The storm clouds were coming closer the icy rain cascading onto the hard stone ground outside the school. Inside, Sarah, Rachel, John and Mike were watching the incoming storm nervously. It was not the rain, the thunder or even the lightning that made them nervous, it was what was in the storm cloud that was scaring them, they knew the guardian was causing the storm, swirling the clouds around him concealing himself, his icy spear in hand.

It was after school hours the four were in detention again but this time it wasn’t because of johns big mouth or Rachel’s refusal to sit still it was because there pe teacher Mr. woods hated all four of them, for the rather good reason that mike had humiliated him in front of the entire school by beating him in tennis, since then the coach would actively look to put him in detention. John, Sarah and Rachel would then deliberately misbehave during his lesson so that they could be in detention together, however he was so stupid that he had not figured out there plan, nor had he figured out how important they were and what they could do.


Mike had discovered his power when he was just five years old he had been drawing a picture of a cat nothing special just the basic shape and colour of one when he was finished he signed his name as he had been taught to do that day in school it started to glow blue as the colour intensified and brightened mike ran out of the room screaming unfortunately his mum had gone down to the shops to get some food. Soon blue light was seeping through the cracks in the door then without warning the blue light suddenly vanished, curiosity won out over fear eventually and he went back into the room. There was no sign of the mysterious light, he looked at the table and to his dismay found his drawing was gone, something moved behind him, he whirled around fear in his eyes. To his surprise and confusion he found a tabby cat just like the one he had drawn, experimentally he stroked it the fur was defiantly real he sat down at the table and tried to draw a dog when he had finished he looked at the paper expectantly, nothing happened, half glad have disappointed he looked away he then rememembered that last time nothing happened until he signed his name, he signed his name and the paper started glowing blue around the edges, the light spread inwards and when it reached the middle it exploded outwards when the light faded there was a noise behind him and a small dog came bounding out from behind the sofa and jumped towards the cat at full speed both animals disappeared in a streak on fur and teeth into the distance.

Rachel had discovered her power when she was out on a walk through the woods that surrounded the town despite never being able to sit still she could be very sneaky and as such she always saw the wild animals that were in the forest. The forest was old and had ruins hidden within them one such ruin was an old stone house that had collapsed leaving only the fireplace and basic shape left On this day Rachel discovered it.The house intrigued her there was no sign of anyone else that had been there comforted by this she sat by the fireplace and closed her eyes something she didn’t normally do this continued for about 10 minuet’s she let her mind go blank and continued to sit perfectly still a noise alerted her prompting her to open her eyes when she did she was lucky enough to see a rabbit she then thought about what it would be like to be a rabbit she thought about all the advantages of it then she found herself shrinking her clothes changing into fur , her hearing was improved dramatically as were her sense of smell and sight, she was scared though. One second she was a normal human girl walking through the woods now she was a rabbit she could run a lot faster than usual. Eventually she calmed down and tried to focus “ if I can change into a rabbit I can change back to a human” she thought to herself However realising how far from home she was she thought about becoming an eagle praying it would work she grew a little and her sight was improved yet again, her arms felt very strange she looked round and found that it had worked she now had wings as well as a slight desire to eat a vole. She flapped her wings tentatively for a while nothing happened but she soon found herself being lifted off the ground she kept flapping getting higher and higher until at last she was high above the houses thankfully she wasn’t afraid of heights. She vaguely remembered which direction she had come from and started flying towards home when she was close she folded her wings and went into a dive and spread her wings on instinct at the last second she was gliding just above the ground and going very fast she saw her house and pulled up slightly she landed next to her tree and at last on solid ground turned back into a rabbit knowing her dog would soon find her and knowing from experience what he did to stray rabbits in his garden she turned into a simaller version of a dog only bigger her dog saw her and bared its teeth and snarled a snarl so terrible it made Rachel tremble in fear it hadn’t occurred to her that her dog wouldn’t take kindly to another dog in its garden the dog lunged towards her all she could think to do was to snarl back she thought about all the shoes he had eaten his way through and snarled back her dog stopped sharply and turned away running with its tail between its legs she quickly changed into a ant and went through a small crack in her door at least now she knew how they got into her house now. She scuttled up stairs and into her room luckily her parents weren’t there she at long last turned into herself again she grabbed some clothes off her wardrobe and went down stairs all that running and flying had made her hungry late at night she would practise changing into different forms her favourite forms were an eagle and a tiger because they gave her freedom only the other three knew what she could do

Sarah was always a shy girl always had been as such she loved her power of invisibility she had discovered her power two years when a guy she fancied had asked her out she had literally melted into the background at first she was scared but then realised how great it would be to become invisible at will she had first met Mike John and Rachel when she was sneaking around school and had seen them demonstrating their powers in a secluded part of school and had lost focus and become visible at first the three were angry but when Sarah explained and told them she knew how they felt they calmed down and after making her swear not to tell anyone started talking to her about their powers.

