If you were to suddenly sprout wings and fly off to another neighborhood, you might come across a certain one that caught your eye in the countrysides of Pennsylvania. This certain place you could find low, friendly hills and streams of crystal water, farms that held beautiful horses and people that were always polite, and that old rural feeling that could make you want to take off your shoes and run through the delicate patches of forests that speckled the land. But in this land of no cares lived something extraordinary. In this land lived a girl with great power and will. Here, we find the girl known as Jess Stonewall.
Jess was an intelligent fourteen-year-old who loved to sit around and listen. She would go outside, into her backyard, sit down in the grass and listen to the sounds of nature. Now, to her parents, brother and the rest of the neighborhood, they found this mostly strange and thought of it as just the beginning of some insane behavior while they watched her sit on the lawn. However, to Jess, it was about the best thing in the world. This is because she didn�t just listen to the sounds of nature, she interpreted them. She would listen to the sound of birds singing to one another and figure out what they were singing about, whether it is about a soon-to-be rain shower or the beginning of migration. She would also listen to the trees swaying in the breeze, almost as if they were whispering to the singing birds, or becoming the soft percussion of nature�s symphony.
Jess liked the idea that people thought she was different. She liked to hear what people thought she was doing. There was the idea that she was watching the grass grow to the thought that she was using psychic abilities to call down an alien spacecraft to take her back to her home planet. Jess only laughed at the ideas and sometimes went along with them for a few days at a time pretending she was watching the grass grow by taking a container of dirt with grass seeds in it wherever she went or by walking around with a walkie-talkie and calling for the �mother ship�.
The only other person besides Jess that knew what she was really doing was her friend Jorden Castleway. �Best friends since forever,� some would say. But to them, they were almost like siblings to each other. You would almost never see one without the other. To the two friends, life was simple and fun with no worries or cares except for deciding what to wear that day and homework.
However, the two didn�t know that their lives were going to become much more complicated. So much more complicated�
It was just another Saturday, and Jess and Jorden were walking through a mall (located a good bit away from the countryside) doing a little window-shopping. Suddenly, Jess halted and peered into the window of a glass-and-crystal crafts shop. In the display case was a crystal dragon, elegant and slender with its wings stretched high above its head. Its hide was as blue as the sky after the sunset and it had very light blue eyes that twinkled in the soft light of the store. The small figurine was sitting on a rock surrounded by a crystalline ocean that licked the sides of the rock. Jess sighed as she saw the beautiful dragon and the price tag that went with it. Eighty dollars for the dragon made of crystal, and she only had half of that to spend.
�It�s the coolest thing I�ve ever seen,� she said to Jorden, �but I can�t afford it! And my mom definitely won�t give me any more money.� Jess sighed and sat down on a bench.
�You�re way too obsessed with dragons, Jess,� Jorden laughed as he sat on the bench next to her. �Plus, your room is already filled with lots of dragon stuff. Why do you want more?�
�I - I don�t know. I just feel like they�re a part of me, like almost part of my personality or something like that, and it�s not like how some girls like horses or rabbits. And this dragon seems almost familiar somehow�I know it doesn�t make sense, it doesn�t even make much sense to me. C�mon, let�s go,� Jess sighed as she stood up. The two walked through the mall stopping occasionally and gazing through the windows of other shops before heading to the food court. Jorden bought a burger while Jess bought an Auntie Anne�s pretzel. Jorden kept glancing at Jess. She looked disturbed, and frankly, he felt like something was going on as well. In all his years of being around Jess, he had never seen her so nervous.
Suddenly, the pair yelped. Jorden�s furiously rubbed his right cheek while Jess quickly grasped for her wallet. She opened it up and looked in the mini mirror that was in it. On her right cheek, a red mark began to appear as if she had been slapped or hit by something. She gazed at Jorden as he removed his hand. He too had a red welt.
�What�s going on?� Jess gasped. Jorden shook his head. Something was definitely wrong, but neither had any idea what it was.
* * * * *
Deep in a valley, a horn blew loud and deep in the foggy air. Three large figures were sprinting through the forest as fast as they could.
�We can�t keep running, Paki,� the smallest said, fear in her voice. �We�ve got to fight back sometime!�
�No! Not until the chosen ones each get a Catalyst Stone! You know that, Shala! Shorkalv should be distributing them soon, but until then, we must run.�
�Paki, we can�t wait that long,� the third said. �If Krotalv puts two and two together, he�s not going to get five. He�s smart, and he�ll figure that if we don�t fight him soon, then he�ll know that we�re using the Stones!�
Suddenly, a crashing sound came from behind them. A monstrous figure, larger and darker than the three, towered above them and an earth-shaking roar filled their ears. Shala turned around and crouched, she was ready to attack. The one called Paki grabbed the other�s arm roughly and pulled her quickly along the path.
�Paki, no! What about Shala? We can�t leave her!� Krita screamed and struggled against his grasp.
�Krita, it�s too late! She wants to fight, so let her fight!� Paki growled back and he tightened his grip on her arm.
�You can�t let her die! I won�t let you!� she roared and she bit Paki�s arm, freeing herself.
�Krita! No!