Chapter I
When Matthew sat up in bed, he looked out the window. The forecast, as it had been for the last four weeks, was thunder and lighting; trees getting knocked over; flood warnings; tornadoes in the Americas, and pretty much a huge storm cloaking the world. Earthquakes had been rising unexpectedly and killing hundreds, as if there really were gods up there in the clouds, that weren’t happy. Putting on jeans and a fairly formal shirt on at the same time, Matthew walked down the stairs. Seeing his mother and father already ready and having breakfast, he sneaked over to the fridge, while glancing at his father’s computer. He groaned. It was Saturday. That means he got to do—nothing. On the rare moments when he found the keys to the garage, he would take out his bike and cycle where his legs could take him. Even though his bike was a Carrera Kraken Mountain Bike, he never actually got to hike mountains on his two wheels, despite several irrational pleads.
Hastily wolfing down his toast, Matthew speed-walked out of the room, his mind going into overdrive, thinking where the keys to the garage could be. In knowing himself, he knew his parents. He knew that his parents hid the keys in a different place whenever he found them. He knew they could find more places to hide the keys in the car than any other person, dead or alive. Using this technique, Matthew directed himself to the side of the car and clicked open the petrol cap. Sitting there, gleaming, were the keys to the garage.
Working quickly, Matthew tried to open the garage door while texting to his best friend (A girl called Kathryn Carter): Meet at Eagle’s Nest.
He and Kathryn had made Eagle’s Nest under Kathryn’s orders. She liked to think of herself as a survivalist, so she and Matthew had set up the Eagle’s Nest to avoid floods, but Matthew bombarded Kathryn with questions:
- Won’t it get struck by lightning?
- Won’t birds be a problem?
- Would squirrels steal our supplies?
- Err, How do we get up?
Kathryn took in all these questions merrily. She started by painting the den with tar, to break electrical currents. The next day she unscrewed the shutters from her old rabbit’s hutch and brought them in. Matthew watched with great admiration as Kathryn expertly replaced the empty windows. The two of them then spent a day collaging and painting leaves onto the tar until the Eagle’s Nest looked like a World War II camouflaged war bunker. Using thick rope, Kathryn then bent the branches with immense brute force so that Matthew and Kathryn could walk up as easily as walking up stairs. The clump of trees around the Eagle’s Nest was exceedingly helpful because (due to the steps going up to the treehouse) the trees were prone to children who are like monkeys. Realising this, Kathryn changed the entrance so that you had to crawl through an owl nest that went all the way through a tree.
Kathryn was sitting on the makeshift stairs when Matthew pulled up to the Eagle’s Nest. They both walked up silently until they reached the owl’s nest. Matthew crawled through first, then Kathryn. As soon as they wriggled through the hole, Kathryn asked, “What is going on?”
Matthew sat down at the computer. “This.” He answered. He typed in ‘Freak weather 2013’ into Google and clicked ‘I’m feeling lucky’ , simultaneously flipping round the computer. Kathryn leaned in close and scrolled down. Images of 1.5 metre high floods filled the screen; cities of rubble covering the world; devastation everywhere. Kathryn forced herself to look away.
“How long has this been going on for?”
“Four weeks. Didn’t you notice?”
“No, no. I mean, I did, but I just thought it was a bunch of freak storms. There’s no logic.”
But Matthew’s mind was on something else.
“Logic no longer matters. Look.”
Matthew and Kathryn walked to the window and opened the shutters. Red fissures were opening up all around the treehouse, and were spewing out lava. Luckily none of the red-hot fountains could reach the trees that held up the Eagle’s Nest.
“It’s illusion. Look closer.” Matthew stated.
If you squinted until your eyes were practically closed, you could see a moving layer of black mist that the fissures could only open inside. But the layer was rapidly advancing towards the treehouse. When Matthew and Kathryn were inside, the fissures solidified so that they actually had to dodge waterspouts of lava (lava spouts?). C-c-c-c-er-crack! was the next sound Matthew and Kathryn could hear as the ground gave way beneath the tree, and the sound of screaming came from their mouths.
Chapter II
Kathryn opened her eyes. Someone had draped a cold washcloth over her forehead.
“Matthew?” Kathryn said groggily.
“He’s still asleep." A feminine voice answered.
Kathryn’s eyes widened until they were larger than the moon.
“Who are you?” She asked.
“Another un-believer,” the woman sighed. The four others in the room groaned. “I am Terra, Mother Earth.”
“I am Incendia, Lord of Fire.” The man in the red robes said.
“I am Glacies, Empress of Ice.” The woman in ice blue robes said.
