“Derek? Where have you been?” Brent asked.

Derek sighed. “I’ve been investigating,” Derek said.

Brent gave Derek a look of confusion. “Investigating what?”

“I’ll tell you both later,” Derek said to Brent and Kris. “We should leave Brooke alone so she can rest.”

Kris nodded in agreement. “Derek’s right. We’ll all see you tomorrow, okay?” Kris said to Brooke. Brooke slowly nodded her head and laid down on the bed and, almost suddenly, fell into a deep sleep while the three boys left the room.

“So, what have you been investigating?” Brent asked.

“I’ll tell you a little bit. Then I’ll tell the rest tomorrow with Brooke,” Derek said. “I have a suspicion on who assaulted Brooke.”

Kris spoke up immediately. “Who?”

Derek spoke again. “I’ll tell all three of you tomorrow. I want all of you to know.”

Derek walked away and Brent and Kris looked at each other. “Who do you think he’s talking about?” Kris asked Brent.

“I have no idea,” Brent said, honestly. Brent looked away from Kris. “Who do we know that would purposely hurt Brooke?” Kris shook his head. “I have my own suspicion. I think it’s someone we both know and treats us like their own.”

Brent and Kris both expressed the same face of concern. Simultaneously they said, “Coach Guiles.”

Kris spoke right away. “It can’t be him. He doesn’t have anything against Brooke, or at least I don’t think he does.”

Brent spoke now. “Well, hold on. Let’s think about it. Does he have a motive?”

Kris stared at Brent. “I doubt it.” Kris started to walk away.

Brent stopped him. “Slow down, Kris.” Kris glared at Brent.

Kris spoke, angrily. “What?”

“Where are you going?” Brent asked.

“Where do you think I’m going, Brent? I’m going to the school,” Kris said.

“For what?” Brent asked.

Kris was silent. He shrugged Brent’s hand off of his shoulder and rolled down the hospital hallway. Brent watched as Kris turned the corner of the hallway then Brent followed him out of the hospital. Brent began to run towards Kris outside of the hospital, when Derek ran up beside him. “Now what? Are we becoming stalkers?” Derek asked, humorously.

Brent looked over at Derek. “I need to know exactly where Kris is going. Right now, I don’t trust him. Someone hurt Brooke and he thinks that it’s Coach Guiles, but we don’t know. Like you said, you’ll tell us tomorrow when we’re with Brooke,” Brent said with a panting breath.

Well, actually, he’s right. It was Coach Guiles. Why he did it, I don’t know, but Kris is one hundred percent right. How does he know?” Derek asked.

Brent looked at Derek. “It’s his suspicion.”

“Oh,” Derek said. “Wait, really?”

Brent nodded. “So, do you want to follow him with me or what?”

Derek thought for a second. “Why not? There isn’t anything else for me to do, so I guess I’ll follow him.”

Brent and Derek ran down the street behind Kris. Several minutes of running, panting and sweating, they finally arrived at the school. As Kris rolled up the wheelchair ramp in front of the school, Brent ran up behind the wheelchair and applied its brakes. The wheelchair stopped abruptly. Kris pushed harder and harder on the wheels, trying to make them move, but he had no luck. Kris sat up and turned to Brent. “Release my brakes, Brent,” Kris said, seethingly.

Brent shook his head as Derek walked up behind him, “No. Not until you tell me what the heck you’re doing!”

Kris looked down towards his feet then back up to Brent and Derek with tears in his eyes. “You don’t understand! Neither of you two understand how I feel!”

Derek broke in immediately. “Stop it! I know how you’re feeling. I’ve felt more than what you’re feeling right now!”

Brent looked at Derek. “What are you talking about?”

Derek sighed. “Remember when you both came to my house and you wanted to talk about me and the Xbox?”

Brent and Kris both nodded. “Yeah, why?”

“Okay. Remember the picture in my wallet?” Derek said, showing the picture. “This was my girlfriend, Valerie. Her name was Valerie Valdez.”

“So… when you say was, you mean that you broke up with her or she broke up with you?” Brent asked.

Derek shook his head. “Not even close. Guys, Valerie died in a car accident five months ago.”

Kris spoke. “Now I know why you were really upset over Tyler’s death.”

