Chapter 2: A Helping Hand
"...Reports of an unidentified wild animal attacking citizens near the Balrey Memorial Park. The park has been closed temporarily and all citizens are advised to stay clear of the area while police attempt to find the creature." I was half-listening to the TV as I ate my cereal (which is at least 50% sugar), but that particular report catches my attention. As I continue to watch, a blurry picture is shown of what appears to be a floating ball of ice, smaller shards hovering around it. Wild animal, they say. Suuuuuure. As more images flash across the screen, I notice one grainy close-up of a teardrop-shaped blue gem embedded in the ice.
"Amy!" I shriek over the phone the instant the pieces fall into place.
"Geez, take it easy on my eardrums. What's up?"
"Have you watched the news this morning?"
"I'm not allowed to watch TV for a month. Plus the news sucks, why were you even watching it? Oh, never mind, you're Amber… just tell me what you saw."
"My parents turned it on. You remember that bear-spider-thing, right? And how it had that blackish-purplish gemstone?"
"Yeah, how could I forget?"
"Well, there's something like it supposedly in Balrey Park. They had some photos, it looks like a big floating ball of ice. But it had a gem, Amy! A Gem!"
"Okay, this calls for major investigation."
"I'll start the group call. See ya."
I hang up to start the group call. I wonder if I should invite Ara. I'm not sure how well she would get along with my school friends, and after popping up in our group for the Mole's Mountain adventure I worry that Amy won't like having to share my attention.
I decide to call her anyway and ask her what she thinks.
The phone rings and goes to voicemail. Maybe next time.
I start the group call.
"Hey, guys. What's all this about?" Jet asks, clearly in the middle of breakfast.
"Amber's the nerd who watches the news, so she'll tell you," Amy says, and I can practically hear her smirk. I quickly relate the events of the morning news, and receive a squeal of excitement from Jet, and a whistle of appreciation from Bloodstone.
"Investigation!" Jet shrieks with glee, and I yank the phone away from my ear, not quite fast enough to spare my already-battered eardrums. Jet really is obsessed with mysteries.
"Yeah, I figured," I reply, unable to help my excited grin.
"Let's meet at the corner store near school," Bloodstone suggests. "It's only a few blocks from the park."
"Sounds good," Amy agrees. "Y'all in for some highly dangerous investigation?"
"Yeah!" Three voices reply in unison. I hang up and immediately rush out of my room. If I'm lucky, I won't even have to run.
"Where do you think you're going young lady?"
"Ugh, mom! C'mon, I'm fifteen, can't I go somewhere, without enduring a full-on interrogation first?"
"Not without telling me where you're going!" Mom retorts.
"Dad, could you explain to mother the importance of independence in teenagers?"
"Sorry kiddo, you're on your own on this one." He goes back to watching the news, unhelpful as always.
"So where are you going then?" My mom tries again.
"To…" I realize I need to come up with a suitable lie. There's no way I'm telling her about this magic stuff. I will not be responsible for her heart attack over my *ahem* "extracurricular activities".
"I'm going to Blo… Peter's house." I should probably refer to my friends by their human names too…
"Anyone else joining you two?" My mom has, fortunately, accepted that I have close male friends that aren't my boyfriends. The thing she doesn't get is that she should worry about my female friends too.
"Naila and Jeremy will be there too mom. Now can I please go? I'm gonna be late!"
"Ok fine, you can go. Just be home in time for dinner!" I quickly mutter my thanks and race out the door. Now I'll have to run.
Fifteen minutes later, completely out of breath from sprinting, I arrive at the corner store. Amy and Bloodstone are already there, and I can see Jet running this way, maybe two blocks down the street. That's strange, since Jet lives 2 minutes away from the park...
"So what's the plan?" Amy asks when I stop, out of breath. I wave off her question for a moment while I stand there panting, trying to regain my power of speech.
"Why am I supposed to have a plan?" I ask once I've stopped feeling like I'm about to throw up.
"Cause this was your idea in the first place," she retorts. I'm saved from having to speak by Jet's late arrival.
"What took you so long? Don't you live like, 2 minutes away?" I ask.
"Go delayed, sorry," Jet says, and it's clear that he won't be giving any more explanation.
"So, what's the actual plan?" Bloodstone asks, refusing to let me off the hook.
"Uh… Jet, you know how to do this stuff! You come up with a plan."
