Author’s note: Well, here is the first part of the continuation to the Guardian Saga. I hope you enjoy.
A brown haired young woman sat in front of her small, city house reading a thick book and sitting on a mahogany porch swing. She was a stocky, muscular woman with a strong build and fierce golden eyes which would send most people running if she turned on them in anger. But at the moment, the woman was far from angry. In fact, she was laughing hysterically, tears streaming down her face and eyes lit with mirth. Another, similar looking young woman with deep brown eyes poked her head out of the door.
“Um… Marina? What are you doing?” she asked. Marina stopped laughing abruptly and blushed in embarrassment.
“Sorry Anne, but this book Liesl lent me is just way to funny to be legal,” she said, unable to hold back even the slightest sign of her amusement. Anne, her dark eyed twin, sighed.
“Well I don’t think you’ll have to tell her what you thought of it. I’m sure she heard even though she lives something like a mile away,” she muttered. Marina crossed her arms and pouted.
“Thanks, you jerk,” she mumbled.
“Hey, what are sisters for?” asked Anne. Marina shot her a dirty look. Anne just grinned manically and jumped back in the house. The golden-eyed teen sighed and turned her eyes up at the sky.
“Some sister. I wish something would happen around here, like it does in those stories I read. Nothing interesting ever happens.”
On the other side of the city, another teen was having similar thoughts. Blue-gray eyes stared lazily at the wall as longish fingernails tapped the table. Bored, bored, bored, bored. I’m going to go insane simply from boredom! Caitlin thought. She sighed, catching the attention of her taller twin Cassandra.
“Bored?” she asked. Caitlin shot her a glare.
“I’m so bored I’m going insane! Can’t we find something to do? Anything?” she whined. Cassandra raised an eyebrow.
“You could read you’re schoolbooks,” she stated. Caitlin shook her head.
“No, not that. That WILL bore me beyond words!” she said firmly. Cassandra sighed.
“Well we could call Anna, Abby and Aria and go bowling at the mall or something,” she suggested. Caitlin jumped up, knocking her chair backwards.
“Great idea! Yes, something to do that doesn’t involve school! Saved!” The blue-eyed teen dashed out of the room to find the phone. Cassandra shook her head.
“She must really have been bored. Usually she hates phones,” she muttered, turning her attention back to her book. She, unlike her sister, was actually trying to get her summer reading done. But then, knowing Caitlin, she wouldn’t finish at least one of the books and come begging Cassandra to enlighten her. Cassandra was about to continue on that train of thought when Caitlin burst back into the room, and ecstatic grin on her freckled face.
“We’re meeting them at two outside the bowling alley! Come on, let’s go!” she yelled. Cass put down her book and stood up, stretching.
“All right, but I’m driving,” she said. Caitlin stopped dead and stared at her.
“But…”
“If you drive it will take hours to get there,” Cassandra stated. Caitlin pouted and swung a punch at her sister’s head, which Cassandra easily ducked. “Come on, let’s go,” she said, walking towards the door and grabbing the keys off the hook on the way. Caitlin quickly jotted down a note to their mother and scrambled after her sister.
In yet another area of town, a tall brunette teen was also feeling the effects of summer boredom. Brown eyes flicked towards the phone for the millionth time that hour.
“Alright fine! I’ll call her,” Heather shouted, picking up the phone and dialing. A male voice picked up on the other end.
“Hello, who is it?” the man asked.
“Hey Kevin, it’s Heather. Is Liesl there?” Heather asked.
“Yah, just a sec. LIESL! HEATHER’S ON THE PHONE!” Kevin yelled. Heather immediately covered her ears to keep from going deaf. She heard a shout and a loud smack on the other end, then a female voice.
“Hi Heather, it’s me,” said Liesl on the other end.
“Jeeze, I thought your brother was trying to burst my eardrums,” Heather said. “Anyway, do you want to go out to the mall or something? I’m really really bored!” Liesl sighed.
“Sure, just to get away from this moron,” she said. Heather heard an offended yelp in the background and smirked.
“Great. I’ll call Anne and Marina and we’ll meet you there,” she said.
“Right, meet you at the west entrance,” Liesl replied.
