Enchanted Life - 7. Chapter 7 Mission

My mom crossed my mind before bed last night. I was worried I wouldn’t live through the mission Shwartz had given us. After the night out at the Italian restaurant with Chance, Aaronn, and James. I was starting to get home sick. Not totally home sick because I still didn’t want to have anything to do with my dad. This had more to do with missing my mom.

It amazes me, what people do when they are terrified. I was in that terrified position now. And I wanted my mom. I wanted to say something to her or hear her, in case this was my last day on earth. I didn’t know what I had got myself into, I didn’t know what was waiting for me out there, and that was a terrifying reality.

Today, I decided I would call my mom. It was great to hear the phone ring. I tried a couple of times, then I tried a few more times, but no one would answer.

“Hello?” answered a young teenage voice.

“Yeah, is my mom there?” I had never heard this person’s voice in my life.

“Uh, no your mom isn’t ‘here’.” the boy replied, he sound like he was being funny, but at the same time he was trying to inform me.

“Could you tell her I called.” I was desperate to leave a message with anyone. So I could hear from her.

“I will tell her you called,” the guy said, with a light winded laugh. “If I knew who she was.” There was someone behind the person asking them: ‘Who was on the phone?’

I thought I heard someone say, ‘It may be someone prank calling you.’

“Oh sorry,” I quickly apologized, realizing I must have made a mistake. “I think I dialed the wrong number.”

“Yeah I think you did,” He replied back to me easing his words to more kindness. “but it’s okay, it happens.”

“Yeah I’ve been trying to dial my mom’s number back to back, and I guess I misdialed a number by an accident.” I tried to laugh away the embarrassment. I know I had to sound silly, calling this guy’s phone asking for my mom.

“It’s okay,” he mentioned again with a smile. “Misdials happen. I hope you get in touch with her.” He wished me. In his background I could hear a guy eagerly asking who was I.

I don’t know why, but something about this guy’s voice or something was very familiar. I was picking up some type of ‘I know you from somewhere’ vibe.

When there was a break of silence between us, I asked him “What’s your name?”

He gave a laugh that sound something like a confident, and arrogant smirk, “Braylon…what’s yours?” he shot back at me.

“Oh, Julius.” I said, still feeling a sensation of familiarity with his whole over the phone presence. “Have we met before?”

“I don’t know…” he thought for a minute, before asking some other guys did they know me. “No I don’t think we have.”

“I don’t know why I feel like I know you, or like I know you from somewhere.” I told him. It was weird that I was opening up to this stranger. I guess that’s how bad I wanted to talk to someone.

“Maybe you do, because I was having the same feeling.” Braylon tells me truthfully. “Maybe we know each other from a different life, I don’t know.” It sounds like he was being serious about what he said, but it came out in a joking type of way.

Perhaps he was right.

“Yeah maybe we are connected in some way.” I went along with him. “But I have to go. I hate that I took up your time. It was my mistake.”

“It’s fine. It was good to hear a different but familiar voice.” Braylon said, “I normally don’t say this to strangers, but since I feel like I have known you for a while, or feel like I am kin to you someway. Feel free to call me if you get bored or just want to chat.”

Wow that was weird.

“Okay I will do that.” I said awkwardly thinking how a misdial, happen to connect me with a person I didn’t know, I knew. “It was good to hear from you, Braylon.”

“Likewise Julius,”

“Bye for now.” I told him not knowing how to hang up the phone or knowing if this was the time to hang up. I kept feeling like there was something else that need to be said between us before the phone lines were hung up.

That’s when he said, “You know I was thinking, maybe your accidental misdial wasn’t an accident.”

“You are right!” I thought adding to his theory. “Somehow we probably were destine to have this talk. It was probably all apart of some big plan.”

“You never know,” he said leading me to believe further that the misdial was fate. “Well bye. Maybe fate will let you misdial and call again.” he laughed with his snobbish giggle.

“You never know,” I quoted his words back to him, and we both laughed. Before saying our last good-bye’s and hung up.

 

Such a weird way to meet someone new. I don’t know why I felt like I knew that Braylon guy. Maybe if I used my powers I could find our connection….

That situation was small so it would have to wait for another day. As of now, I have to try to call my house number. This time, I have to dial carefully.

 

Mom was probably knocked out sleeping. I know they probably have no responsibilities to worry about when it comes to a child. So I know they have more time to sleep.

I kept trying anyway. I know as bad as I wanted to talk to my mother. I knew she wanted to hear from me. I know she wanted to see how my powers were growing, and get an update on my friends, and how my life was different.

She was the reason I was at Celestial Academy. I thank her for having me, because I wouldn’t be able to do sorcery if I was born by any other woman.

I dialed my mom’s house phone. She was the only one I could talk to about my current situation. She would give me great motherly advice on what to do, and she would probably teach me something about my powers that I didn’t know.

Maybe she could tell me where the ‘Black Mirror’ enchantment came from? Not only that, but I wanted to see how life was on her end. Unfortunately no one answered.

All I wanted to do was have a simple talk. She hadn’t heard from me in months. I hope she hasn’t worried herself like most mothers do. Thinking I was dead or something.

Someone needs to pick up the phone before I have to leave for my mission. I tried to dial again, and I was surprised to hear someone had answered the phone finally.

“Hello?” my dad answered, I didn’t want to talk to him, but I will do what I can to hear from my mom.

“Dad, can I spea-“ before I could ask for mom, dad slammed the phone down in my face. At first I was wondering what happened. I wanted to think my cell lost service. I didn’t want to believe he hung up on me.

Especially at a hard time like this.

No worries, I will try again. Maybe she will answer, and I won’t have to worry about that pyscho.

“Hello?” my dad answered again.

“Dad-“

“If this is Julius,” My dad started yelling. He already knew it was me. Who else would call him dad. He didn’t want to acknowledge me. “Your mom and I don’t want to speak to you.” He forced out.

I heard a soft chuckling in the background. It sounded light and happy.

“What? Why? I haven’t done anything.” I pleaded, “Put mom on the phone so I can talk to her. I want to see what she has to say about you making up lies on her.”

“No can do.” My dad laughed. “Your mom and I always thought you caused too many problems when you lived here. When will you realize that?” he was fussing again.

