Post by Teye22 on Oct 29, 2015 21:07:30 GMT -6
Before you begin reading this entry, you should know that this is a continuation of WC3 - Redfalls
If you haven't yet had the chance to read it, I strongly recommend you do before proceeding!
Enjoy!!!
It was getting late so I started walking home. I was dragging my feet in the dirt from exhaustion.
I had been building a barn on the Wilson Farm with my friends to help out Denis! He had taken on this project but hurt his knee while working so he needed the assistance to finish before winter arrived.
As I passed in front of the market, I remembered I hadn't eaten anything in over 24 hours! So I walked in.
I headed straight for the back and picked up a twelve of beers, then to the deli section where Alison, the owner, prepares ready-to-eat meals for the "on the go" people that don't want to bother with cooking, just like me. I selected a foot long sub, well two of them in fact, I was starving! They were filled with freshly sliced turkey, lettuce and plenty of bacon. I thought to myself: "My kind of club sandwich, Yeah!”
So as I headed to the register to pay, Alison placed her hand on my left shoulder.
“Hey there Ben! How have you been doing these days?”
“Oh! Hi Ali! I guess, I'm as good as I could be after the recent events. I am just a bit confused about a few details that conflict with my old beliefs. I'll figure it all out for myself soon I think!”
“I am sure you will! You should go get some rest Ben, You look beat!” She said.
"Thanks Ali! I plan on doing just that!"
I placed my subs and beer on the counter to pay for them. Then Alison gave me the total:
“$32.50 please Ben” She said
I opened my wallet, starred a few seconds and said to myself “SHIT!”
"Uhmm! Ali..I only have $25 on me so Ill just leave one of the subs!” (How embarrassing!).
Alison looked at me with a wide smile and happily said:
"Just for you today my dear Ben, two-for-one subs! The second sub is on the house my friend! You've been working so hard lately; you'll need your strength!"
I felt my face burn up like a volcano, I am sure that I was so red I would glow! I knew she meant well but nevertheless I was so embarrassed! I hadn't been making a whole lot of cash lately so...
Knees shaking nervously, I gulped and faintly whispered...Thank you Ali, it means a lot.
I paid and headed home in a hurry. I was starving and needed fresh air fast to cool down from this humiliation!
I walked into my small one bedroom house! The stench of cigarettes in here was very noticeable! I should do something about it but not today!
I opened the fridge door to place the beer inside. In there, I only had a half empty bottle of ketchup, a carton of milk from a month ago and now, beer and a foot long club for later.
I ate the other sub in the blink of an eye, and then downed two beers back to back!
I laid down on this dirty brown leather couch that was given to me years before. I turned on the stereo for the news! Then I finally had my very first smoke in days!
Oh Yeah! I thought to myself as the smoke was rolling up my face!
If I am a bit troubled by all this, I sure hope Kara and her parents can cope with the memories of horror from the Criplar’s invasion attempt! I wonder how they're doing.
And I drifted off into a profound sleep...
MEANWHILE, IN THE WOODS A FEW HUNDRED MILES NORTH OF REDFALLS...
“Kara where are you, come eat your lunch dear!” Sheila yelled at her daughter.
Right here Mommy! I’m on my way! Kara replied slowly jogging toward their camp site.
She was carrying a little container that her parents had bought her to catch bugs and stuff. Sheila could hear a rattling inside the plastic box like if there were pebbles inside. Surely enough, Kara had found some pretty amazing looking stones and she had decided to start a small collection with these.
One of them was especially unique! It stood out from the rest. It was a few inches across in size and was of a glowing purple like they had never seen on a stone before!
“No wonder she chose this one, it is simply amazing looking!” Steve told his wife
“I think it’s magical! Said Kara. I knew where it was before I even saw it. It was sitting inside a hole in a tree trunk, like it was just there waiting for me to pick it up!”
Sheila grabbed hold of the stone in question to take a closer look. “Why don’t we make it into a necklace? “
“That is a great idea Mommy!” Kara was really excited about this.
Sheila grabbed some thread from Steve’s fishing kit and began the work while Kara was stuffing her face with lunch!
Sheila completed her little project then tied the thread loosely around Kara’s neck. “Thanks Mommy, It looks great!”
She finished her meal and immediately went on to find other things that might be of interest to her!
A short way from their tent, she arrived at a stream where Steve was fishing for their dinner. Kara was strolling along the water not too far from her dad when she slipped and fell on her butt in the water soaking her from head to toe. Both of them laughed out loud! As the water dripped down from her hair and onto her stone, it began to vibrate lightly.
“You must prepare, Kara!” Said a familiar voice softly in Kara’s ears.
“Prepare for what? Is this Erin?” Whispered Kara.
“What was that dear?” Steve asked her.
“I heard what sounded like Erin’s voice in my head, and it said: You must prepare, Kara! But I don’t know what she could mean by that!”
Steve stood still, a bit shocked at what he just heard. “Are you sure about this sweetie?”
“Well, I’m pretty sure that’s what it said!”
They both returned to the camp site where Sheila was tidying up to tell her about this strange message Kara had received.
“How can she prepare when we don’t even know what for? How did she get this information? This is really weird, we must figure out a way to get more information about this!”
They went on as normal and nothing else occurred that afternoon. After a pleasant day spent in the woods playing, Kara went off to bed in the tent where she went out like a light in an instant.
Kara started having a weird vivid dream. In it, she kept hearing the same phrase over and over: “You must prepare, Kara!” And she could see short glimpses of the stone necklace she had, and of the stream she fell into earlier that day.
“Erin? Is that you?” Kara yelled in her dream.
“Yes Kara, I am always with you! Now, you must prepare!”
“Prepare for what? How do I prepare? I don’t understand”! Whined Kara
“Pay close attention to what you hear, see and feel around you in your dreams and while awake! The answer is there for you to grasp!”
Kara opened her eyes to the sunlight piercing through the tiny window in the tent! She immediately recited her dream to her parents to get assistance to decipher the meaning.
“When exactly did you hear this message for the very first time?” Sheila asked.
“I heard it right after falling in the water over there yesterday.”
“Let’s go back there to see if it happens again!” Steve suggested.
As they reached the spot in question, the necklace started to glow again, a bit more than usual.
Kara then remembered a very important detail. “I heard her voice only a few seconds after water dripped on the stone when I fell in the stream! Maybe I should wet it again!” She grabbed a tiny handful of water and dropped it on the stone. It started vibrating again!
“This stone was placed in this area just for you as we knew long ago that you would be coming here and that you would be drawn to it. You can communicate with me through it but it is much more powerful than that. You will find all that out very soon! And I will also be joining you very soon, but I have far to travel to reach Earth so it will take another day or two for me to arrive!! Erin Told Kara.
Kara felt really proud because she had figured it all out without her parents help. She removed the necklace from around her neck to better analyze it but it slipped out of her hand and fell in the shallow water!
The water began to boil rapidly; it was releasing steam and emitting a purple light and a light blue fog was forming.
The smoke looked like it was attracted to Kara because it was circling around her forming a cocoon like shape. Then all the smoke was absorbed by her body!
Are you okay my dear? Sheila asked after witnessing this strange phenomenon.
“I feel fine Mom! I am a little puzzled, but perfectly fine!” Kara said in a surprisingly calm tone considering what had just happened.
Then Erin spoke again, but this time it was different, Sheila and Steve could also hear her:
“Call them back and they will come! Call the Archangels! And Kara walked forward with assurance, and sat in the Lotus position and began to meditate.
Kara suddenly seems to know what to do. What did this smoke do to her just now? Steve whispered to his wife.
“Michael! Uriel! Gabriel! And Raphael! I summon you! We need you here with us. Please here my call and join us.” Kara cited aloud by three times.
The boiling stopped! Everything went quiet for a few minutes. Kara got up, picked up her necklace, and placed it around her neck.
All of a sudden, the wind picked up and thunder started clapping in the sky above them! They looked up and to their amazement; they could see a few dark spots moving around randomly toward them.
