Chosen to Control

Brittney's Loss

Chapter 30

Brittney’s Loss





They left the boat at the beach instead of the marina and all walked home. They each found a similar reaction from their parents. They were all glad to have their children back. They spent two days living life normally when Bobby’s phone rang at nine in the morning. He went and picked it up, “Hello?” asked Bobby.

“Bobby it’s Jessica. Let’s get everyone over at my house this afternoon. I have something I need to talk to you all about,” said Jessica.

“OK, I’ll let everyone else know,” replied Bobby. He said bye and hung up the phone. He picked up the phone and began to dial Stephanie and let her know. He called all the others and they all agreed to show up at Jessica’s house at three in the afternoon.

That Saturday afternoon, Jessica’s dad was at work and she was home alone. Everyone arrived within fifteen minutes of the scheduled time. Jessica led the way to the fountain in her backyard where she almost killed her friends. She sat down on the fountain and said, “We need to go see Brittney.”

“Wait, who?” asked Andrew.

“Brittney. She was Jonathan’s girlfriend I guess you can say. She lived in Colorado and saw him get killed. She had no idea what was going on and I did not have time to explain it to her. I promised that I would go back with you guys and explain it all to her,” stated Jessica.

“So when do we leave?” asked Kemelly.

“In a few minutes,” replied Jessica.

“Are you kidding me?” asked Nick in shock.

“No, now go pick up the phone and call your parents. Tell them you are sleeping over a friend’s house. Each of you call and say that you are going to spend the night somewhere else. Just do not use the same person that way everything will be alright,” explained Jessica.

“I’m down with that,” said Carla who was sitting on Patty’s shoulder.

“Make the call, we will only be gone for a few hours, we should not have too many problems,” ordered Bobby. They all listened, grabbed their cell phones and called their parents.

“How long do you think we will be there?” asked Patty.

“A few hours so plan on going back home sometime tomorrow like after lunch,” said Jessica. Jessica waited sitting on her fountain as everyone called their parents and cleared the fake sleepovers.

“Everybody ready?” asked Bobby. He looked around at the group and everyone nodded. “Then we are good to go,” proclaimed Bobby.

Everyone’s wings appeared and as they soared into the sky, Kemelly said, “Make sure to fly high and pretty far apart you guys. We do not want to attract unwanted attention from bird watchers, or airplane pilots. We would look like some pretty big birds let me tell you.” They understood so they all spread out over a wide distance and flew at a high altitude.

They flew happily and without much worry all the way to the forest where Jonathan was killed. They felt like they did not have a care in the world. They flew up and down within the clouds, that is, everyone did but Bobby and Jessica. They both seemed to have been thinking deeply about something.

They all landed in the forest and night had already begun to fall. “What are we looking for?” asked Nick curiously.

“Tire tracks,” said Jessica, “and blood stains too. We need to find where Brittney’s jeep went because we need to meet her at her house where it will be a more normal atmosphere and we can explain things to her in a comfortable place.”

“Found the tire tracks,” called Kemelly. Everyone ran over to where Kemelly was. “All we got to do now is follow these tracks to Brittney’s house,” said Bobby. Their wings all appeared and they began following the tire tracks. It was really hard to follow the tire tracks on the highway, so Stephanie morphed into a hawk and followed the smallest fragments that had fallen off of Brittney’s wrecked jeep.

~Let me tell you guys, following this trail is really hard, but it looks to me like the she got off at this exit here and went into the third development on your left,~ said Stephanie as she banked her wings and began to fly in that direction. The others followed from a safe distance.

Stephanie landed in a tree in front of a large house with snow on the roof. She began to become human again and jumped out of the tree. The others all landed in the shadows and Bobby asked, “Is this the place?”

“This is where the tracks lead us,” said Stephanie. She began to walk towards the door. The others got rid of their wings and followed after her. Jessica jogged to the front of the group and said, “Brittney will recognize me, so left me go first OK.” Jessica went up to the front door and began to knock.

No one came, so she looked at the wall and rang the doorbell. “I’m coming!” shouted tired voice coming from inside the house. “Who is it?” asked that same voice.

