Serenity of the Stars Chapter 1A

ATTENTION: The following story is a working process for fun, if you are reading this I hope you enjoy it. Please feel free to leave any kind of comments, I greatly appreciate and openly welcome them. I will warn any potential readers right now, grammar and spelling mistakes are to be expected. The story is in two perspectives, each chapter is labeled #A and #B. #A is Edan's perspective and #B is Kendra's. I'd also like to apologize for formatting as I'm just copying and pasting this from where I have it stored. Due to size restriction each chapter will be posted individually.


Chapter 1A -> Accidents Happen

             “Behind you!” my voice was barely audible, I’m exhausted. The man in front of me, was about to get hit by a large ball of electricity. The sound of my voice seemed to reach him in time. He ducked and the ball went right over his head.
         “Thanks, now get going! We can’t hold them for long.” Who is this guy? Why don’t I remember him? Looking around, the extensive damage proved this battle had been happening. A quick calculation of the scene showed we had a low chance of making it out alive. The woman next to him was doing her best to shield the damage both of them were taking.
I got up and started running, in any direction really. I looked behind me and watched him get shot in the chest by a large arrow that seemed to be made of electricity. I looked to my right, the woman that had been shielding him was trapped inside a large cage made of water. I turned and ran in the same direction, much faster this time. I can’t possibly leave these people behind, they are saving me.
I looked back one last time. The guy was laying on the ground, the arrow had disappeared leaving only tattered cloths as evidence. My eyes moved to her, the electrical cage she was trapped in was now being bombarded with fire and electricity. I could see both elements reflect off of her shield. I’m sure she can’t keep that shield active much longer, it’s already starting to weaken.
“Get on the ship!” They both seemed to be yelling the same thing. I looked ahead of me, the ship was just a step away. I took that step and grabbed onto the handle. The door opened and I walked through.
“We have no choice. I know you don’t want to fight them, but we can’t avoid it any longer.” Where am I? This isn’t the ship, it looks similar to the field I just came from. Wherever we are, the girl speaking seems very nervous. Is she Kendra? She looks so similar to Kendra. If this is Kendra, what’s wrong with her? She never acts like this, it is very rare for her to take charge.
“Kendras right, we have no choice.” So that is Kendra, that answers one question. Now who are the rest of these people? The guy talking now was the one defending me just a minute ago. How did he heal so quickly? If he’s alright, is the girl alright as well?
“We didn’t want this war, but they’ve left us no choice.” The words came out of my mouth so suddenly, I don’t remember thinking about fighting.
“Right!” The people around me all seemed to be shouting all at once. I looked around the field. Wasn’t this the field I just came from. Those trees all look familiar. What happened to all the destruction from before go? I could hear crashing from behind us.
“Get ready guys!” The man that had defended me yelled. I don’t recognize anyone besides the girl that looks like Kendra. They called her Kendra, but she really doesn’t look like the Kendra I remember. She looks dirty, rugged, almost dangerous. 
“Glad you guys could make it in time.” The guy said. Who is he talking to? Suddenly more people started appearing. A total of nine people were now around me. 
“Waiting for your order Sir” the woman that had been trapped in the electricity spoke with certainty. I guess she’s alright as well. I don’t understand what’s happening.
“Kill on site!” the words came out in a low rumbling. The tone even concerned me. Why did I say that? I don’t want to kill anyone, and I would never order my friends to kill anyone.
“Understood!” they all echoed the same response. Their words seemed to have started the attack. A swarm of enemies came from the trees.
The sounds of screaming from both sides was accompanied by the sound of spells flying through the air. I shot two fireballs at a shadow attacking Kendra, her thanks was a water shield I felt wrap around me.
         I looked in front to see three more shadows running at me. I shot a chain of fire, the ball leaped from one to the other to the last one. I followed that attack with a area spell causing fire to rain from the sky over all three. They fell to the ground, that required almost no effort. How am I doing these things? I don’t remember learning these spells.
         “Look out!” the scream came from the girl from the cage. I spun around to see three coming from behind me.
         “Regroup! Tanks, regain position. Damage behind them, form a circle around us. Remember our training” the voice behind the commands was Kendra’s. The voices location was in my head though. What type of technology is this? Everyone seemed to jump at her command, the guy and girl moved to the front of the rest of us. That left most of the newcomers none of which had I ever got a good look at and me in the middle. We all were forming a semicircle behind the tank. The semicircle left two people, Kendra and another newcomer in the middle.
The battle continued, the man and woman in front were doing a great job taking the damage, meanwhile the people on the outside of the circle were doing great at damage. Kendra and the newcomer were in the middle were doing all they could to heal and dispel the damage we were taking. We are going to win this battle, there’s almost no doubt in my mind.          
         “Enemy reinforcements!” the voice of Kendra in my head was back. Behind us a large group of these shadowy figures were rushing in. Two of the newcomers, one on each side of me took hits from what looked like a water spike. The water shield Kendra had casted on me disappeared. I looked to my left, three more were down from the same spell. All the damage dealers had shields on them, how was I spared? They wiped out almost all of our damage capability in a second.
