What was crushed with my fist?  It felt like something was freed from the chains of darkness, exposed to the light, escaping towards a sanctuary of everlasting peace.

My heart felt warm.  I plopped backwards onto the floor of the void.   Even the cold surface reminded me of pillows.  Wiggling into the ground struck all my nerves, sending a cozy sensation around my body.  This was nirvana.

Slowly opening my eyes, the orange light still glared at me. Rotating my shoulders and stretching, I could feel the energy building up.  My muscles are fresh, ready to take on the labor ahead.   That was the best sleep I had in over a decade.  

I flipped myself up, aided by my silhouette, and turned to face the screen.

Whoa.  The screen is on the fritz.  There could be three potential causes, if comparing it with software from my era.  One, I have too many souls.  Two, perhaps my pod is interfering with the connection through a similar magical wavelength.  Three, whoever is pausing time is running out of mana.   It's even possible to be a trifecta of all cases.

Don't worry, Liberian, I will help you debug this problem.

Closing my eyes, I concentrated on feeling the mana in the atmosphere of the void.  The pressure was weak in the air.  Inhaling in, drawing the mana towards me, I reached further and further to the ends of the darkness in all directions.

A whirlpool of air spun around the screen and I, flashing streaks of white, flaring in and out.  My clothes flapped in the cool breeze.  I guided the mana into my chest, swirling it around my limbs before dancing it towards the endless pit hiding in my brain.

A soft crack of broken mud rang out in the air.  The ground began trembling, as the air appeared to spread its wings and soar towards me.   The ground shaking, gradually building up, growing fiercer.  The screen began flickering.  Cracks appeared, running in all directions. The chunks of the void faded into a mist and were dragged by the current.  

The symbols on the screen started flipping to random characters.  Instantly the dimension crumbled, as I found myself back in reality.

I caught myself, and switched focus to the dead demon in front of me, waiting for his combustion.

Moments later, his body flared brightly, brightening the entire floor through every crack and crevice, escaping and bouncing towards freedom outside the building.  Immediately, a death screech rang out, as I pinched the tragus of my ears shut.  Fracturing the glass vases nearby, echoing outwards and shattering the remaining windows at the edge of the floor.

The vibrations fluttered through my nervous system, shocking me randomly around my body.

Finally, his death was completed, as I shook off my stiff nerves.  I quickly searched his pockets, finding his pod and putting it in my pocket.  A capsule the size of a pill was inside his suit jacket, which I ended up taking too.

Time was of the essence.  Backup would be on the way.  These patients were too valuable.  It's been approximately two minutes since I rattled their cage.  I opened up my pod to check the time. It's now nine-thirty in the night.  Something caught my eye on the homescreen.  There was a new app called, The Void.  A shiver swam down my spine.  That cheeky bastard must have moved the screen after I destroyed his void realm.  

Shaking my thoughts to focus on reality, I put the pod away and flew back towards the building with the patients. I needed to save that little girl who reminded me of Allie, and also save the brother of that demon.

It was so far away, I sped up faster, adding a layer of mana in front of my eyes, as my cheeks flopped in the pounding wind.  Finally arriving, I flew in through the broken windows and landed in front of the elevator.  Swirling mana around my right fist, I punched the control panel, smashing a hole through it.  

Flinging myself back into the air, I headed straight for the caved-in office.  Tossing debris to the side, I made a path to the back room.  The door was now missing, as I quickly stepped over to check on the girl.  The room was covered in dust, with some of the ceiling panels lying around the ground.  

Swinging the curtain open, I found her still unconscious.  Gently lifting her up, I softly placed her over my right shoulder and made my way out of the crumbling office.  Slowly floating down, I found the brother.  With my left hand, I yanked the needle out of his chest.  Grabbing his arm, I swung him behind my left shoulder.  It might dislocate his shoulder, but at least the demon would live.  

"You can't do that!  They are property of Grand Master Beezus!" The doctor's voice yelled out, as he hid behind one of the beds.  

Wasn't Beezus the one who was on the television, awarded with a soul?

Turning to look back, staring daggers at the doctor, I said, "Free everyone now, or I will come back and finish you too."

Turning my head, I flew in the air and jetted outside.  But, I was lost.  I didn't know where to go.  Holding the girl with my chin, I reached into my pocket and held onto the pod, readjusting myself to carry both demons.  I called 'sister', who answered immediately. 

"I have your brother, but I'm lost," I started first.

She took a moment before responding.

"I just sent you a ping of my location, follow the map!" She was frantic.

The screen went dark and a thin, aqua line was augmented along the streets.  This was too cool.  I zipped along the path, making my way to her in a few minutes.  The time was now nine-forty-five.  Fifteen minutes since I left the void. 

I landed inside an alleyway, and laid down the two demons in front of her.  

"Can you take care of this little girl for me?" I asked her, staring at her eyes.

The air shifted, as I felt the hairs on my arms stand up.  Instinctively, I huddled over the little girl drawing mana towards my back, shielding myself like a turtle.  A splash of blood filled the cement in front of me.  I peeked to my side seeing the sister missing her top half.  My heartbeat drummed, beating heavy thumps. Turning to the brother, who was squished flat into the pavement.

I grabbed onto the little girl, making sure she was safe, then flung myself down the alley inches from the ground. I turned sideways, scraping my arm against the pavement, tensing my muscles, as I carefully held onto the girl. Wrapping a thick layer of mana around us, I flew up at a steep angle, and zipped around the buildings.  Someone was following us, and they were gaining speed.  

They must have tracked us through the Director's pod.  I quickly reached for it and tossed it away, zig zagging around more buildings.  I can feel them in the air.  Their presence was heavy, growing closer.

Shit, the tracker might be on the little girl.  I didn't have time, my blood was violently circulating, pumping around, as I felt the mana swirl inside me.  I tried moving faster, but I was too slow.  I grasped at the atmosphere for more mana, but it was silent.  There was a tremble in the air, blocking my connection to the flow.  

I hugged the little girl tight, "I will keep you safe from those monsters."  My mind was scrambling at the white board for ideas, but this damp aura was approaching, choking me.  I wanted to find home.  The only place I stared at on a map, for four whole years.  Living far away from my family nearly broke me.  I wasn't going to let anything stop me from reaching them.  

Circulating the mana around my chest, I felt a door slowly open in my soul, as a ray of light shined through.  I jumped inside without hesitation closing my eyes from the blinding light. 

The dark presence disappeared.

Opening my eyes, the world turned red as I stood on the ground.  Fires raged around us, lava flowing in all directions in the distance.  The air was now hot and thin. This was Hell, not Texas!  

I realized what the door meant while passing through, this was a path my heart created, it felt natural, as if the connection always existed.  Geologically this should be where Texas was, but it was just a raging inferno.

I checked to make sure the little girl was breathing, as I looked for signs of a tracker.  She was wearing a necklace and a bracelet.  I slipped them off and scraped a hole in the dirt below.  Placing them inside, I covered them with the dirt and patted it down.  

I quickly flew up into the air and headed out, not knowing which direction we approached.  The mana was dancing free in the atmosphere, as I pulled it in guiding it towards my storage.   I needed to attempt teleporting once more.  

Swirling the mana towards my chest, I envisioned the river where I met Dean and Harry.  Reaching out for my friends, taking charge in an unknown world.  It was my fault for tossing responsibility on them.  I felt the door shake.  The dark aura was building in the air around me.  The presence was closing in.  I will not leave them again!

The door flung open, and we jumped through, into the light.