As they got closer, they could make out the winged shape of their dear friends, Earth’s Archangels! They were now heading their way. They were swirling around while approaching our location and landed ever so gracefully in a perfect formation!
"Greetings Kara! We heard your call, what is it that you would like us to do to assist you?" Archangel Michael asked!
Kara stepped forward: “Erin told me to call you back so I did. She said I needed to prepare but I can’t figure out what to do. Prepare for what? How can I prepare out here in the wilderness?”
Erin whispered in Kara’s ear again. “I will arrive shortly Kara! And I will help you prepare! I should arrive within a few days so please rest until then, you will need it!”
This was really weird, Kara and her parents were unfamiliar with this type of thing, they only found out about the Angel’s existence a month or so ago when the invasion attempt occurred.
Steve looked at the Angels and said: “The Criplars were chased away or eliminated so they should never return here right? It can’t be them that are returning! Can it?”
The four of them looked at each other briefly, and then turned to Steve with a very serious look on their faces and Gabriel said:
"Erin will arrive shortly; she will explain everything upon her arrival! Please rest for now! There was another man with you last time, Ben, where is he? We might need him!"
“He is in Redfalls!” Kara replied.
Gabriel lifted off, “I will go get him and return soon! You’ll find out why when Erin gets here! Sorry I can’t say anything at the moment!”
BACK IN REDFALLS
As I awoke, I stretched and took a look at the time.
Its 9pm! I only slept a few hours?!?! That can’t be right! So I got up and headed outside for some fresh air. As I opened the front door, I noticed that the paper was at my feet. As I stared down, I took notice of the main Headline…
FESTIVITIES PLANNED FOR TONIGHT’S 28th OF JULY CELEBRATIONS! REDFALLS 150TH ANNIVERSARY!
"Oh my God, It’s the 28th already…that means that I have been sleeping for 2 days, is this even possible?" I said to myself while checking the other headlines on the front page!
I headed back inside into the kitchen to grab something to drink and as I walked in there, I stopped in shock:
“When was the last time I cleaned up? It’s a disgusting mess in here!” There was mold on the dishes in the sink; the smell was almost unbearable to me! Pots and pans were spread all over the counter and stovetop…
"I better get to cleaning in here before I get sick! But first I need a coffee.”
I found a Coffee mug on the counter and I really had to scrub it thoroughly before I could use it or I would likely poison myself!
I finally got it cleaned so I prepared my coffee and went to sit on my porch to enjoy it free from the stench of my house.
I grabbed a smoke from my pack, placed it between my lips and lit a match; it blew out before I could light my cigarette! I tried another one, same result. After half a dozen I just got up and threw the damn matches on the lawn and went back inside to find a lighter. Luckily, I found one relatively fast as there was one in my jacket hanging in the entrance!
So I finally get to have a smoke! I light the flame and lean forward to light up. Then the wind blew out the flame again.
“DAMMIT!” I screamed out loud.
Then I heard someone laughing out loud: “You shouldn’t smoke Ben! It’s not good for you! Ha! Ha! Ha!”
I looked up, and there he was, Gabriel, playing a prank on me by blowing out the flames from my matches and lighter.
“I didn’t know Archangels had a sense of humor Gabriel! What brings you to my neck of the woods?”
“Ben! I need you to go get packed and ready for the woods as soon as possible!
We must join the others!” Gabriel explained.
“Why? Is something wrong? If there's danger afoot, tell me cause I have to warn Mrs. White!” I told him.
There’s no time to ask questions just go get her and get ready to leave! Erin will explain when she arrives tomorrow!
So I rushed to my friend’s house and rang the doorbell! I could hear Becky barking and running towards the front door. Then Mrs. White gently opened the door with her usual smile!
"Well hello there Ben! Is there something you need? It is getting late you know!"
"I need you and Beck to come with me now, Gabriel the Archangel is in my yard waiting, he said I needed to go join the others in the woods but wont tell me why! I just thought it would be safer for you and Becky to be with us there than alone here! What do you think Mrs. White?"
"Let me pack some clothes and I'll join you!" She said.
So the three of them went back together to meet him.
"Good evening Gabriel! Nice to see you again."
"Greetings Mrs. White! I am sorry for barging in here at this time but this cannot wait! I cannot give you any details but we must go join Kara and her parents in the forest! Erin will explain when she arrives. Grab your things and come close to me and I will take you to them."
"Wait for me here Mrs. White, I have all we need! I used to camp a lot and I still have all my gear in the house!"
I went inside to grab my tent, and sleeping bags, some clothes and we stepped forward along with Becky to gather around Gabriel. He made a few fancy hand gestures and a strange bubble appeared around us and lifted us off the ground.
We were flying along with him! And in no time, we were hovering above the forest and began our descent toward the ground. We landed right next to the tent were Kara and her parents were sleeping soundly.
Gabriel pointed toward another tent not too far away. It looked very familiar to me, I looked next to me and all my stuff was gone. Somehow, Gabriel had it all set up for us!
"Amazing!" I whispered.
He suggested that we got some sleep to be in better shape when Erin arrived the next day! We went to bed but I didn’t think I would sleep at all considering I had slept so long in the past days and that I was nervous about what would happen next! Strangely enough, I went out like a light!
The next morning, all of us were awakened by the sound of wings flapping.
Erin had just arrived at our location!
I slowly crawled out of my tent remembering the recurring nightmare I was having a few minutes earlier! I didn't talk about it much and neither did the others, the subject was simply avoided. I was a bit shaky because I really believed that if the Angels were back, although we were all happy to see them again, it couldn't be good news!
As I looked around, I could see the burnt out fire that was still smoking a little. Near our neighboring tent were standing Steve, Sheila and Kara stretching out and waking up slowly as well. Mrs. White was standing next to me with Becky so we were all reunited for the first time since the angels had left.
"Good Morning everybody! How is everybody doing?" I asked the group.
"BEN!!" Yelled Kara while running toward me for a hug! "I missed you!"
"I have been busy, I guess, but I’m now confused as to what is expected from us! I guess we’ll find out pretty soon!"
Erin was standing close by and called us all to join her so she could explain to us the reason we were all gathered here.
"Good morning my dear friends, I am sorry for troubling you in such a manner but this is very urgent! I am afraid what we all went through recently was only the beginning! We intercepted a distress signal that had been sent from Earth before we could finish off the Criplars. It was a call for help to their home planet! There are now thousands of them on their way here. But this time it really seems that they are aiming for total destruction of mankind!
There isn’t much time left before they arrive, we have a little over a year to train you in the art of light energy. We wish to teach you all how to deal with them so that you can defend yourselves! But as you know, physical attacks are futile against them. So we have to use Natural Energy to destroy them since you cant use light energy! Only angels can use that! We want to teach you how to do that!
Since you all did so well during the first contact with them, I thought it would be a good idea to form a special team with you guys. Unless you don’t wish to be part of this, we will begin training right here in these woods for as long as it takes for you all to master the techniques we intend on teaching you.
Now if you are ready, lets head out! Follow me!"
Erin headed into the bushes and all of us followed her lead. The birds were chirping and we could hear the wind lightly shaking the leaves in the trees. It sounded so wonderful. Becky was very happy, she was running all over the place chasing birds and bugs!
The forest cleared into a wide area where there were a bunch of large boulders. As we walked toward what seemed to be the center of the zone, we walked through a cloud of butterflies. It was like heaven, it felt pure here, like if this was sacred land!
Erin hopped on one of the boulders and turned to face us.
"This place is where the very first battle against the Criplars ended thousands of years ago. We had won the fight and the spirits of the fallen angels rest within this holy place and this is where all the life energy of the planet originates from. This place makes the grass grow, the rivers flow, the wind blow, you get the idea!
There are no other place on Earth where more energy flows. This is the ideal location for natural energy training! Right at the source!
For your first lesson, I want each of you to walk around individually, I want you to take this time alone to clear your mind completely, what you will be trying to do is feel the energy around you. This is the key that will unlock the door to your progress. You see, you cannot harness, manipulate, control the energy if you can't feel it! It's there, and each of you must find it for themselves!
