The Eight

Jack

Tree and leaves whipped across my face, thorns grabbed at me, I didn't care I just needed to get to her. I could hear Zach behind me struggling but I didn't want to stop. We followed the fire for hours it felt like, She has to be ok. Creeek we both spin around to see a flaming tree falling towards us. Zach whips his wrist up and a column of rock come rising out of the ground blocking the tree from falling any more. I nod a thanks to Zach, but there's no time for more formal pleasures. We finally come soon upon a clearing where everything is burned to a crisp and in the middle is a girl lying in a crater the earth cracked and scorched around her. "Amber..." I quickly run and drop to my knees next to her, I hold her praying she's still alive. I feel her breathing ever so slightly. I look at Zach and he nods and spins towards the way we came. After a few minutes he comes back with some guys from the party and they help carry Amber to the car. Luckily Zach gave them a false explanation of what happened and they gave us a ride home.
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My moms a nurse, thank god, they drop us off outside. Mom bursts out the door and stops when she sees all of us then motions all of us inside. The party guys leave once they set Amber down. Mom separates me into another room just me and her " What the hell Jack! You don't go bringing random people in my house and expect me to help them!" She's hurt I can tell in her eyes "Mom...she's like me so is Zach she's hurt she needs you." She looks at me in surprise and understanding, but adds in a very stem tone "We'll discuss this later".We both come back and Amber is awake, she did wake up in the car but just for a second.

While mom's working on Amber, I pull Zach aside, he looks confused but I fill him in "Amber said something about a guy with her in the forest, and messed her up." I start to clench my fists "We'll find him and you can freeze his face off, ok?" Zach explains as he rolls his eyes I nod then explain my dream to Zach. "Eight?!" His face is still in shock from telling him my dream "And what evil?!" He slumps down in a chair. " I don't know but we're going to find out!" He looks up at me confused "Ok, tomorrow's the last day of school soooo one more day then we have ..." He looks off into space for a second. "...3 1/2 months to figure this out!" He looks proud with himself for figuring it out, then adds "We just need to last one more day." Suddenly Zach's glee melts to a terrified face. "What?" He looks up and in a terrified tone reply's "What about Ambers brothers?!"
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We pull up to Ambers house Amber leaning on me for support as we walk up to the house all 4 of us. Ambers brothers are at the door ready to kill whoever did this to her. Mom said Amber just has a slight concussion and a few scrapes and bruises but is fine. They both glare at me and Zach. Mom steps up and asks to speak with Ambers parents, and the brothers show us in. It is 2 o'clock in the morning but her mom is in the kitchen making coffee and her dad sitting on the couch. Zach, and I help Amber up the stairs to her room while the adults talk.

Ambers room is quite clean and quite geekish. Like her walls being covered with an assortment of superhero posters, video games, a dinosaur with claw grabbers, and a heavy metal band that I have no idea existed. "If your done gawking at my geekiness we need to talk" I turn around and Ambers sitting at her desk. "Are we breaking up???" Zach asks as he plops on her bed and I settle in a beanbag on the floor. She gives him a glare and starts to tell us all about a guy named Lucifer in the forest, her going all beast mode and everything that happened tonight. "Also I remembered something while I slept in the car she googled up The Eight Elements "Fire, Water, Earth, Air, Nature, Ice, Light, and..." she hesitates then finishes "...Darkness." She reads. "So...?" Zach is utterly confused, Amber just sighs and shakes her head. "That's the Eight, Eight teens, Jack ice, You earth, me fire, Lucifer....darkness." She looks down and writes in a note book. "So how can we fight evil if one of us IS evil?" Zach asks still confused his spiky brown hair full of leaves and twigs, I must look like a mess too. "Remember! Light and dark battle?!" Amber gestures her hands in frustration at Zach, who looks blankly at her. She gets up walks over to Zach and looks at him for a second before smacking him in the back of the head, then sits back at her desk. "We need to find the other four and find out if Lucifer is working alone or has help" Amber gets up clearly feeling better and heads downstairs

Once we get downstairs there's no one there, we head to the kitchen instead and find the parents drinking coffee and talking. Ambers Mom is late 30s mid 40s with brown hair and browns eyes, over all I get where Amber gets her look from. Ambers dad is tall with blonde hair blue eyes and a neatly groomed mustache, Damn nice stache. My mom who does amazing for a single mother has her blonde hair pulled back into a pony tail from work today her brown eyes glazed over from tiredness. They look up and Ambers mom talks first. "Are you three good friends?" Amber and I nod, Zach shrugs. My mom sets down her coffee "I think it's time I take the boys home", she turns to Amber "Goodnight Amber" "Good night m'mam" she says then we get in the car and leave. That night I had the weirdest dream, like I was in a castle but a guy was there my age shaggy black hair and dark eyes, Lucifer!, I watch as he meets with a mid 40's man in a suit and walks into a room together. Then I'm in a forest again and there's a great map on the ground and a spot is circled, I quickly scramble to get to the map but it starts to roll up, No!!!, whispers start to emerge as I get closer to the map the children are ready, it is just a matter of time, light and darkness will meet, one will prevail. Finally I grab the map and see where we need to go, Redmont?!, where's that?! The whispers are louder now find the cave behind the waterfall, find the portal opposites attract, find the last 4, bring back the peace that was lost! Then everything goes silent.