“We both hope wherever you are, you are giving them trouble, because when you left, your mom and I have been able to move forward happily.” He continued, my dad hadn’t changed, and I wasn’t expecting him to. He was still bitter and hateful towards me.

I heard the laughter get louder in the back ground. It sounded like a happy person. It sounded like I was being made fun of on speaker phone by both of my parents… it sounded like my mom!

“I hate that I called.” I mumbled into the phone. It hurt so bad to hear my mom laughing at my dad’s harshness. How long has she been doing that? How long have they been trying to get rid of me?

Today I know, that my mother is just like my father. They both deserve each other.

“Your mom played her role good, didn’t she?” My dad kept laughing like my life was a comedy. “She cried and acted like she cared about you before she sent you off to that crappy voodoo school.” I could hear a loud cry of laughter from her in the background. It was so upsetting that I was trying to pretend that my heart wasn’t ripped out.

I really shouldn’t have called. What was I thinking about my mom for? She wasn’t any better than dad. It’s sad that I had to see that so late. She pretended so many years like she loved me. Like she wanted to see me make it in life, but on the inside she didn’t care one bit.

“Don’t get quiet now boy.” Dad went on with his story. Breaking me down with each word. Everything he said about my mom and him hurt a little more. “I didn’t want you around for sure. That was obvious… but she didn’t want you around because of all that dark sorcery you wanted to practice.”

I could hear her saying something in the background like “Now he can be on his own and practice what he wants, how he wants. Thank god he isn’t in here.” I don’t know if she knew I could hear her, while dad was still talking

“You want to know the best part about this, Julius?” I hated how dad said my name. It was a nasty piercing emphasis he added to my name, as if he hated that I came into this world. As if he hated my name itself. “Do you want to hear the best part or not?” he was trying to be funny.

After he didn’t hear me answer he kept talking. “Well I’m going to tell you anyway, because I don’t care if you want to hear it or not.” He said it in a matter of fact voice. “Your mom is smart. She was the mind behind you leaving the house for good.”

They both were laughing together with bright joy. It was a horrible feeling pouring inside of my bones. I wanted to throw my cell against the wall, I wanted to hit something, I wanted to do so many bad things… I couldn’t even think straight!

“BYE Julius, have fun where you are, and don’t call back.” Dad finished with no remorse in his tone. “You should say thank you to your mom…oh let me put her on the phone for you.”

I hung up. With water filling my eyes.

I couldn’t take it anymore. It hurt like nothing I had ever imagined. Mason’s shadow arm that choked me in the arena didn’t even hurt this bad. My mom betrayed me. She was never supportive of me. She was never with me through those times. She was never my mother.

My mom was behind all of this. She threw me out on a string and cut it. My parents were never by my side.

I heard my mom’s words replaying in my head. The words I departed with. thinking she meant well by them. I thought her intentions were pure for me, but I had that mistaken.

The words she said after I used the paralysis enchantement on my dad:

‘If I let that happen there will never be peace in this house. You and your dad will constantly be at war with one another.’

‘Now that the truth has come out, your father will never rest knowing you might be practicing sorcery. So the best thing for you to do after I release him…is to…is to, leave.’

Those two phrases should have been a red warning to what she was actually planning. Now that the words are playing back to me, it is clearer than what it once was.

She tried to smooth things over by saying, ‘It’s the only way I can keep the two most important people in my life from killing each other.’

It was all an act. It was all a game for them.

I kept hearing her lies in my head playing nonstop:

‘I knew something like this would happen but I didn’t think it would happen so soon.’

The fakeness in her tears were coming to me in short images. I couldn’t believe I fell for their trick.

‘Before I release him, I want you to be out of the house. There is no need to worry. I have saved up money over the years and paid for your enrollment at Celestial Academy.’

 

I sat there on my dorm bed. Regretting dialing home, Was the thought on my mind. It was funny how I called, thinking my mom would help me get through the stress I was dealing with for the mission. I was wrong about that. Her betrayal against me only worsen the worry in my mind.

I wish I could take that call back.

I will never be the same.

I kept trying to fight the tears. I told myself those two strangers who I once called parents, weren’t real reasons to cry. I wouldn’t waste my wonderful tears on them. They didn’t deserve my tears.

…but it was hurting me. The cut they delivered to my emotions almost left me feeling dead. It was too painful to cope with.

I was devastated.

Emptiness opened in my chest. I will never forget, when I needed my mom the most she cut me loose. My dad never liked me but at least he was up front about it.

I didn’t bother calling back. I didn’t bother calling them mother or father because they had lost that title forever. I will let them live their new happy lives together… they won’t ever have to hear from me again. Especially if I get killed today.

I know it will be better to be dead than to have a horrifying exposure to the truth about your parents hating you.

My biggest mistake was calling that woman a mom. My second biggest mistake was believing she was a mom.

I looked around my dorm staring at the clothes that I packed up in suitcases and bags, to come here. The whole Academy idea wasn’t some last minute plan my mom made for me. It is what both my parents wanted from the beginning. They wanted to be happy, and their happiness didn’t include me.

The cameras, the constant fussing, the fake crying, the stress, hiding my powers, everything combined was designed in some way for my mom’s plan to get me out of her house.

On our mission we weren’t allowed to take baggage or luggage of any kind. We weren’t staying a week or a day out there. The principal told us this was an ‘in and out’ type of thing. The quicker we get in and out, the mission is over.

Which would only take hours at the most, not a day or a week. So we wouldn’t need the extra baggage to slow us down.

Everyone could bring something small and compact along with them. Small items that were easy to carry, and not able to be seen. Anything that you thought would bring you good luck, or aid you in the mission, was allowed.

I had been so devastated by my mom, that I forgot to bring anything at all on the mission.

Aaronn stood waiting in the principal’s office, James was there with his arms crossed impatiently waiting, and Chance was with them. They were waiting on me to come.

I had probably wasted enough of their time, so when I got into the office I went straight into mission mode.

Shwartz left his office. Shutting his office door tightly behind him after leaving. He left so we could have enough room to teleport to the rival school without him accidentally being sucked in.

Grabbing the map that Shwartz gave us yesterday. I stared closely at the ‘X’ marked on the map. It was my duty to perform the teleporting enchantment to get us to the rival’s school safely at a record speed. It was the fastest method to get the sacred scrolls back, in the principal’s eyes.

