I feel the presence before I see it.
I'm lying with my eyes closed when I feel a coldness sweep over me. It sends shivers down my spine, causing me to open my eyes so I can see what the cause is. When I see the person sitting next to me, I almost scream.
Then I realize I know this person—it's Angel.
Angel smiles at me and explains, "I'm here in spirit form, don't worry."
I sigh. "Do you know how dangerous this is?" I whisper to him. "They know you exist now, Angel! If they manage to find you...and capture you..."
Angel nods in understanding. "Don't worry," he assures me, "I won't get caught. I won't stay long, anyways, I just...I wanna talk."
I raise my eyebrows in surprise. "Did you and Daemon fight again?" I ask as I sit up. Angel nods, and I say, "Ugh, you guys never get along. Well, it's nice having someone that doesn't hate me to talk to, so tell me: What was it this time?"
Angel shrugs. "Nothing, really," he mumbles. "I just kinda...tried to kill...the Fire Elementalist..."
My eyes widen. "No," I whisper in anger, "you did not. What the heck were you thinking, Angel?!"
"I dunno," Angel mutters. "I tried to choke him, but Daemon pulled me away. I tried to stab him...Miss Emma stopped me. She put a force field around him." His eyes fill with tears that I know he won't shed, and he says, "I...I'm so sorry, Robin... I never...I never wanted to do those things...I... What's wrong with me, Robin? Why am I so filled with hatred? I have to get justice for Xander and Mother, but...but I don't want to hurt you...or anyone else..."
I try to hug Angel to comfort him, but my arms pass right through him, and I remember that he's here in spirit form. I stare down at the floor in silence until Angel says, "I'm worried because of the Prophecy."
I jump to my feet and give a small yelp. "You know about that?!" I hiss. "Do the others? Please tell me that not all of them are coming to save me...! They'll all get caught and killed! I just have to wait for my arm to heal before I'll be able to break out of here. If just Cooper came, he could heal my arm—the Plant Elementalist has almost always had that ability."
Angel ignores my statement and whispers, "The others are already on their way here. They left for the airport a few hours ago. They'll be here by tomorrow morning."
"No," I whisper, "I don't want them to get hurt because of me..." I squeeze my eyes shut and make a snap decision. "Don't let more than three come." I remember Mark's vision and add, "You're not allowed to come if Mark comes, either. Just trust me on that part."
Angel tilts his head at the last part, but then he nods and says, "I'll tell the others."
"So," I ask, trying to change the subject, "where is your physical body right now?"
Angel frowns. "On an airplane," he mumbles, "against my will. Daemon used some kind of chloroform or some other crap to knock me out, and I thought I'd come visit you while I was in spirit form and all."
"It's been awhile since I've seen you and Daemon," I say as I recall old memories. "I've missed you both."
Angel's eyes widen as if he's recalling something, and he blurts, "The Prophecy said that Time has returned!"
I collapse to the ground in shock, and begun to babble, "T-Time?! Angel...Time can't have... If Time's really back... We're...all gonna die... She's going to... Time will destroy all that I hold dear..."
Angel looks me in the eyes and states, "It all makes sense now, though. The government is kidnapping us to fight Time, aren't they?"
I let the realization of Angel's words sink in and reply, "I think so... Angel, we can't fight Time! She's merciless! If you make her your enemy, she'll eliminate you..."
Angel points at my gym shorts and says, "Look in your pocket. The final part of the Prophecy is in there. The entire Prophecy is in there."
I do as he says, and I find a clip of paper in my pocket. I pull it out and read it aloud,
"'Seven children of six elements
And two of darkness.
Both must find the light inside
Or the world is at risk.
The boy of death and the boy of spirit,
The boy of snow who lost everything to fire,
The boy of ash who lost everything to time itself.
They warn of a traitor in the midst of it all.'
'The controller of Time, returning at last,
The end is coming, and the traitor is the cause.
The Light's aren't always good,
The Dark's aren't always bad,
For in the coming War,
They will need each other.'
