Chapter 1 May 5, 1857                We were going. You could hear our horses' hooves trotting away on the dirty dirt ground. I agreed with the sepoy soldiers that we must do something about the unfair way Brittn was treating us. The sepoy soldiers said they thought that the British were passing out bullets greased with cow and pig fat. The cow is sacred to the Hindus and the pig is taboo to the Muslims. But I did not agree with the part of the plan where we would lead a mutiny into the state of Uttar Pradesh. I knew that violence was not the best option and that the sepoy soldiers could find a peaceful way. Five days ago when I was in the market gathering nuts and bananas the sepoy soldiers came to make an announcement. Everyone held their breaths and was quiet. The sepoy soldiers said that in five days they were going to send a mutiny to the state of Uttar Pradesh. Some people in the market gasped and others gave supportive fist pumps to the sepoy soldiers. But I just stayed quiet and ran back home. 

“Amma, come here. I have something to tell you.” Footsteps flip-flopped down the hall. A beautiful woman appeared, her rich brown hair woven into a side braid. Her signature brown eyes match the other beautiful features on her face. 
“Yes Vikrom,” answered my mother. I took a deep breath and said, “The sepoy soldiers came while I was at the market and they said that they were going to send a mutiny into Uttar Pradesh for the unfair way the British are treating us.’’ My mother's bright smile had vanished and a worried expression replaced it. I knew what she was going to say next and right on cue she said, “You know Vikrom you should really think about joining the sepoy army. It is a promising job and you will be fighting for the freedom of India.” For the first time I finally thought about joining the sepoy soldiers and what I could do being a part of the sepoy army. If I was a part of it then I would surely be able to convince the army to find a more peaceful way, right? 

  The first question I got asked when I joined the army was “What can you do?” I personally did not know how to answer the question so I just said that I would do whatever they wanted me to do. I was now laying in one of the shabby old tents looking up at the stars and that is when it hit me. I forgot to tell them about my idea to be more peaceful in telling Britten that we were tired and angry of being under their rule. I hope that once I told them my idea they  would like my idea and agree with me. I thought about my mother at home hoping for the best. I thought about my father who died trying to fight for freedom. I thought about my friends back home that I might not see again. I wonder what will happen to me? I wondered and thought under the stars. Finally falling asleep at last. 

Chapter 4 May 8, 1957               Today the sepoy soldiers tested what I could really do to make sure they made the right decision. They set up a whole obstacle course out of sticks, wood and a few more equipment they came prepared with. I did not know a lot about each sepoy soldier except that some were Muslim and others were Hindus. I am Hindu and I was not excited about this obstacle course. I decided that I would tell them about my idea after I did the obstacle course. The first part of it was archery and I had never done archery before so I was not sure. One of the sepoy soldiers showed me the best technique for archery. I did a practice run and on my first try hit it in the bullseye. The other sepoy soldiers looked impressed but I thought it was just a fluke. I had passed the first part of the test and I was scared to see what the second part would be. The second part turned out to be swimming which was good for me because I excelled at swimming. 

They brought me to a big lake and told me to swim all across it. I obediently jumped in the lake and then instantly regretted it. It was freezing cold. But I forced myself to swim all the way down. As I swam I saw little fish swimming beside me. I could almost feel the other sepoy soldiers cold stares looking back at me watching to make sure I made it to the other end. I saw ahead that I was almost at the end. I saw ahead that I was so very close to the end of the big lake. I was so close to being out of my cold prison. Then I touched the end and passed the second part. The other soldiers looked at me astonished. I just had one more part to pass and then I would officially be part of the Company. I could see the other sepoy soldiers rushing to me on the other side of the lake. I wondered what the next part of the test would be.  Then I jumped out of the water because it was so freezing cold. The sepoy soldiers came to me with a towel. I quickly rushed to it. When we got back to the campsite I was sitting by the fire when a man about twenty-five years old walked up to me. He had brown curly hair and a mustache that curls at the tips. 

“You are doing a pretty good job with the test,” was all he said and then he left. I wonder why he was talking to me?  And late at night laying under the starry night I still kept wondering up it. 

Chapter 5 May 9, 1857            I can’t believe that tomorrow we are going to send a mutiny into Uttar Pradesh and I still have one more part in my test. I wonder what it will be. In the middle of my wondering a gruff voice sent me back to reality. “It is time for you to take the last part of the test,” the gruff voice said. I rushed outside of my tent following the gruff voice. The gruff voice led him into the center of the campsite where everyone else had surrounded.
“The last part of your test will be to take the oath of the Company,” said the gruff voice. I felt relief flood into my body. That is all I have to do. I got into the center of the circle (which everyone told me to do) and recited the piece of paper in his hand. I swear that I will do everything in my power to serve my country and hold the honor of it. I said it by putting my right hand on my chest for an added touch. The other sepoy soldiers seemed to like the way I was saying it because their heads nodded. One man stepped forward and said, “I hereby announce that Vikrom is hereby an official member of the Company and a sepoy soldier!”

Chapter 6 May 10, 1857                      Adrenaline bubbled and sizzled in my body. It was today! Today was the day that we were going to send a mutiny into Uttar Pradesh. I was very nervous. We were going to leave early in the morning so that no one would see us. We had already packed up our camping gear too. Oh no!!! I completely forgot to tell the Company about my idea to do it peacefully. Well it was too late now. The only thing I could do now was go with the plan and hope for the best. 

At last early morning came and around 2:00 am we left. We had to weave through old trees until we got out of the forest. Then we will have to transport to the north-central part of the country. We are going to travel by train and disguise ourselves so we don’t look like we are part of the Company. We headed out to the train station which is a ten minute walk. As we walked through the town I saw the market where I had met the old man that had helped me find the sepoy soldiers. I wish I could see him again and thank him if I even survive this first. Once we got to the train station we bought our tickets and went to board the train. I tried to act normal as I gave my ticket to the driver of the train. I tried to keep my head down as I boarded the train. Once I found my seat I sat down and looked around me and noticed that the train was packed. I prepared myself for a long train ride but soon I fell asleep. 

When I woke up we were there. I looked out the window and saw the great big Taj Mahal. I had never seen it in my life. I just heard of it before. It looks so majestic and powerful. I saw the other sepoy soldiers walking out of the train so I followed them. Once we were out of the train, we started walking around so we would not cause suspicion. I did not see the need for this because it was 3:15 am in the morning and almost everyone was sleeping in their houses. But I had to follow the sepoy soldiers because I took the oath. Now all I want is my mother. 

Chapter 7 May 10, 1857             It was time! We are about to do it and I am not ready for it. We are about to send a rebellion that is refusing to follow the main authorities (in this case the British) to Uttar Pradesh. I feel fear bubbling in me like the bubble is going to pop any second and leave me lying on the floor. I wish that I got to say goodbye to my mother and I hope I will see her again. The plan is to walk into where the British are right now with rifles and try to shoot them down. I had a feeling that this could go all wrong or it could be all right. I knew that in war people die on both sides and it is a sad loss. I thought back to the old man at the mango stall and how he helped me to start this journey. I thought about my father and wondered if I will die and see him again and then maybe Amma could join us after. I thought about my whole entire life and about the friends I made and the people who helped me. I thought and thought as I gripped my rifle and waited for the cue to start shooting. As soon as I heard a little click in my ear I knew that was the cue. So me and my fellow sepoy soldiers started running with rifles clutched firmly in our hands. As soon as we reached the door where the British were sleeping we barged in. 

Chapter 8 May 11, 1857                    Let’s just say we definitely caught them by surprise. They were all sound asleep when the sound of gun shooting filled the room. The British quickly jumped out of bed and grabbed their rifles too. I had a bad feeling about this as I saw their amazing technique but then I thought about how well at archery I am and how I shot a bullseye on my first try. That seemed to have built me enough courage so I brought up my rifle, aimed it and shot!! Bam!! 

I could not believe my own eyes. I had just shot a British soldier down. Then I finally looked at everyone and saw how many we lost. I mean we did shoot down quite a few soldiers but the British had definitely shot down more than we had. Another problem we seemed to have was we were running out of bullets. I knew the best option would be to retreat so I tried to shout over all the noise and shouted, “EVERYONE LETS RETREAT AND THEN REGROUP LATER!!” Everyone stopped what they were doing and turned to stare at me. By the looks of their faces some agreed with me and others did not. But everyone quickly ran out trying to save their lives. Even though no one had really won, I still felt defeated. But at least I would be able to go home and see my mother and my friends. I would also be able to thank the old man at the mango store. 

Even though sending the mutiny into Uttar Pradesh did not go exactly as we wanted it to, I was still happy to be alive and have friends and family.   