Brent punched Kris’s arm. “Quiet.” He turned his attention back to Derek. “Derek, I’m sorry. I apologize about Kris.”

“Hey!” Kris said.

“It’s okay. I know he didn’t mean it like that,” Derek said. He put the picture of Valerie back in his wallet and put the wallet in his pocket. “Now, let’s go.”

“Wait, what?!” Brent asked.

Derek explained. “We’re going to talk to Coach Guiles, but we’re not going to do it here. I understand that he’s having your team go out for a pizza party.”

Brent and Kris nodded, suspiciously.

Derek continued. “You’re both going to the pizza party. I’ll be there in case anything goes wrong. To cut this story short, we’re going to crash that pizza party.”

As Brent and Kris turned the corner of the block, the figure stood up. It’s hands were layered with some of Brooke’s blood. The blood dripped off the figure’s fingertips, splashing on the sidewalk. Immediately, Kris looked from the figure to Brooke, then back to he figure in disbelief. “What did you do to her?” Kris shouted. He lunged toward the figure, but was being held back by Brent. Kris struggled to get out of Brent’s grasp, but it was useless. Kris began to pant heavily. “What did you do to her?” Kris asked again, a little more calmly. He broke off of Brent’s hold on him.

The figure stood there, motionless. The figure only made little movement from it’s breathing. It looked down at Brooke and knelt next to her body again, placing it’s hands over her heart. Brent and Kris gazed down at the figure’s hands and saw Brooke’s chest red and bloody. Kris knelt down on the other side of Brooke’s body and grabbed her motionless hand softly. “Brooke,” he said quietly, “if you can hear me, I want you to squeeze my hand, okay?” Brooke’s hand didn’t move. Kris sighed, growing worrisome of the thought that Brooke’s spirit might leave him. “Brooke, squeeze my hand,” he said.

Again, Brooke’s hand lay motionless. Kris began to squeeze her hand begging her to squeeze his. Nothing. Kris glanced at the figure on the other side of Brooke. “What did you do?” he asked. The figure shook it’s head, as if it was disproving Kris’s question. Brent walked behind Kris and laid a hand on his shoulder.

“Come on, Kris. We need to get her to the hospital,” Brent told him.

Kris nodded. “I know.”

Brent gazed at his watch. “It’s 10:00 p.m. We shouldn’t call 911. We don’t want to have the ambulance’s lights to flash and cause a lot of commotion this late.” He looked at the figure. “You and I will carry her to the hospital it’s not far from her, maybe half a block or less.” He turned his gaze to Kris. “Keep holding her hand. If you feel a response, tell me so we can know that she’s actually okay, alright?” he asked.

Kris nodded, slowly. “Alright.”

Brent and the figure picked up Brooke’s body slowly and carefully, not having her body bend. “Keep her body straight, we don’t want to risk anything worse than what already happened.” Brent warned. Th figure nodded in response. Several minutes of walking, the boys and the figure arrived at the hospital.

“Let me hold her,” Kris said. The figure politely moved and placed the side of Brooke it was holding onto Kris’s lap as Brent continued to hold the other. Brent and Kris went into the hospital, then Brent asked the figure, “do you want to come with us?” The figure shook it’s head. The boys continued to carry Brooke’s body into the hospital, while nurses came up to the boys with a gurney. Brent and Kris placed Brooke carefully onto the gurney and watched as the nurses rolled her off down the hallway and turn around a corner. Kris sat down with Brent and placed his head in his hands and sighed.

“I should’ve went with her,” Kris said.

Brent looked at Kris, but didn’t say anything.

A couple of hours later, Dr. Wilkins appeared around the corner and walked toward Kris and Brent. “oh, hello again, Brent,” he said. “Hello, Kris.”

Both of the boys greeted Dr. Wilkins. Brent then asked, “so… is Brooke okay?”

Dr. Wilkins opened a folder in his hands and said, “Brooke was shot near her heart, it didn’t even graze it but it was enough to make her unconscious. She’s awake now. If you two would like to see her you may.” Brent stood up.

“Do you want to see her?” Brent asked Kris.

Kris nodded. “Yeah. Yeah, I want to see her.”

Brent asked Dr. Wilkins, “what room is Brooke in?”

Dr. Wilkins responded, “she’s in room 452. That’s the next floor, take a right, go down the hall, and it should be near the end. Just follow the signs if you need help, or ask one of the nurses up there.”

