Euphorbia escorted Ranger Anthony through the sleeping village and the stream before the forest's gate. She let his hand go.
Mateo lowered his head. He could feel his demons. They expanded like a pressurized watermelon in his brain. He was on the verge of another breakdown. Mateo grabbed hold of his temples.
Euphorbia fluttered around his head. "You need to fight them, Mateo."
Hands still on his temples, Mateo collapsed to his knees. "I can't. I'm too weak."
The Green Guardian gently slapped his cheek. "You need to believe. You can get through this. I know you can."
Mateo yelled slightly. "I can't," he repeated. "El dolor."
Euphorbia was a bit frightened, but she remained calm. She folded her arms over her chest. "Where does it hurt?"
"En todas partes." What hurt the most was Mateo's tummy, head, and heart. His shoulder was okay.
"I'm going to help you, kid," Euphorbia said. "Watch this." She moved away from him and brought her palms together.
At her command, the Paperblank Forest sprung to life. Frogs hopped out of the stream. They croaked a mysterious tune. A family of deer, who heard the Guardian's plea, stepped out of the forest. They came within reach of her and Mateo.
The fawn touched Mateo's nose with her black button one.
He scratched her behind the ear and touched her white spots, which blended with her chestnut fur.
She did not fight him or pull away. Instead, she put her front legs under her and sank to the ground. She stretched her body across Mateo's thighs.
The fawn's parents lied down with their child. They rested on either side of Mateo. A few frogs hopped to him. They wanted to join the gathering, too.
Mateo pictured the fawn as his child—his little Isabella.
Euphorbia nodded at the baby and her parents. "It's okay."
Mateo rose to his feet. He picked up the fawn, holding her like a baby. He carried her over to the stream and set her down.
The fawn took a quick sip from the sweet-tasting water. Afterward, she trotted around the ranger.
He chased her around the open field.
Euphorbia fluttered after them.
Meanwhile, the fawn's parents cuddled close to one another and touched their noses. They did not mind leaving their child with Mateo because they knew they could trust him.
The fawn playfully ducked behind a rock, which was beside a cluster of flowers.
Mateo knew where she was, but he went along with her joke. With a small smile on his face, he tapped his chin. "Hm, I wonder where Izzy went?" When the fawn wasn't looking, he tiptoed to the rock. Mateo tapped her shoulder. "Gotcha!"
The fawn leaped out of her fur, but she soon calmed down.
Euphorbia held her finger up to the ranger and animal. She flew around them, covering them in green fairy dust.
Mateo and the fawn's feet lifted from the ground. They floated toward Paperblank's canopy.
Euphorbia kissed the young man's forehead. "Just believe."
Mateo fought his demons. He thought about Maria, Evie, his mom, and Isabella instead of them. It helped. His head stopped throbbing.
The fawn trotted past him. She looked like a graceful dancer skating on ice, except she was in the air.
All right, Euphorbia was doing her job. Mateo was finally starting to look on the bright side of things. As long as she kept it up, he would be a fairy in no time. The playdate with the fawn was her first lesson.
Unfortunately, somebody did not want her to train him. From out of nowhere, an arrow of pain hit Euphorbia's heart. It was like somebody was performing a voodoo ritual on her. She keeled over. The glow in her wings and dress faded.
Mateo felt Euphorbia's pain. He also keeled over. The demons returned—not only them but also bad memories from his childhood and memories of Mr. Madison. His tummy screamed. The glow around him and the fawn faded. Gravity grabbed them and chuckled them to the forest floor.
"Stop!" Euphorbia begged. "I'm trying to help him!" A second wave of pain smashed her heart, and she reached for it.
Mateo burst into a fountain of sweat. After twenty-four hours of not vomiting, he did—all over the field. What a mess. His poor tummy almost exploded. It throbbed under his shirt. His belly flickered gold again after twenty-four hours. Who on Earth attacked him and Euphorbia? He started toward the stream, but with every step, his belly flashed. Each time it did, he grew weaker.
