Crystal Cave

Chapter Eight

        "Well it seems none of you needed any guidance."

        Out of the shadows came a man. He couldn't have been older than 50, even with his slight, salt and pepper beard. He looked like he just came from a high class party instead of the back of a cave. His clean, sleek, black suit would have made him look intimidating if not for the playful smirk. His eyes were a simple brown but with one look you could tell they held years of wisdom and mischief.

        "Who are you?", Roxy asked.

        "Well who do you want me to be? I can be whoever you wish.", everyone else seemed perplexed by his riddled and non-informative answer. So I took it upon myself to clue them in.

        "It's him.", I began, "the one I've been hearing in my head. I don't know his name."

        "Woah. WOAH! What do you mean hearing in your head?!?!", Cass about screamed.

        The clean cut man answered her, "Yes, yes, Cassandra in her head. It's quite simple actually. Only took me about 70 years to master, which is an astounding accomplishment."

        "70 years? You don't look older than 50.", Kaylan surprised me when she asked what I had been thinking. 

        "Please! I'm 3,450! The only remaining Overseer! My most common name, by which you can call me, is Erramun."

        I ignored the spluttering coming from the others and asked Erramun, "So, what exactly is going on here? Why can I hear you? Why are you even talking to me? What is this place? What are these crystals?"

        "Patience my girl. I will explain everything. But first. Sleep."

        The last thing I saw as everything went black was Erramun glaring down at my passed out brother. 

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        I woke up surrounded by my friends on the bleachers at school. The first thing I noticed- other than the fact that Erramun had somehow transported us to where we had lied about being- was the sharp edges of the stark white crystal pressed in my palm. Everyone else was groggily trying to get their bearings, except for Mitch. He was standing at the bottom of the bleachers with a faraway look in his eyes. He's been acting strange for a while now but I never thought anything of it. I made a mental note to talk to him about it later.

        For now I started leading the others to the river. There was a silent agreement to not even attempt to enter the cave again. I think we all have had enough of Erramun, caves with veins of water, and glowing arches. 

        "Hey hon! How was your day?", my mom asked as soon as I came in the door.

        "Oh you know the usual. Cass, Drea, Griffin, and I were attacked by our science teacher turned Rat-Man. I have the Voice of Erramun, the 3,450 year old wizard type guy, in my head. We met him today. You know that cave you told me to never go in when I was 7? Yeah, that one, we went in there and got crystals from glowing rock arches. Then Erramun knocked us out and transported us to school. The place we lied about being in the first place. So you know, nothing out of the ordinary."

        "Um, it was, it was completely uneventful.", I lied.

        I hated to not be able to break down and have my mom hold me as I confessed everything to her and the other parents. Instead I walked out to the back where the dads were at the grill. I wanted to tell them, I really did but I didn't want to end up roommates with the girls in an asylum. Plus I wanted to wait till I talked to the others about all that has happened. 

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        The rest of the night really was uneventful. No creatures trying to kill us over hamburgers. No Voice in my head throughout the Grown Ups marathon. The only things that suggested anything was wrong was the way the crystals felt like they weighed as much as bowling balls. And the silence that was granted from those of us 16 and younger.   

        I went to bed that night with my white crystal curled in my hand under my pillow. The images of everything that has happened today flashing before my eyes as I drifted into sleep. No flashes of the future tonight, just images of the past.

*A/N.   The picture above is the one I found that's closest to what I imagine Sirenity looking like*