"Wait, me?!" Jet exclaims. I hate putting people on the spot like this, but I honestly have no idea what to do next. "Um… well, this is a standard reconnaissance mission. We'll have to sneak around the police barriers- shouldn't be too hard, if we go through one of the bordering backyards- and then we'll sneak in deeper, keeping to the shadows and always on the lookout. We never split up, 'cause that's always the start of a bad horror movie. And if- no, when we find what we're looking for, we stay out of sight and gather intel. Got it?"
"Yes, sir!" We reply in mock salute before breaking down in giggles.
"But seriously, let's get moving. The day's not getting any longer," Bloodstone adds. We take off in the direction of the park, easily dodging the police by cutting through one of the nearby properties. We're already breaking the rules, what's a few more?
"Where do you think it could be?" Amy whispers. We're currently crawling through a tiny tunnel in a thorny thicket. I wince as a thorn nicks my arm.
"My guess is somewhere near the center," I whisper back. "It's probably scared of the police force."
"Has anyone else noticed that none of the police were trying to come in here?" Bloodstone asks, trying and failing to gesture in the cramped space. "Isn't it their job to flush it out so they can capture it?"
"They're all just too scared to make a move," Jet answers. "Fear on both sides makes for an ugly final battle. Trust me, I know." I decide not to ask. A few minutes of silent crawling later, Jet announces, "We're here."
I crawl out of the tunnel to find a small clearing in the middle of the thorns, a small stone fire pit set in the exact center. Another, wider path leads out in the opposite direction.
"Whoa, cool place," Amy whispers upon exiting just behind me. "How'd you know this was here?"
"I used to come here whenever my sister was driving me crazy," Jet replies, keeping his voice low. "C'mon."
We continue through to the other path, edging our way along the narrow pathway as it zigzags down a steep, rocky hill. At the bottom is a small stream running along the valley, and we cross a makeshift bridge to the other side.
The deeper into the forest we get, the more lost we seem. I'm starting to wonder if we're ever going to find this thing. Despite the appearance of spring, winter chill is still in the air, making me wish I'd worn something more than a light sweater. Puddles from a recent storm are everywhere, mud soaking into my shoes with every step. We keep going, along the trail, and then off the trail and into the woods. The only good thing about the cold is that there aren't very many mosquitos. Still, it's frustrating, and only after what feels like hours do I notice that we're going in circles.
"Okay, do we have any idea where we're going?" I ask out loud, causing everyone to stop in their tracks. "Seriously. We have no idea where this thing is. It could be anywhere in this entire freaking park!" I shout, kicking a rock into the water.
"Amber…" Amy starts backing away, pointing at something behind me. I turn around to see the ice-monster-thing hovering only a few feet away.
"Seriously!?" I scream, dodging backwards as a barrage of deadly shards come flying at me. "What, I can't go five minutes without stumbling into the most cliche situation possible?"
"RUN!" Jet screams, and he leads the way continuing down the path, Bloodstone and Amy close behind, while I'm coming in last. I yelp as several more volleys of ice come dangerously close, and I don't notice when the others in front of me stop, causing me to barrel right into them.
"I'm sorry!" I shriek as all four of us go down an extremely steep hill, literally tumbling head over heels. I manage to get a footing, sliding down backwards on all fours while the ice ball floats after us. Jet is tumbling on his side, and Bloodstone seems to have found a way of leaping down headfirst. Amy is still tumbling head over heels, but as I watch she seems to gain more control over the spin, going from an uncontrollable descent to a fast somersaulting spin dash. A whitish-purple flame-like aura surrounds her, and she somehow turns and dashes back up the hill, slamming into the ice monster with enough force that it nearly sends me tumbling down again.
"How the hell did I do that?" She shouts out loud, landing next to me and following my example to slide along the slope.
"I dunno, but I get the feeling it's just getting started," I reply. The monster is clearly enraged, ice whirling faster and faster around it like a giant chainsaw blade.
Suddenly, the slope ends, and I stumble backwards into the waiting arms of Bloodstone. "Careful, Amber," he says, amused.
"Sorry," I say again. "Okay, new plan. We can't run from this thing, so we're gonna have to beat it."
"I'm sorry, what?" Jet asks, fear etched plainly on his face. "Giant floating ice ball of certain death? No way."
"Remember the giant purple bear-spider of certain death? Yeah, me too," I retort. "You guys saw what Amy did, and we all remember the spider-bear incident. I bet you anything it has something to do with our gems!"
"I bet you're right," Bloodstone declares. "I bet there's a way to beat that thing."
"Just for the record, I will sue you guys if I die here," Jet declares as we turn to face the monster. The ice sphere is advancing slowly, the whirling blade of ice audibly slicing through the air.
