Happy Friday, fantasy readers! Here’s Chapter 11 Part 2 of Saving ForeverLand.

If you didn’t get a chance to read the previous chapters, remember to check those out in the archive. I’ve included the links to the last three issues below:

Chapter 10 Part 1

Chapter 10 Part 2

Chapter 11 Part 1

Just as a heads up - I’m planning on alternating with different content after this post.

Basically, I need to ensure that my entire book isn’t available for free before I publish it, so I’m going to put a paywall on some of the later chapters, meaning you would need to pay for a paid subscription to access the end of the book.

However, I’m going to continue with free posts each week as well and I can’t wait to continue keeping up with this newsletter even when Saving ForeverLand comes to an end.

Embraced by the vacuum that was the portal, Sarah held her breath, waiting for the weird burning sensation to pass before she popped out on the other side. When she finally felt her feet hit the ground again, she breathed deeply and looked around. Why are we back in Leisata?

Omor was standing right ahead of her, looking at something ahead of them. Sarah turned back and saw Josh emerging from the portal which quickly closed once both his feet were placed firmly on the grass. Josh looked around and Sarah saw understanding wash over him. He knows where Omor is taking us.

Not keen on being left in the dark any longer, Sarah tapped Omor on the shoulder to get his attention. When he turned to face her, he held up one finger to his lips. “Shhhh.” Then he pointed to the building around the corner, in the heart of Leisata. Omor began to walk towards the building, Josh by his side, and they both turned to wave Sarah over. Reminding herself that she needed to trust them, or at least give them a chance, she followed.

They scurried around the back of the building and stopped next to a large boulder, which Josh and Omor proceeded to roll aside, revealing a tunnel. “Get inside,” Josh instructed urgently.

Sarah hunched over to fit through the opening of the tunnel and followed her fellow benders about 10 feet inside before they all stopped. Josh and Omor seemed to be in syn now - both facing Sarah like experienced professors getting ready for an important lecture. Before they could say anything though, Sarah spoke. “Where are we?”

Josh was the first to respond. “We’re under the Chiefs’ office.”

Omor jumped in next. “We need to show you what the Chiefs are doing - why it’s necessary to get all the benders out of Leisata. We just need to get you and Josh up that vent.” He pointed right above them. The vent was definitely large enough for Josh and Sarah to fit, but it was clear that Omor would have to wait below.

“I’ll push it open and go first; you follow,” Josh said to Sarah. Though she wanted to ask more about the specifics of the plan, after looking up into Josh’s eyes and seeing his goofy smile start to form, her stubborn and controlling nature left her; it was replaced by a trust so that felt so natural she just couldn’t challenge it. Josh continued to look at her as if he were waiting for the answer to the most important question in the world. Finally, Sarah nodded her agreement. In an instant, Josh jumped about a foot in the air, knocked the vent loose with his hand, and shifted it off to the side, clearing a space for both him and Sarah to pull themselves through. Josh landed carefully and quietly on the ground for a second, and then he started scaling the rock wall of the tunnel.

He only needed to push himself up a foot to reach the hole in the vent and pull himself, and when he did, he swung his legs up like a gymnast, then leaned down and hung both arms back down towards Sarah, a makeshift elevator ready to take its first passenger.

Sarah grabbed both of Josh’s hands and allowed him to pull her straight up into the space above. She just had to get her feet situated on each side of the opening, and then she stepped over to the right side, next to Josh, who focused on the covering to the vent which was left down in the tunnel. She recognized that look. With a wave of his arms, Josh caused the vent covering to fly back up to where it had been moments ago, successfully bending time. Now that they were settled, Sarah looked around at her new surroundings.

Sarah never imagined that she would see the inside of the Chiefs’ office, and when she quickly remembered that they were out to capture her, she was even less thrilled to be there, but she couldn’t deny that the room was impressive. Four bookshelves made up the walls of the space, like an overflowing library. She squinted to try to make out a few of the titles and suddenly gasped. These are all fantasy books - all books about magic! Then she turned to Josh and asked, “Why do the Chiefs have all these? They’re illegal!”

“Shhhh,” Josh replied. “They’re illegal because the Chiefs don’t want anyone in Leisata to know that magic exists. They took all these books so none of you would know the truth.”

Sarah walked around the room silently, fingers brushing against the spines of the books she passed, and then she paused. Is that? Pulling the book off the shelf, Sarah stared at the cover - it was The Woodland Journey, her favorite book from all those years ago. She promptly put it back, afraid that the Chiefs would somehow know she touched it, and then began to look more closely at the other items in the room.

“They have a plan - the Chiefs,” Josh interrupted her investigation. “Elozar didn’t want to tell you this part, but now it’s important you know. The Chiefs are actually mindbenders.”

“What the hell is a mindbender?” Sarah asked, though she knew it couldn’t be anything good.

“They’re the reason the citizens of Leisata don’t know about magic. If any magic appears in their world, they track the source down, kill it, and wipe the minds of everyone involved.”