Euphorbia saw him suffering. "Regain lost trust!" she shouted at the invisible attacker. There was only one person in Evie and Mateo's family who still lacked the essential ingredient of the prophecy... Keegan. The whole reason why Mateo was getting worse was because he had yet to accept him as a member of the family. While Keegan wanted to, someone—or something—stopped him. Euphorbia swore she would find the traitor before it was too late.
Mateo never made it to the stream. He fell onto his front and lost consciousness.
The fawn and her parents hurried to him. The fawn licked his pale face, but her friend did not stir.
Ms. Brook sensed her son was in danger. She jerked awake. Her eyes widened when she saw Mateo's bed was empty. "Mateo!" she shrieked. Her scream woke the entire cabin. Within seconds, Maria was awake, and Evie, John, Sam, and Evie's group members were in Mateo's room.
Worry flashed across Evie's face. "Where is he?"
"Ah!" From out of nowhere, Maria's own belly exploded with pain. Somebody tried to attack her child. She clutched her tummy with both hands.
"Maria!" Ms. Brook said. She clenched her teeth.
Maria sweated a little bit but did not remove her hands from her belly. Mateo's room turned cold. Everyone could see their breaths, and the lights started to flicker.
John protected Maria while Ms. Brook, Evie, Sam, and Evie's group members searched for Mateo. They scurried around Paperblank Village. What started as a warm night was now cold. Evie, her friends, and her aunt shivered. Evie whipped Euphorbia's pebble out of her pocket in case the basilisk was nearby.
Sam gave her a quick nod. "I'll go get your parents."
Evie nodded back. "Okay." Evergreen's story, as was her plea, was still fresh in her mind. The only way to save the forest was for her family to work together as a team. To do so, they had to accept each other.
Evie's group and Ms. Brook soon reached the field that led to the stream and Paperblank's gate.
Evie's blue eyes landed on something disturbing near it—a bundle. She pointed at it. "Mateo!"
Her friends and aunt were quickly by her side. They also noticed the bundle.
"Baby!" Ms. Brook yelled.
The family of deer protecting Mateo heard her. Together, they got up and backed away from the human.
Ms. Brook reached him. She got on her knees, and her hand brushed against his leg.
Feeling her, Mateo snapped awake. He sat up and slapped her hand away. "Stay back! I don't deserve to live."
"Oh, baby." Ms. Brook took his shoulders.
Mateo, drenched in sweat, coughed. He wheezed. He grabbed his mother's wrist before she could look at his belly.
She placed her free hand on his forehead. "You're burning up."
The family of deer glimpsed at one another.
Euphorbia feebly flew to them. She settled down on the fawn's back.
The deer's ears flattened. They turned toward the forest and growled. The area grew even colder. Evie felt her great-grandfather's presence. If he was there, then the basilisk wasn't far behind.
Ms. Brook knew where the serpent was. She peered in the direction where the deer were looking. "Leave my son alone!" She had enough of everything. A mother protected her child, no matter how old they were. Releasing Mateo, she dove for the forest.
The second she did, the basilisk ambushed her. With glowing red eyes, it roared. Its long tail collided with Ms. Brook's sternum, breaking it. Now, she had a taste of what John went through when the creature injured him.
Ms. Brook did not yell. She endured the pain. The tail's impact chucked her into the forest floor, knocking her out cold. Her sternum bled profusely under her shirt.
"Mamá!" Mateo screamed.
Evie yelled after him. "Aunt Brook!" She thought the week couldn't get any worse.
Mateo struggled to his feet. He hurried to his mom but fell over. He crawled the rest of the way to her.
The basilisk soon realized what it just did. A wave of guilt washed over it. It shook its head, trying to fight its master's orders.
Sam soon returned, but it was too late. The damage had been done.
