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“Plato wasn’t always bad…” Elias kept his eye glued to the road. “I wasn’t there but…they told me that when you went outside for the first time it felt amazing. The temperature was always right, there were no bugs to swat, no animals to murder.” Elias stared at the road, now in a state of what he considered joy. “It was just…people. They played together, and at that time family and friends—pretty much anyone you had a strong bond with—were just naturally drawn together. That’s how they found people, not through some crappy government-style system. There was no need for sleep, and many didn’t want to because all of their dreams had already come true.” Elias smiled. “Everyone was happy, everything was happy, there were no bad thoughts…” The smile faded. “But then Lucienne came…and with his mere human touch the world was corrupted. The sun burned you, the nature of people was divided and artificial, and suddenly these buildings were made. They didn’t need buildings. I won’t even get into the pain. There was just so much…too much.” He rubbed his eyebrow. “Not only that, but through him came the ability to come to a complete end and eve return….and to think that just the touch of man can ruin the afterlife forever.” Elias repositioned himself in the driver’s seat, slowing down as they had arrived. “But then again, it’s just a fairytale. There’s no way to tell if it’s true or not…but I hope it is, and that maybe one day we can return to it.”

“They’re asleep.”

Elias turned around to see Hershey and Beta fast asleep in the backseat. “Oh, yeah they are,” he confirmed, glancing at Matrix who still refused to look at him. But he did speak.

“Did you know your name means ‘one damn sexy mother fucker’? Funny how the internet lies to you in such a way,” he commented, trying hard to be sarcastic even though his mind was screaming.

Elias didn’t find it amusing, in fact he didn’t find any of it amusing. The laughs and smiles weren’t real, they never could be like before. “Matrix—”

“Stop.” Matrix turned to him with dead eyes. “I don’t even want to hear my name in your mouth,” he said, anger dripping from his words. He opened the car door and slammed it shut.

Elias took a deep breath and sighed. For some reason, angel was still trying to resonate. I’m no angel, Elias thought to himself. He got out of the car and opened the door to the back seat. As he did so, Hershey almost slipped out, but Elias caught him before he could go too far over the edge. Hershey woke up, eyes barely open as they looked at Elias.

“Oh, sorry,” Hershey responded. Hershey got up and yawned, hitting Beta to wake him up. Beta shot up in full awareness, tapping Ah so she could wake up and take Min.

“Hey guys!?” Elias looked over at Matrix and walked over. Hershey and Beta got out of the car to follow, Hershey stopping to release Ah from the trunk.

“What’s wrong?” Elias asked.

Ah unstrapped Min and rocked her as she started to wake up and cry, walking over to the boys.

Matrix looked at him like he was stupid and gestured to the empty space between the two houses. Elias had parked in a neighborhood cul-de-sac. “There’s nothing here, as I suspected,” Matrix said.

Elias tilted his head, furrowing his eyebrows. “Yeah, I know.” He started walking through the two houses and into the woods beyond them. He stopped and turned back to them. “Do you want to see or not?”

Beta, Ah, and Hershey followed, and soon after so did Matrix. The first step into the woods felt like a step into another world to Ah, like she was entering her future. She took a deep breath and released after six more steps into the grass. The first part of the forest was hard to trudge through, branches and vines and trees so close together you could attach a swing set to it, but once they were out it was easier to breathe. Before them was a large grass field, the sound of crickets and surely snakes among it. It didn’t stretch out forever, just about a few yards long until the next stretch of woods waited for them. As they crossed the field, Matrix sped up a bit to meet Beta and leaned into his ear. “I don’t think I can do it,” Matrix admitted, his voice just low enough and the rest of the gang just far enough for him to only be heard by Beta. “I don’t think I can just blindly follow this guy, not after all the mistakes he’s made so far.”

Beta said nothing in response, just kept walking. He didn’t disagree, but he didn’t agree either. Matrix just went on. “I mean not only did he lead us into the absolute worst foster home in existence, but he also baited you into submission. He took over your body, Beta.” Beta’s fists clenched, but he held it in. “I’m sorry but…something’s just off about him. I just—I don’t like the way he operates—”

“And you like the way I operate?” Beta said aloud, loud enough for the others to turn back and look at them. Ah and Hershey stopped when Matrix and Beta stopped, but Elias kept walking, ignoring the conversation. “How is me listening to every word he says any better?”

Matrix’s nostrils flared, and his face flat lined. “Maybe because you’re not him.” Elias finally stopped, but he still didn’t turn around to look at them, he just tuned in. “And don’t pretend that you are.”

“But I am!” Beta exclaimed, his voice stretching now much further than their small group. Beta glanced around at Ah and Hershey’s stares now, realizing that what he would say now was for more than just Matrix’s ears. Beta sighed, knowing that he shouldn’t say it, but said it anyway. “It wasn’t Elias’ fault that we ended up in that rich foster home…I’m the one who wanted to go there.”

