Sandabury Academy

A Close Encounter

"What do we do now?" Jaheara whispers back to me.

I am honestly torn at this point. I need to keep an eye on Jaheara because there's no telling how many of these shape-shifter thingies there are surrounding the chapel. But, at the same time, I need to know if Terry is okay. I make a decision and go with it, crossing my fingers that Terry can handle himself wherever he is.

"We stick together and handle this guy, then go find Terry. Deal?"

She looks as though she is about to protest but I cut her off before she has the chance.

"My job is to ensure your safety. Terry can handle himself. Darius taught him well."

I see Jaheara nod to me and turn to look at the fake Terry standing before us. With a blink, Jaheara has two balls of flames in either hand and chucks them at the fake Terry while I unsheathe my daggers. The fake Terry has fast reflexes because he dodges both her fireballs. Before I charge at him, the fake Terry suddenly shifts into a creature I've never seen before.

What was the attractive Terry now stands a pale, gray skinned, alienoid looking creature with a bulbous, bald head and long, slender arms that reached all the way down to it's knees.

I hesitate for only a moment before I lunge for the shape shifter's throat. But it's as if the creature can read my mind because it ducks below my dagger swing and punches me full force in the stomach, sliding me backwards across the floor. I recover quickly and go into a defensive stance, raising my blades to my torso. Oh it's on now!

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

*Terry's POV*

I make my way around what remains of the ruined chapel, not seeing any signs of recent activity. What does strike me as odd, though, is why there is an abandoned chapel in the middle of nowhere. I reach the back of the chapel and lean up against the severely cracked wall, thinking about where we could possibly be. I look out into the distance and make out several mountain ranges looming on the horizon.

Wondering if there could be a river running between some of the peeks, I reach my hand out to push off the wall so that I may get a closer look but am greeted with a sudden burning sensation. I pull my hand back quickly and snap my head back to look at the wall. The spot where I touched the wall is illuminated with an ornately designed symbol glowing a pale blue color. I instantly recognize it to be a magical seal, but have no clue what it says. I examine it until the seal fades away and turn to start making my way around to the front of the chapel to tell the girls what I found when I hear footsteps behind me.

While reaching for my weapon strapped to my back, I whip myself around only to be greeted by Jaheara standing there looking at me like I'm nuts.

"Oh, it's just you. I thought you were inside checking things out with Val," I said as I ease my hand off of my weapon.

"We just finished scoping the place out. Val told me to come find you and make sure you were okay."

Placing my hands over my heart I say, "Aw, that's so sweet of her! I'm truly touched by her concern." I turn around again to start walking. "Let's head back. I need to tell Val that I found a..."

Before I can finish my sentence, I hear a loud  *BOOM* come from the inside of the chapel followed by another one. But before I start to sprint off around the chapel, I am filled with a strong aching feeling all over my back that knocks the wind out of me. I look back to see Jaheara holding the remains of a wooden plank in her hands with an evil smirk on her face. Quickly realizing that this isn't Jaheara, I unhook the baton from my back and press the button on the side, extending it into a quarterstaff. Crouching low, I signal for the fake Jaheara to make the first move.