The Golden Keepers (The Golden Keeps Book 1)

by EMA LEE

  “Yeah she is.” Dillan told the nurse.

  She smiled and started to walk out of the room. I closed the door behind her then turned to look at Dillan. He smiled and gestured me to come over to him. I started to walk over to him. I saw a chair in the corner and went to grab it.

  “You won’t need that Stra.” Dillan remarked.

  I looked at him and he started to scoot over to the side of his bed leaving a spot for me. I started to walk towards the bed and climbed in next to him. It felt so natural to be next to Dillan. I loved being cuddled next to his big, warm body. He grabbed my arm and flipped it over so my palm was facing the ceiling and started to run his fingers up and down my forearm.

  “So, you’re my girlfriend?” he asked while laughing.

  I started to laugh with him. I knew I had to tell him the truth. And I don’t think he will take it in the wrong way. I kept my eyes on his fingers that were stroking my forearm.

  “Well, I might have told them I was your girlfriend the night you got hurt.”

  Dillan stopped stroking my arm and looked over at me. He looked so serious. I felt like he was reading my thoughts. Of course I wanted to be his girlfriend, but we had never kissed before and it wasn’t up to me to decide what we were. He had a say in it too.

  “Astra, I really like you. And there wouldn’t be anything I want more than for you to be my girlfriend.”

  I started to smile at him. I nodded my head up and down.

  “Yes? Yes you’ll be my girlfriend?” he asked.

  “Yes!” I told him as I went in to hug him.

  Dillan put his arm around me and kissed my forehead. I would do anything to protect this guy. I was falling for him more and more every day. I looked up at him and he was asleep. I put my head on his chest and closed my eyes.

  I was playing with my toys in the living room. Dad walked in and sat down next to me. He started to play with me. Dad was always handsome with his thick brown hair and brown eyes. His smile always made me smile.

  “Astra you’ve always been my little star. You are going to do great things in the future. You’ll make this world a better place. Always be true and stick up for what you believe okay?”

  “Okay daddy.” I responded as I put one of my stuffed animals on his head.

  He went in to give me a hug and I hugged him back. He reached his hand behind my head and pulled out a coin from my ear.

  “Don’t ever let the magic fade Astra.” Dad said as he gave me the coin.

  Mother walked into the room with a basket of laundry in her hands.

  “Honey you are going to be late for work!” Mother told dad.

  “I know, I just had to play with my little star for a couple minutes.” Dad said as he started to get off the ground.

  He walked over to mom and she walked him to the door. He turned to give her a kiss. Then he looked over at me.

  “I will see you tonight. I love you both!” Dad said as he left the house.

  “Bye daddy!” I responded.

  When the door closed I ran over to the window to watch dad walk away as he left for work. Once he disappeared I went back to my toys and continued to play.

  I opened my eyes and looked over at Dillan. He was awake. I must have startled him. He started to run his fingers through my hair.

  “Are you okay Astra? You jumped in your sleep.” Dillan said.

  “Yeah, I just had a dream about my dad.” I responded.

  We were both silent for a couple of minutes. Then Dillan started to speak.

  “What was your dad like?”

  “I was so young I only remember very little.” I told him.

  “Well, what do you remember?” he asked.

  “He used to play with me. And tell me I was his little star. Dad was a really nice guy. And I always knew he loved me.” I said.

  I started to smile. It felt so good being able to let that out. Dillan now knew a little bit about my dad.

  “When did he die?” He asked.

  “When I was seven years old. I never found out the reason. All I remember was my mom telling me after a man came to our house to tell her the news.”

  “I’m sorry Astra.” Dillan said trying to comfort me.

  I looked at him.

  “It’s okay. It was a long time ago. And all my memories of him are good memories. I feel really lucky to have him as a dad.”

  I put my head on Dillan’s shoulder and he held me in his arms. I couldn’t wait for him to be out of this hospital. Dillan turned the T.V. on to a surfing channel and started to watch it. I could tell he missed surfing.

  “So how much longer will you have to be in here?” I asked.

  “Just one more day. Thank goodness!” He said. “I can’t wait to get out on my board again.”

  “It will be good to have you back home.” I told him.

  “Will you come pick me up tomorrow at noon?” he asked.

  I nodded my head that I would. I started to get out of the hospital bed and put my sandals back on my feet.

  “I will be here tomorrow. I promise.” I told Dillan. I kissed his cheek and started to walk to the door.

  “I’ll see you later Stra.” Dillan said.

  I closed the door behind me and started to walk down the hallway. Something didn’t feel right. It felt like something or someone had been watching every step I was making. I looked around but all I could see were nurses and doctors. That’s when I heard the glass break. I ran back to Dillan’s room, the bed was empty and the glass window has been shattered.

  I looked around and no one was in sight. I closed my eyes and pictured my outfit. I turned the palm of my hands towards me then opened my eyes. I had my gold pants on, blue tank top. Blue boots and my gold mask with blue emeralds were on my face. I ran to the window and looked down. I could see the captain and his partner at the bottom dragging Dillan across the street. He looked confused and hopeless.