The teleportation enchantment was probably the only reason the principal chose me as one of the main four to do this mission.

I concentrated all of my frustration out. I closed my eyes breathing in deeply, taking long exhaling winds to build my power. I could feel it tingling in my veins as I imagined the ‘X’ in my mind.

I reached blindly for everyone’s hands. They knew from this that it was time for us to join hands and form a circle.

I couldn’t see due to my eyes being closed but I could sense in my sorcery’s touch, that James was holding my left hand, and Aaronn was holding my right hand.

As I started to whisper my chants to teleport, I didn’t want to make myself sound foolish in front of Chance. So I kept my reciting chants at a soft whisper.

I never did a teleportation enchantment on my own, but I had seen it done twice. Plus, Ashlynn and Talan taught me the words during our training days before the tournament.

I could feel my blood drawing the sorcery out of my body. Forming and shaping the power of the words into an enchantment. The force from my mind was applying these chanting words into the physical world.

The words grew stronger and intense. They began to tug back at me, as they left my mouth to carry out the enchantment. I tightened the grip of my hands on Aaronn, and James feeling the pulse of their palms being squeezed under my hands.

I couldn’t help it.

Suddenly, I felt a sucking from the corner of the office. There was a glow of twinkling orb like stars in the winding whirlpool. I opened my eyes as the mouth of the spinning blaze of swirling lights, opened wider.

I did it! something I always wanted to do sine my first time travelling through one.

Then with a great and mighty force of winds we were sucked out of the office and into the air. Wildly trying to hang on to each other’s grips, we were being tossed in the cycle of twirling lights.

Suddenly we were spit from the teleportation tunnel, and onto the grounds of the rival school. The four of us were hurled on the dirt ground in a mangled pile.

Lifting from the ground, I had to dust myself off. Especially after having Aaronn’s knee in my jaw, and James’ shoes shoved into my stomach. It was a, not so comfortable landing, from the tunnel but we got here in one piece.

That’s what mattered the most.

The four of us were standing, Chance was slightly grunting holding his hip. Aaronn didn’t look like he was scathe in any way, by the fall.

James was knocking the dust from the ground out of his spikey black hair, “Good one.” He said to me. I think he was giving me a compliment on my enchantment. You could never be certain with James, but that’s what I think he meant by that.

After dusting our clothes off, we took in the sight of the rival school. It looked more like an abandon school. It’s structure was so sadly broken I couldn’t see how Shwartz may have suspected this school as the scroll thieves.

In my opinion the school didn’t look like it was finished being built. Maybe they needed the scrolls for the rest of the architecture. On the other hand, my mind was telling me that the school that Celestial Rival’s against was already built wasn’t it?

This was confusing to me. It didn’t make sense.

The stares that Aaronn and Chance shared told me that we all were thinking this was off. The building could use a ton of work. The broken bricks sticking out of the sagging school looked eerie.

This building could fall any minute. Were my thoughts exactly.

Aaronn walked closer examining the building. Turning his nose up at the structure. “Is this it? This is our rival school? Does this place have any electricity?” he threw in snidely.

Chance who was listening to music with his ear buds plugged into his ears. He was cautious as to where he was stepping. As he reviewed the scene. When he saw Aaronn talking, he removed his earbuds to listen.

I know Chance was stressed about the mission. I knew things about Chance that other people would probably over look. Like his need to listen to music whenever he was in a hard situation.

I remember when he woke up that morning after I pervertedly rubbed his body, and he was preparing for the tournament, by listening to music on TV.

James answered Aaronn, “The shadows are telling me… they sense a power in here.” He was looking at the building when he spoke.

Chance said, “Are we going to go in, and get the scrolls or wait outside?”

“Wait!” James insisted, looking at the crusty base of the building, where it was rooted to the ground. He seemed to be inspecting for signs. “I don’t know where the power source is coming from.” The shadows of the building were wiggling in wavy pattern as he put his hand on the bricks. “I can feel a power source in the building, but then I can sense something greater somewhere else outside of the building.”

From the report James was getting from his shadows. Going inside the school would give us the opportunity to locate the scrolls, but if we stay outside we might be safer…I think.

Aaronn put both hands on the temples of his white hair. He closed his radiant violet eyes, “I can see…” he announced while holding his form.

We inched closer to him, waiting to hear from his lips what he was seeing in his vision.

“…I see the scrolls in the building, but I don’t see anybody inside.” He finished

“Did you scan everything inside the building to be sure nobody was inside?” Chance asked worriedly.

Aaronn let his eyes open, and his hands rest at his side, as he nodded his head.

“Even if there is nobody in this building,” I interrupted, “I don’t think going in, is a good idea. The people who put the scrolls there have to have a trap, or something close by.” I was trying to get everyone to think before rushing inside and taking the scrolls.

I don’t think anyone would steal something scared and leave it unguarded when they know someone would definitely come back pursuing the stolen item.

Something was wrong, but what was it? If I can only figure it out.

“He has a good point.” Chance supported my thoughts.

James sighed, deepening his voice, “How about this: Aaronn and I will go inside the building since we can sense things better. While you two stand guard out here.”

It was a good suggestion, so at the same time Chance and I agreed, “Okay.”

“Good, let’s get this over with.” James said when he and Aaronn strided into the abandon building’s hanging door.

Those two could handle anything before it jumped out at them. There is no reason for me to get worked up. I have seen them in action. whoever crossed their paths wrongly, will be dead on the spot.

Once again, Shwartz didn’t send any weaklings on this mission. He chose the best for the assignment. It still puzzled me as to why the experienced teachers weren’t told to come on the mission instead of us.

Chance surveillanced the building for any new comers. I was doing the same. Watching both my sides and watching the door where Aaronn and James entered the school.

I was being enticed by Chance even more. There it was again. My feelings trying to tease and tempt me into coming on to him. It was sad that I was in the middle of something urgent and my emotions wanted to start rising.

Maybe I should try to lure him in, to see if he is…. Nevermind. He is still with that girl. So that idea isn’t going to get me anywhere with him.

Thinking of something else, I thought about how I needed someone to talk to about my parents. How they hurt me and pretended with me this whole time.

I couldn’t talk to any ordinary person about this. Oh no.That wasn’t what I wanted. I wanted to talk to someone who knew me. I wanted to tell this to someone who would show caring and concerned feelings about the matter.

