by S.A. Waters
“Oh come on!” Eli shouted. “You can do better than that!” That bird made me so mad. He had wings and talons. I bet without them he couldn’t climb this tree. After two hours I could only get myself up and climb three feet without falling flat on my face. Eli flew down from the tree and sat on my shoulder.
“That was enough for today. Good work. Star will continue with you over at the park.” I nodded at him and he flew away. I saw Star’s face behind a tree. I walked over to her. “Star!” I shouted towards her. She came out from behind the tree and looked at me, then walked away. I knew it meant for me to follow her. I jogged over. When I was a few yards away, Star looked back and saw me, then sprinted away. I sprinted after her. “Come on, Star!” I called out. This game was quickly getting irritating. After ten minutes of trying to look for her, I gave up and sat down. Then out of nowhere I heard a high pitched scream. The scream was female. The scream was Star. I immediately got up and sprinted to where the noise was coming from. Since my backyard was so big, it took me forever to find her. But I kept sprinting until I found her lying down in the forest. “Star!” I shouted. “Are you okay? What happened?”
“My ankle!” She cried. “I can’t walk! Please, Kyle, you have to take me to the house! If a guardian is injured long enough they could be in a coma for ten years!” I nodded worriedly and picked her up with every bit of strength I had in me. Star was definitely heavier than you would expect. I threw her over my shoulders and tried to sprint to the house, which was probably about a mile and a half from here. I couldn’t go very fast, but I had to get her back home so she can be mended properly. I got tired way too quickly, but I had to keep going. Star was vigorously panting and moaning.
“Hurry, Kyle!” She cried! I called for assistance from Eli and Dylan, but I didn’t get a response. After what seemed like forever, I got Star at the house. I put her gently on the couch in the living room.
“How do you feel?” I asked her in a concerned yet tired voice. Star didn’t answer, but instead laughed. Then Eli and Dylan came out, also laughing. Star got up and walked around the room.
“I’m fine, Kyle.” She chuckled. “In one of my lives I was an actress. I pulled that whole thing. The stupid injury rule was all a hoax. I was fine the whole time. I have to admit though, I am proud”
“Wait what?” I protested. “This was all some stupid game?! You scared the crap out of me! This is not funny! What was the point of that anyway?”
“To test your strength, endurance, and companionship. And you succeeded. But not as much as we need you too. You need to be able to carry me with ease by the end of the month, which is when you are going back to Earth.”
“I can’t believe you guys!” I was so upset. Don’t they know how much I’ve been through in the past two weeks!”
“Welcome to how life will be for you back on Earth. You need the strength.” Eli suddenly told me. “Well, the day is still young. It’s only 4:30. Dylan, take your turn on training Kyle. Kyle, follow Dylan.” I stood up and obeyed Eli, making my way out the door, still furious, but still willing.
Dylan took me back to the park. He motioned over to a wooden bench and I sat down. He paused for a moment, then spoke. “Kyle,” He stated. “I will work with you on combat skills and power training. Apparently Star said I was good with my powers, so she wanted me to help you use yours wisely.”
“What are your powers?”
“Lightning and telekinesis. I’ve been blessed with nice powers. Some people only get levitation or jumping high. So, Kyle, let us get started. Do you see that sword in that bucket over there?”
“Yeah.”
“Go get it.” I walked over to grab the sword, but I was abruptly stopped by Dylan, who roundhouse kicked me in the face. I bent over and clenched my eye. “What was that, man?” I exclaimed.
“I said get the sword.” Dylan replied, looking pretty proud of himself. So I took a deep breath and speed-walked over to grab the sword, but yet again the husky clawed my leg. I then realized that in order to get the sword, I was going have to fight. I didn’t want to though. I couldn’t hurt him. I was bigger, stronger, and older. He’s only thirteen! So instead of getting the sword, I just slowly backed away and shook my head. “What are you doing?” Dylan asked.
“I can’t do it.” I replied.
“And why not? Give me one good reason.”
“I don’t want to hurt you. You are only thirteen.”
