Author's Preface
Mapleview, North Carolina.
September 25th, 2025.
9:01 A.M.
During the time when everyone else was dealing with a fairly frantic series of events in 1988—Iggy remained rather bored inside of Evervale Manor.
Donna lay sleeping on the couch along the wall, the cushions beneath her still stained with dried blotches of blood from Aravali’s close call, the far windows allowing the morning sun to wash into the room. Iggy wandered around the room for a bit, peering into the adjacent one and surveying its enormity. Then, he ventured over to the huge wood-paneled TV, hunching in front of it and turning the knobs, trying to power it on, but to no avail.
Eventually, he gave up and sauntered over to the lopsided couch, plopping down on it and laying back, stretching his arms behind his head. He lay in silence for a while, deciding he might take a nap—just when a distant, echoing noise caught his attention.
It was the sound of a door being knocked on, but it bounced off the farther walls of the place, seeming to echo from a mile away.
Iggy blinked thrice and lumbered up from the couch, releasing a yawn and walking out of the room. He entered the main room and trekked far across it, passing by the rounded stairway as he approached the elegant double-doors, seeing two human-shaped figures standing outside on the other side of the stain-glass windows, one of average height, the other rather short and small.
Iggy raked his messy hairs back, his jean jacket laying slightly crooked over the edge of his shoulder. He pulled the doors open, raising his brows at the strangers outside.
Xena and Mikey stood there, Mikey adjusting his glasses and Xena giving him a polite smile and wave, her blue KIA Soul parked in the driveway just behind the stoop.
Iggy made a befuddled expression at the sight of the strange-looking car, peering out past her and ogling it rather fixedly.
“Um… hi,” Xena said, shifting her dark bangs aside. “Is Amory here?”
“Ahhh…” Iggy stared at the box-shaped car for a moment longer, then faced her. “Nope… ah, he’s not, um… here right now… but… I think he will be soon.”
“Okay… do you know when?” Xena asked.
“Mmm…” Iggy scratched his hairs and made a thoughtful face. “Y’know… it’s kind of… hard to say. But, I think, ah… hmmm… I think it’s around the same time of day over there as it is here now, so… aaaahm… I think they’ll be back in… an hour? Maybe?”
“All right… well, we can come back later,” Xena shrugged.
“Ah… is he, um… expecting you?” Iggy inquired.
“Yeah,” Xena answered. “I think so.”
“He should be,” Mikey added.
“Mmm… okay, well, you can just, ah… come on in, if you wanna,” Iggy offered. “Amory is, uhm… he and some other friends of ours are dealing with… a thing… but… I’m pretty sure they’ll want to come back here as fast as they can. It really should be soon… might be even sooner than I think it will…”
Xena squinted at him interestingly. “How many people actually live here…?”
“Other than Zyon,” Mikey chimed in. “Amory mentioned someone named Zyon…”
“Ahhh… well… yesterday, it was probably just those two,” Iggy mumbled, glimpsing up at the sky and doing a quick bit of math. “But… now… it’s probably gonna be more like eight…”
Xena made an odd face, trading glances with Mikey.
“It, um… it’s hard to explain, but the short version is, ahh… lot of us are facing a little bit of a life emergency,” Iggy elaborated. “So… we all needed somewhere else to go.”
“Oh… gotcha,” Xena nodded, peering past him and surveying the enormousness of the inside. “Well… eight people isn’t actually too much for this kind of place. There’d probably still be plenty of space for everyone…”
“Eheh… yeah, hope so,” Iggy replied with a crooked half-smile.
“Oy!” someone else called out.
Iggy turned around and stared back across the gigantic room—seeing Crowe standing in the doorway of the room afar, perching his brows and giving him a look.
“Ohh… seems like the cavalry’s here now,” Iggy determined, nodding and facing Xena and Mikey again. “You wanna talk to Amory now, or… later…?”
Xena opened her mouth, pausing for a moment to think.
Crowe continued watching the conversation from a distance, squinting across the room at the two people outside, recognizing neither of them. Then, he turned and faced everyone in the checkerboard room—Amory sitting leaned back on the lopsided couch, utterly exhausted, Aravali and Elaine on either side of him and surveying him intently, Raven standing close by and giving him a worried sort of look. Zyon stood near the gateway door—the blue door now sealed tightly shut—and he remained there with his back pressed to it, all of them tired and quiet.
“Oy,” Crowe said, making a face and motioning out across the larger room. “Bloke’s out there having a conversation with some front-door salespeople or something. Do we really want Iggy talking to people here…?”
Amory sleepily rolled his head to the side on the back of the couch, raising his eyebrows at Crowe. “Who’s he talking to…?”
“I dunno… some girl and some kid,” Crowe shrugged.
Amory blinked, straightening up and suddenly looking alert.
“Oh… oh, no, is it morning? Is it morning here now?! I totally forgot,” he breathed, leaping off the couch and clasping his head for a second, feeling dizzy. “I… I’ll be back, I have to…”
“Amory,” Crowe and Aravali both said in unison, each with the same severe voice.
“You’re not well right now,” Elaine reminded him, giving him a sharp look.
“You need to rest,” Zyon stated.
“No—listen—this is important,” Amory insisted, backing toward the open doorway. “It’s just—it’s just friends of mine. I just need to talk to them. It’s not anything that’s gonna wear me out or anything, I promise. I’m not even gonna go anywhere.”
“Amory—we need to have a talk here ,” Aravali told him flatly, motioning between himself and everyone else in the room. “We need that very much right now.”
“I know! I just—this is important! ” Amory proclaimed, glancing between him and the other room. “Just let me talk to them, okay?”
At that—he turned and marched past Crowe, leaving the room before anyone could argue with him any further.
There was a somber pause after he left.
Aravali sighed, glancing around and staring at the sleeping Donna on the couch. Then, he turned to Elaine questioningly.
“Where is John?” he asked.
Elaine stared at him, frowning deeply and releasing a grave cloud of breath. Her expression darkened, and she shook her head down at her lap.
Aravali read her face, feeling a festering nausea forming in the pit of his stomach, and he decided not to speak any further on the matter.
