let you do this to yourself," she snapped at .
"You have a pack. You have an academy. You have things to deal with back ho. You cannot just give up right now."
The mont she said that, I rembered what my father had told .
His last words were similar to what Clentine was saying.
He had entrusted the academy, the pack, our people, everything to .
He knew that once he was gone, the council would try to take control of the academy and keep it running.
"Now, if we are done talking, let’s go. We do not have ti," Clentine said, giving a sharp look as she grabbed my hand again and started pulling away.
This ti, I did not have the strength to pull my hand free. I knew she would get angry if I did.
So I followed her silently.
For a brief mont, I kept watching Clentine lead forward, and I realized how blessed I was to have her beside .
She knew what to do and how to control .
Instead of agreeing with every foolish thing I said, she was always there to counter it, to challenge , and to guide in the right direction.
As we reached the woods, near the sa spot where Troy was, I was t with another dreadful sight.
Rue stood there with a gun, pointing it at Troy, and then she turned it toward us.
"Glad you are here. Now get in line," she hissed.
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