“I said a good reason, Kyle. And let’s get something straight, I died a thirteen year old, I have the smarts of a thirteen year old, but yet I died twenty-two years ago. So technically I am thirty-six. And I am stronger and more intelligent than it may seem. Because I’ve been around much longer than you have, so don’t let my size fool you. Not to mention I’ve lived five pretty much complete lives. So go get the sword and don’t be naive or Alpha Maximus will have your head. Pretend that sword is Dakota. Go and get her.” That set me off. I was reluctant though, but he was right. I sprinted over to the box with the sword. When the pup came to attack me I pushed him out of the way. In his words, that sword was my girlfriend. Nothing was going to stop me from getting her. The image was too real. I could even see her now. She was there in place of the sword in a white dress.
“Come on, Kyle,” I could hear her say. I kept running towards her, but Dylan wouldn’t allow that. He came back completely regenerated and fought. I have to admit, Dylan is a full on badass. He can fight, and he is strong. Not just for someone his size but for anyone. In less than three minutes he was able to pin me down. “Dakota!” I screamed, until I realized that her face was all just a mirage.
“Maybe next time, buddy.” Dylan got off of me, took the sword, and walked away with a smile.
The next month of training was very similar to that day. But each day I got better. I could run faster, climb higher, fight harder. Three and a half weeks into my training, and it was almost time for me to go back to Earth and pursue my destiny.
Today was my last day of training, and my evaluation to see if I was ready to go back to Earth. That morning I didn’t need to be woken up. I got out of bed ten minutes early, in fact. In those three-and-a-half-weeks I was pretty good at dodging whatever came at me at the bottom of the stairs, but I wasn’t perfect. Today I had another brilliant idea: I went in my closet and brought out a pair of hiking shoes, and from my desk I brought some heavy duty glue. Near the bottom of the stairs I put on my shoes and applied the glue to the tip and some on my hands as well. I had to be quick so I wouldn’t stick. I climbed up the wall, and smashed the censor into the wall. As I smashed it I ended up falling, but it was a whole lot better than being crushed by rocks. I took off the shoes and looked up for approval from the guardians. Star looked at Dylan, and they both nodded. They both looked at Eli, who stared straight into my eyes for what seemed like forever, and then said, “Well done, kid. I knew you could do it.” I smiled. It was the nicest thing Eli had ever said to me.
“Come on,” I said as I lifted myself off the ground. “Group hug!” Star laughed, Dylan smiled, but Eli went hysterical and all out just squeezed me. I squeezed him back until his white feathers turned red and he couldn’t breath anymore. We all laughed. I was definitely going to miss them down on Earth.
After a wonderful breakfast of French toast, Eli took me outside and as usual commanded me to climb the tree. I put my foot on a little grip in the bark, and pulled myself up. With all of my might I climbed another step, reached up, and put my hand on a crease in the tree. One pull by another, I made it past the part of the tree without grip! Then the rest was fine. I was able to climb and stand on each branch until finally, I made it to the top of the tree. Eli smiled and stopped his stopwatch.
“Ten minutes and twenty-seven seconds,” He approved. “Well done.” He gave me a high five and I smiled. “Now,” he said. “Get down without being caught. Remember to grab Star on your way back.” He smirked and pressed a button on the watch.
“Wait what?
” I questioned.
“Make it to the house without them catching you, and you pass.” I was confused, who was them? Grab Star? What’s that supposed to mean? My question was almost immediately answered when I looked up and saw three ninjas come at me with swords! Two were climbing up the tree at an amazing speed. The third was on the tree next to me. One thing was certain. I couldn’t climb down. I had to think fast, the ninjas were creeping up. One grabbed my foot, so I did what my instincts told me to do. Without thinking I jumped out of the tree. I kept falling until my shirt got caught on the branches of another. I used it to my advantage and I climbed to the top of that tree. Then a voice came out of nowhere.
“Kyle! Down here!” It was Drew’s voice.
“They’ve got us!” James.
