HYBRID (Now a draft)

Eleven

Twyla stopped in front of Max . She pulled back her hood to reveal a pretty face with olive skin. Her straight short hair was in a pony tail that ended at the back of her neck.  

"Guess you got welcomed." She said. Her smile wavered a bit. Her gold eyes dimmed. She laid both hands on the shackles. The shackles gave a  abrupt green glow. They dropped to the ground. 

Max walked out the tent like the others. He went over to Master LingFu and thanked him. The master just smiled and left.

The masked ones pulled off their masks. They gave a brief intro of themselves. Jay was the boy with blue eyes , a handsome face and dark brown hair. Scotch and Ted both had pale green eyes and pale blue skin , that, if you looked closely, appeared transparent. They were the same height as Evellyn, but shorter than Jay. Twyla was the youngest of them all. The same age and height as Max.

Evellyn just stood behind them , not uttering a word. After they were done. They stood before each of their tents, all five of  them.  They raised their right arms, parallel to the ground. Their gloves glittered with a neat row of stones, all embedded in the leather. They moved their arms counterclock wise, then up.  The tents began folding themselves, including everything inside like origami. Then they sprung upward in tiny rectangles and they all caught the packages in midair and stuffed them in their belts.

The journey back to their dimension began.  They followed Evellyn in a straight line. Max could not believe his luck. One moment he was threatened, the next he had joined the team. He was going to save Aunt Pearl. With these guys around he was sure of it. He asked Twyla what Murg was. Apparently, they were Murgs, a whole bunch of them existed. They were monsters made of sand. They evolved over time. They appeared more human-like with every new batch made. No one knew their origin. But some say they are creatures created by a evil sorcerer. They emerged over the past decade. They prey on fear, echoing your fears out loud. They roam the Earthworld, capturing young humanlings. The team was here to prevent that. They had followed a Murg and ended up in Max's house. 

"How did Murgs get their names?"

" Some genius named them. Murg stands for mad, ugly and really gross."

Jay corrected Twyla. Murg was a demon's name. The monsters created havoc, therefore the name Murg. Scotch  then said Twyla should change  her name to Murg. Jay laughed. Twyla retaliated by revealing their nicknames as Blue Jay and Butter Scotch. Evellyn rolled her eyes, but a faint smile formed on her lips.

The conversation ended as they neared the town. They stopped at Aunt Pearl's cottage. Max could not believe his own eyes.

 The cottage was burned to the ground. Nothing was left save piles of ashes. The library was utterly ruined. A sooty black area took the place of his home. He slowly trodded over to pick up his hat that was scorched black on one side. A sense of sadness overwhelmed him. A few tears formed and he quickly wiped them away. His home was gone. Aunt Pearl was gone. Jay walked over and patted Max on the back.

Max's gaze shifted upward to Jay. He blinked back tears.

" I have to find Aunt Pearl."

Jay nodded. "Then we will."

" Aunt Pearl?" Said Evellyn suddenly. She walked with her hands folded behind her back. " Who said anything about rescuing this Aunt Pearl?" Her tone was without the sympathy that Jay had.

" But..."

" You were welcomed into the team. Nothing else. I do not squander time by rescuing puny humans. You were the one who used magic. You are the one responsible for her capture. "

" I admit I have made a terrible mistake. But you are powerful. You all are. Is it too hard for you to track down one person?"

Evellyn's eyes widended. Fire danced inside. " Too hard? "  Her lips formed a line. " Too hard? Nothing. Is Ever too hard. You probably didn't notice that your Aunt wanted to be captured? She didn't struggle. At all. Oh no. She didn't even try to break free of that net. "

Max felt strangled. He remembered. Aunt Pearl didn't fight back. It was as if she wanted to be taken away. The note. Do not worry about me. No. Did she literally mean it? He stared at the soot drifting beside his foot.

" You should consider yourself lucky Master LingFu showed up at all. Your demands hold no precedence over ours. Know your place.Glad we had things settled."

The rest of the walk remained in dead silence. Max recognized the way they were heading. They were heading for the Lazuli Falls. It was a two-hour hike into the mountains. Birds sung in hidden canopies. The shadows provided them with sufficient shade. Insects buzzed around. The sun rose high above the mountains. Baking down.

Finally, the waterfall could be seen from a distance. It was a thin trickle of water at first. Then the roaring got louder. The chirping and squeaking were all washed over by the massive thundering of the magnificent Lazuli Falls.

The forest ended . The bare sandy rock before them formed a hole big enough to see a portion of the waterfall.  Mist sprayed through the air. A cool breeze ruffled their clothes.  But they didn't stop there. Evellyn began a vertical climb upward using her bare hands. It wasn't too steep, but just looking down made him feel faint. Tiny pebbles broke off as he struggled for hand holds. Jay climbed behind him to prevent him from falling.

Max gave a sigh of relief as they made it to the top of the dusty pillar formed by natural erosion. He stood up. The platform was just large enough to hold all six of them. The trees looked no bigger than his pinky. He gulped. Just looking down gave him a strong sense of vertigo.

There were no rails. Only open air. Max turned to the other side. The falls tumbled from high above , a silken cloth reaching from the heavens and into the  dark abyss below. When he peered down, the pool the falls ended resembled a tiny black dot. The massive roaring numbed his delicate ears. Water sprayed everywhere. The sun threatened to flay him alive.

Evellyn reached into one of her pouches and pulled out a stone. She tossed it to Max.

" Proceed." 

Twyla laughed. She hopped toward the edge. She stood facing them all.  She winked at Max. She closed her eyes.She took a step backward.

She fell.

Max choked back a sob.  He dropped to all fours, watching Twyla fall to her death.  The stone fell heavy in his hands. Her figure became smaller and smaller until he could see no more of her. He was horrified. What was wrong with these people?

" What are you doing?" His scream was lost in the rumbling.

Then Scotch and Ted leapt together into the hundred meter drop without a second thought. Jay was next.

Tears streamed down his face. They were all mad. 

He was alone on the rocky surface with Evellyn.

The wind current swept her hair and dress. They rippled in the air. Strands of her hair swam crazily in the cool mist. Her scar seemed to darken. She narrowed her eyes. She stood tall over the crouching Max. He felt like a mouse under the nose of a hungry cat.

" Jump." She mouthed.

" No!"

" Jump. Prove me all that worth Master LingFu promised me."

Max wobbled. He stood up slowly. It was suicide. But he had no choice.

Max wept. He edged toward the steep drop. He held the rock steady. He shut his eyes tightly.

Max jumped.