John was the most powerful of the four his power was telekinesis and telepathy he was also incredible smart which made him a favourite with the teachers but not with the students he had known his power since he was born he could here everyone’s thoughts and random objects started moving around after years of practise he could control what he heard and what moved he was always called a freak when ever people made the connections between his presence and objects moving at random he could also control peoples thoughts but he only did that in an emergency and never to his friends he would also sometimes lose control and hear peoples thoughts or move objects this proved to be dangerous when he was angry however he was almost always focused he had met Rachel and mike when he had accidentally read their thoughts and discovered their powers he had confronted them and had told them to meet him in a secluded part of school which was out of sight when they got there he had told them of his power and they had been accepting which was a first for him even his parents sometimes gave him weird looks he hated it and the angrier he got the more he could hear their thoughts which in turn would make him angry when Sarah had first appeared he had read her mind and found that she was not scared or repulsed by their powers on contrary she found them fascinating and incredible he loved her for that but he never got up the courage to tell her

The first flecks of rain reached the school john telepathically asked the others
“Are you ready?”
they all nodded Mr. woods looked up in disgust at the sound of rain as if it was somehow their fault he then returned to his sports magazine Sarah turned invisible while Rachel turned into a ladybird and crawled out the door john put the thought that mike was the only one in detention in Mr. woods head and walked out holding the door open for Sarah Mr. woods looked up and said
“I assume you have learned your lesson Michael”
Mike hated being called that and it took all his will power not to punch him but he swallowed his pride and said
“Yes sir”
looking down he knew Mr. woods would like that “ you may go” Mr. woods said practically beaming with a mixture of pride and glee mike left before he could say anything else and joined the others in the corridor. He got out his notebook and drew two knives the page from the book floated up and was soon engulfed in bright blue light two very sharp knifes clattered to the ground when Sarah picked them up they became invisible Mike then went back to his notebook and drew two small hand axes again the page floated in the air and with a flash of blue light two axes nearly fell to the ground but john stopped them and hid them lastly mike drew himself a spear but made it collapsible so he could easily hide it in moments he held a spear in his hand.
Without warning the roll of thunder shook the school, the guardian was close, Sarah John and mike all drew their weapons while Rachel turned into a bear and roared a roar that was equal to the thunder there was a brilliant flash of light and the doors at the other end of the corridor exploded open ripping the doors off of their hinges and sending it flying towards them they smashed into the lockers beside the four.
The guardian stood in the door with a look of pure hatred on its face. The guardian was an ancient creature the horns protruding from its head as sharp as swords its face resembled that of a human but with skin like a boar and teeth like a lion its spear had strange symbols all over it and the tip glowed with an icy blue light he stood in the doorway snarling, they all tensed getting ready to either fight or run away the guardian advanced towards them slowly on its clawed feet then roared its rage and charged them they ran to the left towards the exit the guardian close behind them spear in front of it like a javelin they reached the door with seconds to spare once they were all through John made a barrier on the outside of the door a moment later they heard a huge crash as the guardian smashed into the door and the barrier at most they had stunned it but more importantly they had made it angry a moment later the door turned to ice and exploded open chunks of ice flying everywhere the barrier destroyed the four were long gone racing up the streets as fast as they could they heard a roar which shook the very earth beneath them they stopped briefly and ran with renewed speed at last they deemed it safe to stop desperately trying to catch their breath Rachel now changed human again was breathing heavily at last mike asked the question they were all thinking “ where do we go now” the only answer they could come up with was as far away from here as possible so they continued until they reached the forest that surrounded them hoping it would make them harder to find it was false hope but hope none the less however it was still raining and the black clouds made the forest look almost black inside deciding it was the lesser of two evils and entered the ever darkening forest most of the animals were hiding from the storm but occasionally one would rustle in the bushes and they would draw their weapons until they were sure it was not anything that would try to kill them after a while they stopped bothering to check and just kept walking they came across a stream and jumped over it and found an archway with strange writing on it despite the others objections john touched the wooden archway nothing happened he turned around and was about to say I told you so when the writing suddenly began to light up with a golden light the middle of the archway started shimmering the dark cold forest was replaced by golden sands and an intense heat they could see a desert starching as far as the eye could see and for Rachel that was a big deal where better to hide then a vast desert in possibly another dimension they walked through the archway together as soon as they were through the archway began to shimmer turned to sand and was blown away by a sudden gust of wind “ so much for an escape plan” whispered Sarah because she was still nervous the chances that this was a trap was becoming more and more prominent she kept a hand on one of her knives “ if this is a trap I don’t want to wait around for the guardian to come and get me let’s find a way out of here” Rachael said angrily “lead the way “ mike said with a half laugh Rachel stalked off up the nearest dune not even looking back to see if the others were following john gave mike a quick punch and said try not to piss her off to much he smiled and he and Sarah walked up the dune after Rachel mike sighed and followed them , Rachel didn’t so much as look at him. Even though his watch said it was half past five in the summer the sun was still setting the sky was slowly getting darker and it was getting colder fast
