Sorry for not posting in such a long time. I didn't have any inspiration since the last chapter, but I decided to write some more, so here you guys go!

I opened my eyes and saw the night sky. Stars twinkled softly, fireflies lazily floated around, and the moon steadily glowed. Lifting my hand slowly, I reached for the sphere of light.

"You are now the Spirit of Fire, Maia," whispered a voice.

It took a second for me to regain my senses. "Wait!" I shouted desperately. "What am I supposed to do now? At least tell me who you are!"

Nothing responded back. The voice was completely gone. I felt a bit lonely without a strange voice talking to me.

Great. I thought. I'm alive but how am I supposed to be a 'Guardian'? Do I save kittens from trees? Help an old lady cross a street? Save the world?

Groaning in frustration, I tried to sit up but found that I could not. A huge piece of rotting wood was trapping my legs. With a strength I didn't know I had, I shoved the wood off of me and shakily stood up.

As I looked around me, a rustle came from behind me and I quickly looked around. Gasping in recognition, I realized I was in the cabin I had died in. Vines had crawled in and smothered the house, grass peeked out from cracks, and wild flowers grew sprouted from the floorboards. Missing floorboards were replaced by small puddles. Moonlight streamed through the small areas where the fire burnt through the roof. This place seemed to have been here ages instead of a few hours. I even saw the remains of a bird's nest tucked safely away in a corner.

The rustling came again from my right, closer and louder. I ducked low and listened for it again. It was getting even closer. Shuffling to an opening in the wall, I peeked out and looked for the source of the sound. All I could see was the forest.

Suddenly, a herd of deer exploded in front of me, swiftly running past me and effectively scaring me to death. I was pretty sure my heart beat climbed to 150. As I laughed at myself, trying to calm my racing heart, something whispered closely next to ear. A shadow appeared in front of me, telling me that someone, or something, was behind me and quite possibly about to hurt me.

"Hello Maia. I've been waiting for you for quite a while. You shouldn't have made me wait. My patience is worn thin now." A hot breath raced down my neck, making me shiver. "Well, no matter. Now that you are here, we have plenty of time."

I snapped my head around, trying to see who, or what, was talking to me. I gasped loudly and gaped.

The man towering before me was at least six feet. Dark red robes draped around his shoulders and covered his head. I couldn't see his face clearly, but I could see sharp teeth gleaming as he smiled.

"Now, now Maia. No need to be afraid of me. We are similar." Emphasis was placed on 'me'. His voice was deep and gravelly.

All I could do was continue to gape in fear. I hated it.

The man chuckled softly. He reached out a hand that was covered in tattoos and rings. 'Hate' was tattooed across his pale palm. Skulls, ravens, snakes, dragons, and various other animals and words were etched into his pale skin. His fingernails were a bloody red and a gruesome black.

"Maia, you are afraid of me now, but soon you will understand. Soon you will be living a life filled with excitement." His smile widened, revealing serrated teeth and a forked tongue "Join me. All you have to do is take my hand." I couldn't help but back away from him.

The mood changed from tense friendliness to terrifying hate.

"I told you not to be afraid," he growled. His eyes burned red and slowly walked towards me. Rivulets of fire streamed from his eyes. Roughly pulling me up, the man locked eyes with me. Intense heat radiated off his body as he held me up. I could feel my skin burning from his touch.

Then he calmed down and dropped me to the ground. I landed awkwardly on my ankle, pain speared through my foot and leg. Fantastic. I can't escape now, I thought.

He walked about five feet away from me before turning around and staring me down. "Next time, I will not be so gracious as to let you off with a sprained ankle." The smile returned to his face.

Taking a step closer, he unveiled his head. Similar to his arm, tattoos covered his bald head. He had piercings in his ears, nose, and lips. His right eye was a radiant, burning fire while his left eye was a dull flame.

"I will be one of the many to seek you out Maia," he said. Walking closer to me, he crouched down and tilted my chin up. "I am Hate. And so are you."

With the last word, Hate dissolved into flames.

…

"God damn it!" I shouted. Tears blurred my vision.

Kicking the wall in frustration, I went over the meeting in my head. I did nothing but cower in fear. Hate had an overpowering presence. He made you afraid and angry at the same time. But I was too scared to even be angry. I was just an insignificant pawn in the eyes of Hate.

…

Night passed and sunlight was streaming through the leaves of the trees. The glowing fireflies and hooting owls were replaced by chirping birds and buzzing insects.

I started searching for civilization when the sun starting lighting up the night sky. After an hour of walking, I can officially say that I was in the middle of nowhere. There were trees as far as the eye could see. As I kept walking in one direction, the weather started turning colder every step. Soon there was snow powdering the trees and the ground. The cold tickled my arms and legs, making me smile.

"I forgot what snow felt like…," I whispered to myself. I reached out and tentatively touched the snow flakes. As the fragile snow neared my skin, they turned into steam and returned back to the sky.

