For Her

For Her

Forward

They say life is short, so live in the moment. They also say you only live once. Let me tell you something, life is long and miserable. That's just life, and all of my lives have been used up.

Chpt 1

The first time I saw her, I guess it was the first day of 8^th grade. It was love at first site. The problem is that once you're in love, it's hard to get out, and when you give up, it comes back to haunt you because you can never truly give up.

I was thinking about this when my friend Justin examined the look on my face out of the corner of his eye.

"What's wrong", he asked me.

"Nothing", I said quickly. He noticed my abrupt speech.

"Seriously, what's wrong?" "Well. It's all about life and love and all that virtuous junk. What if there's more? What if this isn't really all we have?" I asked.

"Oh, if you only knew that the real question you should be asking is 'what if it is'", said a voice I had never heard.

I searched the room for the source of the strange voice, but stranger things caught my eye. Nothing was moving. Time had stopped. An apple was in midair, and students were frozen in positions impossible to hold. All except one.

I'd noticed her before, and it wasn't until that moment when I realized I had seen her in every class I'd been in. She had pale skin, a white hood covering her face, and a perfect smile tracing her lips. Creepy.

"Seth," she said my name. "Seth, you will come in very handy, very soon." She disappeared as I screamed....

"WAKE UP!!!!!" someone screamed in my ear. I surveyed the table, and realized I was surrounded by my friends in the lunch room. I could see the girl staring at me, and I wondered if it really was a dream.

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School was over, and I was walking to the bus with four of my best friends. Mitch, the Pokon obsessed. Justin, the military expert (in his own head). Sterling thinks he knows things, but knows nothing. Zach, he's just annoying. We were walking to the bus loop, but we decided to take the long way.

All of a sudden, he turned to me and said, "All of us have decided, and we don't want to have anything to do with you. We know what you are, you little freak."

"What?" I said shock apparent on my face.

"We know what you are. We have been sent to destroy you. We have been sent to destroy you."

This chant went on for a while, and I decided that my mom and I had overstayed our welcome in this town, anyway. I turned, and a bright light escaped my body.

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Let me explain. Ever since I was born, I was able to create and alter light. You know, photons. I was born with them in me. As a matter of fact, I blinded my mother. I couldn't control the flash. That's what I call what I do. Flashing.

I already had both my mother and my own bags packed when my mother got home.

"Seth," my mom called. "Seth, I can hear you packing. Where are you going, to Justin's?"

"We, mom, are leaving. They're hunting us again. Turns out Justin wasn't the perfect friend after all." My stomach started to turn. How could I put my mother through all this again, especially when she just got off her toes about it all?

"Mom, I'm sorry, I really am, but I just don't want you hurt. When they figure out I'm gone, they'll come after you. I just want you safe." She started to cry.

"Don't apologize. You are doing fine. This is exactly what you have to do. I'll be fine as long as I'm with you. Promise me you'll stay with me."

"I promise, mom."

And with that, we were off to Arizona, the one place I might be able to blend in, with or without the flash. If I made it all the way, that'd be great. Too bad.

Chpt2

I don't know how long we were on that bus, all I know is when I woke up, nothing was moving. I looked beside me and screamed. The pale, hooded girl was next to me. Creepy.

"Who are you," I asked.

"You will find out soon enough," she said. "Right now, however, we have more pressing matters to discuss. When our conversation is over, you must get off the bus, and get lost."

"So you want me to get lost on purpose?"

"Yes. If you get into a situation, call on me, and I will come," she said.

"Call you by what," I asked.

"Alika." Wow. PRETTY NAME. U'DOY.

"Oh, and be sure to go alone," she said. "Do not worry; your mother will be safe. She will have protection, but be wary. Things do not always go as they seem." Next thing I knew, I was alone.

I used time wisely while it had stopped, and wrote a letter to my mother explaining everything. I stepped of the bus, and time continued. Next stop, Carson City, Nevada, at least for her.

I was glad I left her a note, because I was somewhere I never thought I'd be. Nowhere. 'Wherever I am is green though,' I thought. 'I've got food in my backpack, and drinks in the cooler. This is paradise.' That may have been true, apart from the creatures, that is.

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That night, I realized just how lonely I could possibly be. It was dark, ad not a single star shone in the night sky. I heard noises coming from all over the general area. I flashed. There were three silhouettes, and I knew someone must be keeping tabs on me. "Alika?" I said. I saw one of the figures move towards me, hesitate, and go back to where it stood. I turned on a lamp, stopped my flash, and went back to sleep thinking only of my mom, and a nice, soft bed.

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I woke up the next morning to an overcast sky, and a nasty storm. A faint glow emanated from my body, and I stepped into the rain. Not a single drop penetrated the thin layer of light. "Alika," I cried.