Someone who knew me, who became my first friend at Celestial, and someone who slept in my bed…

It was Chance! Well…I could talk to anybody about my parents, but I needed it to be Chance so BAD!

“Chance,” I stood next to him, as my voice broke the silence. “Can I talk to you about something personal?”

“What is it?” he stepped closer. His olive sweet skin was trying to get me to touch him or lick him or something…I don’t know what it was doing. “Are you okay?”

I had his attention. He put his fingerless gloved hand on my shoulder as I talked “I feel like I can open up to you about this because we have become close friends over these months.” I told him, suffering under his touch. My skin was being teased by his warm glove.

“Tell me,” he stared into my eyes, saying with care.

I could tell him that I was crushing on him, or that I rubbed him the wrong way when he was sleeping the other night. I could tell him anything. Everything was setup for it, but I still didn’t have the stomach to go through with my emotions.

I had to regulate my breathing before talking. If I made a single breath that was out of rhythm I was afraid my inner emotions would find a way to slip out and confess to him what I have bottled in.

I would be a fool to confess my feelings in the open. Plus I didn’t want my hasty breathing to give him any hints about my crush either, so I had to get myself in order.

Taking my mind off of his hotness, and the temptation that continued to rise. I thought about my parents so I could switch my mood, and knock my feelings out of the way.

I told him in a short fast paced story what happened earlier on the phone with my parents. It was hard remembering every word, and explaining each painful detail about the laughing, and the game they played on me. It was difficult for me to keep talking, because my jaws wanted to lock in the middle of my sentences, but I continued anyway.

 

“…I don’t have anyone left in my life.” I finally said ending the story. I covered my face in shame. I didn’t want him to witness my tears, if they were to drop.

That would be weak.

Weak was something I wasn’t, and I didn’t want Chance to think that of me, but how I felt about him was making this a lot harder than it should be. I wanted him to know me as the strong Julius who’s door he knocked on that day. The strong Julius who could fight back any situation that was thrown at him.

That is who I wanted Chance to see.

But I was too broken to play like I was solid. I was to hurt to play the strong one.

“You don’t need them, Julius.” He said wrapping his toned arms around my body, in a hug. I felt like he was wrapping his arms around my empty heart when he held me there. I felt like he was holding me together. Keeping me from falling into pieces.

He was closer than he had ever been with me. My senses were going crazy with him so close. I could breathe in his appealing scent, I could feel his soft skin…every one of my senses were glad to be near his fascinating figure.

His graceful body’s embrace was keeping my body from breaking in. This was what I needed. I needed support, the care, and someone. Something my parents could have done, but Chance was better fitted for this. I wouldn’t trade it for anything else.

“It’s hard not having anybody that will look after you, or make sure you are okay.” I said in a tiny voice. It was paining me to keep letting out all of my words, but I had to release.

“You have me.” he tenderly said, looking at me for a moment. “Somebody who truly cares about your well being. Your parents may have hurt you but I will be a friend for a life time. And as your life time friend, I pray that together we can heal your emotional wounds.” A wave of heat travelled from his body straight into mine.

“They don’t believe in you, but as long as you keep breathing and living you will have time to make them believers.” He let me out of his hug, and when he let go so did his warmth. His heat left my body and reentered his own.

I was already missing his body entwined with mine. I was feeling left out without his hot blood keeping me toasty. I had already become addicted to him.

“Look at me Julius,” Chance said lifting my chin. I was looking into his eyes swimming around in his pupils, wishing I could tell him what was weighing on my heart. “I believe in you! You don’t need them as long as you have a good friend like me.” he pointed at hiself.

His sympathy his concern with my life, gave me the idea that someone actually cared. After hearing his inspiring words I kind of felt better.

I wasn’t alone after all.

“Thank you,…” my thanks was a sad whisper trying to revive itself, but I could feel myself coming back around. I had to thank him rightfully one day when my voice isn’t drenched with sadness. I paused for a moment. “I probably would have been an emotional wreck if it wasn’t for you.”

“Yeah I understand,” He pulled out his earbuds handing them to me. “Do me a favor and listen to this song for me. It might help you out of this mess.”

When I pressed play, a tinkling melody that was speaking about a similar circumstance that I was facing started to play in my ears. It was an easy mood to the speed of the singing.

The song was called: ‘Words by Lady Gaga’, and I it matched my current moment so well. All the bottled up desires, the unbelieving parents, it was a tune that carried a powerful impact emotionally.

After hearing the ending dwindle away in a soft high singing, I was finally alleviated from my dismay. It was almost like I was starting off new and fresh. It was like nothing ever happened. No tears spilled, no hurt… I was no longer in that mucky place thanks to Chance.

“Did you understand the meaning of the song?” he questioned me putting his ear buds away. I nodded scared if I spoke my voice would crack.

He was about to say something before our moment alone was suddenly disturbed by someone.

“We got the scrolls!” James came running from the broken building’s hanging door. Behind him Aaronn walked out being casual with every one of his steps. When they got close to Chance and I. Aaronn showed the tucked away sacred scrolls in the inside pocket of his suit.

The scrolls didn’t have a special look to them. They did look ancient with golden boarding around the paper’s outside, but other than that, it didn’t have a special glorious sight to it like I thought it would.

“That was easier than I thought.” Aaronn said with a sophistication about him. “Now let’s leave this dump and teleport out of here. I have things to do.” He advised.

James held my hand, and Aaronn quickly took his place by grabbing my right hand. We took on our teleportation places just as we did when we arrived here.

I closed my eyes repeating the verses of the chant, in a solemn low whisper. Focusing my power to build the enchantment so we could get back to Celestial.

“Not so fast!”

I was brought to a halt in my reciting. No one was suppose to be talking during my verses of words. Their words could have an alternate effect on the enchantment and send us hurling through time, and we might wind up landing in another country, or another world.

I stopped my chanting opening one eye to see which one of them had spoken out. It was a dangerous thing to do during a chant.

Aaronn was the first of us to break the circle of hand holding. He turned swiftly around looking at the saggy grey building.

He stood there for a minute. At first, we were all wondering if he had lost his mind. That’s what James’ face was showing. Chance was standing back mouthing to me ‘Is everything okay?’

