New and Old Friends
I snuggle into my pillow even more, the bed feels as if it was made of warm satin and comforting love. I could sleep here forever, if it wasn't for that pesky bright light above me. Don't they know someones sleeping here?Last nights events seem hazy to me, but none of it matters. I just want to sleep... "C'mon sleepyhead..."a small voice says from across the room. I immediately shoot up and there in the corner of the room is a skinny blonde who looks amazingly familiar. Shes wearing this long sleeved red and black plaid shirt and a pair of skinny jeans that show off her long legs. "Huh...?" I manage to groan. My head suddenly starts pounding, and a sharp pain explodes in my stomach from sitting up too fast. My vision become blurry but I see the blonde rush over and try to check over me. "Hey!You have to be careful now...he really hurt you bad Lief." Her face looks worried and her brows are arched together like she wants to do something she cant. I pause for a moment and look carefully through the blur. "Hey...you're...Luna!" Back when things were simpler, me, her and some other of my friends had made a pact together. No matter what would happen, we would stick together. I jump up and pull her close to me. My body groans in protest, but I dont mind. And then I finally take a good look around the room and realize I have no idea where I am. I look down at where my stomach burns and see a blotchy red spot through a body bandage. That's where it all comes spinning back. Last night. Moms dead. Man in black...I must have squeezed harder than I realized because she gives a small squeak. I immediately let go. "I'm sorry...but...last night...he...he..." The words don't seem to want to come out of my mouth, but she just looks at me and nods quietly as if she already knows. I look down for a while before asking where I am. "That's...I cant tell you right now Lief. I promise, everything will be clear soon." She looks down quietly. I'm about to hug her again when suddenly the door bursts open and a man walks in.
His body is scarred and he walks with a slight limp. He wears a thin fitting grey muscle shirt that shows his six-pack easily. His pants are a light green tinge and baggy enough to be loose, but not enough to make him look like hes sagging. He stares at us two with a stern face before bursting out in loud laughs.
"Haha! Am I interrupting yall's love session now?" Luna's face turns bright red and she takes a step back from me.
"No, that's not it...But I still don't think he should do it now. Its too early, and hes injured!" Luna protests to the man. He stops laughing and stares at her for a few seconds.
"No. Even you know how people seem to get in touch with that side easier when they're close to deaths door." He pauses to look at me for a second and then replies "But im not devoid of sympathy. Let him meet the others, ready him up. We'll begin in a hour." He throws up his index and middle finger making the well known "Peace" sign as he walks out.
"What is he talking about? What happens in a hour?" I demand. Luna looks at me and bends her face down. "Don't...don't worry about it. C'mon, you should meet the rest of the gang." She walks out a wooden door on the other side of the room. As the minutes pass by and I realize she wont be coming back anytime soon, I begin to look around. The room is actually pretty fascinating once you take a good look at it. There are what I assume to be photo-shopped pictures of men fighting alongside huge animals, wielding a array of strange powers. What really points out to me is a picture of a man who looks like he was wielding the same sword as me. Hes sitting on top of a giant three headed wolf with fur as white as snow, and teeth that look like it could rip through anything. I stare fascinated, the man almost looks like-
"Heeeeyyyy Lief!" I turn around and there they are in the doorway. It surprises me how many people I know are here. There's Koundie, the cheery girl who seems to always know just how to tease you. Fearl, a very smooth man who can keep you blushing with his dark curly hair and lack of clothing to cover a well built body. And of course Luna, the reserved girl who's the most caring person I know, going to the point where she would do almost everything to make her friends happy. The man from earlier is there as well, he introduces himself as "DK". Im about to burst out with questions when DK cuts me off. "I know you're probably filled with questions, but no information can be told until after the exam. You'll just have to wait. Excuse me" He brushes past the others and walks out again. From a tiny glimpse when he opened the door, I can see a bright village filled with beautiful scenery and smiling children. I crane my head to see more, but DDK closes the door behind him. The others sit down on the bed beside me, staring at me to make the first move. "What?" I snap at them. Fearl is the first one to make a comment, "Well, you're the one who doesnt know anything here. Its like we're back in school, jeez. Try asking something." I sit down beside Koundie and look back on the recent events.
What do I really want to know? What do I even need to know? My moms dead, im some kind of weird freak who can pull weapons out of nowhere. Just...what am I? I go on pondering for a couple of minutes until Koundie pokes my cheek and wakes me back to the real world. Fearl raises a eyebrow at me, giving him a oddly similar impression of The Rock from those wrestling shows I used to watch when I was younger. What a weird thing to remember now. I clear my throat and start off slowly... "What I really want to know is...why are we all here? Where is here anyway?" A deafening silence suddenly engulfs the room, and everybody looks away.
