Epilogue

  AJ walked up to Justin. He did a full 360-degree turn, looking up and down. Justin reached out his hand, palm facing forward. AJ reached back, but his hand went through. Justin pulled his hand back and stared at it.

  “How is this possible?” AJ asked Justin. But Justin looked sad, still staring at his hand.

  “It didn’t work. I can’t come back,” said Justin.

  “Justin?” AJ said.

  “Okay,” Justin replied with a deep sigh. He wiped away the tears in his eyes. “Okay.” He repeated, looking at Mike, Zoe, and the others. “They are not going to wake up. But I can help them. They won’t remember anything. They will think it was all just a dream. It will be up to you to help them. Help them live the life they deserve. Will you? Will you help them, guide them? And when times get hard, be there for them, showing them how lucky they are to be in this amazing world with each other?”

  “Justin, slow down. You absorbed all the entities. Isn’t that what you wanted? What is happening—” AJ started, but Justin interrupted.

  “We have to put them back somewhere that seems like they’d fall asleep naturally,” Justin said.

  “Hm. Dragging bodies outside would raise alarms, so it all has to be here. We can put Zoe in my bed, Everett on the couch, and the rest of my family in their own beds,” AJ suggested.

  “Sounds perfect,” Justin said with a smile.

  AJ first grabbed Everett since the couch was right there. He struggled at first, trying to figure out how to pick him up. He decided to drag him to the couch, then got behind him and lifted him by the shoulders. That was a lot easier. He laid Everett’s upper body on the couch, removed his shoes, and placed his legs down.

  “Now what?” AJ asked Justin.

  Justin walked over to Everett. He knelt, placed his hand on Everett’s head, and closed his eyes. At first, nothing happened, but AJ, still connected to Justin, felt an overwhelming sorrow and pain. Justin’s body slowly began to emit his black smoke, a little of which entered Everett. Everett’s eyes opened. Justin pulled his hand away. Everett got up, looked around, and then at Justin, and nodded. Justin nodded in return.

  “Everett!” AJ exclaimed excitedly.

  Everett hugged AJ. “Thank you,” he said before leaving.

  “What just happened? I thought you said he wouldn’t remember?” AJ asked.

  “He won’t. You know how you remember a dream as soon as you wake up, but as time passes, you forget?” Justin explained. “Any minute now, on his walk home, he’ll forget any dream related to this or shadow entities. He’ll remember waking up on this couch and the bonds you created at school, but his brain will fill in the gaps that I erased—anything connected to me or this dream will be gone forever.”

  “Why erase? Why not let them remember?” AJ asked.

  “Because it’s the only way. Adam left a part of himself in their consciousness so deep I can’t absorb it. It would damage them. But what I can do is erase it from existence. That means all memories associated with it will be gone,” Justin said.

  AJ noticed that Justin was looking pale—or rather, darker, like someone was turning down the brightness on a TV, but only on him.

  “Wait, is this hurting you?” AJ asked.

  “I’ll lose this body, yes, but it’s not real, so it doesn’t matter,” Justin said, sounding defeated.

  “Justin. We can take a moment.” AJ said sympathetically.

  “Let’s move on to Zoe,” Justin said.

  AJ found it easier to carry Zoe due to her size. He picked her up in his arms and carried her to his bed, laying her down gently before sitting by the foot of the bed. Justin knelt again, placing one hand on hers, even though he couldn’t touch her, and the other on her head. AJ sensed the sadness from Justin. As Justin closed his eyes, tears fell from his eye, turning the tears into smoke and entering Zoe. A tear ran down Zoe’s cheek as she twitched from the smoke entering her. Justin sat back and smiled at her as her eyes opened.

  Zoe sat up, looked at Justin, and tears began to pour down her face. She tried to touch him, but her hand passed through. She grabbed AJ, pulling him into a tight hug.

  “Zoe, I’m so glad you’re back,” AJ said.

  “I’m sorry. I can’t,” Zoe said, getting up and running out the door.

  AJ looked from the door to Justin, who was now almost transparent.

  “Justin I mean it. This is confusing. Why do they act like that when they wake up?” AJ asked.

  “Now, let’s move on to Mike,” Justin said, ignoring AJ.

  AJ went down to get Mike, who was the hardest to carry. AJ had to take breaks going up the stairs, even dropping him once, but he finally managed to get him to his room. Justin observed from the corner.