“They have Dakota here too!” Kody’s cry. Deep down I knew it wasn’t real, but my mind put that aside, leading me to believe it was. “James!” I cried as I leaped towards the next tree in the direction of the voices. I leaped after another, until the voices of my friends got closer and closer. I quickly climbed down the tree, the ninjas hot on my tail. When there were no more branches to assist my climb, I jumped down from the tree and ran as fast as I could. The voices became more vivid and clear. Eventually I ran into a meadow, and there I found them. Kody, James, and Drew were tied up to a tree, surrounded by ninjas. In the center was a huge pit of fire, and something was hanging above it. Someone. Dakota! A ninja pulled out a knife and started to skin her as she was being roasted above the flames. She screamed an ear- piercing scream that could be heard from miles away. I didn’t hesitate another moment. I lunged forward for the ninja with Dakota, but I was stopped by two other ninjas that simultaneously punched me in the chest, making me soar backwards. I did a backflip and hit a tree, stopping my fall. Ouch. I slowly hobbled up and then heard another scream from Dakota. I stopped limping and again sprinted over. Then a box caught my eye. The box contained a sword. That could be useful. In the corner of my eye I kept an eye on Kody, James, and Drew. A ninja came straight towards me. He tried to punch me, but I returned the attack with a duck and roundhouse kick to the gut. I didn’t have time to enjoy the feeling. I had to get the sword to set Dakota and the others free. I lunged forward once again to grab the sword. I was inches away, until I felt my ankle being grabbed, and a giant yank back. It was another ninja, but this one was shorter than the others. I could take him. I threw him a punch, and he ducked and delivered to me an upper cut. I picked him up and threw him onto the hard ground, he immediately got up and began to get more violent. He scratched my face - his nails were sharp - and tackled me to the floor. Then I realized who this ninja was. It was Dylan. He was the only one who would scratch me, or had that amount of strength. My eyes widened a bit, and I made myself vulnerable, he kicked me in the face, and I was snapped back down to Earth (or Lybria, actually). I had to get the sword, no matter what stood in my way. I grabbed him with both my hands and ran him up against a tree. I pinned him and punched him in the nose (or his muzzle in his case). I heard another scream from Dakota. I slammed Dylan into the ground and stepped on him. No one was going to get in the way of my friends and me. I ran over with the strength I had and grabbed the sword. A ninja came sprinting towards me, I used the sword and slashed his head off. I kept running and without thinking, I stabbed the ninja right in the chest; the one that was skinning and cooking my girlfriend right in the chest. I had caught him off guard. I chucked the sword at the rope Dakota was on. The sword easily cut through the rope, and Dakota fell. Into the fire. Shoot. I ran into the fire, leaping to catch her, and landed on the other side-minor burn wounds. I kissed her forehead and lay her beside a tree. Now for the others. The ninjas were still surrounding them. They heard me behind them and turned around at once. They slowly crept toward me. I pulled out the sword ready to strike, but not before they pulled out there’s. I counted them. There were three ninjas. The one in the center made the first move. He slashed at my throat, and I successfully blocked it. I held him in that position as I kicked him in the groin. He fell to the floor as I stabbed him in his stomach. I turned to my left and sliced that ninja in two. As I was about to face the one on the right, he dropped his sword and ran. I sprinted over and released Kody, James, and Drew. I smiled at them, but my happiness was soon drained with another scream. However, it wasn’t Dakota’s. I turned around. It was Star. Maybe this was another joke for me to carry her home again. Four ninjas had her pinned against a tree, and one was punching her in the gut. I wasn’t convinced it was real until blood dripped out of her mouth. She couldn’t act that. The ninja punched her one last time, and blood shot out of her mouth like a waterfall. This was real. I fought the four ninjas and managed to kill them. As I raised my sword, the fifth ninja knocked it out of my hand with ease. He was weaponless, and he wanted to make sure I was too. I was now more vulnerable, and was relying too much on the sword. The ninja lunged forward and instead of punching him, I grabbed his throat and kicked his shin, causing him to fall to the floor. I kept my hands on his throat and squeezed. I could here Star cough. She muttered, “Kyle,” I released the ninja and ran towards her. Without thinking I scooped her up and tried to sprint home with everything I had left in me.
Sooner or later I brought her in the house. I got her on the couch and stroked her fur.
