Megan crossed her arms, waiting by the hospital door for her friend to join her.

Finally, Noah slowly descended the bus steps and made his way over. He seemed a little out of it, but not as bad as Megan felt.

"You okay?" She asked.

He raised an eyebrow at her. "Why wouldn't I be okay?"

Because I think I rejected you... Megan swallowed at the thought. But it was too much to bear, thinking about what could've just happened on that bus; they could've been wearing much different expressions if she hadn't been so scared of growing up. But she was, and now Noah was hiding embarrassment.

Wanting to distract him, Megan nudged him on the shoulder and grinned. "No reason."

Noah returned the grin. "Well then, ready to visit a possessed woman?"

She rolled her eyes. "I'm going to be visiting a coma patient."

He laughed at that and opened the door for her, letting her walk in first. "Either way."

When Megan entered the hospital, strangely the first thing that came to mind was her school; the floor tiles were sparkling from fluorescent lights, there were several people, the speaker making announcements...

But what drew her back to the fact it was a hospital were the strong scents of medicine and cleaning products, the weird feeling of sadness in the air, and the amount of rubber gloves nurses and doctors were wearing.

She unzipped her backpack and pulled out the small bouquet of sunflowers; she and Noah had bought them at a small booth near the bus stop for their visit. They were basic, but pretty with a light green bow tied around the brown paper the flowers sat inside.

Noah was already at the reception desk, giving the woman a gold-star grin. "Hello!"

The woman pushed her red-rimmed glasses up her nose and sighed. "What can I do for you?"

He twirled a small bit of hair between his fingers. It never ceased to amaze Megan how easily Noah could become charismatic. "I'm Josiah Jenkins and that's my cousin over there."

Megan's jaw dropped. What is he doing??? She took a step towards him but he held his hand up to stop her.

He looked back at the woman, smiling again. "We were wondering if we could see our grandmother. Harriet Jenkins."

He's lying to this woman! Megan glared at him but no one seemed to notice her.

The woman frowned at the name. "We don't really allow visitors for that particular patient; no one comes anyways."

Noah sighed. "Please? My cousin and I have always wanted to meet her. We came all this way!"

Megan tapped her foot impatiently against the hospital tile. This is definitely gonna come back to bite him someday. Probably the next time he's injured, and this very same woman learns he's not a Jenkins!!! She opened her mouth but Noah spoke over her.

"We won't be long. But couldn't you give us the room number?" Baby blue eyes sparkled, "please?"

The receptionist raised an eyebrow, causing her glasses to slide down again. "She's a very old woman."

"I know," he bowed his head. "We just never got to meet her. She came here before either of us was born. Mother says she was found unconscious in the woods."

That brought her attention. "How do you know that, young man?"

Noah shrugged. "My mother told me. Why, is that classified or something?"

Telling by the sweet but confused tone in his voice, Megan knew that Noah probably knew it was in fact a hush-hush situation. And he was using it to his advantage; she wanted to slap him at that moment.

"Young man," the woman took her glasses off to examine the lenses, "nobody has visited her in years. If this is some kind of trick-"

"It's not!" He held his hands up to prove innocence. "And if no one has visited, then wouldn't it be good for her to have company?"

A few seconds passed by. Then the woman sighed, putting on her glasses again to search for something on her computer. After a while, she looked up. "Third floor. Room 468. And the elevator's right there."

Noah clasped his hands together and backed away from the desk. "Thank you so much!!" He turned around and took Megan by the hand, pulling her towards the elevator.

When the doors closed, Megan narrowed her eyes at him.

"What?"

Megan scoffed and put a hand on her hip. "Don't ask me what, Noah! You know what!"

"Oh," he sighed.

"Noah Jacob Seers you lied to that woman!"

"I had to." He shrugged.

Megan's hands went into fists. "What made you have to? You couldn't just ask?"

"No," he ran a hand in his hair. "Mrs Jenkins is one of the things Parano doesn't like thinking about. Us asking to see her, we probably would've gotten turned away." He looked at her. "And we need to see her, Meg. I just know today is the right time."

Megan was too frustrated to speak anymore. She yanked on one of her curls, watching the elevator doors open up.