We ran as fast as we could away from that raging fire. Our home now in ruins, covered in ash, burning. Glowing red eyes and a cruel laughing voice followed us. We ran for miles and miles across rivers and fields, pursued by that monster. We ran for hours not daring to stop for fear, he would catch us. We ran all the way to the dragon of the east. Once there we stopped, we could not run another step, exhausted we entered a cave. We lined up and bowed our heads in respect." Why have you come?" the dragon rumbled. We did not want to retell the horrible story, the truth, it was too big, too... sad…. the reason a bunch of hungry, tired cats were in a dragon's cave, talking to a dragon. But we had to tell him if we wanted his help. So we recounted the horrible story, how there peaceful island home had been ransacked and we had been forced to flee, and worst of all, the loss of our leader, Leopard Paw and our attacker. Glowing red eyes, a huge looming shape, and the knowledge of knowing who did it. 

The only cat ever known to have red eyes, a friend, who, too quickly turned bitter and angry. In need of revenge. When we were finished telling the story, we looked at the dragon, waiting for his verdict. Swift Wind, who had been appointed our leader until a better leader could be found, stood up and spoke. "All we ask is for guidance. We have lost our home, our way of life. What can we do?" 

"Go to the yellow ridge mountains, there you will find sanctuary." The dragon said. A ripple of unease went through the assembled cats, the yellow mountains were known for being hostile, cats that wandered in, rarely came out. "There is a pass between the two smallest mountains, use that." The dragon advised. We mumbled our thanks and left the cavern, glad of fresh air. 

We set off in the direction of the mountains. They were about two hours always and everyone was tired, but there was no time to stop. By nightfall we would have to be at the mountains. No animals would bother us there, not even... him. The path it took to get to the mountains happened to stop by a village, where we could get supplies. By the time we came to the village, the sun was beginning to sink. We would have to hurry. Getting supplies turned out to be easier than we had expected, and we were out within an hour. From there it only took us half an hour to get to the mountains but the sun was getting dangerously low. But we would not have time to spare. As we went on, the well walked path began to get harder and harder to see, in spots, so much we couldn't tell it was a path at all. As we fell into the shadow of the mountains, we slowed looking for a place to stop and make camp for the night. As we walked, the ground began to slope gently upward. A bark blot up ahead singled the bottom of the mountain, or at least that's what we thought until it was too late, a large shape, glowing red eyes, he, Black Heart had found us.

(Kaeleen)

“KADE!  You can’t do this!” I cried. 

“Don’t be silly! This will be a great breakthrough for science!” my brother replied, picking up a small vial. 

I watched as Kade took the vial, which contained a sample of his own daughter's DNA, and loaded it into his cloning machine. Whirring sounds filled the room. The huge machine started to tremble, as if rocks were banging against its walls. Lights flashed, and the machine began to rumble.

It was activated. The loud rumbling sounds startled Kade’s daughter into tears, but he was too focused on his machine to care. I rushed over to her stroller, lifting her out of it.

“Shh, everything will be okay,” I soothed, hoping I wasn’t lying.

As soon as I said the words, the machine lets out a long hiss - as if it was relieved - and stops, midway through the cycle. The laboratory was silent.

“Oh no.. this wasn’t supposed to happen!” My brother muttered, frantically pressing buttons. It didn’t seem to help. A red light flashed from the machine, and a high-pitched beeping noise followed it. Kade groaned, but stepped back from the machine.

A quiet whine emerged from the machine, hidden under the beeping. It was the chamber where the clone would be! Putting Kade’s daughter back in the stroller, I rush towards the machine.

“Kaeleen! What are you doing!?! KAELEEN!!!” I rush past Kade, frantically opening the chamber door. Sitting on the warm metal was an infant, almost identical to Kade's daughter, but her eyes were a piercing deep purple. Kade began pacing around and mumbling to himself about why the machine stopped. 

“Bleh woop boop dee bew,” the baby in the chamber babbled, just like a normal baby. But its eyes - this baby was not like any other.

“Kade,” I breathed, staring at the infant. “What did you do?”

Suddenly, the machine started whirring again. But it wasn’t the same whirring as before - it concealed a very quiet ticking.

“WE HAVE TO GET OUT OF HERE!” Kade and I yelled simultaneously. Kade ran for the stroller as I dashed to retrieve the baby from the machine. I inhaled sharply as my fingers brushed the metal – it was burning hot! I could only hope the purple-eyed baby would be okay. Scooping her up, I dashed towards the exit behind Kade. 

We hurried through the halls of Kade’s laboratory. Kade’s daughter seemed to be on the verge of tears, but the infant I had taken from the machine was strangely quiet. I could still hear the ticking sound - it seemed to be getting louder? I could see the exit, the sign above it glowing red. Kade and I burst out onto the hilltop outside. Birds were peacefully chirping in the trees, and I saw a squirrel hunting for acorns among the roots of an oak tree. All was quiet.

Leaning against the oak, I stopped to catch my breath when a huge BOOM resonated through the air. I turned back to Kade’s lab to see debris flung through the air towards us. Without hesitation, Kade and I rushed down the hill, pieces of the lab at our heels. 

When we reached the town, we were both panting. “Kade… what… just… happened?” I asked.

“That, I have no idea. But I do know that this new baby will be very different,” Kade replied.

“I can’t let you parent her. Or your current daughter, for that matter. You’re a horrible father!” I shouted.

Kade sighed. “That, I agree with you on. Do you think you can raise them as your own? I know it will come with many challenges.”

Will I be able to do this…? I wondered. Elliat and I have always wanted children of our own….

“If you’re not sure, I can find another place for them,” Kade said.  

I made up my mind. “I’ll do it. I can raise them.” I took Kade’s daughter.

Kade sighed. “Please take good care of her. Of them both. And of yourself.” He retreated back up the hill, leaving me next to the wall of Zemandia with two infants. 

To be continued…

(Kaeleen)

“KADE!  You can’t do this!” I cried. 

“Don’t be silly! This will be a great breakthrough for science!” my brother replied, picking up a small vial. 

I watched as Kade took the vial, which contained a sample of his own daughter's DNA, and loaded it into his cloning machine. Whirring sounds filled the room. The huge machine started to tremble, as if rocks were banging against its walls. Lights flashed, and the machine began to rumble.

It was activated. The loud rumbling sounds startled Kade’s daughter into tears, but he was too focused on his machine to care. I rushed over to her stroller, lifting her out of it.

“Shh, everything will be okay,” I soothed, hoping I wasn’t lying.

As soon as I said the words, the machine lets out a long hiss - as if it was relieved - and stops, midway through the cycle. The laboratory was silent.

“Oh no.. this wasn’t supposed to happen!” My brother muttered, frantically pressing buttons. It didn’t seem to help. A red light flashed from the machine, and a high-pitched beeping noise followed it. Kade groaned, but stepped back from the machine.

A quiet whine emerged from the machine, hidden under the beeping. It was the chamber where the clone would be! Putting Kade’s daughter back in the stroller, I rush towards the machine.

“Kaeleen! What are you doing!?! KAELEEN!!!” I rush past Kade, frantically opening the chamber door. Sitting on the warm metal was an infant, almost identical to Kade's daughter, but her eyes were a piercing deep purple. Kade began pacing around and mumbling to himself about why the machine stopped. 

“Bleh woop boop dee bew,” the baby in the chamber babbled, just like a normal baby. But its eyes - this baby was not like any other.

“Kade,” I breathed, staring at the infant. “What did you do?”

Suddenly, the machine started whirring again. But it wasn’t the same whirring as before - it concealed a very quiet ticking.

“WE HAVE TO GET OUT OF HERE!” Kade and I yelled simultaneously. Kade ran for the stroller as I dashed to retrieve the baby from the machine. I inhaled sharply as my fingers brushed the metal – it was burning hot! I could only hope the purple-eyed baby would be okay. Scooping her up, I dashed towards the exit behind Kade. 

We hurried through the halls of Kade’s laboratory. Kade’s daughter seemed to be on the verge of tears, but the infant I had taken from the machine was strangely quiet. I could still hear the ticking sound - it seemed to be getting louder? I could see the exit, the sign above it glowing red. Kade and I burst out onto the hilltop outside. Birds were peacefully chirping in the trees, and I saw a squirrel hunting for acorns among the roots of an oak tree. All was quiet.

Leaning against the oak, I stopped to catch my breath when a huge BOOM resonated through the air. I turned back to Kade’s lab to see debris flung through the air towards us. Without hesitation, Kade and I rushed down the hill, pieces of the lab at our heels. 

When we reached the town, we were both panting. “Kade… what… just… happened?” I asked.

“That, I have no idea. But I do know that this new baby will be very different,” Kade replied.

“I can’t let you parent her. Or your current daughter, for that matter. You’re a horrible father!” I shouted.

Kade sighed. “That, I agree with you on. Do you think you can raise them as your own? I know it will come with many challenges.”

Will I be able to do this…? I wondered. Elliat and I have always wanted children of our own….

“If you’re not sure, I can find another place for them,” Kade said.  

I made up my mind. “I’ll do it. I can raise them.” I took Kade’s daughter.