Amory headed across the main room with a brisk stride, shaking his head and lightly slapping his cheeks, trying his best to remain as awake and alert as possible. Iggy was speaking to Xena and Mikey at the front door, and Amory slowed to a stop there, meeting both of their eyes with a smile and a wave.
“Hey!” Amory said exasperatedly, beaming at Xena and Mikey.
Xena smirked and began to reply, pausing and gazing into the house behind him. “Where did you… come from? Your friend just said you weren’t here.”
Amory’s mouth opened, trading looks with Iggy, both of them momentarily quiet.
“Back door,” Iggy uttered, jabbing a thumb back over his shoulder.
“Yeah… back door,” Amory agreed.
Xena made a slow, strange nod, surveying Amory up and down and eyeballing the flowy white shirt with the baggy sleeves, still with the torn spot on the elbow, and he was still wearing the sleek black bellbottoms.
“Still too busy to change, huh,” she laughed.
“Yup… you got me,” Amory chuckled, stepping back and motioning for them to enter. “Well… you guys can come on in, if you wanna look around. I don’t know how much Mikey told you, but I don’t mind showing you the place. It’ll be an adventure for all of us, honestly.”
“Yeah… he said you had spare rooms here, and you were offering… like… a roommate deal?” Xena replied as she and her nephew walked inside.
“Yup… as long as you don’t mind a few other roommates,” Amory laughed, closing the doors behind them. “I’ve got more friends here now.”
“I heard,” Xena smirked.
Iggy quietly walked away, strolling across the spacious manor toward the room with the checkerboard floor, where Crowe still stood in the doorway. Amory began to lead Xena up the huge rounded staircase, and Mikey paused at the bottom of the stairs for a second, giving a curious glance to the doorway across the room before he followed his aunt.
Iggy entered the checkerboard room and plopped down on the couch, Crowe still leaning out of the room, craning his neck and glaring up the side of the stairway.
“Where the bloody hell is he going…?” Crowe griped.
“He’s, ahh… showing the house to someone,” Iggy muttered.
Crowe wheeled around and shot him a bizarre look. “What… he’s gonna rent the place out?”
“Not a bad idea, honestly,” Aravali mumbled, leaning back and tiredly massaging his eyes. “Got to make a living somehow…”
Crowe scoffed and tossed up a hand, just before pulling the door shut, sealing off the checkerboard room from the rest of the house.
“Seems a bit stupid, if you ask me,” he grumped. “There’s no way in hell we can keep everything about us a secret from some stranger roommates from the future.”
“That won’t be necessary,” Zyon said.
Everyone else turned their heads, staring at him strangely.
Zyon did not elaborate further.
About halfway up the stairs, Amory began to feel slightly dizzy again, sighing and grasping the railing as he walked. Eventually, he reached the top alongside Xena and Mikey—and they all stopped there, glancing up and down the hallways on either side. A long, crimson rug ran all the way down this hall, from one end to the other, and the side to the left seemed to lead toward a set of double-doors at the end, the hall to the right much longer, leading to several doors.
“Wow. Lots of rooms to see already,” Xena remarked, turning to Amory. “Where to first?”
Amory opened his mouth, glimpsing around and hesitating. Then, he choked out a laugh and met her eyes.
“Okay… I… have to be honest with you,” he said. “I only just got this house… like… the day I met you. I still haven’t had the chance to check the whole place out myself.”
“Oh… wow, okay,” Xena laughed and nodded. “So we’re all exploring this place for the first time right now. I getcha.”
“Yeah… let’s go this way!” Amory grinned excitedly, rustling Mikey’s hair and heading over to the right. “More rooms this way!”
He strode on with the other two following, feeling rushed in a bizarre sort of way, woozy and exhausted, yet primed and inspired to keep moving, running on adrenaline and pleased to be occupied by Xena and Mikey now. So many things remained terribly fresh on his mind—Vincent, Mom, Dad, running away without saying a word to them yet again—but he forced it all out of his thoughts, smiling at his guests and leading them onward, wanting more than anything to simply live in the moment, here and now.
The walls on either side of them had black two-armed sconces, though none of them had any candles on them, and they walked past the occasional landscape painting, coated with a visible layer of dust. Amory stopped at the first room to the right, turning the knob and pushing the dark wooden door fully open—and inside, he found a large bedroom, with deep blue curtains on the window, a huge full-sized bed, and the bed was even made neatly with blue and white pillows and comforters, though the bed, dresser, and nightstand all looked as if they hadn’t been touched in quite a long while.
Xena and Mikey peeked inside, and Amory moved to the other side of the hall and opened the nearest door—finding a similar bedroom on the other side. He marched faster down the hallway and opened two more doors—and all of them were bedrooms like the first, though with slightly different layouts and varying color themes on the blankets and drapes.
“Sheesh… how many rooms did Mom and Dad need in this place?” Amory chuckled, shaking his head. “I’m pretty sure it was just them two living here…”
“Hey… I’m not complaining,” Xena smiled. “We don’t have to worry about running out of space for everyone… and we haven’t even seen the third floor yet, or the whole first floor.”
“Ooo, good point! Oh! Yeeeah, there’s a whole big garden area out back that I haven’t gone and looked at yet!” Amory breathed. “Oh no—wait—there’s no stairway here. How do we get to the third floor?! OH! Wait, I know, come on!”
He broke into a run and sprinted down the hall, Xena and Mikey hurrying to catch up.
Amory skidded to a stop at the opposite end of the hall, grabbing the handles of the mahogany double-doors and flinging them open. He peered inside and grinned from ear to ear—seeing a long, elegant stairway reaching directly upwards from here, a round, spiral staircase with the double-armed sconces on the wall, following the stairway all the way up.
“Oh, I love this place…!” he beamed with delight, rushing to move up the stairs with Xena and Mikey just behind him. “It’s just like a haunted mansion…!”
As the three of them ventured up to the third floor—the long, solemn silence in the checkerboard room was finally broken by someone.
