CHAPTER 7

As soon as they could, Cinderella, Eric, and Jim went back to the forest. In the daylight, they could see the full extent of the damage the night before: Another area larger than the last had been burnt to ashes. Kida's stream had shrunk down to half its normal size, and she felt weak. Pocahontas' tree quivered in the wind, and she groaned with it. Both Ariel and Shang were tired and sore. Phil awoke to a nightmare, not at all helping the splitting headache.

That day, they all tried to put the pieces of their lives back together. Everyone agreed that Eric and Jim should watch the forest that night. So they went home and rested, preparing for the long night ahead of them.

When the night came, thick fog came with it, making it very difficult to see. Both boys stood together under a tree, talking quietly. They appeared relaxed, but both had their gifts ready, full strength and fully alert, to know if anyone approached.

But even their combined efforts couldn't prepare them for what happened next.

Out of nowhere, both boys were caught in a shock wave that hurled them backwards. Jim tried to jump up and fight this power, but found that he couldn't move. To his horror, he saw the tree he was under fall straight toward him, pinning him down and knocking him out cold.

Eric watched all this in terror, unable to move, then saw their enemy walking steadily towards him. "Eric," she said. He knew that face, he knew that voice. What he didn't know was how to fight her. "Arise," Vanessa ordered. He obeyed, without hesitation. "Eric," she said again, "You failed me once. You won't again, I'm sure." She looked deeply into his eyes. "Will you?"

He suddenly felt an unbearable pain in his head, sharp as nails driving into his temples. He tried to cry out in pain, but no noise came. "Will you?" Vanessa asked him again, more firmly.

He shook his head. "No!" And suddenly the pain was gone, along with Vanessa. But he knew what he had to do. He had his orders, written deep in his mind.

He felt numb as he walked forward, as though he was someone else. Seeing the two stones that were left for him, he raised them with his mind and, bringing his hands together in a clap, struck the rocks together, causing a spark that quickly turned to flames. Spreading his arms, he used his mind to throw the fire outward, and it quickly began to burn in at least twenty places. As he stood watching the flames, the voice in his head spoke again: "Well done, Eric. Well done."

Standing there, looking at what he had done, Eric felt a surge of satisfaction, and he laughed aloud.

Then he saw everything different in a flash. This was wrong! It must be stopped! He just had to put that fire out! But as he stepped forward, the pain came back full force. Crying out, he fell to his knees, his head in his hands. 'Well,' he thought, 'if I can't put out the fire, I can at least call for help.' But when he opened his mouth, no sound came out. He was stuck there, alone, in silent agony. 'No,' he thought, 'I can't give into this. I have to put out that fire!' Slowly he began crawling on all fours toward the flames, but each step made the pain even greater, every inch taking more effort than the last. His vision blurred, but he forced himself forward. He was nearly there when his arms collapsed, and his head landed on a rock.

Despite everything that had happened, Aladdin was finding it hard to sleep. He was rolling over for the hundredth time when he suddenly smelled smoke. A feeling of dread swept over him, and he jumped up, following the smoke to the source.

By the time he arrived, the flames had reached the tops of the trees, and was steadily moving outward. Aladdin didn't waste any time, he plunged in, kicking up dirt and beating out flames. As he did, he screamed, "Dad! Phil! Po! Kida! Help me!"

His family quickly joined him, and began to help. It took a while, but the fire was finally put out.

Looking around at the damage done, Aladdin fell to his knees and actually began to cry. No matter how hard they tried, it didn't help! Their world was still crumbling down around them. And it was beginning to look like there was nothing they could do to stop it.

As Kida walked over to help Pocahontas with her burns, she noticed something under the ashes. "Eric? Eric!" She ran over and began brushing dirt and ash off of him. "Eric!"

He didn't respond. She cupped her hands, and they filled with water. She then poured the water over his face. He sputtered and coughed. His eyes fluttered open. "Kida?" he asked weakly. "Guys?"

Aladdin was still on his knees. "What happened?" he asked, not looking up.

"We were keeping watch and… oh, no! Jim!" Eric exclaimed. He scrambled to his feet and stumbled towards the fallen tree. Using his mind, he lifted the tree and pushed it away. "Jim! Jim, wake up!"

His friend didn't respond. A feeling of dread overcame Eric, and he fell to the ground, his strength gone. "Oh, no," he whispered, "this is all my fault!"

Kida, who had followed him, stepped forward. "Here," she said, and gently poured water over Jim's face. Jim sneezed, and shook his head.

"Jim?" Eric asked, hopeful.

Jim opened his eyes and looked around, then moved to get up. Kida helped him. "Are you all right?" she asked.

"I think so," he answered. "Who did this?"

Eric looked around at his friends. "Guys, we need a meeting. Now."

While Aladdin went to get Cinderella, Kida and Ariel helped everyone clean their scrapes and burns. Eric had more than anyone, and more severe, as well as a huge knot on his head. But they didn't hurt him as much as what he was about to tell his friends.