  I heard noises coming from behind me and turned around. It was a bunch of doctors and nurses staring at me. I saw the nurses from the front desk and the nurse that was helping Dillan. None of them recognized me. I turned back to the window. I was three stories up from the ground. I had to jump. It was the only way I would make it to him before they got further away.

  I held my breath and jumped out the window. I looked at the band on my wrist and pushed the clear button. It started to blink red. Now all I could do was hope Shane’s brilliant invention would work. I looked down as my feet hit the ground. I could hear people talking all around me. They were wondering who I was, if I was another villain. I looked up and saw the captain and his partner staring at me. Then I looked at Dillan who was staring directly at me. It almost felt as if he knew who I was. I started to stand up straight.

  “So, you like stealing people now? I thought money was your thing.” I said as I started to walk towards the captain.

  “Who are you?” the captain asked.

  He seemed nervous, but at the same time you could tell that he was annoyed. He didn’t recognize me.

  “It doesn’t matter who I am. What matters is your destroying my city and my people. And I am not okay with that.” I told him.

  “Well, you see little girl. There is no point in fighting because you are one person.” The captain said as he started to laugh.

  “Make that two.” A voice said.

  The captain stopped laughing and looked into the crowd of people. Dean came walking out in his uniform and stood next to me. I looked around and all the girls were staring at him. I could already tell he would be the talk of the city. The captain started to get angry. He lifted Dillan off the ground and handed him over to his partner.

  “Hold him.” He said.

  The captain then put his hands together and started to pop his knuckles. It was so loud you could hear it a mile away.

  “enie.. menie.. minie… moe.” He said as he started to charge at Dean.

  Dean didn’t have time to think. I could hear the pounding as the captain hit Dean str
aight in the chest. Dean went flying into the side of a car setting off the alarm. The captain started to laugh and walk towards him. I had to think of something fast so Dean could get up and back on his feet. I pictured a rock about the size of my fist and opened the palm of my hand. I took it and tossed it a few times in my hand. Then I looked at the captains back. I rose my hand up and threw it as hard as I could.

  “Gah…” the captain said as he put his hand on his back.

  He started to breath heavily. It sounded like a bull getting ready to charge at a red cape. I closed my eyes again and thought of fire, then I opened my hands and flames started to shoot out. I could hear all the people getting excited, it was like a magic trick to them but for me this was a do or die moment.

  “Did that hurt big boy?” I told him as I started to play with the fire in my hands.

  The captain walked over to a car that was nearby and ripped the back door right off. He looked at me then started to run towards me. I took the fire in my hand and threw it at him. He put up the car door blocking the flames. As he was about to hit me I jumped up and over him.

  “Awe, is that the best you could do?” I told him.

  I looked at the ground and pictured a wind storm. I then pointed the palms of my hands towards the ground. The gravel was starting to shake around me. Then I moved my hands so they were facing the captain. The ground started to rumble underneath him and he was starting to lose his balance.

  Dean came up next to me and started to make a tornado. It grabbed the captain and lifted him up. The captain looked confused. He looked at us.

  “You’re not human.” He said.

  It wasn’t loud enough for people to hear what he said, but it was loud enough for Dean and me to hear. I stared directly into the captains eyes.

  “And you’re a monster.” I told him.

  I started to shoot water into the tornado and Dean and I started to raise it.

  “Ready for the greatest throw you will ever see.” Dean said looking at me.

  I nodded my head. Dean started to bring the tornado closer to us and then launched it. The captain was nowhere in sight. All we could hear was yelling. Then we could hear nothing. I looked over at the woman in black and she made a mist of black all around her. I couldn’t see a thing. All I could hear was Dillan coughing.

  The black mist finally cleared and she was gone. Dillan was sitting on the ground. Dean reached down to help him up.

  “Do you know why they wanted to take you?” Dean asked Dillan.

  “The guy was saying something about how I’m the key to recruiting their secret weapon.” Dillan responded.

  Dean looked over at me. He and I both knew it was me they were trying to get. If they took something I loved away from me, I would join them.

  “Well, we are just glad you are safe.” I told him.

  Dean started to walk away. The girls were going nuts for him. Dean started to run and then he was gone. I looked at Dillan and smiled.

  “Those eyes.” He said.

  My smile disappeared and I turned around and started to walk down an ally.

  “Wait!”

  I turned around to see Dillan running after me. He finally stopped to get some air while holding his side.

  “What’s your name?” he asked.

  I thought for a second. Then I looked straight into his eyes.

  “You can call me Star.” I told him.

  Dillan smiled and started to walk closer to me. He reached his arm out and touched my face. He moved his head closer to mine. For some reason I felt more comfortable with the mask on.

  “Well, thank you Star.” Dillan whispered.

  His nose then touched my nose. I closed my eyes and I could feel his lips gently touching mine. They were warm and soft. I felt tingly all over. I leaned in to kiss him back. It felt like it was just me and him in the world. No one else existed. I pulled away and smiled at him.

  “Stay safe” I told him.

  I turned around and started to run until I reached town. I hid behind a building and scanned myself into the closed I was originally wearing. I started to walk and saw Dean and Shane sitting at a table outside the restaurant. They nodded their heads at me and I waved back and headed to the beach.

