The Ark of Power

by David Barco

  "They are actually going to try and defend themselves," they say, repeatedly.

  Moving beside Harrison, JT tightens his fist, shaking it. "You think this is so funny? Let's see how funny you think this is.”

  A blue energy ball hovers over his hand. He grabs the ball and launches it at one of them, hitting him in his left eye.

  Grabbing his eye, the giant angrily leers at them.

  "Please tell me you just didn't really hit a giant in his eye. Now you created a giant problem. Good job," Joseph says as the giants stomp their feet continually.

  The giants sprint toward them. The boys create energy balls as they see the giants approaching. Harrison's hand burns as he feels the wound in his palm opening back up. Launching their attacks at them, the boys run right toward the giants.

  "Go under," Harrison screams.

  They slide in-between the giants’ legs. Rolling down the hill, snow crashes into Harrison’s face creating a cold burn. Screams erupt from the giants as they stand up on the bottom of the hill.

  Suddenly, Harrison sees someone running up behind them with a bright light in his hand. Harrison's eyes grow wide at who he spots.

  "Supersonic Omega Blast.”

  Slamming the energy ball into the one on the left's back, the giant raises up off the ground flying into the air. Thick spit falls on Harrison and them as they view the giant slamming into the cluster of trees.

  "Brother!"

  The giant throws a massive punch towards Tommy. Flipping sideways, Tommy evades the punch. Crouching on his knees, he blasts into the air with a long purple energy beam. The giant looks up at him soaring up. Releasing the beam, Tommy shoots two energy balls into both of the giant's eyes. Grabbing his eyes, the giant stomps around, screaming.

  Tommy lands, bending his knees. Screaming loudly, purple energy circles Tommy. An energy ball forms in his hand. The giant squints as Tommy gains more energy.

  "I will kill you," the giant charges at him.

  "Supersonic Omega Blast," Tommy screams.

  Slamming the energy attack into his stomach, the giant soars into the air towards the broken trees. Crashing on the ground, shocks run through the land. Both giants lay on top of trees passed out, with Tommy standing on top of the hill, still holding his stance. Standing there in complete silence, they gape at one another in shock. Wiping the slimy slobber from his face, he views Tommy standing on the top of the hill.

  "This is so disgusting," JT throws heavy spit on the ground.

  "I guess we are lucky he came. If not, we would have been in some serious trouble," Jaylen replies.

  Harrison takes a couple of strides towards Tommy.

  "Did you tell him to follow us?" JT follows Harrison.

  "No. I never told him. But at this point, I am just glad he showed up," Harrison replies. "But I am going to find out how he knew we were out here."

  The hum of energy zapping around Tommy is still sounding. He turns to face Harrison. Tommy’s face goes pale and he collapses. Harrison catches him, slowly lowering him down to the soft snow.

  "Tommy. Are you okay?" Harrison holds him in his arms.

  His eyes flutter to the back of his head, as his mouth opens slightly. Harrison slaps his cheek softly on both sides.

  "I think he may have used too much energy from his Power Flow," Joseph says.

  "Well, what do we do?" Harrison says.

  "If it's not too bad, he will be alright. He may have just passed out," Joseph replies.

  Minutes go by and Harrison is still holding Tommy. Finally, he opens his eyes and sits up slowly. Tommy looks confused as he glances around. "Man. Using that second Supersonic Omega Blast took a toll on me more than I thought it would,"

  "Are you alright?" Harrison helps him to his feet.

  Wobbling around, Tommy gains his balance, surveying the giants he took out. "Yeah. I will be fine.”

  "Thanks for your help. But I got to ask. How did you know we were here?" Harrison says.

  "We were supposed to train at midnight last night and you never showed up. I saw the tracks going into the forest, so I thought maybe something happened to you. So, I followed the tracks," Tommy says.

  "Well I guess it's a good thing you did, or we would be goners right now," Jaylen says.

  The giants are passed out, laying on top of broken trees.

  “Let's go further in. They said they took care of others. They must be close," JT says.

  Going into the other side of the woods, blood is spattered in various places. All of a sudden, they come upon many bodies spread out. Harrison glances at all of them. They are dressed the same as the man that was running. Their black outfits stick out in the snow, and each one is either holding a mask or has one on.