Brent said, “thanks, doctor.” He rolled Kris and himself to the elevator and rode to the fourth level and walked down the hall and found room 452 and went inside. Brooke was laying on the hospital bed. She was awake and she was breathing softly and slowly. Brent knocked lightly on the door and Brooke turned.

“Hi, guys,” she whispered. “What happened?”

Kris rolled closer to her. “You were shot. It was just enough to make you unconscious.”

Brooke seemed shocked. “I was shot?” she asked. “Where?”

Kris pointed toward Brooke’s heart. “near your heart. The bullet didn’t even graze it.”

Brent walked up to Brooke now. “I’d say that you are really lucky,” he said.

“I guess so,” Brooke said. “Anyway, did hear anything from Derek?”

Brent looked down at his feet with disappointment. “No, not yet. Where could he be, though? I mean, his mother said that he left to get a video game, but he probably would have shown up there before we left. I really hope nothing happened to him.”

Kris shrugged. “All we can do right now is wait until either we hear from him or someone else does.”

Brent pulled out his phone to see if he had any missed calls. He had none. “Yeah. We just got to wait.”

Kris grabbed Brooke’s hand. “I thought you were gone,” he said, shedding a tear.

Brooke smiled. “I’m not going anywhere.” She motioned for Kris to come closer to her and kissed him on his cheek.

Kris blushed. “Okay… so, I’ll come back tomorrow and stay with you for awhile. Is that okay?”

Brooke smiled again and responded, “yeah, that’s okay.”

Brent said, “I’ll come, too. If that’s okay with both of you.”

Brooke and Kris both said in agreement, “of course.”

Then, Brooke remembered something. “Wait. I just remembered something.”

“What?” Brent asked.

“You said I was unconscious, right?” Brooke asked.

Kris answered. “Yes. Why?”

“Well, before I went out of consciousness, I saw someone. It wasn’t either of you two,” Brooke said.

Brent nodded. “Yeah, we saw a figure standing next to you. We didn’t know who it was.”

Brooke’s face went neutral. “I do. I saw it’s face.”

Kris asked, “who was it?”

Brooke looked at Brent and Kris. “It was-” Brooke stared at the door, her mouth gaping open.

Brent and Kris asked simultaneously, “who was it?”

Brooke pointed at the door now, Brent and Kris followed her finger. The figure was standing in the room wearing a black hooded sweatshirt and black sweatpants. It was gazing at the clock on the wall of the room. The figure then spoke, “it was me.” The figure turned around and pulled down it’s hood. Underneath the hood and the baggy articles of clothing, was a tall, dark-haired man. He spoke again. “I saved your life.” He turned to reveal his face. The man was Derek.

“I can’t believe he’s gone. After all we’ve been through together…” Derek said, sadly.

Brent walked up to Derek and put his hand on Derek’s shoulder. “I’m sorry, Derek. I should’ve convinced him not to go down into the water. I should’ve went after you, not Tyler.”

Derek gave a disappointed sigh. “It’s not your fault, Brent. If it’s anyone’s fault it’s the Xbox’s. The Xbox is the reason we’re all here now.”

Brent nodded, sadly. Brent, Derek and Kris, who was talking to Derek’s mother, were all at a funeral for Tyler. Along with Derek’s family, Brent’s family and Kris’s family, Brooke was there, too. Brooke was with Kris, tears in her eyes. Even though she didn’t know Tyler or Derek, she couldn’t help but feel sorry for their family.

All of the mourners filed into the church and sat in the pews. A eulogist approached the podium and began the eulogy. “Tyler Trenton was a young boy, whose life had been taken from him. Tyler will be in the lives of everyone here in this church. He will live on in our hearts forever and always. I would now like a moment of silence for Tyler, so if you all would be silent please…” The church was silent for several moments. Then, the eulogist continued with a question. “Would anyone like to come up to the podium and say a few words?”

Derek pulled out a folded piece of paper from his coat pocket and stood up. “I would, sir.” The eulogist motioned for Derek to approach the podium and walked to the side of room. Derek stood behind the podium and started to read from the piece of paper. “My brother, Tyler was a great guy. He never asked for anything in return for his actions. He was a brave, courteous kid and I-” Derek started to cry. “Uh… Tyler, just-” He stopped. “I’m sorry.”