I couldn’t answer him. Someone had broken the chant by speaking out of turn. At first I thought it may have been Aaronn since he was the first to let our hands go. Then I thought it could have been James but his voice was strange and deep. That ruled him out as the speaker.

I had been around Chance long enough to know it wasn’t him who said ‘Not so fast!’

It was then that I realized Aaronn’s psychic abilities were not to be mistaken. Aaronn had detected something about the building that instant.

“Who are you?” Aaronn scoffed, sounding unthreatened by this unknown presence. “You might as well come out, I can see you.”

It was then, we were all stuck in a moment of shock. It was so insane how Aaronn’s psychic sights opened his seeing.

We were all blind to what Aaronn’s violet eyes gave him knowledge of, until a man in his late twenties stepped from behind the school.

He was no regular man. His hair was black and long like my own, and he was covered in an exceptionally sturdy golden armor that covered his whole body except his head. It was like looking at a golden knight dressed for war.

“If you must know who I am,” the man walked with his golden leg armor squeaking with every heavy footed step towards us. “I am Markus, the principal of what use to be this school you see.”

I suppose he wasn’t in his late twenty as I expected. He had to be a lot older, if he was a principal of this embarrassing dump he called a school. Why would a principal be wearing this suit of golden armor anyway?

“I see that your principal is still a coward.” The fine gold shined in the sunlight making him seem like a sculpted expensive statue. “Sending his minions to finish a war he started…how childish can Shwartz be?”

All four of us took offense.

“Coward?” Chance said, defending principal Swartz.

“Minions?” Aaronn wanted to laugh, but I could tell it was an insult above all else for him.

“A war that he started?” I caught that part of his statement. It intrigued me to hear him say our principal started a war, when his school was the unfinished piece of junk that stole our scrolls.

“Yes your principal started this war.” Markus stared us down with a firm scowl of animosity. “Haven’t you little kids ever wondered why Celestial Academy is our rival school?” Markus left us wondering with questioning faces as he started talking more. “Has he told you the history of the sacred scrolls? You don’t have to answer that, because I know he didn’t tell you.”

“Then since you seem to know a great deal, why don’t you let fill us in on the missing information?” Chance said speaking up. I did think it was weird that when we sat in Shwartz’s office for the mission information, he wasn’t giving us a lot of data. The information he gave was choppy, and very sketchy.

“Your principal is a lying thief. Who doesn’t care about anyone but himself. That’s what you need to know first.” Markus voice boomed with spite like I had never witnessed before, “Many years before you little kids were born. I used those scared scrolls to build a welcoming school of higher learning for kids with special abilities. I taught plenty of smart, successful kids to control their powers in a good way.” He emphasized the word good, almost like he wanted to cut us with the word. “I actually instructed my teachers to teach the students ethics, and not to abuse powers for personal greed.”

Well at Celestial I can say we aren’t taught those concepts at all. That’s what makes us villainous.

“This sounds like a sob story,” James said boringly, with no emotion in his dark eyes. “Get to the point already!”

Markus gave him a fierce scowl before continuing on with his history. “Shwartz wanted my life, my wealth, and what I built. So he and a few of his friends, whom you may call teachers. Broke into my school one day, long ago and stole my sacred scrolls.” His eyes were unsteadily moving around looking at the shabby building, as if he was trying to put the school back together in his mind. “They stole the scrolls and from the information on the scrolls Shwartz was able to build that disgusting school for criminals like him.”

I believed Markus’ words, I believed his side of the story, because it was becoming clear to me why Shwartz didn’t tell us everything. As much as I believed Markus, he must understand I’m not here for the pity party. I have a mission to do, and he won’t stand in the way of that.

“I knew Celestial was having a tournament this year. So, I decided while the tournaments were proceeding it would be the best advantage for me to steal my property back from his selfish fingers.”

“Why would you need your scared scrolls back,” Aaronn asked with a detective’s intention. “Your school was broken long ago. It’s a sad mess now. Why would you wait so late to rebuild something that meant this much to you?”

Aaronn had a point. I don’t know if his psychic abilities were speaking for him or what, but whatever it may be it was giving us all curious questions to ask ourselves.

“My school went down in smoke and shame three days ago!!!” Markus yelled with a passionate fury. His face squinted into hate. “I didn’t wait so late to rebuild anything. My school was perfectly fine…until we went under attack three days ago by some of your Celestial teachers.” He waved his glinting gold hand armor behind him in a gesture to show us the building. “What you are seeing, is the result of your principal’s and teacher’s handy work.”

“That’s’ sounds too bad for you…and your students.” James said in his heartless dark tone.

“We would love to stay and cry with you over spilled milk, but we have to be going.” Chance was fearless in his approach. It was so brave for him to stand up to an older man.

“You kids are fools!” Markus shouted from where he stood, pointing a golden index finger at us. “You don’t understand while you are in class learning and in your dorms sleeping, some of your other teachers are at my school causing chaos!”

“Geez, I wish I cared.” Aaronn shrugged in a stylish shoulder movement.

Markus’ rage started to boil. I could see his face take an unusual form to it. His eyes were lowered, and more spaced out. His fist clenched into gold hammers. “Three days ago my school stood for something good. It stood for my deep devotion, and my dreams. I will restore that same power to my school once again. I will rebuild it with the power of those sacred scrolls. It will be the learning habitat it once stood for.”

“We came here on a mission to get the scrolls. It doesn’t matter who they belong to, we are taking them back to our school.” there was a growl in James’ words. He wasn’t in a playful mood.

“Is that so?” Markus gave a laugh. “I tried to negotiate, and handle everything in a nice way, but I don’t mind killing a few brats for my treasure.” He exclaimed.

“If you were so devoted to your sacred scroll treasure, maybe you would have looked after it more carefully. It wouldn’t have ever been stolen in the first place.” Aaronn retorted not raising his elegant voice. “Your abandon shack wouldn’t look as it does today.”

“Ha-Ha-Ha! You are stupid and stubborn. He said spreading his armored legs into a fighting stance. “It seems I will have to kill the four of you after all!”

The four of us immediately took our fighting stances side by side. We didn’t leave a gap between each other. We didn’t know what to expect from Markus, we didn’t know what his abilities were. so our best bet was to stick close together.