Kade sighed. “Please take good care of her. Of them both. And of yourself.” He retreated back up the hill, leaving me next to the wall of Zemandia with two infants. 

To be continued…

“James, pause the game and come down here to get the mail!” Mom said. 

“Mom, I can’t, I am in the middle of an online game!!” I said. 

“Well then I will come up there and unplug your computer.” 

“Fine!” I mumbled. When I got outside, I couldn't help but notice that the moon was very large. Also, it was a lot hotter outside. I did not think Canada was supposed to be 100 degrees during April. Whatever, it's probably just global warming, I thought. When I got inside I realized that there was mail addressed to me. I was shocked. All of my friends live in apartments, like me. This mail did not come from an apartment. I was so confused. I opened the envelope and I saw a letter. This is what it said.

Dear Jamie Thompson,

You have been recruited by the Universal Defense Group (UDG) Stationed in Planet Neo, to destroy monster 47b at the edge of the universe. It is threatening the UDG of destroying the universe unless we pay a ransom of 8uc which in US dollars would be one with 100 million zeros. In this envelope is a big button. If you want to go on the mission, at midnight press this button. You will teleport to a launch site on planet Neo. We have recruited 100 other children, about 15 from each continent (except Antarctica) . What you will do is we will get in an inter-universal space ship. You will go and fight monster 47b and when you come home, you will receive $100,000,000,000,000,000 in a trust fund. Do not get too comfortable with the other recruits as there is a 50% survival rate. This mission will take about 5 days.

From the UDG.

That is so much money!! I could hardly believe myself. But should I do it? I had to think about if I cared about my life more than other people's lives. 

I decided to do the quest. I put the note and button inside of my night stand. About an hour later, I heard mom call, “James, go to bed, tomorrow is a school day!” Right, Mom will be worried if I leave. But then I got an idea. What if I sent Mom a text right before I teleport to Neo so she can know where I have gone?

I started writing the text in bed. It described how I will be going on a quest in a different planet and I will be back in 5-10 days and if I am not there in that time, I have probably died. If I have cell service there, I will text you where I am in my quest.

 At 11:59, I got ready to push the button. When midnight hit, I sent the text and I pushed the button. I instantly went from in my bed to a launch site on planet Neo. I saw a bunch of humans appearing by the second. When they stopped appearing I counted them. There were about 10 other humans. 

“Welcome humans!!” a loud voice called. I looked and there was a giant human, about 10 feet tall, talking into some kind of microphone. “If you are here, you have accepted the mission to destroy monster 47b. If you do not want to go on the mission, press the button that has appeared in your hand. 

“Is there wifi here?” a boy called with a heavy french accent. 

“Yes there is WIFI here. The password is Neo. But there will not be wifi on the spaceship.” I checked my phone when he said there was WIFI. I took a selfie of me in Neo and sent it to my Mom. 

After I did that the tall man said, “The rocket will be leaving tomorrow at about 1:30 PM. You will be sleeping in underground cabins. The underground cabins have everything you love in it, and much more. You can find your cabin.” I looked around, and then I saw igloo shaped cabins. I went to the one that said Jamie on it. I saw everything I have ever dreamed of. A huge gaming computer and a wall full of rare action figures, and so much more. I was so happy, this one room was a dream come true. But I had to remind myself that I would not be in here for much longer. I had a rocket to catch. 

After getting a really good sleep, I heard from a loudspeaker, “ATTENTION. ROCKET LEAVING IN 10 MINUTES.” I sprinted out of my cabin and ran super fast to the rocket hanger. 

A young lady, at a desk said,  “Are you here for the Human monster mission?” 

“Yes I am.” 

“Name?” 

“Jamie Thompson” 

“Walk over to the launch pad over there.” 

”Ok” I said. 

“Oh, Jamie, you have arrived. Come. We will be launching soon,” said that same tall man from before. That was when I saw everybody on the rocket. They were all about my age. “Hey, also put on your space suit,” the tall man said. I put it on. It said Jamie Thompson. I noticed that everyone's space suit had a little flag on it. Mine had a Canadian flag, but I saw lots of different countries' flags, like England, France, China, and also the US. 

“Hello, are you excited for the mission?” a tall British boy asked excitedly. 

“I am, but I am very nervous,” I said. 

“ROCKET LAUNCHING IN ONE MINUTE. PLEASE BOARD SHIP” announced the loud speaker. That’s when I saw the ship, it was huge. As big as 5 houses! 

“Come inside the rocket please,” the tall man said. The interior reminded me of an airplane. “Come in, come in. Take a seat. Next stop, the edge of the universe!!” 

“Ahhhhhhh!!! No, no, no I changed my mind, I don't want to go,” an american boy screamed. 

“It's too late now. You have to go. We need to lift off before the universe gets destroyed. By the way, my name is Oliver. I will be your commander. Take a seat and buckle up, it's time to go.” Oliver walked down to a door that said, “PILOTS ROOM.” I walked to a seat and buckled up. Everyone else did too. The cabin inside of the rocket was about 20 meters long and 30 meters wide. I felt myself being lifted into the air. I looked out the window and I saw black. 

“OMG WE ARE IN SPACE!!” a Russian boy yelled. 

“We sure are!” Oliver yelled through the loud speaker. 

“If you look out the tinted windows, you will see your star, the sun.” I was shocked how far we have gotten in a matter of seconds. 

“ALERT ALERT ENEMY SPACECRAFTS APPROACHING” I heard from the speaker. Our seats started to hover in the air. My seat went to a little room with a big window in front of me. There was a big red button that said something in a weird language. I pressed the button and a big laser shot out of a tube outside of the rocket. I tried moving a joystick in front of me and the tube moved. I suddenly saw a spaceship fly in front of me. With no hesitation, I turned the joystick so the tube moved toward the space ship. I pressed the big red button and the laser went toward the spaceship and hit it. The spaceship immediately exploded. I saw another one through the window. “ZAP!” I exploded it again. 

Everything was going great until I felt a jolt and saw sparks behind me. We’d been hit.. I got out of my seat and went through the cabin. I noticed that there was a kid who looked like he was unconscious. Their face was drenched in blood. I fainted at the sight of it. When I woke up, Oliver was beside me. “Hello Jamie, it has been quite a while. Get out of bed, we are at our destination!” He led me to a humongous door and opened it. “Welcome to planet 47b!”

I walked onto a planet and I noticed it had very rough rocks on the floor and huge mountains. Oliver led me to a door in one of the mountains. I saw all the other kids waiting. Oliver announced that it is time to open up the door and fight the monster. He passed out fighting suits and laser guns. He told us to be extremely careful fighting the monster.

We opened the door and walked into a big room. We saw a humongous dinosaur looking creature in front of us. As soon as we approached the monster, it spit out some kind of clear ooze with steam coming out of it in front of them. Then it spit on one of the kids, burning them and ultimately killing them. No wonder why it's so hot back home, it's because of this monster. Then they tried to spit on me. It missed and got really angry. Five kids started to charge at it and they ended up getting spat on too, burning to death. I aimed my gun right at its eye and pulled the trigger. As soon as the laser made contact with the eye, the monster collapsed. It was dead. Everyone went “Woo hoo!”

Oliver then led us back to the spaceship. We sat down and buckled up. At a blink of an eye, we were back on earth. We went toward earth. We first stopped at my house because I killed the monster. I said bye and thank you to everyone. Oliver gave me a debit card. I said thank you and went home. 

I sneaked inside and tiptoed through the house and saw my mom in the kitchen. I realized time stopped on Earth and that it was still exactly midnight on the day I left. When I saw my mom in the kitchen she froze. “How many times have I told you you cannot have midnight snacks! Now get back into bed,” Mom said. 

“Lucky to be back on Earth,” I thought. That's when I heard my mom’s phone ding. It was from me. 

My name is Arlin Saignkhorst. I am writing this "novel" weird thing, which is actually an autobiography if you think about it too much. Anyway, my story just has to be told. It is one of many tales, many pages, and endless ink.

I will address what all of you are demanding to know, “Does the Gem exist?” 

Certainly, it does. And I happen to be the one who ends up using it a lot. Let me tell you how the chain started moving. How the Rube Goldberg machine started. How the first domino fell. Here is some history, which turned to rumor, which turned to legend, which turned to myth, which turned to dust: info that you should really know, knowledge only granted in dreams, but you're lucky that I'm here to hit you with a lot of info fast.

There is only one primordial evil, Katalanaroomunal, (I think I spelled her name right) who must be kept in her cage. A thousand years ago, the great Earth king and wizard Nalgeno (nall-GEE-no), exiled her to prison beyond the earth, sea, and air. Before Nalgeno exiled Katalanaroomunal, she had destroyed half of creation and its population, nothing in her arm's reach was secure. 

But as you all know, no cage is impossible to escape from. So Nalgeno put his own kingdom at risk, placing a curse on the cage.

