1
The Eternal World, Raven City, Fifteen Years Ago
Trevor Scott Wayne anxiously sat at the kitchen table, his gaze darting from the overhead clock that hung on the wall above the table and the homework that sat in front of him, only halfway done despite him starting it an hour ago.
His parents hadn’t returned home from work yet. He was used to them coming home late. They were Guardians and often had to stay late on whatever case they were working on, but it was almost one o’clock in the morning. They never stayed away this late without messaging him or letting their family friend, Miss Laura, come by and bring him to her house until they got home. He knew he should be in bed since he had school in the morning, but there was no way he could sleep with the anxiety and worry that kept increasing the longer time went by, and there was no word about his parents.
He gave up on his homework, knowing it wouldn’t be complete. He couldn’t get his mind off his parents, no matter how hard he tried. This wasn’t like them. They had been away for quite some time, as they were both captains of their squads, and they said they were overloaded with cases. However, they always made sure he was taken care of and kept him informed about what was happening.
He came home from school to an eerily empty house. There was no note on the fridge to let them know they’d be home late and to go to Miss Laura’s house. There was no recorded message on their answering machine to inform him they wouldn’t be home until much later. His parents’ familiars, Lake and Sunshine, weren’t anywhere around. Sometimes, they would appoint their familiars to stay with him if Miss Laura was too busy.
When he didn’t see anything, he figured they would be home soon and thought nothing of the lack of messages and went about his day, calling his best friend, Miss Laura’s son, Christian, who’d he’d known since they were babies. Miss Laura and Christian, and his triplet sisters, were visiting their grandparents’ house, so they weren’t home; otherwise, he’d have gone over there. He’d made himself dinner and played video games for a while before trying to do his homework, but he’d noticed how late it’d gotten, and his parents still hadn’t come home or messaged him. He’d tried calling them but was sent to voicemail. That was when the fear started to set in.
He carelessly grabbed his homework and stuffed it in his backpack, uncaring that the paper ripped as he zipped his backpack shut. He knew for sure something was wrong.
He grabbed the home phone off the coffee table and tried for the nth time to call both their numbers, but it went straight to voicemail, so he called Miss Laura, praying she’d have some answers. He squeezed his eyes shut as he felt tears start to well up, trying to keep his father’s advice in mind.
“Trevor, whenever you’re scared and your mom and I aren’t around to help, don’t get upset and don’t panic. Remain calm, take a step back, and get help. There’s nothing wrong with asking for help, but don’t let yourself fall apart because it will only make your problems worse.”
He tried to follow his father’s advice as he listened to the other line ring for what felt like an eternity, terrified Miss Laura wouldn’t wake up, until she thankfully did.
Miss Laura’s voice was heavy and filled with sleep. “Hello? Do you know what time it is, Claire?”
“Miss Laura, it’s Trevor,” he said, and felt his face flush with embarrassment as his voice cracked with tears.
“Trevor,” Miss Laura said with surprise, the sleep disappearing from her voice in an instant. “What’s wrong?”
“It’s Mom and Dad,” Trevor said and felt a tear stream down his left cheek. “They haven’t been home all day, and they haven’t called. I tried calling them, and they won’t pick up, and I’m scared something happened to them.”
There was a long pause before Miss Laura said, “Okay, Trevor, I’m coming by your house now to get you, and I’m bringing you back to my parents’ house. Just sit tight. When I get there, we’ll figure this out.”
“Okay, thank you,” Trevor said as another tear streamed down his cheek.
“Just try to stay calm, okay? I’ll be there soon. Everything will be okay.”
“Thank you, Miss Laura.”
“I’ll be there in thirty minutes.”
“Okay, bye.”
Seconds after Trevor hung up the phone, there was a loud banging at the door that made him jump and drop the phone, causing it to clatter against the wood floor. He gasped and stared at the front door, his ice blue eyes wide with fright as he tried to decide what to do.
The person on the other side of the door banged again, even louder this time, and called out, “Guardians of Raven City, open up.”
He hesitantly walked over to the door, his body shaking with fright as he neared, and slowly opened it, peeking out to see a goblin Guardian standing on his porch.
The goblin’s expression softened when he saw Trevor and knelt so he was eye level with him. “Hi there, are you Trevor Wayne?”
“Y-yes s-sir,” he stammered, his heart pounding so hard in his chest it thundered in his ears.
A sad expression filled the goblin’s eyes, and he took Trevor’s hand. “Buddy, there’s something I have to tell you. Your parents... they’re not coming home.”
Trevor felt a strange, numb feeling come over him as the Guardian’s words processed in his mind. “What do you mean, sir?”
“Your parents are deceased, Trevor. I’m so sorry.”
Everything went by in a blur once the goblin said those words. He vaguely recalled screaming from the depths of his soul, so long and loud it made his throat raw. The Guardian had pulled him into his embrace to comfort him despite him hitting and kicking him, inexplicable anger taking over, and the illogical part of him blamed this Guardian, even though it wasn’t his fault, that he was only the messenger.
Miss Laura had appeared out of nowhere and taken Trevor into her arms, even though he nearly reached her shoulder, picking him up as though he were an infant and holding him to her chest as he screamed with rage until terrible grief crashed over him. He broke down sobbing to the point he felt sick.
He found himself at the Guardian station, sitting in an uncomfortable chair next to Miss Laura as she talked to the Guardian, who sat across the desk from them. He didn’t listen to what they were saying, his mind elsewhere as memories of his parents kept racing through his mind.
Then Miss Laura took his hand and led him out of the station, escorting him to her house, where Christian and the triplets lived. He silently followed her inside, unable to speak.
She sat him on the couch beside her and put an arm around his shoulders, and pulled him into a warm embrace. He closed his eyes and rested his head on her chest. He missed his mother so much he couldn’t stand it, but he was comforted that Miss Laura was here, the woman who’d been like his second mother all his life. If he wished it hard enough, he could almost picture it as his mother holding him right now.
“Trevor,” Miss Laura said gently. “At the station, the Guardian said the only other family you have is your grandfather -”
“He’s in prison,” he interrupted, not opening his eyes.
“Yes, they told me that at the station, so Ruben and I were named the next caregivers for you. Would you like to live with us?”
For the first time on this terrible day, hope started to rise in him, and he looked up at Miss Laura, his eyes filled with grief and happiness at the same time. “Yes, I would like that.”
She smiled warmly at him. “You can share Christian’s room. He and the girls will be home soon. They’ll be so happy you’re here.”
She led him upstairs, and something inside him told him everything was going to be okay. Miss Laura made Christian’s bed for him and tucked him in. Out of nowhere, he started crying again, the grief overwhelming him, and she climbed into bed next to him, holding him to her chest as she comforted him. He fell asleep in her arms and was still there the next morning as they woke up to Mr. Ruben and the triplets and Christian coming in downstairs.
With a warm smile, Miss Laura took his hand and led him downstairs to face everyone and begin his new life with the Erikson family.
