Roots

Chapter 4 Blessing: Jackie

Thump thump, thump thump. I feel my heart beating out of my chest. My eyes flutter open and I see three or four doctors standing over me, but everything is blurry. Whe-where am I? I turn to my right and I see Rebecca, her hand hanging over the bed. She's unconscious. I look to my left and I see Daniel except he's sitting up and a few nurses are checking him. On Rebecca's other side, Tyler is covered with red marks and he's slowly waking up. "Jackie? Jackie?! JACKIE!!!" I hear my name being yelled as Rachel tries to run over to me but is blocked by one of the doctors. "Let me through!" she yells.

"H-how long have I been asleep? What ha-happened?" I mumble.

"Shhh, rest now," a nurse reassures me, "We'll explain everything once all your friends are awake.

I let my head sink into my pillow and my dreams shift op the last thing I remembered before I fell unconscious. I split into two people, two, and then half of me was engulfed in flames while the other was nearly drowning. Wait, how am I one person again? Ugh I'm so confused.

I finally fall into a deep sleep. I woke up on a circular platform that was made of pure gold. White quartz columns lined the rim, with five chairs in between them. I look around and catch my breath when I realize I'm not alone in the room. Two people were sitting in the white chairs. The man on the right was wearing a blue outfit and his hair seemed to be made of water, his eyes were a bright glowing blue that filled his whole eye. The girl on the right was dark skinned with flames as hair, her eyes were a fiery red and they too were glowing. Both of them stood up and started walking towards me. I back up startled and turn around to run, but there were no doors, nowhere to run. I turn back around and take a deep breath and wait for them to speak.

"Hello Jackie," the man says, "I am the Guardian of water and this," he points to the woman standing next to him, "is the guardian of fire."

"We are here to bless you with these elements," the woman declares.

"Wh-what? Huh? Why? What's going on?" I respond flustered. Guardians? Elements? Bless?

"You and your friends were chosen by the Guardians to fight for your world," the Guardian of water claims.

"O-Okay? Why do I get two elements, do my friends get two elements?" I ask confused.

"No, just you," I open my mouth to ask why, but as if she read my mind she continues, "Your split personality. You can split into a boy and a girl. Your boy side will contain the element of water, the other half will have the element of fire. When you are yourself, as one person, you will have both elements."

"Why am I getting these powers?" My questions are endless.

The man takes a deep breath and looks down, "There is a terrible darkness coming, your world in unprotected, we need heroes to defend it."

Suddenly the flaming haired girl makes some hand motions and places her hand on my head.

Boy Jackie:

Ahhhh, what's happening. I look up and again I am staring back at the girl half of Jackie. We stand up and face the Guardians.

"One day, you'll learn how to control it," the Guardian of fire laughs.

They each chant incantations and weird necklaces with stones on them appear. The one in front of me had a wave on it with a snowflake. I've seen that before, but where? Girl Jackie beats me to it though, "Isn't that the stone I was standing on when the fire burned me."

"And that looks like the rock I was clinging to when the wave swallowed me," I add. The realization hits me. The Guardians smile and give each other amused glances.