The Silver Pocket Staff

surprise- chapter 7

As the months passed, life in the orphanage became harder. Other students started targeting Hiraeth, Talia, Dylan, and Will for no apparent reason other than what happened to Talia in their Dark Arts classroom. Of course, Mr. Briggs joined in too. Homework started piling up as Thanksgiving break approached. The only teacher that cut the students some slack was Mr. Scott. Hiraeth actually liked him upon realizing that he was a genuine teacher. He acted somewhat like a friend, asking them how they were doing and helping them with homework.

As the four friends were about to leave their Elements class, Mr. Scott called them.

"Uh, kids, could you meet me here at around ten o' clock at night? I know you all have homework and things to do, but I need to talk to you when no one is awake." He looked oddly desperate.

The children simply nodded and walked out.

"What was that about?" asked Will.

"I'm telling you, Mr. Scott is a strange guy. Something's definitely wrong with him," said Dylan.

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Hiraeth was half-asleep in her dorm at 9:50 p.m., trying to finish her homework from other classes. Talia was helping her, as she was the smarter one. Hiraeth guessed Dylan and Will were awake too. They had a room to themselves with a door connecting the girls' bedroom and the boys' bedroom.

"This doesn't make any sense. 'How are magical and non-magical animals related?' I don't know, they're animals?" Hiraeth said, obviously frustrated. "We don't have to do this tonight, we can finish it another day."

"Actually, we can't finish this today. We have to head over to Mr. Scott's class in a few minutes," said Talia.

"Right. I forgot about that. I wonder what he wants anyways."

"Like Dylan said, he's a strange guy." The girls laughed. They had become like sisters while sharing a dorm.

"I'll go get Dylan and Will." Hiraeth walked over to the boys' door and opened it.

"Have you ever heard of knocking, Hiraeth?" grumbled Dylan.

"Come on, it's time to go to Mr. Scott's classroom." she said, ignoring his question.

The quartet left their dorm and strode in silence. The hallways were dark and empty. It looked slightly like a haunted house. There was a small breeze coming from some open windows. Hiraeth was hoping that this meeting was quick, she had a mountain of work waiting for her, plus a ton of chores left.

They finally reached their teacher's classroom and knocked on his door. Mr. Scott opened it, looked both ways, and ushered them quickly inside. He closed the door in a rush. His room was dimly lit and it felt quite cozy, but that feeling did not last long.

"So, what's wrong? Why did you need us here, sir?" asked Will awkwardly.

"Listen, what I am about to tell you might shock you." Mr. Scott sighed and rubbed his face with his hands. "All four of you are a part of a prophecy."

"I knew it!" Dylan exclaimed excitedly. The other three kids looked at him, with faces that said "Not the time."

"Sorry, go on," he said sheepishly.

"At least you already know about it, but I don't think you know all of it." He walked over to his desk and pulled out a paper. He handed it to them.

The paper looked as if it was ripped from a book mid-sentence. "Find the Infinity Scrolls and whatever these children decide to do with them can possibly destroy the whole world," Talia read. She turned to Dylan.

"These must be the final words from that book you found in the library a few months ago!"

Mr. Scott nodded. "Assuming you don't know, the Infinity Scrolls are pieces of parchment that contain the secrets of the universe. With these secrets, you can use them to rule the world. The first time someone found the Scrolls, they did terrible, unmentionable things. The governments of major countries were after this man for a while and when they captured him, they executed him and then hid the Scrolls. So far, there's another group of people looking for them and now, you'll be competing with them."

"Us? But, we're in this orphanage, we can't go looking for the Infinity Scrolls. Besides, what's so special about us?" asked Will.

"Well, you all used your elements on the first try while it takes other people months or even years to use them. For some reason, this gives you access to ancient magical artifacts that other people cannot use. The famous prophet Hugh Ajax predicted that people who can use these artifacts will have be able to use the Infinity Scrolls without limits."

"Do you know who else is looking for the Scrolls right now?" Hiraeth pondered.

Mr. Scott chuckled mirthlessly. "The Shadow Corporation."

Will sat down and buried his face in his hands. Talia was on the verge of tears. Hiraeth and Dylan simply gaped and their eyes widened.

"Now, it's completely your decision if you'd like to take them on or not. Remember, it's just a prophecy-"

Will cut him off. "Which means it's going to happen, one way or another."

"We'll do it and when we get the Scrolls, we'll destroy them. We'll eliminate the possibility of future generations damaging the world," Hiraeth declared confidently, though inside she was very fearful. The other kids nodded reluctantly.

"Alright. I'll help you, I won't let you do this alone. For now, I want you to research anything and everything regarding elements and the Infinity Scrolls. I'll do the same and I will also devise a plan to help you escape from the orphanage." He looked down at his watch. "It's getting late. Head to your dorms and don't talk to anybody else about this."

They returned to their dorms in shock. Hiraeth felt her large amount of work was insignificant due to what she had just heard.

"How the hell are we going to go up against one of the most ruthless and dangerous groups ever?" said Dylan. No one answered because they were all wondering the same thing.