Even after weeks, Waheeb was still in a coma, and they had no way of knowing what happened to him in limbo or why he went back into the coma, after waking up once. That had never happened before, and Nate was as stumped as anyone else. Fatim was beside herself with worry. And they couldn't be sure whether Waheeb was successful in caging the Havocs or not. All they could do was hope that the world was safe.

One thing they were sure of, with Waheeb indisposed, troublemakers couldn't use their connection with him to jump through the universes and come to Earth. For the time being, they would be safe from the planet eaters, but for how long, was anyone's guess.

The Controllers had been informed, and they were already devising a backup plan. Humans, however, remained in the dark. After much discussion, they decided it wasn't time to reveal themselves to humans. Humans weren't ready to learn the truth. Someday, they might be, and then Enterers wouldn't have to hide, anymore. Until then, they must protect their secrets and protect Earth with humans none the wiser.

"How long do you think it will take?" Fatim asked, longingly staring at the prone form of Waheeb. She had one of his hands enveloped between hers.

"I'm sorry, Fatim. This is unexpected, to say the least," Zaroon sighed, "Right now, all I can do is monitor him and keep him alive." There was no one better equipped than Zaroon to figure out this mess.

"It doesn't matter because we didn't have any choice," Nate said as if reminding himself of the stakes and refusing to let regret take hold of his heart. Regrets wouldn't help anyone. If they hadn't tried they would've regretted it more. "I'm sure he'll wake up soon. He's a strong man. I've known him for a long time. And I know that he's a fighter and a survivor. If anyone can make it to the limbo and back, it's Waheeb."

"It has already been over a month. I'm worried he might never wake up," Fatim said with tears in her eyes. Waheeb was the only man she had ever truly loved. True, she thought that she loved Nate before ever meeting Waheeb. But now, she knew better. What she felt for Nate was just admiration—a little girl's crush on the only person in her life who had always been there for her. She respected him for he was a good man. However, Waheeb had become her entire world. She couldn't imagine living without him. It broke her heart to see him like this.

"He will wake up. I'm sure of this," Nate reassured her.

"Oh, Nate, what if he didn't," she cried in despair.

"Don't lose hope just yet." He tried to calm her down. "I can't handle it if you lose hope and breakdown. One comatose friend is hard enough to deal with. We must be strong for him." Leaning over her to give her a half hug.

The worst part was that the Book of Wisdom had vanished into thin air. They had no clue where it went. Just like it had appeared in front of Waheeb one day, it had now disappeared. That was one mystery they would probably never solve. The book worked in its ways and no one knew where or how it would appear again. It's a wonder it came to Waheeb when it did, or they might never have been able to even try saving their planet. At least, now they had hope. Perhaps, Waheeb had been successful during his time in the limbo and the threat was gone, too.

#

I had no idea where I was, but I could hear Fatim and Nate talking about me without seeing them. What kind of strange place was this? I had no clue how long I had been there. There was no sense of time, day or night. It was always dark and quiet unless Nate, Fatim, or Zaroon were talking. Theirs were the only voices I heard. I had been walking for what I thought was days. It could be just a few minutes for all I knew, although it felt like an eternity to me. And so far, I hadn't come across another living being. It seemed like I was the only breathing person there. Wherever there was. I felt tired and wanted to lie down to sleep, but instinctively, I knew that was a bad idea. And I kept walking. I wasn't willing to give up just yet. I had to return to Fatim. She was waiting for me.

My eyes flew open, and I was blinded by the brightness of the light. "Where am I?" I croaked.

"You're up," Fatim was by my side at once. "Oh, Waheeb, I thought you'd never wake up."

Her eyes were misty with unshed tears and I wondered what happened. Trying to sit up, I realized what it was. My head spun, and I had no choice but to lay back, sinking into the softness of the pillow.

"Take it easy," Zaroon chastised me. "Let me check your vitals first."

#

I regained my strength back, slowly. It had been a while since the whole ordeal was over. I never heard the voices after that. And I was quite sure that troublemakers were no longer a threat to humanity or this universe. Fatim had moved in with me since then. We were both getting married soon. Nate decided to continue his research. He had gotten obsessed with old fiction novels believing many of them were not fictitious at all. He was learning new things every day, and that had always been something he wanted to do. We were all happy and content with our lives.

My premonitions never left me, though. Still, from time to time, I'd feel something bad about to happen. But the program Nate and I designed was just as good at predicting natural disasters as my inner alarm.

My experience in limbo and the in-between—that's what Nate called the place I was roaming while unconscious—had changed me. After staring death in the eyes, I became more carefree. I started to enjoy what life had given me, I questioned my existence more often and complained about life a lot less.

The ordeal made me realize there were things in the universe that were far more important than me. And I also began to understand the importance of preserving our planet. That was when I decided to start a non-profit organization solely concerned with environmental protection and dealing with outside threats.

Of course, my fellow humans still didn't know the existence of aliens, or anything that had happened around them. They were as oblivious as ever. But it was for the best, because as they said, "What you didn't know won't hurt you." And even if it did hurt, it wasn't like you'd know. Or so Fatim would tell me.

We had all come a long way. Although we were nowhere near solving all the mysteries of the world, we had solved a few. We were more open to new ideas and things we didn't understand than ever before.

Fatim was opening up to humans, and I was reconnecting with my family. At least I was trying but it wouldn't happen overnight that was for sure. And Nate, well he was his usual awesome self. Zaroon had decided to come out of his retirement after all. He was now working closely with me and helping me guard the earth.