“ we should made camp soon it’s going to get really cold”
Rachel whirled around as if he had just hit her and shouted
“fine but we move at first light”
then turned and walked off again
“ at least she is showing you she is angry you’re in more trouble if she’s angry but hides it”
mike drew them all some tents and coats and after everything that had happened they were soon saying goodnight mike stayed out though and was looking at the stars there was thousands of them and they were flickering like candles in the sky after about half an hour john came out to join him “can’t sleep either someone should keep watch we will take it in turns” he turned to go back to his tent and said “don’t fall asleep Rachel’s next if she catches you asleep you may get a few scratches “ this thought banished all tiredness from mike he got out his spear and sat back down with it in his hands the next hour and a half seemed to be the longest in his life soon he started to pace to keep warm but again fell to watching the stars instead suddenly he heard a noise behind him he grabbed his spear and turned sharply it was Rachel the spear was inches from her neck “ try it” she said with a snarl mike collapsed his spear and said “look Rachel” but she cut him off “ you just don’t get it do you” mike didn’t need telepathy to know not to answer “ you are the only one that I trusted completely with my secret when I talk to you you make me laugh more than anyone has before and we are always hanging out together how thick do you have to be I love you” the last three words hit mike like a hammer without thinking he hugged her and whispered I’m so sorry I was an idiot” he could tell she was deciding whether or not to hit him thankfully she hugged him back they stayed up for another hour just talking and laughing however mike needed sleep so hugged her said goodnight and turned to go into his tent but she tapped him on the shoulder and when he turned she kissed him “ goodnight” she said and turned into a hawk and flew high above circling the camp.
Morning came early for the four they were all tired but mike got rid of the camp quickly and he and Rachel walked on together across the barren desert. Soon they came across a huge sand dune as tall as a house it was steep as well and the sand below was deep Sarah slipped a few times but john caught her and helped her up ahead they could see huge grey storm clouds soon the rain was upon them cascading down in icy droplets the sand beneath their feet was now crumbling more than ever even john who was the best climber had trouble getting up near the top mike slipped and fell and was hurtling towards the icy river below Rachel turned into a giant hawk and grabbed his out stretched hand despite the fairly deep cuts on his hand he was unharmed.
They got to the top and saw a sight that made their hearts soar a golden light the sand dune they were on was circular and resembled a dome the golden light was shining from behind an even bigger dune on the other side of the dome however the dome still had icy water in it, it looked deep as well Rachel now a smaller hawk tried to fly across but she was stopped half way across and had to fly back “it seems we have to go around said john be careful their will most likely be traps ahead so they set of around the dune the rain had stopped when they had reached the top of the dune till now it had seemed far to easy to get here a well prepared human could have done it Rachel was the only one who had used her power plus the path they were on did not leave many options between the barrier and going back and going back was not an option so cautiously they continued towards the light and home they walked together constantly scanning the ground for any signs of a trap they soon found one it was Sarah who had first noticed it the sand had started to move a little when Rachel who was in front as always had stepped on a stone soon the sand was falling down the dune at an alarming rate after about thirty seconds the path had become so narrow that they were walking in single file and were still very close to edge and it was getting smaller by the second soon they broke into a half shambled run no longer caring what happened the sand was being stretched far across the desert the sand in front of them flew away john was only one who didn’t hesitate and cleared the gap easily but the sand was still falling Rachel now a golden wolf with piercing green eyes she jumped and again cleared it but only just Sarah was next she jumped and landed on the edge arms flailing wildly john grabbed her just as he did the sand she was standing on disappeared into the hole below mike was the last to jump he was as white as a ghost he jumped, time stood still as he realised he wouldn’t make the jump he fell short and was falling fast the sand below offering little comfort against the immense height that he had fallen from john was at the edge trying to slow his fall mike felt himself slow down but he was still going far too fast with one final effort he slowed him down enough that he wouldn’t be killed mike hit the ground and heard his wrist snap he had dislocated it but that was all he dared not look at it he looked up instead john was nowhere in sight and Sarah and Rachel had their backs turned something was wrong not caring about his wrist he started to climb back up slowly ten minutes later Rachel had turned and was encouraging him up