Megan held tightly to the bouquet, hoping she wasn't crushing it from all her agitation.

The third floor was even worse than the lobby. The lights flickered, the sadness in the air was straight-up depression, and old rubber gloves were the only scent Megan could catch.

Had she continued to be sick, Eli probably would've taken her to Genoe city; Parano's hospital wasn't known for being good, making the doctor's office most everyone's first choice.

"Here it is." Noah walked up to the door and opened it for her.

Megan sighed, walking slowly into the room. It wasn't a large room. The white wallpaper was faded, a few chairs sat against the wall collecting dust, and the ceiling was collecting cobwebs.

And lastly in the room, was an old woman in a hospital bed. She was smiling as if she wasn't hooked up to a breathing machine and heart monitor, possibly never to wake up; that bothered Megan.

"I wonder what she was doing in the woods..." She wondered out loud.

Noah closed the door and joined her at the side of the bed. "She could've been like us, and your dad and U.W.; lost."

Megan saw a dried-up vase of roses and frowned at it. "Who do you think came last?"

"I couldn't say," Noah answered, "are you going to change those?"

She nodded, picking up the vase and carrying it to the small bathroom. She dumped the dead roses into a trashcan and filled the glass vase with water before undoing the bouquet's wrapping. "It's so quiet in here."

"Yeah."

Megan took out the sunflowers and set them in the vase gently, arranging them so they looked nice. The stems were a little tall, but not having scissors there was nothing she could do about it. She tied the green ribbon around the neck of the vase and walked back into the main room.

Noah smiled when he saw the arrangement. "Those look great."

Megan gave a small nod. "Thanks." Setting the vase down in its original place, she went to stand at the window.

There was a small basketball court behind the hospital building, and Megan could see five patients playing what they probably thought was an intense game. But she'd seen a little basketball with her uncle, and she knew that three were traveling, one missed the basket, and the other aimed at the wrong hoop. Not to mention, there weren't supposed to be two balls on the court.

But they didn't seem to mind, and Megan smiled as the patients enjoyed themselves.

"Oh, hi there!"

Megan turned around to see who was at the door, but no one was there. Confused, she looked over at Noah.

He was laughing and sat down on his knees, staring at the unconscious woman. "It's very nice to meet you."

Oh gosh, Megan's eyes widened, he thinks he's talking to her!

He nodded. "Yeah, I understand. Wait... So I'm right then??" The bed made no movement. "Yes!" His eyes twinkled, "I knew it was right. I felt it!"

Megan felt sick to her stomach. He's actually talking to a coma patient... she quietly tiptoed over to the hospital bed, keeping a close eye on him.

"Yes ma'am, she's with me." Suddenly he frowned. "Wh-what do you mean? She can't hear you? That's ridiculous of course she can! Trust me! Meg," he shot nervous baby blue eyes at her. "You can hear her... Right?"

Unsure of what to do, Megan gave him a thumbs up. "Mhm..."

It was good enough for Noah. He exhaled with relief. "I told you she could. And yes, I know you fell in. Why am I here?" He pursed his lips, "I have a question about Genevieve. Oh," he laughed, "Sorry I guess you don't know her by that name. I meant one of the darkest souls. Yes," he nodded, "I thought you might recognize her."

Megan decided just to let her friend finish his imaginary conversation and sat down at one of the chairs, still watching him.

"Really?" He breathed out in awe, "You have more legends about us? That you learned from the portal?" His eyes lit up. "Could you tell them to me? I'll write them down when I get the chance."

Megan pulled on her curls in boredom.

"So we can't be apart. Is there a reason? Ah... I think I get it. Why?" He laughed, "Why do I have to be quiet? Oh..." He pursed his lips, "Okay, then tell me."

Megan dropped her jaw at Noah taking the woman's limp hand. Really he wasn't harming her, but this was getting weird. He closed his eyes as if he was tuning the rest of the world out.

Megan sat back in her chair, constantly checking the time. It had been ten minutes since Noah had closed his eyes, so when he snapped up, Megan nearly fell out of her chair in surprise.

"No!" He breathed out, eyes as wide as dinner plates, "You can't be serious!" He stood up, wiping the dirt off his pants. "I understand. We'll stop it. Come on, Meg," he looked up, "we should go."