As your are wandering around, concentrate on a single sound of nature, either le wind blowing, the birds singing, your footsteps, even your own heartbeat if you can hear it! When you manage this feat, you will sense the energy in the boulders and one of them is calling out to you, like you are drawn to it like a magnet. Find it and sit on it! They you should feel a different energy emanating from this rock, focus on it and let it fill you until the rest of your group is done."
Kara stepped forward and asked: "What if we sit on the wrong boulder Erin?"
"You'll know pretty fast if its the wrong one, as they wont let just anyone sit one them, it has to call you and you have to feel that call, not hear it. If you get the wrong one, simply refocus and find the right one!"
When everyone has accomplished this, I will return. You must stay seated until I tell you otherwise, its important to remain in connection with the boulder.
It may seem difficult, but it will not be that hard since there are very few distractions here. I expect this lesson to last only this day. Tomorrow will be the next lesson so get going, and remember, have faith, you'll make it!"
Then Erin flew off into the sky to let us go on with our training! Good Luck!!
We separated from each other walking peacefully along the vast grassy field! I could feel the warm summer breeze rubbing gently against my skin! This was nice! Along with the sound of branches brushing against each other and the various melodies chanted by birds, after a little while, I began feeling differently...It was like I could hear the boulders breathing!! No, more like a heartbeat! And they were all beating in sync with each other!
I couldn't quite figure out what it meant but I kept walking feeling everything that was around me from the inside! It was unlike anything I had ever felt before! As I was beginning to distinguish the various sounds from one another, I realized that my own heartbeat was not in sync at all with the rest!
I started getting close to the edge of the field, near the forest, and spotted an isolated boulder behind a large pine tree. As I approached, I felt different than before. this boulder was different than the others. I was drawn to it, I knew I just had to touch it!
I felt a spark going through my body as I placed the palm of my hand on the surprisingly smooth surface of the boulder!
"This is mine! I have found it! " I whispered to myself.
And I climbed on top of it and turned toward the field before I sat down and looked at the others. Peter was climbing down his boulder to assist Mrs. white to get on top of her boulder, Sheila and Kara were already sitting on theirs. Peter climbed back on his and the group was all done! We had passed our first lesson!
After we were all sitting on our individual Boulder, Erin descended from the clouds and approached us.
“I had no doubt you would all manage to succeed! Now let’s begin the next phase of your training!
This will not be exhausting in any way! In fact it will be quite rejuvenating for each of you! All you must do is sit in the Lotus position as you are now, perfectly still, and feel the energy coming from beneath you and let it fill your body completely. Let it charge you in a way, sort of like charging a battery for later use. You will accumulate as much of the natural energy as you can so it can be manipulated or released at a later time.
This might be easier for some of you than others but persevere and you will succeed."
So we began! And I was able to feel the energy building up immediately, probably due to the previous exercise we had just completed.
I was visualizing my body like a container filling slowly with a light that looked just like fog or smoke! It felt very warm and comfortable, like it was wrapping me in a heated blanket! I felt simply amazing!
After a little while, I felt so good! It’s almost like I could fly if I wanted to. But I wouldn’t try that as I enjoyed life too much! So I kept building up the energy as much as I could. At one point, I opened my eyes only to notice that all my friends, which were all doing the same as me, were emanating a bright golden light. I looked down at my hands and so was I.
This brought a whole new meaning to the term “beings of light”.
Erin joined us as the Sun was setting! "How did everyone do with this lesson?" She asked.
"Great!" We all replied simultaneously.
Then Kara headed for Erin like she was gliding down a slope, but there was nothing there holding her. It was just like she was being carried there ever so gently!
"Ahem! Kara, did you just fly?" Sheila asked her daughter, very intrigued.
"No mommy, I only jumped off the boulder! I just felt really light and went down slowly. I don’t understand why! But I think it's kind of cool!" Kara told her mother.
"None of you can fly if that’s what you are wondering. But you all will find that you have many great abilities and each of you can have different ones. It will depend on your elemental affinity. You see, each being has an elemental affinity and can learn to harness it..
I think you are likely Wind element Kara, if you can glide like that it would make sense. We shall find out real soon!
In my case, I am a Water elemental.
This is what the third lesson will be about. Its not really a lesson as I wont teach anything, but we will determine what affinity each of you have. We will start this tomorrow. Today was very productive for all of you! I am very proud of your accomplishments; its getting late and now you must rest because this was the easiest part of your training, tomorrow will be harder as will be each subsequent day.
I will briefly explain to you the various elements and their counterparts. You will find your affinity tomorrow and then we can start refining your skills.
There are four Elements. They are Water, Air, Fire, Earth
Now keeping that in mind, go get some food in you and get some rest. Tomorrow is a big day!!"
And Erin flew off into the night!
Erin met us on the training grounds after breakfast. We were all meditating on our Boulders when she arrived.
"Good morning my friends!" Said Erin. "Nice to see you all here already! You want more don't you? Well lets begin! Follow me!"
She led us to a small area not too far away in the woods. There was a series of 4 stone pillars each standing about three feet tall. The tops of the pillars were flat and a symbol was carved in the center of each! there was small alcoves on each side near the top on each of them.
The air in the area felt magical. We had no idea what to expect but we were all very anxious to find out! Everything had been so amazing so far!
"The 4 Pillars before you are what will reveal your elemental affinities. Then we will be able to maximize your training within your respective elements. You will take turns in placing your hand in the alcoves of each pillar and call for that elemental energy to manifest. If it is your affinity, something will happen to let you know.
Ben your first! Please come forward."
So I headed to the first pillar. "The carving is similar to a flame, so I guess that it is the Fire element pillar?" I said to Erin.
"You are absolutely right Ben! Please proceed!" Erin replied.
So I placed my hands on it and, from the deepest in my heart I called upon the energy of Fire!
After a while, there was nothing happening. So I looked at Erin and asked:
"Should I move on to the next pillar now? Or did I do something wrong? Maybe I should wait longer?"
"You did great Ben, you may proceed to the next pillar!" said Erin.
I did so exactly the same way I did with the first pillar. This time the marking was a droplet, indicating the Water element, nothing happened with this one either.
So I moved on to the third pillar. The Wind pillar! I placed both hands on the handles and suddenly, I felt a light rattle in the pillar. Then a strong gust of wind blew around me! It was a bit scary at first but I knew what this meant! I was a Wind Elemental!
Erin had me also try out the last pillar, the pillar of the Earth energy! and nothing happened there either.
"All this made me nervous but for absolutely no reason." I said as I walked away!
Mrs. White, Sheila and Steve met with me after their turns and were very excited! Steve was a Fire elemental, Sheila was Earth and Mrs. White was Water.
Where is Kara? Is it her turn now? I said as I headed toward the testing site with my friends.
As we arrived, Kara was finishing the first pillar and nothing had happened. We watched as she walk proudly toward the next one, after a few minutes of her calling upon the energy of water, the pillar started seeping water trough various holes on the pillar.
I am a water element! Yay! Kara yelled.
Erin asked her to proceed to the last two pillars. Kara did so without hesitation. she place her hands on the wind pillar a repeated the procedure. Another gust of wind blew threw the area and around Kara!
Then when Kara called upon the power of the Earth at the fourth pillar, the ground shook strongly enough for all nearby birds to fly off simultaneously!
"Wait a minute! Wasn't I a Water element? This tells me that I am a Wind and Earth elemental doesn't it?" Asked Kara confused.
"Well, it has happened in the past that some had multiple elemental affinities. it is very rare but there others out there! You will have to work with each and learn to combine them! this is truly special!" Erin said to Kara.
We all headed back to camp for a nice meal, and a very well deserved night of sleep! Tomorrow we were to start refining our elemental abilities. I was really excited, this was going to be intense training and we will all be training separately with different Archangels that match our elements. Erin was giving us a briefing in the morning.
.After breakfast the next day, we joined Erin on our training grounds. She assigned each of us to an archangel with the same element.
