What if everything you had

been told was the truth,

was a lie?

Have you ever felt like

the whole world was out to

get you?

Have you ever felt like the world was

crumbling and falling down on top of you,

and you're helpless to stop its descent?

I have.

I've literally been crushed under the weight

of the world.

(crushingpulverizingdestroyingforce)

But it wasn't just me, it was my brothers too.

(*)

I remember the day it happened.

Sun shining,

Birds tweeting,

Tires squealing,

Cars honking,

People shouting...

Just another normal day in the life of a Clue hunter.

(*)

They had lost us on the highway,

but they couldn't run f_o_r_e_v_e_r.

Soon enough we found them again,

and the camera in my phone went off

with a satisfying snap-click!

I couldn't help but to smile when I heard that sound;

the sound of being a step closer to victory.

(*)

We mocked them, saying we were better

and that they didn't stand a chance.

(Wrongwrongwrong)

What did they do in return?

Warn us.

They said not to go out of the front entrance

because there was a man there that had been stalking them,

and had almost killed them.

(Honestly, was that the best they could do?)

I didn't believe them. How did I know they didn't want

us to start panicking and waste valuable time

trying to find another exit?

No thanks, I'll find my own way.

Me and my brothers started jogging away,

(after a quick threat telling them to stay put, of course)

and I heard Ned start mumbling.

I asked him what was wrong, and he said he believed them.

I didn't bother asking why; my brother had always been an idiot.

That was when I caught a glimpse of the man they had been talking about.

(Clad in black, hat pulled down, avoiding eye contact, hiding his face in shadows)

Too late.

BANG! BOOM! CRASH! KRA-A-A-A-A-CK!

My senses seemed to numb as the sounds rang out.

I only had one coherent thought: They were right.

Ahhh!

Ted's scream pierced the air surrounding me,

though the sound of the roof crumbling above us

drowned out that noise.

I felt piecesofdebris hit me; I watched it crush my brothers.

Worst. Day. Ever.

And it may be my last.

(Death shouldn't be an option.)

(But it is.)

(*)

I woke up, painfully remembering everything.

The explosion.

Ted.

Ned.

Oh, God, no!

I begged for them to be okay,

they had to be okay.

I called first for Ned, and then for Ted.

Over&over&over I repeated their names.

I went on until my voice was hoarse, not that that took long.

Finally, I heard the weakest, most heart-retching answer ever.

"Sinead...?"

But it was an answer no less.

(*)

Lying in a hospital, I felt ashamed and angry.

Ashamed, that I had been blown up,

and angry because here I was, having almost died,

and what did my parents do?

(If you could call them parents.)

They grounded me, Ned and Ted!

It was like they blamed us for the explosion,

like we had purposely went and flipped the switch!

Did they think we had fun?

Did they think we liked it?

Ted's blind, and Ned can't even think straight

without pain,

(Myfaultmyfaultmyfault)

and we get

G

R

O

U

N

D

E

D

?

They said we had better come up with a lead soon,

or...

They had left the threat hanging,

but I'm not sure I want to find out what they were finishing it with.

(*)

Sore, angry, worried and most of all, fearful,

I got a letter in the mail.

No address.

No name.

All the envelope said was

"To Ned, Ted and Sinead Starling"

How comforting.

It had a lead in it, from an anonymous source.

How reliable was it?

Though Ted was worried about it, we b_r_a_v_e_d it.

Time to find out how true that lead was.

(*)

Watching my brothers put on the dresses

was the most funny thing I had ever seen.

Ned kept complaining,

Ted kept complaining,

and I couldn't stop laughing.

But apparently, winning the Clue hunt

was more important to them then keeping the

"manly flare" they claim to have.

Or maybe they just want to show our parents

that even disabled, they're better than all of theCluehunters.

I just wish they knew that I was doing this for them.

(*)

Dan in a vise grip.

Amy confused~beyond~reason.

Confusion, pandemonium and chaos...

looks like our work here is done.

!

What was he doing there? Oh well...

(a quick flick of the wrist and...)

Bye bye, Daniel Cahill.

(*)

Alistair is such a dolt.

He should have

K

N

O

W

N

that us, being Ekats as well,

would be able to figure out his not-so-clever hideout.

Now just to get him to spill all he knows...

(What's this old man talking about? A hug? That's it?)

If only I knew the importance of this thing called "love."

(*)

Sure, I've read about how newborn babies will die within months

if they aren't hugged and loved and cared for,

but I had never felt love to such a n e w d e g r e e.

I was always making fun of my brothers,

but only now, standing in the Gauntlet,

seeing one of my brothers tied to a tombstone

rigged to blow, did I realize that I couldn't

L

I

V

E

without them.

If I didn't give up my Clues

(ones I didn't even have!)

Ted would die.

Die.

I hate that word.

Heartless.

Cold.

Evil.

Isabel!

How could you do this to me?

(No sixteen-year-old should have to face this.

Nobody, no matter the age, should have to choose between

their own flesh and blood, or the fate of mankind.)

(*)

NED! NO!

I saw Isabel aim the gun in a dream-like state.

NO!

She couldn't kill him! Not Ned! Not anybody!

She already shotherowndaughter! Isn't that enough?

So much mental pain...

It feels like I'll

never

truly

recover.

Amy? What the-? Is she nuts?

Wait! I'm helping!

Thank God, Ned! You're safe...

I think I understand the meaning of love now.

And not the scientific meaning.

(*)

I feel awful, but at the same time, refreshed.

I feel awful for abandoning Dan and Amy

to handle Isabel on their own.

What person does that to the people that just

saved her brother's life?

I also feel awful for coming to the realization

that I may be more like Isabel than I thought.

I told myself I wanted the serum for my brothers' injuries...

but somewhere, deep in the backofmymind,

I don't think that was true at all.

I'm going to have to work on the whole

"nice"

thing... won't Ted and Ned love hearing that.

(*)

I feel refreshed because both of my brothers are alive and well.

They're safe... we're all safe.

Not just me, Ned and Ted, but everyone that participated in the hunt.

I feel bad for Irina Spasky, even though I barely knew her.

(Rest in peace, Irina. You've earned it.)

(*)

College!

I'll admit, laying on that hospital bed

(which feels like ohso long ago)

I almost thought I wouldn't make it to college... again.

Me and my brothers had passed college years ago,

but we hadn't really known what we had wanted to study then.

Going back will be a nice change-of-face.

Maybe life has finally taken a turn for the better.

Flamsteed, Ted's seeing-eye dog, is a popular dorm member,

since I taught him to announce the lunch menu

(one bark = pizza; two barks = hamburgers; three barks = mystery meat)

It really does come in handy,

(beware the dreaded three-bark).

(*)

Allinall,

life is much better.

Mom and dad are mad, sure.

But me, Ned and Ted have grown much closer.

And honestly...

This is the first time that I realize

that love, truly is the greatest gift of all,

(even if the love is coming from a couple of nincompoops).