Megan was more than happy to leave. "If you think we should."

"We have to." He pursed his lips tightly.

Megan ran over to the door and opened it. "You're right, we should go."

Noah walked to the door but stopped, turning around to the woman again. "Yes?" A few seconds passed, and then he nodded at something unsaid. "Come on, Meg." He repeated.

"Perfect." Megan closed the door behind both of them, glad to be in the creepy and dimly lit hallway again. "So where are we going?"

Noah put his hands in his peacoat pockets. "There's a lot of private information we have to discuss. So we have to go to the portal."

Megan frowned. "What's the portal?" Shock spread through his eyes, jogging her memory. "Right!" She clapped, "The pond! Of course."
...

Noah was too busy pacing around the stairs to notice how bored Megan was.

Picking up a stone, she threw it into the murky water of the pond, watching as it created ripples. She picked up another one and did the same. When she got to the third, she wasn't entertained anymore and looked over at Noah. "What are you doing?"

"Gathering my thoughts," he mumbled, flipping through pages faster than she was sure he could read through.

She sighed, staring down at the cut grass.

Noah had been there while she was sick, fixing it up for her. All the grass was trimmed to ankle length, the dead leaves had been raked and taken away, and he even put a few rocks on the way to the portal to help her get there without anyone else finding out where it led. But that didn't matter; Megan still hated the place.

"Gathering what?" She asked, throwing the last stone in her hand at the water. "You've been like this for a while."

"I'm sorry..." He turned the page again, showing he wasn't that sorry.

He thought he was talking to a coma patient; and an innocent woman. What could he be looking at that's so important to him? "Noah," Megan pursed her lips, "will you tell me what you're up to?"

It took him a few seconds to decide. He almost seemed like he didn't want to tell her at all. But then he gave a small nod and walked over to her. "You should read this, Meg." He put the journal in her hands.

Megan wanted to drop it. It was the first time she'd ever held her father's journal and it wasn't a good feeling. It was heavier than it looked, and the leather was warm to her fingers from Noah running his fingertips against it so often out of habit, but that only made her more angry at it.

It was the reason Noah lied to see a random patient. It was the reason Noah found a place in the woods and called it the Portal of Souls. It was the reason he thought he was the legendary Light one.

It was the reason for his delusions.

She grimaced at the open journal in her hands. "What am I looking at?"

Noah ran a jittery hand through his hair. "The legends Roland and his dad put in it, right? With Genevieve and the Ghost keeper and Light one?" Megan shrugged. "Well, Mrs Jenkins told me the baby's soul knows a lot more legends straight from the source; the portal."

Megan dug her fingernails into the leather cover of the journal. "What kinds of legends?"

"Because of the questions I asked her, she told me I was right," he grinned, "my powers are developing! But something is coming, Meg, I've always known that. And my powers are showing up because I believe in my destiny! And... Meg..." He frowned, "why are you rolling your eyes?"

Megan hadn't even realized, keeping down a gasp from her mistake. "Uh, they must've rolled on their own?"

"Oh..." He sighed, "I'm your protector, that's also what I was told; but we knew that. My powers are for defense, protecting people and souls, and also to gather information. I'm the one you look to for help." His eyes sparkled.

"And..." She cleared her throat. "What about me?"

His expression turned clueless. "Actually, she said she couldn't feel you. And she said you couldn't hear her. I told her that was nonsense," he smiled, "because we've been in this together since we were nine years old!"

"Yeah," she swallowed, "exactly."

He pointed at the left page of the journal. "I found more on the Ghost keeper after Mrs. Jenkins couldn't tell me much, just to make sure what she said and what Roland said matched. They do." His eyes stayed on the page. "Your powers are extraordinary, though not known yet."

"What?" Megan frowned, "not known yet?" Wait a second... Why do I care? This isn't even real.

But Noah answered her. "What I do know is that you're what's keeping Genevieve from taking over the world. But the amount of darkness in the pond right now isn't good for you. If you were in the pond, that would give her plenty of time to make the world what she wants-"

"Wait," Megan hated that she wanted details. "Make the world what she wants?"