“THE KEY OF THIS CAGE WILL ONLY APPEAR TO THE KING OF THE EARTH KINGDOM.”

But this would not happen unless the kingdom was taken by force, because Nalgeno put a spell on his child.

“NO SONS OF MINE WILL EVER SIDE WITH KATALANAROOMUNAL!”

So what has to happen for the world to end is an evil being has to take the throne of the Earth kingdom, by force Then the key will appear, and bad stuff happens. Also, the right to the Earth Kingdom, is the Gem of Survival.

How I first learned all of this -- you are about to find out.

1429 June 13 Friday Alcronian Desert. The bed of Arlin Saignkhorst  

“How are you doing, Elias?” a person, but not really a person, asked. The tone said that she was teasing him slightly. Like she was greater than him. The woman's voice came from a smokey cage. In the dream, I could only see the shadow of the woman, and hear her sweet, hypnotizing, swaying, voice.

“I don’t have the leisure for dancing, but you told me I could get real power, so don’t waste my time, Katalanaroomunal,” the man who I assumed was Elias.

“Ok, I wanted to have a little bit of fun, you might notice," She pointed to all the skeletons around the cage.

"There aren’t that many visitors I can talk to who talk back. I’ll go straight into the business.”

Elias raised an eyebrow.

“So, you always said that you wanted power,” Katalanaroomunal said. “Real power.”

“I am a god. I have only real power, so what are you offering?”

“I am offering you the Earth Kingdom,” she said, emerging from the dark smoke. Her hair was a thornbush and her hairline was full of black moondor knives, with arms as sharp as swords, her fingernails, daggers. On her forehead was an object from the beginning of time. A prorz, one of the 13 powers in the original world, and possessing it meant a thirteenth of the world's power belonged to her. She wore a green dress, like her green eyes. And there was an evil twinkle in her eye. A very clever twinkle.

“I am the best swordsman to ever walk any planet, and even I can’t defeat the Earth Kingdom alone.”

“But you know an object that can, the Gem of Survival. ”

"I know the prophecy of Nalgeno, Katie, may I call you Katie?"

“But you know that you could be written down in history as a king.”

The word king echoed throughout the cavern as the prorz wearer disappeared into the smoke of her cage. 

My dream changed scenes and I could see a Gem, glowing green in the eye of a cyclone of sand. 

I jerked my head from my pillow as I thought about my nightmare, though you could call it a vision. I was in the land of Dormuku, the dream land. I sat there perspiring, and then I looked at the clock, which read 6:28 am. So I had 2 minutes to reflect on my “vision”. I had processed for 2 minutes, AKA NOT enough processing. Then I brushed my teeth, and stood at the top of the stairs, wondering what to do.

“Mom, what’s for breakfast?” 

I got no answer. As I came down the stairs I saw my mom looking out the window, so I jumped up and saw what she was looking at. The world was as lively as it ever gets. As you know, in the Alcronian Desert there is not much rain and definitely no flowers. Then I remembered my dream of something glowing green in a place which I knew very well. I remember wondering what that thing was doing out there. My mother asked what I wanted for breakfast but then I realized that everything was fitting together, my dreams over the past few months, the rumors, and the crazy villager.The crazy villager is like the guy who lives on the edge of town, really superstitious, and weird in general. After kissing mom goodbye, and going to school, I went to the place of my dreams. 

I walked about three and a half kilometers before I reached the spot. Here, there was more vegetation than there was back home.

“Oh you, Arlin,” the crazy villager said, crossing into my path, “have you ever heard of the Gem of Survival?” 

“No,” I said.

“Well Saignkhorst, the Gem of Survival is a Gem which survival consists of. ”

“How is that possible?” I asked.

“Only a special person can control the Gem, like for example, a son of Elias,” the villager said, ignoring my question.

“Who is Elias?” though I knew he was an important person if the villager was mentioning him. It clarified that my dream was true. 

“The god of survival.”

“How does the Gem work?” 

“Magic,” the villager answered.

“Please elabo-”

Suddenly, my I posed and bowed my head down in, “degradation” and all. 

“ Sorry-”

“DO NOT SAY THAT. YOU ARE NOT SORRY!!!”

“I really am, mom,” I said in a sorry tone, way more sorry than I ever would be.

“C’mon now we have to go now.”

“Where?”

“Home, straight-A student!” she said, sarcastically. “I need an errand.”

She pulled me away from the crazy villager and said, “Never ever go near him again.”

“Why?” I asked.

“He knows”

“Know what?”

“Never mind”

“Now that you said it you-”

“I SAID NEVER MIND!!!" Then she added, "You're grounded”.

Once we arrived, my wheels started to turn. If the Gem of Survival existed, and made crops grow faster, then my mother's crops would fetch such a high price in the market, which means that we could finally move back to the old house before dad left. My mom farms the rare pangaree fruit, our crop would increase by tenfold. I just had to find the Gem. 

My mom said that I had to stay in my room, because, duh, she's my mom. I knew in the morning that I would have to venture out to the place of my dreams, although I wondered what my mother was talking about. What did the villager know? It seemed like he was going to the  same place I was and he seemed to know something that I didn’t. At this point I had started laying down on my bed staring up at the ceiling, my body unable to fall asleep even though the time read 1:13 AM. I wondered many things, such as why my dream seemed so real. The dream made OLED look bad. And there was also sound. In class, we learned dreams do not have sound. All of this puzzled me, but ultimately, I could not think anymore and I was pulled away into another dream. 

In the dream I saw the crazy villager kneeling at the feet of some weird guy carrying a sword, his face put into a permanent sneer. The villager seemed to be scared and not the person he was when he confronted me. 

The crazy villager whimpered, “My lord.”

“Yes,” the tall buff guy said.

“I have failed you. How can I be of assistance?”

“You must not let this- what was his name again?” Elias asked.

“Saighkhorst, my lord.”

 “Yes, that long weird name. I still can't believe I'm talking to someone stupid enough to give away the entire secret. You know that the Gem will appear only when sand is touching it or its rightful owner is, and it emits pelonpurom.”

“Of course, I know this,” the villager said.

“THEN GET TO WORK!!!!!”  

I jerked up from the horrors of Dormoku. If the dream was true, the buff guy was real and the villager was REALLY crazy, and I was SUPER crazy. I remember peering down at the clock beside me, an era ago, the time being 4:30 AM. My mom would be awake in about 2 hours to wake me up, (I have a hard time waking up, duh I was like 10, sleep is a dream these days, so it was good to sleep then, get it.) I had my plan, which is historic because I like winging things. My plan was to go and find the Gem, figure out how to use it, and then use it to fix my mother's crops. Finally, if the crazy villager guy came near me I would have my fists balled since I am one of the best boxers in my school. And even if he can fight he probably can't run with the cane. As soon as I went down the stairs I would put this master plan into action and we would be the richest farmers ever!!!!!

***

I remember that plan so clearly even now because that plan cost me a normal lifestyle, going shopping like regular people, buying groceries like regular people, and having a house. Now here I am behind a waterfall eating a squirrel that was cooked over a flame with my wife (She also comes into this story.) I have some carrots on the side because of the  Gem I could farm them. Normal life has so much fun in it, like going to the park every weekend and having a picnic, or a dog, dogs are cool. Normal life is something to be cherished. I was the one person in a million, maybe in a billion, unlucky enough to not have one. 

But now as I am telling you this story and now that I think more about it, I realize that was really stupid of me. I believed a mythical object existed, and I could steal it from some guy who really deserved it. I started this mess. Elias wanted the stupid rock, and if I had given it to him, he would not be sending his minions to capture me, using all his power, to bring the Gem in. That’s right, he would do anything to capture the Gem. Now he is jealous of me and wants to be more powerful than he already is. Now you realize how I got into this mess. I knew that there was no getting out of it. The Gem of Survival is so powerful a paranoid person like Elias could never use it for a good thing. Here is how I heard Elias’s real plan to destroy everything I know.P.S I am a swordsman. (Cool right). 

Oh ya, I got the Gem, the crazy villager was napping right beside it so I just took it from him. 

I was sitting in a cave off the Chorcon shore when I heard a deep rumbling sound. I drew my sword, my door swung open and there were 7 scurimas, agents of Elias, all with their spears drawn. I raised my sword and before any of them could step forward, a sword had gone through their gut, but not my sword. A boy with dark hair and pale skin stepped forward. At the time I was 16 years old. This guy seemed to be a portrait of me, but I did not have a butt chin and I did not have those blue eyes. His eyes widened, “You look just like me” he said.

“No,” I responded, “You look just like me.”

My sword was still up in the air, so was his. I stepped forward and slashed, he blocked but he seemed to be going only on defense. I rolled and cut and gave him a few x’s too but he seemed able to block them all. 

“I'm not going to hurt you,” he said.

“Trust me, I am not going to be fooled by you, I know that you work for Elias.”

“Arlin, I have to tell you something.”

“If you treasure your life then you better tell me.”

“I’m a better swordsman than you.”

