"John?" I said. He looked a little surprised to see me.
"Yeah?" I was speechless. I looked over his shoulder in his room.
"Um… listen… I know this is going to sound crazy… but…" I looked at him. I had to tell him, "I think there's someone in your room. Someone… dangerous." He looked at me.
"What makes you think that?"
"Look, I just get these feelings…" John raised an eyebrow. "You don't believe me?'
"Those are the most words I've heard you say all year in one hour. That's got to mean you're serious. I'll be careful. Now get to bed before I whoop your butt." Now he was serious. Not the kind of big brother whoops your butt, but literally. He slammed the door in my face. I flinched, surprised and…. Baffled. I just stood there dumbfounded for a while. What the heck was going on? The food. The drinks. No doubt they were drugged. Great. Had they drugged everyone in my group? I went back to my door, opened it and walked through. As I closed the door, I felt movement behind me. Instantly the feeling of fear and surprise burst through my body. I spun around, and ducked a knife swiping just seconds where my head had been. I pulled back, grabbing the lamp on the desk, and thrust is at the person. When I regained my balance, I got a good look at the intruder…. Or intruders. The one, who had swiped at me, was Chuck. MY group member. And the other two… Matt and Chase. The next oldest in my group. What was going on?
"Did they drug you all?" I spat. Chuck chuckled.
"Drug us? You kidding? We've been planning this for months." He said, and charged at me. What did I tell you before? I had secrets. Secrets mean that no one knew them. Meaning Chuck and the rest didn't know. So when I dodged his knife and elbowed him in the spine in one move, they were all surprised. I wasn't exactly one that could be taken down easy. Chuck turned around swiping the knife. I grabbed his wrist, and swung him into the other two. Matt was able to dodge and came charging at me. I grabbed his arm and squatted down, using his momentum to throw him over me into the wall. He hit with a loud thud, and scrambled to his feet. I knew there was another one behind me, and I still on the floor. So I spun on my knee and kicked my leg out, gutting Chase in the stomach. His hand was upraised with a knife, in a frozen and painful expression on his face. I bust up, nailing him under the chin with my fist. Fe flew up and backwards, and landed on the bed.
"So you were PLANNING to kill me?" I asked outraged. "Why?"
"Why know what you have. Those two precious charms you always finger. They're worth more then you think." Chuck said standing up. They all did. They all stood up and advanced. No problem. They charged. Two swung, I blocked both and snaked my arm around there's, bending the elbow in the wrong way. I kicked the third in the chest, and then threw the two swingers into each other. But Chuck was up and at it again. I jumped and spun. My foot caught him in the collar bone. No crack, but really, if I wanted to hear a bone break… I knew how to get it.
"More then I think?" I hissed, "Oh no. I know EXACTLY what these stones are. The question is, do you know what they allow me to do to YOU?" I asked, my eyes lit with a fire so long ago put out. I had only known these guys for a couple of weeks, so when my fist hit, I didn't feel too bad. But these people I had almost began to trust, and now it was turning around. That hurt. Yeah, it had happened many times, so you would think I would get use to it. But it always hurt. They all charged now, a little slower. I ran straight at them, ramming my elbow in one. I used the second as a wall and walked up, making a perfect back flip behind the third. I kicked hard, hearing the pop of a spine. They all fell down, groaning. I fingered my knives I almost had to use, but… being me, I didn't. These guys weren't exactly a threat to me any more. I heard the door open, and I turned around. John stood in the doorway. Boy did he have guts. He looked a completely startled face, around the room. He saw the three lying on the ground, groaning, and bruised. Then he looked at me. He never knew I had such fighting power. But I had more. Oh I had much more. John's eyes narrowed, and he pulled up a sleeve. He put two fingers to his lips, and blew. High pitch and loud. I've heard that before. It was to get the group together fast. Now I heard the stomping, and the suddenly the rest of the group was behind him. After hearing they wanted to kill me, I was in no mood to mess around. The knives slid into my hands, and I spun them around. This was going to be tough. But if it got to tough, to hard, I knew what to do. My eyes flared, and John tensed, ready to leap into the room. Just as they were about to charge, something, a blur, came from outside in the hallway. It rammed into the group, and they all went down like dominos. The blur was suddenly in my room, and closing the door. I went for the new threat. My knife was set on his throat, and I bit back heavy words as I realized who it was. The boy. The boy who gave me the ring. Still wearing his colorful mask. The boy didn't move, as he felt the cold knife on his skin. "What are you doing here?" I hissed.
