Jon waited for a moment, thinking that something might happen. But nothing did.
He sighed, figuring that he had dodged a bullet, but then his cellphone rang.
"Hello?" he asked into it.
"Solve the puzzle," a raspy voice said.
"Who is this? How did you get my number?"
"Solve the puzzle. Their fates depend on you. Return them to their origins and solve the puzzle." Then the line went dead.
"Hello? Hello?" Jon asked. He dropped the phone onto his desk, then wondered what that was all about. Then he wondered if that call had anything to do with his wish. Not that it was interesting, though. More creepy than interesting. But who was it and how did he or she get his cell number?
As Jon sat on his bed, thinking over what had just happened, the room suddenly shook. But not like an earthquake. It was more like the room was ... shimmering. And then a moment later, it stopped.
He ran for his door and opened it, then he ran into the next room. He knew that his sister Zoe didn't like it when he just barged in, but this was a special circumstance. He needed to know if she saw what he saw.
He opened the door and then stopped dead in his tracks.
"Jon! What the fuck! Haven't you ever heard of knocking before you enter someone's room? Especially mine?" the Goth girl asked.
"Karyn?" Jon asked. It was Karyn. But she was dressed like his sister. No, it was more than that. It was like she had replaced his sister. She had her pale skin, her black-dyed hair, her piercings, everything.
"Karyn?" she asked, confusedly. "Do I look like your stupid friend? My name's Zoe, remember?"
Jon walked further into the room. "Karyn, what happened to you?"
"I don't have time for your fucking games, Jon. Get out!" she said.
"But, Ka ..."
"Get the fuck out of my room!" she yelled.
Jon's eyes bulged. He had gotten used to Zoe's temper, but to hear Karyn act in same exact manner was jarring, to say the least. He moved backwards and out into the hallway. Then Karyn practically slammed the door in his face. A moment later, he could hear the volume of Zoe's metal music go up.
He turned and walked down the hall, in a daze. Then he saw a family portrait hanging on the wall. It was there that morning too, but now all the people in it were different ... all except for him.
Zoe had been replaced by Karyn, Mikey had been replaced by ... well, Jon didn't recognize him, and his mother was replaced by ... no, it couldn't be. He looked closer and realized that he was right. It was none other than Sarah McMillan. But she no longer looked like a teenager. Instead, she appeared to be the same age as Jon's mother. And now that he thought about it, Karyn looked a little younger too. Zoe was two years younger than Jon, and he began to think that Karyn was now two years younger too.
Suddenly, he heard his cellphone ring again. He ran back to his room and grabbed it. "Hello?"
"Solve the puzzle."
"Who are you?! Why are you doing this?!" he screamed into the phone.
"It's a game," the raspy voice said. "Solve the puzzle before they become permanent. Return them to where they belong and solve the puzzle. Their fates are in your hands." Then the line went dead.
Did the caller mean for Jon to take Karyn back to her house? That was where she belonged. But what did the caller mean by solving the puzzle before they became permanent? Did that mean that if he didn't take Karyn back home as soon as possible, she'd remain the way she was right now ... permanently?
Jon grabbed the stone. "I wish that Karyn would return home." Jon waited for the stone to glow, but it didn't. He squinted, then tried again. "I wish that everyone who had changed would return to the way they were." But the stone still didn't glow.
As he pondered why it wasn't working, his cellphone rang again.
"No cheating," the raspy voice said. Then the line went dead.
