The Holders

Chapter 5 - Leon

I sat on the roof of a makeshift house. I leaned against the back of the slanting roof. This had become my new favourite spot.

I looked over the city below. Even though it was dark many lights were still on. I watched two dots for headlights in the distance. I wonder who was in that car, where they were from, where they were going.

I tried to ignore the place behind me. Where the houses looked like sheds and were made from anything that would be found. Too many people here are alone, starving or homeless.

I shivered and pulled my sleeves over my hands. I started feeling someone was watching me but when I looked around nobody was there.

Paranoia getting the better of me, I jumped off the roof and started making my way through the streets. It was strange how deserted it was.

I suddenly realised how cold it had become. I silently cursed myself for walking into a dead end. As I turned around I saw ice freezing over a doorway.

Suddenly, out of the doorway a giant glacier came out. It then took two legs and two arms made of glistening ice. The small cuboid head then turned to me, it's blue piercing eyes staring at me.

It took a few heavy steps towards me, leaving behind it a trail of ice. Every step it took forward I took one backwards.

It raised his hand slightly, wriggling it's fingers. The ice monster's fingers were long, curved icicles that were pointed at the end.

All of a sudden I realised how numb my feet had gone. Looking down I saw my feet had been encased in two big blocks of ice.

I tried to move my feet but it felt like my energy was draining away. My attempts to move became slower.

Then the ice broke and it all fell away. I knew it wasn't anything I had done to break the ice. I started walking backwards, away from the ice monster. My energy was coming back.

Suddenly, I bumped into somebody. I turned around. It was girl who looked 16. She looked pale and had almost white hair. She glanced at me with her icy blue eyes then turned back to the monster.

Her eyes widened and she grabbed my arm, pulling me behind her. Now, where I had stood was an ice skeleton soldier with it's sword on the ground. It picked the sword up and advanced.

It swung at me and I dodged. Just feeling it's coldness brush past me. As it swung again the girl was in the way. Too late, she dodged. I took a quick intake of breath, expected her arm to be cut clean off.

However, as soon as the sword touched her the block of ice shattered into millions of pieces. The skeleton soon disappeared, realising it was weaponless.

I looked back at the ice monster. It stared at me with pure hatred before watching the girl with suspicious eyes. Then it simply melted into a puddle and just like that it was gone. It wasn't gone as in dead. I knew it just went for now. It would be back.

I turned back to the girl, expecting some answers but she looked just as shocked as me. She bit her lip thinking, then slightly shook her head, dismissing whatever idea she had and looked at me.

"I'm Zara." She said as if this sort of thing happened all the time for her, well maybe it did.

"I'm Leon." I told her.

I started asking a question but she interrupted me.

"I know, it's strange, I don't even know what's going on but I think we're getting answers soon." Zara then motioned for me to walk with her.

We started walking down the street, taking a few turns. She definatly wasn't from here so it surprised me she seemed to know where she was going.

"So Leon..." She began but I don't think she knew what she was going to say, just trying to make conversation.

"So Zara," I said, "Is fighting weird monsters an everyday thing with you or...?"

She smiled, "Lately, it has become an everyday thing but I'm just hoping that changes, sooner rather than later."

I realised that we were heading towards two people. They were the only people we'd seen so far. They both looked 16, a boy and a girl. They saw Zara and started walking towards us, watching me strangely. I stared at them, they seemed oddly familier. Even though I knew I had never seen them before in my life.

The boy had short light brown hair with green eyes. When they got closer I realised his eyes were hazel not green. It was strange how green they looked from a distance. The girl had short, jet black hair with bright green eyes. She looked like someone not to be messed with. Especially with her leather jacket.

We all stopped facing each other. I realised they were all watching me.

"Um hi," I said

"This is Leon." Zara told them.

"James." The boy held his hand out for me to shake it, which I did.

"I'm Talia." The girl said, studying me with her green eyes.

All four of us stood there glancing back and forth. It was strange, all of us there, it felt... familiar.

There was an awkward silence which Zara broke when she started briefly explaining the ice monster to James and Talia. I noticed how she missed the part when she broke the ice sword simply by touching it.

When she was done James let out a deep breath.

"Strange, how this keeps happening, it can't be a coincidence can it?" He asked. I didn't know what he meant.

"I know," Zara replied. She thought for a moment then looked at me. "A similar thing has happened to each of us."

They started explaining the demonic girl Talia had met. When Talia said about electrocuting the monster she sounded confused, obviously she didn't know what had happened, but you could tell she was kind of proud about it. Of course she would be, all I did was hide behind Zara.

Next, James described the tornado giant he'd saw but he didn't fight it. It sounded almost impossible to fight anyway. I started realising a pattern. However it was strange how each monster was completely different.

There was a moment of silence when James finished and all three of us looked at Zara. I realised that James and Talia hadn't heard about her story. She started explaining but she stumbled over her words ever now and then. She told us about the fire dragon/snake and getting injured.
"To be honest, I don't remember that much," She finished. "I just blacked out and woke up on the plane."

That was what I found the worst bit. With James, Zara was there. With Talia, James and Zara were there. Now with me all three of them were here but with Zara it was just her. I remembered something they had all mentioned.

"Who's Guy?" I asked. Before any of them could answer a voice behind me did.

"That would be me. Even though, I prefer The Protector." He glared at Zara for a moment.

I stared at him. He was tall with blonde hair and dark brown eyes. I thought he was about 25. He didn't look old but it definatly felt like he was in charge.

He turned and started walking away. Talia and Zara immediatly started following. I hesitated but then followed them. James walked beside me.

"Don't mind him," He told me "The guy says his name is 'The Protector' but that just sounds weird. We call him Guy. Simpler." James gave me a smile. I had a feeling he was the kind of guy who would be friends with everyone.

"Guy?" I asked raising an eyebrow. "Very creative."

He raised his hands in surrender "Hey, don't blame me, Zara picked the name."

I laughed and realised I was watching Zara and Talia in front if us. They were deep in conversation. I didn't know what about. Zara seemed to notice I was watching her and glanced behind her to me and James. She smiled at us and went back to her conversation.

We turned a corner and in front of us was a good sized plane. It seemed like it held several rooms. The Protector was already getting on board and the girls were following.

"Come on," James said seeing me hesitate. "I know things are really strange but you're going to have to trust us. Hopefully, we're going to get answers soon."

I nodded and followed them aboard. To get some answers.