Dignified

Chapter four

"We should have taken the bikes!" Yelled Trace.

"No, it would have taken too much time!" The roaring of the falling star grew louder as it came closer and closer to the earth. Trace was having trouble keeping up with his much more athletic older brother. He turned to look up at the meteor. He tripped and yelled as he fell down, scraping his entire arm as he did. Clark stopped himself, turning to go get Trace. Zach and Ryan both slowed down as they heard their youngest brother scream. Ryan stopped and turned, putting both hands to his ears as the noise grew louder. "Let's go!" Yelled Zach, pulling Ryan forward. They began to run again, trying to not look back. Clark ran back for Trace, picking him up with one hand. "Come on!" They turned, picking up their speed again. Just then, the asteroid collided with the ground, causing a large explosion and sending the boys flying in separate directions. Ryan smacked onto the ground, scraping himself and rolling off until he hit a large tree stump. Zach fell onto his hands and knees, causing both of them to begin bleeding. He winced, looking back towards the smoke the collision had caused. Trace and Clark both fell forward, one of them running into a tree and the other's foot getting caught in a hole. Ryan coughed, raising his eyebrows and looking around for Zach. His limbs were aching and his ears were ringing. "Zach.." He called out. "Zach, where are you?" A couple feet away, his brother rolled onto his back, groaning in pain. "Here...I'm right here." He said lowly, raising his hand. He turned his palms, noticing how cut they were. "Oh man." On the other side, Clark winced in pain, trying to pull his foot out of the hole he had slipped in. Trace uttered a yelp as he leaned against the tree, crying in pain. "Trace, are you okay?" Clark asked, finally being able to get up. He limped over to his brother, slowly lifting him up. "C'mon. We have to go find Zach and Ryan." He said, putting an arm around Trace. They slowly made their way up the hill, limping and groaning in pain. Ryan stood up, rubbing his shoulder and walking over to Zach. "C'mon. Get up." He said, holding his hand out for his brother. Zach took his hand and yelled in pain before letting go. He pointed towards his palms, wincing in pain. "Oh, sorry." Ryan said, grabbing his arm and pulling him up. "Let's go." They hurried up the hill, trying to see through the smoke the asteroid caused. "Nothing caught on fire?" Zach asked, surprised as they got to the top. Ryan shook his head, his hair dirty and messed up. "No, but that's a good thing. There's no fire stations nearby." He squinted through the smoke, looking for his other brothers. "Clark! Trace!" He yelled.

"We're right here!" They called out. In the middle of the clearing, the asteroid that had fallen out of the sky began to crack open. A bright light was shining through each of the cracks, lighting up the entire area around them. "Woah...what the hell?" Zach said, stepping closer to the object. Ryan yanked his brother back, making him face him. "What do you think you're doing? We have no idea what the hell that thing is." Clark and Trace came walking around the clearing, both relieved to see that the other two boys were okay. They watched the asteroid split open, the light from inside getting brighter. "C'mon." Said Clark, stepping closer to it. "Watch out. Don't get too close." They watched intently, shielding their eyes as something very bright emerged from inside it. What appeared to be an electronic platter rose from the surrounding rubble. It was a sleek, black color with silver linings on the edges. The platter held four crystal like diamonds, each a different color. They were thin and slender, but gave off a shimmering light that was the same as their color. They were arranged neatly, despite having fallen out of the sky, and were floating about an inch above the platter and an each away from each other. There was a royal blue crystal, a silver one, a bright emerald green one, and a reddish orange crystal. "What are those things?" Trace asked quietly, stepping forward. Clark gripped the back of his shirt and pulled him back. "I don't know, but if anyone's going to grab one, it's me." He said, limping towards the platter. "Woah, woah, woah. You can't grab one of those." Ryan said, placing his arm in front of Clark.

"And why not? I'm the oldest, so if anyone is going to get hurt, it has to be me."

Ryan frowned at his older brother. "Just earlier you were lecturing us about how important it is for you to be okay because you have to protect us and everything. Now you're telling us that it's okay if you get hurt? No, Clark. Let me. It would only make sense. I'm not the oldest nor the youngest, so it won't really matter if I get hurt." He said.

"It will always matter, Ryan. But you do have a point. I can't risk myself." He sighed. "Don't take it the wrong way guys. I'm not trying to be selfish or anything."

"It's okay." Said Zach. "We get it. Ryan, just go grab one. I want to see what they do." He said, pushing Ryan towards the platter. Ryan stepped forward, raising his eyebrows as he decided which crystal to grab. They were beautiful and bright, almost inviting. He reached for the blue one, being his favorite color, and paused before wrapping his fingers around it. The royal blue crystal flashed brightly in Ryan's hand, his eyes widening as it grew brighter. He felt his hand go numb and yelled as the crystal suddenly sent him flying back. He crashed against a tree, falling and landing roughly on the ground. "Ryan!" They yelled, running over to him. Ryan coughed as his brothers pulled him up, and looked down at his hand. "Where'd it go?" He asked, rubbing the back of his head. Zach grabbed Ryan's shoulders, making his brother face him. "Dude, are you al-" Zach gasped, his eyes widening as he stared at Ryan. Trace brought his hand up to his mouth, gawking as he watched Ryan. "Oh my god." Clark said, pulling Zach away from him. "What? Why are you guys staring at me like that?" Ryan asked. "Dude...your eyes."