He proved it by doing a disarming technique on me. 

He said what he really wanted to, “Elias wants to be the Earth King, he announced it to the forge of demons today.”

“I know that, but now he's publicly stating it to the best blacksmiths on !" I shouted in shock. I knew he was crazy but this was saying something. 

”Yes, he heard a prophecy made by Katalanaroomunal, the Goddess of evil, if he destroys all of his children including us two, topples the sea throne, gets the Gem of Survival, and destroys all of humanity, then he can have the Earth throne.”

"The thing he needs to do all this is the trinket you carry."

He tossed me my sword. “You're going to need this.”

“One question” I had asked, “How many children does he have, and are you a child of Elias?”

“I am the only one left.” answering both my questions at once  

“Okay, we have to stop him," I said.

When he said that he was a child of Elias, I knew I could trust him as Elias usually kills his heirs. Usually 

"Katalaroomunal told him how to take over the Earth Kingdom, and if he gets this toy then he will take over the Earth Kingdom and give the key of the cage to Katalaroomunal."

"How did you even find all of this out?" he asked.

"I was about to ask you the same."

"It's a long story, I kind of had a dream or a vision thing."

"Same here," I said.

"We have to stop him," he agreed.

"That's one thing covered," I thought. "90% chance that he won’t stab my back."

He took out a map of the continent of demons, where we were at the time. Why was I hiding where all the demons lay? Two reasons are the weather and food. The second is that it is helpful to lay in your enemy's backyard. A random thought fell down the stairs into my head. My Mom always says, be friendly but at the same time, austere and powerful.

“What is your name?” I asked.

“Reid.” 

“Arlin,” I said

“Cool, we have to get to the land of demons' life support.”

“Why”? I asked.

“Because it might be possible that there are more children of Elias.”

“There aren’t.”

“How do you know?” Reid had said.

“Cause they would be dead by now.”

“But we should get out of this cave, they know that we are here.”

“That is true.”

“I have a spot that no one knows.”

“Where is the Gem?” he asked.

“I will not tell anyone.”

“Okay,” he said.

And that day we walked. That was the day of rebellion against only the immortal, Elias. The fate of the world leaned on two shoulders, mine and Reid’s. Now that I am writing this down I see all the pressure that was on me. I would never choose to have that pressure again. Ever.

Nevertheless, back to when I was young and we were going to the island of Yrautcnas. I did not know why Reid was so concerned about the Gem, only we two knew where we were going, or so I thought. Looking back as a wise person, in that situation, I should have considered the fact that I was not the only person who knew about Yrautcnas. But strolling we went over towards the west. Here you can see the most beautiful sunrises and sunsets. Imagine a huge mountain covered with the rarest and most colorful red and blue flowers. Imagine a tropical place with coconuts and also some papaya trees. The best fruits in the world. I came here a lot of the time, freshwater is always coming from the Delta blue river, giving the flowers an eternal bloom. 

Anyways about Yrautcnas, instead of beautiful flowers we came upon dying plants. I had made this island using the Gem and I made a river also. I also made an alarm system that if the plants were dying then the worst monsters were coming after us. I could deal with the easy monsters but this is not good. These would be worse than the scurimas, I made this island to warn me from danger, and now I was warned. I put my hand onto the secret place where the Gem was hidden and I closed my eyes. I saw a burning sea. I saw the monsters that were trying to kill us. They were holding a whole town captive. 

They were looking for the Gem. I saw into their eyes. Their kinds name was Guranagoringa. (I'm gonna spell that differently every time I mention it, so ignore that.) They were almost unkillable. They fought till their last breath and were 100% loyal to the person who saw them at birth. I told Reid what I saw. About the sea. About the Guranagoringa. 

“Do you have any tricks in your envelope?” I asked.      

“No, do you?” 

“I have one.”

“What is it?” 

“Actually I have two tricks in my envelope.”

“Show me,” Reid said.  

So I showed him, and we went climbing up the mountain.

“Can you destroy them using the Gem?”

“No they don’t have a mortal soul, I would have used it more often if I could use it against scurima's." 

“The thing about gods,” Reid was saying “They need objects for power and then they can do magic, if not then they are just buff humans who live forever.”

“Back to the Guranagoringa.” nudging him back to the route.

“We have a 90% chance of dying,” I declared.

“Is your trick any good then?” he asked.

We walked all the way to the hidden cavern where my stuff was. Inside were many things but I pulled out 4 things. One was a stew pot, the second was a wax lion, a Guranagoringa. The third and fourth I stuffed in my backpack.

“YOU HAVE ONE OF THOSE THINGS, THE Guranagoringa!”

I showed him 4 more. 

You should have been there to see the look on his face. He was turning red, when he gets mad he goes MAD. That look I remembered for so long. That weird and angry face. When I showed him I had 5 in total, the look on his face was priceless.

Anyways...

“What about the stew pot?” Reid asked. 

“I have enough ingredients to make 5 invisibility potions.”

“YOU CAN MAKE 5 INVISIBILITY POTIONS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!”

I bit my lip to keep myself from smiling.

“AND YOU DID NOT TELL ME FOR THIS ENTIRE TIME ARLIN SAIGNKHORST!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!”

“How do you know my last name?”

“You mumble while you walk.”

As I wondered if he was fibbing-

“AWHOOOJJOOOOOOJOOOOOOOOOJJOOOOOOOO”

The call of the evil Guranagoringa. I looked Reid straight in the eyes. I started running. I realized that was quite troublesome while carrying a heavy sword, a stew pot and a backpack. Reid quite easily caught up with me. 

“Don’t you have a hiding place?” he whispered.

“Half a kilometer from here.” 

“It might be a good time to unleash the lion Guranagoringa.”

“That, my friend, I agree with.”

I chanted in the olden tongue. “Owha Mahoori Aaaaaaaaaaaaaa!” 

The Guranagoringa, on my side, leaped to life. They looked at me. 

I kept 2 in my backpack for later. We had 3 Guranagoringa to keep the 7 evil Guranagoringa. The thing is that I have a lion Guranagoringa. The most powerful Guranagoringa and also the cleverest.

“Leave one alive,” I said, and off they went. I started climbing to the top of the mountain, it might seem far but long story short, I had made a zipline that would bring me to the top. As soon as me and Reid got there I saw something that I very much did not expect to see. The evil Guranagoringa were down to 2 beings. They were both human Guranagoringa so they were carrying a sword and shield. 

“We better help them,” Reid said.

So down the zipline we went, I left my pot and headed towards the Guranagoringa. By the time we got there, the lions had surrounded the one Guranagoringa. I waved them off. 

I chanted “Owha Mahoori Aaaaaaaaaaaaaa.” 

They had returned to my backpack where the rest of the pride was. I fished into my pack and pulled out a tiny transparent sphere while Reid defended me from the Guranagoringa. I drew my sword in my right hand and in the other I kept my sphere. As the monster lunged at me, I ducked and went under him and placed the sphere on his stomach. 

It dropped its sword. The Guranagoringa said, “What do you want from me, sir.”

Reid raised an eyebrow at me.

“Questions, what is Elias going to do next,” I asked?

Reid’s left eyebrow went higher.

The Guranagoringa answered, “He is going to make a Gem of Survival.”

Reid’s left eyebrow attained liftoff.

“Where,” I asked.

“The forges of demons,” it said.

Reid’s eyebrow was trying to copy Neil Armstrong.

“Where is that,” I asked. 

That's one small step for man, one giant leap for mankind

“The middle of this continent,” it answered. "At the forge. At the forge of demons."

His eyebrow plummeted back to earth and he sighed “Great.”

“Is there a path” 

“No.” 

“When will they be done with the Gem” 

“2 weeks and some change.”

“When will you tell us something good,” Reid groaned.         

“My last order is to tell Elias that you managed to kill me and Reid.”

I took the sphere out of his stomach. And off it went. An island is on the coastline and the middle of the continent is quite far, and cars were invented like 400 years later, (Yes I am that old, the Gem keeps me and anybody near it alive and healthy for a very very very very very very long time.) 

“YOU HAVE A GURANAGORINGA SPHERE AND YOU DIDN’T TELL

ME!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!” 

I stared him in the eye. 

“What?” he said.

“Our deadline is basically really short and what in the world are we going to do against a whole army of demons?” 

As I am writing this on my desk which I made out of tree bark, (I am very creative). I remember that moment of helplessness, it is a necessary feeling that every single human being must-have. A person should be in charge of their own lives but remember this, you may be in charge of your own life but it is the people around you that shape it. That helplessness is coming from all the other people. In my case, I shape my own life, Jane is telling me not to write that down but I don’t see why not to, but you do not want that to happen to yourself. Let yourself slip, that is the only way to enjoy. A cat has 9 lives but you only have 1. Do something decent with it, shall you? However, back to the complaining.

“How will we ever get there? We are thousands of miles away from them.”

“Maybe we can get some answers in my cave,” I suggested.