In a passing of a second, we were separated quickly by Markus directing red lasers from his armor gold hands at us. We flipped and turned out of the path of these concentrated beams of red light that were leaving searing smoke lines on everything it touched.

These red streams were being shot in a frenzy of different directions. When I had a second to see him I saw narrow red lines being shot from his eyes and fingertips as well. It was hard to keep moving further and further away from the rest of my team. This was probably what Markus wanted anyway. He probably wanted us separate so he could have a clear and easy shot at killing us.

I know we all wanted to be near each other. We all wanted to work, and operate as a team, but the lasers bouncing around leaving holes in places and smoke in other places, was too risky.

We didn’t have time to form an attack plan. It was so frightening being in a real fight, where lives were at stake. This was no tournament. There would be no one here to break this fight up if it got too bloody.

Each of us were dodging his beams in our own way. When Markus saw that we were able to move around his laser beams, he started to rush into closer range to get better shots, and to fight.

Everytime I got close to Chance, Markus would switch his fighting stance to shoot a laser between us to keep us separated. Then I tried to get close to James, but Markus swung his dense gold armored fist swiftly barely missing my face, but hitting James head on.

He had a mad way of fighting. It was a series of endless kicks, punches, and lasers being thrown every which way. The armor he wore probably is what gave him these strengths. He constantly could switch to each of us without losing his breath.

He was moving at a higher accelerated speed, to be able to fight all of us at the distances we stood from each other.

A gold boot kicked Chance in the stomach sending him launching sideways. Then in a speedy wild motion, Markus was shooting a laser at Aaronn’s head. Then he knocked me to the ground in the same instant. It was too much, he was extremely too fast for my eyes.

When I rose from the ground I saw James get thrown through the air, and when I rushed at Markus I was looking for an opening, anything that posed as a weak point on his armor. I didn’t get to make it in time, because as soon as I made my third step he shot a sizzling laser to keep me back.

“Forsaken shadows,” James groaned getting to his feet. “Obliterate him!” at his command swiftly darting black figures raced through the air, sweeping towards Markus. There were soft hisses coming from the black clouds of treachery James called.

His forsaken shadows descended like dark clouds of trouble. They were on a constant move changing attack direction, rotating, and swarming in pursuit of Markus’ speedy feet.

While the shadows were trying to grab ahold of Markus, he kept them on a wild chase. His armor was only a golden glimpse from my sight. I couldn’t lock on to him to cast an enchantment.

Before I knew it, I was being charged at, and before I could take a step out of his way I was hit by solid armor that flashed before my eyes. I laid on the ground holding my forehead in pain. As the pain sunk in I realized that Markus had hit me twice.

In my stomach I was feeling a gross twisting lump forming. It was a punch or a kick I was hit with from Markus that left me out of breath. I was bent over grabbing my sides trying to regain my balance and breath.

While I was suffering internally from the hit, I could hear Markus speeding from Chance to Aaronn, hitting them with continuous body shots. I noticed he was steering clear of James because the shadows were still chasing him around.

Something had to be done. If we didn’t think quick we all will fail this mission, and we won’t walk away from this school alive.

It started to dawn on me, that this is another reason why Shwartz didn’t want to do this mission on his own. He knew of this Markus man’s speed, strength and lasers. So, he sent us to get the scrolls. It was all becoming clear to me.

As much as things were clearing, I still believed we had to complete our mission. I still wanted to bring the scrolls back…so losing to Markus was not an option.

Right then I raised my head to see Aaronn being flipped mercilessly into the dirt with a loud pound. Then Chance was about to throw a flaming orange light of fire in Markus’ new direction, but he was too slow.

Markus quickly grabbed Chance around the throat picking him up off his feet in one move and tossed him high into the air without stopping.

I didn’t like seeing Chance’s body being carelessly tossed up like that. I didn’t want anyone to harm him. He was special to me, he believed in me. I can’t let him down.

I tried to use an enchantment. I wanted to use anything that popped into my head, to break Chance’s fall.

I started drawing a symbol in the air in front of me, before I could finish the drawing I was slammed into the earth. I was in a small swirling dirt cloud coughing to get up. I was slowly getting to my feet thinking this mission was useless.

There was nothing to be gained from this. There was no way we were walking back to Celestial with those scrolls.

It was impossible.

My leg felt jammed, my head was still hurting from taking those fast strikes Markus’ delivered. His armor made him a hard hitting fighting machine. There wasn’t one of us who could get a hit in at this rate.

I wanted to give up this fight so bad, I knew I wouldn’t settle for a loss but I knew if I didn’t I would die. These hits I was taking, I didn’t know how many I could handle before I died.

Seeing Chance still struggling, and still hanging in there, was my only reason that I kept getting to my feet after being knocked halfway unconscious.

I was standing on my feet teetering to the left, then to the right. My vision of the broken sad school building was rippling and moving in crazy ways. Everything was seeming to zoomed in, and then everything zoomed out.

I didn’t know what I was seeing anymore.

I was starting to believe I would be out for the count. I was feeling like my body was turning into a huge bruised hunk of broken limbs.

I was losing it…

I don’t know if ….

Out of the little sight in the corner of my eye, I caught a short glimpse of something gold rushing, whooshing in an intense agility my way.

I knew if I tried to move it would be of no use, if I tried to dodge Markus’ attack he would still have the speed to do whatever he was planning.

So I stood there. Waiting for this to be all over, waiting for all of this to end.

I was timing Markus’ I was ready to take his laser, his punches, his slams, or whatever he was bringing.

As I braced myself for the last ending blow I might take, I heard a short yelp as Chance stood in front of me. He took my place, and took the hit for me! He stumbled a bit after getting hit in the face.

Holding his cheek where he was punched, “You okay?” he asked me sounding dizzy.

“Now I am.” I attempted a slight smile but my head taken to many licks to go through with it. So I smiled on the inside.

He took a hit for me! wow!

“Try to stay close to me if you can,” Chance informed me watching Markus’ movements. “I won’t let you get hurt.”

My heart tried to flutter, but it was already beating fast from the battle. If it was to beat any faster than it was now, I was sure to have heart complications.

James was doing his hand motions to control the shadows that pursued Markus, it was then, we saw Aaronn rising from the ground holding his shoulder in groaning agony.

