Seeing Althea's eyes Adam gaped his mouth and took a step back, even instinctively pulling out his gun.

  Charlie broke to another growl as he stared at Althea.

  Adam tried to understand what had happened, Kate who was a few feet away from them seemed to notice what was happening as well.

  “Why?”

  Althea asked innocently.

  Instead of replying Adam took another step back, he seemed to be unable to form any words to reply.

  To his surprise, the worried look on Althea's face disappeared and was replaced by laughter, echoing throughout the shore.

  Adam gripped his pistol tighter, something was wrong he thought.

  “I guess it doesn't work thrice”

  Althea said with a smile.

  Adam tilted his head before replying.

  “What do you mean?”

  “Oh? I thought you knew already, you instinctively moved away”

  Althea slung the bow to her shoulders and crossed her arms with a smile on her face that reminded them of-.

  “Nolan?” Kate asked.

  “Correct, but also wrong,” replied Althea.

  “See, i have been Nolan” Althea used air quotes when she spoke the name.

  “I have also been-”

  “Kiel?” Kate once again interrupted Althea who broke into a smile once more.

  “It would be great if you would stop interrupting, but yes you are correct”

  Adam froze upon his realization, everything seemed to click in place. Nolan's sudden change in behavior, Kiel having black eyes originally before he met him but would that mean-

  “I have been with you all this time, yes”

  The person spoke with Althea's voice and appearance and yet it was way different than Althea the same way when Nolan acted all strange.

  “But don't think that Kiel wasn't real- No he very much was, you just never met him- instead you met me”

  As Althea spoke these words she turned his back on them and started walking to Nolan’s dead body.

  After reaching Nolan he kicked his head and swore to herself.

  “This guy annoyed me so much, i could still that freaking crystal at my eye”

  So Nolan was right?

  Adam remembered back then Nolan told them that he was doing them a favor, that there was something wrong with Kiel. He never believed how a boy could be what Nolan thought he was. Adam assumed it was because of the grief that Nolan acted that, grief of losing Beth.

  “Does that mean you're the reason why Beth died?” Adam asked, gripping his gun tighter.

  “Also, correct- i tried to convince her at first but the girl was insistent on not using guns, i had to do it myself to attract the greys in the area”

  This book was originally published on Royal Road. Check it out there for the real experience.

  This time Althea crouched and plucked out the knife out of Nolan’s back, wiping the blood using her fingers.

  “Althea? Is that really no longer you?”

  A voice of an old woman spoke, Althea turned around and saw that it was her own mother.

  Althea immediately hid the knife to her back and stepped closer.

  “Mom?”

  Her expression seemed to change, the confidence was gone and was replaced by fear. Just then Elena quickly approached her daughter to hug her, Adam shouted to stop her but the lady simply ignored it.

  Mother finally arrived to hug her daughter, wrapping her hands around Althea.

  Adam was watching as Elena approached Althea, he had his pistol raised but his hands was shaking and his brain was telling him not to pull the trigger, convincing himself that it was still Althea in front of film

  Just then Althea used his other hand to embrace Elena and used the other to quietly stab her at his neck.

  Blood gushed out of the mother’s neck, There was no scream, no struggle. Elena simply looked at Althea while touching her neck and slowly falling to the ground.

  Just as she did, Althea pulled out the knife and turned back to the rest of the group with a smile.

  “So to answer the question- No, Althea is gone”

  Adam raised his pistol once more, however his hand kept shaking, unable to take aim. Kate on the other hand was still heavily injured and didn't have her rifle.

  “Just what are you?” she asked.

  “Something you won’t be able to comprehend, something greater”

  “So everything that you told us when you were still Kiel was a lie? What's the point?” Adam asked, his voice also shaking.

  “No, no, not at all- he had a brother only he wasn’t missing”

  “What do you mean?” Adam asked.

  “Well, his brother was at their house, buried in the garden, turns out they work best as fertilizers, you should have seen the crops- actually you got potatoes from there weren’t you? Kate? you had better memory than me”

  Althea answered with a smile, the burn on her cheeks seemed to change into grey skin, crawling down to the side of her neck.

  “What? did you kill him?” Kate asked.

  “Me? Kill? of course not what do you think of me- the boy did it himself”

  “You mean Kiel?”

  “Yes, exactly- see, His brother was the first one that i got, but im quite unsatisfied, that’s until when i saw he had a little brother which i thought i could kill but then i figured that the boy would be, how do i say this- more suitable, but to change body, the former one had to die”

  “So you just made him kill his own brother?” Adam took a step back, the way whoever it was that was speaking had sent shivers to his spine.