Charlotte's face grayed when she saw her unconscious sister. Both she and Evie were in shock.
Behind them, Keegan reached for his head, suddenly looking guilty.
Sam's jaw dropped. "Oh no."
Mateo tugged at his mother's arm. "Mamá! Mamá!" Tears rolled down his pale cheeks.
It wasn't long until King Benjamin joined the scene on Joey. He had been woken up by all the racket outside.
Ranger Krysta also pulled up on her motorcycle. One look at Ms. Brook, and she acted fast. She grabbed her First-Aid kit and leaped off her motorcycle.
Even the deer were saddened by the situation.
Ranger Krysta tried to pull Mateo away from Ms. Brook so she could treat her, but there was no way he would let that happen. "No!" His mother's blood covered his hands.
The basilisk screeched with mental pain. For once, it disobeyed its master. How could it hurt someone's own mother? Distressed, it returned to the forest.
The family of deer and Euphorbia followed it.
King Benjamin hopped off Joey. He sprinted to Mateo, Ms. Brook, and Ranger Krysta and wrapped his arms around Mateo's own breastbone. He lugged him away from his mother and the ranger.
"No!" Mateo's hoarse voice cried. "Mamá! Mamá!! Mamá!!!" He really was a monster. He now hurt not only Maria but also his mom.
Ben took him to his family.
Charlotte settled down beside him, the same as Evie. She held the young man like how his mother held him. Evie buried her face in his shoulder.
Mateo sobbed the hardest he had ever sobbed in his life. His face changed because of how much he cried.
Seeing him hurt even Keegan. He turned his back to his family members. A cold wind brushed past him. His brown hair waved. He noticed something white standing at the edge of Paperblank Village. It almost looked like a person—a man, to be exact. He seemed to stare at him.
The sounds of sirens snapped Keegan out of his trance. He, his family, and Evie's friends moved aside when the ambulance that tried to help Mateo earlier rushed onto the scene. It stopped beside Ranger Krysta and Ms. Brook.
***
Frustration was written all over Sam's face. Life was so much easier sixty years ago. He still did not know his purpose in the future. He was going to ask Euphorbia himself. The little boy stormed away from the group toward where Euphorbia and the deer followed the basilisk.
Sam found the serpent sprawled out behind some ferns, with its head buried in the damp soil. Euphorbia and the deer comforted it.
Euphorbia patted the creature's nose. "It wasn't your fault. Your master forced you to act with violence."
Sam lost his temper. He tightly clenched his fists. "What do you want from me, Euphorbia? Huh?"
Euphorbia and the deer looked over their shoulders at him. "Sam," Euphorbia said.
Sam kicked a large tree branch away from him. "I don't understand. Evergreen told me I must remember what I learned that day sixty years ago. Except, I didn't learn anything. What are you hiding from me, Euphorbia?"
The fawn, frightened by his anger, ducked behind her parents.
Euphorbia kept her mouth shut. Sam's response hurt her, too.
He relaxed his face and took a deep breath. "Look, I'm sorry, but since I've returned, I've felt so useless. I couldn't even help Ms. Brook, and now Mateo will kill himself. I don't know what I'm doing wrong."
"Oh, Sam, you've done nothing wrong," Euphorbia replied. She struggled a bit, but she floated to him. The fairy dropped into his palm. Her sparkling eyes met his. "In fact, you are the most useful person out of all of us. You have a gift, Sam—a gift which is why Autumn gave you my pebble. You have to remember what she told you the day you disappeared. Only then will you understand."
Sam's eyes moved over to the cowering basilisk. "Does it have to do with the basilisk?"
Euphorbia did not like to spoil riddles. "Try, try to remember. It will come to you sooner rather than later. I promise. Until then, take care of the Brook family." She pushed herself off his hand and returned to the basilisk.
Sam plopped down on the forest bed. He tapped his head in an attempt to remember. What was it about that day sixty years ago that was so special?
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