"Nothing more then what you finished with them." He said, jabbing a thumb at the boys on the ground, "Honestly, I didn't think you'd have the guts, but you actually dragged em down."
"What do you want?" I asked, getting louder as I heard the boys outside trying to open the door.
"You need to get out of here. I know the way."
"Why you? Why not anybody else in this hotel? The old man said everybody is trained to protect."
"That's why you need me. Cause everybody else is trained to kill you." He said. I pressed he knife harder.
"Why am I supposed to believe you?"
"Why else would your group bring you to a place where its manager, who's almost sixty, can beat them up by himself? They ain't that dumb." He said. He was right. But it could still be a trap. I moved my hand around his neck, underneath the mask.
"Answer me this: can I trust you?" I said, concentrating at the same time.
"Yes." He said quietly. His pulse under my hand didn't speed. He was telling the truth. I pulled my mind from his throat, along with my hand and knife. He instantly jumped into action. He found the mirror and opened the tunnel. When we got to the fork, he took the one to the dead end. Was I wrong? Could I not trust him? But when he got there, I began to feel the stone around me. It wasn't real. He pushed through it like water. I starred for a second, before doing the same. I sank down, maybe three levels, incredibly fast. When I came back out of the goo, the boy was fighting off his own partners. Ok, NOW I could trust him. I stood back and watched as this kid actually took on four of these skilled men. They were down in a few minutes, leaving the boy with a simple scratch on his chest. He grabbed my arm and ran. We avoided a few men, and took corners and sharp turns. We were suddenly in the middle of the hotel. Something I didn't remember being this big. It was a large room, with no roof so the sunlight shined in and warmed my skin. The floor was dirt and rocks, and in the center… was a giant old willow tree. I smiled, as I touched it. It was old, but it had plenty of energy. Men in masks spilled in the room, and the boy fought them off best he could. But he was taken down. I tried to help him out, as the swords came down.
"No!" he yelled at me. I stopped. They picked the boy up, held his arms firmly behind him, and held a long sword to his throat. His eyes were blank. Clouded and dark. I frowned.
"Give up!" hissed the man with the sword to the boy's neck. "You'll never win! You put a finger on one of us… you'll go down… with the boy." I looked at him again. The eyes behind the mask. There was so much more to him. So much more to those deep brown eyes. It was then that I realized that this boy put his life on the line for mine. And he hardly knew me. He was willing to do anything to get me out of here. And get this… I actually TRUSTED him to do it! Do you think I was going to let, the first person I trust, but killed? Well, I hope you said no. I stepped forward. "AH!" the man yelled, "Lay one finger on us…" He stopped. One because his eyes behind his mask caught mine. A blaze with a new fire. A new anger and excitement. A dangerous flame. A sly smile crept across my face, and my eyes began to glow white. The green leaf on my necklace got hot, and heavier.
"Oh… I'm not going to touch you at all." I said. I jerked my arms up beside me. The tree behind me flashed alive. The vines stretched and the tree got much taller as I poured my magic into it. The vines wrapped around the men, knocking them over, strangling them, tangling them in its roots. The whole tree swayed as I switched weight on my left foot. Then I threw my arms out at the boy and the men holding him. The vines bolted out and knocked the men way, and curled firmly around the boy. More curled around my waist. I pored my magic in them… more and more. SO much had been made and none of it used until now. The tree now towered over me, and I threw my hands up. Me and the boy were suddenly lifted upwards, and into the air. The ground dropped under our feet, and the air rushed around us. Up, up, up, and into the sky I had me and the boy set delicately on the roof of the hotel. I pulled my magic out of the tree… or what was left of it. The willow refused to go back to its normal state, so refreshed and thankful for the stretch. Without looking at the boy, we both took off across the roof. I picked up my feet, trying not to trip. The boy was like a feather… a fast one… never missing a step on the rough roof. His mask was the blank look I'm sure was on his face. But when I saw his eyes…. I tripped. They weren't blank. They were… different. I couldn't tell. So thrilled, so excited so brilliant in color… so gorgeous! I blinked, unable to believe what I had just thought. Here I was in the middle of a fight, and I was thinking about some strange boys eyes. Suddenly, we were at the end of the hotel… the edge of the roof. I looked behind me… I could sense the men coming up to the roof. I turned back to the boy.