No sooner had the words left the security of my lips than a pale, hooded girl stood next to me in this fold in which time no longer moved.

"A light shield," she said, in a tone I can only describe as awe. "A thick shell that cannot be penetrated. Yours does not have conscious will behind it, so it is not very strong, but it is definitely there." She was awestruck, and that made me feel warm and fuzzy inside. I started to wonder what was under the hood. As if she had read my mind, she began to take it off.

She was beautiful. Black, pixie cut hair, a porcelain face, and shocking, electric eyes. She was the most beautiful thing I had ever seen. It momentarily left me breathless, but she didn't notice.

"Don't leave," I said, as she began to walk away. "I'm too lonely for you to do that. Please. Please stay and help."

"I wish I could, I really do," she said. "But I am under oath. I cannot interfere."

She left, and her face was still etched into my brain. I heard a click and turned around to see a sword hilt on the ground. I walked over to pick it up, and spotted a tag on it. The tag read:

in two days In two days

"What does it mean," I yelled to the sky. No answer. Too bad.

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That night, I fell into a dreamless coma.

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I awoke, and looked at the watch that stretched around my wrist. It was 11:45. I changed the mode to the calendar setting. I couldn't believe my eyes when I read the date. I had been in a restless, dreamless coma for all of the previous day. It was time.

I walked from the security of my tent, and into a bright, clear day without a cloud in the sky. The first perfect day since the start of my perilous enterprise. I hadn't any time to marvel, all though it was my first instinct. I walked briskly to the faintly glowing sword that lay on the ground. Centered were the words "Vorpal Blade", and at once a poem came to mind. 'Of course', I thought. 'Where there's a Vorpal blade, there must be a Jabberwock.'

Chpt3

Leaning against a large, dead tree, I began searching frantically for any sign of the Jabberwock. I looked behind the tree, and saw giant reptilian footprints. I followed them about 20 meters before I realized which direction the prints were facing. I went back to the tree, and the footprints stopped. They didn't go past the tree. That's when I looked up.

The tree was a giant reptilian foot. It came from a creature that I could only assume was the Jabberwock. I began to back away, and think of a strategy.

A few years back, I had an epiphany. I realized what created darkness. I was in a dark room, and I flashed. I realized that darkness and light must destroy each other, so that means that darkness must be made by something I call anti-photons. I was very proud of myself.

Looking at the jabberwocky, I saw it was bathed in darkness. This darkness seemed to derive from the head. That is when I got an idea.

There are times in my life when I wished that authors such as Lewis Carroll, or Charles Ludwig Dodgson, were more descriptive while conceiving the final battle between the protagonist and the antagonist. This is one of those times.

I decided to stray from the story and make my own ending. I began to run towards the tail, which was extremely difficult because the beast did not yet see me, and I wanted it to stay that way. I initiated a charge while running, making myself glow with power, but in the meantime, drawing the massive brute's attention. Every time I would reach the tail, the monster's body would turn in all different directions until I finally jumped, and grabbed hold of the enormous appendage.

I stood as the tail settled, and started for the head. Halfway up the beast, I began glowing at such surprising lumen intensity that my surroundings began to blur. I began to channel my charge into the Vorpal blade. Toward the middle section of the body I began to flash without conscious thought. I could no longer contain the power of the charging flash, so when I got to the neck I gave a might swing while pushing the power into the blade, and... SWISH! Off came the head.

With the head, I fell to the ground. I felt the sword escape my grip, and I drifted off into whatever world darkness meant to take me.

I awoke to a bright sun gleaming into my eyes, and a pale, beautiful woman at my side. At that moment, I realized my shirt was off.

"Hey!" I exclaimed, pulling my shirt up above my head and onto my body as quickly as possible. "Privacy please!" she didn't seem to have noticed that I was in such a frenzy, but I could've sworn I saw a smug look on her face.

"I think you should be able to stay awake for more than a few seconds today," she said with a hint of worry in her voice. As she spoke, a feeling of complete relief began swelling in my chest. "I should warn that when you turn around, there will be two people beside you. Do not be wary, they are friendly. The problem is, we need your help. I fear you will be our only hope in the battle to come."

"Okay. What are you talking about," I asked hesitantly. "I can't help you. I can't even help myself. I am no great hope." I wasn't completely truthful in saying this. I guess I must have been looking for pity, and found it in the eyes of the beautiful woman sitting cross-legged next to my bed.

I looked next to me. I immediately felt calm and relaxed despite the popular looking girl and the giant boy standing at my bedside.

"This is Jessica," she pointed to the small, beautiful girl around my age. "This is Thomas." The guy could've been a building for all I could tell.

"So...why are all these people huddled around my bedside?" I asked in my absolute confusion.

