The Ancient Guardians

The Ancient Guardians (Chapter 7)

THE ANCIENT GUARDIANS

Chapter 7

Finally 11:30 came and it was time to leave. We had decided to go in Clint’s car so that if we found the last Guardian he could bring her to her cave right away. My theory that this was Clint’s first party was becoming obvious as he said: “What kind of party starts this late? It’s probably over by now.” We each put on our cover; Clint with jeans, a jacket and a knitted cap to cover his ears; William tied his wings to his torso under his hoodie to lessen the hump; and I put my hoodie and baggy pants over my red tunic with my brother’s sunglasses to top it off. Unfortunately, I had to stay barefoot.

            “Isn’t it a bit cold to go out barefoot Alex?” William said.

            “Oh, don’t worry about him.” Clint responded. “His feet are so hot he’ll warm up the ground before his foot touches it. I wouldn’t be surprised if grass died under his feet.”

            Note to self: stay off the grass. “Are we leaving at some point?”

            “Yeah, we should go.” William agreed.

“Alright,” Clint continued as he stepped out “we’re off.”

It was the second time that I sat in Clint's car and I noticed that for and old car, it was in good shape. It had leather seats, a customized dashboard and it smelled nice. Although I couldn't notice much more than that since I'm not really into cars. I knew some guys at school that , just by hearing a motor, could tell its power, its endurance, what kind and how old it was (at that point I was surprised they couldn't tell the serial number). Of course, they had done that their whole lives while I spent most of my time in sports and so, never found the time. Then again, now I had an eternity to spend. Suddenly I felt overwhelmed by the idea. I was now wondering how I was going to spend so much time (try asking yourself: How do I spend an infinity of time?). Immortality started being complicated. I pushed the thought away; I had time to think about it later (a LOT of time). I needed to focus on the task at hand. My hand, actually, where a little flame flickered. I had lost my lighter, and this way was more fun; I liked the small sound it made: 'Poof! Pff...Poof! Pff...Po-'

"Will you stop that!?" Will said impolitely. He was sitting next to me in the backseat and his firelit face looked pretty irritated.

"Why should I? I find it relaxing." I replied.

"Well I find it annoying, so will you put it out?" he asked.

This was simply too tempting. "No."

"Well if YOU won't put it out, I will.

Clint then noticed us in his rear-view mirror as William raised his hand and screamed: "NO! DON'T!" and he almost lost control of the car. All was silent (except for a small 'Pff...' as the light went out) and nobody moved as Clint steadily took back control of the car. He slowly frowned at us through the mirror. "Don't you dare...do that in here. It'd be catastrophic!"

It was like hearing an angry god. I didn't like it one bit. Will and I stayed quiet.

Then Clint composed himself and said: "I'm sorry...I overreacted. Let’s just concentrate on finding our last companion."

"Okay." We both answered.

A few minutes later the car stopped and I noticed we were at Ryan's house. Then I remembered that I never told Clint where it was. "How did you find Ryan's house?" I asked Clint.

"Are you kidding? I could feel the music's vibration in the ground for the last few miles. I was just about to ask you when I noticed it and followed it." He answered.

"Same here." William continued. "The air's been shaking with it for two miles at least."

"Never mind." Clint interrupted. “It’s time. Cross your fingers and hope we find the guardian.”

“Nobody crosses their fingers for luck anymore, Clint.” I pointed out.

            "That's not true." Clint answered. Then he showed me his crossed fingers and winked at me. "I still do." And he opened his door and got out.

            Will and I followed him out into the sea of people and music. As we pushed ourselves separate ways through the throng I thought of how much I underestimated our given abilities. It seemed Ancient Guardians had a much deeper connection than simple control over an element. The party was really cool: good music, mainly nice people, a lot of alcohol, a beach volley-ball court on one side, a bonfire on the other (I liked that part) and more alcohol. Of course, a good party like this can’t be done at just any house: you need a big house and a big yard. And since Ryan was of the rich kind, his place was just that and mostly free of grass, to my relief. I went towards the bonfire, that being the area I was supposed to watch. On my way there I suddenly felt something. It was a little like the eyes-on-your-back feeling, but more like an aura and in front of me. I kept walking and the feeling got stronger and stronger. My heart raced faster with every step I took. At the point where it was almost too overwhelming I stopped and clenched my eyes shut. To my surprise it wasn’t complete darkness I saw, there was a big light. If I moved my head the light didn’t follow my eyes, but stayed in place like I was seeing it from behind my eyelids. I realized it wasn’t just any light, it was the bonfire. Around it shot waves of red-orange colour, like heat waves. It was an amazing view, I couldn’t stop looking at it, admiring it, losing myself in its beauty.

            “Hey! Isn’t that John’s brother, Alex? Alex! Hey wake up!.”

            My eyes snapped open from a punch on my shoulder to see Ryan. I’d seen him before but it’d been a while.

            “Nice to see you man! John told me you’d be coming. How are you?.” Ryan said.

            I noticed he was already drunk from his smell and his loud voice. “I’m good. Awesome party by the way. How about you?” I responded.

            “I’m FINE! Thanks. You want a beer man?!”

            “Okay, whip me something up.” I know I’m still 16 but I didn’t mind drinking once in a while.

            “Here you go, man. Fresh out of the cooler.” He handed me the beer.

            I took the beer in my hand, flinched and switched it to my other hand wrapped in my sleeve; it was freezing!. Ryan was drunk enough not to notice.

            “Hey did you play the newest game?” He suddenly asked.

            “Which one?” I answered.

            “Vrutal…Brutal Legend, man!”

            “You’re not serious?! I missed the release?!” I had been waiting months for Brutal Legend to come out. This is so frustrating!

            “Yeah man! And it’s AWESOME! It’s like the best game ever, you should totally play it soon.” I was about to answer him, but he suddenly pointed me and went: “HEY! That’s tight…right, man! Your brother was looking for you! DON’T. MOVE. I’ll go get him right now, man, right now!” and he ran off.

            As I watched him go I noticed that the aura of the bonfire wasn’t overwhelming anymore, but sweet like a field of flowers or a chocolate cake. I opened the beer and took a swig. Then I spit it out straight away. It was hot and didn’t taste good at all; my hand must have warmed it through my sleeve. I left it beside the cooler for another unlucky soul and sat near the fire, closed my eyes and contemplated it while waiting for my brother.