the dune when he was close enough she grabbed his good wrist and hauled him up Sarah was on the ground next to john who was unconscious he had blood coming from his nose she was wiping the blood off of his face the sand around her was crimson is places mike rushed over he was alive but his pulse was slow Sarah bent over and kissed his slightly bloody lips his eyes slowly opened and he kissed her back” you ok man Jesus you saved my life I owe you one” john replied with a weak laugh and said you owe me a fiver I couldn’t let you die without paying mike got out his notebook and drew a five pound note there was a bust of light and a five pound note fell to the ground mike picked it up and gave it to him he got up and almost fell but Sarah caught him “ take it slow you nearly died there” she helped him up putting his arm over her shoulder and helping him walk they walked more cautiously than before whoever had set the traps was not trying to scare them they were trying to kill them and was very powerful john was regaining his strength and stability and was soon standing on his own he was slower than the others now though and was at the back the others kept looking back and Sarah slowed down to walk beside him they were halfway around the dune when mike who was now in front stopped suddenly there was something in the sand the sun was catching it making it shine mike picked up a clump of sand which was compact and threw it at the object it shot up revealing it to be a spike a simple yet deadly trap the spike had gone to mikes who was the tallest head height the four had no doubt that one false move and they would be killed john grabbed some sand and threw it in front of him spikes rose up to greet him before anyone could stop him he stepped out and walked to where the sand had fallen unscathed I suggest single file john said with a smile the others followed single file stepping in his footsteps they stopped behind him as he bent down a scooped up even more sand and threw it again spikes flew out of the ground and again he found a path through them eventually he threw the sand and nothing happened all four of them threw sand just to be sure not that they doubted him john was the first to step forward the others held their breath in anticipation no spikes but they still followed in his footsteps and occasionally threw more sand eventually they sped up again though still in single file the sun was still high in the sky and was scorching the sand beneath their feet Sarah could feel it because her shoes were the thinnest and it was getting hotter soon even john and Rachel could feel it through their boots Rachel was in front now she hated the heat and the sand her hatred for the desert clear and it was she that first felt the fire sands flame the pain was instant but not fleeting she jumped back with a scream of both shock and pain the sand in front started to glow slightly red seeing this as well as hearing Rachel’s scream they guessed it was made by magic and very hot experimentally john put his foot on the sand he burnt his foot and his boots started smoking he stepped back quickly a thought occurred to mike he got out his notebook and drew a plank of wood it appeared in the sand in front of him it started smoking but when he stepped on it it didn’t burn him “ the sands getting hotter by the minute I’m not sure how long this will last it is wood after all the all got on balancing rather precariously on the wood it was warm but didn’t burn them mike drew another it appeared ahead and crashed in to the sand sending pieces of hot sand flying everywhere it was hotter than the other one but still did not burn them the plank behind him disappeared in a flash of blue light he quickly started on the next one again it crashed into the sand causing it to spray everywhere this time the wood blackened around the edges and when they stepped on it burnt them a little but nowhere near as bad as when they had stepped on the sand itself still mike started drawing the next on but it was hurried and the structure of it was weak so this time when they stepped on it, it actually burnt them so much so that Sarah who was behind mike jumped back a little and landed on Rachel’s foot almost causing her to fall off but john who was at the back caught her outstretched hand and pulled her back onto the wood. The wood was smouldering at the edges mike was already drawing the next one making it thicker it landed in front of them but there was a gap easy enough to jump across but the sand was making the air very hot and the landing would be tricky the hot wood dipping into the sand slightly as he landed he looked back the back of the wood behind him was on fire at the edges john at the back was looking at his flaming boot he brushed the fire out with his other foot he moved forward so the others could jump Sarah jumped instantly closely followed by Rachel leaving john to jump but he was frozen the fire surging towards him the clearly scared the fire reached his legs prompting him to jump he landed slightly smoking but safe without warning the sand in front of them burst into flames creating a wall of fire taller than any of them mike looked back at the others and said see you on the other side with a smile and jumped through the flames, silence, the others looked at each other fearing the worst the silence continued then they heard his voice from the other side of the fire saying “ it a bit of a jump but if I can make it you guys can “ Sarah closed her eyes and jumped through a moment later there was a scream of pain sounded a moment later Rachel jumped without hesitation closely followed by john Sarah was sat on the sand nursing a burn on her leg her shoes were both missing they walked on together Sarah with a slight limp and mikes still limp hand Rachel tapped him on the shoulder and made to kiss him at the same time she grabbed his wrist and popped it back into place just as she kissed him he drew away shaking his wrist then kissed her back they stepped forward together sand rose up to greet them quickly engulfing them the same was happening to Sarah and john behind them they