We climbed back to the zipline that wasn’t a zipline, more of a pulley system. And as soon as we got back to the cave, I pulled the gadget out of my pack, a distance bender. 

“This is how we are going to get into the forge.”

“What is that?” Reid did not know this gadget.

“This is a distance bender.”

“How in the world did you get 1 of those, I thought they cost 4 hundred million tennerramanga?”(= to 6 billion USD.)

“How I got all of these things is a very very long story”

“So how does this work?”

“Never mind that the big problem is that only 1 of us can go,” I said.

CUT. Okay, I need to tell you a small spoiler. Actually not a spoiler, more like a hint, and something that you can take away from this. All you need is a little luck, to make things work. Lights, camera, ACTION. 

“What kind of rule is that?” Reid said.

“I didn’t make it.”

"Whoever put the magic in these things needs lessons."

That is when good luck arrived. Maybe it was fate, maybe the air kingdom forgot what side they were on. But I like to remember it as luck. One thing you can always count on is luck. It helps once every century, for example, 62 years ago to this date I was gambling near the Borse forest and I went all out, and I won like 1000 tenneramanga. Then a pack of monsters came at me. Law of averages or whatever.

A poster slammed into my face. It read, Billionaires welcome, 5 pack distance bender. Auction tonight, off the coast of the Green sea. 

I showed everything to Reid. The place where the auction was taking place was 50 miles from here. I looked around the building using the Gem, I saw my plan and devised an entering and escaping plan. All was set and done. We decided that I would go because I had the Gem and then I also knew how to get in and out of the auction holder's palace. The rich are favored in my time when I was young, hopefully, that changes when all you youngsters grow up. 

I told Reid the other distance bender rule. “I can only be used once”

“What is wrong with these inventions?” Reid complained.  

“If I could use my distance bender more than once then life would be really easy for me, I could run out of my hiding place and be anywhere in a single millisecond, so stop whining.”

Reid thought about this while I assembled all that I would need. I figured out how to use my distance bender, (there was a manual). I grabbed two gadgets from my cave. A grappling hook, and a Magic Stealer.

“You should get going,” Reid said, “It is almost sundown.” 

“This island only allows people who have permission from me to stay on it, if I am also on the island with them.”

“How did the Guranagoringa get here then?” Reid asked.

“The Gem limits only mortal lives, it cannot control monsters or immortals,” I explained.

After wishing me good luck he asked, “I should leave right?” 

“If you like your life then yes, or there is another option,” I said.

“What,” he asked. 

“I can leave the Gem here, Elias has access to the best spies in the world, and the best spies in the world would have access to anything and everybody who comes in their sight, and whoever they spot has access to resources and money and something to give them. If they get the Gem for ten uninterrupted minutes then everything Katalaroomunal wants will come true, and the world will be covered in Black, with the next dawn coming centuries later.”

"I have to give it to you Reid, it is the only option." 

“Do you trust me?” Reid asked, almost a little too eagerly.

“I don’t have to, I put a spell on the Gem that it would burn anybody, monsters and humans alike, disintegrating them instantly.” 

“How do you touch it?”

“I made the spell, but anyways, I have an auction to crash,” I said.

“You better get going.”

We shook hands.

“This might be it,” I inquired.

“If you die I am going to kill you, even though you're going to be a ghost if you die.”

And with that, I turned on my DB (I getting tired of spelling distane beder, I mean disance bener, I mean, WHATEVER!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!). 

You might be thinking how it felt to be the only person alive to use a DB, um, terrible. Imagine a lot of sweating, holding on to a stick while it pulled me forward, like a firefighter holding a hose that was alive and had a mind of its own, and the hose just ate a lot of sugar. Also, there was vomiting. In that moment I had discovered my greatest weakness, motion sickness.

I screamed “AAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH” until the DB stopped and slammed me into a pole. I groaned and as I stood up I realized the distance bender was gone, meaning that if I did not succeed then the world was doomed. I was just outside the plaza when I heard a voice, “5 hundred tennerramanga.” 

The auction had already started! I spotted a security person walking. That meant that this was the floor where the auction was being held. I walked into the plaza looking important, which is hard to do when you are in shorts that are covered in sweat. When one of the security people started going out of formation and started following me. I went inside the bathroom that was behind every single guard except for the one who was following me. After 3 right hooks and 4 or 5 uppercuts, he was very well out. I changed into his clothes, (excluding the underwear, this guy really likes linen, cause everything he wore was made of linen). I was able to sneak past the security guards quite quickly and swiftly, but it was easier than I had expected. Once I was in the range of the box where the distance benders were. I pulled out my gadgets, a grappling hook, and my Magic Stealer. 

I murmured a spell to activate the stealer, “Hoeshungaroma.”

 The magic stealer was gone from its box and when it came back, it was carrying a box, I opened it and found 5 DB’s. I pulled all of them out and put them in my backpack. I put the box back where it was supposed to be, pulled on my mask, and opened the window. 

"And we have a winner." The auction holder gave the box to a man in a suit and walked away.

The man in the suit opened the box.

"I paid 20 billion tennerramanga for this!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!"

Why do I wear a mask? Oh because it makes me look cool, I forgot to mention that earlier I was wearing a mask. A kid next door opened his window and looked at me. 

"Hi kid," I said.

He responded by fainting.

I hooked my grappling hook onto his house and I hit the big red button, it pulled me there and I used one of the DB’s to send me back to the island of Yrautcnas.

I slammed right into Reid. 

“I got it!” I shouted in triumph. 

“Better soon than never,” Reid said sarcastically

I set my backpack on the grass, as it was getting heavy. 

I put a spell on it for being able to expand to fit anything, but I did not count in weight, another big mistake of my spellwork. I may have mentioned that I can also do minor spell work.

“What are you wearing?” Reid asked.

“That, my friend, is a very long story.”

After nightfall, I made a fire using some oak wood. Reid found some gasoline stuffed in my backpack. I told him the story, underwear excluded. And another problem.

 “The DB takes two weeks to load, and we have to dip it in a very hot place.”

“Even if it loads, how are we going to take out a whole forge of demons, and an immortal with a sword and an invisibility potion?”

"We don't, you do."

MEANWHILE

A Guranagoringa enters a cavern where 7 other salient demons sat down though they were restless. At the head of the table was Elias, sitting down twirling his sword. The Guranagoringa broke the silence.

“We have good news sire.”

“What is that?” Elias asked with an authoritative tone.

“Arlin and Reid are eliminated from the equation.”

“Well, that was satisfying, lieutenant, now you can go back to your work, at the forges, tell your kind how to play with lava properly, without burning yourself like you always do.”

“Yes sir.”

After the footsteps of the Guranagoringa faded, Elias said,

“Now phase 2 of the plan must be put in action, put the Gem in the magma of Rahorikmanda, then cool it in the deepest waters in the Green Arroyo”

One demon asked, “What stops us from helping you?”

“Do you want me to show you?”

Before you could say mercy, 6 demons were dead on the floor, disintegrated. 

“This is what stops you from helping me, death!” 

The lone demon ran out of the room.

Elias murmurs to himself “Now that those 2 puny mortals are out of the equation, the throne will be mine, MINE!”

He pulled a shiny green Gem out of his pocket.

“MINE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!”

“What do you mean, you think that I can destroy a whole forge of demons all BY MYSELF!!!!!!!!!” Reid yelled.

“You have to while I destroy Elias’s new Gem.”

“Good idea, HOW!!!!!!!!”

“Let me explain in my cave.”

After we put out the fire we walked to my cave where I pulled my blackboard out of the back of my cave. 

“They are 3 parts of the Gem of Survival,” I explained.

“What is the point of this,” Reid said, still angry.

“Just listen. The physical Gem takes only 3 days to make, he probably already has that, then there's the laser part of the Gem” 

“YOU HAVE A LASER BEAM!!!!” yelled Reid.

“Cool right, and anyways we have to get to the forge before they get to dip in the magma Rahorikmanda, and cool and purify it in the waters of the Green Arroyo.”

“How long does it take for it to go into laser mode”

“Half an hour”

“We have 2 weeks to make an invisibility potion and charge something, and take down a whole forge of demons to save the world,” Reid said. 

“He won’t be expecting us if we wait for him to make the Gem into laser mode”

“How will we defeat him then, and didn't the Guranimoringa already tell him that we are ghosts?” Reid challenged.

"Every time you use a Guranimoringa sphere, little green flakes of the sphere are left in the borning spot of the Guranimoringa, Elias' keen eyes may have noticed, plus, I have my own Gem", I pulled it out of my pocket. 

“So does he,” Reid concurred again. Boy, at times can he be annoying.   

“In the process of the Green Arroyo, the most important step of them all, Nalgeno put this Gem in the water for one year, then put many spells on it that enhanced the Gem."

"Can't he do that?" Reid asked Did I mention stubbornness? 

"Nobody can do what Nalgeno can do, Reid."