Living on the coast makes a person forget what the meaning of winter is. The only kind of cold experience I had was being dumped with freezing water. And the one time I went skinny dipping. But that story is for another time.

A few hours of walking and cursing, I finally saw a road and if I squinted, I could see a distant neighborhood. I quickly tried to flag down a car, hoping I didn't look like a complete mess. Apparently I did look like a complete mess because nobody even bothered to look in my direction.

"Hey!" I shouted. "Can anybody lend me a ride?" I waved my arms wildly above my head, trying to attract attention. Cars drove on by without even looking in my direction. I guess no one wants to give a free ride to a girl who looks like she just rolled in the dirt.

Sighing, I gave up and carefully made my way across the road. As soon as I reached the other side of the road, I ran towards the neighborhood hoping to find a person willing to help me.

The neighborhood was a peaceful little community nestled between nature and urban society. The air was thick with joy. I could hear children shouting in excitement, splashing in pools, and enjoying their adolescence. Their excitement was infectious. Even I found myself smiling.

"I wonder where I would be if I grew up in a safe house," I whispered to myself. My childhood was riddled with bad memories. A prostitute for a mother and a drunk for a father, I was lucky to even attend school. Only my friends made life worth living. Huh, I wonder how they're doing. Is Drake still thinking about me? Will Hannah ever forgive herself? Despite what people think, we 'delinquents' aren't emotionless. One mistake and everyone will remember you for it. All the good things you've done will be erased by one mistake. I laughed bitterly. It's human nature after all.

Soon after I reached the backyard of the houses, I searched for a source of water to wash myself with. I found a small man-made pond and quickly scrubbed the dirt off my clothes and washed the grime off my legs, arms, and face. I hoped no one find me. It was bad enough that I looked like a hoodlum. Lurking around suspiciously under the shade of the trees might leave a bad impression.

After cleaning myself up the best I could, I wandered into neighborhood, looking to ask people what day it was.

As walked down the sidewalk, I noticed that all houses had mostly families living inside them. Plastic cars, basketballs, and stuffed animals were littered most of lawns. Old couples would sometimes be sitting on their porches, rocking back and forth while softly talking to each other. Children would be running across streets, chasing after each other in a flurry of excited screams and yelps. Mothers occasionally walked by, talking about their children, or strolled by with a baby on board. I made way for them every time, but they didn't even nod in recognition. Did I look that shady?

As a pair of joggers, a man and woman, came within talking distance, I called out to them. They didn't react to my voice so I tried calling out to them again. The woman nearly barreled into me when I tried to stop her. Sighing in frustration, I tried talking to other people but they didn't seem too eager.

When the sun started setting, I gave up on trying to talk to people and sat on the curb, somberly rocking my feet back and forth when a basketball rolled up to me. I looked up and saw a group of children, around six years old, running towards me. Realizing they weren't trying to tackle me but wanted the ball instead, I stood up and handed the basketball to them. They stood frozen, fear scarring their faces.

"Uh, this is yours right?" I asked a bit confused. I walked closer and tried to give the ball back.

The boy closest to me slowly raised his hand, pointed at me, and screamed, "Ghost!"

Everyone scattered in different directions, tripping in their hurry to run away from me.

Placing my hands on my hips, I loudly sighed in agitation. "I'm not that scary looking you know! And what do you mean by ghost?" I waved my hand with the basketball helplessly, hoping that someone would take it back.

With the ball still in my hand, I started walking towards the direction the boy ran off to. I turned a corner and saw him cowering behind his mother.

"S-See? I wasn't lying mom! That basketball is haunted!" screamed the boy.

Even the mother seemed hesitant. "Nathaniel, run to the house," she whispered quietly, her gaze fixated at the ball I was holding. When Nathaniel didn't budge from his mother's side, she picked him in her arms and ran into the safety of their household. I stood there even more confused. As I walked towards them to try ask them what they were talking about, I heard the audible click of the lock sliding into place. That stopped me in my tracks. Seeing the terrified face of the boy, I decided it was best to leave. Placing the basketball on their lawn, I stood up and left.

After walking a few steps, I looked back to see the mother holding her son protectively, as if to make everything alright. The son hugged his mom back, gripping her shirt with a trembling hand. Pulling back, the mother whispered a few words and softly kissed his forehead. With a big breath, the boy nodded and gave a small smile. The scene reminded of the time when my parents were the happy couple that bet on fate and told me that I could be anything I wanted to be, as long as I tried my best. A life filled with hard times but with happy moments sprinkled on top. But nothing lasts forever.

With tears burning in my eyes, I broke into a run.

I didn't know why I was running. Why I was crying. Why no one seemed to notice me.

Slowing down, I slumped against a tree trunk and hugged my knees, hoping to hide from the world.