were completely covered then it went falling back into the sand a few feet away sand was starting to rise forming eight small piles and still rising the piles started to join together soon they began to look like humans and when they were finished they looked like Sarah Rachel john and mike and stood facing their human counter parts each sand creature drew knives or a spear or in Rachel’s case turned into a wolf they spoke as one as one the result of this was very strange “you shall not leave this place alive Rachel turned into a wolf and lunged at her sand counterpart but changed into a lion at the last second this surprised the creature and her powerful jaws went straight through it sand neck severing it completely the rest fell into the sand and disappeared Rachel gave a triumphant roar but this was cut short however as sand started to rise again creating a sand wolf the other sand creatures advanced and even though their weapons were made of sand the four had no doubt they would cut just the same sand met steel yet held strong Sarah was the first to get cut she had thrust at the sand creature but it had parried and cut her on her arm john stunned his sand creature and lunged at hers his knives aiming for the head and the heart it blocked one but was not fast enough to block the one aimed at its heart it staggered back then took the knife out of its heart and advanced on john his had also gotten up and was advancing on him both were aiming for his head he ducked and shouted “ how do we defeat sand” “Ice” suggested mike he didn’t wait for a reply he set to work drawing a spear like his but with an icy tip with shards of ice coming from it, it appeared with a blue flash in his hands he threw it at johns creature it went through its chest ice creeping out from the wound soon it was completely frozen john stabbed it and it shattered the sand creatures all withdrew slightly but mike had already drawn more weapons soon they all had knives and were fighting off their creatures but the creatures were still skilled mikes knocked mike onto the sand and was about to finish him off when an icy knife flew into its head john had thrown his knife at it killing it instantly they were all gone except Rachel’s which simply refused to die it was changing too fast, a wolf, a robin, a bear, an ant, they created a circle around it mike put his spear at the top of the circle so it couldn’t fly away while Rachel went round the back so it couldn’t retreat john was in front of it and Sarah was at its side mike brought his spear down Sarah and john stabbed at it and Rachel bit it at last they had frozen it Rachel turned into a bear and brought a great paw crashing onto its head with a final roar “now comes the tricky bit” Sarah said with a laugh the dune was towering over them the sun was catching it making it glow golden an even stronger gold glow was coming from behind it they ran up it faster than ever they reached the top in no time and saw a sight that made their hearts stop mid beat the guardian was there standing by the archway the four retreated a little “ what the hell do we do now he’s not going to move said Rachel “ fight ice with ice” replied mike and before anyone could stop him he slid down the dune as silently as possible “ hey ugly” he shouted “ over here” the guardian charged him and had reached him in seconds instantly attacking him their spears met and a huge crack sounded throughout the desert they were attacking each other with such ferocity that the others were frozen with both fear and excitement but the sudden fierceness had taken its toll of the weapons soon both spear heads broke of leaving the two opponents with slightly sharp sticks but the guardian could use almost any weapon at least the prospect of being frozen solid had been removed all he had to do was keep it distracted for long enough that the others could get through the archway then he could run then hopefully run and get through unscathed or at least alive the guardian struck him in the chest while he was distracted it felt similar to being hit by a brick he staggered back in shock he couldn’t tell the others to run or the guardian would notice them the guardian swung for his head he parried and hit it in the neck in roared in anger and started attacking faster and faster and mike was having a hard time blocking let alone attacking it smashed his legs he fell this was when the others finally moved it brought its staff smashing down aiming for his head mike rolled away just in time the others were nearly through but john changed direction and charged at the guardian two axes flying beside him the guardian raised its staff again a axe appeared in its arm it howled in pain and tore it out another appeared in its leg mike kicked its legs tripping it instantly he got up and ran with john through the archway it was hot but it was a different kind of hot it was more humid they went through and again the archway diapered behind them in a flurry of leaves Rachel and Sarah were standing in front of him completely still barely breathing “ you guys ok” he said his own voice sounding unusually loud they both instantly told him to shut up and went back to their statue like state listening intently both had their weapons drawn mike did as he was told and started to listen intently he could hear something he couldn’t make it out because it was so quiet it sounded a little bit like laughing but surely it couldn’t be Sarah had started shaking with suppressed laughter both she and Rachel cracked and burst out laughing “ you should see the look on your face” Rachel said teasingly mike went a whole new shade of scarlet even john who was normally fairly serious was laughing maybe it was sun stroke mike thought with a laugh Rachel smiling came up to him and gave him a hug “where now” she asked” “lead the way” mike said jokingly her eyes flashed and she walked towards the trees Sarah and john punched him and Sarah said this time she will defiantly scratch you” she reappeared ahead and with a smile said “got you again ha your easy come on hurry up” mike stared in disbelief then followed her plotting his revenge