His white hair was a little out of place, and his suit was worn on the side. It was my first time seeing him look untidy. Even his face had lost a some of its sophistication. He was giving Markus a wide-eyed lost look.

“Get back!” James told us, never losing focus of his shadow hand movements. “Aaronn is about to do something.”

“Aren’t we suppose to be helping him?” I strained myself to ask.

“Yeah, but we shouldn’t get in the way of his upcoming attack.” James warned, making a difficult wrist motion. “If we get in the way we could be easily be targeted when he does his psychic attack.”

I was about to ask him ‘how would we become victims under Aaronn’s mind attack?’ when I answered my own question. Seeing how fast Markus was running, I knew Aaronn could accidentally get one of us in his psychic attack if we were close by Markus when he did it.

Aaronn’s eyes glowed. They looked like neon purple circles. He lowered his lids trying to follow Markus’ speed with his psychic sight. His head followed the gold armor until his eyes lids opened wider as if he was seeing something for the first time.

In that same moment, Markus was stopped in his tracks. He was holding both sides of his head, tossing his black hair everywhere. As he screamed like a siren. It looked like Aaronn was making him hear a loud sharp high pitch shriek the way he turned and bent his body.

His brain was probably swelling, or about to pop out. I didn’t know what Aaronn was doing to him, but I was happy to see it was able to slow him down.

Not waiting for anyone’s command James swung his arms out and made his forsaken cloud of shadows advance on Markus.

“Get out of my head!” Markus was screaming. “You little…. I will kill you…”

When black inky masses of shadows grabbed, and yanked at Markus. He tried to take his hands from his hurting head, to fight the things off but they seemed to only get shades darker and multiply.

There were whispered hisses in the formless shadows, there were howls of what sounded like forgotten people who lost their way in the after life. There was so many swift shapes of reaching, and hitting I didn’t know what James was manipulating them to do.

“Join us…”

“Help us…”

“Play with us…”

There were ominous noises and figures of what looked almost like faces in the massive attack. The strangled screams of children, and dying people kept haunting the area. It sounded like a horror movie was playing somewhere in the disturbing darkness.

“Get away from me!!” Markus aggravated by the shadows yelled. He shot a laser from his eyes while still trying to shake Aaronn from his head.

The laser beams tore an opening through the haunting attacking shadows. Leaving it there in a smoking sizzle.

He shot laser after laser to get the shadows to stay away but they kept regrouping and clawing marks into his armor. Every shadow that was hit by the searing lasers, left a goopy thick liquid behind.

Some of this oil like matter was getting spewed all over the golden armor staining it like black webs of paint.

We had him cornered until Aaronn fainted…

I didn’t know what to do.

Should I go help him? Is he tired? Is he dead? Did he use too much of his powers at once? There was so much to ask but there wasn’t time to think all of my questions through.

When Aaron fainted, Markus was back to his original fighting stance ready to charge us all with his speedy endless attacks.

This wasn’t a time for Aaron to bail on us.

James was trying to hold him off, with the shadows, but they were being lasered into more sticky black gunk. It wasn’t enough to stop him.

Markus raced at Aaronn’s dropped body. If Aaronn wasn’t dead Markus was going to make sure of it. “I told you I would kill you!” he raised his fist like a hammer of doom directly above Aaronn’s white furry head.

“Die!” he swung his fist down madly.

When Chance took initiative to protect. “Incineration!” he called sending red flickering flames dancing in a wild whirl.

The flames met Markus, igniting him in gorging fire. It crackled as it spread all over and under his armor.

He tried to extinguish the raging red flames by patting it out with his hands but it was having no effect. The flames continued to burn with a feverous heat. Meanwhile James kept the shadows crawling for Markus. It was a none stop attack. They were combining their abilities to take him out. This is what it was going to take. It was going to take all of us as a team to defeat him.

Markus even knew as a team we could have a shot at beating him, that was his whole reason in keeping us separated during his attacks.

Although this was true, I knew that Chance and James’ attacks alone weren’t going to kill this guy. I had to add my own power to the mix. I had to put the last power in play in hopes of defeating this man.

It may not be enough but it will work until Aaronn gets up to help, if he can…

It was my turn. While Markus was distracted trying to put out the fire burning and melting his armor. I could hear the armor groaning like bending metal, when the shadows struck him tearing meat from his face.

I drew the symbol of pain in the dirt using my index and middle finger to make each curve and line. With one simple hand gesture over the symbol, it gave a yellowish light from its markings.

I shut my eyes focusing my mind on the verses of pain, and I started reciting them. Rolling my tongue and letting the enchantment flow from me as it naturally should. I traced over the symbol of pain, and I jabbed my finger into the dirt where I drew the sign and never let up on my chanting verses.

I started imaging all the pain that visited me when my parents betrayed me, all the pain I received over the course of the years when I couldn’t use my powers at will, and the pain I got from holding my hidden feelings in for Chance.

The symbol my finger was stuck into turned from yellow to an orange, and as my thoughts worsened the color faded into a red. It was almost like looking at the incinerating flames Chance brought on Markus.

Shortly after my enchantment was in affect, I heard a scream “Ahhhh!!” when I looked at Markus he was grabbing his heart trying to move but he couldn’t. It was like I had frozen him in the pressurizing pain I inflicted on him.

I heard his armor screech as he fell to his knees still trying holding on to his chest plate. That’s when the red flames joined the shadows and closed in on his collapsed body.

We watched and waited for him to not breathe or move. We didn’t let our powers rest until we knew he wouldn’t revive from the fatal assault.

Our team work had won it for us.

I finally rested my chanting, and Chance’s flames were burning out, while James’ Shadows dissipated into nothing. The only thing the shadows left behind was this sticky residue which clung to his tattered destroyed armor.

“Yes! We did it!” Chance was celebrating high fiving James and I both.

“I never thought that fight would end.” I said, smearing the symbol in the dirt so that it wouldn’t be used by anyone else.

“Me either.” Chance replied, “Now let’s get out of here. I could sure use a meal.” He joked with us.

Right then, Aaronn woke lifting himself from the ground. He was on his feet wiping his eyes like he was returning from a nap.

“Wake up sleepy head.” James teased. “We defeated him.” James looked at the where Markus laid slain, “We did it all without your help.” He bragged.

Hearing James bragging Aaronn open his violet eyes. They were brightly radiant. “Not for long.”