  “Hey, its harder than it looks, i tried beating him up and all but he just kept crying not wanting to hurt his older brother- of course survival instincts would eventually kick in and he managed to kill him after some time”

  Althea took a step forward, she was speaking so plainly that one might mistake her for telling a children’s story if they couldn't hear her.

  “Then- how did you get the older brother’s body” Kate asked, she had slowly approached Adam’s side.

  “That might be a little more complex than you could understand, you know all those shooting stars you saw? well that’s me, shattered to millions of pieces all over the world, they tried to kill me but guess what? im alive”

  “Who?” Kate asked once more.

  “See? I told you it would be too complex, but if I were to answer your question as simply as possible I'd say someone who's dead.”

  The gears in Adam’s head started turning, until a thought finally passed through his mind. Nolan said something about the wish.

  About being careful of what he wishes and just at the corner of his mind he remembered something.

  The night those green shooting stars rained the earth he made a wish, to let people around him show what they truly are.

  Did that wish really caused this? Was everyone's true self nothing but monsters? If yes then why are they still normal? Why have they not turned yet?

  “You're a monster,” Kate declared.

  “No”

  “I’m the father of monsters-”

  “But in this body I guess mother would be more appropriate? Both seemed too long and I want to already forget my true name, so I need something- A little different.”

  She took another step towards the group.

  “I would create my own kingdom, filled with creatures of your worst nightmare with that I would no longer be an outsider, nevermore-”

  Althea seemed to pause to think.

  “I liked the sound of that, Nevermore”

  Said Althea crossing her arm while thinking.

  “That still doesn’t answer the question why would you need me” Adam asked, sweat was now trickling down his forehead.

  “I think that would be too early to answer that, who knows maybe you figure it out yourself”

  “Is Althea really gone?” Kate interrupted.

  “Kate? I- I don't know what was happening, there’s something inside my head I…”

  Althea started clutching his head and pulling her hair as she crouched. Kate was about to take a step forward when Althea peeked from one of her hands and spoke.

  “Kidding”

  Althea smiled and stood up.

  “You’re pretty dumb for someone with a photographic memory, I told you she’s gone, and all of you would be next”

  “What’s stopping you then” Adam argued, as he said this the smile on Althea’s face disappeared, she looked at Adam’s eyes and spoke

  “What’s stopping me? NOTHING-”

  She paused.

  “you asked a while ago why i kept Kiel and pretended to be on your group, well cause its fun”

  The smile on her face once again returns.

  “Watching you hope and seeing the same hope crumbles down to pieces makes my heart race, Nothing was stopping me, you all are just my entertainment"

  Adam was unable to reply, his heart was beating fast as he felt hopeless, he had a loaded gun in his hand aimed directly at the cause of everything he had ever suffered and yet- he could not pull its trigger, the monster that caused the disaster wore the face of someone he cared deeply, he still had a small hope, that there could still be some part of her left but he deep inside he knew otherwise.

  “So, if you wouldn't fire that i’ll take my leave”

  Althea said with a smile.

  “I thought you said, you need Adam? Why would you leave? and what about the talk about being something greater? Now you're escaping like a coward.” Kate taunted.

  Althea moved towards them, with a smile.

  “Well, unfortunately this body isn’t that suitable for combat unlike the former- it had great nail work though”

  She said as she stretched her hand forward to check her nails, still walking towards them.

  “It’s fine, I'll get something you could play with when we meet again so don't worry.”

  Althea- or Nevermore as ‘it’ would like to describe itself, was only a few feet away from them when Kate blocked her path.

  “You think I would just let you leave?”

  “You didn’t burn it” She said simply, as she stared at her eyes.

  “What?”

  Althea tilted her head to point to there left, the winged grey had been regenerating all this time, it had now recovered and was screaming at their direction.

  Adam immediately turned towards the monster and aimed his gun.

  “That should keep you busy for now, ill get you something better next time”

  Althea said as she walked past them almost unscathed.

  Just as she walked she noticed Charlie on all fours growling at her, his eyes had now turned completely green and the grey skin was starting to cover the entirety of his body.

  “Go help them”

  Althea said with a smile.

  Charlie turned around and saw the winged grey approaching the rest of the group, with Kleoff still on the ground.

  He shot Althea another glance before charging towards the winged grey.

  Nevermore knew Charlie still had the human side in him and wouldn’t sacrifice his friends just to attack him, much more sacrifice Kleoff.

  Althea then started walking away before she paused and turned around

  smiling.

  “I told you can’t win”

  With her last words Althea faced to sight as the group was left to fight with the winged grey.