“But,” Sarah stammered. “My parents - are the Chiefs going to make them forget I ever existed?”

“They’re safe for now - Elozar made sure of that, but Sarah, this is why we need to take all the benders to ForeverLand. Hadoo, or Anthony at the time, didn’t know about this, and he didn’t stick around long enough to find out.”

Sarah nodded, understanding how some information could be lost in the transition to ForeverLand. “But why does he hate Elozar? What happened?”

Josh took a deep breath as if preparing for a speech that would be graded by a group of critics. “I’m not going to lie to you, Sarah.” He ran his hand through his hair, looking down at the floor. “Hadoo was tortured in ForeverLand. Elozar swears he didn’t know anything about it until after he left, but it appears that Hadoo blamed Elozar for the pain all those years ago.”

“What happened to the person who hurt Hadoo?”

Josh looked up at Sarah, his eyes determined like he was heading to war. “It was his trainer. Hadoo threw him into a black hole, and that’s what he wants to do with Elozar and all of ForeverLand.”

Sarah’s jaw dropped, trying to take everything in, but at the same time feeling like she just got hit by a bus.

“Even though Hadoo’s trainer hurt him, that doesn’t excuse his reaction. Two wrongs definitely don’t make a right, and Elozar tried to reason with him but Hadoo completely shut him out. It’s like all he cares about is getting his revenge.” He stepped forward and put his hands on Sarah’s shoulders, but the wild look in his eyes still had her concerned. What is wrong with him? “We have to kill him before he destroys our entire world, and Elozar thinks that you’re the only one who can do that. You’re the other dualbender, and somehow, you and Hadoo are connected.”

“Connected how?” Sarah asked, pulling away from Josh’s hold on her.

Josh looked taken aback, but he quickly recovered.

“I don’t know,” he admitted, shaking his head, and Sarah could tell he wasn’t keeping anything else from her. “That’s all I know - I swear. But, that’s enough for me to stand behind Elozar and fight this monster. I proved my loyalty to the cause, and that’s why he picked me to be your trainer.”

Sarah felt like she was going to faint right there in the middle of the Chiefs’ office, but instead, she turned to the back corner and pointed. “What’s that?” She asked, as if the previous conversation was simply over.

“Oh,” Josh said seriously. “That.” He began to walk towards the machine in the corner. As soon as he looked away from her, Sarah reached back to the bookshelf and tucked The Woodland Journey into her bag.

She turned her attention back to Josh, as he held his hands over the bright green glowing chains wrapped around two spears that protruded from the top of the contraption. Then Sarah noticed the two switches that Josh placed his hand on.

“This is the XMachina - the Chiefs’ own invention. This switch,” Josh said hovering his pointer finger over the top, “is the Purifier. It’s what sucks the magic out of the source. But this,” he said pointing at the bottom, red switch, “is the Killer. When the Chiefs flip both switches, this machine takes away a person’s magic and kills them in the process.” Josh removed his hands from the XMachina and put his hands on his hips. “I hope that’s enough proof for you. I mean, I know Hadoo was hurt in ForeverLand, but it’s obvious the Chiefs are a bunch of murderers. He would have been killed if we didn’t take him away.”

Sarah considered all the information, weighing the different sides - Hadoo, Elozar, the Chiefs - this was becoming a convoluted story. Her head was throbbing like her brain would burst from her skull. How could she even blame Elozar and Josh for trying to simplify things?”

Sarah jumped when she heard something from down in the vents. Is that Omor? But when she looked at Josh, his face told her this wasn’t part of their plan.

Both Sarah and Josh ran to the vent. Josh jumped down first, and then Sarah followed, not knowing what she’d find below, but praying that Omor hadn’t run into any trouble. When both her feet landed securely on the ground, she scanned the area. No Omor. Josh was running to the end of the tunnel, where they entered, but Sarah noticed that it was blocked by the boulder once again. He slammed his fists against the rock, clearly frustrated, and looked at Sarah seriously. “You have to get us out of here.”

“But, what about Omor?” Sarah asked frantically. “What happened to him!?”

“We knew taking you here was a risk, but the important thing is we get you back to ForeverLand safely. Omor and I, we’re not the priorities here.”

Sarah was taken aback by his reply, and she couldn’t contain her confusion. “What do you mean?”

“I mean,” Josh said stoically, “we agreed that if one of us didn’t make it, the other would get out. We have to go - now Sarah!” Although she hesitated for a moment, staring at the boulder and wondering what was behind it, Sarah concentrated on their destination and the portal appeared instantly.

“You first,” Josh instructed. Sarah could tell there was no arguing with him - those eyes were resolute. She resigned herself to escaping and proceeded to leap through the swirl of light which quickly turned into the dark embrace of the portal, grabbing hold of her and taking her home.

Things are moving along well with The Great Substack Story Challenge! Check out the list of all the newsletters/writers participating on the Fictionistas website. Chapter 7 just got released yesterday, so don’t forget to follow up with all the newsletters to find out what happens to Joey.

Check it Out on Fictionistas