“Good point,” Reid belatedly accepted.

“We should get some rest,” I said. 

“Rest would be good,” Reid admitted as he lay down on my cot.

“Good night,” I said.

When we awoke, we set out for the place I had in mind, south of where I was at the time. After many weird sightings of villagers, cows, and pigs, we reached the village of Alaan. The place where Nalgeno put his Gem.

“We should be looking for a white crystal in a big tower, that is what opens the lake of lava.” 

“That isn’t good,” said Reid pointing at something. 

I followed his gaze and saw what he was looking at. Scurima’s on the hill behind us. But now they were riding Borses. Borses are vicious creatures. They have the head of Hydra, the body of a tiger, and the tail of a scorpion.

Suddenly, a warrior upon a horse with blonde hair, armor, and a helmet came in their path.

“No!” I cried out to the warrior, “Let us handle this!”

The warrior steered a stallion to face the scurima’s scowling faces.

“I am the defender of Alaan, leave at once, or you will perish.” the warrior yelled at the incoming monsters. 

In reply, the Borses continued the charge for our Gem.

The warrior unsheathed her sword, and you guessed it charged.

“No, you idiot, come back!” I tried. I looked for Reid for help, but his mouth was open as wide as a human mouth could go. I whirled my body back to the unnamed warrior. Behind that were the bodies of the Borses. 

The warrior was coming towards us, upon her horse, and pulled the metal helmet off. Her hair flowed down halfway to her waist and I got lost in those fierce blue eyes, blonde hair, and physical athleticness. Yes, yup, uh huh, I’m weird.

“I am the daughter of the master, or your friend, or foe.” gesturing to our weapons.

“That depends,” I said, “To which side you are on.”

“We have also heard of Elias, there is no Earth king though, all the villages on land are owned by themselves, which also led to them being divided but whatever.”

I hadn’t realized how close she was until her sword was at my neck and I was on the ground. 

She tossed handcuffs to Reid and a key. 

“Wear these or your friend dies.”

“Then give the keys back to me” she added as she cuffed me.

Reid did what she asked and tossed the keys back to her and shot me a dirty look. 

The woman jostled me to my feet and told us to start marching. We were walking slow and attracting attention to the people around us.

I whispered to Reid “If we want to make it in time, we're gonna have to start quickly, tomorrow at about sunset, then wait two weeks, leave and never return.”

The not-so-kind lady kicked us into a chamber and locked the doors, but did not realize what I had taken from her.

I showed Reid what was dangling from my pinky, a set of spare keys. I opened the doors of our cell.

“Well, Reid, idiots first.”

“Where did you even learn that trick?” he asked.

A magician never, ever, reveals his secrets, so I instead pointed to a tower in the distance.

“That’s where we have to go,” I said.

“Why are there so many guards at the one place we have to go?” Reid asked.

I gave him a history lesson.

“Back then, when Nalgeno was alive, this was one of his favorite cities, and where his economy was centered, where the best blacksmiths were, where the best farmers were, and where the best warriors were. So he created a lava tunnel which gave him an excuse to come here more often, where he could charge his distance benders. Since Nalgeno passed, the crystal which opened the lava has become a symbol of their history and greatness and is proudly shown on their flag. It is also guarded carefully”

“So what’s our plan, professor.”

“We go into the tower, steal the crystal, get out of the tower, wait there for two weeks and go to the forge.”

“Very insightful, professor.”

“Thank you, Reid.”

 So that's what we did, though the plan needed a little elaboration.

“Stop right there, you both are going back to prison,” said a familiar voice, the same woman who put us in that cell. 

“Listen, lady, we're trying to save the world-”

Do not mistake me for an idiot, I am not blind to the world around me. You are minions of Elias”

We unsheathed our swords and fought in the narrow alley. She was good, real good. But she was not better than me and Reid combined.

“What’s your name anyway?” I asked through gritted teeth.

“Jane.”

“You look nice, Jane, there’s a nice restaurant we can go to if the world doesn’t end.”

Reid looked at me like I was crazy.

The sound of metal clanking continued until I realized that there was a much simpler solution to this problem. I stepped away from the fight and took out my Gem.

“Don’t move, Jane, or I'll fire this laser beam at you.”

She froze with alarmed eyes.

Reid backed away from her and said, “Drop your sword.”

“Why should I listen to you, animal,” she spat.

“Cause I’m his friend,” I said. 

She dropped it and emptied her pockets. I handcuffed her and shoved her back up to a regular position, but I still was polite.

“Payback time,” I said as I locked her in the same dungeon me and Reid were in.

Me and Reid headed in the direction of the tower when he asked a rather annoying question, “Is there anything sparking between you and that girl?”

“No,” I said quickly. “Why in the world would you think that?”

“Maybe start with your cheeks,” Reid responded with a smile

I decided to start ignoring him when he asked uncomfortable questions. 

We reached the tower and as I was preparing my grappling hook a group of guards was eyeing us and whispering amongst them. They stood up from their table and started walking towards us.

“Go faster, you idiot,” Reid said. 

I threw my grappling hook at a window and climbed up the rope with Reid breathing on my neck. 

“The alarm will ring soon,” Reid warned.

We scanned the rooms quickly until there was only one more left to check.

I opened the door slowly, and there it was. A large white crystal was sitting right there in the middle of a grand hallway. I ran over and grabbed and ran out of the room. Guards were swarming all over the place, and I found the place where I was supposed to place the crystal. I put the crystal inside.

“Quickly,” I whispered, “Or we will not be able to enter.”

And down we went into the cavern. 

“Whoa,” Reid said.

I had seen this view before though when I charged my other distance bender. But it was still pretty cool.

A ceiling of stacalites was there. And on the ground was lava that went on for miles. A bridge went over to the other side. 

We put in all of the distance benders and decided to take naps while the other kept watch.

While I was keeping watch, I saw a shadow crossing the bridge. I shook Reid awake and he grabbed his sword and I grabbd my gem. 

I saw her. 

“Jane, how in the world did you get down here!” I said.

Reid looked at me like I was crazy. Obviously, thoughts were going about in his head.

“Nalgeno made it so that nobody could get here unchallenged. If somebody activated the crystal, a man from the prison would come here. And that is why we put our worst prisoners in that cell, animals.”

“If you make any sudden moves, my friend will blow to pieces,” Reid said.

“He’s right, you know.” 

So we did what we had to do, we just let her stay where we were. Reid had fun with her, dueling her and testing her, and most of the time he won but Jane passed sometimes. But as time ticked by, we became better and better friends.

Finally, it was the last day before the Earth's king would be decided. Jane went and sat next to me.

“What are you thinking about?” she asked.

“Tomorrow is the day that the world ends or lives, and I am the one who decides that.”

“You are not alone, and you never will be Arlin.”

She kissed me on the cheek. 

“Go to sleep, you’ll need it.”

And with that, I was pulled away into another vision.

“Prepare it to be heated up, if the Gem doesn't shatter then all we have to do is make a light aroku and sink it to the bottom of the arroyo and when it floats, all will be good. And our plan, underway. This should take about ten minutes” 

“Yes sir,” a demon perked up, “We will make this happen.”

Another demon asked, “What will be our reward?”

“Your reward, demon, is no consequence,” Elias responded, not looking at the crowd of demons, sensing what was to come. He held the hilt of his sword tightly.

“For that answer,” the demon said, “You have gotten in trouble with the principal of the school, and for that you will receive our version of consequences!” 

What I saw in my vision was incredible, every single demon drew their swords and spears and went up and charged Elias.

I sat up from the floor, breathing deeply. I shook Reid awake.

“What is it,” he groaned.

I grabbed all of the distance benders, and Reid understood what was happening, he got his sword and strapped his light armor. 

“Where are we going,” Reid asked.

“The forge,” I answered.

“Why?” he said.

“Look,” I said, “I don’t have time to explain but Elias is destroying his own army and while he is doing that we can destroy the Gem and they will be no forge to make it again, only the hands of the Council of Demons can do that, or Nalgeno, but he's dead.”

Reid grabbed a distance bender.

“Ready?” 

“Is the answer ever yes,” me, Arlin Saignkhorst, said.

“Sometimes, it has to be.” 

And with that, we plunged into the forge of demons.

That was tense.  

This time I was used to the feeling of being controlled by a stick, but still, motion sickness won the battle. When we arrived we were inside the forge, though it was kind of like a bunker with all of the holes. The holes were for archers but it seemed that they were 2 way. 

I looked through one of them. I saw an intense battle between 1000 demons and one immortal. Whenever it seemed that the demons were winning Elias pulled out his Gem and used Laser Mode and wasted his own demons. Elias could fight with both of his hands independently like he had eyes in the back of his head. And there was his one Guranagoringa also slashing and hacking its way through enemy lines. Though it seemed like we had a common enemy, demons. I had a feeling Katalanaroomunal was not going to like this party. 