"What, this is the end?" I asked, "Party, fight, run, the end? What were you expecting to get out of here?"
"It was a detour I didn't exactly expect… the roof and all." He said. I remembered. It was only a few seconds ago. The tree suddenly coming alive. "Come on." He grabbed my arm and jumped, pulling me with him. The roof was jerked from out free, and we were thrown into nothing but air. It was rushing by us, quickly. We were falling. The freak boy got us both off the roof my jumping. The freak! But right before we hit the ground… the air came up harder, breaking our fall. We slowed and were set gently on the ground. I blinked. No way. I looked at the boy. He was breathing hard, sweat dripping form his body, the eyes behind the mask now dark. He turned back to the building. "They'll follow us… we have to trap em inside somehow." My eyes wondered to the ground, and my eyes lit. When my blazing eyes met hit, I set his aflame. He knew I had an idea. The second charm began to glow. The tan brown one. It was heavier then the first and it actually glowed with a light I had never seen. I set my hand on the building, and pored my magic in it. Every stone was flooded with the copper flame in my mind. I put more and more, filling every space I could find. I crammed and smashed as much as I could into the hotel. I opened my eyes, and took a few long seconds to step back, out of the way. The boy followed, curious what I had done. The charm was still glowing, and the heat began to warm my chest. I lifted my hands, and the building groaned, and rumbled. A sly smile came across my face, and I jerked my hands down and behind me. The building… collapsed. Literally, just dropped to the ground. The sound echoed and a huge cloud of dust exploded all around it. I set my hands down, when the sound stopped. I turned to the boy, still smiling. Even with his colorful mask, he could not hide the surprise. His eyes betrayed him.
"Well…" he said, rasping for breath, "That was fun. What's next
"John?" I said. He looked a little surprised to see me.
"Yeah?" I was speechless. I looked over his shoulder in his room.
"Um… listen… I know this is going to sound crazy… but…" I looked at him. I had to tell him, "I think there's someone in your room. Someone… dangerous." He looked at me.
"What makes you think that?"
"Look, I just get these feelings…" John raised an eyebrow. "You don't believe me?'
"Those are the most words I've heard you say all year in one hour. That's got to mean you're serious. I'll be careful. Now get to bed before I whoop your butt." Now he was serious. Not the kind of big brother whoops your butt, but literally. He slammed the door in my face. I flinched, surprised and…. Baffled. I just stood there dumbfounded for a while. What the heck was going on? The food. The drinks. No doubt they were drugged. Great. Had they drugged everyone in my group? I went back to my door, opened it and walked through. As I closed the door, I felt movement behind me. Instantly the feeling of fear and surprise burst through my body. I spun around, and ducked a knife swiping just seconds where my head had been. I pulled back, grabbing the lamp on the desk, and thrust is at the person. When I regained my balance, I got a good look at the intruder…. Or intruders. The one, who had swiped at me, was Chuck. MY group member. And the other two… Matt and Chase. The next oldest in my group. What was going on?
"Did they drug you all?" I spat. Chuck chuckled.
"Drug us? You kidding? We've been planning this for months." He said, and charged at me. What did I tell you before? I had secrets. Secrets mean that no one knew them. Meaning Chuck and the rest didn't know. So when I dodged his knife and elbowed him in the spine in one move, they were all surprised. I wasn't exactly one that could be taken down easy. Chuck turned around swiping the knife. I grabbed his wrist, and swung him into the other two. Matt was able to dodge and came charging at me. I grabbed his arm and squatted down, using his momentum to throw him over me into the wall. He hit with a loud thud, and scrambled to his feet. I knew there was another one behind me, and I still on the floor. So I spun on my knee and kicked my leg out, gutting Chase in the stomach. His hand was upraised with a knife, in a frozen and painful expression on his face. I bust up, nailing him under the chin with my fist. Fe flew up and backwards, and landed on the bed.