“What?” Hershey said, jumping right in. “Why?”

“I…I guess I thought it’d be different.” Beta shrugged. “I thought that…if I could just prove to someone that life wasn’t so peachy in those types of foster homes then maybe…” Beta stopped himself, angry that he couldn’t understand why he’d done it. …maybe someone could help them. “They deserved better than a Sync death…they did.”

“Well I mean, you weren’t wrong,” Matrix said. “It was crazy in there.” Beta didn’t comment on it, clamming up on the topic and opening a new one. “And Elias didn’t body jump me for a ‘test drive’—”

“He did what?” Ah interjected, making Min cry. Her comment wasn’t acknowledged.

“…he did it because I wasn’t going to go with you, Matrix, and someone had to.” Beta looked up at Matrix, feeling guilty. “When Leo got in that car…Elias was telling me, screaming where to go…but I wasn’t listening. I wasn’t even going to tell you.”

Matrix, at first, didn’t react, but after a few seconds his face contorted with anger. He looked like he was ready to attack Beta, and Beta would’ve been fine with it. “I…Why?” Matrix uttered, unable to think of what else to say. “I mean did you…did you not care enough?”

Beta opened his mouth to say No, I did care. I really did, Hershey’s important to me too. But the truth was… “You’re right,” Beta admitted. “And it’s not that I don’t care about Hershey but…” Beta swallowed the bile in his throat. “Frankie was so nice. I know nothing much happened there and we weren’t there very long, but I mean you have to understand if I ever just walked into a foster home like we did that day I can promise you that nothing like that would’ve happened. I just…I didn’t want to pass up that opportunity! I couldn’t!” Beta’s eyes started to glisten, and now it was more than just trying to justify to Matrix, but to everyone. Elias turned around then, folding his arms. “Yes, Leo was an ass, but that’s just what made me want to stay. These kids, they had everything and didn’t even know it, but they were going to lose it all because of the Syncs. And we were just going to give up on them because what, we found Hershey?” Beta gestured to Hershey, and he suddenly felt guilty.

Matrix, instinctively, came to Hershey’s aid. “You’re seriously blaming him for being kidnapped?”

“No,” Beta said quickly, wanting to make it very clear that that wasn’t his intent. His gaze still lied on Hershey, and Hershey just stared back, mouth open. “I’m just saying, considering, Hershey was lucky.”

Elias’ head dropped and he sighed, tired of the conversation. He already knew where it was going.

Matrix shook his head. “You have no idea what he went through,” he hissed, baring his teeth.

“Matrix stop,” Hershey interjected, taking a step toward Beta. Beta thought he’d stop there, but he didn’t. He kept walking forward, all the way until he was pulling Beta into his arms. Beta tensed up as Hershey tightened himself around him. “Can’t you see he’s grieving?”

Beta’s eyes furrowed as Hershey let go, but didn’t go far. Their breath still mixed as Hershey looked straight into Beta’s eyes. “They sold me into prostitution illegally seven days ago,” Hershey admitted, his face tightening. “But they sold you into a lot worse legally…a long time ago.”

Beta tensed himself, fighting the urge to get emotional. He was going to let Hershey suffer a few days ago…all because he wanted the happy ending no one had ever offered him, wanted to be the hero. Beta couldn’t hold it in, and let himself fall into despair. His vision blurred as the hot tears came flushing in and he wiped them away before they could fall. “I’m sorry,” Beta whispered. “I’m really sorry.” Hershey smiled, taking another step back to give Beta space. He didn’t respond, because he had a feeling Beta already knew that it was okay.

Elias cleared his throat.

Matrix, Ah, Beta, and Hershey all turned to him. “Now that that’s over,” he said, gesturing back to the trees. “Shall we continue?” He didn’t wait for their responses before turning back around and walking.

Matrix started feeling guilty when Elias came back into his mind. He felt like he blamed him for so much, maybe too much. Nevertheless, Matrix—and the others—followed.

They continued walking through the woods, dodging branches and crushing leaves until finally, Matrix couldn’t take it anymore.

“Okay, can you tell us where we’re—” Matrix paused as they finally reached their destination, his mouth hung open in awe. “…going.”

Before them was a castle in the trees.

The woods weren’t crowded anymore, trees creatively separated to accommodate those who lived there. Some torn down, some rebuilt. It was a vast area indeed, where grass grew like it was trimmed to perfection every few hours and flowers bloomed as if they were planted to become the center of attention. Then there were the houses in the trees. Each tree house was different in its own way, but they were all linked together by bridges, connecting one house to another. Some weren’t even houses, or in the trees, but simply placed on the forest’s floor. They were labeled “infirmary” or “grocery store”. One was placed on the highest tree; this was the one that looked like a castle of its own. It stretched far up into the sky, holes carved into the structure to create glass windows and metal doors. It even plunged into the Earth below. People vacated the houses and bridges, some so far off that the people walking on them looked like ants. Some villagers were on the ground, dressed in modern clothes that did nothing to match the atmosphere. It was gorgeous, it was magnificent, it was magical.