“All right. Am I the only one who thinks that we need to talk about whatever the hell we’re gonna do now?” Crowe griped.
“No… but I imagine Amory would want to be a part of that talk,” Aravali sighed, leaning his head back against the couch.
“No he won’t,” Crowe and Raven replied with the same flattened tone.
Aravali closed his eyes, still resting his head back, but Elaine glanced up at the two of them with a curious, questioning look.
“Now, believe me… I’ve had my own complaints about Raven and Amory’s father, but he was perfectly fuckin’ justified in doing what he did when we got there,” Crowe said grimly. “Looked to me like old Joe just blew Vincent’s head off right before we started helping in that little fight. That is what happened, right? Joe had the shotgun…”
Zyon nodded, folding his arms and leaning back against the blue door again.
Crowe glanced over at him and made a nod as well. “All right… well, then, just keep in mind… Vincent was an authoritarian tool, and I never gave a flying fuck about him… but… Amory was actually pretty friendly with him. I never understood why , but… they were, ah…”
“Yeah… they were friends,” Raven said glumly, glancing down at her shoes. “Back when we were all growing up, and through a lot of time after… Amory was friends with Vincent… and, now… Amory just saw him get his head blown off…”
Elaine gazed up at them with a disturbed expression—and Aravali’s eyes eased open, raising his head and giving them a similarly troubled look.
“And… seeing Mom and Dad again… and everything,” Raven murmured. “He’s probably feeling way too much right now…”
“But he’s not gonna deal with that,” Crowe knew, swatting loosely up at the ceiling. “So, there he goes, swanning off to the first distraction that comes to the door. Literally.”
“Those people are not a distraction. They are of significant import,” Zyon said with certainty, pushing off the blue door and releasing a heavy cloud of breath. “And, as far as what we’re going to do now… Donna may be released back into the custody of her family back in 1988. She no longer has anything extradimensional plaguing her, and the Legion will have no motivation or ability to target or use her any longer. Icarus, however, has been influenced by me… therefore, it is safer for him to stay here in 2025, just as it is for the rest of you.”
An air of seriousness overtook the room, everyone listening closely to him.
“I have warded the doorway to 1988, just as I have warded the Evervale house. I have reached my limits… for now,” Zyon sighed tiredly. “Therefore… it is prudent that all of you stay here. I am certain that, once Amory is well-rested and recovered, he will be happy to escort whoever necessary back to the past in order to get Donna back home. Other than that… no one should be making any trips to 1988 right now. Crowe, Raven, Icarus, and Amory are still prime targets of Valek’s… and now… these other two blessed ones are as well.”
The angel’s gaze fell onto the doctor and the orderly.
Aravali and Elaine traded faces, then gave him an odd look.
“Um… blessed ones?” Aravali asked.
“Yes. All of you are blessed ones,” Zyon affirmed. “You are those who mourn… those who are persecuted for righteousness’ sake… the peacemakers… the pure in heart… and… the meek.”
“Tch. Meek is all Amory,” Crowe mumbled to himself.
“You two have a very important role in the mending and the healing of the children of time,” Zyon informed, nodding at Aravali and Elaine. “And you are being targeted just as intently and as mercilessly as the rest.”
“Oh… good,” Aravali muttered caustically, leaning his head back again and pinching the bridge of his nose. “And here I thought this was all gonna be a cake walk now…”
“So… you’re saying this is our home now,” Elaine tried to surmise.
Zyon nodded. “Yes. For all intents and purposes, home is Evervale Manor. Now… if you will excuse me… I do have… one more thing to do before I assign myself a room here and rest.”
He walked across the room, pulled the door open, and left.
During this time—Amory gleefully darted down the elongated hallway of the third floor like a child in a candy store, marveling at all the paintings and sconces before he stopped halfway down the hall, spotting a huge, magnificent glass door to his right. It led outside and onto a round stone balcony, overlooking the property with a fantastic view from above.
Amory pushed the door open and burst outside with Xena and Mikey close behind him. He ran over to the concrete railing and leaned dangerously over it, laughing and balancing himself there on his stomach, Xena gasping and giggling, swatting at him and telling him to stop.
Mikey commented on the vines growing around either side of the railing, and Amory grinned at them, thinking it looked beautiful as well as haunting. At once, he spun around and hurried back inside to explore more—then he skidded to a stop, coming face to face with another set of double-doors directly across from the balcony, comprised of thick, dark wood, and with a single rectangular plague hanging above it. The plague above the door was gold, and a single word was engraved onto its surface.
AMORY
He gazed up at it, at his name, his smile waning, and his heart beginning to pound.
Xena and Mikey walked in behind him, glancing up at it as well.
“Huh,” Xena said, tilting her head and sliding her hands into her black leather jacket. “Is this supposed to be your room?”
Amory’s mouth drifted agape, and he managed a shrug. “I… I guess so.”
He stood still there, feeling hesitant to go inside, heart thumping with anxiety. He couldn’t have ever expected that his parents would leave him such an extravagant home in the first place—and now, it seemed, they had even prepared a special room, just for him.
Emotions began to arise inside, too many at once, fighting to break free—and he swallowed roughly and shook his head, forcing it all down and grabbing one of the long, golden handles.
He froze there, doing nothing and inhaling a deep, bracing breath.
Downstairs—seconds after Zyon left the checkerboard room—Crowe cocked his head and strolled over to the door, preparing to do the same.
“And where are you going?” Aravali barked.
“Nothing. Nowhere. Shaddup,” Crowe replied, trying to hide a smirk and failing. “Who says I don’t need a distraction from this damn day too?”
“Crowe, I swear to God…”
“Don’t swear to God, Ari. There’s an angel in this house, and he’ll tell on you.”
“Crowe,” Aravali grumbled, giving him a warning sort of look. “This is not the time to go off and do something thoughtless or reckless.”
“I’m not,” Crowe assured. “Whaddo you take me for? Look… I’ve still got my bank card, right in my pocket. You said we need a way of making a living, right? Well… I’m just gonna pop off to Mapleview Credit Union and see if my account’s still open. That’s all I’m gonna do.”
