The Arisen

Chapter 4

Suddenly the future seemed to be rather intense to the six teens. Before beginning any reasonable training, Menalarius wanted them to conduct a minor assault. He also expected it to be done this very day, which also happened to be only one day after the six first met each other.

"Will you be accompanying us?" Quintiles asked.

"You six will be going on your own," Menalarius answered, "My older state will only slow you down. This strike needs to be quick and quiet."

"If you say so..." Leander said, sighing.

A loud, powerful knocking was suddenly heard from the main door of the villa.

"Open in the name of Zeus and King Proximos!"

Menalarius narrowed his eyes at the sudden disturbance. He was not expecting something like this. It was more surprising to him how Metrissans could find their way around the men he hired to watch over the villa.

"And that..." Cleo said with a grimace, "Must be my parents."

"What?!" Leander shouted, evidently irritated.

"My...my uncle is a senior officer for one of the Metrissan regiments. My family has strong connections with my uncle, so they probably have some influence in how the regiment operates."

"Hooray for your uncle," Hyphesia said sarcastically.

"Look, I'm sorry!"

"It's alright," Pollux said, "It's not your fault. I think we should all just find a place to hide as soon as possible, though."

"If they're soldiers, they're better equipped right now for a fight," Leander said anxiously.

"All of you just find a place to hide!" Menalarius snapped, "I'll answer the door."

The six teens immediately exited the room through the door by which Menalarius always entered the room. They were all hoping that the villa provided some ample hiding spots.

"I've always wondered what was this way," Pollux said as the six ran.

"I can't find any good hiding place!" Leander said, looking around.

"How about that door?" Hyphesia said, pointing at a wooden door to the left, "Looks safe enough."

Leander tried shoving the door, but it wouldn't budge.

"It's locked!" he said, panting from both exhaustion and anxiety, "Now what?!"

"Leave it to me..." Pollux said, giving a powerful kick to the door.

The door immediately flew open, revealing a dark, unlit room. The others stared with awe at Pollux, who merely shrugged and led the way into the room. As soon as all six were in, they tried to examine the room. The darkness made it hard to see their surroundings, but they could tell it was a small room.

"Somebody prop something against the door!" Leander ordered while searching for a possible source of light.

Phoebus quickly pushed a wooden table he found against the shut door.

"Is that seriously the best thing you could find?" Leander asked, still trying his best to search through the darkness.

"Unless you're okay with me propping you against the door, yeah," Phoebus replied, frowning.

Leander exhaled deeply and searched room's dusty floor. He was fortunate enough to somehow spot a small piece of flint lying on the ground. Using the sparks from the flint and the metal door handle, he lit a candle which he found on another table.