“See ya there.” Heather hung up the phone and dialed another number. The phone was again answered by a male voice.
“Hi Mark, It’s Heather. Is Anne or Marina there?” she asked.
“Yeah, just a sec.” Instead of the loud yelling, Mark, Anne and Marina’s older brother, put down the phone and went to get one of his siblings. It was Anne who answered the phone.
“Hey Heather, what’s up?” she asked.
“I was wondering if you and Marina would want to go hang out at the mall with me and Liesl,” Heather stated.
“Sure, what time?”
“About two. We’ll meet you at the west entrance.”
“Great, see ya there.” Heather hung up the phone again and stood up, stretching. I’d better get going if I’m going to make it on time, she thought.
The mall was a little more crowed than Abby had expected for a Tuesday, but then, it was summer. She, Anna and Aria were hanging out around the entrance to the fourth floor bowling alley, waiting for Caitlin and Cassandra to show up.
“They’re late again! Why are they always late! Can’t we just go start with out them? I’m bored!” Aria whined. Anna shot her a quick glare through honey brown eyes.
“They’ll get here eventually. Unless Caitlin’s driving,” she said. Abby grinned at that comment. Caitlin was a notoriously slow driver, having just gotten her license after almost two years of having a permit. Her sister, on the other hand, was almost as much of a speed demon as Anna and had gotten her license within six months of having a permit.
As the three waited for their late friends, Abby scoped out the scenery. A few girls their age were mooning over a picture of some rock star in the music store window across the hall while numerous groups of people wandered in and out of the arcade. A trio of young men caught Abby’s eye. Two of them were dark haired, one with long hair and the other with a shorter, wind-blown cut. The third was a little shorter with dark red hair. All three were dressed like some character from a bad spy movie and weaving through the crowd with surprising ease. A shout from Aria snapped Abby out of her trance.
“They’re here! They’re here! They’re here! YAY! Now we can have some real fun!” the blond girl yelled as Caitlin and Cassandra jogged up to join the group.
“Sorry we’re late,” Caitlin said. “Cass got into a fight with a guy in the parking lot over a space and one of the security guards had to break it up.” Anna raised an eyebrow and grinned.
“You did, did you? Are you sure you’re not trying to cover up for Cat’s driving?” she asked. Caitlin shot her a dirty look.
“Unlike you, I have yet to crash a car either,” she growled. Cassandra chuckled.
“Hey, the guy tried to bowl me over while I was turning in. I wasn’t about to let him get away with it,” she said.
“So I’m assuming you won the argument?” Abby asked. Cass just smirked evilly.
“Guys? Can we please get started now? We’ve been waiting forever!” Aria whined. Caitlin sighed.
“Alright, let’s go!” she said.
Back at Liesl’s home, Kevin jumped up suddenly from his seat on the couch, book falling to the floor. He clutched his head. What is this? Something’s going to happen? Where? And when? he thought. A vision of the city mall flashed through his mind, as did scenes of five young women at a bowling alley, Liesl and her friends in a store, and three guys wandering through the mall.
Kevin staggered towards the medicine cabinet in the bathroom, opening it shakily and pulling out a bottle of Advil. He took out two pills and washed them down with water, shaking as he recalled his vision. His head jerked up. Kevin ran out of the bathroom, not bothering to pick up the bottle of Advil he had spilt in his haste. He dashed towards the phone, grabbed it, and dialed a number.
“Hello?” said a voice on the other end.
“Joe? Is that you?” Kevin asked shakily.
“Kevin? You don’t sound so good? What happened?” asked Joe, his voice sounding surprised.
“I had a vision. A bad one. Something’s going to happen today, at the mall. We have to get there as soon as possible,” Kevin told him.
“Can you drive?”
“No, I’m still to shaky.”
“Right, Jason and I’ll pick you up. Be there in a sec,” said Joe, hanging up the phone. Kevin sighed and sat down, head in his hand. You better hurry Joe, or we may be to late.
Back at the mall, Liesl pressed her face up against the window of a large jewelry store.
“Look, isn’t that one pretty,” she said, pointing out a pale yellow crystal to Heather. The tall teen raised an eyebrow, then grinned.