"They're here to help. They are like us," Alika responded to me. "Jessica can morph into animals and plants alike. Thomas can disappear into an alternate dimension."

The way she said his, I don't know. Something made me want to kill that guy. As if he had read my mind, the arm that was around Alika's shoulder withdrew. My suspicions were only momentarily sated, but it bothered me every time he gave her that bedroom eyes look.

After hesitating for what seemed to be hours of awkward silence, Alika said, "The people who are hunting us may be right. You did not know this, Seth, but we made a copy of a document, and found that we were all made as weapons."

"How did you manage this," I asked, genuinely interested.

"I work like a human flash drive. I can absorb things like folders and specially protected documents," she replied.

"But I thought you could hold time at a standstill," I said, confused.

"A few years ago, I stumbled upon a document that shows the scientific discoveries of the new season's experiments. Now I can halt time."

I pondered this espial for a few minutes. It must be nice for somebody to have such power as to get more power. It was difficult for me to grow with my light, but to withstand that force of power is unheard of.

While pondering, I noticed that Thomas and Alika were muttering at each other, and I wondered what species of cat would die with this curiosity swelling inside me.

"Here are assignments for the group," Alika finally said. "Jessica, you and Seth stay here. Thomas and I will run recon. Jessica, if you would please further Seth's training it would be greatly appreciated. Thomas, we must leave."

And with that, they faded into what I could only imagine is a different dimension. As they faded, Thomas put his arm around Alika's waist. They disappeared just as the rock flew from my hand to the now unoccupied space.

Chpt4

"Hi, there," said a voice. I turned, and next to me sat a girl right around my age. She was absolutely stunning with her caramel complexion, her solid black hair, and her shocking emerald eyes. The way the hot girls in my school treated me, I was surprised she even talked to me.

"Let's get started," she said. "Show me what you can do."

"Throw something at me," I suggested. Jessica picked up a rock and threw it at me as I focused all my energy into a shield covering my body. The rock bounced off like a pebble hitting a wall of rubber bands.

"Pretty good," she said. "Now let's see how strong it really IS!".

With this, she turned into a gorilla. Of all things, a gorilla. She took a mighty swing at a tree, and threw the ripped of limb at me. It bounced off, and pinned her against a wall.

"Let's try something else."

****************************************************************************

"Okay Seth, try it again," she said, as if it was that easy.

I focused all my power into my palm and flashed. I felt energy there, and released the power towards a nearby tree. The tree blasted apart, limbs flying into a different dimension.

"You did it," Jessica said as I drifted into unconsciousness.

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I was in deep trouble.

I focused my power into my palm, and let loose towards the hinges of the now locked door. My blast grew and grew, until the door blasted apart. I stood, and walked out the back, followed by Jessica. Jessica began dilate, growing larger and smaller as she changed. However, before she got the chance to change, a giant hand swept her off her feet, and flung her into the air.

As my anger swelled, I looked up, I saw a monster the likes of none other. It had three heads, and its eyes smoldered red against its dark, mahogany hide. Fear crept into my heart as it rose taller and taller, finally spreading out into a giant dragon.

As it spread out, I saw another shadow fly across the ground. Out of nowhere a giant eagle came down and bit the head off of the dragon. I was so startled, that I woke up in a ridiculous sweat. It was but a dream.

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"What's wrong," said a voice, the first voice I had heard since the dream. It was about 3:30 pm, and I was beginning to understand that what I saw was just a dream.

"I'm fine," I replied to the voice I could not quite yet pinpoint. I realized that it was Jessica.

"Are you sure you're alright, I heard you screaming your head off." I wondered how badly I reacted to that dream. "I changed into a lion before coming over here, in case we were attacked."

Just then we heard voices in the yard. I got up and started charging myself for a flash. I walked out the tent to follow the voices. They were distant, but sparked something in my memory. I swore I'd heard that voice before.

As I charged, I focused on my whole body. I was going to try something new.

Chpt5

I turned my body to face the area where I heard the voices, and let my energy fly from my body in a torrent of light. The blast scattered ripped limbs and trunks of trees, and left a trail of dust. I heard two screams; one I recognized, and one I didn't. The one I recognized was Alika.

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I felt like a failure. Not only was Alika hurt, but it was my fault. As if that wasn't enough, Jessica regards me as dangerous. She is no longer mine. I failed worse today than ever before, but Alika still likes me. Go figure.

"Please forgive me Jessica," I found myself pleading on my knees. "It won't happen ever again. You were just about ready to rip her lungs out, too. We both thought she was an intruder."

I pleaded and pleaded, but to no avail. Then she suddenly kissed me, and I was kissing back, and it was heaven. Nothing felt more real than her. Her skin was softer than anything I'd ever felt before, and she smelled of lilacs and honey.