and the four once again walked with each other mike drew Rachel a sword so she could cut through the leaves but she declined and turned into a bear and proceeded to go crashing through the trees mike smiled and stuck the sword in the ground after about half an hour of walking though they couldn’t tell their watches were just spinning around mike came across the sword in the ground “ hold on something’s not right I think we might be going in circles” how is that possible we have been going straight since we got hear plus there’s no path Rachel’s still having to push through “ a test then” mike concluded he drew a big log with a pointed tip it fell into the path he drew john some throwing knifes as well as a deadly sharp one for himself he cut his name into the log they walked on about another half an hour’s walk later and they were getting tired then they saw a sight that made their hearts stop the log in the middle of the path mikes name still their but below were deep cuts in the wood they all looked at Rachel she shook her head grimly they all drew their weapons half expecting something to leap out of the trees at them they stood in a circle they were becoming increasingly nervous without warning the tree in front of them fell they dived out of the way they looked at the tree stump the tree had been cut clean off another one fell nearby they jumped over the tree in front of them and started running through the leaves and vines in their path Rachel had turned back into human form and was sprinting away Sarah wasn’t as fast as the others and was falling behind she tripped on a root the falling trees getting closer john saw this and sprinted towards her she heard rustling in the bushes beside her and a tree beside her fell she crawled back just enough so that she wasn’t crushed john was moving faster than he thought possible again there was rustling in the tree beside Sarah he reached her just in time helped her up she jumped on his back and he ran out of the path of the falling trees he soon caught up with the others they kept running they past the post again it had even more scratches the they jumped over the tree that was in the way and made a circle between that tree and the tree in front the bushes all around them started rustling the four looked and each saw dark red eyes staring back at them even though the guardian had icy blue eyes the four had no doubt that whatever was in the bushes was no less powerful and no less dangerous john got one of his knives ready they heard growling from all sides but still could not see what they were he lowered his knife the growling stopped then the eyes disappeared into the bushes with a rustle of leaves the four relaxed a bit but did not put away their weapons or move from the circle eventually the deemed it safe to move again but the fallen trees reminded them not to let their guard down, they knew what those things were capable of. They decided to turn back to see if they could find where they had started from this was easier said than done though the leaves and vines were re growing faster than they could cut soon they decided to rest this was a big mistake it was subtle at first but soon the vines were forming a kind of cage around the four when they realised this they jumped up and started fighting of the vines but they were re growing almost instantly now mike knew it was dangerous but he drew a dragon in his notebook it appeared in a flash of blue light and a roar accompanied by flames when it realised it was being caged in it started to breath fire everywhere burning the vines but even that was not enough it started using everything it had tooth claw and fire and it had an affect the vines had retreated back enough that it could spread its wings however the vines weren’t retreating they were inclosing above so nothing could escape by flying. The dragon ignored this and soared up creating a hole in the cage Rachel started to shift growing much bigger and scaly skin and wings she roared her shock, clearly she hadn’t really intended to become a dragon however she picked mike john and Sarah up with her talons carefully and stretched her powerful wings she flapped them once and found herself soaring up to the vines and breaking through them with ease she could see the entire jungle stretching on for miles on end she looked below she could see things in the bushes she couldn’t make them out though there were loads though at least a hundred if not more and that was only counting the ones she could see she flapped her wings to go higher in the far distance there was a patch that was completely clear of trees except for one in the middle and beside it was the archway but she could see the creatures heading towards it with incredible speed the first of them emerged into the clearing Rachel could see them now they were small and black and had four sets of viciously sharp claws of each paw Rachel had no doubt their teeth would be just as sharp their eyes were glowing red as more and more streamed in Rachel picked out a single hooded figure who was now standing beside the archway looking directly in front of him as if he knew they would come through that way Sarah ,john and mike were now climbing towards her back and were soon safely on she dived towards the ground hitting the ground with so much force that the trees around her fell and mike john and Sarah were thrown of her back she tried to change into another form but couldn’t she started to panic roaring and flapping her wings this was sure to attract attention so mike told her to calm down and think of her favourite form an eagle she stopped moving and closed her eyes eventually she began to shrink and became an eagle then back to her human form as soon as she was human she ran up to mike and hugged him “thank you if it wasn’t for you I would still be a dragon” “at least we now know you can change into mythical creatures” he said with a smile” somehow I don’t think I’ll be doing that again anytime soon not on purpose anyway and with that the four set of to fight the seemingly never ending force of creatures that surrounded the tree.