"So you were PLANNING to kill me?" I asked outraged. "Why?"
"Why know what you have. Those two precious charms you always finger. They're worth more then you think." Chuck said standing up. They all did. They all stood up and advanced. No problem. They charged. Two swung, I blocked both and snaked my arm around there's, bending the elbow in the wrong way. I kicked the third in the chest, and then threw the two swingers into each other. But Chuck was up and at it again. I jumped and spun. My foot caught him in the collar bone. No crack, but really, if I wanted to hear a bone break… I knew how to get it.
"More then I think?" I hissed, "Oh no. I know EXACTLY what these stones are. The question is, do you know what they allow me to do to YOU?" I asked, my eyes lit with a fire so long ago put out. I had only known these guys for a couple of weeks, so when my fist hit, I didn't feel too bad. But these people I had almost began to trust, and now it was turning around. That hurt. Yeah, it had happened many times, so you would think I would get use to it. But it always hurt. They all charged now, a little slower. I ran straight at them, ramming my elbow in one. I used the second as a wall and walked up, making a perfect back flip behind the third. I kicked hard, hearing the pop of a spine. They all fell down, groaning. I fingered my knives I almost had to use, but… being me, I didn't. These guys weren't exactly a threat to me any more. I heard the door open, and I turned around. John stood in the doorway. Boy did he have guts. He looked a completely startled face, around the room. He saw the three lying on the ground, groaning, and bruised. Then he looked at me. He never knew I had such fighting power. But I had more. Oh I had much more. John's eyes narrowed, and he pulled up a sleeve. He put two fingers to his lips, and blew. High pitch and loud. I've heard that before. It was to get the group together fast. Now I heard the stomping, and the suddenly the rest of the group was behind him. After hearing they wanted to kill me, I was in no mood to mess around. The knives slid into my hands, and I spun them around. This was going to be tough. But if it got to tough, to hard, I knew what to do. My eyes flared, and John tensed, ready to leap into the room. Just as they were about to charge, something, a blur, came from outside in the hallway. It rammed into the group, and they all went down like dominos. The blur was suddenly in my room, and closing the door. I went for the new threat. My knife was set on his throat, and I bit back heavy words as I realized who it was. The boy. The boy who gave me the ring. Still wearing his colorful mask. The boy didn't move, as he felt the cold knife on his skin. "What are you doing here?" I hissed.
"Nothing more then what you finished with them." He said, jabbing a thumb at the boys on the ground, "Honestly, I didn't think you'd have the guts, but you actually dragged em down."
"What do you want?" I asked, getting louder as I heard the boys outside trying to open the door.
"You need to get out of here. I know the way."
"Why you? Why not anybody else in this hotel? The old man said everybody is trained to protect."
"That's why you need me. Cause everybody else is trained to kill you." He said. I pressed he knife harder.
"Why am I supposed to believe you?"
"Why else would your group bring you to a place where its manager, who's almost sixty, can beat them up by himself? They ain't that dumb." He said. He was right. But it could still be a trap. I moved my hand around his neck, underneath the mask.
"Answer me this: can I trust you?" I said, concentrating at the same time.
"Yes." He said quietly. His pulse under my hand didn't speed. He was telling the truth. I pulled my mind from his throat, along with my hand and knife. He instantly jumped into action. He found the mirror and opened the tunnel. When we got to the fork, he took the one to the dead end. Was I wrong? Could I not trust him? But when he got there, I began to feel the stone around me. It wasn't real. He pushed through it like water. I starred for a second, before doing the same. I sank down, maybe three levels, incredibly fast. When I came back out of the goo, the boy was fighting off his own partners. Ok, NOW I could trust him. I stood back and watched as this kid actually took on four of these skilled men. They were down in a few minutes, leaving the boy with a simple scratch on his chest. He grabbed my arm and ran. We avoided a few men, and took corners and sharp turns. We were suddenly in the middle of the hotel. Something I didn't remember being this big. It was a large room, with no roof so the sunlight shined in and warmed my skin. The floor was dirt and rocks, and in the center… was a giant old willow tree. I smiled, as I touched it. It was old, but it had plenty of energy. Men in masks spilled in the room, and the boy fought them off best he could. But he was taken down. I tried to help him out, as the swords came down.