Noah nodded. "Your dad was told Genevieve would try to take over the world. He wanted to try and protect it, starting with Parano. So he wrote the journal after all other accounts of the paranormal were destroyed. You see Megan," Noah clarified, "if there's no information around, that gives a powerful soul the ability to change things how they want. A person could be dead, alive, or eternally loyal. And only the Ghost keeper and Light one have the power to fix it."

"Has it happened before?"

Noah shrugged with a laugh, "well we wouldn't know, would we? The past Ghost keepers and Light ones are the ones who would've fixed it."

"Okay..." Megan bit her lip. It was starting to sound ridiculous again. "So if the Ghost keeper goes into the pond, gets overwhelmed by darkness, and becomes weak... Then the evil souls change the world how they want?"

"Exactly," he winked. "I know that when your powers come, Meg, they'll be awesome. Oh," he added quickly, "and I also learned that we do in fact balance each other out. Like when I touched the pencil and you touched me? We're stronger together; we shouldn't be apart for that reason."

"And... The woman at the hospital told you this?"

"Yes," he answered confidently, "and her name is Mrs Jenkins, Meg. She's not just some woman, she gave us our mission."

Megan's eyebrows shot up. "Mission??"

Noah's face turned grim. "When I explained who Genevieve was, she told me what she'd been hearing from the nurses. Apparently, a group of teens escaped prison and haven't been found yet. Except there have been recent sightings," his eyes flashed, "in Genoe city.

Oh boy... Megan eyed Noah. "And you think these are evil teens?"

"Of course, they're Genevieve's followers! I can feel it. And I can also feel that we shouldn't let them roam around; they're either looking for us or for Genevieve."

"Okay," Megan sighed, "but she's probably in some place far away."

"She is," Noah's eyes narrowed, "and I know where. Jerson."

"Jerson?" Megan teased, "Jerson as in: doesn't exist Jerson??? How could she be somewhere that doesn't exist?? Oh gosh!" She smiled, but Noah wasn't joking.

"I mean it, Meg," he continued, "the island is real. Being so dangerous and so young, that's where she was put. Now I'm sure there are other criminals in there now but it was new when she was locked up there."

"Why would they lock up a little girl?"

"Ugh!!!" Noah pulled on his hair, "Megan have you already forgotten that she killed four people?!! And two of those were-!..." He bit his lip and quietly looked down at the grass. "The gang was separated, and that's where they put her. And now the teens that escaped are probably trying to set her free."

Megan shut the journal with a hard, clap. "Okay, so Genevieve's in a rumored prison, sure. But you keep saying teens. Wouldn't the gang be twenty-one?"

Noah shook his head, still keeping his eyes on the short blades of grass. "Not the whole gang. Since this group is nineteen, they were probably the youngest."

Megan walked over to the pond, ignoring Noah's nervous winces. "That would mean they were toddlers when they got thrown in. That's not very believable Noah."

"Megan," Noah met her eyes and frowned, "why are you talking to me like that? It almost sounds like you're doubting me and... I don't like it."

Realizing she was going too far to the edge, she glared at the journal. "I'm sorry."

"Thank you."

Megan kicked at the grass. "So, we have to stop Genevieve?" He nodded. "Then what's the pla-"

"MEGAN WATCH OUT!!"

Megan screamed as Noah barreled into her, knocking her onto the grass. She could feel where a blade of it sliced her hand open.

All that could be heard were two sets of breaths; one worried and one furious.

"Whew," he sighed in her face, "it's gone now."

Megan's cheeks burned as crimson blood dropped down her palm. "Noah get OFF!!" He clambered off of her and she stood straight up, gripping the journal with her injured hand; she could barely glimpse the S&S being smeared by her blood. "What the heck was that??" She glared.

"What do you mean?" Noah blinked, puzzled.

She gritted her teeth together. "Why did you just knock me down??"

"What do you mean?" He repeated, "I saved you! The shadow was here! It swept past me and tried to push you into the pond -I've told you that you shouldn't be close to it- and I got you out of the way before it could!"

"The shadow?" Megan gripped the journal's spine tighter, "you mean the shadow from my nightmares?"

"Yes!" Noah pursed his lips, "it was coming right towards you! It was behind me!"

"NOAH!" Megan snapped, "It's from a NIGHTMARE!" She