Destined: 2 Be Continued

1. Two Be or Not Two Be

(Cover art courtesy of NirraTam)

Today was the day. The first day of summer. He would be able to hang out with his best friend and secret crush, Penny, all day. There was no better way to spend a day, unless it was watching anime or playing video games, Alex's two personal favorite "hobbies." Alex hopped out of bed with relative glee, took a shower, and put on his clothes. After a quick breakfast of chocolate-chip waffles, Alex gave a hug to his loving mother and walked out the door.

Alex had lived in his neighborhood for years, and that was how he met Penny. He hadn't had a crush on her until they turned thirteen, which was the time when a girl becomes, well, a girl. Penny lived in the neighborhood, but she was at the other end of it, which would be far away enough for any other sixteen-year-old to use a car.

Alex didn't need a car.

Alex was quite strange. Instead of being a normal kid, he had the ability to command winds. The ability came in handy when he was outdoors and wanted to look really strong, or when he wanted to pretend he was using the Force, which happened quite often. He had told his other months ago, and she hadn't been surprised.

Alex looked both ways. This was not to make sure he wasn't going to be rammed by a car, but instead to make sure no one was looking. Once he was sure, He bent his knees and...jumped.

He flew at least a hundred feet in the air. While he was midair, he zeroed in on Penny's house. He zipped over there with speed(because flying is generally a fast mode of transport, exhibit A: airplanes) and landed on her doorstep, a wave of wind shooting from his impact point. Penny was waiting under a tree in the front of her yard, reading a book called Phoenix and the Angel. She closed the book and looked at Alex.

Penny was more than five and a half feet tall, taller than most girls her age. She had fiery orange hair that ran down to her shoulders and emerald green eyes. Freckles danced across her cheeks, and her nose came down at an unusually steep angle. Most of the people in Alex's class thought her nose was weird, but Alex thought it was just...unique. Penny usually wore a simple t-shirt depicting some sort of cartoon character, and in the summer she wore guys' shorts.

"Morning, Alex," she greeted, standing up and dusting off the seat of her shorts.

"Morning," Alex responded, instinctively running a hand through his hair. Penny walked over to him. "I'll give you a ten on that heroic landing," she said as they joined arms in a frolick-y way and began the quick and easy walk to the town park. Alex snickered. "Out of what?"

"Twelve." That gave Alex another laugh. He and Penny strolled down the streets and took a few shortcuts, ending up at the town park.

It was a nice place, with a few shady trees, green grass, and a playground for little children. Even at age sixteen, Penny and Alex would sit on the swings and chat, as most people do. However, that was not the first thing on Alex's mind.

"Hey, Penny," he began.

"Yeeeeeessss?" Penny answered suspiciously.

"Listen, I have to ask you something."

"Mmmm-hmmmm."

"You know, I've always--" before he could admit that he always had a crush on Penny, a woman, dressed in an elegant green dress--one that looked like it could be for a girl's sweet sixteen--walked up to them and blatantly interrupted him. "Pardon me, Alex, but I have to ask," the woman said.

"How do you know my name?"

"That's not important, Alex. What is important is...You can fly, am I not correct?" Alex broke into a sweat. Only Penny and Alex's mother knew about his powers! How could she possibly know? "Y-y-yes," he finally responded.

"Good," the woman concluded. She turned to Penny. "You, girl...you have a way with chemicals?"

Penny nodded, visibly shaking. The woman smiled. "Good. My name is Vespira, and I need you to follow me. Don't ask questions, just come." She beckoned and began to walk away, her dress dragging behind her. Alex and Penny exchanged glances.

"What were you going to say?" Penny asked.

"That's not important. Let's follow 'Vespira,'" Alex answered, then began dragging Penny after the strange woman. He knew this was probably a bad idea, but he had nothing else to do for the day, so he figured there was no harm.

The woman led them to an alley, which was extremely suspicious. "What was it you need us here for?" Penny asked.

Vespira turned, pulling two large needles out of nowhere(possibly the back of her dress). The needles were dripping with a green liquid. As in, cartoon poison liquid. "I'm sorry about this," Vespira told them. "Actually, not really. I love doing this." And with that, she stabbed them both.

As Alex fell to the ground and blackness began to fade in on him. The last thing he heard was Vespira saying, "Windigo, I need you to take these kids to Jeremiah. Both he and I would appreciate that. Thanks." Alex felt himself lift into the air, or perhaps that was an illusion.

Then, dreadfully, everything went black.

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Alex expected to wake up in a cell, or perhaps en eerily large chamber.

He woke up tied to a tree with surprisingly strong vines. He wanted his money back.

He was sitting down. His arms were bound under his legs, which were also bound together. His torso was bound to the tree. He groaned quietly in grogginess. He saw a light from the right corner of his eye, so naturally, he turned his head to the right. He began to see more as his vision cleared.

It was night. The light was coming from a fire, probably as tall as Penny was. A person was sitting on a log near the fire, staring straight into it. A wolf, made of shadow, sat next to the person. The person turned his head and looked at Alex.

"Ah, Alex," he said. "You're awake. I've got a lot of explaining to do." He held up a small white object.

"Marshmallow?" the person asked.