Jessica said, “It’s me, Jessica. I was a friend of Jonathan’s.” The door was unlocked with a click and the door was swung open. There stood Brittney with her long black hair blowing in the cold wind. “Come in everyone,” she said opening the door and looking at the new faces.

Brittney let them inside and then shut the door. She told them to follow her and they walked over to the family room where the television was still on. They all sat down on the leather sofa quietly. They sat there without saying a word for a few minutes when Brittney said, “What happened?”

“What do you mean?” asked Stephanie sympathetically.

“I mean why did Jonathan die, and why was that demon thing there, and why did it kill him, and how was Jonathan able to fight back. That is what I want to know so why don’t you tell me?” asked Brittney feeling quite emotional.

“Oh man, where do we start?” asked Andrew feeling a little overwhelmed. He pulled out the recliner that was in the chair that he was sitting in and laid back.

“You remember Jonathan wearing a necklace don’t you Brittney?” asked Kemelly. Brittney nodded and Kemelly continued, “Well, look around at us. We all have a similar necklace. Attached to all our necklaces are stones.”

“Wait, but Jonathan’s necklace did not have a small charm underneath the stone, and what held his stone was sharp, not smooth,” stated Brittney a little bit confused.

“That is what we think happened,” said Jessica, “He did not fully use the power of his stone, so he was not able to defeat the demon. It was kind of his own fault though. Melanie told us before she died to trust our stones and to rely on their powers. Now she also told us that she gave us a gift, but Jonathan was knocked out so I guess he didn’t get the gift which is the wings that we each have.”

“That makes no sense though,” said Brittney beginning to cry, “It is not his fault he got knocked out. He deserves to still be alive.”

Stephanie gave Brittney a hug and said, “I know. None of us think he deserved to have died. We did not want to kill anyone, not even David.”

“I wanted to kill David,” said Jessica under her breath. Everyone turned to look at her rather shocked.

“No, she is right. I would kill him too for killing the one guy that I ever really liked,” said Brittney with tears rolling down her cheeks.

Nick turned his head to the television and saw something. “Patty, turn up the volume for a second,” he instructed. Patty got up, grabbed the remote and raised the volume.

Everyone turned and stared at the television. The news was on and what was being shown was a large fire burning down a mall in Hawaii. “Do you see that? Do you see that Brittney?” asked Nick choking up a little bit, “That is what I saw. That is what one of the demons did. She killed not just one person but several hundred innocent people in a mall. Do you know how that makes me feel? It makes me feel awful and it makes me hate David, but I still realize that everyone deserves a second chance, but I only killed David because he showed all of us that he did not deserve a second chance.”

Brittney stared at the television footage and saw the destruction that was left behind in Celina’s wake. Brittney said rather awed, “Oh my God…” Everyone just sat there on the sofa watching the news for several minutes before Bobby broke the silence saying, “I think we have seen enough of this, Brittney, do you have a place for us to talk outside?”

Brittney nodded and led them all out the door. Outside her house, she had some chairs and they all sat down. Andrew suddenly said, “Oh I almost forgot to tell you guys.”

“Tell us what?” asked Bobby.

“Back in Africa while I was fighting the demon, a lioness came in and protected me,” said Andrew.

“And your point is?” asked Patty seemingly uninterested.

“No this is really strange. Lions do not usually protect anyone except for members of their pride, or their young. What exactly did this lioness do?” asked Stephanie.

“Well, me and that demon Jennifer were fighting. Then she pinned me to the ground and was about to kill me when the lioness came and jumped all over her. It then took off a ring that was on one of her fingers. Jennifer tried to push her aside to get back her ring, but the lioness pounced on it. Then the ring dissolved into a bunch of tiny pieces and entered the lioness’ body. I turned and looked at the lioness to thank her and I noticed that her eyes were yellow like Jennifer’s,” stated Andrew.

“Don’t lions normally have yellow eyes?” asked Nick.

“Yea, but Jennifer’s eyes were not just yellow, her eyes had this glow to them. It was almost as if electricity was moving around in her eyes and that is the way the lioness’ eyes looked. It was really strange. I really do not know where the ring went either, it is probably inside the lioness because the particles went into the lioness’ body,” said Andrew.

