Wings of Paper - Chapter 26

The Final Stand

I could practically feel Dee’s presence all around me. Haunting me. Like the air was filled with her and her conscience. I pushed the thought away. 

“Your sword,” Alex whispered to me. She was right next to me, I could feel her brush against my arm. I forced myself not to think about that either. I couldn’t afford distraction - and I needed to hurry. Kenzie versus Hux the dragon doesn’t seem like a fair fight. 

I he;d up my sword, the blade lighting up the shadows around me. We were in what seemed to be a long corridor. Paintings linde the walls, the canvas ripped in some places. I realized with a start that the pictures were of the heirs to the thrones all over the Kingdoms. Sadie’s father. Hiro’s father. Sadie’s brother. Hiro. Sadie. I shuddered. 

If Alex noticed the eerie decorations she doesn’t show it. I’m glad I turned back to save her because this is the ultimate haunted house and I would not want to be in there alone. 

“Where do we go?” Alex whispered to me as we crept along the hallways. The corridor split into a “Y” intersection, the passages sharing identical stone walls and pristine white carpeting. Except for the blood. 

I remembered the woman who was with Warrior Hiro, her voice catlike as she told me that Dee had Hailey. Dee wouldn’t be above torture either… 

“Follow the blood,” I decided. Alex gives me a quizzical look. “I know it sounds like something someone would do in a horror movie, but I bet it’s Hailey’s blood. I can’t let Dee hurt my sister.” 

“It’s probably a trap,” Alex warned me. “You’re playing right into Dee’s hands.” 

I didn’t care. What if this was some crazy reverse physcology thing where it actually was Dee and Hailey down the bloody corridor and she thought I would be suspicious and go the other way. I couldn’t risk Hailey being killed - I could imagine her terrified face as she didn’t know what was happening… 

I turned down the hallway with the blood drips. Alex gave an exhausted sigh but followed after me anyways. 

“If this a trap…” she began but she didn’t get to finish because I stopped abruptly and she ran into me. Alex cursed under her breath but I was too preoccupied by the wooden door in my way. I twisted the handle. The door came open. “Suspicious,” Alex muttered. I ignored her again. 

I stepped inside and immediately suppressed a gasp. Hailey’s straw colored hair was spilling over the side of a table. She seemed to be unconscious or at least asleep. 

“Luke, don’t do anything irrational,” Alex warned me with a hiss. Ha! Irrationality was my specialty. I took a hesitant step closer to the table. The corners of the room were deep with shadows and the walls were covered with dusty shelves. Apart from that I couldn’t make much out. Was it a cellar? A surgery room? A prison? 

“Hailey?” I whispered, edging closer to the table. Her fingers twitched and I at least knew she was alive. 

I took another step. And another. Something shifted under my foot. I crashed to the ground as something shoved into. “Hey!” I cried out in protest. My voice was drowned out by the sounds of movement. 

I glanced upwards, brushing myself off and then gasped. 

Hanging suspended in midair was Alex. Her mouth was opened as if she was trying to yell at me and her eyes were filled with panic. I spotted a pressure plate on the ground. Alex had been right - this was a trap all along. 

Silvery strands like spider silk began to emerge from the ceiling and the floor. I backed away on my hands and knees as the strands wrapped around Alex like a cocoon. 

Around and around they wrapped until Alex was completely covered. I felt guilt weighing heavily in my stomach. Alex had been trying to save me and help me - she didn’t have to be here. When I finally managed to stand I realized that it wasn’t even Hailey on the table. It was a mannequin like figure, her fingers twitching due to magic that caused her hair to appear shiny and her face lifelike. 

I silently cursed myself for being so stupid and irrational. 

A voice suddenly echoed in my head. I felt sick to my stomach as I stumbled away, trying to move as far from Hailey and Alex as possible. 

A figure appeared in the doorway. I ducked under the nearest thing I could find, which happened to be a stack of cardboard boxes. They were labelled in a language I couldn’t read. Magical runes? I didn’t have the time to figure it out. 

Dee practically strutted into the room. It was my second time seeing her in person and she was still unnerving in appearance. She looked so eerily similar to be that it was almost scary - but she was like a darker version of me. Alex’s words about doubt came rushing back to me. She had probably been right all along - Dee was my doubt that I had brought to life. 

Her dark dress dragged on the floor as she took her slow, measured steps. Her nails were painted black and I watched as she brushed the spider strands with her fingers. 

“Very curious,” Dee whispered. I shuddered at the sound of her voice. “My pets have caught the nonfictional girl rather than the Creator himself. How very selfish of him to let this girl die for him.” Was Alex dead? I didn’t think she was, but if what Dee was saying was true… 

She had to be lying. 

“The Creator must be close by,” Dee continued. She circled the table like a vulture would its prey. Dee was circling the wrong thing though - I was the prey, not “Hailey” and Alex. “Come out, little coward,” Dee prodded. “I know you’re in here.” 

I wisely kept hidden. I didn’t know if Dee would actually kill me - she didn’t know what would happen if I died. The world might be destroyed, not that Dee hadn’t already ruined it already. But everything could disappear if I wasn’t careful. Dee kept talking, trying to flush me out. 

