Melanie's POV

I knew something was wrong when Maria started acting…odd. She was quieter, and when I did get her to talk to me, she was colder than before. Eventually, I asked her what was wrong.

“Something is…different.” She murmured as I lay in bed, scrolling through social media. “Wrong, you could say.”

“Uh, yeah? You're being weird. That's why I asked.”

“Not with me! With them.”

That made me pause and set my phone to the side.

“With Alex and his—bleck—friends?”

“Indeed. I can feel a rift in my magic…what's bound them for so long. Something has changed.”

I sat up and glanced around; my poster of Barry Myles, my desk, my stuffed animals…everything seemed normal to me. But I wasn't the problem…for now.

“What should we do?” I asked her. 

“I need more information…but if you want to be safe, I would recommend we try and get rid of them now. Mattheus, especially.”

“But not Alex, right?”

“...Right. Of course not.”

“Okay, good.”

“Get some rest for now.” She commanded me. “We'll get started tomorrow.”

“Fine…”

I really didn't want to sleep; I was too curious. But if Maria had a plan, then I guess I had to trust her.

__________________________________

The next day, I was taking a walk and chatting with Maria over what she thought was happening.

“You don't think they found a way to lift the curse, do you?” I asked, kicking aside a rock that was in my way.

“No, but if we don't act soon, they might.”

“But that's never happened before! Why would it happen now?”

“I'm not sure. But if we act fast, we can prevent it…”

“...What happens if it gets lifted?” I stopped at a crosswalk.

“Pardon?”

“Well, what happens? Does the cycle of rebirth stop? Is rebirth the real deal without magic? Like, instead of the afterlife or whatever.”

Maria was quiet.

“Well?”

“I cannot answer that.”

“Why not?!”

“Because—wait. Look.”

“Look at wha…”

I turned and saw Mitch on the other side of the street; he was acting like a buffoon, spinning around and yelling.

“Ugh, what a weirdo—”

“MATTHEUS!”

Maria's booming voice startled me so bad I stumbled a little.

“That little—! No wonder I knew something was off—!”

“Huh?! What's going on, Maria?!”

“Pay attention to that imbecile!”

I squinted and watched him; after a moment, he stopped, back facing me, and kept…talking to himself.

…Uh oh.

“They can hear them now,” Maria hissed. “Just like us.”

“What do we do?!” I started to panic, but Maria snapped at me.

“KILL HIM.”

“How?!”

Mitch started off back the way he came; I quickly followed, but far enough back that he wouldn't notice me.

“Figure it out! You're smart! Besides, he's out in the open! It cannot be that hard!”

“Easy for you to say!” I clenched my eyes shut and tried to use my magic; unfortunately, I didn't know how to just make him explode…

…But I did sense a car nearby. Perfect.

“Help me out! If I can hack that GPS, maybe it'll run him over!”

“Splendid.”

I felt more magic surge through me; I tried to picture the GPS in my mind…and once I had it, I changed the direction to turn down this street.

When I opened my eyes, a car came wildly swerving in; but much to our dismay, Mitch fell back just in time to avoid getting hit.

“NO!” Maria boomed; a shiver went down my spine.

“It's okay! We'll get him next time!”

“You'd better!”

When I shivered again, she took a deep breath.

“I'm sorry, dear. I lost my temper. I'm just…a little panicked.”

“It's okay, I get it.”

I turned around and started walking home.

“Where are you going?”

“Let's go plan at my house!” I picked up the pace. “Sporadic bursts aren't gonna get us anywhere!”

“...I suppose you have a point.”

Hopefully, I could keep her calm enough to actually do so.