“I’m gonna go with you,” Raven decided, walking over to him. “I wanna see what Mapleview looks like now.”
“Ahh… me too,” Iggy decided, lazily raising his hand before lumbering up from the couch.
Aravali sighed and dropped his head, shaking it down at his lap. “Well, now I have to go…”
“No you don’t,” Crowe laughed. “Look… we just wanna do something to take our mind off things, and this could turn out to be productive, too. Can you imagine what the interest on my account must look like this far into the future? That’s worth looking at. Dontcha trust me?”
Aravali gave him a long, deadpan stare.
“Come ooon,” Crowe laughed. “D’you know how many times I’ve seen nothing but teasing little glimpses of the future? Now I can go see it in real time! Let me have this!”
Aravali narrowed his eyes skeptically at him. “Why don’t you want me to go with you?”
Crowe paused, his smile fading, and he sighed. “Well… for one, I figured you’d want a rest by now… and two… y’know… figured Amory might want his shrink around, whenever he… actually wants to talk to someone…”
Aravali tilted his head slightly. “You’re not avoiding him, are you…?”
“No… but I’m not a shrink. You are,” Crowe replied. “When people talk to you, it actually does them some good. Seems to do the opposite when they talk to me.”
“You know there’s a remedy for that, right?” Aravali asked. “Like… not losing your temper?”
“Yeah, yeah, yeah… look, I’m sure he’ll be more open to talk by the time we get back,” Crowe determined. “Besides… I wanna help him. He’s got a heart of gold, and I’m glad he’s got this house here, but he really hasn’t thought everything through… like money. I might be able to help there… so just let me give it a try, all right?”
Aravali stared for a moment, glancing over at the sleeping Donna, and thinking of Amory’s rattled and fatigued state right now. He didn’t like the idea of letting Crowe, Raven, and Iggy wander off into some bizarre version of Mapleview—but just as well, he strongly felt as if he should stay at their home base for the time being, just to supervise everyone here.
“All right… all right, fine,” Aravali agreed. “But you had better be on your best behavior out there. We do not want to make enemies or draw attention to ourselves.”
“Tch… draw attention from who? There’s no Valek here,” Crowe laughed.
“There’s probably still a police force here,” Aravali retorted. “And I really wouldn’t put it past you to get their attention somehow.”
Crowe’s expression flattened, and he shook his head. “No bloody faith in me, I swear…”
He turned on his heel and left the room with Raven and Iggy following him.
On the third floor—when Amory finally mustered the nerve to pull the doors open—he slowly walked inside, gazing around and finding himself standing in a large, spacious room, a king-sized bed with dark blue comforters to his left, portraits on the walls, a dresser to the right side of the room, and next to the bed—between the bed and the large window, which gave him a great view of the garden area out back—was a tall bureau, its shelves visible, and most of them were occupied by stacks of CDs and old, dusty vinyl records.
“Whoooa… yeah, you definitely got the master bedroom here,” Xena smirked, turning and observing the room in its enormity. “Big tall ceiling, chandelier, garden-side window…”
“Is that your family?” Mikey asked, pointing up at the large portrait on the wall, on the opposite side of the room from the bureau.
Amory turned around, walking over to him and examining the portrait. It was a tall, rectangular one with a thick wooden frame of an elegant design—and the picture itself showed a family gathering at Christmas, a gathering that had evidently taken place in the living room of the old Evervale home. Joseph’s recliner was turned around, facing the camera, and the Christmas tree was standing just behind him, positioned in the corner of the living room, just beside the huge TV. Joseph was sitting in his chair, waving and flashing a half-attempt at a grin, and Candice was seated on a small metal folding chair across from him, wearing her warm, motherly smile, her hands cupped neatly on her lap. But—most notably of all—Amory and Raven were in the picture, too, not as children, but just as they appeared now, Raven with her black jacket and the sleeves rolled up to the elbows, her hair slicked stylishly backward, and Amory stood beside her with a hand on her shoulder, smiling for the camera and wearing the very same outfit he wore now, but cleaner, and with the hole in the elbow of the sleeve having been stitched and repaired. On the lower section of the wooden frame, carved in cursive, the date read Christmas, 1988.
It was such a cozy, comfortable picture—the type of family portrait that he never imagined he’d be a part of as an adult.
Amory stared at it, reaching up and gently gliding his fingers down the glass.
“I make it home for Christmas,” he murmured under his breath.
Emotions began welling up inside again—and he instantly tore his eyes from the picture and shook his head, striding over to the window.
“Oooo—and look!” Amory beamed, pressing his face to the glass and staring down at the humongous garden space out back, complete with narrow concrete walkways, though the grassy areas were now overgrown. “Awww, we could do so much with a backyard like this! Birthday parties, and summertime barbeques, and a haunted Halloween maze! Hah!”
He grinned at Xena, then spun around and stopped at the bureau.
“Ooo… music!” Amory breathed with delight, rifling through the stack of vinyl's. “H’ohmigod! Some of my old records are in here! Oooh… and what are these …?!”
He moved around the bureau and examined the stack of CDs, searching through them and lifting them one by one. He gave them an odd squint, then held one up for Xena to see.
“Tiny vinyl's?!” Amory snickered.
Xena breathed out a laugh. “Um… those are CDs.”
“Ooooh,” Amory nodded with understanding, surveying the CD in his hand rather closely. “More music! Oh, okay, I get it. We never had these in Canterbury. I mostly made my own mixtapes there. Ooo… there’s so many! It’s not just disco, it’s all kinds of music! Oh, Crowe would have a field day in here. I better not let him in my room…”
He began dismantling the two large towers of CDs, plucking them off the stacks and reading the covers before setting them aside.
“Awww… this is so cool,” Amory smiled. “The Bee Gees, Bob Segar, Phil Collins, Ozzy Osbourne, Molly Hatchett, Alice Cooper, Michael Jackson, David Bowie…”
He paused, staring down at the David Bowie CD and studying its cover art. It showed Bowie’s face, painted like Ziggy Stardust, and the musician’s eyes were staring back up at him, one of them lightly-colored, and the other one dark.