  Some of them are guys and some are girls. Harrison stands over a small girl. Blood runs down her young face like teardrops.

  She couldn't be older than eleven or twelve years old. What would she be doing out here with all these people?

  Harrison flips the young girl over. Her sleeve is ripped, showing her shoulder. He observes something burned on her arm. Ripping the rest of her sleeve, he sees the whole thing.

  Part of the ONE

  "Hey, guys. Come check this out," Harrison shouts.

  Hurrying over, they stand over him, studying the burn on her arm.

  "I saw that on another person's back over there," JT says.

  Harrison scratches his head. "There have to be fourteen people out here. I wonder if they all have that burned in their skin somewhere.”

  "The real question is what does it mean and why do they have it?" Joseph says.

  "I don't know but apparently they are a part of some group," Tommy says. "Anyways I was wondering why you guys and this group are out here."

  "We are going to go to the cave here in this forest to get a gem that has the First Elder's power in it," Harrison responds.

  “Why?" Tommy says.

  "We will tell you later. Let's just try to find the cave,” JT walks on.

  Harrison motions to the rest of them to follow. The trees decrease in size the further they walk. The branches are full of colorful leaves. Bright butterflies fly around the leaves. Healthy green grass overwhelms the ground. The snow is missing on the grass and trees.

  "What the heck? Why isn't there any snow?" Jaylen says. "And why are the trees fully bloomed when it's the middle of winter?"

  "I don't know," Harrison replies, as the butterflies fly around his head.

  The sound of water loudly bounces off the trees. Exiting the woods, Harrison notices water slamming into rocks. Across the river is a large cave glistening in the bright sun.

  Harrison smiles. "C' mon guys. We finally made it.”

  Chapter 22

  The Wolfpack

  Harrison and the others approach the huge silvery stone cave. Apple red cardinals rest on different stones sticking out of the cave. Swarms of honey-colored butterflies circle the cardinals continually. Harrison and his friends gaze around with their mouths drooping and eyes watering from staring at the sight of it all.

  Harrison's body begins to tingle because of the warmth of the air. Sweat gently slides from the top of his brow, entering his eye. The giant cave's entrance feels welcoming to Harrison, despite the darkness that lays in it. Slowly, he moves closer to it with the rest following right behind.

  "Harrison. We might want to be careful; we don't know how safe this place really is," Jaylen says.

  Glancing over his shoulder, Harrison grins with a quick laugh. “C’ mon look at this place. What can be dangerous about this place? Are the cardinals and butterflies going to attack us?"

  Standing next to the cave, Harrison places his hand gently on the rock surrounding it. A coolness from the stone chills his hand through his bandage. His hand slides beside a beautiful cherry colored cardinal, that is bigger than the rest. The cardinal's burnt yellow eyes gaze into his.

  The cardinal gingerly rises, extending its long wings straight out. Flapping gracefully,
green waves of energy shimmer out. Heat from the energy rubs against Harrison's skin.

  "Tommy. Have you ever seen or heard an animal being able to produce energy like that?" Joseph says, staring at it.

  "I never saw anything like that, and my dad always told me that animals could never harness energy," Tommy scratches the back of his neck softly.

  Extending his hand towards it, the warmth from the energy increases as it gets closer to the cardinal.

  "Dude. I would be careful. Tommy said he never has seen anything like this, and his dad apparently said it's not possible," JT says.

  Tuning the others out, Harrison puts his hand underneath it. The toughness of its feet tickles Harrison's finger.

  "You guys are paranoid. What could possibly happen?" Harrison gazes at the cardinal resting on his finger.

  Suddenly, the twitching of the other cardinal's heads scares away the butterflies. One by one they quickly soar off towards the colorful bloomed trees. The cardinals flying away takes Harrison's eyes off of the one relaxing on his finger.

  "Harrison," JT screams.

  Glaring back at it, Harrison sees the two spinning energy balls formed at each wing. Throwing the cardinal off his finger, it pushes its wings together blasting Harrison with a green energy ray. Slamming into his chest, Harrison soars to the ground and slides to the river. His head dangles into the water, soaking the top part of his hair.

