by J. M. Lyons
in the driveway. She said that they saw a women standing there
with a man, and that she looked exactly like me.” I went on, as I
moved around a little to sit more comfortably.
“Now I haven't seen my mother in years, since I was a very
little girl, and when I looked at her on the day of my graduation, we
were splitting images of each other. Was it her that Mrs. Hawks
saw?" I said, now looking at Elder Wing, with high hopes that he
could answer that. "I heard about that. I can't explain everything,
but I can tell you that the darkness is near, and I have a feeling
that your brother may be touched by it.” He said as his glare
suddenly went past me.
“Mia, I think you need to get behind me." He said, as his eyes
were fixed behind of me; but before I could turn to see what he
was looking at he jumped up and stood right in front of me. He
took out a small stick that was stuck in back of his pants. There were small circle designs on it. I looked at him surprised and
confused.
"Mia you need to move now." He said, pulling me up from the
log and throwing me backward. Startled by his strength and afraid
of what he may have been looking at; I hit the ground hard. I
looked over into the direction of his eyes; I noticed a very big, and
dark shape standing just beyond the bushes. A feeling of danger
hit me like a ton of bricks.
"What do you want here?" Elder Wing said, demanding an
answer. "Why Elder Wing, you have grown very old haven't you?"
I heard a weird taunting voice say. The big, dark shape slowly
moved the bushes aside and stepped out; it was Tucker.
Shocked I couldn't move; I gasped in total disbelief.
"Tucker." I said, my voice quivering with fear. The look in his
eyes told me that I was not looking at Tucker. His eyes glowed
green, almost as green as the bushes that he just stepped out of.
"I asked you a question; what do you want here?" Elder Wing
demanded again. "Ha, ha, ha, ha. Tucker is sleeping right now."
The voice that spoke through him said, with such evil, such
darkness. Tucker looked scary, his demeanor changed he stood
crouched over a bit, but his body was much darker and he twisted
his shoulders back and forth. "Elder Wing; you know why I'm here;
and you also know that I want the scrolls." The voice laughed.
"You will get nothing, demon." He said, bring the short stick
forward. He slammed the stick to the ground and a sudden gust of
wind appeared, but swirled only around him.
"You will give them to me; and if you don't Tucker will never
be apart of your precious Elemental's again." The voice said,
moving Tuckers body in a strange way. It took me a bit to just to
stand up from the ground. I swallowed hard. This is my only
brother and hell if this thing is gonna hurt him. "No, you won't that
is my brother." I said, placing my hands into tight fists firmly at my
sides.
"Ha, and what are you going to do to stop me little girl." The
voice taunted. "Give me back my brother." I demanded. "No. I will
not." It said. "You will release him, and you will do so now." Elder
Wing said, again hitting the ground as the wind around him grew
wild, but controlled. "We'll see about that old man." The voice
said, as it created a swirl of wind around itself. "You forget old man this is an elemental as you were." It said,
still taunting Elder Wing. Where is everybody I thought quietly to
myself. As the swirls of winds grew stronger and stronger; I could
feel the cold air descend on the camp, pulling a dark evil fog down
out of the forest. "I know where the scrolls are, and I will, have
them." It said, looking over at the tent that Tucker and I shared.
"You will not." He said, suddenly pushing the wind that swirled
around him toward Tucker. He dug his feet down hard into the
ground to keep him from falling; the wind kept building around
Tucker but he did not fall. It seemed Tucker was pulling it in
making his swirl of wind bigger and bigger. "Elder Wing stop; he's
pulling the energy from you." I yelled, as the wind gusts grew so
strong that we could barely hear anything over its howl and
whistling.
"Ha, ha, ha. Old man, this time you will die." The voice said,
as the swirls turned into a big tornado sucking the dirt and rocks
up into the air. "No." I said, as an energy that I have never felt
before, grew stronger and stronger within me. With every beat of
my heart it grew. I could feel the energy from everything that was
around me, the fire, the ground, the forest, the lake. The energy
pulsated outward from me, creating a barrier around me that grew larger and larger until soon it surrounded Elder Wing as well, who
fell to the ground weakened by the sudden loss of energy.
"You will release my brother now, and you will not harm him
ever again." I commanded; clenching my fists tighter, stepping
closer and closer to this evil being that stood just ahead of me.
"And who will stop me; you Mia." The voice said. "Yes, I am, the
bringer of the Red Moon." I said, pushing this barrier forward
breaking through the tornado that surrounded Tucker.
The stronger the wind blew, the stronger the barrier became.
"Release him; now." I screamed, as I could no longer contain the
energy that surrounded me. The barrier forced itself outward
straight to Tucker; knocking him off his feet. I pictured the feeling
of having the fire in my hands again and surrounded Tucker with a
hot white flame that burned very bright.