"Sheila will be joined with Uriel, the Earth Elemental. Steve with Michael, the Fire Elemental. Ben will be assigned to Gabriel, The Wind Elemental. And Mrs. White is going with Raphael, the Water Elemental. Kara will Train with me, I can help her with each affinity!
As we were all about to head out to our individual training areas with our respective trainers, Erin stopped us to say:
"Grab your gear before you go, you will only return in 6 months’ time!"
"6 months!" We all yelled!
"But that is a really long time! Why so long and not all together?" Asked Sheila.
"We want you all to concentrate 100% on your training and your respective elements. If we are all together, you will be distracted by the other's training. So we will maximize our efforts and the results will be much greater by doing things this way! Trust me!
Don’t worry, everything will be fine and once the next 6 months is over, we will join back together and then we can all synchronize our strengths and finish the training together. Now say your goodbyes and hurry up! We have a lot to do!"
So we all Hugged each other and headed to our new training grounds where we would get stronger than ever to be ready for the Criplars when they return to Earth.
The following 6 months wasn’t easy for any of us! But it did get easier as time passed. We were getting stronger each day! And the basics were so much easier to use than before! We were making amazing progress.
At night, we could sometimes see glares of colorful lights fill the skies here and there. And when I asked Gabriel what it was, he said that it was probably my friends doing some nocturnal
training! I asked Gabriel how they were making so much light and he just smiled at me!
"You’ll see soon enough! Concentrate on your own training Ben!"
So even though we were separated, we were still close enough to one another!
6 MONTHS LATER
We all returned to our original campsite after our final day of training. W had tons to talk about as no-one had any idea what the others had been through. And for obvious reasons, we were all curious about Kara’s training the most! She did have 3 elemental affinities to work on and the rest of us only had one each!
"Now what we have to do is combine your strengths and get you all even more powerful. Against an enemy like the Criplars, it’s never too much preparation.
Never underestimate them, or it will be your end!
We are getting really close to their arrival and we must be ready for them in time. But they probably sent sentries and they are going to arrive a little ahead of the main group! We will have to mobilize before then so we don’t get caught off guard!
Now that your individual training are complete, I will send the 4 Archangels out to patrol and report any sign of them. Now we train as hard as we can!
Mrs. White has developed some pretty strong healing abilities while she was training, so we will use this to our advantage! You will likely not join the fight Mrs. White as your abilities will be needed to care for the injured if needed.
Gabriel, Uriel, Michael, Raphael, Please take positions around the globe and start scouting for the sentry’s arrival!
Now all of you will train with me! You will now learn to combine your powers and use them together as a team!"
We all took a well deserved day off before we started our group training! We really needed to rest as much as we could to be in optimum shape to train! I am pretty sure I am not alone who was anxious about seeing the powers that our friends developed during the past six months!
That evening, Sheila and Mrs. White prepared us a wonderful dinner! We all ate like kings and were able to have an open discussion about what each of us had learned!
After our meal, I joined Steve at the fire pit and helped him prepare a campfire! We set up fallen tree trunks around the fire for everyone to sit on and covered them with blankets. We spent hours telling each other funny anecdotes about occurrences that took place while we were apart.
Then out of nowhere, we heard noise coming from the bushes behind us!
"What was that!" Asked Sheila, while her eyes were staring left and right trying to see something in the darkness!
"Probably a raccoon or something like that! Nothing to worry about dear!" Steve told his wife to reassure her!
Then we heard a much louder crack from the opposite side of the group! Steve and I bounced on our feet! Clearly it was something heavier than we originally thought! And it showed itself!
A large Grizzly bear walked out of the bush and was slowly heading towards us! We all froze there for a moment facing this huge creature! Then the bushes behind us started moving again!
Just as I was thinking about releasing an axe attack on it, a cub walked out of the shadows and started running toward his mother the moment he spotted her! They both took a quick look at our group and then they headed back into the forest together calmly!
"That was intense! Thank God she was only looking for her baby!" said Kara as she sat back down on the log! Steve grabbed a few logs and fed the fire one last time before going to sleep. Tomorrow we began the final part of our training!
The group training had now been going on for over three weeks and we were progressing extremely fast and getting stronger individually and collectively every day! One morning, as we were running around the field of boulders for cardio training, a loud boom sounded near us in the forest!
We headed in the direction it seemed to have come from. We ventured out there blindingly having absolutely no idea what had happened or what we'd find! But we just had to know what it was!
We arrived at an area filled with smoke! We couldn't see more than ten feet in front of us! It looked like something had crashed there! Likely causing the sounds we heard.
I called upon the power of wind! Took a deep breath and blew out a strong blast of wind to clear away some of the smoke!
"Great idea! Thanks Ben!" Said Steve as we all started walking forward what seemed to be the edge of a crater with dirt and stones pushed outward in a circle!
We got there and looked down into the small crater what we found was nothing short of amazing! It was a metallic sphere buried halfway into the ground!
"What is that thing?" Asked Kara.
"It looks like a spaceship or something! It's still steaming from it's entry into our atmosphere!" I replied knowing damn well this was not of human making.
"We should all be on high alert! Be ready for anything! We don't know where its from or if its hostile! Erin is checking up on our four friends the Archangels so she cant help us right now! Lets hope they're friendly! Or we'll have to deal with them ourselves" Steve said using a serious, authoritative tone!
We all turned our head sharply to look at the ship when Air pressure released as the door began opening!
Our worst nightmare came to be! A Criplar crawled out of the wrecked ship and immediately took a defensive position as another one followed!
They spotted us within seconds and began making their way to us!
:"very one get ready to battle! It may be unexpected but this battle is our ultimate finale to our hard work! Let show them what we can do now!" I told my friends as I was preparing to use a technique I had mastered in the last months!
Concentrating the Wing energy inside my cupped hands, and focusing all my power in that same location, I formed a spinning disc of wind energy! I aimed it at my foe and fired a blast at the first Criplar!
It blew him straight across the crater and slammed into the ground with extreme force! The other one stopped at that instant and took a look back at his friend who difficultly was getting back up to its feet!
"Looks like that hurt him! YEAH!" Sheila yelled!
He caught up to his partner and they both continued their path!
I looked at Steve and we both knew what we would try. We wanted to combine our forces to intensify his fire element with my wind elemental technique.
We stood face to face and cupped each of our hands with the other's in the same manner I had done a little earlier. And we let the energy build up to strengthen the attack!
Girls! immobilize them if you can! Steve told them as we were getting close to full power.
Sheila and Kara both keeled down side by side a little further in front of us, placed both palms down on the ground and began building up the Earth Energy!
"Tell us when your ready!" Said Sheila.
"Okay Honey, you can go ahead! We're ready!" Steve told his wife.
They pushed forward on the dirt and the sand formed a big wave and plowed into our enemy! They were now waist deep in dirt!
Then Steve and I each released a very large spinning fireball and threw it at both Criplars!
"Take cover! " Steve Screamed as we ran away to avoid the blast.
We all dove down to the ground away from the crater and there was a gigantic blast! Rocks, branches and dirt were flying all of over the place! Most of us got minor cuts and scratches from the flying debris.
We waited for the dust to clear a bit and got back on our feet.
We were all standing there, at the edge of the crater, as I blew the smoke away like before to see if our enemies were still standing! We taking this opportunity to catch our breath and shake some dust of our clothes!
As the air cleared, we could see two corpses laying on the ground!
"Look!" Yelled Kara. "They're not moving! We got them! Hurray!!!"
I went down with Steve to confirm if they were dead.
We kicked their feet, their hands, their body, even they faces just to be sure. Nothing!
I turned around to face Kara and the others on top of the crater. And said proudly:
"We really did it! We beat the Criplars! This was an awesome collective effort! The four of us managed to combine our forces and succeeded. Now I know I have to go see Mrs. White to heal those cuts I got earlier! What a blast that was Steve!"
We all headed back to camp and told Mrs. White about what had happened.
Oh Dear! Come over here so I can tend to your wounds!
She placed her hands on our wounds and after a short while, they completely healed and left no trace! We weren't shocked at this sight because we had seen this many times already during our training.
We were all really proud of what we had accomplished! And also glad it was over...for now...