“Star,” I said. “Are you okay? Oh my gosh! I just realized I killed Dylan because I smashed his face into the tree and then stepped on him! The thought of getting Dakota back had overwhelmed me and I killed my own guardian. I’m so sorry! I didn’t really mean it! Now I realize that she wasn’t real she was just put there because Dakota Wilson is dead. And so are the others. Drew, Kody, James. They are all dead. I’m so sorry!” By that point I was sobbing.
I heard a voice behind me say, “It’s okay, Kyle. I’m not dead. Or hurt. And I couldn’t be more proud.” I turned around and wiped my eyes. It was Dylan.
“Dylan,” I stuttered. Eli then came out, and Star sat upright. Then Eli smirked and sat on my shoulder.
“Kyle Eilam Walton,” He said. “You have passed your evaluation. You are ready to go back to Earth.”
Chapter 8
“What?” I stuttered, still in shock.
“That’s right, Kyle.” Star said.
“I knew you were an actress, b-b-b-ut the blood! And when I attacked Dylan!”
“Being a guardian, Kyle, I, as well as the others, have special abilities you could say. We can’t get hurt within the boundaries of the home, and neither can you. You are in the protection of the home. Inside the home parameters, you are safe. You can’t be touched. So never, go outside the house. Ever. However, I do apologize for scaring you-”
“You better be.”
“But these are real life situations that you have to face at one point or another. When you go into rage mode, you are unstoppable according to our research done in this evaluation. So fantastic job. Now, to finish things off. We need your new name and the new look. What have you got?” Dammit! I had completely forgotten about the whole name thing! I have no idea what I’m going to be known as!
“I like my name.”
“Kyle, you know why we can’t do that. “
“Right. Well, I actually don’t have a name.” Even then I still scratched the back of my neck and cocked my head to the side like I do when I’m nervous.
“Kyle!”
“I’m sorry! I’ve had a lot on my mind recently!”
“We know! However, you’ve had one month to think about it!”
“I’m sorry, Star.” Then you could hear a little voice mumble something as Star and I were arguing. We all looked over at Dylan.
“What did you say?” Eli asked.
“Carter.” Dylan replied. “Carter-Adrian. Take it or leave it. It’s just a suggestion.” Dylan made no eye contact, but Eli and Star did. At me. I smirked and picked up Dylan and put him on my lap.
“I think we’ve got a winner.” Star smiled, Eli laughed, and Dylan
looked up at me and smiled.
“Nicholas. For a middle name,” I said. “And Breese for a last name. I really like it.”
“Well, there you have it,” Eli laughed. “Carter-Adrian Nicholas Breese. Carter for short!”
“What about the look situation?” Star commented.
“Way to spoil our mood.” I snarled. Eli flew away and brought out a small spiral notebook. He smiled an odd smile. A discrete, creepy smile. Even Star had a strange look on her face.
“Eli,” Star questioned. “What is that?”
“Well,” Eli started. “I’ve been waiting for this a long time. When I found out that I was going to be the guardian of the Light, I knew we were going to have to change your look. So I started collecting pictures of all the possibilities that you could choose.”
“What the heck?” Star laughed. I think everybody was in a really good mood. Dylan was talking more, Eli was being kind and was smiling and laughing, and Star was just more friendly than usual. I was just happy. If only everyday could be this way. Just perfect.
Eli handed me his little book. I opened it and looked at all my options. I noticed how the book was divided into chapters and sections. The chapters were divided by hair color, and the sections were divided by eye color and height. Eli had me choose my favorite one from each chapter. So one from each hair color.
From the red-haired chapter I chose a picture of a boy with short red hair, six foot one, and had blue eyes. I’ve always wondered how it would feel to be tall like James. If I chose this picture I could find out.
From the black-haired chapter, I picked a boy with a haircut like Drew’s(long and flippy), had green eyes, and was five eleven. I liked that one a lot. The black hair and green eyes fit nicely together.
The last chapter was the blonde-haired part (Eli said I wasn’t allowed to keep having brown hair, so I couldn’t look in that chapter). I chose a boy with really short hair, slightly longer than a crew-cut, and had blue eyes. The caption underneath the picture claimed the guy was five eleven like the boy with black hair.