"Ughh." Tucker screamed. "Release him." I demanded as the
flames burned even brighter and hotter. I felt the flames growing
and growing, getting hotter and hotter. “Aaahhh.” Tucker
screamed louder in utter pain.
"Wing, are you alright." A voice said from behind me. I
refused to look away with the fear that if I did, I would lose Tucker
to this darkness that grew within him. "Aaahhh." Tucker screamed again in pain. "Mia; it's me. Mia; stop." I heard Tucker screaming.
I put my hands down immediately releasing every bit of
energy that I had. The remaining energy shot out dispersing
everywhere around me. Pushing all who was near off their feet,
and flattening the tents that were pegged tightly into the ground.
The flames that burned hot and bright around Tucker quickly died
out and the cold air was warm again.
I immediately ran to Tucker and dropped to the ground; I
gently set his head on my lap. "Tucker; are you ok." I said, softly
as tear ran down my face. I stroked his hair softly. "Mia, I'm sorry."
He said, weak and with tears filling his eyes. "I don't know what
happened. It was like I could hear and see everything, but I
couldn't do anything about it." He said, letting the tears flow from
his eyes. "I'm so sorry Tucker if I hurt you; I didn't mean to hurt
you." I kept repeating; as the tears kept falling.
"Mia, it's ok. Mia." I heard my dad say. I slowly looked over at
him crying. "Dad; something was wrong with him; and he attacked
Elder Wing and I. He wanted the scrolls, and he s
aid that if we
didn't give it to him that he would hurt Tucker; but he's my brother
nobody hurts my family." I said crying. "I know my baby. Just let
go, everything's fine now." Dad assured me, attempting to pull me up from the ground. I wouldn’t let go of Tucker. We both looked at
each other crying.
"Mom." Dad called to grandma. She walked slowly toward
Tucker and I. "Grandma he knew where I hid the scrolls; when I
showed them to Tucker." I said softly hugging her. "I know, that's
why we hid them somewhere else." She smiled. "Tucker will be
fine, don't worry. He'll be fine." She said slowly turning me away
from Tucker pulling me up off the ground.
She slowly walked me toward the logs that were no longer set
in the middle of the camp. Jon came over and put his warm but
rough hands upon my face as the tears kept flowing. "Mia, it's
alright he's fine now." Jon assured, me pulling my head closer to
his, making our foreheads touch. I could feel the warmth from
Jon's hands and head beginning to comfort me. "Grandma." I said,
slightly pulling away from Jon. "I did; I hurt him." I said as less
tears fell. "Very little Mia; he's a little singed but, he's ok." Dad
replied, now standing beside me.
"Mia what you did was very brave." Elder Wolf said, as he
stepped closer to me. I turned to look at Tucker but he was gone.
"Where's Tucker?" I asked, looking around. "Grandpa took him to
the tent, he really needs to rest." Dad said, as he set a small torch on fire. I watched quietly as dad walked over to the tent that
Tucker and I shared, without even a word he set at four corners of
the tent on fire.
No one said anything. There wasn't even a word out of Jim,
Steve or uncle Tom for that matter who always had something
witty to add. We all just sat there; quietly watching the tent go up
in flames, it's flames reached high into the evening sky sending it's
smoke so high into the air it was like it reached the gods; the very
god’ that gave us these powers to begin with. Slowly the fire
dimmed as everything smouldered into ash.
"Elder's, Elemental's, Mia. It is obvious to me now that the
dark evil is near and they will come soon for the diamonds.
Tomorrow we will being to make the necessary preparations to
hinder their progress and hopefully to stop them in their tracks."
Dad said, looking around at the quiet, weary faces that looked
back at him. "I'm ready to do what I need to do, no matter what." I
said, with a determination that I’ve never felt before.
"Yeah; we all are." Jon said, nodding his head toward Steve
and Jim who also nodded their heads in agreement. "Good, we'll
start tomorrow." He repeated. Uncle Tom and the Elders stood
aside with watchful eyes as dad spoke to us. Steve, Jim, and Jon quietly rolled the logs back into place
around the fire that continued to burn. Dad, grandpa and the
elders helped each other pull the tents back upright, tightening it's
ropes around the pegs that stuck out of the ground. Me and
grandma never moved; we just sat there, not moving, and very
quite. Soon the only sounds that any of us could hear was the
sound of the crackling fire that fluttered in the cool breeze, and the
animals that chirped only at night.
What was that in Tucker? What happened to him? Was he
possessed, I mean elder Wing called him a demon. How was I
able to emit such a force of energy that it would push him off his
feet. What dark evil is near? What did tonight's events have to do
with my mother and James; I mean I did I have that visions earlier
today? What did it mean? Why are they coming for me? So many
questions that I, myself just couldn't answer; so much confusion
bothered me to the point where my head hurt.