THE END?
If you haven't yet had the chance to read it, I strongly recommend you do before proceeding!
Enjoy!!!
Redfalls part 2
,It was getting late so I started walking home. I was dragging my feet in the dirt from exhaustion.
I had been building a barn on the Wilson Farm with my friends to help out Denis! He had taken on this project but hurt his knee while working so he needed the assistance to finish before winter arrived.
As I passed in front of the market, I remembered I hadn't eaten anything in over 24 hours! So I walked in.
I headed straight for the back and picked up a twelve of beers, then to the deli section where Alison, the owner, prepares ready-to-eat meals for the "on the go" people that don't want to bother with cooking, just like me. I selected a foot long sub, well two of them in fact, I was starving! They were filled with freshly sliced turkey, lettuce and plenty of bacon. I thought to myself: "My kind of club sandwich, Yeah!”
So as I headed to the register to pay, Alison placed her hand on my left shoulder.
“Hey there Ben! How have you been doing these days?”
“Oh! Hi Ali! I guess, I'm as good as I could be after the recent events. I am just a bit confused about a few details that conflict with my old beliefs. I'll figure it all out for myself soon I think!”
“I am sure you will! You should go get some rest Ben, You look beat!” She said.
"Thanks Ali! I plan on doing just that!"
I placed my subs and beer on the counter to pay for them. Then Alison gave me the total:
“$32.50 please Ben” She said
I opened my wallet, starred a few seconds and said to myself “SHIT!”
"Uhmm! Ali..I only have $25 on me so Ill just leave one of the subs!” (How embarrassing!).
Alison looked at me with a wide smile and happily said:
"Just for you today my dear Ben, two-for-one subs! The second sub is on the house my friend! You've been working so hard lately; you'll need your strength!"
I felt my face burn up like a volcano, I am sure that I was so red I would glow! I knew she meant well but nevertheless I was so embarrassed! I hadn't been making a whole lot of cash lately so...
Knees shaking nervously, I gulped and faintly whispered...Thank you Ali, it means a lot.
I paid and headed home in a hurry. I was starving and needed fresh air fast to cool down from this humiliation!
I walked into my small one bedroom house! The stench of cigarettes in here was very noticeable! I should do something about it but not today!
I opened the fridge door to place the beer inside. In there, I only had a half empty bottle of ketchup, a carton of milk from a month ago and now, beer and a foot long club for later.
I ate the other sub in the blink of an eye, and then downed two beers back to back!
I laid down on this dirty brown leather couch that was given to me years before. I turned on the stereo for the news! Then I finally had my very first smoke in days!
Oh Yeah! I thought to myself as the smoke was rolling up my face!
If I am a bit troubled by all this, I sure hope Kara and her parents can cope with the memories of horror from the Criplar’s invasion attempt! I wonder how they're doing.
And I drifted off into a profound sleep...
MEANWHILE, IN THE WOODS A FEW HUNDRED MILES NORTH OF REDFALLS...
“Kara where are you, come eat your lunch dear!” Sheila yelled at her daughter.
Right here Mommy! I’m on my way! Kara replied slowly jogging toward their camp site.
She was carrying a little container that her parents had bought her to catch bugs and stuff. Sheila could hear a rattling inside the plastic box like if there were pebbles inside. Surely enough, Kara had found some pretty amazing looking stones and she had decided to start a small collection with these.
One of them was especially unique! It stood out from the rest. It was a few inches across in size and was of a glowing purple like they had never seen on a stone before!
“No wonder she chose this one, it is simply amazing looking!” Steve told his wife
“I think it’s magical! Said Kara. I knew where it was before I even saw it. It was sitting inside a hole in a tree trunk, like it was just there waiting for me to pick it up!”
Sheila grabbed hold of the stone in question to take a closer look. “Why don’t we make it into a necklace? “
“That is a great idea Mommy!” Kara was really excited about this.
Sheila grabbed some thread from Steve’s fishing kit and began the work while Kara was stuffing her face with lunch!
Sheila completed her little project then tied the thread loosely around Kara’s neck. “Thanks Mommy, It looks great!”
She finished her meal and immediately went on to find other things that might be of interest to her!
A short way from their tent, she arrived at a stream where Steve was fishing for their dinner. Kara was strolling along the water not too far from her dad when she slipped and fell on her butt in the water soaking her from head to toe. Both of them laughed out loud! As the water dripped down from her hair and onto her stone, it began to vibrate lightly.
“You must prepare, Kara!” Said a familiar voice softly in Kara’s ears.
“Prepare for what? Is this Erin?” Whispered Kara.
“What was that dear?” Steve asked her.
“I heard what sounded like Erin’s voice in my head, and it said: You must prepare, Kara! But I don’t know what she could mean by that!”
Steve stood still, a bit shocked at what he just heard. “Are you sure about this sweetie?”
“Well, I’m pretty sure that’s what it said!”
They both returned to the camp site where Sheila was tidying up to tell her about this strange message Kara had received.
“How can she prepare when we don’t even know what for? How did she get this information? This is really weird, we must figure out a way to get more information about this!”
They went on as normal and nothing else occurred that afternoon. After a pleasant day spent in the woods playing, Kara went off to bed in the tent where she went out like a light in an instant.
Kara started having a weird vivid dream. In it, she kept hearing the same phrase over and over: “You must prepare, Kara!” And she could see short glimpses of the stone necklace she had, and of the stream she fell into earlier that day.
“Erin? Is that you?” Kara yelled in her dream.
“Yes Kara, I am always with you! Now, you must prepare!”
“Prepare for what? How do I prepare? I don’t understand”! Whined Kara
“Pay close attention to what you hear, see and feel around you in your dreams and while awake! The answer is there for you to grasp!”
Kara opened her eyes to the sunlight piercing through the tiny window in the tent! She immediately recited her dream to her parents to get assistance to decipher the meaning.
“When exactly did you hear this message for the very first time?” Sheila asked.
“I heard it right after falling in the water over there yesterday.”
“Let’s go back there to see if it happens again!” Steve suggested.
As they reached the spot in question, the necklace started to glow again, a bit more than usual.
Kara then remembered a very important detail. “I heard her voice only a few seconds after water dripped on the stone when I fell in the stream! Maybe I should wet it again!” She grabbed a tiny handful of water and dropped it on the stone. It started vibrating again!
“This stone was placed in this area just for you as we knew long ago that you would be coming here and that you would be drawn to it. You can communicate with me through it but it is much more powerful than that. You will find all that out very soon! And I will also be joining you very soon, but I have far to travel to reach Earth so it will take another day or two for me to arrive!! Erin Told Kara.
Kara felt really proud because she had figured it all out without her parents help. She removed the necklace from around her neck to better analyze it but it slipped out of her hand and fell in the shallow water!
The water began to boil rapidly; it was releasing steam and emitting a purple light and a light blue fog was forming.
The smoke looked like it was attracted to Kara because it was circling around her forming a cocoon like shape. Then all the smoke was absorbed by her body!
Are you okay my dear? Sheila asked after witnessing this strange phenomenon.
“I feel fine Mom! I am a little puzzled, but perfectly fine!” Kara said in a surprisingly calm tone considering what had just happened.
Then Erin spoke again, but this time it was different, Sheila and Steve could also hear her:
“Call them back and they will come! Call the Archangels! And Kara walked forward with assurance, and sat in the Lotus position and began to meditate.
Kara suddenly seems to know what to do. What did this smoke do to her just now? Steve whispered to his wife.
“Michael! Uriel! Gabriel! And Raphael! I summon you! We need you here with us. Please here my call and join us.” Kara cited aloud by three times.
The boiling stopped! Everything went quiet for a few minutes. Kara got up, picked up her necklace, and placed it around her neck.
All of a sudden, the wind picked up and thunder started clapping in the sky above them! They looked up and to their amazement; they could see a few dark spots moving around randomly toward them.
As they got closer, they could make out the winged shape of their dear friends, Earth’s Archangels! They were now heading their way. They were swirling around while approaching our location and landed ever so gracefully in a perfect formation!
