"The sky's getting dark," I observed. "Let's find some shelter."

We continued our journey, stepping onto the slippery stones carefully. After barely an hour of running, Sam and I had slowed down to a panting brisk walk. Well, actually, I was the one slowing down since she had no trouble running half the mile anyway.

"There!" Sam pointed into the distance where a tall shady tree had somehow set up its camp in the middle of a muddy swamp. Even so, its jade-green leaves sprouted from its branches in pure bliss, with rays of sunlight peeping from above the canopy.

It was paradise.

"Let's camp here for the night," I suggested, plopping down at one of the roots before letting out a deep breath. If my mom was here, she would have freaked out about the germs on the roots, but she wasn't.

"I'll go get some wood for a fire," Sam exclaimed, refusing to sit down and take a rest. "And, also, to get some food."

"Wait," I stopped her.

She turned back, curving her eyebrow upwards as she waited for me to continue.

"Be careful," I smiled.

A blush crept up her cheeks as she processed my words. A smile tugged on the corner of her lips, "You too."

With that, she left to look for some firewood, and some food. My legs were tired after an hour of walking, begging for me to massage them before they start to cramp. I wanted to look for some food when my stomach started growling, but my legs told me to wait there in case Sam got worried.

Why don't I just call her to tell her I was out to get some food? Duh... I thought to myself. Drawing out the Pearphone from my pocket, I thought of my mom, Carly, Spencer, Sam's mom... How would they react if they knew what really happened to us? I shook the thoughts out from my head, proceeding to give a call to Sam. But when I saw the words 'out of range' on the screen, I decided to just stay there and wait.

The wait was torturous and worrying, as I felt something in my head, a soft beeping sound. No, it can't be – they know where we are!

I could feel my heart racing as the pitch of the beeping increased. Somehow, I knew that that wasn't a good sign; any sounds in my head wouldn't be. I struggled to get up in spite of my sore legs, wondering how to get to Sam. I limped while my left leg muscles cramped, leaving me no choice but to hop on the other foot.

The lack of light in the swamp proved to be no help to me while I continued my search, almost tripping over a few small pebbles and some huge rocks. The intensity of the beeping was reduced as I walked further and further away from the gigantic tree.

"Sam! Where are you?" I yelled into the swamp, sounds of dripping water and chirping crickets rang in my ear. There was no reply, but a series of noisy squawking followed by the angry flock of birds that flew past me, missing my head by an inch.

I knew I couldn't find her so easily. The swamp was too huge.

"Freddie?" a soft and distant cry echoed throughout the muddy swamp.

A relieved smile appeared on my face as I ran through the green vines and falling leaves, trying to reach the source of the cry. I ignored the pain in my left thigh, following the familiar voice. The beeping sound increased in intensity again with every step, but I ignored it, desperate to find Sam before she gets into some kind of trouble.

"Sam, where are you?" I yelled. This time, there wasn't a reply. I was getting worried. Could the beeping mean that she had been captured by the powers above?

No matter, it's time to face them anyway.

"I'm coming, Sam," I mumbled, panting as I increased my pace, energy drained by my cramping leg. There was no time to lose. Who knows what the powers above might do to her? "You'll have to wait for me."

"Freddie?" that's when I heard that familiar voice again. This time, it didn't seem like a cry. It seemed more like a question, and it was getting awfully close too. "Who's Freddie?"

I couldn't believe my ears. It had to be a trick, the powers above are just trying to lure me to them. But why would Sam say something like that? I guess I'll just have to get close enough to check it out for myself. I don't have to go directly to them, but just close enough to my destination to hear what they are saying and see what's going on by myself.

After a few hops, limps, yelps of pain and shaking of my head, the beeping came to an absolute climax. It wasn't to the point of damaging my head or my ears, but loud enough for me to know that they were near. I had to carry on, so that I could hear everything. And hopefully, I would learn that she's safe.

"Who's Freddie?" I finally got close enough to see and hear closely.

"Don't you remember him?" a deep voice asked.

"No, of course not. I've never met anyone named Freddie," Sam said, eyes hollow of spirit.

Just then, I felt something on my shoulder. I tried to shrug it off, but it wouldn't come off. I wanted to ignore it, until the voice called. "I can see you there."

When I spun around, I realised that a hand was on my shoulder, and some kind of mindless creature was trying to guide me towards where Sam was.

"What's going on? Why's Sam acting like this? What have you done to her?" questions burst out from my mouth as I craved for answers.

"Relax, Freddie," the voice taunted. "We just gave her a little Forgetful Elixir. It's nothing compared to the devastating consequences of your actions."

"But I didn't do anything wrong!" I insisted.

The voice continued. "Nothing wrong? Do you realise that with each passing day, your powers are weakening? It's not just you, but everyone above is feeling sudden drains of power."

"Now that you mention it," my eyes drifted down to my thigh, where the cramping had once caused me to limp. Now, all I felt was this numb sensation. "I could have been able to run even if my legs were in this condition. But... why did this turn out this way?"

"The deeper you fall in love with the mortal you're protecting, the weaker the powers of the Guardians," he explained. "This not only affects you, it affects all of us."

"Then put all the blame on me, why do this to Sam?"

He laughed. "If I harmed you, it wouldn't hurt a bit, and you'll recover only in an instant. But I figured that if I punished your little girlfriend, you'll be scarred for life."

I wanted to confront that voice, fight it and beat it. Make Sam remember me again, live happily ever after... that was what I really wanted. "You little..."

"No, no... Freddie... Watch that temper of yours," he taunted. "You can't hurt me, but I can hurt you."

"Watch me," I glared at the sky. For whoever was behind that voice, I will find him and I will make sure that he regrets what he did.

There was a deep laughter, as though he was laughing at my foolishness. There was a bolt of lightning coming with the thunder as it stroke at my feet. "I am the power above, what makes you think you can defeat me?"

"I know this may sound cliché, but true love always wins," I retorted, taking a glance at Sam.

He snickered and bellowed, "Not always."

With that, the bolt of lightning struck me, sending electric waves from my toes to my brain. In the haze of my mind, I stared at the girl in front of me. "Do I know you?"

A/N: Hey guys, sorry for the wait. I would just like to thank all of those who helped me by rating my work previously. I won the best entry for writers under 18 and I owe it all to you guys :D So, to thank you all, I've posted two new chapters (one for this fic and one for the other). I hope you guys will like them :D