"No!" he yelled at me. I stopped. They picked the boy up, held his arms firmly behind him, and held a long sword to his throat. His eyes were blank. Clouded and dark. I frowned.
"Give up!" hissed the man with the sword to the boy's neck. "You'll never win! You put a finger on one of us… you'll go down… with the boy." I looked at him again. The eyes behind the mask. There was so much more to him. So much more to those deep brown eyes. It was then that I realized that this boy put his life on the line for mine. And he hardly knew me. He was willing to do anything to get me out of here. And get this… I actually TRUSTED him to do it! Do you think I was going to let, the first person I trust, but killed? Well, I hope you said no. I stepped forward. "AH!" the man yelled, "Lay one finger on us…" He stopped. One because his eyes behind his mask caught mine. A blaze with a new fire. A new anger and excitement. A dangerous flame. A sly smile crept across my face, and my eyes began to glow white. The green leaf on my necklace got hot, and heavier.
"Oh… I'm not going to touch you at all." I said. I jerked my arms up beside me. The tree behind me flashed alive. The vines stretched and the tree got much taller as I poured my magic into it. The vines wrapped around the men, knocking them over, strangling them, tangling them in its roots. The whole tree swayed as I switched weight on my left foot. Then I threw my arms out at the boy and the men holding him. The vines bolted out and knocked the men way, and curled firmly around the boy. More curled around my waist. I pored my magic in them… more and more. SO much had been made and none of it used until now. The tree now towered over me, and I threw my hands up. Me and the boy were suddenly lifted upwards, and into the air. The ground dropped under our feet, and the air rushed around us. Up, up, up, and into the sky I had me and the boy set delicately on the roof of the hotel. I pulled my magic out of the tree… or what was left of it. The willow refused to go back to its normal state, so refreshed and thankful for the stretch. Without looking at the boy, we both took off across the roof. I picked up my feet, trying not to trip. The boy was like a feather… a fast one… never missing a step on the rough roof. His mask was the blank look I'm sure was on his face. But when I saw his eyes…. I tripped. They weren't blank. They were… different. I couldn't tell. So thrilled, so excited so brilliant in color… so gorgeous! I blinked, unable to believe what I had just thought. Here I was in the middle of a fight, and I was thinking about some strange boys eyes. Suddenly, we were at the end of the hotel… the edge of the roof. I looked behind me… I could sense the men coming up to the roof. I turned back to the boy.
"What, this is the end?" I asked, "Party, fight, run, the end? What were you expecting to get out of here?"
"It was a detour I didn't exactly expect… the roof and all." He said. I remembered. It was only a few seconds ago. The tree suddenly coming alive. "Come on." He grabbed my arm and jumped, pulling me with him. The roof was jerked from out free, and we were thrown into nothing but air. It was rushing by us, quickly. We were falling. The freak boy got us both off the roof my jumping. The freak! But right before we hit the ground… the air came up harder, breaking our fall. We slowed and were set gently on the ground. I blinked. No way. I looked at the boy. He was breathing hard, sweat dripping form his body, the eyes behind the mask now dark. He turned back to the building. "They'll follow us… we have to trap em inside somehow." My eyes wondered to the ground, and my eyes lit. When my blazing eyes met hit, I set his aflame. He knew I had an idea. The second charm began to glow. The tan brown one. It was heavier then the first and it actually glowed with a light I had never seen. I set my hand on the building, and pored my magic in it. Every stone was flooded with the copper flame in my mind. I put more and more, filling every space I could find. I crammed and smashed as much as I could into the hotel. I opened my eyes, and took a few long seconds to step back, out of the way. The boy followed, curious what I had done. The charm was still glowing, and the heat began to warm my chest. I lifted my hands, and the building groaned, and rumbled. A sly smile came across my face, and I jerked my hands down and behind me. The building… collapsed. Literally, just dropped to the ground. The sound echoed and a huge cloud of dust exploded all around it. I set my hands down, when the sound stopped. I turned to the boy, still smiling. Even with his colorful mask, he could not hide the surprise. His eyes betrayed him.
"Well…" he said, rasping for breath, "That was fun."