"Greetings Kara! We heard your call, what is it that you would like us to do to assist you?" Archangel Michael asked!
Kara stepped forward: “Erin told me to call you back so I did. She said I needed to prepare but I can’t figure out what to do. Prepare for what? How can I prepare out here in the wilderness?”
Erin whispered in Kara’s ear again. “I will arrive shortly Kara! And I will help you prepare! I should arrive within a few days so please rest until then, you will need it!”
This was really weird, Kara and her parents were unfamiliar with this type of thing, they only found out about the Angel’s existence a month or so ago when the invasion attempt occurred.
Steve looked at the Angels and said: “The Criplars were chased away or eliminated so they should never return here right? It can’t be them that are returning! Can it?”
The four of them looked at each other briefly, and then turned to Steve with a very serious look on their faces and Gabriel said:
"Erin will arrive shortly; she will explain everything upon her arrival! Please rest for now! There was another man with you last time, Ben, where is he? We might need him!"
“He is in Redfalls!” Kara replied.
Gabriel lifted off, “I will go get him and return soon! You’ll find out why when Erin gets here! Sorry I can’t say anything at the moment!”
BACK IN REDFALLS
As I awoke, I stretched and took a look at the time.
Its 9pm! I only slept a few hours?!?! That can’t be right! So I got up and headed outside for some fresh air. As I opened the front door, I noticed that the paper was at my feet. As I stared down, I took notice of the main Headline…
FESTIVITIES PLANNED FOR TONIGHT’S 28th OF JULY CELEBRATIONS! REDFALLS 150TH ANNIVERSARY!
"Oh my God, It’s the 28th already…that means that I have been sleeping for 2 days, is this even possible?" I said to myself while checking the other headlines on the front page!
I headed back inside into the kitchen to grab something to drink and as I walked in there, I stopped in shock:
“When was the last time I cleaned up? It’s a disgusting mess in here!” There was mold on the dishes in the sink; the smell was almost unbearable to me! Pots and pans were spread all over the counter and stovetop…
"I better get to cleaning in here before I get sick! But first I need a coffee.”
I found a Coffee mug on the counter and I really had to scrub it thoroughly before I could use it or I would likely poison myself!
I finally got it cleaned so I prepared my coffee and went to sit on my porch to enjoy it free from the stench of my house.
I grabbed a smoke from my pack, placed it between my lips and lit a match; it blew out before I could light my cigarette! I tried another one, same result. After half a dozen I just got up and threw the damn matches on the lawn and went back inside to find a lighter. Luckily, I found one relatively fast as there was one in my jacket hanging in the entrance!
So I finally get to have a smoke! I light the flame and lean forward to light up. Then the wind blew out the flame again.
“DAMMIT!” I screamed out loud.
Then I heard someone laughing out loud: “You shouldn’t smoke Ben! It’s not good for you! Ha! Ha! Ha!”
I looked up, and there he was, Gabriel, playing a prank on me by blowing out the flames from my matches and lighter.
“I didn’t know Archangels had a sense of humor Gabriel! What brings you to my neck of the woods?”
“Ben! I need you to go get packed and ready for the woods as soon as possible!
We must join the others!” Gabriel explained.
“Why? Is something wrong? If there's danger afoot, tell me cause I have to warn Mrs. White!” I told him.
There’s no time to ask questions just go get her and get ready to leave! Erin will explain when she arrives tomorrow!
So I rushed to my friend’s house and rang the doorbell! I could hear Becky barking and running towards the front door. Then Mrs. White gently opened the door with her usual smile!
"Well hello there Ben! Is there something you need? It is getting late you know!"
"I need you and Beck to come with me now, Gabriel the Archangel is in my yard waiting, he said I needed to go join the others in the woods but wont tell me why! I just thought it would be safer for you and Becky to be with us there than alone here! What do you think Mrs. White?"
"Let me pack some clothes and I'll join you!" She said.
So the three of them went back together to meet him.
"Good evening Gabriel! Nice to see you again."
"Greetings Mrs. White! I am sorry for barging in here at this time but this cannot wait! I cannot give you any details but we must go join Kara and her parents in the forest! Erin will explain when she arrives. Grab your things and come close to me and I will take you to them."
"Wait for me here Mrs. White, I have all we need! I used to camp a lot and I still have all my gear in the house!"
I went inside to grab my tent, and sleeping bags, some clothes and we stepped forward along with Becky to gather around Gabriel. He made a few fancy hand gestures and a strange bubble appeared around us and lifted us off the ground.
We were flying along with him! And in no time, we were hovering above the forest and began our descent toward the ground. We landed right next to the tent were Kara and her parents were sleeping soundly.
Gabriel pointed toward another tent not too far away. It looked very familiar to me, I looked next to me and all my stuff was gone. Somehow, Gabriel had it all set up for us!
"Amazing!" I whispered.
He suggested that we got some sleep to be in better shape when Erin arrived the next day! We went to bed but I didn’t think I would sleep at all considering I had slept so long in the past days and that I was nervous about what would happen next! Strangely enough, I went out like a light!
The next morning, all of us were awakened by the sound of wings flapping.
Erin had just arrived at our location!
I slowly crawled out of my tent remembering the recurring nightmare I was having a few minutes earlier! I didn't talk about it much and neither did the others, the subject was simply avoided. I was a bit shaky because I really believed that if the Angels were back, although we were all happy to see them again, it couldn't be good news!
As I looked around, I could see the burnt out fire that was still smoking a little. Near our neighboring tent were standing Steve, Sheila and Kara stretching out and waking up slowly as well. Mrs. White was standing next to me with Becky so we were all reunited for the first time since the angels had left.
"Good Morning everybody! How is everybody doing?" I asked the group.
"BEN!!" Yelled Kara while running toward me for a hug! "I missed you!"
"I have been busy, I guess, but I’m now confused as to what is expected from us! I guess we’ll find out pretty soon!"
Erin was standing close by and called us all to join her so she could explain to us the reason we were all gathered here.
"Good morning my dear friends, I am sorry for troubling you in such a manner but this is very urgent! I am afraid what we all went through recently was only the beginning! We intercepted a distress signal that had been sent from Earth before we could finish off the Criplars. It was a call for help to their home planet! There are now thousands of them on their way here. But this time it really seems that they are aiming for total destruction of mankind!
There isn’t much time left before they arrive, we have a little over a year to train you in the art of light energy. We wish to teach you all how to deal with them so that you can defend yourselves! But as you know, physical attacks are futile against them. So we have to use Natural Energy to destroy them since you cant use light energy! Only angels can use that! We want to teach you how to do that!
Since you all did so well during the first contact with them, I thought it would be a good idea to form a special team with you guys. Unless you don’t wish to be part of this, we will begin training right here in these woods for as long as it takes for you all to master the techniques we intend on teaching you.
Now if you are ready, lets head out! Follow me!"
Erin headed into the bushes and all of us followed her lead. The birds were chirping and we could hear the wind lightly shaking the leaves in the trees. It sounded so wonderful. Becky was very happy, she was running all over the place chasing birds and bugs!
The forest cleared into a wide area where there were a bunch of large boulders. As we walked toward what seemed to be the center of the zone, we walked through a cloud of butterflies. It was like heaven, it felt pure here, like if this was sacred land!
Erin hopped on one of the boulders and turned to face us.
"This place is where the very first battle against the Criplars ended thousands of years ago. We had won the fight and the spirits of the fallen angels rest within this holy place and this is where all the life energy of the planet originates from. This place makes the grass grow, the rivers flow, the wind blow, you get the idea!
There are no other place on Earth where more energy flows. This is the ideal location for natural energy training! Right at the source!
For your first lesson, I want each of you to walk around individually, I want you to take this time alone to clear your mind completely, what you will be trying to do is feel the energy around you. This is the key that will unlock the door to your progress. You see, you cannot harness, manipulate, control the energy if you can't feel it! It's there, and each of you must find it for themselves!
