The Fire

Chapter Three: I Get A Sneak Peek

I followed Nick back inside the school as Emerson, Seven, and Vicky all went to the nurse to recover for a bit. As we walked inside, I could still feel the energy that my body was radiating. I was still on edge, as I would be for the rest of the day. Nick lead me down a corridor that lead to a giant chamber filled with students, all of which were sitting on the floor. Their eyes were closed and they sat with their hands together. Meditation... Just what I need. Nick saw the look on my face and chuckled. I never was one for patience or meditation. I was always more of a physical being. Hence why I found myself taking a likeness to the battleground.

"Meditation is key," Nick said. "It helps you collect your thoughts and it helps you discover more about your power. However, it can be dangerous too. Evil will take any chance it can get to penetrate it's way into your head."

Oh fantastic, I thought as we made our way to the back of the meditation room. It was nice and calm. The floor was red carpet and chandeliers hung from the ceiling. The people who sat in meditation were statues. You could barely even see them breathing. The room smelled of cinnamon, which helped with relaxation. Nick sat down and gestured for me to sit next to him.

"You'll want to focus on your core," Nick started. "Close your eyes and take a deep breath in."

I followed his instructions. I closed my eyes and took deep breaths. Soon, I found that all my thoughts, that were normally clustered, were working themselves out. I felt my energy from the fight fading away.

"Now, focus on your conscience. Focus on who you are as a person. Then, after you have full control of yourself, focus on your element."

I focused on my inner self. I thought about where I had been in life. I thought back to the fight with Vicky. I realized I didn't care how much she hurt me. I could take it. But the moment she attacked Emerson, I lost it. And I came to the conclusion that my element was drawn out through anger. Things had happened before on other occasions, but I never channeled my power like I had that day. I mean, granted, up till then I never knew anyone could even control the elements. And I had honestly never thought the way I had that day. On the way to the high school, all I could think about was seeing boobs and banging babes. However, the moment I got to the school, inside the school, something kicked in. My instincts and my mind were on alert. And I found that I wasn't freaked out or scared of the whole situation. I found myself mainly concerned about what came next. As I meditated, I began remembering all the times that weird things happened.

***

First was during my Freshman Year of school. It was at Yinnerdale. There was this group of punks who thought that they ran the damn school. They were the kind of people to circle someone or corner them and steal their lunch money. I remember I was walking down the hall to catch up with my old friend, Jake. When I found him, he was on the ground, crying and keeping his hand clamped over a bloody nose.

"Hey man. Are you alright?" I asked, pulling him back up to his feet. "What happened?"

Jake was sobbing too hard to give me an answer. He was shaking. His hands trembled as they rest on his face. I began walking him to the nurse when I heard a sharp, demanding voice from behind me.

"Scram, peewee," it said. I turned around to find that it was the leader of the punks. His name was Josh. He was a major douche nozzle. "This is between us and him."

"Fuck off, Josh," I said. "How many of your so called 'boys' did it take to attack my friend here? Six of you? Eight of you? How many, asshole?"

Josh cracked his knuckles and snarled. He charged me and before I knew it, my head slammed against the locker with brute force. The sharp pain made my eyes water almost instantly. I fell to my knees. Soon, he dragged me into the middle of the hallway by the back of my collar. Then, six of his boys came and began kicking me relentlessly. I don't know exactly what happened, but I have a feeling I may have caused it. One of the boys was sucking on a cigarette. When I glared at him, it immediately burned and the cherry shot into the back of his throat. Then I curled up in a ball and when I broke free, a ring of fire shot from me at all directions.

***

That wasn't the only vision that I had. The next one wasn't a memory, however. It was a vision of what seemed to be the future. I stood in the middle of the street in downtown New York. There was no traffic, though. On one side of me stood Nick, Emerson, and Voren. On the other side of me stood Silver, Seven, and Vicky. All the people around us seemed to be mummified. Their eyes glowed a dark shade of purple. They attacked at us from all directions. One by one, my classmates fell, cold and dead. They all dropped until I was the last one standing. Then I found myself floating in a pitch black void, staring into giant evil eyes. They were made of what seemed to be a purple fire.

"Ah, if it isn't the descendant of he who imprisoned me here," said a deep, evil voice that sent chills down my spine. "I see you and your brother have discovered the truth."

"And what truth would that be?" I responded. "The truth that I can control fire and he can control earth? Yeah. I kinda got that memo. Thanks for noticing."

"That is only half of the truth, child. Do you know who I am?"

"Uh. Are you supposed to be someone I've met before?"

"NO IDIOT! My name is Xorale. I am brother to Voren, your head master. I find it amusing that you haven't found out the whole story of why you're here."

I paused. What is that supposed to mean? I thought.

"That means my brother only told you half of the story, Rick." Xorale said, making it obvious that he could read my mind while I was in the void. "Would you like to know the rest of it?"

Hm. As amazing as a whole rundown sounds, this guy could be trying to bait me. I shook my head and the fiery eyes exploded. Soon, I found myself in the middle of New York again. I was back at where I had been before. My classmates were still dead. Even the headmaster was gone.

"You see, boy, this is your inevitable future. The world is going to fall to my hand, starting with you and your colleagues. And you can thank your father for that."

"What of my father?!" I yelled from the streets, watching as evil, brainwashed mummies surrounded me.

"Hahahaha!" Xorale laughed. "Your father was one of the rare few that could control the power of spirit. In the old war, he defeated me and imprisoned me in this place. However, soon I will be free and you will pay for what he did to me!"

The mummies around me attacked from all directions and everything went black...

***

I opened my eyes with a jump. I was back to reality. I sat in the meditation room. I looked over at Nick, who seemed to be peacefully meditating. Did that really just happen? Did I really just meet Xorale? And if he was in my head, why didn't he finish me off right then and there? None of this makes any sense. I looked over to see Headmaster Voren standing in the doorway to the meditation room. He signaled me to go with him. I stood up and followed the Headmaster out into the hallway.

"What did he tell you, Rick?" Voren asked as we walked down the hall.

I stopped dead in my tracks...

"Say what, sir?" I asked.

"Xorale reached you while you were meditating. I want to know what he had told you."

"Nothing much, really. He just went on about my dad and how my dad apparently defeated him and imprisoned him wherever the hell he's at. He also kept saying that I was to pay for what my father did."

Voren began stroking his grey beard. A look of concern grew heavily on his face as he began pacing back and forth. "Then it is as I feared. My brother is out for blood as well as world domination. I fear he may attack soon."

"What does my father have to do with this?" I asked.

"A long time ago, when Xorale began his quest for world domination, a group of us, including your father and I were left to stop him and protect the world. We were an odd group however, for two of us could control the power of spirit. In the last battle, Xorale and your father had collided in one of the wildest duels I had ever seen. And still to this day, no battle has compared to it. Your father had blocked Xorale into an alternate dimension that left him powerless. Now, as he still craves world domination, my brother also has a desire to kill the children of his greatest opponent."

I couldn't believe what I had heard. So what Xorale told me is true. My father WAS responsible for putting him away. I knew that definitely had to start training more and more. And if Xorale was going to attack, then I definitely had work to do, involving harnessing my powers.