when they were close to the clearing they ducked into the bushes making barely any sound yet still every creature looked up straight at them then the figure at the base of the tree spoke in a voice that sounded familiar but no one could figure out where from “ I know you are their come out now or I will order my friends here to attack you after some hesitation they did as he said “ that wasn’t so bad now come here “ again they did as he said though all had their hands on a weapon whether this stranger knew or not they could not tell they were soon answered for he said “ if you even think about attacking me every single one of these will attack you and you won’t be able to take even a single step towards me they decided against attacking him as well as all the surrounding him for now they had to tolerate him but they were all waiting to run if they had to they reached the tree the golden archway gleaming behind him he spoke again they recognised the voice but didn’t really know who it belonged to “give me one good reason why I shouldn’t kill you right now he said strangely calmly john replied logically and said “can you give us a reason why we should we have done nothing to harm or annoy you” the figure paused at this but eventually said let’s just say the person that wants you dead is very powerful and it would be extremely beneficial to me if I killed you then I could escape from this infernal jungle” “escape”? you mean you weren’t waiting for us the figure replied I am trapped here just as you are it is a prison for those who grew to powerful if I kill you I can be set free” fearing for her life Sarah said if we work together we can escape the figure laughed a hoarse and evil laugh “ I have tried for many millennia escape is only possible for those who weren’t put here however your case is exceptional because even though you weren’t put her but you will not leave alive the creatures were scratching the ground with their clawed feet making scars in the soil the figure then spoke and said “they are anxious to test their claws now try and give me a reason not to kill you “ how about you live” john said drawing his knife and aiming it at his head instantly a hundred creatures growled the very ground shook beneath their feet again he lowered the knife but kept it in his hand just encase the figure tried to attack him “ we have done this before there is little point” the figure said sounding almost bemused a creature swiped at Sarah’s leg she jumped just in time john stabbed the creature killing it instantly there was a moment of tense silence everyone preparing to fight or flee then the figure spoke “ that was foolish get them” the words had hardly left his mouth when every last one of the creatures growled and charged towards the four Rachael became a dragon once more fighting with everything she had including fire however for every creature she killed three more replaced it john, Sarah and mike were fighting with equal ferocity mike looked towards the tree the hooded figure was gone he prayed that it had fled something told him that there was more to him that met the eye while he was distracted a creature lunged at him he brought his spear up but not quick enough the creature cut his face narrowly missing his eye but at a cost the spear had hit it as it jumped he looked around all he could see was a sheer mass of creatures john Sarah and Rachel were somewhere within he saw a burst of fire shooting into the sky “Rachael” he thought he tried to get to her through the mass of creatures but there was far too many of them he charged spear in front of him like a javelin most of the creatures were smart enough not to stay in his way and dodged him Rachael was doing well hitting every creature around her but still she was struggling a creature lunged at her from behind she couldn’t see it mike threw his spear it missed though there were so many it was impossible not to kill one he heard a howl of pain in the distance suddenly john was beside him he threw a knife and this time it found its mark the creature hit the ground silently john and mike stood back to back fighting the seemingly endless flow of creatures “ have you seen Sarah I can’t see her” mike shook his head they heard a scream from in front of them instinctively they both ran towards it knowing it was Sarah but they were stopped by countless creatures in their way they cut them down the fear giving them renewed strength they reached her she had a huge cut on her arm it wasn’t serious but it looked painful again they stood back to back however mike spear was now imbedded in a creature john gave him one of his knives but he was nowhere near as good at using it as he was with a sword or spear he remembered the sword in the ground and desperately wished he had it there was a flash of blue light and it appeared in his hand he was too stunned to use it at first but a creature at his leg soon diminished that he swung at it, surprised it was clumsy and tried to jump but mike hit it in midair and yet more were still coming with no visible sign of ending behind them Rachael was now charging them sending creatures flying everywhere all the while breathing fire a creature was sent flying into the ranks teaming towards john mike and Sarah sending a dozen creatures sprawling but one got through and lunged at Sarah it hit she went down without a sound this caused john to grab her knives and throw them at the creature that did it using two silver knives and this time he charged the creatures alone cutting faster than they could move he had soon disappeared into the midst of the hoard but mike and Rachael could still see the effect that he was having half of the creatures were running away while the others were running towards him leaving mike and Rachael alone they looked at each other Sarah was hurt or worse and john was still fighting off hordes of creatures like a mad man Rachael turned into a giant hawk and soared into the air trying to find him and Sarah in the mass of creatures but it was no use there was far to many to see any individual then she spotted an part of the horde breaking up and heading towards the trees but they were far away and moving very fast she couldn’t reach them before they disappeared into the trees she flew higher still searching desperately for john but still she couldn’t see him fear and rage consumed her and she dive bombed the creatures scratching them with talons the size of swords now the creatures were running for their lives the hooded figure still nowhere to be seen with the creatures gone Rachael once more flew up in to the air searching for john or Sarah but they had disappeared with the horde.