  Justin hovered over Mike, placing his hand above him. This time, AJ felt not just sadness but happiness and relief. Mike opened his eyes, looked at AJ, and smiled. He looked back at Justin and nodded.

  “I will,” Mike said.

  “Will what?” AJ asked.

  “Let me help you put Mom and Dad back before I forget any of this. We have to hurry,” Mike said. Before AJ knew it, Mike was already out of the room, and AJ followed.

  “Grab her feet,” Mike said, holding his mother’s upper body. AJ grabbed her feet, and they carried her to her room. Next, they went downstairs to get their father. They laid Adam next to Mary.

  AJ stood on one side of the bed while Mike and Justin were on the other. Mike then left the room. Justin, now almost a ghost-like figure, walked through the bed and stood between their parents, placing one hand on Adam and the other on Mary. He closed his eyes.

  AJ felt a whirlwind of emotions—anger, joy, fear, and sorrow so intense that he clutched his chest and fell to his knees.

  “What is happening?” he asked, looking up at Justin. Justin’s body was dissolving, becoming a cloud until he was unrecognizable.

  “Justin?” AJ got to his feet. “Justin?!”

  “It’s okay. I’m still with you,” Justin said inside AJ’s head. The black shadow moved toward AJ.

  “Why aren’t they waking up? Did it work?” AJ asked frantically, his heart still pounding.

  “Relax. It worked. I’m just letting them sleep—they’ve been through a lot,” Justin replied.

  “What about you?” AJ asked.

  “There’s one more thing we need to do. Let’s head back to your room,” Justin said. The shadow left the room, and AJ followed.

  “Sit on your bed,” Justin instructed.

  “Are you going to erase my memory?” AJ asked nervously.

  “No. Actually, the opposite. I’m going to show you my memories. Are you ready? Stick out your hand,” Justin said.

  AJ walked over to his bed and sat down, reaching out his hand. The shadowy smoke stretched thin, wrapping around AJ’s index finger and spiraling up his arm to his head. AJ’s eyes grew heavy, and he fell asleep.

  When AJ opened his eyes, he was on a beach. It was calm, with the sky glowing in the colors of a sunset, though there was no sun. He saw a version of himself staring at the waves and walked over.

  “Justin?” AJ asked.

  “Remember this place? It’s where we first met,” Justin said.

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  “Yeah. You were an older version of me, with some random family. Why?” AJ asked.

  “I think it had something to do with my subconscious, with what a perfect family should be. But that wasn’t me. That was you, latching onto that dream. You were the older version,” Justin explained.

  “What? No, you were the older version and screamed at me,” AJ said.

  “AJ, what do you remember from that day, before the dream?” Justin asked.

  AJ looked confused, trying to recall.

  “I—can’t remember,” AJ said.

  “What do you remember of our childhood?” Justin asked again.

  “I remember… flashes of memories, like—”

  “Like watching a home video or looking at old pictures? That’s because those aren’t your memories. They’re mine. You were just watching from the outside,” Justin said.

  “What are you getting at?” AJ asked.

  Justin stared at him. “You really think you’re me, don’t you?”

  “What?!” AJ said.

  “You’ve been living in my body,” Justin said.

  AJ felt anxious, unsure of what was happening. But Justin remained calm, sitting in the sand and gazing out at the dreamlike waves.

  "Will you sit with me?" Justin patted the sand next to him, looking up at AJ. He saw the hesitation in AJ's eyes. "It's okay. You probably won’t believe me, but I can’t hurt you."

  AJ was reluctant, but then he sat down. Neither of them spoke at first. They just sat there, watching the waves.

  Then Justin spoke. "I’m sorry I tricked you."

  "To be honest, I don’t know what you are, and I still don’t. Maybe you’re real, and these are just memories I have. But it doesn’t matter."

  Justin continued to stare at the waves. "AJ, I’m the last shadow you need to get rid of."

  "What? No. What does that mean for you?" AJ asked.

  "I’m like a gateway for these things. No, more like a lightning rod. It had to happen. Right now. Before more come into this world and go after our family. I just needed to make sure they were safe—that I left this world better than when I entered it."

  "What has to happen?" AJ asked, looking at Justin, who still wasn’t making eye contact.

  "You had to kill me," Justin said.

  "What? How could you even say that? This is not funny!" AJ screamed, shaking Justin, trying to make him look at him.