Brent stood up and walked to the podium and took the paper away from Derek. “I’ll read for you, okay?” Derek nodded as Brent gazed over the paper and read. “Tyler just kept a smile on his face, he didn’t have a problem with no one and he meant the world to me, but I guess that physically, that world is gone because Tyler is, too. Mentally, I will always have Tyler around me wherever I go, because to me, Tyler is still here. I wish I could hold him one more time, but I can’t and that will be the thing that haunts me from now until I die. The last thing I wanted to say to Tyler, but never had the chance to, was that I loved him.” Brent now had tears filling his eyes. He read the last line on the paper. “Tyler was and is my inspiration to love my life and now he’s my hero, too.”

The mourners in the pews weeped and blew their noses and dabbed their eyes with tissues or handkerchiefs. Derek looked at Brent and walked to him with his arms open. Brent hugged Derek as Derek cried. The eulogist approached the podium again. “Thank you, boys,” he said. Brent and Derek then walked back to their pew and sat until the funeral service was over. After the service, everyone walked to their cars and drove to the cemetery for the burial service.

Once they arrived at the cemetery, there was a small tent over where Tyler’s grave was. There was a hollow box with an urn placed on top, containing Tyler’s ashes. The mourners gathered into the tent and stood silently with a strong wind, blowing hard enough for the tent to shake. Brent looked at Derek who still had tears rolling down his cheeks. He then gazed over at Kris, who had his hand in Brooke’s. Both of them also had some tears rolling down their cheeks. Eventually, the grave diggers arrived and made the announcement that the funeral and burial services had been over and then buried Tyler’s ashes.

Kris rolled up to Brent in his wheelchair. “Hey, Brent.”

Brent responded, “hey.”

“So, now what do we do now?” Kris asked.

Brent shrugged his shoulders. “I don’t know. This funeral and the whole Krypting incident…” He trailed off. “I guess we just have to keep doing what we’re doing, like destroying the Xbox and going back to school.”

Kris nodded. “I guess so.”

Brooke walked up to Kris and Brent and wiped her eyes with a tissue. “Hi, Brent.” She looked down at Kris. “”Are you okay?”

Kris’s eyes were watery and a small tear rolled down his cheek. “Yeah, I’m just-” He pulled out a handkerchief from his pocket. “I’m just a little emotional when it comes to funerals, that’s all.”

Brent looked over at Derek, who was talking to his mother, then back to Kris and Brooke. “i’ll be right back,” he said, walking away.

“What are you doing?” Kris asked.

Brent ignored him and walked toward Tyler’s grave, reaching into his jacket. He looked around, then knelt down next to the grave. He pulled out his hand from his jacket and placed a picture of Derek and Tyler together in a frame. He looked to his right side and saw a red rose and picked it up from the ground and placed it in front of the picture. He gazed over the grave for a moment and then picked himself up from the ground and walked back over to Kris and Brooke.

Kris squinted at the grave and looked at Brent with a puzzled expression on his face. “Where did you get the picture?” he asked.

Brent smiled shyly and said, “remember a couple days ago? We were at Derek’s helping him and his mom with the funeral arrangements.”

Kris nodded. “Yeah…”

“Well, remember when I got up to go to the bathroom?” Brent asked.

Kris looked at Brent with a shocked face. “No. You didn’t…”

Brent shrugged. “I did. I actually went up to Derek’s room and hid the picture in my jacket. Do me a favor and please don’t tell him.”

Kris looked at him intently. “Don’t worry, I won’t. Your secret is safe with me.”

“Thanks,” Brent said.

A couple of hours later, after everyone had finished talking to the Trenton family and giving their condolences, they went home. Brent, Kris, Derek and Brooke had stayed for a while longer. Kris rolled up to Derek with Brooke next to him. “Derek, I should have done this earlier, but… this is Brooke. She goes to our school. She came here to pay respect to Tyler, although she never met him.”

Derek shook Brooke’s hand. “Thank you, Brooke. I wish Tyler could have met you. You would have liked him.”

Brooke responded. “I’m sure I would have. He seemed like a really nice boy.”

Derek said, “he was.”

Brent looked at Kris and said to him, “I’m going to show him the picture on the grave.” Kris nodded. “Hey, Derek, I want to show you something,” Brent said to him.

