The Defender

Demons!

In the ocean of darkness, I could see one point of shining light. Out of seemingly nowhere, a voice shouted,"Don't walk toward the light!" But alas, I was already walking toward it. I tried to turn back, but a sucking force with the power of a hurricane prevented me from stopping and turning around. Trying to grab onto anything I could find, I scrabbled along the walls with my hands, making them bleed.i gave up my futile attempt to stop whatever was happening then. Let whatever's out there get me, I thought. I'll just kill them anyway.

Oof! I landed on my bottom in a meadow of...flowers? Wait no. Those things weren't flowers, those were rotting hands sticking out of the ground! Gross! Leaning over a heap of hands, I threw up. A bitter taste lingered in my mouth when I looked around at my surroundings. The land was brown with no grass and rivers of lava flowed everywhere I could see. Hiding behind a pile of hands, I spotted a group of... Demons? They had red-brown skin and leathery wings. They whispered to each other in a strange language I couldn't understand. Was this Hell?

Suddenly, a scratchy voice boomed inside my head. It was the demons!

"We'll move our army into the human world in 2 human years. By then, our master will be ready to take over." At that, they laughed a horrible, screeching laugh.

Repulsed, I imagined Aidan's face and the wonderful world he brought me to. I appeared right next to Keith who was very much suprised. "Aidan! She's back!" He yelled. Whispering to me, he said, "He's been asking for you ever since you left. He's been very worried. Most of the time, when you go down there, time stops." Right at that moment, Aidan charged in like a bull and engulfed me in his arms. When he pulled back, his face was beet red.

A beeping sound came from his pocket. When he looked at it, his face came back shocked but quickly covered it up. "We have to go! The Cold Ones are after us! Move, move!" Quickly, he shoved us out the door. I looked around and noticed the scenery was different.

"Are we on Earth?" I asked. It sure looked like it. There were people milling around and boys chasing after girls. The sound of laughter filled the air.

"Yes. Why wouldn't it be?!"

"Uhh...I um..." I stuttered in panic. My cheeks were probably very red because I could feel the stinging in my cheeks. I brushed my dark hair back with the back of my hand to hide my red cheeks.

"Cat got your tongue?" Keith teased me.

"Stop it!" I slapped him playfully. Keith made me smile even when I was sad. It was really stunning considering nobody could make me smile but myself and Aidan. We were instant friends since we liked a lot of the same stuff and he made me smile. That's how I found my first loyal friend, anyway. With Aidan, things were more complicated. When he was near, something inside went warm and fuzzy. I always wanted to hug him all the time. It was weird yet I loved the sensation.

A hand waved in front of my face."Helloooo? You in there? Did you even hear what I said?" Turning to the hand, I saw that I must have spaced out when Keith and Aidan were talking. Keith looked worried and Aidan looked smug.

"We have to go now." With that, we set off once again.