The Ancient Guardians

The Ancient Guardians (Chapter 2)

THE ANCIENT GUARDIANS

Chapter 2

The next day I had quite a surprise at school. William wasn't there. A lot of little commentaries went on about this.

            "What did you do to him?"

            "He really isn't coming back."

            "I didn't think he meant it."

            "You really pushed him over the edge this time."

            What was this? One day I'm the hero and the other I'm the bad guy.  I had to stand up for myself. "He's probably just sick, or at a dentist appointment, he'll be back soon enough." But he didn't come back. Day after day, no William came. I was getting worried. Not about William but about what my classmates think of this. I was happy he was gone. The third day came and school went by with still no William. I was on my way back home. Suddenly, a guy walking in the direction opposite mine grabbed me hard by the shoulder and continued walking while dragging me as if I didn't weigh a thing. "Hey, what the hell's your problem?!" I said. I looked at him. He was tall and was wearing a great black cloak with a hood, not exactly into fashion, so all his features were hidden. As I was about to protest, he dragged me to an old brown car, probably from the 50s, and said: "Get in the car." and pushed me in the passenger seat. He got in the driver's seat right beside me. This was a time to protest. "Why are you bringing me here? Who are you? What do you want?" This was pretty straightforward but it did the trick since I got my answers.

            "I'm bringing you here because you must, if anyone asks, I'm your father and I want you to stay quiet."

            Not the answers I was looking for but it'll have to do. He had a very deep and projecting voice, like a radio announcer. I have to admit it's not every day you get suddenly dragged across the sidewalk and thrown in an old-fashioned car by some giant guy wearing a suspicious black cloak. I was getting really confused as to what was going to happen now. So, as is my habit in a moment of confusion, I kept flicking my lighter on and off while looking at the flame. Somehow it calms me down so I can organize my thoughts. He drove on to a place I had never been to before even though it was so close to where I live. I kept my trap shut the whole way too. It's not exactly my style but this guy looked like a guy you don't say no to. We were at a cliff side. There was a big cave in it too. He got out of the car and, assuming we were at the destination he wanted, so did I. The man turned me around to face him.

            "Alright, now I want you to listen very carefully for I won't be able to repeat it once you're inside."

            "Wait a minute! I have to go IN there?"

            "Yes, now shut up and let me talk!"

            No arguing there.

            "Once you're inside, you'll have to find the seven red crystals. They're very small, about two centimetres long and wide. After you've found them go to the room at the end of the tunnel and touch the symbol of fire."

            "Why am I the one that has to do this anyway? Why me? "

            "I thought I told you to shut up! You want to know why?” He pointed to the entrance of the cave. You see that cave?"

            "Of course, who wouldn't see it?"

            "Exactly! Everyone else wouldn't. Only our kind can see it." He lost me there. "You want more proof? Fine." He pulled out a small rock the size of a tennis ball. It was glowing red. "You see? It only does that when it's near you, take it."

            I did what he said and took it in my hands. "OW!" I dropped it instantly because it burned me; it was like a hot burning coal he would've just taken out of a fire.

"Now get in there. Oh! And you'll need this." He threw a weird stick that looked like an unlit medieval torch. "It'll light up as you go in. Now go."

            I took the stick and went in the cave. As I got in it went pitch-black. I couldn't see a thing. Then suddenly, the end of the stick, not the end I was holding thankfully, just lit up as if I had put some gas and a lit match on it. "Wow! How did..." As I turned around to ask the man this question I stopped dead. The entrance wasn't there; just a wall, covered with mold. I tapped it with my fingers to see if it was solid and did a few test-kicks on it too. It was real alright, my stubbed toe proved it. I thought I was in a dream. Maybe I'll wake up in my bed soon enough, might as well look for those red crystals while I'm at it too. This was a typical tunnel; A bit more than six feet high, no more than five feet wide and seemingly endless. The torch lit the way clear and gave me a bit of warmth as I kept a hand on the wall to keep me steady. After a few minutes I saw something on the cave floor, shining in the torchlight. I picked it up. It was like a small red diamond. I guess it was one of those red crystals. "Well, one down, six to go." As I went on, I noticed the farther I was in, the more the crystals were subtly hidden. The fourth one was embedded in the wall. I spent most of my time looking for the seventh one, which was embedded deep in the ceiling of the cave so that only the tip peeked out. Now that I had the seven crystals I could finally go to the end of the cave. I checked my watch with the torch and noticed it had been almost 4 hours I was in here. Man, does time pass quickly when you're looking for something. I ran to the end of the cave. I had been running for ten minutes when I suddenly tripped on something on the floor. I twisted myself in the air and fell on my shoulder (better than my face anyway). I yelled in pain a bit and, clutching my aching shoulder, took a look at what I had tripped on. It was a half buried rock that had been unburied when I had tripped over it, which left a small hole in the ground. As I picked up the torch and got up I saw something in the hole; another red crystal, a bit bigger than the others. "An eighth crystal, hadn't that man said seven crystals?" Yet here it was. Maybe it wasn't part of the seven red crystals, it was a bit bigger. Maybe it was just a normal red diamond...or not. I decided to keep it for good luck. I finally got to the end of the cave. It was a big circular room, much bigger than that tunnel. At the far end of that room was a big engraving of a symbol of fire; like the medieval people used, very simple. That man had said I needed to touch it once I had the seven red crystals, and, as I said before: since he's a guy you just don't say no to, that's what I did. A burning feeling ran through my arm like a stream and spread to the rest of my body as I touched the symbol, fast as lightning. I felt my feet leave the ground. I opened my mouth to scream off the pain but no sound came. My vision blurred and became orange and dancing, like fire, then it went white. There was one last pulse of the energy inside me and then I blacked out.