“Okay,” Derek said.

Brent walked with Derek towards the grave and pointed at the rose and the picture lying on the grave. Derek gazed at the two items on the grave and cried. He looked at Brent and said nothing. “I hope you don’t mind, but I took the picture from your room and put the rose on the grave with it,” Brent said, calmly.

Derek shook his head. “No, I don’t mind.” He looked back at Brent and continued, “I think it looks good.”

“I really am sorry, Derek. I should never had let-”

“Stop. I told you it’s not your fault. Don’t beat yourself up about it.”

Brent wanted to nod, but he couldn’t. He felt that Tyler’s death was his fault because of his actions that he didn’t do to stop him.

“Let’s go,” Derek spoke. “It’s getting pretty late, anyway.” He glimpsed at his watch. “It’s 10:00 p.m.”

“Brent finally muttered under his breath, “alright.”

Derek drove the boys and Brooke back to their houses and parked into his driveway and walked inside of his house. He walked into his bedroom and stared at his Xbox, angrily. He unplugged the system and carried it downstairs. He opened the front door and dropped it on the yard and went back into the house. He returned several moments later with a lighter. He lit the lighter and dragged the flame over the Xbox. He watched as the bright, yellow-orange light engulfed the system in the middle of the yard. Derek switched off the lighter and put it in his pocket. He gazed at the fiery inferno and spoke. “You took my brother’s life. Now I’m going to take yours.”

“How do you know this?” Brent asked Kris, looking at the back of a Xbox game.

“Remember when you walked out to the huddle and Derek shoved you?” Kris asked.

Brent nodded. “Yeah, but what does that have to do with the Xbox?”

“When I walked over to you, I saw the Xbox laying on the ground near their sideline,” Kris said. “It looked like it was smirking at you.”

“Huh. Well, now we know to watch out for him now. We’ve had the Syrium, but that was just the beginning. Who knows what Derek’s planning with him right now?” Brent said. There was silence in the store. Then Brent said, “it’s a good thing we came to Game Stop, it’s more peaceful and quiet here than Just Press Play.”

Kris crouched down and picked up a game on the bottom shelf. “I’m getting this game,” he said raising a copy of Assassin’s Creed II. “What are you getting?” Kris looked at Brent with his head cocked to one side. “Brent? Brent…”

Brent was not paying attention. Instead, he was looking at several Xboxs in their packaging and stood motionless. Kris tapped him on his shoulder, but Brent brushed it.

Kris smacked Brent in the back of the head. “Hey, Brent!”

Brent was startled. “What?!”

“Are you okay?” Kris asked.

“Oh, yeah,” Brent said. “I just think we need to go and, you know, talk to Derek and see why he would want to help an Xbox. I mean, does that sound a little odd to you?”

“Well yeah, but-” Kris drew a blank. “I’m not sure. He might have a reason, but it probably isn’t a good one. Or it could be… I don’t know, I’m just a boy in a chair right now.”

“Let’s find out. I’ll buy the game for you, we’ll drop it off at your place and we’ll go talk to him,” Brent said. “Do you know where he lives?”

“No, but my mom does. I’ll ask her,” Kris said. “My mom knows his mom from a book club a couple years ago. I know it’s weird.”

Brent looked at Kris. “Doesn’t matter if it is or not. Let’s go.” Brent bought the game for Kris and rolled him out of the store. They both stopped by Kris’s house. They dropped off the game and got the address for Derek’s house. They walked to the eastern part of the city to Derek’s house and Brent knocked on the door. The door opened.

“What do you want?” a voice snarled.

“Are you Derek Trenton?” Brent asked.

“Yeah, why?” Derek mumbled.

Brent looked back at Kris and back to Derek. “We have to ask you something that really concerns you. Is that okay with you?”

Derek thought about it. “Uh… I guess. What do you want to know?”

Kris spoke up from behind Brent. “If you are, why are you helping the Xbox with its plans?”

“It’s simple. I don’t actually want to die with everybody else. Especially you two. No offense,” Derek said.

Brent and Kris looked at each other with looks of bewilderment. “Really? That’s your excuse. That’s why you’re helping the Xbox?” Brent asked.

“No. It’s not an excuse. It’s more of an explanation than an excuse. Now, is that all you want to ask me?” Derek answered.

