Safehaven

Chapter 42

There was dead silence. All of us stared at Nathen with wide eyes. How could we go home? After we had seen all of this? It just couldn't be happening! Seeing the looks on our faces, Nathen quickly grinned then shook his head. "Oh, no. Not that way. I meant that you are going on a quest into the Below." There was a collective sigh as my friends and I realized that we weren't going home just yet. No, we were staying for a little longer. After our breaths of relief, Nathen continued. "Now that we know that you all are the children of the Prophesy, it is time that the plan is put into action. Long ago, when the Prophesy was told, it was decided that the elders and hero, whomever they may be, were to venture to Lendeor, the home of Morian. The Prophesy clearly states that the sides, good and evil, fight against each other. However, we have no idea how we are going to win the fight. So, we need the Volume of Spells, a book on all magic and stuff like that. It is legend that an ancient spell in the back tells of something that might rid us all of Morian. Ages ago, this such book was owned by Galloren. Unfortunately, the book was lost to us centuries ago. It is believed that Morian took and hid it in Lendeor, his home world, so that he might never be defeated. The faculty and I have agreed that the Chosen are the best option to go and retrieve this book, though the only way to Lendeor is through the Below, your home. Any questions?" My mouth hung open. This was a LOT to take in. Minutes ago, we were told we were going home. Now, we are going into an evil realm to fight a demented person. Why can't we just wait at Safehaven till we are prepared and Morian comes to us? There had to be some logic, but I didn't see it. Antigone started to voice her question, but she was cut off. "No questions? Good." Nathen smiled. "You leave in the morning." With that, the man spun on his heels and calmly strode out the door, leaving my friends and I in total shock. What?! I wanted to scream. Nothing made sense! This was about the stupidest thing I had ever heard. And by the expressions of my pals faces, they thought the same thing. In the morning, really? That didn't even give us time to prepare anything! All of just sat in the center of the room, mouths agape and eyes wide. Nobody could even register what had happened. Even when Kai sneezed, sending up a cloud of feathers, no one moved an inch. Finally, after about 15 minutes, Jada whimpered. "I don't want to do this." I blinked. This was the first time any of us had ever admitted we were scared. Sure, we had thought is hundreds of times, but putting it in words was different. Somehow, it made us... Human. We were in Safehaven, but we belonged to the Below. Holly scooted over to Jada and placed her arm around the girl's shoulders. "I'll be fine. I'm sure." Holly's words sounded more like a question that fact. Again, there was silence. Then, Quinton stiffened, and brought his hand to his pocket. "I totally forgot about this. You guys do remember when we were hiding in the shack from the evil fashion dudes, right?" We all solemnly nodded. It seemed like years ago, but the memory was as clear as day. Slowly, Quinton pulled a folded sheet of paper out of the pocket. The corners were bent and torn, and the paper was stained with multiple things, though Quinton still held it like it was the most important thing in the world. He carefully unfolded it and stared. As I watched, tears came to his eyes. "When we were about to the leave the shack, I found this and stuffed it in my pocket. Do you guys remember this?" Quinton turned the sheet around, and I almost cried. It was a picture, a picture of all of us at graduation. We were wearing ridiculously fancy cloths and smiles were plastered on our faces. At that time, we hadn't had a care in the world. We were free and happy. That was before any of this had happened. Beside me, Sage brushed a tear from her cheek. "It's feels like that was ages ago." She sniffled. "Back then, the only thing we worried about were tests and stuff." It was true. "Gosh, it seems so stupid now!" Jada's eyes were bleary. "What I wouldn't give for a life like that again." The rest of us silently agreed. I don't know why, but the picture sort of reminded us that we weren't always who we are now. Once, we were normal kids who did normal things. Now, we were totally different people. Holly took a deep breath and brushed away her tears. "We might have been kids then, but now we are the adults, whether we like it or not. And right now, we have a job to do." Holly's words inspired. I felt the deep pain of sorrow and stress slowly melt. Holly was right. We were definitely not kids anymore. It was our time to take charge. I straightened. "Come on, guys." I mustered. "We have a job to do."