Destined: The Six

2. Who Is This Evil?

          Jeremiah wondered why exactly they would need pants. He supposed that it would be something frightening, like her revealing a villain that they hadn't been aware of because they were too concerned with the 2016 presidency or something, and he was going to destroy the world. The six teens had all gathered in a circle around Eden, the winged lady. Those who were not Jeremiah put Eden's gifted clothes on.

          They were all the same outfit--simply a white t-shirt and jeans. The only strange part was how white the shirts were. But that was enough of the unimportant stuff. Jeremiah wondered what was up with all of this. "I suppose you wonder what's up with all of this," Eden spoke, looking down at them. "The truth is, you are the Destined, born with special abilities to defeat all evil and save the world." That didn't exactly sound like the truth, but Jeremiah had no idea about anything anymore.

           "Heather, the mistress of life, Dylan, master of the ocean, Belle, mistress of blades, Tamara, mistress of fire, August, master of machines, and Jeremiah, master of shadow." Eden pointed to each teen in turn as she spoke their name. Jeremiah made a note that the silver-haired cheerleader-looking girl was Belle, and the one with chocolate skin and dark curly hair was Tamara. 

            "'Who is this evil?' I can hear you mentally scream," Eden continued. "This evil is a man of metal, a man of death, a man..."-Eden paused for dramatic effect-"...Named Castle." Castle sounded more like a man that would defend the Earth. Why would he attack it? Eden began describing Castle, talking about the deaths he's caused, the cities he's destroyed, and even went so far as to describe how powerful he could get. "...Horrible deaths to come," She finished. Eden also talked about the Destined before them and the ones after them, Eden being a Destined herself. Once Eden was done about all these horrible deaths to come, Dylan raised his hand. "Uh...Why us? Why should we stop him, and not some other 'Destined?'"

            Eden explained that the other Destined were not of age to combat such a powerful enemy as Castle. That worried Jeremiah. What if they weren't strong enough to fight Castle? Eden landed softly on the ground. "But fear not, for you, all together, can defeat him." Jeremiah immediately felt better about himself, as if he could beat Castle right now. Belle piped up a question. "Hey, you're a Destined, right? I mean, are you a mistress of the sky, or--"

            "Actually, I am the mistress of courage," Eden responded proudly. Her powers must have given Jeremiah that serious moxie that he felt moments ago. "A few years before, about six or so, I and five others fought the monstrosity known as Krak. A beast made of the flesh of his victims, he got stronger with each victory. Only two of us survived." Wait, only a few of them survived? That didn't necessarily bode well for anyone. Jeremiah looked around, speculating which of them would survive and which would die. "But I've never heard of Krak, or Castle, for that matter," August protested. "How do we know that you're not lying?"

             Eden seemed unfazed, as if she had asked that same question, six years or so before. "You will see in due time if I am telling the truth. Meanwhile, your families have forgotten who you are or if you even existed, and/or think that you are dead. The ones who believe you are dead have...varying reactions." Eden glanced at Tamara, which made Jeremiah wondered what bad day she had had. "You may begin speaking to each other now, I have things to prepare." Eden floated into the floor from whence she came. Jeremiah walked over to Tamara and asked her why Eden looked at her the way she did.

            Tamara didn't seem to bothered about him asking that question. He liked that quality in people--when they didn't care about how rude he was. "Apparently, I was a delinquent. Somehow, I was at crime scenes that I never went to, I beat up people I hadn't even seen, I bullied smaller girls that don't even go to my school, etc. I had never done any of that, but my teachers and classmates insisted that I did.

             "But my mom and dad totally bought it. They thought I was some sort of demon child, I don't know. It was bad enough that I had some sort of fiery powers, this delinquent stuff was just the icing on the evil cake. So they shipped me over to some 'correctional facility.' I've been there for the past few weeks, but the boys there harassed me today even more than usual. So imagine my surprise when I lock the seven locks on my door--the sergeants let me have my privacy--go to bed, and a dragon picks me up and flies me here."

             That sounded to Jeremiah like a seriously bad day. Tamara also explained that all of Heather's--The pretty blonde girl that had healed Jeremiah earlier--family's crops had died miraculously, so they had no way to feed themselves. "They didn't blame Heather, in fact, she was the one who fed them with her plant powers. Sweet, right?" Tamara said. Heather seemed like a great person to Jeremiah--always giving to those in need. Then Jeremiah asked about Belle, but Tamara shrugged. "Something about her parents divorcing and her inconsiderate mom shutting her out of the house?"

             Jeremiah had wondered why everyone had to have bad days before getting swooped up. couldn't they be good days? Jeremiah talked about his encounter with the Soulbeaters and the strange black wolf. Tamara didn't seem shocked. She just shook her head. Jeremiah then joined the boys as Dylan introduced him and August. He saw August whisper in Dylan's ear, glancing furtively at Belle, then Dylan elbowed him in the stomach. 

            Eden came out of her hole in the ground. "If you are ready to rid the world of evil, you may exit through this door." in the wall behind her, a large door opened.

              A giant golden lizard with wings--a dragon, Jeremiah thought--burst through the door.