“It’s nice, but I kinda like this one better,” she said, showing her an identical stone, this one in a deep brownish green.
“Well than why don’t you two have a better look at them,” said a smiling sale’s lady behind the counter. She immediately reached down for the two stones in question. They were settled amongst a set of nine crystals, all in different colors ranging from sapphire-blue to blood red.
“Wait, you don’t have to…” The lady smiled and placed the yellow crystal right in front of a startled Liesl. Liesl picked the crystal up, rolling it in the palm of her hand. Next to her, Heather inspected the green one. Anne, not to be left out, peeked over Liesl’s shoulder.
“What’s that?” she asked.
“Some kind of crystal,” said Liesl. “I thought it was pretty.” Anne looked down at the remaining seven crystals. A gleaming black stone caught her eye.
“Hey, look at this one! It looks like a shamrock or something,” Marina gasped excitedly. The sales lady smiled and reached down to pull out a brilliant emerald stone. Marina immediately took it in her hand and smiled.
“Isn’t it pretty Anne!” she said. Anne nodded, her attention still drawn towards the ebony stone near the center of the set.
“Um, could I see that black one?” she asked.
“Sure thing,” the sale’s lady said as she reached down to grab the stone. Anne stared at the crystal as it was dropped into her hand. It seemed to be calling to her, beckoning her.
“How much are these?” asked Liesl, still fixated on her pale yellow stone.
“Well,” said the lady, “We were selling the set for about 300 initially, but no one has been interested in them. Actually, I think you’re the first to even take a look at them. I think the set is down to about 50 dollars by now, so each one is around 5.50.
“Wow,” said Marina, raising both her eyes.
“That’s cheep,” stated Heather.
“I’ll buy this one,” said Anne, much to the surprise of both Liesl and Heather. The brown-eyed teen pulled out her wallet and handed the woman the money.
“Thank you,” said the lady.
“I think we’ll buy these as well,” said Liesl, holding up the pale yellow crystal and fumbling with her purse with her free hand. Sooner than they would have believed, the four were out of there marveling over their new purchases.
“Hey Anne, why did you decide to buy that?” Liesl asked. Anne shrugged.
“I don’t know. I just kinda felt, well, compelled to do it,” she said. Heather and Liesl just looked at each other. The taller teen shrugged.
“Whatever. Let’s go grab a snack,” she said, pointing to the food court nearby.
“STRIKE!” yelled Caitlin, waltzing back to the chairs where her friends waited. The score board above her blinked with an X. Anna glared playfully. She and her blue-eyed friend had been tied before Caitlin’s turn and now, it was time to even the score. Cassandra grinned at her sister as their honey-eyed friend stepped up to the lane.
Cass had opted to be scorekeeper since she wasn’t quite the bowling addict the others were. It wasn’t that she didn’t like the game, but playing against four people who are just downright good at the game when you still can’t win with bumpers was a little too humiliating for her to handle.
Abby had pulled ahead early in the game and was currently sitting about 40 some points above the others while Aria was trailing by about 10. Caitlin and Anna, on the other hand, had been neck and neck since the beginning and nothing seemed to be changing about that.
“HA! Take that!” yelled Anna, as the scoreboard above her flashed. Caitlin gave her a sad excuse for a mock glare
“Damn you! I will beat you this time Anna!” she yelled. Anna just grinned and sat down, sipping her soda.
“One more round. How bout we go get a snack after this, I’m hungry,” said Cassandra.
“Sounds good to me,” stated Abby, as she watched Aria walk back sulking from her failed turn. She stood up, ready to go.
“Don’t worry, Aria. It’s only a game,” she heard Caitlin say in the background.
“Yeah, one we always beat her at.”
“Oh shut up.” Abby grinned and picked up a ball, aiming carefully. She swung the ball back and was about to let it go when the power suddenly went out. Abby stopped dead, the ball just missing her foot as it fell from her fingers.
“What the hell?” Caitlin asked from behind her.
“That’s what I’d like to know,” said Cassandra.
“Ah, I can’t see. I’m scared!” whined Aria. A little bit of shuffling was heard, then a yelp from Anna
“Hey, watch it! That was my foot.”