Vincent’s face flashed through his mind, and he felt a rough, sickened lurch in his stomach, placing the CD face-down and turning away.
Amory was silent for a moment, mostly facing the wall and raising his head, running a hand down his face and looking rather fidgety. He cleared his throat, glimpsing around and trying to find something else to focus on instead, but he couldn’t seem to do so.
Xena examined him, sensing something was awry and sighing deeply.
Amory then spotted something to seize his attention and breathed out a laugh, bending down in front of the bureau and pulling out a large, clunky device from its bottom shelf.
“Oooo… and we have a record player!” he smiled.
Xena tilted her head down at the old device. “I don’t think you can plug that thing in with no power on in this house…”
“It doesn’t need to be plugged in,” Amory replied knowingly, raising a finger and turning to the collection of vinyl's. “Okay, Bob, play me a song.”
He pulled a Bob Segar record from its sleeve, bent down, and placed it on the player, adjusting the needle and starting the music. At once, an old favorite of his began to play.
In fact—it was the last song he’d listened to in Canterbury, Bob Segar’s Night Moves .
Amory slowly reached his feet again, gazing down at the record player and sighing.
“Okay… so… you don’t know what a CD is, but you know exactly how to work the oldest kind of record player in existence,” Xena surmised with a laugh. “And you immediately jump to Bob Segar? Are you like made of the 70s, or what…?”
“I told you he was a time-traveler,” Mikey said bluntly.
“Mikey—just—go do me a favor,” Xena replied, turning to him and motioning to the open doors. “Go count all the bedrooms in this place. I wanna know exactly how much space we’re dealing with here before we make any decisions, okay?”
Mikey adjusted his glasses, sparing Amory a brief little glance before nodding and walking out of the room.
When the boy emerged in the hallway, he turned—spotting a tall man with short black hair and an equally dark trench coat there, standing with his back against the wall just a few feet away from the open doorway, as if he had been eavesdropping.
Mikey gave the man an odd look.
Zyon turned his head and met the boy’s eyes, pressing a finger to his lips, then motioning for him to simply walk away.
Mikey stared for a second, then gave him a nod and marched past him, vanishing into the far doorway and traveling down the spiral stairs.
Inside the master bedroom, when Xena faced Amory again—he was clasping around the outside of his pants pocket, feeling a large lump inside.
He reached in, slowly pulling out the shiny peace medallion that he’d collected from his childhood nightstand.
He’d gotten it thirty-seven years ago, and yet, it couldn’t have been more than two hours ago.
He stared down at it, the song playing peacefully, and his face became devoid of any expression, every feeling inside suddenly fighting like hell to escape him now.
Amory let out a heavy breath, slowly sinking down and sitting on the side of the bed. He continued gazing into the medallion in his hand, almost trancelike, so many things racing through his mind, he couldn’t know which to focus on, couldn’t hope to even begin processing everything that had happened so far.
For him—it couldn’t have even been two days yet—but he felt as if lifetimes had passed, ever since his final night in Canterbury, that lab, that place, where he made himself feel more at home than he ever should have, where he enjoyed the gym, and the lobby, and the friends, and playing mild little pranks on Vincent—that place, where they kept Zyon poisoned, and comatose, and prisoner—that place, where they kept a massive room of disposed-of patients’ bodies in the basement, as they were regularly killing the patients who arrived there, and who evidently could not handle their procedures. Yet, there he was—Amory Evervale, strolling about the hallways and doing his jobs, having whatever fun he could, listening to music, and smiling away, acting as if nothing was wrong, never doing anything about the wicked and inhumane things happening inside those walls, and feeling no care or remorse for the parents that he had abandoned with no explanation or peace of mind given whatsoever.
It all boiled down to that night in ‘73—when he ultimately decided to go to Canterbury.
Because of that—he missed out on the rest of the 70s, and a lot of the 80s. His parents missed out on ever raising their kids properly, living in shattered worry and regret for fifteen years after. So many people were hurt or killed in Canterbury without Amory ever doing a thing about it—and now, everything had become so very messy and painful, he couldn’t begin to know what he should do. Aravali had almost died—his friend and his sister nearly died—and Vincent was just killed right in front of him, less than an hour ago now.
And it had all started on that fateful Halloween.
Amory shook his head once, sealing his eyes shut and lowering his head more, clutching the medallion even tighter. He forced everything down with everything he had, but he felt so very tired, and so damn wounded inside, he felt to be near a breaking point now, and smiles and distractions were no longer enough to keep it all at bay.
Xena moved over to the bureau, scooting a couple of the misplaced CDs over so they wouldn’t fall off the edge. Then, she turned and gently sat down beside him, gazing over at him and patiently waiting for him to speak.
He kept his head low, wavy hairs hanging down on either side of his face, eyes still closed, and his free hand was hardening into a viselike fist atop his knee, seeming to fight a hard, silent battle on the inside, trying with all his might to remain composed.
Xena stared at him, and then, her eyes flickered down to his shoulder, only just noticing something that she hadn’t before.
Along the white fabric of his shoulder and his upper sleeve were a few tiny spots of red, a faint, mild hint of blood splatter, difficult to see without being close.
Xena gulped, reaching up and softly stroking the fabric, smearing one of the spots with her thumb and raising her eyebrows, slightly shocked that the blood had ever so slightly smeared. It was not an old stain; it was fresh.
Amory blinked and glanced over at her, then followed her eyes down to his own shoulder, only just noticing the microscopic red spots as well.
It flashed through his mind in vivid, terrible detail—the deafening shotgun blast and the side of Vincent’s head being obliterated right in front of him.
“Oh God,” Amory gasped in mortified disgust, leaping up from the bed and quickly fighting to peel the shirt off. “Oh God, his blood’s all over me…”
He squirmed and maneuvered beneath the white fabric until he managed to rip it off his body, tossing the shirt carelessly aside and inhaling several quickened breaths.
Then, he stormed directly over to the closet in the corner, yanking it open and staring inside.
