THE GUARDIAN

CHAPTER 20: MAIN LAND

We got to the peir with no trouble at all. There rows of boats parked on the side of the dock, they all looked the same with the large white sail and blue exterior. Sandra went over to the closest one and hopped into it. "Let's hurry and leave " Sandra said as Brandon followed behind her. "Why not take a ship?" He asked, "the ships are on the other side of the dock it'll take to long to get to" she answered. Derek leaped on followed by me. "Let's set sail" Derek said as started to get the boat sail up.

"Do any of you know how to sail a boat?" I asked. "I do" Derek said, "before my dad died he taught me everything I know". I looked far out at the sea. It looked normal like how it was supposed to be. But the farther I looked I could spot large shadows in the horizon. Must be glaciers since we are in Antarctica. "So the ship has a shield around it to protect us from the elements?" I asked. "Yeah plus these our the worlds fastest boats, we'll get from Antarctica to Texas in about 2 hours" Derek explained.

He then kicked the side of the dock pushing the boat into open water. Sandra went over to a compartment on the side of the boat. She opened it and took out a few blankets and pillows. "There's snacks and first aid kits in here if you guys need any, I'm going to sleep so wake me when we get to land" she said as she laid the blanket down. She laid down and fell straight to sleep. Brandon sat on the floor and leaned back on the side of the boat. "Do you think my dad made it out?" He asked no one in particular.

I swallowed hard, I couldn't tell him..... not yet. "Get some rest Brandon, me and Derek will keep watch okay" I told him. He nodded and laid on the floor of the boat. Derek got behind the wheel of the boat. "Full steam ahead" he said. I took a seat on the side of the boat and watched as a plunder of snow floated around us. We sailed quietly for for the first hour and 50 minutes. The sun had left the sky and the dark stary night sky was above us.

I looked down into the water at my own reflection. How on earth was I going to tell Brandon about his Dad. And the fact Ms.Pillar is dead, what was it she was trying to say to me before she past? "We're almost there" Derek said sickly. I looked to see him dropping on the wheel of the boat. He was breathing hard and was shacking. "You okay?" I asked. He just smiled "Toby, none of us are okay" he told me. He was right, we all went through something back there. It was the saddest day of my life.

Brandon woke up from his sleep and sat up yawning. "Hey guys" he said as he looked up into the sky. "Is it just me or does that star look like it's getting bigger?" He asked. I looked up and saw that a large white dot steadily growing. "I don't know, are you sure it's a star?" Derek asked. I stared at it suddenly realizing what it was. "THAT'S NO STAR, GET DOWN!" I yelld. But it was to late. The streak of light hit the boat. There was a large BOOM followed by a CRACK as the boat broke in half.

I was shot from off of the boat into the  ocean. My ears rang as I sunk into the water, but I ignored it and swam for the surface. I emerged gasping for air, the boat was now a bunch of floating pieces of wood. I didn't see any sign of anyone else. "DEREK!" I screamed, "over here!" I heard him yell back. I followed the sound of his voice to see him to my right swimming towards me. "We're only a half mile from land, where's Sandra?" He said when he got to me. "I don't know" I answered.

Suddenly Sandra emerged from under water a few feet in front of us. She gasped for air in a panic. I reached over and pulled her towards me. "It's okay Sandra calm down" I said. "What the heck happened?" She screamed. "We were shot from what it looks like" Derek answered. "Wait where's Brandon?" I asked the both of them. Derek shrugged. "Don't look at me" Sandra said. I searched around and seen Brandon already swimming towards land. "I see him" I said pointing out at him. Sandra rolled her eyes "typical" she scoffed. "Well I'm not planning on staying here, let's start swimming" Derek said.

We all swam for about 20 minutes until we all finally reached the docks. When we got there Brandon was already on the dock shivering from the cold. Me Derek and Sandra flopped on to the dock breathing hard from exhaustion. "Thanks for the help" Derek joked towards Brandon. He just shrugged "sorry guys, I panicked" he said. I got to my feet and shook some water off of me like a wet dog. "So where do we go now?" I asked. "I'm afraid your journey ends here" a voice said from down the dock.

We all looked and saw a figure of a man standing in the dark area of the docks. Was this one of Majestas people? No way, I would've sensed their presents. "Who are you?" I asked. The man just chuckled "I am the true meaning of fear, I cause entire empires to fall at the very mention of my name, I am the shadow that walks behind you, the stalker in your bushes, the insanity deep inside your heart". The man then stepped into the moonlight showing his glowing purple eyes and slim fitted purple armor. "I am, THE RAVEN"