Justin

“It's a mess… It really is… I don’t even… We don’t even know what we’re going to tell everyone!” My dad, Ryan, said he was slowly chipping away at his dinner plate, but he never ate much when he was nervous. He didn’t like to talk about it. 

My mother looked at my father worriedly, lifting a forkful of steak into her mouth. I was listening, I always was to his stories, they interested me, I wanted to work his job when I was older. He worked at MAB(Monktonas anomaly branch). It was originally one branch of the island's government, but eventually just encompassed a smaller mini-government over the island. 

“It's just-Well, we all know this island is far from normal-” My dad swallowed a bite of food, “But this is far from anything we’ve ever dealt with. We’re out of our league here. Legacy is analysing what it is, but-” My dad sighed. “Maybe the war was premature, with this… We could use all the brains we could possibly have on it.” 

I was scared… I mean, earthquakes were supposed to be next to impossible on Monktonas. Then one day a level five ripped through Monktonas and opened a crevasse in the ground, in that crevasse was ice from wall to wall, the area surrounding the opening was covered in ice, and it was spreading more and more. It had all of Monktonas worried.

Raven

The warehouse was large, large enough that the edges of it were masked in shadows. A large skylight hung open on the roof, moonlight shining down onto Augur and Titan, in the middle of the room. I hung in the shadows, sitting on scaffolding that leaned against a support column. 

“Now is the moment, the opportunity we strike.” Titan said. Titan was all grey; he had a skin-like chest, but it wasn’t skin, it was a synthetic substance. Metallic spots all over him shone. His eyes were red and glowing, he was about six feet tall.

Augury wore one large body outfit. One side half was black, the other white, split down horizontally. He had a mask with small eye marks that were white and black, respectively. He had a hood and a cape over his back. In his gloved hands, he held a small staff. It was black and at the top split and curved into an arch. In the middle was a purple globe crackling with electricity. 

“The boy needs more training,” Augury said simply. 

“He does not Augury. You may be stronger than me at current, but that will not remain! Know your place. You are not a leader. But fret not, for I am, and I welcome you to follow me!” Exposed wires hung from Titan's joints. 

“I do not need to hear your condescending tone, Titan. I have followed you for long, with patience. But to strike now would be reckless.” I rubbed the knuckles of my metal gloves, nothing angered me more than not being included in a conversation about me. Purple wisps flew off my mouth. 

“We attack now!” I called from the shadows, my frustration taking over. In my eyes; I needed to prove myself in combat.

“Listen to your boy, Augur. Disobey me again, I dare you!”

Augur looked into the shadows where my purple eyes were glowing, all he would’ve seen of me. “He still has much to learn…” Augur scoffed before moving out of the warehouse. I stayed in the shadows, where I felt safe, my home. 

Justin

My curiosity was peaked… I had to know. I felt adventure calling, something just nagging at me all night. I stared up at my ceiling in bed, my fingers playing with one of my rings. I looked over at my phone on my bedside table… I picked it up and slid it into my hoodie. Brushed my hair out of my eyes and put my shoes on. I took my electric scooter and slid it through my bedroom window, I quickly chased after it onto the driveway. 

I got on my scooter and began the ride.