  "Harrison," they all scream, running over to him.

  Sitting up, Harrison gazes at his friends running towards him as the cardinal flies in the same spot.

  "Are you alright?" Tommy lifts him up.

  Harrison stops them. "Shhhhh.”

  "What?" JT says, looking at him confused.

  "Do you hear that?" Harrison slowly stands to his feet.

  "Hear what?" Jaylen says concerned.

  Suddenly, deep raspy growls linger in the air. Turning around, Harrison surveys the area to see where they are coming from.

  "Okay. Someone, please tell me that I just didn't hear what I thought I heard," JT says.

  "What did you think you heard?" Joseph replies.

  "Like, some nasty growling coming from everywhere," JT says.

  "Yeah, sorry to let you know, but you definitely heard that," Joseph replies.

  Forming a circle, they gaze into different directions looking for where the growls are coming from. The shaking Harrison feels from the other's backs makes him realize that he isn't the only one nervous. Loud crunches from the wood line near the cave grab their attention.

  A giant grayish paw with spotty black lines appears from the woods. Eyes the same color as the clear blue water from the river peak through. Old worn teeth show as slow forceful growls push through them. Finally, a big, old wolf steps out.

  "Okay. I am not liking this. Flashbacks of the Chihuahuas are coming back to me," JT moves closer to Harrison. "But now they have bigger teeth.”

  "We are fine. Tommy took out two giants that were trying to add us to their collection. We should be fine," Jaylen says.

  "True. What's just one wolf?" Joseph says.

  All of a sudden, something lands on one of the giant rocks in the river. Harrison and the others spot another wolf, growling through his teeth.

  "You got to be kidding me," Harrison scoots closer to the others.

  The wolf on the rock creeps closer to them. Small circular glasses, tightly snugging the wolf's face reflects the sun, blinding Harrison as he creeps closer.

  "Okay, so there are two. No big deal. Tommy, go take them out. Not like there are three or something,” JT nudges Tommy

  Harrison moves toward the one closer to the wood line. Deep raspy growling echoes from the cave.

  "Okay. So apparently there are three," JT shakes his head.

  One blueish green eye lights up the darkness from inside. A wolf exits the cave glaring at them with just one eye. A giant x replaces his left eye, making his right eye seem as if it is bulging out.

  Harrison and the others close in tighter as the wolves approach them from different angles.

  "Don't move. Maybe if we just stand here for a couple of moments they will go away," Jaylen says.

  The wolves circle them slowly, releasing angry growls in between their teeth as they stare intently at them.

  "Yeah. I think you can forget that plan," JT says.

  Steadily pacing around them, Harrison feels their hot breath brush against his skin as one passes by. Their growls intensify, showing small yellow stains hugging the bottom of their teeth. Abruptly, the wolf with just one eye stops, glaring at Harrison.

  "Why are you here?" the one-eyed wolf says.

  His deep voice sends cold chills down Harrison's back. The scar replacing his eye intimidates him and makes it hard to focus on the wolf's determined stare.

  "Great. They are crazy talking wolves now," JT whispers.

  The wolf with glasses walks in front of JT, squinting his eyes at him.

  "Hey, kid. We aren't known as crazy talking wolves. You better call us by our real title," The wolf with glasses says.

  "What's your real title?" JT’s voice cracks.

  "We are the Wolfpack," the normal wolf says.

  Lowering his head, the one-eyed wolf paws at his good eye. Lifting his head up, he moves closer to Harrison. "Okay kid. I already asked you once and this will be the last time. Why are you here?"

  Taking a big gulp, Harrison feels his mouth go dry and a knot swell in his throat.

  "We didn't come to cause trouble or bother you. We just came to get something from this cave," Harrison says.

  The one-eyed wolf bounces back a couple of steps, spinning slowly in a circle. Lifting his head up quickly, the top of his head glows with green energy. Leaping at him, the one-eyed wolf slams his head into Harrison's chest, sending Harrison sliding on the ground.