'Time is here and says,
The world must turn to ash.
The Elementalists one by one
They will perish.
Against the strongest Elementalist there is and ever will be:
The Elementalist of Time.
Their only hope remains on the shoulders of
The boy of Fire, the weakest of the group,
And the will of the Leader, the one who protects them all.'"
My heart sinks as I read the words written on the paper. "This says that all of my friends will die in a so-called Apocalypse unless we stop it," I whisper. "Angel, what are we gonna do? We can't defeat Time..." I read the last sentence and ask, "And who would the strongest and weakest person of us all be? That makes no sense..."
Angel shrugs. "I dunno, Miss," he says. I glare at him, and he says, "Sorry, I meant Robin. Sorry, Robin, but I don't know what the Prophecy's talking about."
I frown. "I can't just let them die, Angel...," I mumble. "I...I won't let them die. Their lives are in my hands, and.... Angel, they entrusted me with their lives. I can't—I won't—let them die."
Angel blinks, and asks quietly, "Robin, are you saying...?"
I nod. "We have to find a way to defeat Time," I reply, a shiver running down my spine. We have to defeat the person who has survived three centuries of war without aging a year in appearance.
Angel shakes his head, his eyes wide, and blurts out, "Robin, that's impossible! Time could just make you all disappear!" He chokes out, "I can't lose you, too, Robin. You and Daemon are all I have left..."
I reach out to put my hand on the boy's shoulder, but pull it back as I remember that he's in spirit form. I sigh and say, "Angel, I don't want to die, but if it means the others will live, I'm prepared to give my life up for theirs. I won't let my friends die. I never want to see a friend of mine suffer or die again."
Angel lowers his eyes to the ground and whispers, "Kane's death was about as horrible as deaths can get."
I nod, remembering the boy's smiling face, and memories begin to surface.
Kane laughing, his green eyes bright compared to the dull gray around us...
Kane meeting Angel for the first time after finding out what I could do...
Kane discovering that he was Daemon's deceased cousin's son, his shaggy black hair suddenly looking very similar to Daemon's own...
Kane screaming in rage as the government agents try to kidnap me...
Kane charging at them as they try to get me into the car...
Kane getting shot in the stomach as he charges to save me...
Agent Ralph grabbing Kane by his shirt collar and pulling out his own gun...
Agent Ralph shooting Kane in the chest multiple times...
Kane's final words of, "Don't let the others die like this, Robin... Save...them..."
Kane's eyes glazing over, and Agent Ralph throwing his body into the van...
Daemon suddenly appearing behind a hysterical me, pulling me away and telling me to kill the government men...
Me refusing, and knocking them all unconscious with powers that I have conjured up by rage and hysterical sorrow—an earthquake with a magnitude of five...
I shake the thoughts out of my head, and say, "Kane shouldn't have died... If I had just killed or knocked the government men unconscious before he charged, he's be alive right now! If I had killed Agent Ralph back then, then none of this would be happening right now, and all of my friends and I would be safe. It's all my fault, Angel..."
Angel glares at me and snaps, "It is not your fault, Robin! You couldn't have killed them if you'd tried, because you weren't old enough to know how to control your powers back then! Plus, even if you could've killed them, you wouldn't have! You're too kindhearted to kill anyone, Robin."
I turn away from Angel, and mumble, "Thanks, Angel, but I'll still always blame myself."
Angel sighs. "Okay, Robin," he says, "if that's how you're going to be. Just know that he thought of you as his little sister, and he loved you to pieces."
I nod. "Yeah," I mumble, "I know." He was only thirteen years old though... He didn't have to die...
We both sit in silence for the next few minutes, refusing to look one another in the eye. The awkward silence grows to an uncomfortable silence, and I'm about to say something to break the silence, when I hear Angel speak.
"Robin, listen to me," Angel whispers, his voice firm but tinged with sadness. "I came here today to tell you that the others are coming, but I also wanted to talk to you just in case... In case my vision came true."