"Ahem... sorry. Its been a while since I've had a proper drink in the hellhole." Fearl stares his dark brown eyes into mine, "You're here because, if we're being perfectly to the point, we need you. Since around 11 years ago, we've received indication that you are the one who has the power to end a war that's been going on for generations upon generations." I stare blankly at him.
"Eleven years ago? All of you...just how long have all of you pretended to be my friends huh!?" I clench the bed-sheets in my hand. "I...I don't know who the hell any of you guys are anymore. If this is some joke, its not funny. At all. I'm getting out of here." I rise to stand up, but a blur of plaid blocks my way. "Wait! Please...just wait please! We are your friends Lief, you have no idea how hard it was to keep all of this from you. I wont ever forget the times we had...You just have to trust us when we say things will make more sense soon." Luna gives a small smile, but everyone can tell its a little forced. "So umm... how was everybody's day?" Luna murmurs quietly. Fearl starts off, explaining how he just got this new dog, named it Laury. Koundie gushes about her new boyfriend, Jacob Twigs. His last name fits apparently, because he looks like he could fit inside a glass jar from the pictures she shows us. I frown. At least everyone else is fine and dandy. This is all normal to them, just another day where the sun is shining and the birds chirping. "Im doing just peachy, got kidnapped right after my mom died. Fun fun." I manage to mumble before laying back on the bed. This brings everyone back down until finally Fearl steps up to me and shoves his face in front of mine. "Hey. Big whoop. We've all lost someone. But if you don't get over it in about 5 seconds, you're gonna be hurting more than a virgin on her honeymoon. The exam is no-" Fearl stops talking as the door slams open. DDT steps inside and practically drags me outside. Everyone looks down, but Fearl manages to shout out one last thing that I can pick out. "Magic is no joke Lief, you just gotta remember-" Im dragged outside and someone puts a backpack over my head before I can hear the rest.
"Mmmph! Mmmm! " I kick back and forth as they drag me to lord knows where. After what seems to be about 9999 hours,(Its over nine-thousaaaannndddd!) they finally take off the bag. At first, all I can see is a field of white, but as my eyes adjust, the view is unbelievable. The place looks like a perfect circle filled with a myriad of weapons formed into the strangest shapes and colors. The weapons are shoved into the ground, making it look a little like an old battlefield if you take a good second look. There are people all around us, some cheering us on with a crazy fervor. DK stands directly across from me with a sniper rifle planted in his arms. "This is your exam. We need to find out what kind of information we can give you about our cause through your fighting rank. I will be your weapons examiner." I look at him in disbelief, "This is stupid! I'm not gonna fight for your damn entertainment!" He gives a cold smile. "You don't have a choice kid. 1...2..." He outstretches his hand and a shining light blinds me. A few seconds pass and I look back to find him holding a polished sniper rifle, easily the size of my entire body. He drops to the ground and plants the sniper straight at me. I stare at him for a moment, wondering just how far he would go with this. "Hey, hey, hey...lets uh, talk about this huh?" A shot whips past my ear. "Ah, all-all right!" Lets just go with it, this cant be serious can it? I rush ahead, picking a random crossbow off the ground. I'm about to aim it when DDT places a shot directly on it and blows it away from me. "Nuh uhh...not that one." he says with a empty face. Not that one? What, does he want a damn gun competition then? I decide to give the idea a try and back-step until I find what im looking for. There on the ground is a shiny m40 sniper rifle ripe for picking. I pick up the gun, but from the sidelines I notice all of my friends here. Luna smiles at my choice, but slowly shakes her head. Then, I notice it for the first time. They all have their own weapons. Fearl is twirling a long brown bat in his fingers, and Koundie is standing on top a huge black double-bitted axe thats planted in the ground. Luna carries a spotless looking Barrette .50 on her back. Then it hits me. Not that one. Not a crossbow, not a sniper...maybe its something only I can use. Fearls words come back to me, "Magic is no joke Lief, you just gotta remember-" Remember what? And then I do remember. I smile, thanks Fearl.