The inside of this closet was filled with many outfits, hanging neatly from coat hangers, and he merely stood there, shirtless and shaking, his skinny torso now in full view, and his eyes darted from one outfit to the next, his hand still clasped onto the closet’s doorknob, starting to tremble.
Xena watched him from across the room, frowning sadly.
“Y’know—I’m sorry—I’m sorry, there’s just been a—a lot going on,” Amory rambled breathlessly, digging through the hanging clothing and pulling random shirts and pants off the hangers. “And I don’t think you’d even believe me—so let’s just—let’s just—who cares, right?”
He found a white shirt similar to the other one and whipped it out of the closet, sliding his arms into it. When he turned to face her, he suddenly remembered to button the shirt up, his hands seeming to struggle with the buttons, as his fingers were still shaking.
“It doesn’t matter,” he muttered down at his shirt as he fought with the buttons. “It doesn’t matter. It’s over, so it doesn’t matter…”
Xena wore a heavy, empathic frown, glancing down at the playing record, then back at him, sighing deeply.
Zyon gently rested his head back against the wall of the hallway, his eyes shining just the slightest bit brighter.
“Be calm,” the angel murmured in a soft, breathless whisper. “Be calm…”
“You think I won’t believe you…?” Xena said softly.
“No—I don’t—I don’t know,” Amory griped in response, tossing up his hands and leaving two of his buttons undone. “I really don’t know—and it’s not your problem—and it doesn’t matter. I’m sorry—I’m sorry, I’m just not—I’m just not in a good place right now. I’m sorry.”
“Stop being sorry,” Xena said somberly. “You didn’t do anything…”
“No—you’re right, I didn’t,” Amory laughed madly, throwing up his hand again and pitching the medallion across the room. “I didn’t do anything for a long damn time—and guess who paid for it?! Everyone else!”
Instantly, he buried his face in his trembling hands, inhaling a long, shaky breath and trying to bottle everything up even more.
“Sorry,” he mumbled. “Sorry…”
He paused for a moment longer, then lowered his hands.
“And I get it. I understand if you think I’m crazy, and I’m just some delusional wandering psycho, and you don’t wanna even consider living here anymore,” Amory ranted. “I know how I’m coming off now and I jus—I just—I can’t—”
He shook his head and planted his hands over his face again, taking in a heavier breath through his gritting teeth before lowering his hands again.
“I just went to see my parents,” Amory chuckled breathlessly, a tear rolling down his cheek. “I just did that… just now, like a couple hours ago, for the first time in fifteen years… right before I came back here, where they’re both dead, and they left me all this stuff, and… and that damn lab just would not stop coming after us. Vincent was this guy who worked there, and he like the second in command there, y’know? He ran a lot of things for Canterbury… and when I was there… I actually considered him a friend. I trusted him more than his father, for damn sure. I don’t know why. I don’t know why I ever gave a damn… but he just wouldn’t stop coming after us after we got away… so he showed up there, and he brought his little army, and my father…”
He stopped, pressing a fist to his mouth and inhaling another trembling breath.
“Well… of course… look at it from my father’s point of view,” Amory uttered. “For him, Vincent was just the guy who kidnapped his kids fifteen years ago… so yeah… he shot him. He blew his fucking head apart with a 12-gauge shotgun… and I was standing right there… and now, he’s just gone, because he wouldn’t just leave us alone…”
Xena merely listened, her expression painful, and she nodded along as he spoke.
“I’m sorry… and y… you can keep telling me to stop saying that, but I won’t, because I am sorry,” Amory told her insistently, his voice making a faint tremor. “You keep catching me at the hardest parts of my life, and that’s not your fault… but you just keep seeing me when I’m about to fall apart, and I’m just… I’m really sorry. I don’t want that…”
“It’s okay,” Xena said kindly.
“No… it’s not… because I know I’m coming off like a deranged lunatic now, and I can’t even explain it to you,” Amory griped with frustration, combing his hairs back. “Because you know what? I told Mikey he was free to tell you whatever he wanted… because I knew you wouldn’t believe it… because who in their right mind ever would?! But, see, that’s just the thing. That’s just the thing about it… because it is true. I am a time-traveler… and that’s… that’s how all of this is happening now..."
Xena fell silent, glimpsing at the record player again, then back at him.
Zyon remained where he stood in the hallway, his eyes still slightly aglow.
Amory stood in the middle of the room, his chest rising and falling, his shirt a bit crooked and not fully buttoned, and his hairs a little messier than usual, feeling utterly stressed and tired. He stared at her, awaiting her reaction and swallowing another wave of angry tears as he did.
“Y’know… when Mikey told me that… I actually stayed up all night thinking about it,” Xena told him. “Because… Mikey’s not the kind of kid who just believes that stuff. He always needs a solid reason to believe in something. Nobody could ever convince him that Santa was real. You know that…?”
Amory gnawed his bottom lip, saying nothing.
“And… then… I really thought about it,” Xena added, slowly standing from the bed. “And, I remembered… when I first met you… you looked like you just fell right out of another universe. You didn’t know what Google was… you didn’t know that this Canterbury place didn’t exist anymore… you didn’t have a phone… and you looked like you were about to have a heart attack when I told you what year it was.”
Amory swallowed painfully, still remaining silent.
“And… everything else I’ve seen since I got here has been a dead giveaway,” Xena said, sauntering closer to him. “I know I should be surprised… but, honestly… I’m not. At all.”
Zyon stayed still in the hall, and then, the shine in his eyes began to dim away.
“I should probably feel really… shocked. But… I just don’t,” Xena shrugged, stopping in front of him. “And… yeah… I do believe you.”
Amory stared, feeling a touch of disbelief, seeing no hint of shock, fear, or disdain in her eyes, or anywhere on her face. In fact, her expression now almost reminded him of the look of calmness and clarity on Aravali’s face just after Amory had laid hands on him, a strange, unexplainable peace that surpassed all logic or understanding.
Zyon sighed tiredly, pushing off from the wall and striding down the hallway, deciding it was time to leave the two of them alone now.
