Destiny (1)

The cool breeze I had felt earlier amplified into a strong wind, and I mean a really strong wind. I had to fight to stay upright, and only just managed it. Ash wasn’t so lucky. Carrying Thalia, he was top-heavy, and he wobbled before toppling over. She collapsed onto the ground and her eyes flicked open, and she took a strangled, gasping breath. For a second, she scrabbled at the undergrowth, trying to stop herself from flying away, but failed, and got blown through a gap in the trees. Ash began to slip away too.

“Stop! Ash!” I grabbed his hand and pressed my other hand to the earth, squeezing my eyes shut. It was slightly damp, but I didn’t care. A trunk of bamboo sprung up, and I grasped it tightly.

Okay. Let’s pause here. What happened next was completely impossible, so I need to take you through the moment. I was thinking, how, if the powers are spread evenly between the Guard, then I should have multiple powers, right? I tried to imagine something that would help me, and the first thing that came to mind was my mother, with her electric blue hair and stormy eyes.

With much exertion, I forced a wall of water up from the ground, and it froze. Ash’s wild eyes widened, and he gave me a pointed look.

I opened my mouth to answer, but suddenly my head spun, my energy zapped from my body. The bamboo snapped, and he and I hurtled towards the ice, slamming into it.

The wind died abruptly. I forced my eyes open, and I could feel my head throbbing indignantly. Great, concussion. Ash was already upright next to me, eyes wide and alert, grasping a pocket knife in his right hand. He thrust the snapped branch of bamboo in my direction, and I clutched at it dizzily.

The ice in front of us was shimmering silver, and it was emitting a low, groaning sound. With difficulty, I scrambled up, and instantly reeled sideways into Ash, feeling nauseous.

“Woah,” he caught me before I could hit the ground again.

“I think I’m concussed,” I mumbled.

“Oh, really?” He replied sarcastically. “Fun.”

I dug my bamboo into the dirt and pushed myself up, leaning on it heavily to remain upright. My head felt like a water balloon. A very sore water balloon.

The ice, glimmering, faded to blue, and a voice emanated from it.

“Hello,” it said.

“Um, hi?” I was caught off guard.

“Come and collect your friends by midnight in two days. If you do not… well, I fear many terrible things may come upon them.”

I couldn’t think. My mind was working overtime, and getting nowhere. I seemed to have tinnitus, and my throbbing forehead wasn’t helping either. I turned to Ash helplessly.

“Where’s Thalia?” He demanded.

Thank God he was able to concentrate.

“The girl? Oh, she’s fine. I had to grab your attention somehow, didn’t I?”

I winced, and replied, “A little overkill. I think the concussion and the storm may have been enough for that.”

“Not to mention the ice,” Ash added.

“The ice?” The ominous voice enquired. “That wasn’t me. That was the work of your companion here, Fay.”

Ash whipped his head to me, and dared me to answer with his piercing glare.

“Later,” I mumbled forcefully. “Who are our friends who you’ve captured?” The question was forced out, as I didn’t want to know the answer. I swallowed my sick feeling of dread.

On the ice, a gruesomely wicked face shimmered into sight. His dark smile was very subtle, upturned at the very corners of his mouth. Brown hair covered one of his eyes, in a sly style. He looked about twenty, but the glint in his eye was sinister.

“Take a look,”

The image on the ice morphed, showing three emaciated figures tied to a stake. My eyes grew wide, as the gaunt figures’ faces came into view.

One was Sasha. Multiple feelings twisted around uncomfortably in my stomach. Hatred, fear, and… and… pity. I couldn’t help but feel sorry for her, seeing her eyes closed, face blanched, body limp.

Another one was a boy about my age, with coffee-coloured skin, green camo clothes, and dark hair. He would have looked like a wannabe soldier, if he wasn’t so thin and weary.

And the last was Mya.

I choked back a sob, and glanced at Ash. His face was set and pale, his cat-like eyes glistening with unshed tears.

“Is that the actual Sasha?” He snarled, and for once I was glad he was on my side, as I would not have wanted to be on the receiving end of that snarl.

I thought about his words, as they took me by surprise. I hadn’t thought about that. If that was the Sasha before she had been copied, ruined…

Then that could be my old best friend. And that just made me angrier.

The ice changed back to the homicidal face, flicking like a TV screen changing channel. Another smile played on his lips, and he let loose a nefarious laugh.

“Possibly.”

I hated this guy.

Looking back to Ash, I was taken by surprise when he looked worse than I felt. (Considering my day and state, that was practically impossible, yet he still managed it.) He was shaking, sweat plastering his blonde hair to his forehead and dripping off his nose. The colour had completely drained from him, and he looked grey in his face. The look in his eyes, though, was absolutely feral. He despised the man, whoever he was.

“You… you…”

“I’m sure we can have insults later, Ash,”

When the guy spoke his name, Ash flinched violently.

“In the meantime, remember, midnight, two days time.”

And the world spun out of control around me, as my knees buckled, and the ice turned to sludge.