“What?” we all winced.

“What do you mean ‘not for long?’” James was sounding rash. “We killed him, we made sure. All we were waiting on is you so we can leave this place and go home.”

“I was helping you guys fight when I slipped into a trance.” Aaronn was explaining to us what happened when we saw him faint. “My body is left vulnerable when that happens.”

“No worries, we protected you.” Chance assured him, with a smile.

“Yeah, now tell us why were you sleeping?” James asked,

“I wasn’t sleeping, I went into a trance.”

“It’s all the same thing. Trance, or sleeping… whatever.” There was an anger in his tone. James must have been mad at Aaronn. “I want to know why you said ‘not for long?’”

“Because,” Aaronn started, “When I was in trance, I had a vision.” We all drew in a large gasp. Except James who didn’t seem to care or believe Aaronn’s vision. At least that’s what it looked like to me.

“I had a vision that he resurrected from the combined strength of your powers. It looked like your powers put together didn’t kill him, but created some other unhuman creature.” Aaronn was staring off. “It was like it took some of each of your powers and was made of something totally new.”

It was troubling enough to get Markus down. Him rising again with a mixture of James, Chance, and my powers would be worse than before. We really would be in serious danger if that was to happen.

“What do we do?” I asked shakily keeping an eye to see if Markus would rise as Aaronn’s visions predicted.

James or Chance didn’t think twice or question Aaronn’s vision. They knew him before I did, they knew whatever he saw was to be believed whether it sounds a little fictitious or not.

Aaronn open his suit digging his hand in the inner pocket “James,” he pulled the scrolls out giving them to James. “Take this back to the Academy.” James nodded although I could see he wanted to disagree with Aaronn, but he couldn’t. “Julius, can you teleport him to Celestial?”

I had enough energy reserved to send him through a small teleportation tunnel. I guess that ‘pain enchantment’ didn’t require as much sorcery as I thought. From my studying and understanding that symbol I drew was supposed to leave me feeling greatly drained after using it. For some reason, I did feel drained at first but now I’m feeling like my normal self.

Maybe I was growing, or getting stronger like I’ve always dreamed.

I focused calmly to chant the teleportation chant. I didn’t add a great amount of focus like I normally did since it was only James being shipped off alone. I whispered over the air, my sorcery quickly directing my words to unlock the enchantment. As the tunnel of lights and sparkles danced around James dark gothic body, he mouthed to me ‘Be safe.’

I wanted to reply to him, but I had to keep the chanting going, or the tunnel would close him out or swallow him in too soon and shoot him off somewhere other than Celestial. I nodded my head, and watched him wave at me as the end of the spinning cycles of sparkles closed him in.

Soon James was gone. Leaving Chance and I with Aaronn. We were awaiting further instruction from him. He knew more about what was soon to happen than we did. So our best bet is to wait for his next order.

“Aaronn what are you doing?” Chance interrogated his decision. It was surprising to hear Chance questioning Aaronn. “Why couldn’t we all be teleported, if this creature created from all of our powers is coming back?”

“Chance this is no time for ignorance.” Aaronn ruled him out. “Listen to my orders and we can make it out of this safely.”

Chances red blood streaks seemed to have sparks of red flames in them. “Why can’t we all go back to Celestial and be done with the mission.”

“Because, when I saw him rise he attacked our school, and he created an uncontrollable wreck of havoc.” Aaronn argued, “Now if we don’t want that blood on our hands, we must fight and end Markus here!”

Getting a little upset Chance said, “At least we can have more help from the other students if he attacks Celestial.”

“I don’t want other lives on the line for our mission. I definitely don’t want that monster I saw, attacking and killing my friends back at the Academy.”

I could see Chance still didn’t understand Aaronn’s point of view about this whole thing, he shot Aaronn a clueless look. “Do you not realize, we could barely take him ourselves? We are going to need more help.”

Aaronn let out a sigh, that only meant he was annoyed with the argument. “We can do this! Just shut up and be ready to fight!”

“What about James? Why does he get out of this freely?”

“Someone had to deliver the scrolls. While we are fighting, plus I know if we stay back and fight him, we will defeat him.”

“Oh is this another one of your psycho visions?” Chance’s arms tensed. He clenched his fist and his arms tightened. It looked like he wanted to punch Aaronn in the face. “Or is this some wild guess?”

“I saw him be defeated again… in another vision I think.” Aaronn looked like he was questioning his own self. “Whatever we do, we just need to fight him. Somehow, someway we will win.”

“You are playing with lives here Aaronn.” Chance told him fiercely.

I didn’t know who’s side to be on. Both of them had clear points, but I had no idea what to do. I wanted to believe Aaronn and his vision but I was second guessing his ability to see clearly. Was there some type of hole in his psychic sights that didn’t allow him to see the events that lead all the way up to the final outcome? What was going on?

I want to be on Chance’s side. Not only because I had feelings for him…well that could be the reason, but his opinion had a meaning to it.

It was hard watching them go back and forth, trying to prove the other one wrong. Neither of them backing down. It was almost like the whole result of them arguing was using valuable planning time.

When they were about to raise their voices, and stand eye-to-eye with each other, I could feel a wave in the air. I knew I would probably have to break this fight up if they were to start using their abilities against each other.

Suddenly there was a sticky crawling sound. Then I heard a clinking of some sort. At first I thought Aaronn had tried some mind trick on Chance.

I tried to say ‘stop you guys, let’s work as a team.’ But the words wouldn’t come from my mouth. I could say, I was also having some feelings for Aaronn.

…I think this started the night of the party-

Before I could completely explore my hearts complex messages. I heard a guttural cry. Then I looked in the direction I heard the noises from. Thinking it would be Chance or Aaron laying their after being destroyed by each other, but it wasn’t them.

I looked behind me, seeing a beastly burnt skin Markus rise as Aaronn had predicted. Realizing a minute too late that it was this monster looking beast, that was making the sticky crawling sound I was hearing.

Taking a gulp that almost got stuck in my throat. I was only asking myself, ‘Now what do we do?’ things had gone from terrible to horrible, and from bad to worse.

His peeled, blacken crisped flesh, that was burned by Chance’s incinerating flames gave him a demon-ish face.

It was not Markus at all! This was a something of another species, something that would probably be from mars.