“Wow that is weird,” said Patty.

“Peculiar, very peculiar,” thought Kemelly aloud.

“Um you guys never answered my questions. I am completely lost with everything you guys have said,” stated Brittney.

Stephanie turned to look at her and said, “I am so sorry. We are all really sorry.” Everyone nodded in agreement with what Stephanie said.

“Well the stones around our necks allow us to control elements in nature,” stated Bobby.

“You mean like earth, wind, water, and fire?” asked Brittney.

“Well my stone allows me to control the wind,” said Bobby. He stood up and walked a little into the backyard. His stone glowed and a strong wind instantly blew over everyone’s bodies.

“I got water,” said Kemelly standing up. She lifted her hands over a glass of water. Her stone glowed and the water from the cup began to rise in a beautiful spiral straight into the air. She then removed her hands slowly and the water went back into the cup.

“And I can control fire,” said Nick. He stood up and pulled out his lighter. He lit the lighter and put his hand over the flame. His stone glowed and the flame grew immensely in size and then separated into two flames. Brittney sat there staring in awe at what she had just seen Bobby, Kemelly, and Nick do.

“Wait, but who has earth then?” asked Brittney.

Bobby looked at her and said, “That was Jonathan’s element.”

Brittney confusingly began looking at the group. She asked, “If there are four elements, then why did eight people have stones?”

“It seems like there are more elements than people originally thought,” said Kemelly, “The others control different elements that play a significant role in the world as well, but were simply not acknowledged by certain cultures as elements.”

“Take me for instance,” said Andrew, “My element is lightning, but it is not seen as an element.” He stood up and walked over to a wall on the side of Brittney’s house. He pointed his finger towards and outlet. His stone glowed and from the outlet came a small group of electric currents visible to the eye.

“As you have probably seen, my stone controls ice,” said Jessica. She stayed sitting. Her stone glowed and the snow on all the trees surrounding Brittney’s backyard suddenly fell off and hit the ground causing a loud thunderous noise.

“OK well those are the less recognized elements, but Patty and Stephanie represent the two most interesting elements. They control the living elements,” explained Kemelly.

Patty stood up and said, “I control plants.” She walked over to the part of Brittney’s backyard that is supposed to be covered with snow and stood there. Patty snapped her fingers causing her stone to glow and a small tree to start growing surrounded by snow.

“Wow, that one is definitely different. I never thought of plants as an element,” stated Brittney.

“Then there is me,” said Stephanie trying to keep the positive energy going, “I personally think that I control THE best element around. I control and can become animals.”

Brittney looked at her with her eyes widening and asked, “You can really become animals?” Stephanie nodded and stood up from her chair and walked over to the center of Brittney’s snow filled backyard. “Just watch,” she instructed. Her stone glowed and immediately her body began to shift.

Long white hair began to cover her body and an extra thick layer of fat appeared. Her body lengthened a bit and she became much bulkier. Her nose and mouth extended forming a snout full of teeth. Stephanie’s hands began to grow immensely and her nails grew quite a bit and became rather sharp. In a few moments, she was nearly done morphing into a polar bear.

~So Brittney, how does it feel to be so close to one of the most feared predators in the world?~ asked Stephanie. Brittney looked around shocked and asked, “Who said that?”

Bobby looked at Brittney and said, “When Stephanie is in an animal, her stone allows her to speak to us using her mind. I think it is called telepathy.” Stephanie morphed back and walked over to the chairs and sat down.

“Does that answer your question?” asked Stephanie.

“Well how did the demon get there?” asked Brittney.

“Let me handle that!” shouted Carla bursting out of Patty’s purse.

“Whoa, is that what I think it is?” asked Brittney in awe.

“Yep, you guessed it,” said Carla enthusiastically, “I am a fairy.”

“Carla, explain to her about the Bermuda Triangle,” ordered Stephanie.