"On my mark, we go," I whisper. "Hit it with everything we've got." I receive an affirmative nod from the rest of the group. We wait, tense, as the creature approaches. Ten feet… five feet… three feet… "Now!"
We split into two groups, flanking it. Amy throws herself into a spin dash, ready to strike. I find myself with a sword in my hand, lunging right over the blades at the central monster. Bloodstone is sliding underneath the blades, his gem glowing and energy gathering between his hands. Jet is coming in from behind, aiming for a gap between the blades and wielding a glaive, about to stab it in the back. For a brief moment, time freezes in place.
My sword pierces the monster right in the eye. Jet's glaive stabs it right next to the nose. A searing beam of red energy shoots from Bloodstone's hands, shooting right through the monster and out the top. Amy slams into the side across from me, sending tiny splinters of ice everywhere. The monster shakes, ice shards flying everywhere-and then disappears in a puff of smoke.
"We did it!" Jet shrieks, jumping up and down with excitement. "Never doubted for a second." His glaive falls to the ground and promptly vanishes.
"How did we do it, though?" Amy asks, pulling ice and dirt out of her hair.
"I'm not completely sure," I admit, bending down to pick up the gem and bubble it. "But I think I know who might be able to help." I pick up my phone and call Ara again. This time she picks up.
"Hi Amber, sorry I missed your first call. I was at rehearsal," she says.
"Hi. Amy, Bloodstone, Jet, and I were in the park when we ran into…"
"The corrupted icy gem monster."
"How'd you know? And what's corrupted?"
"I'll tell you when you get here."
"How'd you know I was going to ask if we could come?" Ara laughs.
"You guys should take the bus but hurry, It's almost there." With that she hangs up.
"Come with me," I tell my friends.
We almost miss the bus.
"... This is who you were talking about?" Amy remarks, unimpressed, as we're standing in Arabella's bedroom.
"I'll have you know that I'm half sapphire, and I know exactly what you're going to eat for dinner tonight. Frosted Flakes? Really? Be healthier than that," she replies. I'm glad she didn't mention those were my dinner plans too.
"That's cool!" Jet exclaims. "What's my future?"
"I foresee lots of excitement, and also saying my name wrong. Call me Sapphire," she replies.
"That's amazing," I remark. "How do you do that?"
"I'm not really sure," she admits. "It's like, I know what I'm looking for, and so I take the path towards my goal. If I can see along the path far enough, and determine which forks are the most likely to take, then I know what will happen. You get me?"
"Not really."
"It's like rivers flow into ponds and… oh well, maybe someday. So you're here because..." I hold up the freshly bubbled gem. "Yeah that."
"It was an ice monster trapped in Balrey Park," I explain. "We defeated it."
"Barely," Amy and Sapphire say at the same time. Amy glares at her.
"Sorry," Sapphire mutters.
"So now we need to figure out A. how we use our magic powers and B. what the gem monsters are," Bloodstone says.
"Well, A is pretty easy. Practice, practice, practice, although there will be a learning curve," she says. "B is a little trickier, but I think I might be able to help." In a single fluid motion she pulls out her laptop and opens it, typing furiously into google. "There we go."
We crowd around the computer, watching as multiple online newspapers come up. Each one has at least one article, be it recent or years old, involving a magical gem monster. All of them seem to share a common thread- A gem monster wanders into an inhabited area, and starts attacking people. Eventually the police drive it away, but they are never captured.
One article, a more scientific paper, theorizes that the monsters were random gemstones that were either struck by lightning or imbued with chemicals, causing them to become sentient. That may not be too far off.
"Hmm. Interesting," Sapphire mutters.
"What?"
"It appears that there was an article that was deleted less than a minute after its posting. Give me a minute…" I watch, fascinated, as she starts furiously typing code and at the same time navigating multiple internet websites. Less than a minute later, the deleted article pops up on screen.
"Whoa. How'd you do that?" Jet asks, clearly fascinated.
"Future vision. Also multiple online coding classes," she replies. Amy glares at her even harder, but Sapphire pretends not to notice. "Guys, check this out."
I lean over to read the article. Some girl had actually spent weeks tracking a gem monster to a place called Beach City, where the three Crystal Gems and Steven (although they just called him 'the young boy' in this) fought and defeated the gem. She carefully noted how they bubbled the gem, and wrote down a lot of theories on it. One in particular catches my attention: She thinks that they might be of the same species as the Crystal Gems, only they've been "corrupted"(a term directly from her brief interview with the Gems) and have basically gone insane. She also had some insight into the gems themselves- she'd obviously done her research. Apparently their entire being is in their gemstones, their physical forms nothing more than projections made of solid light.