Sarah woke with a start though it didn’t make much difference it was far to dark to see deprived of her sight Sarah had to rely on other senses she slowed her breathing and heart rate and listened and heard a trickle of water that wasn’t much there was something else two sets of breathing one was harsh and heavy while the other was slow and weak as well as a scraping sound she had heard it so many times before but she couldn’t think what it was but she knew it wasn’t friendly she tried to move her hands to see if she could feel anything around her but her she couldn’t move them she felt the rope cutting into her wrists she couldn’t move her legs either as she did hesitantly she sniffed a foul smell greeted her the smell of death she again tried to get free of her bonds but to no avail her eyes were now becoming used tot the dark and she could see vague shapes in front of her and the shape she saw was unmistakable the guardian was just a few feet away ignoring the pain in her neck she looked left and saw another shape this one was human and lying completely still she hoped it wasn’t john but she knew it was a noise alerted her that the guardian was coming she closed her eyes again and went limp it went behind her the desire to open her eyes was incredible but she knew she mustn’t just as this thought flashed across her mind she felt a sudden sharp pain on her back she suppressed a scream and waited hoping the guardian would give up she felt more pain in her back it was clear it wanted her to wake up but again she didn’t scream almost instantly she felt it again and this time she couldn’t help but scream the guardian appeared in front of her and looked into her eyes brown eyes met icy blue eyes it was a battle of wills but Sarah knew she would lose she found those eyes scarier than any monster eventually she looked away the guardian snarled at her and walked off into the depths of the caves and into the darkness again Sarah took the chance she turned her head slowly and looked at john and whispered “ john are you ok are you awake” in response he drummed his fingers against the cave floor something he used to do in school at least she knew he was alive he motioned to the far wall Sarah looked and saw her and johns weapons she knew what he was planning whether it would work or not she wasn’t sure the guardian still wasn’t back yet but for all she knew it could be waiting just what little she could see she gestured for him to wait but he focused and got a small throwing knife from the pile and slowly put into Sarah’s hands behind her back she grasped it ands started trying to cut at her ropes she could feel the ropes start to giveaway but they were thick it would take some time to cut them but she began to cut faster and soon the ropes fell away completely she then set to work on the ropes around her legs desperation made it quick she silently moved forwards towards the knives and grabbed them and quickly went over to john to cut his ropes around his wrists and legs soon they were armed and ready to run behind them there was just cave wall which meant they were at the back of the cave meaning to get out they had to get past the guardian to escape and then they had to find the others assuming they were still alive which was looking less and less likely the more she thought about it an army of deadly creatures against a shape shifter and a boy with a sword however together they advanced towards the exit of the cave wherever that was. The guardian was still nowhere to be seen and that made the two nervous soon they came across a series of tunnels john lit one of his many matches the flame flickered blown by a slight wind he flicked it out and chose the tunnel where the wind was coming from faint hope was still hope using the silver light from their knives as a light the tunnel they had chosen was smaller than the one they had been in meaning that they constantly hit their heads after swearing a bit they moved on in silence for now they were safe but they were very nervous the guardian would appear in a tunnel behind them however given how tall the guardian was it would have found it hard to move fast in the tunnels soon they came across another series of tunnels again john lit a match and again it flickered it flickered in two directions left and backwards meaning that either both tunnels lead to the surface or one had a trap in it john closed his eyes and focused he soon chose the tunnel ahead of them advancing without fear Sarah followed behind more nervously knives ready just in case he was wrong this tunnel was taller and wider so they didn’t hit their head but that just increased the fear that the guardian would come for them in the tunnel john stopped ahead Sarah got her knives ready in case it was a monster or trap she asked him what was wrong but he just told her to be quiet and continued in his trance like state she listened intently but couldn’t hear anything then she heard a noise behind her a noise all to familiar for her she broke into a run ahead john was also running not bothering to look for traps they sprinted through the tunnel gradually the guardians howls were lost amongst the cave walls they soon came to a large circular room with a high ceiling no more claustrophobia but they were by no means out of danger in the middle of the room stood a stone statue with a sword in hand it was facing them it could have just been a coincidence but for these two that was never going to happen there fears were soon realised when they moved around the wall to get to the exit its head turned to follow them when they were in front of the exit it started slowly walking towards them its intention clear john and Sarah tensed ready for a fight without warning the statue jumped in the air sword high above its head it brought it crashing down onto the stone they dived out of the way ground cracks appeared in the floor john was the first to recover and tried to stab the stone it deflected off and jarred his hand the statue swung for him but he ducked out of the way he threw one of his throwing knives it just bounced away harmlessly “ how the hell do we defeat this thing” Sarah shouted in frustration stone? John suggested he didn’t wait for answer he grabbed one of his throwing knifes and aimed it at a crack in floor the floor broke into small fragments of stone he picked them up with his mind and hurled them at the statue stone met stone with a sharp crack but no damage was done to the statue john decided to up his game at this point Sarah distracted the statue while he concentrated and felt the blocks of stone surrounding them in the ceiling he chose one and started chipping away at it after what seemed like an eternity but could only have been a few seconds a huge block of stone fell john caught with his mind and made it float behind him hiding it the statue lunged at him he threw the stone at him this time the statue stayed down the stone had hit him straight in the face nothing could have survived not even possessed statues the ran for the exit the guardian would surly know where they were sure enough he appeared at the other end of the room it snarled showing all its teeth and charged at them john brought the wall down behind them he knew it would only slow him down but at least it gave them more of a chance to escape.
Rachael was a dragon again now despite her objections she know flew high above the jungle looking for john and Sarah endlessly searching they had come this far they shouldn’t give up on them now just because it was hard however this thought was soon diminished by a crushing logic that she didn’t even know if she was going the right way she was praying and praying that john would use telepathy to contact them but evidently he couldn’t he was either not conscious or too far away below she saw even more creatures hiding in the forest all going in the same direction knowing john as they did they knew that if he was conscious he was causing trouble they decided to follow the creatures but then suddenly all movement stopped below the creatures were disappearing one by one into the ground she landed further away so as not to be spotted she turned back into human form and mike gave her a sword they crept through the undergrowth careful around the plants in case it was another trap and each drew their weapons

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Tag der Veröffentlichung: 30.04.2012

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