I felt my heart rate rising as the suburbs blurred past my eyes, the island was small I knew where to go. Moren Lake, on the other side of the island. It would take about an hour to get there… 

~~~ 

After pushing my way through the forest surrounding the lake for who knows how long I finally reached the view of Moren lake. Small grassy hills coursed their way to the lake. Surrounding the lake was white sand. A small dock shot out into the lake, moonlight bounced off the water. But in the centre of the lake was a large crevasse, a small icy wall large enough to keep water from falling into the crevasse, wrapped around it. The surrounding water had been turned to ice. 

I dusted off my jeans and swallowed before walking up to the water. I sighed and took my clothes off. They all lay in a pile, me just in my underwear now. I dipped my toes into the water. “Nope! Nope! Nope!” A freezing cold sensation shot up my leg. I sharply shot breath through my teeth, groaning… “What am I doing!?” I paused and looked back at the large crevasse. Something was calling me to it. Without thinking I dove into the water.

I immediately gasped, my heart began pounding, What the hell am I doing? I couldn’t take full breaths, I was panting, waving my arms about and splashing, kicking my legs desperately to stay above water. My breathing was too rapid, too shallow… I couldn’t think… What was I supposed to do… I gasped again trying to reset myself into breathing full breaths. It didn’t work, my breath kept going rapidly. Not able to think I just submerged myself into the water and began swimming as fast I could to the middle of the lake. 

I felt my grip on my consciousness loosen, everything felt fake, each stroke I took through the water I felt weaker and slower. My eyelids felt heavy, my legs stopped kicking. I was still 20 meters away from the crevasse… I held my head above the water as my eyes slammed shut without my input. I felt the cold water run up my spine as I slowly fell deeper and deeper. My heart pounded, but it was getting slower. Why did I do this… This is how I die…

Fight. A voice vibrated through my bones, I gasped, water began to spill into my lungs immediately. No. I thought, I immediately began to kick myself to the surface. My arms and legs were screaming with exhaustion, my spine was aching with frostbite. I finally felt the cold air of above water hit my face, but I felt numb all over. I gagged water up, and I woozily looked back at the land, I was closer to the crevasse…

So I swam, despite the pain I swam the rest of the distance until I felt my lungs burn and my limbs fall onto the biting ice walls. “AGHHHHHHHHH!” I screamed in frustration and pain, pulling myself up onto it. I could feel my life, my fragile life, slipping away from me. I looked down into the crevasse, it went too deep to see the bottom. There was a ledge down there, not too far, I’d usually be able to make that… But it's different… I’m weak, fragile. Dying. I stepped forward onto a small ledge on the crevasse, it immediately cracked and my feet fell out from under me. I gasped once again as I felt my body plummet.

CRACK! My arm snapped against the ledge I’d usually be able to make, I didn’t dare look down at my arm… My throbbing arm. I couldn’t bear this pain, I should’ve died by now… But something was keeping me alive. This can only be the work of magic… What’s leading me here… I thought as I stumbled to my feet. Ahead I saw a tunnel that went deep into an icy cavern.

I kept just moving forward, marching, stumbling. I leant against the icy wall for support, the ice was colder than any other, tears soaked my face. After just forty seconds I came up to an ice wall in a large opening. I collapsed to the ground. I was wishing I had my clothes. My teeth were chattering, my hands shaking, my arm throbbing. I was in so much pain, my mind swirling so much, I wasn’t even sure where it hurt, what arm was broken.

A light began to glow brighter and brighter, an orb shone on my face. I was too out of it to care, I just watched as the ice wall cracked and melted away. There, hovering in the air was a glowing white orb. It radiated power and warmth. 

Dying. Pathetic. You do not have long. I’m impressed you made it here, made it this far. I have but one question, do you want to live? It will come at a price. It spoke like it had too much caffeine, It couldn’t keep on the same thing for too long. I still didn’t believe it, a wisp of light warped out of the orb like a thread from a ball of wool. I weakly reached for it, the thread found its way into my hand. 

Warmth, that’s what I felt first, what I noticed. Before the warmth my arm fixed, but that’s not what I noticed. It was the warmth, I felt power, strength surge through my blood. Full consciousness return to me. Bright white arcs of light shot around me, I clawed to my feet, when the light settled a little, I was in a long hooded robe, like a kimono, the sleeves were large and loose, it was golden and black, I had a black button shirt made of thick cloth, I also had fingerless gloves, I had boots with golden soles. A white cat-like mask covered my face, Two golden bladed kama rested on my right thigh. 

Pink electricity rippled through the air, around me, around my arms. I gasped, my voice was crackly and distorted. 

The hovering orb hummed as if wanting my attention. I looked to it, I wanted to ask a thousand questions but my mouth wouldn’t open. You are my herald. As promised, there will be a price. You will do as I say, you are my soldier. I kept trying to move, to open my mouth. But I was locked in place, I felt my legs move, I stumbled away and placed my hand against the icy walls. It didn’t hurt this time. 

I immediately looked back to the light, it was gone. 

I quickly left the crevasse, I swam to shore, the water was warmer now, it wasn’t just my powers, it was warmer. The second I took off the cat mask my entire outfit disappeared, I got dressed, made it home quietly. But as I navigated through Moren forest I wondered… Wasn’t Legacy and his research team supposed to be analyzing the situation? 

When I got home my dads’ car wasn’t in the driveway of our brick house. I knew something was wrong. 

I ran into my house, in the kitchen my mum was there, sipping away at a cup of coffee, bags hung from her red eyes, she was in her pink nightgown and slippers I got her for mothers day. 

“W-Wheres dad?” I had been in that situation before, during the war, when the island of Monktonas fought for its independence. My mum sighed and nodded her head, “It’s nothing dear, it just all has me remembering when-well y’know.” She took a large gulp of coffee before turning to me, “Would you like some?” I nodded and spread my arms to my mum, offering a hug. She took it, but then I pulled away. “I’m going to go on a walk now.”

My mum nodded at me knowingly, “Not happenin’ honey!” She tapped my nose with her index finger, “Your dad and Aaron have it handled. Get to bed.” She patted me on the back. I walked to my room lingering in front of my window. Go, search, find. Now. It was calling, and somehow, instinctually, I knew its name. The creator calls. Obey your master. I sighed and slipped out of my window, climbing onto my roof and sliding down the gutter to the ground, luckily it held. I put the mask on, a ripple of lightning struck my back and rippled across the mask, the outfit from before crackling into existence. I ran off even without my electric scooter, my speed was impossible, my legs shot off electricity as I moved at the speed of an athlete.