“And… I don’t really know the whole story, but… it sounds like you just rescued a whole lot of people and brought them here,” Xena said with a smile, grasping the front of his shirt and finishing his buttons for him. “So… just… don’t kick yourself anymore, okay?”
Amory gazed into her, taking in another breath and feeling a sense of calming peace now.
“Okay,” he breathed.
Xena finished his buttons and offered him another warm smile. “I don’t think you’re crazy, either… I just think you’re at your stress limit now. You seem like you really need a break.”
Amory choked out a pained little laugh. “Yeah… yeah… definitely…”
“Now… I think… we should really have a talk about everything,” Xena determined, gently tugging his sleeve and heading back to the bedside. “ If you feel up to talking yet. Do you wanna be left alone for a while first?”
“No… no, I really don’t,” Amory chuckled breathlessly, sitting beside her. “Okay… um… what do we talk about first…?”
“Whatever you want,” Xena shrugged. “You could give me some more back story on your whole situation, here… or… we could just talk about how things are gonna work in this house, if… if that offer’s still there…”
“Oh yeah, of course it’s still there,” Amory said. “Oh… and, um… I should probably tell you… that room behind the main room, with the checkerboard pattern on the floor… there’s a blue door in there that you and Mikey should never, ever use.”
“Yeah… he told me about that, too,” Xena replied. “But I feel the need to ask… can those Canterbury people get here through that door?”
“Oh no, no, they can’t,” Amory assured her. “None of us are in any danger here. My friend Zyon warded the door so they can’t get through.”
Xena stared at him questioningly.
Amory sighed, running his hands down his face and wondering where to begin.
“Okay… time-travel isn’t even the hardest part to believe, now that I’m thinking about it,” he admitted. “All right… um… there are angels and demons, too. My friend Zyon is an angel. Everyone from Canterbury is… kind of possessed… except Valek. Valek is a full-on demon.”
Xena made a slow, strange nod. “’Kay…”
“There’s a lot of extradimensional science behind it that I don’t really understand… but, basically… Canterbury ran a bunch of procedures to put demons into people,” Amory tried to explain. “And… Zyon is the last angel in the world, and they drugged him and put him in a coma, and used his power to open the rift more… and… then I broke Zyon out, but he’s still kind of messed up from the supernatural drugs, so… we end up doing a lot of the fighting ourselves. Valek realized the procedure didn’t work right on everyone, because some of the people were being protected by Zyon… so he started trying to hunt all the patients down and kill them all, just to wipe the whole slate clean… and… that’s how we all got here. All the patients from 1988 needed to be put in a safer place… out of Canterbury’s reach.”
Xena’s brow hardened, looking vexed, but she nodded and continued to listen.
“Those patients ended up in a place called Moonvale Mental Hospital, which is what’s on the other side of the doorway. Ari and Elaine worked there, and they’ve been taking care of the patients,” Amory elaborated. “And they ended up being targeted, too… so… they came with us. Ari is everybody’s shrink, basically…”
“Oh… you have a therapist?” Xena said. “Well, that’s good… considering all the crap you’re going through…”
“Yeah… but… Zyon thinks there are more people we’ll have to find later, because Canterbury is trying to time-travel, and I sent all the kids there into other time periods when I destroyed the place. Canterbury is apparently gonna try to hunt all of them down too,” Amory added. “I don’t actually know a whole lot about that. There’s been too much going on… but… that is something we might have to deal with later… oh, and my little sister and my best friend from childhood are both here, too. I should tell you, though… people from Canterbury can do… like… really superhuman things sometimes. I don’t want you to see any of us doing that and then just fall over and die of shock or something…”
“Oh… don’t worry, this is already surreal as hell,” Xena laughed. “That ship has sailed.”
Amory sniggered. “Yeah… well… me, and Raven, and Crowe can do some pretty amazing things… but… we’re also gonna be pretty lost here in 2025.”
Xena met his eyes, smiling and patting him on the leg. “Then I’m glad I’m here.”
Amory gazed into her, returning her smile and feeling simply warmed by her. “Me too.”
They fell silent, seeming to become lost in one another for a moment.
Then, they heard a gentle knocking on one of the open doors behind them, Xena quickly withdrawing her hand from Amory’s leg. They both turned around on the bedside—seeing Aravali standing in the doorway, giving them a mild little wave.
“Hello… sorry to interrupt you,” Aravali said, taking a single step into the room. “I just wanted to ask… Amory… do you mind if we move Donna into one of the bedrooms? Where she’s laying now is, um… well, it’s just rather unsanitary…”
“No, I don’t mind,” Amory replied, reaching his feet and motioning over to Xena. “And, um… by the way, this is Xena, my friend from town. Xena, this is Aravil… Arival…”
“Aravali Chavan,” Aravali said for him, chuckling and stepping forward, offering his hand.
Xena stood and returned the handshake. “Nice to meet you.”
“And you,” Aravali replied politely. “And feel free to call me Ari, if you like.”
“Okay,” Xena agreed. “So… you’re the therapist?”
Aravali began to nod, making a thoughtful face. “Well… more of a psychiatrist… but yes.”
“Oooh, gotcha,” Xena nodded. “Well… are you ready to have a really annoying roommate?”
“You’re not gonna be annoying,” Amory laughed.
“I am to him ,” Xena knew, pointing at Aravali. “I’m taking online courses in psychology. I’ve been trying to get a Bachelor’s so I can do something that actually makes enough money to live on… and… I think I just found myself a coach for my classes.”
Aravali opened his mouth, then gave her a look. “Well… that would be cheating.”
“No it’s not. It’s helping,” Xena asserted. “Come ooon… I’m not just gonna ask you for all the answers. I’d just like some insight from someone who’s already in that career field.”
“Well… I’m barely into it myself, and I don’t think my experience thus far can be called a typical one by anybody’s standards,” Aravali replied with a laugh. “But… yes… I wouldn’t be opposed to helping you with the essays and such. I don’t mind that.”
“Oh, I can do the essays… it’s the multiple choice I have a problem with.”
“Ah. Well, I don’t think your professor would want me hovering over your shoulder during all of your classes…”
“That’s not gonna be a problem. These classes are online.”