I rush up to DDK, forgetting about all the other weapons. DDK sits there in shock now, im sure nobody has ever tried to rush him weaponless while he still had his sniper in tow. His eyebrows crash together and a hint of a frown dances upon his lips, but he quickly gets over it and aims a shot for my kneecap. Now or never huh...I think back to what DDK had said earlier to Luna about the exams. "You know how people seem to get closer to that side when they're on death's door." I realize they've given me everything I need to pass this exam. Without hesitating, I rip open the body bandage and let the blood flow out from me. I hold my hands out and grasp an invisible sword that materializes just in time to block the bullet. I hear DDK mutter a curse under his breathe, but before he can ready another shot I take the last few steps it takes to reach him and place my sword at his throat. "Game. Over." I shake my head to clear a few strands of hair that fall over my eyes and give a small smile to the crowd gathered around me. They go wild, people beginning to whoop and wave their own weapons around. Cries begin to rise up out of the crowd. "With guts like that, they don't stand a chance!" "This kids a natural!" "The Enders don't stand a-" Before the man can finish his sentence, a guard bumps his shoulder and gives him a silencing stare. The man cowers down and the crowd goes back to whooping. I stand there for a while before I collapse down to the floor, blood still pouring out. I have a view of DDK's shoes before they slowly fade away and everything blacks out.
I wake up back inside the cabin I was located in before. The only person inside besides me was DDK, who was leaning back on a chair with his legs crossed. "Games over. Now whats the deal with all of this huh?" I shout. He smiles and lays back. "Not just yet grasshopper. I was only your weapons examiner, you still have to take Isa's test." A guard appears with the backpack again, but DDK shoos away the bag. "Its pointless, he'll need all the oxygen he can get to his brain anyway for Isa's test." At this, he turns and walks out as if this whole process was no longer relevant to him. The guard leads me outside of the cabin. I stop and take my first real look at where im staying. In front of me is a huge fountain with a statue of a man with a broadsword. He wears a long flowing cape with a hood covering most of his face. The houses around me are ordinary, everyday houses. Smoke blows from most of the chimneys, and small sprouts of grass that sticks out from the cracks in the brick floor gives a feeling of a everyday neighborhoods lawn. People are walking in the streets, most of them carrying small daggers on their waist or a bow on their back. They all have rough faces, even the few children running around. I look up towards the sky and notice that its extremely early in the morning, the sun barely coming up. I must have slept for at least a day. The guard drags me off along a path where huge looming trees begin to form up around us. "So...you into the Lakers?" I smile and try to make small talk as the guard leads me further and further into what seemed like a forest, but only silence comes from him. We walk for what must have been at least 30 minutes before finally the guard grabs my shoulder and stops us. We're far into the woods by now, and the sunlight is all but blocked out as branches eat away at the sunlight trying to reach down. "Isa should be here soon. She'll escort you back once the exam is done." He takes a step towards the way we came, but then turns around. "Oh and...I'm a Spurs fan. Good luck mate." He smiles at me and disappears behind a tree. I sit down, waiting for the next great examiner. One...five...ten minutes pass. "Jesus...they drag me here and now they wont even show up for their own shit." I grumble. "Who says I haven't showed up yet?" a voice whispers into my ear. I jump up and look behind me. I was in no way prepared for what I saw. She was almost like DDK's counterpart, her body was smooth without a inch of bruises or scars anywhere to be seen. She wore a short skirt with a long sleeved button up. Her hair billowed behind her in long brown waves, the longest part reaching down to her back. She was almost like one of those innocent shy high school girls, until you got a good look in her eyes. They were a emerald green, shimmering with past pain, but still shimmering all the same. They were fighting eyes, ones that could stare down a army and not blink.
"Hello there darling, my name is Isabella. You can call me Isa though. I hear you're the talk of the town after the...incident. Im so sorry to hear about your mother, but we're all meant to go on sooner or later, ya know..." She gives a weak smile before jumping on a tree stump and exclaiming "But let us forget these dreary memories! For that is all they are now, memories. Lets get started shall we?" She reaches inside a tree hollow beside her and pulls out a long bow with small inscriptions written across the wood along with a quiver of arrows. Her once joyous face suddenly becomes blank as she draws a arrow back. "Fulmine, pierce." Her eyes arch together as she lets the arrow fly. The arrow passes me easily and disappears into the darkness of the trees. I look back confused, sure that she wouldn't miss a shot like that. I'm about to turn around when I hear a distant whistling sound grow louder. "Shhhhhh...SHWIP!" The arrow whistles out of the darkness and slams into my chest. My vision blurs as my eyes start watering, it felt as if someone had taken a part of my chest and replaced it with this wooden arrow. She stands about 20 feet away watching me. "You didn't tell me there were others shooting too..." I manage to whisper. She looks at me impassively as she says "We are alone silly." She throws up a arrow high into the leaves and a moment later it crashes down towards my head. Instinctively I hold up my hands and close my eyes as the torpedo speeds towards me. A second passes by, but nothing happens. I look up and unbelievably the arrow is circling me, seemingly floating in midair. My mouth drops open. "How...are you doing that?" She gives a hint of a smile as she says "I think Fearl gave you a little hint on this one? Magic is no joke, you just gotta remember why we have to use it. What makes you wake up in the morning to another day in the same old world, what makes you take those steps forward when you feel your body cant take anymore? The world has forgotten what life is all about. We are the last. The last who remember." I stare at her for a moment before looking down at my body. My shirt is in ragged strips now, and the arrow sticks out of my chest like a giant, painful, splinter. Strangely, only a row of stitches remain as the only evidence that I was ever stabbed just a few days ago. They must have patched it up while I was knocked out. Just...why am I bothering with any of this anyway? Why am I going along with their games? I'm pretty much a prisoner here...and yet I felt a sense of pride meeting these people. Fighting, and knowing that I can do something here. Maybe...maybe prisoners of chance have a duty as well. I shake my head vigorously and fix my eyes straight across from me. Isa readies another shot, almost as if she can sense something is different now. I hold out my hand and instinctively grasp the ice cold blade that appears.