"What vision?" I ask, remembering Mark telling me about his vision of Angel jumping in front of him.
Angel ignores my question and says, "If... if something happens, Robin... I just wanted to say thank you. Thank you for being my closest friend for the past several years. And I wanted to tell you that I'm sorry. I'm sorry, Robin."
I blink, confused, and ask, "Angel, what're you saying?"
Angel shakes his head. He looks behind him and chokes out, "I have to go now. Good-bye, Robin. Thank you..."
Angel's spirit begins to fade, and then it completely disappears as it dissipates into thin air. I sit in silence, refusing to believe what I'm beginning to think is true.
Did Angel have the same vision that Mark did? I wonder. Did Angel foresee his own death? Is that why he came to visit me?
I shake my head, telling myself that there's no way that could've happened. Visions almost never show the "seer's" near-death, unless...
...Unless the seer is receiving the warning and a chance to change fate.
A chance to save whoever would die in their place.
That means that Angel's going to die, I think in horror. No, no, this can't happen. It won't happen; Angel won't die. Angel can't die...he's too fast. If they can't catch Angel, then they can't hurt him...
Although I assure myself that everything will work out and that Angel will be okay, my feeling of uneasiness only continues to grow. Thoughts of, "What if..." continue to cross my mind over and over, and I feel as if I'm on the verge of insanity.
Calm down, I tell myself. Just calm down, you're overreacting.
I decide to close my eyes and think, but it doesn't take long before I begin to drift off. The last thoughts to go through my mind before I lose consciousness are, I can't lose Angel.
I can't lose one of my best friends...
When I open my eyes, I hear the voices of government agents, deep in conversation. My first instinct is to eavesdrop, and so I do. I notice that they're arguing about something, and then one of the voices—which I believe belongs to Agent Ralph—says, "Look, I don't care if they're kids. If they dare to invade this base, we have to shoot them. We can't risk any information leaking out, Tu."
The other agent's voice—which I now know belongs to a female Agent named Tu—replies, "They're just kids, Ralph. Plus, our orders were to capture them alive, and once we had the ones we needed, we were to commence our attack. Without these kids, the country will fall. The whole world could fall if she—!"
Agent Ralph cuts her off. "We need offense and defense," he snaps. "That would mean that we'd need fire and air, which means that we need the two cousins—or Robin."
"Hasn't that girl been through enough?" Tu asks, her voice full of pity. "She just wants to protect her friends, Ralph. Let her do that. Maybe, if you just talked to them, they'd help us. I'm positive they would if we told them how high the stakes are!"
I hear Agent Ralph sigh. "Look, Tu, I know that they're just kids. I know that they'd help us of their own free will if we told them why we needed their help. The issue is that we also need to figure out how the hell these kids are able to control the elements."
"Why question it?" Tu snaps. "It wasn't their choice whether they control them or not! You people...ugh!"
I hear Tu's footsteps as she stomps away, and I can tell that she's frustrated at Agent Ralph. I can't help but smile at the fact that a government agent actually defended us, though.
"Their abilities seem to take awhile to activate," I hear Agent Ralph mumble to himself. "The abilities activate between ages eight and fourteen... It used to be between ages six and twelve... I wonder if Time has something to do with this..."
I shudder at the mention of the title the girl was given. Time. Nobody knows the girl's real name, so she's always been called Time, ever since anyone I know can remember. I don't really know much about Time, but I do know that she's neither a Dark or Light Elementalist—she's just pure evil. Daemon said that she used to be kind, but something happened to her that changed her.
That something severed Daemon and Time's friendship, forever. Daemon refuses to even speak of her nowadays.
I move my body so that I sit with my back pressed against the wall. I want to be ready to fight when my friends get here; if we don't get out of here fast then we won't manage to escape at all.
I make sure that the sitting position I'm in is comfortable, and then I prepare to wait the—what could be, anyways—long hours before my friends will arrive.
It's my job to make sure that they all escape with their lives from this place, after all.