“Guys, don’t they have emergency lights in here?” With Caitlin’s question, dim red lights flickered to life around the room. The five looked around, startled to find the room completely empty.
“Okay, I’m creeped out now. I say we find the exit,” said Cassandra.
“Good idea, let’s go,” said Abby, starting for the door. The five had just barely made it out of the bowling alley when the emergency lights flickered off again. The dim gray sky barely lit the halls through tiny windows in the roof.
“Wasn’t it sunny when we were out here last?” asked Anna.
“Guys, look at all the people!” Caitlin shouted. All around them, bodies of unconscious humans lay scattered on the floor.
“Keep quiet!” hissed Cassandra.
“What happened?” asked Abby quietly. Aria moved closer to Anna, gripping the back of her shirt tightly.
“What’s going on?” she whimpered. “I’m scared.” A rustling sound made the five jump and turn in surprise. A strange figure moved in the dim light, coming towards them as it shuffled through the senseless bodies.
“What is it?” Caitlin whispered.
“No idea,” Abby replied. “Stay quiet.” As the figure moved closer it was evident that whatever it was, it wasn’t human. Suddenly glowing red eyes turned on them. The thing gave an inhuman screech and dove at the group. They dove out of the way as the thing shot by, borne by bat-like wings.
“Ah! What was that!” Cass yelled, diving to the floor. Abby, Anna and Aria had managed to doge the thing as well, but Caitlin was still in the middle of the hallway. “Caitlin! Get out of there! It’s coming back!” Cass yelled to her sister.
“My leg’s twisted! I can’t move!” Caitlin yelled back. “AH!” Caitlin froze in fear, eyes wide as the demon thing came at her again.
“CAT!” There was a clang, and a sharp screech, then a hissing sound as the demon fell back. Caitlin found herself in the arms of a tall young man, with long black hair pulled back in a ponytail. She heard another clang and turned her head to peak over the man’s shoulder. Two other young men, about the same age as the one carrying her, were fighting off the creature with what looked like two swords. The man carrying her set Caitlin down on the floor and touched her leg, not making a sound as he did so.
“Hey, what do you think you’re…”
“I’m going to heal you, stay calm,” said the man. Caitlin’s eyes widened at hearing his voice. It was familiar, some how. But how could that be? She would have remembered a guy like him… right? Strange warmth and a green glow near her busted knee joint caught her attention.
“What the… what’s going on here?” she asked. Another clang drew Caitlin’s attention back to the fight. The red-haired man took a swing at the demon’s torso as the other dark haired one lopped off its head. The thing fell to the ground, disintegrating in a cloud of ash.
“What the hell was that?” asked Anna. The two men sheathed their swords and came towards the girls.
“That was a demon,” said the man healing Caitlin’s leg quietly.
“What?” asked Abby
“A demon, a creature from hell, you know, an evil being trying to infiltrate and take over earth. Don’t you girls ever watch the good old hero movies anymore?” asked the man with short black hair. He sighed, then blinked. “How are you five conscious anyway?” Cassandra shrugged, standing up and brushing herself off.
“No idea. We were in the bowling alley when the lights went off and this is what we found when we got out. Who are you guys anyway?” she asked, crossing her arms.
“I’m Myrandel and this is Tooya. That’s my brother Rhodry,” said the shorthaired man, nodding to the redhead and the man helping Caitlin respectively.
“Okay… so how do we get out of this mess?” asked Anna, also standing. Myrandel shrugged.
“We should search for other survivors first. If you five are conscious there might be others,” he said. Aria winced.
“Are you sure we can’t just get out of here? I mean, I don’t know about you but I’m freaked out,” she said. Tooya gave a quick glance in Aria’s direction.
“The truth is we don’t know if we can get out. We should search for others since we’re stuck here,” the redhead stated.
“Well, it’s better than sitting here,” said Caitlin, attempting to stand with Rhodry’s help.
“Can you walk?” the dark haired man asked her. Caitlin tested her knee, then nodded.
“Yep, feels good as new. Thanks,” she said.
“Let’s get going. I don’t want to be around here when the next patrol comes through,” said Myrandel, starting off in one direction.