“Not yet. Tell us the truth, Derek. There’s more people to care about than you. So, what’s the real reason?” Kris asked.

Derek sighed. “Fine. The Xbox… has my little brother. It said that if I didn’t cooperate, then I wouldn’t see him again. I just did it to get my brother back.”

Brent looked down at his feet then looked back at Derek. “What’s his name, Derek?”

“Tyler. Why do you want to know?” Derek sniffed.

“Because we’re going to get him. Me and Kris will bring him back to you,” Brent said. “Don’t worry, we’ll make sure that the Xbox doesn’t hurt him, okay?”

Derek nodded. “Okay.” He sniffed again and looked right at Brent. “I’m sorry. I’m sorry for being rude and acting like-” He corrected himself. “No. I’m sorry for being a jerk.” He motioned his hand to Brent, hoping he would shake it.

Brent grabbed his hand and shook it. “No problem.”

“Thanks,” Derek said.

Brent nodded. “Don’t worry, we’ll get your brother back.” He glanced at Kris then back to Derek. ‘Even if it’s the last thing we do.”

Derek sniffed again. “I really appreciate it. But I’m not going to just sit here, I’m coming with you.”

Brent and Kris stared at Derek inaudibly. Several seconds passed and finally Kris broke the quiet. “Uh… okay. But Derek, won’t the Xbox kill you if you fight against it?”

“Probably, but I’d do anything for my brother,” Derek said.

“Would you die for your brother?” Brent asked.

“Oddly, yes. I love my brother and nothing will stop me from either helping him or being there for him,” Derek said.

“Alright, let’s go!” Kris said.

Derek grabbed his jacket and his car keys. “We’ll take my car,” he said. The boys went to the end of the driveway and stood still gaping at what they saw in front of them. Sitting in the driveway was a red ‘69 Jaguar. “Get in,” Derek said.

“Amazing. He’s got the car, the hair, the good looks… and did I just say that out loud?”

Derek stood quietly with a look of confusion and Brent was trying not to burst out in laughter. “Yes you did,” Brent spoke.

“Anyway, all he needs now is the girl,” Kris finished.

“Actually…” Derek pulled out his wallet and showed Kris a picture.

“Never mind. This guy is ahead of the game,” Kris said, pointing towards Derek.

The boys got into the car and fastened their seatbelts. “Do either of you two know where the Xbox would be?” Derek asked.

“I don’t know. Maybe we should go to Just Press Play because that’s where Kris and I saw it last,” Brent said.

“Okay,” Derek said. He put the car in reverse and backed out of the driveway. He then put the car in drive and drove down the black pavement. Several minutes later, the three boys arrived at the store.

Again, the store looked worse than when Brent and Kris had visited.

“Ugh…” Derek said, disgusted.

“Just a heads up, the inside walls are electrified,” Kris said.

“Plus, we fought a Syrium. So watch out for the Xbox’s minions,” Brent added.

“A Syrium? I heard of that before. The Xbox told me that it was creating a whole bunch of creatures. So, we’ll either see one now or we’ll see one very soon. The Xbox also said that a creature with advanced technology like the Syrium shouldn’t have been beaten by you two. It’ll probably make the next minion even tougher than the Syrium was. Trust me.”

“Come on,” Brent said. The boys entered the store and looked around. There was silence, but only for a brief second.

“Welcome back, boys,” the Xbox said, sitting on the counter. “I knew you couldn’t stay away.” It looked at Derek. “Very good, Derek. You’ve succeeded in bringing them to me. You shall be rewarded.”

“No, I didn’t bring them to you. I’m here with them. I’m not your assistant anymore,” Derek announced.

“Oh. Well then, I guess I’ll have three times the fun instead of two,” the Xbox chuckled.

“What do you mean?” Kris asked.

“Have fun,” the Xbox laughed. The Xbox then disappeared leaving the three boys alone. The lights shut off and the doors locked.

“Derek!” a voice screamed. A spotlight shined in the middle of the room. A rope hung in the air holding a boy chained to a chair with one of the Xbox’s minions. It looked like a crocodile, but it’s teeth were much more sharp and they were filled with poison. The creature walked all over the chair, it’s teeth inches away from the boy’s neck.

Derek spoke. “Tyler!”