After what felt like several years, we severed in two, and went back to being together. If only we had longer to be together before the next catastrophe. Too bad.

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We heard engines, and saw headlights. We each ran our own way, Jessica and I ran one direction, while Thomas and Alika ran the other. We almost escaped, but the car cut us off, while another came up behind us. Several men came out and cornered us. I froze when I saw what they looked like. They wore suits of black fabric and sunglasses. Their bodies were encased in a tinted shell. My light could not blind them.

They took us to a car, and forced us inside. We had not the luxury of good company, as we were put in separate cars. We were caught.

As the men began to drive, I realized that there was hope for Jessica and me yet. Alika and Thomas were not captured.

Just as that thought came into my mind, I felt a strange feeling. I suddenly realized that time had stopped. I felt a hand on my arm, and saw Alika.

"Hey," she grinned. I grabbed her hand and allowed myself to be led from the car. Jessica was already out. We embraced as our lips met in a void oblivion. Alika and Thomas just stood there as if they were embarrassed.

As soon as everyone felt comfortable, people started coming from the cars. They raised their guns and we knew we were finished. There was no way out. Shots came from all sides, but suddenly I felt a hand grab my arm, and my gut twist as I flew into another dimension.

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I awoke to a wet rag on my head and an immense pain in my leg.

"About time you woke up," said a very distinctive, beautiful voice. Jessica was sitting there on a chair beside the bed I was laying in. I tried to sit up, and immediately felt pain.

"Take your time," said Jessica. "We've been locked in this house with nothing to do but wait for you to wake up. It's been quite boring." She had her hair in a different style, and I didn't know whether to say anything or not. She looked like she'd been crying.

A moment later, I heard a door open, and a loud, deep voice boom, "About time you got up, we're under attack. Come on, everyone."

We headed to the front door of the house. I didn't hear anything. I looked around me, and saw an explosion, yet heard nothing. Suddenly, the explosion echoed across the room. I saw Alika crumble to the floor. The door burst open, and we were suddenly staring at... us. The people who we were attacking were our carbon copies. My copy's hand burst into light, and I figured they were not here to bust us out. I began to glow.

Chpt6

We jumped into action as my copy mirrored my movements. We twisted and turned in a dangerous dance of lumens. We flashed a dangerous two-step. We flung into a blinding salsa. We spun and flashed and flung until we ended in an explosion that shattered the dimensional chains. My copy disappeared into another dimension, leaving behind only an eye.

Suddenly, without warning, the eye glowed and thrashed, until the light around the eye molded into another carbon copy. It looked more formidable, but this time I was ready. I exploded into a hurricane of light, and the carbon copy lay disabled upon the floor. I summoned a blast to my hand, and shot the eye until it exploded into wires and chips.

The other copies were nowhere to be seen. Jessica was crouched in the corner trying to heal Alika. We all huddled to their side.

"She's unconscious," Jessica said, stating the obvious. She looked bruised and battered, and smoke curled as it rose off her body in wisps.

Just then, Alika opened her eyes, her beautiful gray eyes. She opened her eyes, and she saw without seeing. She looked around, but saw nothing. Alika was blind.

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As she walked towards the black door, it seemed to stretch for miles. Who was she? I have no idea. Years seemed to pass as seconds went by, turning to still moments. Time stopped. Or maybe it never started. I don't know.

All I know is that she was beautiful.

She had lithium colored hair with red and purple highlights. It was strange, but suited her perfectly. Her tan skin stood out among her hair and her iodine colored eyes. She was an element; the only element the table couldn't name, because nobody had ever found her.

"Run," she said softly as she stepped outside into the ebony night, and showed herself no more. But I still heard her voice. "Run. It's what you do best."

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"We can't be expected to tug around his dead weight the whole time. He's saved us twice, but now he's just more baggage." I heard the voice as I woke up in the same bed. I had a sneaking suspicion that they were talking about me.

Then I heard Jessica's voice.

"He'll show his true colors soon," she said. "Give it another chance."

"We've given him chance after chance. All he does is pass out. I'm sure the monsters scream in terror at the teenage boy lying on the ground. WOOOOAAAAHHH! AAAAAHHHHHH! I'M SO..."

"Thomas, don't mock him. It's hard. He's come a long way in a short amount of..."

"Don't say the word. Alika is blind. I don't want to hear about time."

By this point in the argument, I had my bags packed, and began walking out the door. That was that. I was gone.

"By guys," I called. No one stopped me.

Walking out the door and across the grass towards the forest, I heard a voice call out for me. It called my name, but did anyone really ever want me around? I think not.

"Wait, Seth," panted Jessica. "Don't leave me. I want to come with you."