Chapter Seven

Trey looked at the table and saw a note and some eggs on the table. He picked the note up and read, "Chris wasn't here in the morning, so I made breakfast and am going to look for him, be back before dusk. Love, J" Trey put the note away, and sat down, eating and waiting for Lauren to come down. When she did, she joined him in dinner and started to talk. "Trey, do you ever have a dream that seems so real, you could almost taste every thing, hear everything…almost like you're actually reliving something?" she asked. "Rarely," he replied. "Why do you ask?" Lauren thought for a minute. "Last night, I had a dream where someone or something came here. It burst through the door, and grabbed Chris. But it was killed in a flash of light, or something like that. It sounds weird, but now Chris is gone, and I'm not so sure now," she explained. Trey thought about what she had said. There was something strange going on. Why hadn't Chris left a note if he was leaving…unless he couldn't. "Let's just wait for Jackie to return," he said.

"No…it can't be," thought Chris when he opened his eyes. He looked at her again, and realized it was Jackie. ­"She looks just like her," he thought as he looked at her more closely. "Same black hair, same slender body, brown eyes, everything, even the scar on her neck is the same…" he observed. He thought for a moment and noticed something that made him feel all cold inside. "Oh my god…even her voice is the exact same! What the heck! Who is this girl!" he thought frantically. Jackie looked down and saw that Chris' eyes were open. "Thank goodness you're awake," she said. She saw that something was wrong by the look in his eyes. "What's the matter?" she asked. Chris tried to speak, but the wound that Shane had given him was keeping him from speaking. All he could do was open his mouth. He looked past Jackie and saw a small crater in the room. Pieces of last night were coming to him as he strained to remember what had happened after Shane had suddenly been killed. He had ran towards here, and fallen, but before he did, something happened. "What was it?" he asked himself. He looked around, searching for some clue, and looked at his hands. The eerie glow, the heat, the brightness that followed, they were all that he was remembering. He looked down at his sleeves, and saw the ends of them slightly burned off. "Did I do magic?" he thought. He had to get out and see a doctor, he felt all tingly inside, and his hands were shaking. Chris staggered to his feet, but was too weak to even stand. "Chris! Don't try to get up!" exclaimed Jackie. He fell down, on his stomach, and breathed heavily. Jackie ran over to the pool, and filled her hands with its warm water. She came over, and let him drink some. The war pool water and lessened the pain in his throat so that he could barely speak. "What, are you doing?" he hoarsely asked as Jackie brought out a pack of herbs that she bought. "Saving your butt all I know," she said. Chris smiled. She had searched for him, and had found him, now she was talking to him like nothing was wrong. "But something is wrong…I'm different, everything seems so…strange…" he thought. The feelings inside him seemed to be like old friends that he had just met again…he had experienced them before, but he forgot about them. Now, amidst all these old feelings, there was one that shined like a small candle. It was something that he had never had before. It made him happy, it made him warm, it made him seem like everything in the world didn't seem to big right now. He didn't know it, but there is a word for this feeling. Love.

Bruce had studied m all his life and now, he was the only one who studied them to this day. In total, there were four tablets that contained four prophesies. Each prophesy told of a hero. Two males, two females. He had learned of their reason in life and what would happen during their life, so for fourteen years, he has hunted for these four. He never expected them to be all together, and all of them to be young. "It fits perfectly, too perfectly," he told himself after gathering enough information on the four. Bruce now considered them his secret guardian after he shot the monster at their doorstep. But today, he needed to reveal himself to them. He needed to explain to them what they had to do, where they had to go. So in the middle of noon, he got up, and walked over to the front door. He raised his hand hesitantly, and knocked three times.

Jackie had never seen Chris in such a state. He seemed…happier…and sadder at the same time. It sounded strange to her, but that was the only way she could put the situation of his in. She looked down at his eyes. He seemed better, and he seemed to be thinking of something. "What?" she asked. Chris snapped back to reality and looked at her. "Nothing," he mumbled. Chris tried to get up, but all he could do was support himself with his arms before collapsing again. He sighed, and asked her to fill up his water skin. When Jackie returned, she let him drink, and helped him to a nearby tree. He sat down, and his eyes became vacant, as if he was in his head, trying to figure out something that troubled him. Jackie looked around the cave, admiring the various crystals protruding from the rock. "Have you ever thought of living here?" she asked Chris. Chris's eyes came back to hers and he replied, "Yes, many times, but I just can't." Jackie looked around some more. She looked around more and came back to him. "You're a very strange guy," she said to him. Chris smiled, and closed his eyes. "I can be like that, but ordinarily, I'm pretty normal," he stated. Jackie sat next to him, and rested her head on his shoulder. "I never would have thought of meeting you would be so big," she whispered. Chris looked at her calmly. "How?" he asked. Jackie put her mouth next to his wear and whispered three words. "I love you."

Lauren answered the door, and was surprised to see a cloaked person standing in the way. "Hello, my name is Bruce. I need to talk with the four of you now," he told her in a hard voice. Lauren answered, "There are only two." Bruce looked inside, and saw another come to the front door. "Who is it?" the boy said. "A man named Bruce," she replied. Trey stuck out his bandaged arm and said, "Hello, my name is…" "Trey," Bruce said quickly. He looked over to Lauren and said, "Yours is Lauren, am I right?" he said. Lauren gaped at Bruce when he said her name, and immediately took out her hidden dagger and raised it to his neck. "Who are you!" she shouted. Bruce looked at the knife, and removed his hood, revealing his face and showing her his eyes. Lauren almost dropped her dagger in surprise. Instead of the usual color found in a person's pupil, she saw a glazed surface. "Oh my goodness…you're…" she stammered. "Blind? I know," Bruce snapped. "What I am going to tell you four should be listened to carefully as I explain to you what your goal in life is," he started. "Wait, shouldn't we wait for Jackie?" asked Trey. Bruce looked at Trey, and nodded. "When the others come back, I shall tell you everything you need to know," he said.