Be Careful What You Wish For

Chapter 1

Nevaeh Corrsin is a girl with short black hair and a boring life. She goes to school like everyone else, is considered pretty emo fashion-wise, and she likes books. Her best friend, Benjamin Smith, or Benji as he prefers to be called, is the most ordinary kid she's ever known, but he's cool and they bond over their mutual love of a particular book series, so it's okay. Her brother, Kale, is on the football team and super popular, but also has bright blue hair and is weirdly dorky. It's a pretty lucky life, if you ask her. When Nevaeh gets home from another miserably uneventful day, she immediately makes a beeline for her room, but is stopped when her mother lays a firm hand on her shoulder and sits her down.

When her mother tells her that her parents are getting a divorce, Nevaeh doesn't react the way a person normally would. Her parents' marriage has been loveless for years, anyways. This was a long time coming. She nods slowly. When she gets to her room, she wipes away a few tears and takes a deep breath. Everything will be okay. She isn't surprised when she hears a knock on her door, nor the shock of bright blue hair that is immediately spotted when she opens it. Her brother is there, giving her a sorrowful look. Though he's the older of the two, and expected to be the more stoic, he's always been much more emotional than Nevaeh. There are tears streaming down his face as he hugs her tight, and they sit together for a few minutes, in understanding silence. When he collects himself, Kale sighs deeply. "I was thinking we should spend the night at Benji's." She just nods. When they finished packing their stuff for the night, they leave. Kale drives. When they get to Benji's, he doesn't ask. They lay in Benji's backyard and stare at the stars.

He glances at his watch, and gasps. "Hey, it's 11:11! Make a wish."

Kale begins with "I wish my parents weren't so.... Stupid!"

Benji goes "I wish my life weren't so boring."

Then it's Nevaeh's turn. "I wished I lived in the world of Limbo."

They glance at her sympathetically and she keeps looking at the stars.

Limbo: The Battle of the Heavens is Benji and Neveah's favorite book series. The next installment comes out tomorrow. They go back inside and then to bed. When Nevaeh wakes up, she opens her eyes and squints immediately at the sunlight coming in from all directions. She could've sworn she'd closed the blinds before she went to sleep. And why is it so cold? She lifts up her arm and is startled to feel liquid leaking through her sleeves. She's laying in snow. She hears Benji let out a very high-pitched squeal. He must've just woken up.

Nevaeh finally find the strength to sit up on her elbows and look around. Kale is laying face-first in the snow, his bright blue hair speckled with snow. He groans loudly, turning over and grumbling "Son of a biscuit, it's cold! Who left on the AC?!"

Nevaeh starts to laugh, though it dies immediately in the back of her throat when she remembers that they don't know where they are

"Where the H E double hockey sticks are we?" Benji croaks.

"Dude, you're in the Forest of Limbo, did you hit your head too hard or something?" a man says as he creepily stalks out of the trees. He's the most beautiful man Nevaeh's ever seen. His skin is pale, almost sickly. His hair and eyes, pitch black as the trees.

Benji and Nevaeh glance at each other and grin. "We're in Limbo!" they shout together. Kale looks freaked out.

"Okay.... Who are you, then?" Kale asks.

The man looks at him like he's personally offended. "Do you seriously not know who I am?" He tilts his chin up in both confusion and disgust.

"I do!" Nevaeh speaks, too loud and too eager. "You're Cambriel! You're uh... a messenger for the Angels. What're you doing here?"

"I was just walking by. Since you seem to be new here, I could show you around if you'd like." Cambriel gives her a trustworthy smile.

"Hey! That's a great idea!" Benji says a little too enthusiastically, jumping in front of Nevaeh.

Cambriel raises an eyebrow. "Okay, I'll bring you to my place and we can start your training."

When Nevaeh thinks of a place where the Angel messenger would stay, she doesn't think of a run-down motel room that is not unlike any in her own world. She doesn't ask, afraid of being impolite and offending the gorgeous man.

"This is my place. We will not be here much, mostly just to sleep. Your real training happens in town," he says.

When they leave, Cambriel takes them all over town. Nevaeh doesn't mention how it looks just the way she'd imagine. They go to a gym, to a restaurant, to a store, and to a museum. Cambriel says it is to "integrate" them into his world. Nevaeh also doesn't mention the fact that she already know all about the place, and Benji most likely too. It must be helpful for Kale, though. This is how they spend the first few days. Cambriel doesn't get any less mind numbingly beautiful.

Getting to know Cambriel is another story. He was mainly a background character in Nevaeh's book, so they have to start without much basis for him. He's quick-witted and cunning, but also a bit arrogant. He's kind of a celebrity among the town, though not as much as he hyped himself up to be. He sends messages, though he's not like any other mailman. He sends important items and documents without interception, and is known as the most trustworthy messenger in Limbo. However, his prices are quite steep. He should definitely be able to afford a better living situation, though Nevaeh suspects he has the motel room for the rest of their sakes, and not his own.

When Cambriel finally deems them as "useful," however, things get weird.

In the land of Limbo, Angels and Demons have been at war for centuries. It hasn't been revealed why, yet, but they do know that the war takes place in Limbo, as neither race can enter the other's realm. However, while the author portrays the Angels as the good guys, Cambriel seems to have some resentment towards them. For what, nobody can be sure.

When Cambriel reveals that he is on the Demons' side, Nevaeh almost makes a run for it immediately, but stands her ground because of her fondness for the man. She'll hear him out.

As Cambriel tells them to join his side, however, they all decline. Kale seems more reluctant of the three, though since he's never read the book himself, he's semi-content to stay with their side. Cambriel, however, gets angry and leaves them alone. Problem is, none of them know how to get out of Limbo. They stay together and survive, mainly because of how much they care about each other, but still barely.

Days pass until, miraculously, they run into Cambriel again. However, this time, he is much less friendly. Benji gets into a full on fight with Cambriel, which was a very stupid thing for him to do considering that Cambriel's a demon and is one thousand times stronger than him. Cambriel looked like he was about to murder Benji. Nevaeh found a shovel near by and ran up and hit Cambriel in the head with it. He slowly turns around, his head lopsided and cracks it back in place.

"I'm a thousand years old, you can't kill me!" He bellows.

Fear struck Nevaeh, but in the blink of an eye, a man was there. He was behind Cambriel and he pushes a needle into Cambriel's neck. Cambriel drops to the floor.

"He's not dead, just knocked out. Quick, we don't have much time. I'm Magnus. I'm the one who sent you here. I did not mean for him to find you, it was always my intention that I would find you first, but apparently not." Magnus looks at both of them, breathes in, and then says, "Follow me."

Benji, Nevaeh, and Kale didn't know if they should trust Magnus after what happened with Cambriel but they followed, still shaken by what happened. Nevaeh didn't want to hit Cambriel but she had no choice.

"How can we trust you? Why are you helping us?" Nevaeh asks, her brain scattered with questions.

"Because," Magnus says, "You're an angel."

And just like that, Nevaeh Corrsin, her brother, and her best friend find themselves whirled back into their own world. They know, though, that this isn't the end.