And it was full of people.

“Oh,” Matrix said.

“My,” Hershey continued.

“God,” Beta and Ah finished, the wow factor hitting them all at once.

Elias started walking through the fields, nodding his head to all the passer byers. The three boys and Ah stayed close behind him.

“What is this place?” Ah asked.

“We call it Slegna Cinomed. I say we, meaning I’m a villager as well,” Elias explained. “I couldn’t really tell you what it’s for, if I did I’d be making an educated guess. Truth is, none of the villagers know why it exists or why the government let it exist, it just does. It’s run by two women, who here you address as the Queens and the Queens only. One of them is the Willow I told you about. I met them about a year ago, and I’ve been working with them continuously. They are more than just colleagues to me now, they’re near family, and I take care of my own.”

“Wait, Slegna Cinomed?” Beta questioned.

“Yes,” Elias answered.

“Demonic Angels?” Beta said, decoding the name. “…but backwards.”

“‘They called us Demons, we thought we were Angels. We thought we were simple, they thought we were complex, thus the name was born,’” Elias recited. “Anyway, I told Willow and Faith, the other Queen, about the whole Sync issue and it didn’t go over that well. We told the villagers about it and anyone willing to help is welcome to. Suddenly the village turned into an army. I’ve been keeping tabs with the Syncs while people here prepare for war. A few others and I also help to recruit anyone who will even listen to what we have to say. It’s crazy how many people have seen Syncs roaming around. So many people joined we had to build a whole new village a few miles from this one, we’ve already geared up to make another one, possibly even go international. The Syncs could be anywhere, and it’d be dumb to think that they’re just here in the U.S.”

“Wow…I had no idea you had done so much while you were here,” Matrix said to him.

Elias shrugged. “Humans aren’t my favorite race, no. But I’m not gonna sit back while millions of them are consumed and die off. So I need your help to find out what they’re planning. You in or not?” Elias stopped walking and turned to face the four of them.

Beta looked over at Hershey and Ah for conformation, ignoring Matrix’s opposing glare. “We’re in.”

“Good.” Elias turned his head around and stared into the distance. His eyes twinkled for a brief second and then returned to their usual level of brightness. He turned back. “They know we’re coming, it’ll take forever to get there just by walking. Hop on.” Before anyone could question it, Elias’s body lit up with flames. They all backed away slightly, afraid to get burned. Beta’s eyes widened with fear while the others widened with concern and confusion. The fire’s ash crumbled to the ground and the burning body began to reshape. The fire resembled the shape of an animal and when it finally burned out, only minor smoke was left that soon vanished. Before them was a living breathing lion leaning down for them to get on to.

The four friends gawked at the alluring beast, amazed at Elias’s ‘wow’ factor. Eventually, Hershey spoke up. “Shotgun!” he called, climbing on top of the creature.

Beta followed suit as Hershey settled onto the beast. “I mean we did it when he was a whale so…” Beta climbed on as well, both friends staring at Matrix now.

After seconds of standing, Matrix sighed and gave in, hopping on behind Beta. The touch of the lion’s fur under his skin was enough to calm his nerves, nerves he didn’t even know he had.

The three boys plus the lion awaited Ah and her baby, but she just backed away. “No thank you. This is where my purpose becomes separate from yours. I have to find the Cider I came here for, it’s the only way to keep my nerves at bay.”

“Good luck,” Matrix said endearingly, and she nodded to them one last time before walking off. The four of them watched her catch somebody by the collar and ask them if they could hold her baby.

Elias roared, galloping off in the distance. The jerk of the beast was abrupt, pulling them all back momentarily. Hershey pulled on El’s mane to bring them upright again, holding on tight so they didn’t fall off. Beta turned his head to the side, squinting as the wind stung his eyes. The sun was starting to set on them and the orange glow illuminated the outlines of the treehouses sitting pretty in the trees’ bark. He couldn’t help but smile, finding some peace in that sunlight. Matrix, on the other hand, just saw a sun too bright for his eyes.

Soon enough, they made it to the big castle in the sky. Elias stopped and leaned down so Beta, Hershey, and Matrix could slide off. Once they were off, the fire came back to engulf their companion and he came back out as he originally was. Elias stretched out his wings routinely. They all looked up at the tall tree, holding a not-so miniature castle inside it. The castle seemed to be so important that even the branches grew around it. “Uh…how do we get up there?” Hershey asked.

“I’ll help.” They all turned around to see a woman swoop down from a rope over their heads. She landed a few feet from them with pinpoint accuracy. “We’ve been expecting you three.” She smiled kindly.

