Edward and The Peculiar Discovery of the Three Rings

Edward 1

I used to be a normal kid.

I went to school, absolutely hated math, and dreaded homework. I didn't have a lot of friends. I was somewhat bullied from time to time.

My only friends at the time were Millie and Alex. Millie was the genius artistic type, while Alex was more of a slob and carefree. Everything was great - we did everything together from rock climbing to cliff jumping. We had something incredible, unbreakable.

One day, I was on my way to school with Alex and Millie when I noticed something strange. I saw a few men in black t-shirts standing by an old abandoned house near the edge of my neighborhood. They didn't exactly look peculiar or anything, but I had the feeling that while they weren't exactly looking at us, they were in some way studying us, which was creeping me out.

For a moment I wanted to go over to them and ask if they needed anything, but I had an algebra test that morning I hadn't studied for. Math had been the last thing I wanted to spend my time on the night before, and as a result, I had to hurry to school to cram.

I couldn't  shake off this weird feeling while we passed by the men.

"Hey Millie," I whispered, "do you notice anything strange or weird about those men over there?"

"Well, now that you mention it, I did think they were kind of creepy," Millie paused, "I just didn't really know what to think of them."

"They've been looking at us from far back. They're practically checking us out," I told her.

"Hmm... They aren't any harm at the moment, so let's just leave them alone," she said.

"Look! They have matching tattoos on their right arms!" Alex said. "It's pretty cool, and it sort of looks like a half triangle within a circle."

"Wanna go ask them about it?" I teased.

"I don't think we should start up unnecessary trouble," said Millie.

Neither of them had any more time to think about it because school was just around the corner, and I wasn't about to miss some much needed study time.

"Hey guys," I said, "I have to go study for a math test last minute, so I'll see you around later, okay?"

"Oh, okay! See you soon!" Alex and Millie shouted as I started breaking into a sprint towards my first period classroom.

"Good luck on your test!" Millie added.

"Thanks, I'll see what I can do!" I shouted while running.

I felt pretty confident after taking the test. Last night I had thought that I would probably bomb the test anyways, so I gave up studying and played video games instead. Surprisingly, I knew how to solve most of the problems on it. Emphasis on the word most, though.

I was on my way to the bathroom when the intercom suddenly blared and called Alex, Millie, and me to the principal's office. I thought it strange. We hadn't really done anything wrong. I wondered what was up.

I caught up to my friends on my way to the office. They both had confused looks on their faces.

"Why would the principal want to call me?" Millie thought, unconsciously saying it out loud. 

Millie turned, facing us, "I have a 5.0 GPA, I doubt this is something concerning academia."

"Dang Millie, some of us would kill for grades like that," said Alex.

"I have a straight up 3.0, maybe they called us because of me," he suggested.

"I doubt it. Let's just go see if it's important," I said.

We entered the office slowly and sat down in front of Mr. Kingsley, our principal.

He was just about to start talking when the door behind us creaked open and a tall, strangely dressed man strolled into the room.

"Hello, my name is Jack," the stranger said with a grin, facing us.

Mr. Kingsley's eyes widened. He turned pale and looked as if he'd seen a ghost.

"B-but... T-that's impossible! Jack? Is that r-really you?" Mr. Kingsley stuttered in shock, attempting to stand up.

"This really never gets old, Gerald."

The man snapped his fingers, and almost immediately Mr. Kingsley fell back, passed out on his office chair.

Jack turned back to us to see a surprised audience of three.

"I'm so glad that I found you. We really needed to have a talk."

I sent a quick, incredulous look at Millie. She looked back at me, startled.

"You see, some very special people have very special powers. I'm one of them," he started, theatrically."What you just saw with our dear Mr. Gerald Kingsley here was just a tiny glimpse into what I do," he paused, pointing at the unconscious principal, "and I'm very good at what I do. In fact, I am the leader of a group of very special people myself, and we find and protect other special people."

"I'm here to protect you."

"Why? Do we somehow need protection?", asked Alex. "You just made our principal pass out. I'm pretty sure the only person we need protection from is you."

"Don't worry, when we talk to the police we'll make sure you'll avoid a jail sentence through an insanity plea," said Millie.

"As ridiculous as it may seem," said Jack, "I have very strong reason to believe that you three potentially have powers. A few years ago, I had a vision that foretold me that I'd find three kids at this very office at this very time. The vision also foretold me that these three kids would come to possess powers unheard of in this present age, as well as use those powers to regain possession of legendary artifacts lost to civilization."

"Obviously the only three kids in this room at this time are you. Due to some current doubts I have about my present staff, I've come to fetch you myself. I'm going to take you back, and train you."

I looked at Millie and Alex, and muttered, "Time to call the police."

We rose to leave, and were halfway to the door when Jack snapped his fingers, making me collapse. The last thing I was aware of before I passed out was that someone stood over me. And then the world went black.