"No," Sapphire states. "We're real, not just made of light."
"How did you…" Amy stops herself and rolls her eyes.
"We're not fully gems," I say, putting the pieces together. "We're hybrids like Steven. Half human, half gem."
"You mean half alien," Bloodstone says, and not in a laughing way either. Instead of every scene from every relatable movie ever, where the main characters start freaking out and/or jumping for joy at the idea of being part alien, a heavy silence falls over the group.
"Well, I should probably get going," Jet mutters after a few tense moments of silence. Everyone starts murmuring agreements and making their way out.
"Amber," Sapphire grabs my arm before I can leave. "One more thing." she leans in and whispers in my ear "don't eat Frosted Flakes for dinner. Or at least don't eat five bowls of the stuff. You'll be sick all night long,".
I keep her advice in mind as I continue out the door. The boys are long gone, but Amy is waiting for me outside.
"Oh hey, Amy. What's up?" I ask, trying to move past her.
"Amber… am I your best friend?" The question catches me totally off guard.
"Well, yeah, obviously," I say, trying to come up with the right response.
"Even better than Sapphire?" Oh, god.
"Look, I can't deal with this right now. If you have a problem with Sapphire, talk to her about it." I finally manage to force my way past her and sprint off in the direction of my house.
Crap, how did it all go so wrong so fast?
"Okay. We're literally aliens. I'm fine with this," Jet says, pacing in circles in front of me. "I'm fine with this. This is awesome. It's supposed to be awesome."
"Remember the whole awesome magic powers thing?" Bloodstone smirks. "Yeah, me too. Maybe focus on the good, not the bad?"
The three of us are sitting outside before school, not quite willing to enter the cursed building just yet.
"Hey, has anyone seen Amy?" I ask, looking around. "She's usually here by now."
"Nope," Bloodstone replies, mostly preoccupied with placating Jet. "Text her."
I take his advice and shoot Amy a quick text- HEY WHERE R U?
It takes her less than thirty seconds to respond. ALREADY INSIDE. I TOOK THE BACK ENTRANCE. DONT TALK TO ME. I decide not to pry.
"She went on without us. I'd suggest we give her some space for now, but after school I'm totally getting to the bottom of this." I shove my phone into my back pocket. "May as well get the rest of this day over with."
After school, I make a point of waiting outside for Amy. I have to literally grab her and pull her aside as she tries to ignore me.
"Look," I say, putting on my best serious face. "I don't know what your deal is, but you shouldn't just avoid people like that. Would you like me to lend you several lengthy books about social relationships?"
"No, that won't be necessary," she replies quickly. "It's nothing. I'm being stupid." She tries to leave again, but I grab her arm with an iron grip.
"Just spit it out. Whatever it is, secrets don't stay hidden."
She gives a sigh and relaxes slightly. I release my grip and she doesn't bolt, which is a good sign. "I just…" she pauses, then rushes to continue. "I'm your best friend, right? Better than Sapphire?"
I try to keep calm, but internally I'm panicking. Mustavoidawkwardnessmustfindalternativesolution-
"When did this become about me?" I retort, crossing my arms. "Like I said, if you have a problem with Sapphire, talk to her about it."
Amy's shoulders slump in defeat. "You like her better than me, don't you. You think I'm just a nuisance."
"No, that's not what I meant at all!" I reply hastily. "You're totally my best friend… but she's my best friend too. You just have to accept that."
Her tone is bitter as she spits out "You just hate me, don't you? She's useless! All her fancy future vision and I bet she can't even fight. Fine, then. See if I care. Say whatever you want, but you better choose someone fast. The future depends on it." She spits out the word future as if it's poison in her mouth. I don't have time to comment on her strange remark before she leaves, blending into the crowd of students like a needle in a haystack.
Slightly shaken from the encounter, I pull out my phone as I start walking home.
SAPPHIRE, I start to type, then shake my head and delete it. I don't need to dump my problems on her.
Then again, she probably already knows.
Instead, I send out a mass text to everyone in my immediate friend group. MEETING AT MY PLACE, ASAP.
Author's Note: Yes, I know this is a cheesy plot, but it's definitely something that all teenage girls can relate to.. Don't worry as it will be resolved by chapter 4. I hope you're enjoying the story so far, in the next chapter we'll introduce some Rivals(which happens to be the title!)
Please review!