She was on the other side of the room when I seized my chance. I bolted towards the door. Dee didn’t have time to react. 

My feet pounded on the floor and my heart drummed in my ears. I didn’t know the layout of Dee’s castle, but I knew that she would follow me until I stopped. She wouldn’t be expecting my sword of light … or would she. 

I round the corner at the “Y” intersection, going the opposite direction of the bloodstained carpet. Dee was on my tail, but she wasn’t running. 

“You can run but you can’t hide,” Dee called out. A bit cliche, but I hadn’t created her on purpose so I let it slide. Dee’s footsteps quickened as I upped my pace. I couldn’t run forever, but I didn’t need to. 

I kept making rights, running up staircases just as I had anticipated. Dee was oblivious to the fact that I could still manipulate this world. I changed the halls of the castle ever so slightly as I ran, rebuilding them so Dee would have even more trouble navigating. I hoped to gain an advantage. 

Just as I wanted, I rounded a final corner and skidded to a stop in front of a large door. It threw itself open for me and then slammed shut, locking with a click. 

Sharp wind met me with surprise but I picked my way across the slick roof of Dee’s castle. The tiles flattened to my will, forming an easily crossed path. All around me the bricks and stones whirred to life. 

Towers disassembled and the materials hovered in the air like a miniature tornado. 

One by one, the bricks and stones found their place in the room I was creating. Walls erupted from the roof around me and the tiles of the roof flattened to become a floor. Glass from previous watchtowers formed arched windows. The triangular roof peaked in the middle and from it dangled a precious chandelier. 

And then, just on time, Dee stepped into the room. She took a moment to admire my handiwork. 

Surprisingly, she brought her hands together in a slow clap and whistled. “Nicely done, Luke. I didn’t think you had it in you. But I suppose you can never truly lose all of your creativity.”

“This is the end,” I spat. “You’ve reigned for long enough.” 

Dee didn’t seem to register my words. She was admiring the glass windows and with a wave of her hand the glass became colored. Pictures of Darkness destroying villages surrounded me. I waved my own hand and the glass changed to pictures of sunsets and beautiful scenes. 

Dee snorted. “Is this really how you wish to fight it out? Changing murals?” 

I shook my head. Dee knew that I was anxious to fight and for that she would draw out our impasse for as long as possible. 

The glass shattered and I covered my head with my hands, dropping to the floor as shards of glass came rushing at me like a flock of birds. They fell to the ground with a loud clatter moments later. 

“You’re getting stronger,” Dee admitted. 

“And you’re growing weaker,” I attempted. It didn’t sound as good as I had hoped. Dee rolled her eyes. 

“Imagine how much better you could be if you let me help you,” Dee said. “This world is not fit for a king like you - but I can help. Let me recreate this world and we will rule it together.” 

I laughed. Was she offering me her help now? She had killed Hiro. And possibly Sammy and Sadie too. Dee frowned. 

“I’ll give you a choice,” she said, her voice slow and controlled though her eyes told a different story. “Agree to let me run this world by myself and I’ll let you go home. You know what, I’ll even let the two other girls go home as well. You won’t have to worry about creating something ‘bad’ ever again.” 

“And the other option?” 

“Die along with your friends. The two elves have already joined my ranks, and the mind reader will soon as well. I’ll take my chances with the world collapsing - if I can’t have it then no one can.” She crossed her arms as if the choice was obvious. 

I couldn’t say I wasn’t tempted. Leaving with Alex and Hailey meant living to see another day. I couldn find a better job or maybe keep writing for fun but never really for a purpose in case something like this happened again. And the cost? It seemed reasonable - I left Dee to destroy this world that would never be my home. 

But I couldn’t just let go of my dream. I pictured my father’s disappointed face as he looked down upon me. I saw Hiro’s panicked face as he turned to Darkness. I felt the failures weighing down on me like rocks. 

And hidden deep inside this baggage was a tiny bit of light. The fact that I did create. The fact that I did carry on through this. The fact that I didn’t give up when everything seemed lost. Because an author who finished a story was better than one who gave up. Better than one who didn’t even start writing. One that didn’t even try. 

Dee was waiting. When I met her eyes I no longer so myself in her face. 

I saw someone intent on destroying me. Someone intent on tearing me apart piece by piece. And that person would not be myself anymore. 

I charged Dee. Shock registered on her face and the color drained from her skin. She dodged my blade, skirts whirling and shifting into a dark, skin tight suit. Twin blades sprouted from her hands like nails and Dee lunged towards me. 

My blade met both of hers in a clash of sparks. I grit my teeth and pushed against her. She stumbled backwards and disappeared in a cloud of mist before I could strike her spot.

A sharp whistle pierced the air and two shimmering forms appeared in the corner. Alex was wrapping Hailey in a hug, covering the small girl’s eyes. Thick bars separated the two of them from Dee and I. 

Too late I realized that it was meant to be a distraction. Pain erupted in my side and I bit back a yelp, darting away and calling for the shadows to mask me from Dee. 