“I am Unda, Queen of Water.” The woman in electric blue robes said.
“And I am Levitas, Monarch of Lightning.” The man in the sapphire blue robes said.
“Don’t those names mean Earth, Fire, Ice, Water and Lightning in Latin?” A familiar voice said behind Kathryn. Kathryn whirled round and her long chestnut hair whipped Matthew in the face.
“Matthew!” Kathryn rugby-tackled him with a hug.
“Ack! Kath! Geroff me!” Matthew’s muffled voice shouted from beneath the huge mass of hair. Kathryn only stopped crushing Matthew to death when a sound that emanated murder reached their ears.
Terra spoke up, “DuskMist has penetrated one of the fissures. Levitas?”
A glowing blue sword grew and hardened in Levitas’ hand.
“On it.” He said.
As quick as a lightning bolt (well, what did you expect?) , Levitas ran out of the den and jumped towards the noise. Through curiosity, Kathryn and Matthew opened the shutters. The DuskMist had taken the form of a coyote and was snapping at the blue zigzag that was spiralling around it. When the blue light plunged towards the ground, the black smoke followed it. When Levitas hit the ground, he held up his sword and impaled the DuskMist form. The shadowy coyote whimpered and retreated back through the opening. Kathryn’s eyes lit up. “I’ve got an idea!” She exclaimed. Levitas walked in. “We all just saw Levitas fly just now, didn’t we?” Everyone nodded.
Matthew caught on, “You can fly us out!”
Everyone hung their head. Curiosity spread across Kathryn and Matthew’s faces. “My dear, Matthew, do you know the Greek story of creation?” Asked Terra.
“Kronos vomiting up his kids?” Matthew guessed.
“Before that?”
“Gaia’s husband imprisoning her children, the Cyclopes and the Hekatonkheires?”
heires?”
“Further back?”
“You mean, Night? Nyx?”
“Indeed. And we believe that Nyx has summoned an heir—Obscurum. And they have trapped even us. ”Said Incendia. Kathryn glanced at Matthew, expectantly.
“That means… Darkness.”
xxxxx
When they found out that none of them actually knew where to go in order for Matthew and Kathryn to go home and for the environment Guardians to reclaim what’s rightfully theirs. They split up, men and women going separately. Seconds after, the boys were already messing about. Levitas and Incendia were arguing who was stronger, as brothers do.
“Surely you should be running out of power by now, little brother?” Said Incendia, summoning flames to his hand.
“My friend, during The Ceremony I was blessed with energy.” Electricity was crackling in the air.
Both Guardians made a cup formation with their hands and released what they were made to create. Blue and red light shot out from two different directions and met in the middle. The sheer force of the blue blast didn’t allow the red blast to get far before it was torn apart. When the colour fusion finished, Matthew could see a large hole indented in Incendia’s chest. But it was healing rapidly.
“Very funny, little brother.” Laughed Incendia.
“Guys,” said Matthew, “can you stop blowing holes in each other and help me think straight? Nyx blessed Obscurum at this ‘Ceremony’ secretly?”
“Uh-huh.”
“Yep.”
“Nyx conquered your realms and gave them to Obscurum?”
“Uh-huh.”
“Yep.”
“Uh-huh.”
“Yep.”
“Obscurum made DuskMists that are free to roam anywhere?”
“Uh-huh.”
“Yep.”
“Obscurum created DuskMist versions of you, except they’re more powerful and can kill you?”
“Uh-huh.”
“Yep.”
“And they were made to kill you?”
“Er, uh-huh.”
“Yep.”
“So you’re basically rebelling against yourself?”
“Pretty much.”
“Yep.”
“Although,” said Incendia, “not all the DuskMists forms of us are more powerful. Yet. When these DuskMists are, only the equal can fight the battle.”
“Whose DuskMist has grown more powerful than it’s equal?”
The two brothers looked at each other, and nodded.
“Terra.” Said Levitas.
“And as she rules you…” Matthew trailed off.
“We fight for her until death.” Levitas said firmly.
They trudged through the dark wood that had raised too many troubled conversations in the direction of what they thought was Nyx’s palace. The wind howled. Owls hooted. Matthew pulled his hood further over his face, and they walked on.
Chapter III
A similar conversation had just finished between Kathryn and the others. Kathryn had found out that they were in the Underworld/Afterlife/Whatever you want to call it and that they would have to go deeper to reach Nyx. And if they survived getting there, they would have to pray for each other. And they might be prayers that won’t be answered. So no pressure.
While in the brightest part in a dark wood ( which, to be honest, wasn’t very bright ) they performed a Ceremony—with Unda as far away as she needed to be