Aravali opened his mouth again, pausing and glancing between her and Amory in confusion.
“Okay… I’ll explain later,” Xena said, shaking her head and giggling. “We do need to figure something else out, though. I definitely don’t mind paying rent and everything… but looking at the size of this place… I honestly don’t know if my paycheck can cover the electric bill and the water bill for the whole house. Not if we wanna be able to eat and use the internet, too… and I kinda need the internet for college…”
“Well… I suppose Elaine and I can make a trip back home and empty out our savings, if need be,” Aravali proposed.
“I don’t know if that’s even gonna make a dent here,” Amory murmured, remembering the prices at the 2025 Taco Bell.
“Oh… wait a minute,” Aravali muttered, sighing and massaging his temples. “Crowe just headed off to the bank…”
Amory blinked and stared at him. “He went… what? He went into town? Here …?”
“Yes… he thinks he can get a bit of money for us if his bank account is still open. He did mention once that he had some gig money in his account, but he never had a chance to go and collect any of it before… all of… this happened,” Aravali uttered, turning to Xena, then giving Amory a questioning look. “Um… sorry, but… how much does she… know about all this?”
“You can speak freely,” Xena assured. “He was just filling me in on everything.”
Aravali gave her a curious stare, reading her strangely unbothered expression. Seconds later, he made a slow, understanding nod. “Ahh… all right… that’ll be why I saw Zyon walking away on my way up here.”
Amory squinted at him. “What…?”
“Well… if you were telling her everything in detail, then… I imagine Zyon came up here to do his… calming… thing,” Aravali muttered, waving loosely around his own head. “Calming the shaken spirit, or whatever it is he said…”
“Ooo—wait a sec,” Xena said, clasping her hands together. “I think your friend is actually a genius. If he had an account in 1988, then the interest would’ve bloated it by 2025.”
“Yeah… yeah, that was his idea,” Aravali sighed. “And Raven and Iggy wanted to go see the town, so… they all just wandered off…”
Amory stared at him, a spark of concern in his eyes.
“Don’t fret over it,” Aravali advised, reading his face and raising a hand. “Honestly, it’s not the worst thing in the world for them to get familiar with the Mapleview that they have to live in now… so long as they behave themselves like they promised to.”
Amory tilted his head, narrowing his eyes at the doctor and smirking curtly. “Oh, you still have a lot to learn about Crowe.”
He marched past the doctor and moved to leave the room.
“Amory—don’t,” Aravali ordered. “You are in desperate need of rest right now. Stay here. If you’re really that worried, then I will move Donna to a bedroom, and then I’ll just go out and find them myself. Wouldn’t be the first time I had to babysit their little adventures in town.”
“But I feel fine now,” Amory argued. “I mean, I feel a little sleepy, sure… but as long as I don’t use my power, then I’ll be fine. I don’t have any reason to use it here, anyway.”
“Are you forgetting that we have to walk everywhere here?” Aravali asked him. “We don’t have the cars here. You really feel energized enough to walk for miles across town?”
“I did it before!”
“You weren’t fatigued before.”
“Hey… you guys… I have a car , y’know,” Xena offered, sliding her keys out of her jacket pocket and holding them upright. “And it’s right outside.”
Aravali and Amory traded eyes, then stared at her.
“Aaand… if you want… we can knock out a lot of errands right now,” Xena knew, tossing the keys up and catching them. “We could go get the power and the water turned on here. I might be able to do that over the phone, but we can swing by if I can’t… and I know I have enough money to cover that right now. I haven’t paid for my room for next month yet… and, if I just move in here, then… I don’t have to throw all that money away on the motel.”
“Ohhh… we could do everything at once,” Amory understood. “We could go get your stuff out of there, and get everything turned on, and look around town for Crowe and Raven and Iggy.”
“And we can grab some food,” Xena added, flicking the collar of his shirt up. “If we get lucky enough to turn the power on, anyway. I hope the fridge here still works.”
“I hope there is a fridge,” Amory laughed. “Where is the kitchen, anyway? I never saw it…”
“It’s down the hall on the first floor,” Mikey chimed in, walking into the room and holding his Samsung in his hand. “And there is a fridge in there. There are thirty-seven bedrooms in this place, not including all of the other rooms. I used this app to track my movements all around the building, and this mansion is roughly seven-thousand and fifty-two square feet.”
“Good Lord,” Aravali exhaled.
“Whoooa… good boy,” Xena grinned, patting him on the head. “You just got a workout, too.”
“Thirty-seven bedrooms,” Amory mumbled. “Huh. Wow, I’m really starting to wonder how my parents afforded all this…”
“Hey, Mikey, we’re gonna go for a ride,” Xena told her nephew. “We’re moving out of the motel… and we’re gonna get everything switched on here and find Amory’s friends, too.”
Mikey raised his eyebrows at her. “For real?”
“Hell yeah,” Xena grinned. “We can finally say bye to that damn room and pick one out here.”
“Nooo… you can pick two out here,” Amory corrected her, planting a hand on Mikey’s head. “He’s old enough to have his own room, dontcha think?”
“Ohhh, yeah, you’re right,” Xena nodded. “Man, I’m just not used to even having that option…”
All of them grouped up and stared to walk out of the room, Xena stopping and collecting the discarded white shirt from the floor, draping it over her arm. She grabbed the peace medallion from the corner of the room and placed it on the bureau beside the bed before following everyone else out to the hall.
When they reached the bottom floor—Aravali broke away and entered the checkerboard room, explaining things to Elaine and informing her of their current plans, Elaine agreeing to stay put and monitor Donna while they were gone.
Afterwards, the doctor and the orderly worked together to hoist Donna off of the couch, carrying her out of the checkerboard room and moving down the hallway of the first floor, placing her in the first bedroom they could reach. Once the woman was resting peacefully in a full-sized bed with green comforters, Aravali met Elaine’s eyes and gave her a small farewell before marching off to rejoin the rest.
Then—Amory, Xena, Mikey, and Aravali all walked out of Evervale Manor together.