“Reid we are going to need a plan”

“Arlin I think that there is no time to make a plan, HE HAS LASER MODE,” he whispered, “Not good.”  

I estimated that in 2 minutes, Elias would somehow win this battle. 

Me and Reid discussed our battle strategy as the first major battle of the age between the demons of the forge and Elias raged around us.

I gave him two invisibility potions just in case that one ran out of fuel. Now all the demons were destroyed and he needed to chant an ancient song of death. I appeared out of my hiding place.

I roared “ELIAS!”

He had destroyed all of the demons, the burning fires and blacksmiths of the forge now existed in memory.

“You can’t stop me now, Arlin Saignkhorst, you can try, and you can fail.”         

“You might be wrong about that.”

I shot a laser beam at him. He ducked under it and twirled his sword. I did the same with mine. Then I did a stupid thing, I ran away from Elias and he ran after me. He is so intent on destroying me that he didn’t realize that he could wait there and chant. I pulled out my Guranagoringa and chanted, “Owha Mahoori Aaaaaaaaaaaaaa!!!!”

I said to them “One of you deal with the evil Guranagoringa away from here and the rest of you attack Elias from the 2 sides, one of you attack from behind while being invisible. Look out for Reid. Do not touch him.” Invisible people can see each other by the way.

We broke up with our squads, Elias was still 10 feet away from me. 

I got my Gem and yelled, “I use the wrath of Orconamagi against you.”

“Kid, I also have a Gem, it will not work against me” 

“Oh, I forgot about that.”

Instead, I shot a laser beam at him, he absorbed it with his sword and charged me. The Guranagoringa started to do their jobs. They flanked Elias, while I hoped Reid was doing fine. I put my goggles on to see the Guranagoringa and Reid who should be rising up for the kill. Elias did not have the goggles, though the Guranagoringa were keeping him annoyed so he could not wear them even if he had them. I yelled and charged at him with my sword, as I saw Reid and his friend trying to come close to Elias’s back. Then the strangest thing in the world happened. Elias grew another arm!  Its a spell nobody actually knows how to do, and he did it. Now he could fight at all three sides where he could see!!!

“Great,” I managed through gritted teeth as I and the Guranagoringa kept him busy. But we would not last. Elias became immortal because he defeated the king at sword fighting. We probably could last 30 seconds. I rolled and ducked and slashed and kicked until Elias finally managed to hit my sword out of my hand and push me down using the hilt of his sword. His sword was hovering over my chest, the Guranagoringa could not take him down.

“It is over now, I will at last claim the Earth Kingdom.” 

“Elias, can I tell you something,” I said. 

“Choose your last words wisely,” he said, in a sing-song tone.

“Gadgets are the most helpful,” I yelled at my backpack, “Smoke Screen!”

“What was that supposed to do?”

And guess what happened, 1)Reid and the Guranagoringa became visible, 2) A smoke screen materialized. I slipped out from between Elias's legs and picked up my sword.

 Reid pulled his bow and arrow out of his pack, and the Guranagoringa snarled at Elias and surrounded him. I tossed my sword right next to me, the sword of Andaorus, and raised my ancestor's Gem.

"AkaruNas!" We both chanted simultaneously.

Green and black streams of powerful lasers smashed into each other. The world was still except for the light, the light was too powerful to let anyone move. But one light was brighter than the next. My light brightened beyond bright and slowly, the intensified light started moving towards the God of Survival, the rightful owner of the Gem, the one who became a god. But an idea came to Elias' head. With his other hand, he pulled out his dagger from his sheath. I understood what Elias's plan was like a map laid out in front of me. To throw the dagger at my Gem, the source of light. My mind thought out Elias's plan. If he threw the dagger at me then Reid would pick up my Gem and win, but if the Gem was destroyed, then the world was done. I unsheathed my sword and threw it at his dagger before it was out of his hands. He deflected and threw.

 I watched in slow motion as it came towards me. I counted in my head the seconds until it hit my Gem.

 5

4

3

2

1..

0.

Luckily, the handle of his dagger hit my Gem out of my hands and his Gem's light ray sent me flying into the stone wall behind me. 

"I guess this is the end of you, descendant of Nalgeno." "Say good-"

A lion Guranagoringa tackled Elias and sent his Gem flying. Elias destroyed the Guranagoringa in a second. But the Gem was much too far to retrieve. 

The problem was though, my Gem was also too far to retrieve.

Seeing his opportunity Reid fired his bow and arrow. It went straight towards its target. I was almost leaping in joy until Elias did the impossible, he caught the arrow and snapped it in half. I realized that I was unarmed so I picked up my sword.

“You cannot defeat me without using magic, you should know that next time we meet, but that seems decreasingly possible.”

He found a rock and threw it at Reid, and he fell to the stony ground, knocked out cold.

“Looks like it’s me against you Arlin. Sword against sword. You think you can defeat me?”

“Oh ya I do, because I am not alone,” the Guranagoringa went to the left and right of me. 

“CHARGE THAT GOD!!!!!!!!” I yelled at the Guranagoringa.

We ran as one and attacked. The Guranagoringa went and attacked him on the left and right. Elias was the best of the best of the best of the best and soon the Guranagoringa were starting to go. One by one Elias slew the Guranagoringa and all that was left was me and one cowering lion. I realized this was how it was going to end. I was no match for him. We tried and tried with waves of attacks, but in the end, this was how it was going to settle.

“You are alone now Arlin, I have been waiting for this for 16 years. Since you were born. Why do you think I killed your dad?”

My eyes were filled with rage, and for every tear that fell to the ground a hundred were held back.

“There have been many prophecies over time, but there was one about you, Arlin.”

“A boy, who found a toy, will either curse the land or save it, and if he stands alone, he will die, and the world will fall. ”

“But he’s not alone. And he will never be.” Reid had gotten back up to his feet unnoticed and was up at a catapult. He fired a boulder at Elias and he was sent flying back. Good right. But the problem was he landed right next to his gem.

Elias grabbed his Gem and said weakly, “Laser Mo-” 

An arrow now had pierced the center of his Gem, and Reid’s bowstring was reverberating.

I knew what had to be done next.

I spoke the chant I had been preparing, “OHA NAKAHULI RAMBaAI!” 

I placed my Gem on his chest. “I summon-"

"NO!" he screamed as he struggled against the Guranagoringa.

"-you to the prison beyond the land and sea and air, you will only stay in the cage, there is no key, I command your dungeon, you cannot escape. I hold your dungeon. You cannot escape.”                                                                                                                            

And the only sign that he was ever there was his shoes and my Gem.

“We didn't die,” I said, startled, as I picked up my Gem. 

“The lions helped.”

I told the one lion alive to destroy the remaining Guranagoringa and demons concealed in nooks and crannies on Elias’s side. 

“I’m going to take a nap.”

“You’re the descendant of Nalgeno, that is NOT Fair. Though that’s probably why you can do a little wizardry.”

“I know right.”

.

2 weeks later

“You ready, I mean that’s a crowd,” he said.

“I hope I am.”  

I walked onto the stage. Millions of citizens were waiting for me.

The judge was waiting for me also, and he said, “Are you ready to be the Earth king, uniting the colonies under the banner of Earth.”

“Yes, I am.”

A crown of glittering jewels, not gems, was placed on my head. I was starting to tear up.

“You may now present your speech, and may the people decide if the crown suits your head.”

“I and Reid may have defeated Elias,” Reid said “But the fact is that the troubling times are just beginning. Katalaroomunal is still in her cage, desperate to escape. She must be defeated with as much power as we can muster, which is why I am increasing our battle power. Which is why the colonies have been united. We will meet evil upon our white horses, Together!!”

“Together!” the crowd shouted.

“We will make alliances with the sea kingdom, and we will destroy Katalaroomunal. Together!”

“If we die, we will die in battle watching the earth crash down around us, but it will not happen, as we are united."

TOGETHER!!!!!!!!!!!”

“TOGETHER!”

“TOGETHER!”

 “TOGETHER!”

The crowd shouted on and on as I walked off the stage. The sound was deafening and I could barely hear myself when I shouted in Reid's ear.

“We got work to do.”

“Together,” he agreed.

I wish that I could say more right now, but alas, my pen is running out of ink. I don't like typing. From now on, after I pass away, after giving the Gem to the rightful heir, I can fall asleep knowing that my book can pass on, nobody will ever need to tell it again. But now, I still have a lot of time left in the bag, and I don’t have anything to do. When you are 600 years old, you tend to get bored.  Anyway, Reid is married and so am I. Finally, I can live a somewhat normal life, with only a few scurima’s coming after each month. I’m retired from being a king, oh ya, sorry for not mentioning that I was once a king. Remember, you will know if you are the rightful heir. One last piece of advice, never turn down your instincts. If whoever is reading this meets the heir, tell them there for a long road. Lights out. And I need a brand new pen. 

Don’t miss the next book: Keys to the cage.

Coming out in August 2022.