Her dark magic swords caused hate and doubt to seep into my wound. I could feel them taking over my mind like poison. 

You’re a failure. Why did you create me with no purpose? This world is disgusting. Failure. Failure. Failure. The word echoed through my brain and I stumbled away from Dee, narrowly avoiding another nearly fatal attack. 

“Luke, snap out of it!” Alex screamed. Her voice woke me back up. I pictured my side as full and healthy. I could feel the wound closing but played it like I was still injured. 

When Dee came in for another blow, I blocked it with my sword and spun around, slamming my hilt into her wrist. She gasped in pain, dropping one of her swords. I kicked it away and it clattered towards Alex. 

Dee ran at me again, more forceful this time as she attacked. 

Around and around we went. We took turns attacking, occasionally nicking the other person. Unfortunately, Dee wasn’t like the other Warriors and didn’t disintegrate on impact with my blade. Also, since luck wasn’t on our side, I was beginning to tire. Dee was not. 

She struck again, fast as a serpent. My blade skittered away. Dee leapt onto me, pinning me to the ground. Her eyes gleaming with ferociousness I had never seen before. 

Well, this is the end, I thought to myself. Killed by my own creation. 

“Luke,” Alex called out. 

“Silence,” Dee ordered, but Alex had distracted her sufficiently. I used my legs to slam into Dee’s back and throw her off of me. She fell to the floor and dissolved into a pool of Darkness. I ran to grab my sword but Dee was already there. 

I couldn’t forget her grin as she picked up my sword and snapped the blade. Bright white light shot from the broken blade, spiraling into the sky from which it had come. 

And that was when I knew that all hope was lost. I had no blade. 

“Luke!” Alex screamed again. “Ribbon!” I was confused, but Dee was distracted for the moment in an attempt to gag Alex. I took the opportunity to launch myself at her, throwing a punch. Dee darted out of the way just in time. 

“Ribbon!” Hailey yelled as if she knew what was happening. 

And then I understood. Back when we were at Sadie’s castle I had created the ribbons that could turn into swords. 

While Dee was attempting to gag Hailey, I pulled the ribbon at my wrist. It shifted into a silvery blade. Dee spun back to me, surprised to see a weapon in my hands. She bolted away but I was following quickly. 

And this time I wouldn’t let her get away. I used my imagination. 

I caught up to Dee in a matter of seconds, pinning her against the wall with my newly enhanced strength. If she had been expecting that she certainly didn’t show it. 

“Please,” Dee pleaded as I pressed a sword against her neck. “Show mercy.” 

I snorted. I wasn’t likely to show mercy to someone who had just tried to kill me. But I also wasn’t one to mindlessly slaughter others. 

I tossed my sword away. I could hear Alex and Hailey attempting to yell at me through their bonds and the gags. But I had a better plan. Dee’s eyes widened as I released her. She crumpled to the floor, gasping for breath. 

Just as I had expected, she went to attack me again. But I was ready.

In my mind I pictured her imploding in a cloud of dust, never to be seen again. And I knew my imagination alone wasn’t enough to conquer Dee so I focused on every compliment I had ever been given. 

Dee’s face was panicked as she felt her feet disappear. For a mere second her face shifted back into mine, but then she was gone. The dust blew gently in the wind. 

The wind? I had thought we were inside but the Darkness was quickly consuming everything. Even Dee’s castle wasn’t safe anymore. The walls of my makeshift chamber were collapsing around me, disappearing in the wind. 

Arms wrapped themselves around my neck. I whipped around to see Alex at my side and Hailey sobbing as she gripped my waist. “I thought you were going to die!” 

“Well, I didn’t,” I responded softly. Quite frankly, I was still feeling impressed myself. 

“Luke, I don’t mean to ruin the mood but…” Alex’s voice trailed off. I knew what she was talking about. I glanced around at the world destroyed by the Darkness. I had hoped that by destroying Dee that the Darkness would disappear. But the damage was done. 

Suddenly, the castle under our feet shifted. It crumpled to dust under us and we slid until we hit the ground. Alex helped Hailey to her feet. The sky was black now. 

A figure came rushing at us from the shadows. I recognized a bloody and battered Kenzie. Blackened blood poured from wounds all over her. And then she wrapped her arms around my neck and sobbed into my shoulder. I held Kenzie for a few minutes, ignoring the awkward looks from Hailey. 

“Luke,” Kenzie whispered as she pulled away from me. “Please recreate this world.” 

“I can save it…” I protested weakly. I knew there was nothing I could do for this world. No saving. 

Kenzie shook her head sadly. “Keep writing.” 

“Keep fighting.” 

“Luke, what’s going on?” Hailey asked, her voice quiet and weak. I closed my eyes and pictured a portal. There was an audible pop and the whirling colors appeared in front of us. 

Alex stepped through the portal first. And then Hailey. 

I sent a last look at Kenzie. She looked so alone. The last Fictional left in the ever collapsing world of my creation. 

And then I stepped through the portal, closing it behind me. 

Author's Note

How was the fight scene? I feel like the end was a bit short...