  Gliding on his back, the one-eyed wolf rides on Harrison's chest and stomach as he slides against the side of the cave. Knocking the top of his head against the cave, the throbbing sensation makes his eyes water making the wolf appear fuzzy.

  "What are you trying to get from the cave?" the one-eyed wolf declares.

  His lips stick together making it hard to utter a word. The wolf lowers his head closer to Harrison. "Answer me. Now.”

  "We were just here to get a green gem from the cave," Harrison replies nervously.

  The wolves circling the others, glare at Harrison and the one-eyed wolf. Shocking gasps erupt from the wolves and the one on top of Harrison digs his paws harder into Harrison's chest. "Why are you trying to take one of the Elder's gems?"

  "They are up to no good, boss. I think you should let me eat one," the wolf with the glasses licks his lips.

  "Yeah, boss, that would be awesome. We haven't seen anybody around here since that time thirteen years ago when those two guys showed up. And remember you wouldn't let us eat them," the other wolf says.

  "Yeah. The eating part doesn't sound like a cool option at all," JT says. "Plus, I guarantee we wouldn't taste good."

  "Shut up," the one-eyed wolf screams, snapping his head, staring at them.

  "Yup. You got it." JT glances at the ground.

  "Now. Tell me why you want one of the Elder's gems," he says, inches away from Harrison’s face.

  "I can explain. We just need a gem so that it can activate the Elder's compass we have so that it will lead us to the Ark of Power," Harrison replies.

  Ears on all the wolves twitch rapidly while their mouths dangle open.

  "You have the Elder's compass?"

  "Yeah. It's in my backpack underneath me," Harrison replies.

  "Show me," he says, jumping off of him.

  Harrison's lungs inflate as air rushes through his chest.

  "Don't you try anything stupid either, or I will let those two over there eat your friends while you watch. Then we will eat you last."

  "Yeah. Let's not try anything stupid, Harrison," JT says nervously.

  Slowly sitting up, Harrison slides his
backpack off. Feeling the one-eyed wolf gazing him down, he fumbles around inside the backpack. The zipper gets stuck, snagging on one spot. Out of the corner of his eye, he spots the other wolves crouching, ready to pounce.

  Finally opening it, Harrison throws black gym shorts and two other gray shirts on the ground. Sitting on top of the compass is his dad's ripped shirt.

  "Hurry up and take everything out. I don't want any surprises," the one-eyed wolf says.

  Harrison slings his dad’s shirt out of the backpack.

  It lands in front of the wolf, who approaches the shirt and sniffs softly. "I have smelled that scent before,” he stares at Harrison. "There are two scents on this shirt. Yours and one of the guys that came here thirteen years ago.”

  Harrison's eyes grow large at what he just said.

  "That is my dad's shirt. You sure you smelled that scent before?" Harrison says, not worrying about the compass anymore.

  "That was your dad?"

  "Yes. He has been missing for the last thirteen years. That is why we are here. Apparently, my dad was sent on a mission to find the Ark of Power. I have the compass right here and if I can activate it then it could lead me to it and possibly him," Harrison stands up as the long compass dangles.

  The one-eyed wolf's eye stays on the compass gently swaying. The other two wolves' ears lower, pointing sideways. Drool drops out of their mouths as they gaze at the compass. Taking short, slow strides, the one-eyed wolf moves towards Harrison.

  "I have not seen that for a long time,” he says, staring at it without blinking.

  Clinching the compass tighter, Harrison pulls it up, hiding it. Stopping in his tracks, the one-eyed wolf glares in disgust.

  "This is mine now. After I use it to see if I can find my dad, I promise I will return it," Harrison says, nervously.

  His eye pierces into Harrison's, as he creeps closer to him. Feeling his mouth go dry, Harrison struggles to swallow as he takes a couple of steps backward.

  "How dare you say it is yours? That belongs to the First Elder and him alone," the one-eyed wolf says crouching.

  Suddenly, he lunges at Harrison. Harrison flips sideways evading him. Sliding on the ground, dust from the dirt fills the air. The one-eyed wolf dives at him again with more vigor. Quickly, Harrison forms a green energy ball, making his face squint in pain as he feels the burning sensation in his wound.