Carla nodded and began telling her story, “In the center of the Bermuda Triangle, there is a temple. Also around the corners of the Bermuda Triangle lie three other temples. Inside these temples are some wickedly dangerous titans. After defeating the titans, then you get a tablet piece for an element. These little kiddos over here brought the tablet pieces over to the center temple and created the Bermuda Triangle Tablet.

“Now if every stone is placed in the right little hole, then balance between all the elements can be achieved making the earth a better place. Now this kid David shows up with his dark stone and puts it in the wrong hole. He put it in the top making it the most important element. Doing this caused the demons of all the other elements, but light, to be unleashed. These eight demons were bent on destroying the world one area at a time. It just so happens that one area was that forest in Colorado that you were in,” explained Carla.

“Wow Carla, you used pretty good English there,” said Andrew being rather surprised. Carla flew up to his face and kicked him in the nose.

“Whatcha gonna do boy? Whatcha gonna do?!?” shouted Carla threateningly. Andrew rolled his eyes and ignored her. Bobby looked at Brittney and asked, “Do you understand what we were saying now?” Brittney stared at him in the eye and nodded.

“The demon killed Jonathan because he stood in her way of destroying the world. It is simple as that. The other demons all tried to kill us, but we were fortunate enough to win the fights. That is why we needed to kill David. We went back to the temple and seeing that the demons failed, he tried to kill us himself,” explained Bobby.

“Yea, yea, I get it now,” said Brittney, “But why him and why you guys?” They all looked at each other and all shrugged in confusion. “Hey maybe Carla, the wise one that knows how to speak proper English knows,” said Andrew.

“Don’t look at me!” shouted Carla.

“I just do not know what to do. What can I do? What can I say?” asked Brittney still feeling confused. Carla basically gave up hope and hovered over to a table a few feet behind the group. She plopped herself on the table and lay down on her back.

Suddenly from the branches of a tree leaped shadowy figure and ran for the table that Carla was sitting at. Bobby saw the figure running and tried to slow it down with a strong breeze. The figure looked at him with dark grey eyes and simply leaped into the air dodging the strong breeze.

It continued running towards the table. Jessica started shooting icicles at the figure, but it dodged them as well. It finally reached the table and grabbed Carla. In the lights, the group could see that it was a not so tall woman wearing a cape with a hood made of fur. Underneath the cape, which was tied at the neck, she was only wearing two rag-like pieces of fur covering her hips and her breasts.

She turned and faced the group trying to fend her off and said in a soft mysterious voice, “I will be taking her.” She immediately leaped up onto the roof and disappeared almost as mysteriously as she appeared.

“NO!” shouted Patty, “She took Carla!”

“What for?” asked Brittney still confused.

“No idea, but we should try to get her back,” said Bobby. The doorbell suddenly rang. “Oh I need to get the doorbell, why don’t you guys come inside,” suggested Brittney.

They followed Brittney inside and sat on the sofa. Brittney walked to the door and asked who it was. Whoever was outside answered, “It is the police, open up.” Brittney looked through the peep hole and saw that it was the police, so she opened the door.

As soon as she opened the door, the police rushed in and pushed her against the wall. “Hey! What are you doing?!?” shouted Brittney.

The police officer turned her around and put handcuffs on her hands. He turned her around and said, “Brittney, you are under arrest for the murder of your boyfriend Jonathan.”

By this time everyone had gotten off the couch and had rushed to the door. “Let her go!” shouted Stephanie, “She is innocent!”

“Get back, or we will arrest you too,” said another officer looking at Stephanie.

“You don’t realize what you are doing, let her go,” demanded Kemelly.

The officer turned and looked at Kemelly in the eye. He said, “Get back all of you. We are arresting your friend here for murder, now if you guys want to come, then we can take you to jail too. She is leaving here and going to jail whether you like it or not.”

They officers began to push Brittney out the door. She looked back at the others crying. “Save me you guys! Help me! Promise to get me out of this!” shouted Brittney.

Stephanie and Patty were now crying. They ran outside after the cops and watched as they put Brittney in the back seat of the car. Brittney was crying insanely now and she began to bang her head on the car window. Bobby looked at her in the eye and shouted, “We will help you get out of this!”