  Justin finally turned to face AJ. "You know, I always thought I’d be brave when my time came. I had dreams of being a hero." Tears started to stream down Justin’s face. "But I’m scared, AJ. I don’t want to die."

  "You won’t! We’ll find a way, even if we have to keep fighting all of them," AJ said, now tearing up as well.

  "You don’t understand. I could feel them coming. You think it was just those five? There are far more evils waiting to be unleashed in this world. This was the only way."

  "Wait. 'Had'? 'Was'? Justin, what aren’t you telling me?" AJ asked, hoping his gut feeling was wrong.

  Justin looked up at him.

  "Justin, what did you do?!" AJ screamed.

  "I guess you could call it my remaining consciousness. That’s all that was left in that shadowy state. I gave it all to save the others and their memories of the past that the shadows tried to erase. I could feel it—I was fading into nothing, no matter what, each time. I only had enough time to enter your mind. Therefore, forcing you to absorb the rest of me."

  "What does that mean?" AJ asked.

  "It means this is goodbye. Once you wake up, I’ll be gone. We can’t exist in the same space—the same body."

  "Everything you’re saying sounds insane. What makes you an expert! We can figure this out," AJ said desperately.

  "It’ll be easier if I show you. The night everything changed. Take my hand." Justin reached out his hand. AJ took it.

  Laughter echoed down the beach as a memory played out in front of them. AJ, Zoe, and some other classmates ran onto the beach, preparing for a bonfire.

  "Who’s got the beer?" one kid asked. "Tyrone does."

  "There he is!"

  "I brought weed too," Tyrone grinned. The crowd cheered.

  *Honk *Honk *Honk *Honnnnnnnnnk.

  A car horn blared from the parking lot.

  "Who the hell is that?" one kid asked.

  "Oh, shit. AJ, is that your dad?" Zoe asked.

  "Ooooh, you’re screwed," Tyrone laughed.

  AJ, embarrassed and furious, hurried up to the car.

  "Dad, what the hell?" AJ asked as he approached the window.

  "Don’t you dare speak to me like that. You think you can just skip out of the party? On your family. Your mother and I are furious," Adam said.

  "I was just hanging with friends. What’s the big deal?" AJ asked.

  "Your brother is in town, and we agreed to spend time as a family. Wait." Adam got out of the car, sniffing the air. "Is that alcohol and weed?! That’s it, get in the car," Adam snapped.

  "No, I didn’t do anything wrong! You drink all the time. You’re probably drunk right now," AJ said, standing up to his dad for the first time.

  "What did you say?" Adam asked.

  "I said I’m not going with you when you’re like this," AJ said.

  BAM.

  Adam struck AJ across the face, sending him flying to the ground. AJ's head hit a rock, but Adam didn’t notice right away.

  Adam immediately realized what he’d done.

  "Come on, get up," Adam said, his tone suddenly softer. "Here, let me help you."

  He helped AJ to his feet, who was dazed. Adam helped him into the passenger seat and shut the door. As he looked around to see if anyone had noticed, he saw a kid standing alone with a ninja skateboard. They locked eyes for a moment before Adam drove off. When they got home, Adam sent AJ straight to bed. When Mary asked what happened, Adam lied and said AJ had fallen while drinking.

  Justin turned to AJ. "My dad didn’t see it, but when I fell, I hit my head on that rock, which caused internal bleeding. I probably would’ve survived if he had taken me to the hospital. But he was more worried about his reputation and tried to hide it. I was bleeding from the inside, and that’s when you were able to take over my body. There was a period between life and death where I was neither. And you took over."

  "No, that’s impossible. I’m AJ," AJ stammered, panicking.

  "Hey, listen. That doesn’t matter. You are AJ now. I want you to live my life. Take care of my family."

  "What was the point of all this? This death? It’s not fair. I don’t understand. Why do things like this, like any of this, happen?" AJ exclaimed.

  Justin paused as the memories faded, and they were back on the beach.

  "There’s no reason for death or life. The meaning of life is that there is none, but doesn’t that give all the reason to enjoy it while it lasts," Justin said.

  The sun was setting. It was beautiful, with the sound of waves crashing and the smell of salty water in the air.

  "Thank you," said Justin.

  "For what?" AJ asked.

  AJ could see him fading. Justin's body was beginning to dissolve into shadowy black smoke.

  "Because of you, I was able to say goodbye. To all of them. Please, take good care of them," said Justin.