“Hold up,” said Caitlin, jogging after him. “There are MORE of those things?” she asked. Myrandel nodded.
“Quite a few, so keep it down and just follow us,” he said. Caitlin nodded and fell back with her friends. It was amazing just how weird things could get.
Before the black out, Liesl, Anne, Heather and Marina had been wandering through the crowd, gazing at the different choices of food in the court. A loud shout got their attention.
“Liesl!” yelled a voice. The four turned to see Kevin running towards them, followed by his two friends Jason and Joe, twins with a somewhat strange reputation at school.
“Kevin what the hell are you doing here?” Liesl asked. Kevin gasped in a breath when he reached them.
“No time to explain, we have to get out of here. Now,” he said, grabbing her elbow.
“Now wait up! What’s going on here? Why are you in such a rush?” Heather yelled at him. Kevin just gave her a stern look.
“Like I said, I can’t explain now, just follow me,” he said.
“What the hell is this all about?” Anne asked Joe as the group took off following Kevin. Joe shook his head, continuing to focus forward.
“Kevin called us saying something was up here. We’ll explain later,” he said. They were about 500 feet from the exit, dodging various other shoppers, when the lights went out around them. About two seconds later, they were dive-bombed by some unknown creature. The girls and Kevin hit the deck while brilliant flashes of red and orange played about their heads from Joe and Jason’s fingertips. There was a loud, ferocious screech, and a dull thud. Anne peaked up from beneath her arms. Seeing nothing, she sat up and turned around. Before her, Joe and Jason paced around a prone figure on the ground, red and orange lights gleaming from their fingers.
“What the… I didn’t know you guys could do that,” muttered Liesl. Anne looked over the body lying on the floor.
“What is that thing?” she asked. Jason shrugged.
“No idea,” he said. A scarlet eye flicked open, and the creature let out an inhuman shriek. Two beams of energy, one red and one orange, shot at the creature, blowing it to ash. “Well, now we know it’s dead,” said Jason. Kevin sighed.
“Yes, but what was that? Are there more of them? And for that matter, why do we seem to be the only one’s conscious?” he asked. Heather looked around her. Kevin was right. All around them, the bodies of unconscious humans lay scattered like rag dolls.
“Maybe we should see if anyone else is still awake like us. We might be able to help each other,” Marina said.
“Or we could just get out of here,” said Jason, walking up to the glass doors. He pulled a handle. It didn’t budge. “Damn! They’re locked.” In a fit of temper, he flung a blast of orange energy at the doors. The energy just reflected and bounced back at him. The group dove for cover as the energy blast struck a sign at the other end of the hall.
“Jason you idiot!” muttered Joe. “Come on, Marina’s right, we should see if we can find any others like us.”
Caitlin looked around at the various shops as they picked their way through the deathly quiet mall. Everything seemed so desolate, like time had stopped moving. She shivered. She didn’t like the darkness of the place, which was strange for her. Usually the brunette found as much comfort in darkness as she did light. But this didn’t feel right. This darkness was different. It felt, some how tainted.
A glimmer of light caught Caitlin’s eye. In the window of a small jewelry store, five multicolored crystals gleamed with inner light.
“What the,” Caitlin muttered, approaching. “Hey guys, take a look at this.”
“What is it?” asked Abby, coming up behind her.
“These crystals are glowing,” said Caitlin, reaching behind the counter. For some reason, the door had been left open. Caitlin reached in and drew out a clear colored crystal that glowed with white light. Abby too picked one up, hers being sapphire blue. To their sides, Aria, Cassandra and Anna picked up the remaining three.
“Hey, keep up! We don’t want to get lost!” yelled Myrandel from farther up the hall.
“Coming!” yelled Caitlin, unconsciously slipping the crystal into her pocket. She and the others ran to join their three protectors.
Anne was also watching the stores as the group passed through various halls and turns. Everything was so desolate, so dark and gloomy. Anne shivered. What was it about this place that gave her such a creepy feeling?
“You all right?” asked Marina. Anne shrugged.