“Eve, can you take them up to see the Queens?” Elias asked the woman. She nodded and yelled up above.

“Hey Buddy! Bring down three!” Three ropes fell and hung there. The ends were looped.

“Good luck,” Elias said, engulfing in fire once more, flames resembling a bird. The fire burned out as he flew up toward the castle.

The three boys walked up to the ropes and put their foots through the loop, clutching the rope tightly. “Hold on tight,” Eve said as she was yanked up into the trees.

“Woah!” Beta yelped as he was yanked upward, Matrix and Hershey following. The ropes were being pulled at a speed Beta found to be incredible for a rope. Beta made it to the ledge of the tiny yet huge castle first and a few men helped him up and over.

“You’ve got to be kidding me,” Elias muttered. Beta turned and saw Elias watching as someone approached.

The Perna couldn’t lie to himself: The guy was stunning. His face was pale, not nearly as much as Elias’s was. His smile was pretty much perfect, and his blue eyes weren’t intimidating, but comforting. Beta found himself getting lost in them as he approached. His hair was long, stretching to his shoulders and bouncing every time he moved. He put a hand through it, trying to push it out of his face, but it just fell back anyway. He was more built than lean and slightly tall, a tattoo snaking up his bare and exposed right arm, another tattoo on his left wrist, and Beta could only assume more on his back. He could see the perfect outline of his body with his black sweater vest and tight-enough pants. Beta noticed the piercing in his nose along with the one in his eyebrow along with the few on each ear. Then there came his bat-like wings, which were a whole other story. Cider was surprisingly one of the last things Beta processed about him just by looking, and he didn’t even bother to wonder how he managed to get a shirt on over his wingspan. But somehow, no matter how punk he looked, Beta felt like they could easily be best friends.

“Well Angel, as the welcoming committee here in Slegna Cinomed I am obligated to show the newcomers around,” the guy announced, walking up to an annoyed-looking Elias and putting his arm on his bare shoulder. “Angel?” Beta asked as Hershey came up next.

“Just a terrible nickname is all,” Elias confirmed. “Beta, Hershey, this is Halsey.”

Hershey squinted. “Haven’t I seen you around before? On Plato, I mean?”

“I was pretty well…” Halsey stopped, his gaze drifting upward as the third rope arrived. “…known.” Elias furrowed his eyebrows, following Halsey’s line of sight, all the way to Matrix.

Matrix finally spotted Halsey, and his face went into the same terrified shock. “Halsey?” Matrix questioned, although he already knew the answer. The second Matrix’s eyes drifted over to Halsey’s arm on Elias’ shoulder, Halsey dropped it awkwardly like he had just been caught cheating.

“I take it you to know each other,” Elias said.

And with that statement, somehow, it pissed Matrix off even more. Halsey recovered quickly. “Yes, no, maybe a little. Not a lot though, I just saw him around.”

“That’s a lot of staring for someone you just ‘saw around?’”

“Well that’s a lot of questions for someone who’s supposed to be taking our very important guests to see the Queens!” He took a breath before going on. “Follow me,” Halsey said, ushering them forward. Halsey began to move and El followed along with the others.

“And you didn’t tell me one of the ‘extra friends’ was Matrix why?” Halsey whispered to Elias.

“Maybe because I didn’t know Matrix was one of the many secrets you’ve been keeping from me,” Elias replied, his answer full of sarcasm.

“I didn’t keep him from you, I’m not his mother,” Halsey said back. “Maybe you just weren’t listening hard enough.”

Beta turned to Matrix and whispered, “Are Elias and Halsey a thing?”

Matrix looked up at the two whispering ahead of them and snickered, unable to help it. “No, Halsey’s like the straightest thing I know.” Matrix let his eyes linger on them as their shoulders touched. The smile slowly leaked from the face, revealing something much more dreadful. “But they sure are close.”

The five guys finally found the entrance of the castle. The doors were open and people in ordinary clothing talked and laughed amongst themselves. They paid no attention to the boys as they walked through the noise and toward the very naked spiral staircase twisting in the corner of the room. Beta watched as it appeared to disappear into the hole in the gaping ceiling. They climbed and made it to the fourth floor, seeing a large, circular loft much like the third and second level. They walked across the short metal ramp—rattling when they stepped onto it—that led off the stairs and onto the royal blue, cut pile carpet. The walls were made of white oak and there were at least four doors and four hallways stretched out from the main lobby like tentacles. Looking up, Beta, Hershey, and Matrix could see the open sky light scattering through the glass dome up top. They walked down the hallway directly to the left of them, the walls closing in. At the end of the hallway were giant double doors. Beta felt nervous, afraid of being rejected.

When the doors were pushed open, the three newcomers were met with a surprise.

But at the sight of it, Beta seemed to relax.