As your are wandering around, concentrate on a single sound of nature, either le wind blowing, the birds singing, your footsteps, even your own heartbeat if you can hear it! When you manage this feat, you will sense the energy in the boulders and one of them is calling out to you, like you are drawn to it like a magnet. Find it and sit on it! They you should feel a different energy emanating from this rock, focus on it and let it fill you until the rest of your group is done."
Kara stepped forward and asked: "What if we sit on the wrong boulder Erin?"
"You'll know pretty fast if its the wrong one, as they wont let just anyone sit one them, it has to call you and you have to feel that call, not hear it. If you get the wrong one, simply refocus and find the right one!"
When everyone has accomplished this, I will return. You must stay seated until I tell you otherwise, its important to remain in connection with the boulder.
It may seem difficult, but it will not be that hard since there are very few distractions here. I expect this lesson to last only this day. Tomorrow will be the next lesson so get going, and remember, have faith, you'll make it!"
Then Erin flew off into the sky to let us go on with our training! Good Luck!!
We separated from each other walking peacefully along the vast grassy field! I could feel the warm summer breeze rubbing gently against my skin! This was nice! Along with the sound of branches brushing against each other and the various melodies chanted by birds, after a little while, I began feeling differently...It was like I could hear the boulders breathing!! No, more like a heartbeat! And they were all beating in sync with each other!
I couldn't quite figure out what it meant but I kept walking feeling everything that was around me from the inside! It was unlike anything I had ever felt before! As I was beginning to distinguish the various sounds from one another, I realized that my own heartbeat was not in sync at all with the rest!
I started getting close to the edge of the field, near the forest, and spotted an isolated boulder behind a large pine tree. As I approached, I felt different than before. this boulder was different than the others. I was drawn to it, I knew I just had to touch it!
I felt a spark going through my body as I placed the palm of my hand on the surprisingly smooth surface of the boulder!
"This is mine! I have found it! " I whispered to myself.
And I climbed on top of it and turned toward the field before I sat down and looked at the others. Peter was climbing down his boulder to assist Mrs. white to get on top of her boulder, Sheila and Kara were already sitting on theirs. Peter climbed back on his and the group was all done! We had passed our first lesson!
After we were all sitting on our individual Boulder, Erin descended from the clouds and approached us.
“I had no doubt you would all manage to succeed! Now let’s begin the next phase of your training!
This will not be exhausting in any way! In fact it will be quite rejuvenating for each of you! All you must do is sit in the Lotus position as you are now, perfectly still, and feel the energy coming from beneath you and let it fill your body completely. Let it charge you in a way, sort of like charging a battery for later use. You will accumulate as much of the natural energy as you can so it can be manipulated or released at a later time.
This might be easier for some of you than others but persevere and you will succeed."
So we began! And I was able to feel the energy building up immediately, probably due to the previous exercise we had just completed.
I was visualizing my body like a container filling slowly with a light that looked just like fog or smoke! It felt very warm and comfortable, like it was wrapping me in a heated blanket! I felt simply amazing!
After a little while, I felt so good! It’s almost like I could fly if I wanted to. But I wouldn’t try that as I enjoyed life too much! So I kept building up the energy as much as I could. At one point, I opened my eyes only to notice that all my friends, which were all doing the same as me, were emanating a bright golden light. I looked down at my hands and so was I.
This brought a whole new meaning to the term “beings of light”.
Erin joined us as the Sun was setting! "How did everyone do with this lesson?" She asked.
"Great!" We all replied simultaneously.
Then Kara headed for Erin like she was gliding down a slope, but there was nothing there holding her. It was just like she was being carried there ever so gently!
"Ahem! Kara, did you just fly?" Sheila asked her daughter, very intrigued.
"No mommy, I only jumped off the boulder! I just felt really light and went down slowly. I don’t understand why! But I think it's kind of cool!" Kara told her mother.
"None of you can fly if that’s what you are wondering. But you all will find that you have many great abilities and each of you can have different ones. It will depend on your elemental affinity. You see, each being has an elemental affinity and can learn to harness it..
I think you are likely Wind element Kara, if you can glide like that it would make sense. We shall find out real soon!
In my case, I am a Water elemental.
This is what the third lesson will be about. Its not really a lesson as I wont teach anything, but we will determine what affinity each of you have. We will start this tomorrow. Today was very productive for all of you! I am very proud of your accomplishments; its getting late and now you must rest because this was the easiest part of your training, tomorrow will be harder as will be each subsequent day.
I will briefly explain to you the various elements and their counterparts. You will find your affinity tomorrow and then we can start refining your skills.
There are four Elements. They are Water, Air, Fire, Earth
Now keeping that in mind, go get some food in you and get some rest. Tomorrow is a big day!!"
And Erin flew off into the night!
Erin met us on the training grounds after breakfast. We were all meditating on our Boulders when she arrived.
"Good morning my friends!" Said Erin. "Nice to see you all here already! You want more don't you? Well lets begin! Follow me!"
She led us to a small area not too far away in the woods. There was a series of 4 stone pillars each standing about three feet tall. The tops of the pillars were flat and a symbol was carved in the center of each! there was small alcoves on each side near the top on each of them.
The air in the area felt magical. We had no idea what to expect but we were all very anxious to find out! Everything had been so amazing so far!
"The 4 Pillars before you are what will reveal your elemental affinities. Then we will be able to maximize your training within your respective elements. You will take turns in placing your hand in the alcoves of each pillar and call for that elemental energy to manifest. If it is your affinity, something will happen to let you know.
Ben your first! Please come forward."
So I headed to the first pillar. "The carving is similar to a flame, so I guess that it is the Fire element pillar?" I said to Erin.
"You are absolutely right Ben! Please proceed!" Erin replied.
So I placed my hands on it and, from the deepest in my heart I called upon the energy of Fire!
After a while, there was nothing happening. So I looked at Erin and asked:
"Should I move on to the next pillar now? Or did I do something wrong? Maybe I should wait longer?"
"You did great Ben, you may proceed to the next pillar!" said Erin.
I did so exactly the same way I did with the first pillar. This time the marking was a droplet, indicating the Water element, nothing happened with this one either.
So I moved on to the third pillar. The Wind pillar! I placed both hands on the handles and suddenly, I felt a light rattle in the pillar. Then a strong gust of wind blew around me! It was a bit scary at first but I knew what this meant! I was a Wind Elemental!
Erin had me also try out the last pillar, the pillar of the Earth energy! and nothing happened there either.
"All this made me nervous but for absolutely no reason." I said as I walked away!
Mrs. White, Sheila and Steve met with me after their turns and were very excited! Steve was a Fire elemental, Sheila was Earth and Mrs. White was Water.
Where is Kara? Is it her turn now? I said as I headed toward the testing site with my friends.
As we arrived, Kara was finishing the first pillar and nothing had happened. We watched as she walk proudly toward the next one, after a few minutes of her calling upon the energy of water, the pillar started seeping water trough various holes on the pillar.
I am a water element! Yay! Kara yelled.
Erin asked her to proceed to the last two pillars. Kara did so without hesitation. she place her hands on the wind pillar a repeated the procedure. Another gust of wind blew threw the area and around Kara!
Then when Kara called upon the power of the Earth at the fourth pillar, the ground shook strongly enough for all nearby birds to fly off simultaneously!
"Wait a minute! Wasn't I a Water element? This tells me that I am a Wind and Earth elemental doesn't it?" Asked Kara confused.
"Well, it has happened in the past that some had multiple elemental affinities. it is very rare but there others out there! You will have to work with each and learn to combine them! this is truly special!" Erin said to Kara.
We all headed back to camp for a nice meal, and a very well deserved night of sleep! Tomorrow we were to start refining our elemental abilities. I was really excited, this was going to be intense training and we will all be training separately with different Archangels that match our elements. Erin was giving us a briefing in the morning.
.After breakfast the next day, we joined Erin on our training grounds. She assigned each of us to an archangel with the same element.
"Sheila will be joined with Uriel, the Earth Elemental. Steve with Michael, the Fire Elemental. Ben will be assigned to Gabriel, The Wind Elemental. And Mrs. White is going with Raphael, the Water Elemental. Kara will Train with me, I can help her with each affinity!