“As well as can be expected,” she said. Marina nodded and the two continued on in silence. Before them, lay the entrance to the main court, a circular room with large celing windows that lay in the exact center of the mall. Small booth shops were usually set up around a central stage area and viewing floor. It was the place where most of the holiday mall celebrations or concerts were held. In the center of the floor was an elliptical golden star pattern with its rays shooting out across the huge room. All around the floor, the balconies of the mall’s four stories could be seen now only as dark strips of space.
Another screech was heard from behind them. Heather turned in surprise.
“Not another one!” she yelled.
“Come on!” yelled Joe, pulling them towards the center of the court. The seven teens dashed into the open space, chased by a black skinned creature with glowing yellow eyes and black bat-like wings. Heather glanced back at the creature, then looked ahead.
“There’s another one! Duck!” she yelled. The group hit the deck as a second, deep blue skinned demon flew overhead. The group stood, girls in the center and Joe and Jason powering up their energy attacks. Various beams of orange and red light lit the large room, sending one of their attackers into a far wall. The blue demon, which seemed to be much more agile than the other, dodged the attacks and came in closer, taking a swipe at Heather’s head. Heather screeched and ducked as the demon just barely missed her head.
Anne, on the other hand, stood still, watching the demons circle their prey. Her eyes narrowed. Why was this so strangely familiar to her? She didn’t feel as afraid as she should have in such a strange situation. A black-violet glimmer from her pocket caught her eye. She reached in and pulled out the black crystal she hand bought earlier that day. It was glowing with a fierce, almost impenetrable black light.
“What the?” she muttered. “What’s going on here?”
An explosion of scarlet and orange energy flashed through the mall, catching the attention of the eight wandering humans.
“What the hell was that?” yelled Anna. Myrandel’s eyes narrowed.
“No idea. We should check it out,” he said, breaking into a run towards the light.
“Check it out! Aren’t we on enough of a suicide mission as it is?” Cassandra yelled after him.
“There could be more survivors there. We have to at least try and help them,” Myrandel yelled back. Cass shook her head.
“Fine, it’s not like we’ve got anything better to do,” she muttered. The group caught sight of the fourth floor balcony overlooking the central court of the mall. Near the center, two dark creatures hovered above a small group of people, taking swipes at the group and dodging red and orange blasts of energy that seemed to be controlled by two or more of the people in the center.
“Let’s go down there. We might at least be able to distract them so those people can get out of the open,” said Caitlin. Anna and Abby both gave her weird looks. Aria just whimpered in fear. Cass shrugged and Rhodry shook his head.
“No, you girls stay here. We’ll distract them. You five have no idea what we’re dealing with,” he said. Tooya and Myrandel both nodded.
“Stick to the fourth floor, and stay out of sight of the court. You’ll be safest that way,” said Tooya. Abby nodded, grabbing Caitlin’s wrist.
“Come on,” she said. Caitlin resisted for a second, then allowed her green-eyed friend to pull her away. The guys nodded to them and took off for the stairs. Caitlin clenched a fist.
“Damn. I want to help them. I feel like I should be helping them,” she muttered. Cassandra placed a hand on her sister’s shoulder.
“I know, but there’s nothing we can do,” she said. Another explosion blew dust and shrapnel through the hall. The girls ducked or covered their faces with their arms. Caitlin dashed to the now destroyed balcony. Below, she could see Rhodry, Myrandel and Tooya, as well as the other two with the red and orange lights, fighting off now five of the demon creatures. They were loosing badly. The red and orange lights were dimmer and less effective than before, and the other three guys were having even more trouble fending the creatures off with their swords. The rest of the trapped group remained in the center of the court.
Caitlin picked up a piece of concrete from the destroyed balcony and hurled it down at one of the creatures.
“Hey ugly! Pick on someone else!” she yelled. Beside her, Anna and Cassandra joined in hurling miscellaneous pieces of metal and concrete at the creatures. Two of the beings flew up towards them, snarling in obvious anger. Cass and Anna took a step back as the creatures attacked, ducking to the floor. Caitlin stood still, a mix of fear and shock playing across her face.
“Caitlin! Duck!” yelled Abby. But it was too late for her to run. She raised her arms to block the coming attack and waited for the end.
Author’s note: Ah, yes, I’m having way to much fun with this! Hope you’re enjoying!
-Cat