I notice its getting easier now, the blade comes as If it was more like a long lost part of me being reunited instead of a new friend just met. Isa smiles and says, "You're getting better at that? It does come a little easier in time." I take a step forward when she lets off the arrow. It goes whistling past my face as I duck. Arrow after arrow she lets fly as I somehow manage to dodge all of them. Im almost to her, only seven feet stand between us when she nocks 5 arrows at one time and fires them at once. Shwip! The first one rips through my sleeve. Shwip! The second one catches me on the other arm. The momentum from just the first two sends me slamming back into a tree a couple yards behind me. ShwipShwipShwip! The next two shots pin my legs to the tree, while the third one lands ominously above my head, a single strand of hair being held down. She gives a evil smile as she slowly walks towards me. "Did you forget where you are...? I'm not your weapons examiner, its not going to be that easy I'm afraid...this is your magic test." I frown. "I cant do magic. I don't know how you controlled those arrows, and I'm certainly no witch or anything." "Of course you're not a witch! They don't exist silly. This is real magic. If you don't believe you can, you wont be able to. There are actually humans who live their whole life who would be able to learn how, but they don't believe." I look down, "And why couldn't I be like them huh? What makes me so special!?" I'm shouting now, my entire body shaking from the sudden pain coursing through my body." She comes close and rests her head on my shoulder. "Because. This...this gift. It comes with a price. All of us here...we've all been through something. We didn't choose this life, just like you. When we're in a situation that forces us to step up to something we've never had to step up to before, that's when our powers surface." She raises her head from my shoulder and stares at me directly in my eyes. "You passed. Welcome in." She walks away, leaving me stuck. "Wait! We're...we're not finished here." She raises her eyebrow, but turns around regardless. "You have some guts kid. But no, I don't have time to be teaching you everything right now. You'll find out sooner or later during your stay." I grab the arrows pinning my legs down and toss them to the side. "I said, we're not done damn it!"
Instinctively, I raise my sword above my head ready to charge when suddenly the sword feels different. It was almost...heavier? Not like it suddenly weighed more but...like there was something else besides the sword that was growing in my hands. I try to take a step forward, but the sword feels like too much for me and I'm forced to swing down. Out of nowhere a huge pale blue blade of ice comes crashing away from my sword straight towards where I had swung, right at Isa. She looks shocked for a moment, but easily sidesteps and fires a stream of arrows right back at me. Suddenly its a all out ranged fight. Whoosh whoosh! A solid stream of arrows fly by me but every time I felt like I couldn't get out of a shot, I sent a blade of ice blowing away any nearby arrows. Foot by foot, I get closer but fatigue starts setting in. Gotta finish this soon...I wonder if I can... Suddenly I stop and send a wave of ice giving me some space. "Here goes nothing..." I push my hand outwards and focus solely on her. I close my eyes and an image of her frozen in ice is pressed into my mind, that's all I focus on. "C'mon..." When I open my eyes im shocked. The entire surrounding trees have frozen over and Isa is in a block of ice spreading three feet all around her. I look at her for a minute before collapsing down, my body refusing to move even a inch anymore. I manage to roll myself over so my face is looking towards the sky when I notice something crazy. Every arrow she shot was floating right behind me. She had been playing me this whole time...I never had a chance. The arrows hover lazily above me before speeding away and crashing into the ice. In a matter of seconds, Isa is free. "Tsk, tsk...so reckless." She walks towards me and puts her hand on my head. "But don't worry, next time you see me, I'll be on your side." She smiles and ruffles my hair. I smile, the first one I've smiled since her death. I see a light at the end of this tunnel... and then everything blacks out once again.