As we were all about to head out to our individual training areas with our respective trainers, Erin stopped us to say:
"Grab your gear before you go, you will only return in 6 months’ time!"
"6 months!" We all yelled!
"But that is a really long time! Why so long and not all together?" Asked Sheila.
"We want you all to concentrate 100% on your training and your respective elements. If we are all together, you will be distracted by the other's training. So we will maximize our efforts and the results will be much greater by doing things this way! Trust me!
Don’t worry, everything will be fine and once the next 6 months is over, we will join back together and then we can all synchronize our strengths and finish the training together. Now say your goodbyes and hurry up! We have a lot to do!"
So we all Hugged each other and headed to our new training grounds where we would get stronger than ever to be ready for the Criplars when they return to Earth.
The following 6 months wasn’t easy for any of us! But it did get easier as time passed. We were getting stronger each day! And the basics were so much easier to use than before! We were making amazing progress.
At night, we could sometimes see glares of colorful lights fill the skies here and there. And when I asked Gabriel what it was, he said that it was probably my friends doing some nocturnal
training! I asked Gabriel how they were making so much light and he just smiled at me!
"You’ll see soon enough! Concentrate on your own training Ben!"
So even though we were separated, we were still close enough to one another!
6 MONTHS LATER
We all returned to our original campsite after our final day of training. W had tons to talk about as no-one had any idea what the others had been through. And for obvious reasons, we were all curious about Kara’s training the most! She did have 3 elemental affinities to work on and the rest of us only had one each!
"Now what we have to do is combine your strengths and get you all even more powerful. Against an enemy like the Criplars, it’s never too much preparation.
Never underestimate them, or it will be your end!
We are getting really close to their arrival and we must be ready for them in time. But they probably sent sentries and they are going to arrive a little ahead of the main group! We will have to mobilize before then so we don’t get caught off guard!
Now that your individual training are complete, I will send the 4 Archangels out to patrol and report any sign of them. Now we train as hard as we can!
Mrs. White has developed some pretty strong healing abilities while she was training, so we will use this to our advantage! You will likely not join the fight Mrs. White as your abilities will be needed to care for the injured if needed.
Gabriel, Uriel, Michael, Raphael, Please take positions around the globe and start scouting for the sentry’s arrival!
Now all of you will train with me! You will now learn to combine your powers and use them together as a team!"
We all took a well deserved day off before we started our group training! We really needed to rest as much as we could to be in optimum shape to train! I am pretty sure I am not alone who was anxious about seeing the powers that our friends developed during the past six months!
That evening, Sheila and Mrs. White prepared us a wonderful dinner! We all ate like kings and were able to have an open discussion about what each of us had learned!
After our meal, I joined Steve at the fire pit and helped him prepare a campfire! We set up fallen tree trunks around the fire for everyone to sit on and covered them with blankets. We spent hours telling each other funny anecdotes about occurrences that took place while we were apart.
Then out of nowhere, we heard noise coming from the bushes behind us!
"What was that!" Asked Sheila, while her eyes were staring left and right trying to see something in the darkness!
"Probably a raccoon or something like that! Nothing to worry about dear!" Steve told his wife to reassure her!
Then we heard a much louder crack from the opposite side of the group! Steve and I bounced on our feet! Clearly it was something heavier than we originally thought! And it showed itself!
A large Grizzly bear walked out of the bush and was slowly heading towards us! We all froze there for a moment facing this huge creature! Then the bushes behind us started moving again!
Just as I was thinking about releasing an axe attack on it, a cub walked out of the shadows and started running toward his mother the moment he spotted her! They both took a quick look at our group and then they headed back into the forest together calmly!
"That was intense! Thank God she was only looking for her baby!" said Kara as she sat back down on the log! Steve grabbed a few logs and fed the fire one last time before going to sleep. Tomorrow we began the final part of our training!
The group training had now been going on for over three weeks and we were progressing extremely fast and getting stronger individually and collectively every day! One morning, as we were running around the field of boulders for cardio training, a loud boom sounded near us in the forest!
We headed in the direction it seemed to have come from. We ventured out there blindingly having absolutely no idea what had happened or what we'd find! But we just had to know what it was!
We arrived at an area filled with smoke! We couldn't see more than ten feet in front of us! It looked like something had crashed there! Likely causing the sounds we heard.
I called upon the power of wind! Took a deep breath and blew out a strong blast of wind to clear away some of the smoke!
"Great idea! Thanks Ben!" Said Steve as we all started walking forward what seemed to be the edge of a crater with dirt and stones pushed outward in a circle!
We got there and looked down into the small crater what we found was nothing short of amazing! It was a metallic sphere buried halfway into the ground!
"What is that thing?" Asked Kara.
"It looks like a spaceship or something! It's still steaming from it's entry into our atmosphere!" I replied knowing damn well this was not of human making.
"We should all be on high alert! Be ready for anything! We don't know where its from or if its hostile! Erin is checking up on our four friends the Archangels so she cant help us right now! Lets hope they're friendly! Or we'll have to deal with them ourselves" Steve said using a serious, authoritative tone!
We all turned our head sharply to look at the ship when Air pressure released as the door began opening!
Our worst nightmare came to be! A Criplar crawled out of the wrecked ship and immediately took a defensive position as another one followed!
They spotted us within seconds and began making their way to us!
:"very one get ready to battle! It may be unexpected but this battle is our ultimate finale to our hard work! Let show them what we can do now!" I told my friends as I was preparing to use a technique I had mastered in the last months!
Concentrating the Wing energy inside my cupped hands, and focusing all my power in that same location, I formed a spinning disc of wind energy! I aimed it at my foe and fired a blast at the first Criplar!
It blew him straight across the crater and slammed into the ground with extreme force! The other one stopped at that instant and took a look back at his friend who difficultly was getting back up to its feet!
"Looks like that hurt him! YEAH!" Sheila yelled!
He caught up to his partner and they both continued their path!
I looked at Steve and we both knew what we would try. We wanted to combine our forces to intensify his fire element with my wind elemental technique.
We stood face to face and cupped each of our hands with the other's in the same manner I had done a little earlier. And we let the energy build up to strengthen the attack!
Girls! immobilize them if you can! Steve told them as we were getting close to full power.
Sheila and Kara both keeled down side by side a little further in front of us, placed both palms down on the ground and began building up the Earth Energy!
"Tell us when your ready!" Said Sheila.
"Okay Honey, you can go ahead! We're ready!" Steve told his wife.
They pushed forward on the dirt and the sand formed a big wave and plowed into our enemy! They were now waist deep in dirt!
Then Steve and I each released a very large spinning fireball and threw it at both Criplars!
"Take cover! " Steve Screamed as we ran away to avoid the blast.
We all dove down to the ground away from the crater and there was a gigantic blast! Rocks, branches and dirt were flying all of over the place! Most of us got minor cuts and scratches from the flying debris.
We waited for the dust to clear a bit and got back on our feet.
We were all standing there, at the edge of the crater, as I blew the smoke away like before to see if our enemies were still standing! We taking this opportunity to catch our breath and shake some dust of our clothes!
As the air cleared, we could see two corpses laying on the ground!
"Look!" Yelled Kara. "They're not moving! We got them! Hurray!!!"
I went down with Steve to confirm if they were dead.
We kicked their feet, their hands, their body, even they faces just to be sure. Nothing!
I turned around to face Kara and the others on top of the crater. And said proudly:
"We really did it! We beat the Criplars! This was an awesome collective effort! The four of us managed to combine our forces and succeeded. Now I know I have to go see Mrs. White to heal those cuts I got earlier! What a blast that was Steve!"
We all headed back to camp and told Mrs. White about what had happened.
Oh Dear! Come over here so I can tend to your wounds!
She placed her hands on our wounds and after a short while, they completely healed and left no trace! We weren't shocked at this sight because we had seen this many times already during our training.
We were all really proud of what we had accomplished! And also glad it was over...for now...
THE END?
What a unique twist for an alien invasion! You definitely thought 'outside the box' on this one! 
