My Soul To Keep

*Bonus Chapter- Prologue*

They got as far in the woods as they wanted to, or had originally planned. That section of the woods they found previously was still there and they did not get lost trying to find it. They got there sooner than they thought, which meant they would get on with the activity sooner than they thought as well.

The girl in the red hoodie, with bright curls poking out of her hood, turned to assess the situation.

"It's the perfect open area," she mused. "It's welcoming us. It wants us to do this."

The six teenagers formed a circle. Each of them stopped before a tree and drew an "X" along the trunks with chalk like it was a marker. They all held a bottle of iced tea close by their sides tightly, as though it contained some magical elixir. The seal on the cap had already been broken, but it was not yet drunk. They sat down pretzel-style, each having a tree to their back, and closed their eyes. For a while the area of the woods was silent. So silent the only thing that could be heard was the breath they breathed out, each one, each time, all at the same time so it was one big exhale.

"Oh, White Light," the girl said. "White Light, take us. Take us to the next level."

"Oh, White Light. White Light, take us. Take us to the next level," the others repeated.

Their breathing was interrupted by the approach of footsteps, a single crunch of fallen leaves and twigs snapping. The eyes of the teenagers snapped open.

The man approached their little scene, stumbling a bit over bushes and tree branches. He saw them in the clearing. He opened his mouth once, twice, like he did not know what to say at first.

"My...my children..."

The students looked at him with respect, with hope, but mostly disappointment. He approached them and made point to look at all of them in the eyes.

"My children, I want you to know how much you all mean to me and how much I stand by you and support you. I am here for you. You know this. Do not be scared!"

The kids looked around at each other, at the ground, anywhere. They were not scared. Not anymore. The man stepped closer into the circle they made so that he was in the center.

"You are my brave little soldiers and you will be worshipped as leaders. You are about to accomplish an incredible feat. I am proud to call you my children."

"And you'll keep your promise?" someone asked.

He nodded vigorously. "Yes. Yes I will. I still have work to do. It is up to me to continue it, don't you see? I have to stay behind."

"Then I guess this means we should get to it," the red hooded girl said. She held up her bottle of iced tea and waited for the others to do the same. "You will watch? You'll watch us while we go?"

"Yes!" the man said. "Yes I will, and I will make sure it all goes all right."

All of them were happy with that answer. One by one they unscrewed the bottle caps, and took a sip. They took another...and another until they coughed and dropped the now empty bottles. They slumped against the tree trunks, spread their arms, and looked up to the skies. White, fluffy foam formed from their mouths and dripped down their chins, but they still kept their heads high and their eyes higher. They focused on the skies above, to the clouds and beyond, to whatever was waiting for them on the other side.