  AJ could only nod, tears streaming down his face. He looked down at his own body and saw smoke coming from it. But wait, he thought. If Justin is leaving, how can I still be emitting smoke? Unless... what if he’s telling the truth? If the entities can share part of their life to extend a human’s life, as Justin did for the others, then...

  AJ reached out to Justin's fading form.

  "What are you doing?" Justin asked.

  AJ turned his hand into smoke. "One more time, Justin. One last time. Grab my hand," AJ said.

  Justin reached out with his fading hand. AJ’s eyes turned black, his own hand emitting smoke. Their hands grasped each other, and both were surprised to feel the solid connection.

  "I remember," AJ said with a grin on his face as his body started to become transparent. Justin looked shocked as his body grew more solid. Their eyes grew heavy. AJ watched as Justin closed his eyes first. Then AJ closed his.

  AJ opened his eyes and found himself sitting on his bed in the real world. He looked down to see his arm sticking through Justin’s shadow of a body. But the only problem? They had switched bodies.

  The real AJ looked up. "I—I’m back in my own body. What did you do?"

  "I remember. You were right. I took your body once you died, but it was to save you. This was the plan all along. Your body was just so damaged that it made me forget," said the shadow entity.

  "But... why?" AJ asked, looking at his arm still passing through the shadow.

  "Where I come from, we cannot feel. We have no purpose. All we are is drifting consciousness, wandering through the universe. I don’t remember where we came from, but I know we are older than humans. Older than Earth. All we can do is observe. Most of space is empty, so naturally, we’re drawn to Earth, like moths to a flame. We usually move on from human to human. But there was something different about you. From the moment you were born, I watched you. I watched you grow, watched you cry. Something made me stay. I wondered what it would be like to be human, to feel what humans feel. I mimicked you in your dreams, sometimes replaying one of your memories as you. But it wasn’t the same. Other times, I imagined an older version of you with a family, trying to see what that would be like. I could only do it in your dreams."

  "How did I not notice you in my dreams?" AJ asked.

  "You know those dreams where you feel like you’re watching yourself in the third person? And you don’t quite have control? That’s us. And when that night happened, you recognized me. The real me. That’s never happened before. So I tried to wake you up, but you wouldn’t wake. That is when I realized something was wrong. I left the dream and I saw you—hopeless and dying. I left to see what the others were doing. Maybe someone noticed. Your brother, your father, your girlfriend. Even that boy who saw your dad hit you. But no one did anything. I didn’t understand why. I came back, looked down at you, and something happened that’s never happened to my kind. I felt. Not from mimicking you or any other human, but I had my own genuine feeling. I still don’t understand what it was, but I wanted you to live," The shadow said sounding choked up on emotion.

  "So badly, I wanted to see how your life would turn out. I wanted to see if you’d grow old, just like I’d imagined. But it was too late. I saw your consciousness leaving your body. Humans give off a light when they die that disperses into the universe, a light only we can see. I believe that’s why so many of your religions speak of a 'light at the end of the tunnel.' So, I gave up half of myself to spread my darkness to your light. And my other half entered your body to save it,"

  "That’s great, right?" AJ asked.

  "The only problem is, once you give up a part of yourself, there’s no getting it back. To save the others, you gave up so much—as I expected you would. There’s only one way to save you, and like you said, only one of us can occupy that body," The shadow said.

  AJ didn’t have to ask. He knew exactly what that meant. "No. Why? Why do this for me? I’ve done nothing for you. You don’t owe me anything! You had a chance to live. Why give it up for me?" AJ asked, his voice trembling.

  "Because I realized what I felt that night. It was love. My entire existence up until that point was nothing compared to that brief moment in time. You humans are so lucky, yet you fight, you kill, and you hate, simply because of the sins of those before you. I think we once knew love. We once felt. But without love, we doomed ourselves and evolved into something... dark."

  "AJ, there’s one thing you can do for me," The shadow said, his body dispersing until only his voice remained.

  "Anything," AJ said.

  “Remember the times you sat on a grassy hill staring up at the clouds. You would slowly watch the clouds pass by and you get lost in this world. Don’t lose that AJ. There is a beauty in those who get lost.”

  "Live a long life. I’d like to see... the man... you turn... out to... be." The voice was barely a whisper.

  AJ stood up. Justin was gone. AJ looked out his bedroom window. The world was the same, but with a new outlook on life, everything seemed different. He smiled, knowing he had developed the emotional strength to take on this life. He was ready for the next adventure.

  "I will."

  The End.