  I can’t believe I kissed Dillan. I’ve wanted to for so long. And the only time I have the guts to do it is when I am in a disguise. I told him my name was Star. It was like I wanted him to know who I was. He looked deep into my eyes.

  “They match your eyes”

  Did he know it was me? No one else recognized me. I sat on the beach and looked out at the ocean. I couldn’t wait to do this with Dillan again. I loved the salty air. I closed my eyes to listen to the waves.

  “Hey! How was Dillan?”

  I looked over and saw Cali running at towards me holding a bag. She sat down next to me and started to dig her feet into the sand.

  “Dillan’s doing really good. He gets released tomorrow.” I told her.

  “That’s what I hear. Are you going to pick him up?” she asked.

  “Only if it’s okay with you.” I responded.

  Cali put her arms around me and hugged me.

  “Of course it is! Go get your boyfriend. I’ll hold down the fort at work.” She said.

  She reached into her bag and pulled out some food.

  “I know I’m not Dillan and this isn’t the most romantic dinner you’ve ever had but I figured we could have a best friend date and eat together.” She said as she handed me a sandwich.

  “Thanks Cal.” I said as I took the sandwich from her hand.

  It was nice to have a girl’s night. Cali made things exciting and fun for me. She always talked about me and Dillan and I didn’t mind it one bit. It was nice to be noticed and loved by someone like her.

  The Golden Keepers

  The next morning I woke up and got ready for the day. I headed out to the island to meet up with Dean and Shane. I walked up to the rock and pushed it and made my way down into the tunnel. I scanned my hand and went through the gate and up the stairs. When I entered the room I saw Dean and Shane playing video games on the T.V. screen.

  “Well, good morning Astra!” Dean said while looking at the T.V. intensely.

  I walked over to the T.V. and turned it off.

  “Hey! We had a really good game going!” Shane said.

  “Ya! I was about to pass him up in basketball points!” Dean said.

  I sat down next to them and stared at Shane. He didn’t show up yesterday and I really wanted to know why. We could have used his help.

  “Where were you yesterday?” I asked him.

  “I was here. When my emergency light goes off on my wristband I transport here and run the computer screens. I focus it on you guys and then I focus it on the bad guys.” He responded.

  It made sense what he was doing. Maybe he saw where the captain ended up landing and where his partner in black went as well.

  “Do you know where they are now?” I asked.

  Shane looked very serious and concerned. He walked to over his computer and brought up a map of the city. He zoomed in where we were fighting yesterday.

  “This is a recording of what happened yesterday” Shane said as he pushed the play button.

  We watched our entire fight. Then it showed Dillan kissing me. I started to blush and looked over at Dean. His face looked hurt. He looked down from the screen and then over at Shane.

  “Alright, so what happened to the captain?” Dean asked.

  “Well after you guys launched him he landed in the woods about fifteen miles out of the city.” He responded.

  He brought up the spot on the map. Shane then made a trail leading to a sewer line in the ground.

  “What’s that?” I asked.

  Shane looked concerned. I could tell he didn’t want to tell us but he did.

  “That’s the way into their base.” He said.

  Dean got up and walked over to the screen. Then he turned and looked at us.

&nb
sp; “So all we have to do is get in that sewer and we will find their base and destroy them.” Dean exclaimed.

  “Correct, but not correct.” Shane said. “They have cameras hidden in the tunnels and I followed him. His partner met him in the sewer, but she came from a different way.”

  “Alright what’s your point?” I asked.

  “Well, their base is located under the White House in Washington D.C.” Shane said.

  My mouth dropped. They weren’t even located here in North Carolina. Shane brought up the white house and then zoomed in to look underneath the white house. It was a huge data base. And it wasn’t just the captain and his partner. All the people who were with us on the ship were there too.

  “Wait, I thought all of them got captured trying to leave the ship.” I told Shane.

  “They did. The captain released them last week and no one could find them. It looks like they are working for the captain. And it looks like they are planning to take over the United States which will eventually lead to taking over the entire world.” Shane responded.

  So that’s why the captain was trying to capture Dillan. He was trying to get me to join him. He wanted me to help him take over the Earth. I wonder if he knew about Dean and Shane. I really hoped he didn’t.

  “That’s not the worst part though. The captain has already captured twenty humans and is using them to get access to confidential information. Here is a list of all the missing people so far.” Shane said as he handed me the paper.

  I looked through the list. Most of these people were computer engineers and technician guys. And they have all been kidnapped within the last week. I handed the list over to Ryan to look at.

  “This is insane, we need to stop them.” I told Shane.

  “Well, that’s our plan. We are going to have to plan it out in order to make it through the tunnel without getting spotted. I have already been thinking of a plan.” He responded.

  “I guess it’s time to put our game faces on!” Dean said.

  “Oh, I forgot to mention one thing to you guys. America has come up with a name for us.” Shane said.

  He picked up the newspaper that was sitting on his desk and walked over to the couch. He put it on the table in front of us. It was a picture of me and Dean approaching the captain. On the top it had