It seemed like the more I tried to stop worrying about it the
more it bothered me. Grandma got up and went over to dad. Jon
sat beside me in her place. I guess tomorrow will be a long day; I
thought quietly to myself while Jon caressed my back, trying his
best to comfort my troubled mind. I put my head on his shoulder in hopes that my confusion and despair would subside, if only for just
a little. Soon the pain went away as I began to fall asleep leaning
on Jon's shoulders. Jon helped me up and took me to my tent.
He helped me into bed and gently kissed my forehead before tucking me in and retreating back to his own tent.
8 THE GREAT SADNESS
I woke to the bliss full chirps of the birds and the rustling of the
tree branches rubbing against each other stretching it's limbs
higher into the sky. The wind blew softly pushing the door to my
tent back and forth, letting in the cool mountain air. I just laid there
for a bit, just breathing in the fresh new air. I looked around and
saw that I was the only person in the tent. Grandma wasn't there. I
felt worn down, like all the energy was sucked right out of me.
I slowly got up and stretched my legs out along the soft floor,
reaching my arms high up feeling all the mussels in my body
pulling itself straight. I rotated my neck feeling every bit of
stiffness. As I sat there, the questions began to come rushing
back to me, making my head hurt. Oh my god, I thought to myself
as I put my head in my hands rubbing my temples with my cold
fingers. Wow, last night was quite a heavy night, I thought; slowly
standing up, trying my best to shake off the light headedness. I felt weak and tired, I felt slow and a little saddened by what happened
last night.
I slowly pushed open the door to the tent, the elders sat
around the fire. Grandma and grandpa was busy cooking. Jon,
Steve and Jim sat at the creeks edge. Dad and Tucker sat in the
shade of a small tree talking. "Was I the last to wake up." I said
softly, unsure if anyone would hear me. "After last night, you
deserved to rest. I bet that took a lot out of you, huh?" Elder Wolf
said looking at me, with is wide eyes. I just smiled at him, hoping
that it was answer enough.
"How are you feeling Elder Wing?" I asked, walking slowly
over to him, placing my hand on his shoulder. "I'm alright, thanks
to you, Mia." He replied with a smile, putting his hand on mine.
"Mia that was a very brave thing you did last night." Elder Wolf
said, with a smile of approval. "Well, he did the same for me." I
replied, tapping elder Wing on the shoulder, before I let my hand
fall off to the side.
I looked over at Tucker whose eyes were fixed on me; but this
time I knew that it was my brother that I was looking at. "Mia, can
you come here please." Dad called out. Jon, Steve, and Jim
quickly shifted their glance over toward us. Jon stood up quickly, but just stood there. I slowly walked over to dad and Tucker with a
small smile on my face as I kept looking at Tucker.
Tucker quickly looked down and didn't say anything at first.
"How are you this morning? I can see that I'm talking to you
though." I said, reaching my hand out to touch my brother. He
kind of backed away from me at first and looked over at dad. "It's
ok Tucker you no longer possess th
e evil, she pushed it out of
you. You really should just be grateful that it's over; and you're not
stuck in that nightmare anymore." Dad said, softly hitting his arm
with his fist.
Tucker smiled and looked at me with my hand still stretched
out reaching for my brother. He reached out and slid his fingers
through mine until we connected our fingers and grabbed each
other tightly. "I love you Mia, I wouldn't deliberately try to hurt you,
you know that don't you." He said, pulling me close for a hug. "I
know, and you should know that I wouldn't hurt you either." I
replied, hugging him back.
I looked over at grandma and grandpa who stood there off to
the side smiling at the sight of the two of us embraced in a hug;
dad smiled too. "Come and eat everyone, it's finally done."
Grandpa said, putting a big pot on the small wooden table. "Yeah; I think I need some food." Tucker said, hurrying over to the table.
"Dad, is he really alright." I asked as Tucker hurried to be first in
line, followed by Steve and Jim. "Yes he is Mia; what ever that
was, it's gone now and I don't think it has any power over your
brother anymore. You're a very powerful person Mia. I don't recall
ever seeing that kind of power." He said, with one hand on my
shoulder and the other on the side of my face.
"I think you've got an invitation for breakfast." He said with a
smile, nodding to someone behind me. I turned around and found
Jon stand right in the back of me. "Good morning; how are you
feeling?" He asked, grabbing my hands in his, my arms tingled
with his warmth. "Good morning; I'm fine." I replied, leaning over
giving him a hug. He hugged me back, tightly.
"We're glad that Tuckers feeling better." He said, looking over
at Tucker who was already feeding his face, while sitting at the fire
with the elders. Elder Wing sat close to Tucker whispering
something to him, then he hugged Tucker, and Tucker hugged
him back. Jon and I made us a plate of the fresh eggs and a bowl
of rice mixed in a pot of hot herbal soup. "This smells good." He
said smelling the steam that came out of the bowl. "Yeah; my grandpa always had a way with food." I smiled. We
walked over to the creek. "Wait." Jon said handing me his bowl of
soup. He put his opened palms out in front of him and drew a