         “Reposition, heavy casualties in the back!” Kendras voice popped in my head again, the two in front took her advice instantly. The girl blinked behind us, that has to have been a spell. As soon as she reappeared she blocked two incoming spells heading for Kendra and myself. I shot a counter spell at the caster, it was blocked instantly. I’m the last of the people designated as damage dealers.
         Kendra and the newcomer were trying to heal the two tanks, Kendra put a water shield around me again. I looked back to thank her but she was on the ground. The newcomer beside her was laying on the ground as well. What I was seeing with my eyes looked very familiar, this just happened.
My eyes snapped open as I sat up in my bed. My eyes twinged as the light from my window hit them. The alarm clock dinged in my ear. It was all just a dream, it seemed so real though. My feet thumped off the floor before my mind could even register the movement. As a result, I almost fell directly to my face. I should really calm down, my first minute awake almost sent me to the hospital. The fear and excitement of the dream subsided as the realization of the date sunk in. It was only a dream after all, no reason to put a lot of thought into it. My mind switched to realizing what was ahead of me today. I never get this excited, but when I do it always seems I turn into this ball of nerves.
A beautiful blue sky met my eyes as I opened the curtain, it almost seems like the sunshine is brighter today. Maybe it’s just the agenda for today. Today just happened to be my birthday, not just any birthday though, my 20th birthday. Luckily, just in time for the first major council meeting of the year. This meeting will be the first step in deciding the groups for our journeys’. Everyone at my age or older have their ability limits removed. We also have the privilege of leaving this dimension to provide police service for the universe. This meeting is really just a glorified way to check each person's age and hand out papers. Actually, it promises to be incredibly boring. I looked at the clock, eight in the morning. I need to stop daydreaming. 
The council meeting starts at 10am. That should give me plenty of time to go and find Kendra, at his house, and get good seats. I put my clothes on quickly, they seemed to just appear. I walked out of my room and made my way slowly down the hallway. I walked past Kendra’s old room. Everytime I go past this door, memories come rushing back. I thought I was over this. Why does this still bother me? She moved out so quickly after she met him, is that why?. It seemed like she met him and moved out in the span of a week. They had only been dating for about 6 months when he proposed. After she accepted his proposal she decided it would be better if she moved in with him, or maybe he decided it, who knows really. That was two months ago. I tried to tell; well warn her, about him. I tried that multiple times actually. I’ve always had a decent understand of people which allowed me to judge others’ character for the most part. This guy just never seemed right for her. I guess it’s hard to listen to reason when you’re a girl in love. How could I even expect her to listen to me? I knew she was in love with him. I may have taken care of her most of our lives’, but we are only friends.
I continued down the hallway until I reached the outside door. I paused there for a second.  Memories of my life here swarmed through my head. I turned to face my living room. I remember playing with Kendra in that living room when we were young. We usually weren’t too rough but I remember breaking an old coffee table, my parents were still around then. When they found out how we broke it, man were they mad. It has always amazed me how drastically things can change in such a short amount of time. This house was once filled with family, now the loneliness that fills it, almost suffocates me daily. Even with the loneliness I’ve felt since Kendra left, I still don’t like to think about leaving here. It’s not like I am leaving this house forever.  It will always be my home, I will come back someday. The way I’m thinking, it’s like I am leaving here this minute. I still have about a week here before I actually leave to start a new chapter of my life. I turned my back on the old memories and thoughts of my home and walked outside.
It was incredibly quiet outside, most people weren’t awake yet. Today is Saturday after all, who doesn’t like to sleep in. The houses around mine are all similarly small in size. This was never intended to be a luxurious place to live. The size of the houses proved that as well as the run down looking neighborhood surrounding us. This neighborhood would probably be better described as a place for people who could afford nothing better. The broken looking homes around me had never really bothered me before. They always seemed normal, it was the state we lived in. Suddenly, they all annoyed me. They were so worn out, run down. It’s disgraceful really. The rich lived in mansions with nice neighborhoods, good food, and no problems. Those of us who worked just as hard, probably harder actually, lived in places like this.
Maybe my excitement for my impending service brought these new distasteful feelings to light. There is a possibility that these feelings were always existent though. They’re probably just associated with anyone who's lived in poverty their whole life. I wouldn’t describe myself as jealous, I may be a bitter person from the experience, but I’m definitely not jealous. I’ve never been happy about how differences in economic standings were or are handled. Jobs located here are dismal at best. Usually they were food services or janitorial duties, but they were always serving someone with more money. These types of jobs barely paid enough to survive. This was by design, baring something unforeseen, all adults had completed or at least started their service by the time they had a family. Once someone started their service, jobs and rewards became a primary source of income. The local jobs were left for kids like me, needing to pick up some extra money. Kids usually had parents though, they weren’t supporting themselves and another person like I had to. I never minded supporting Kendra after my parents left though, it was my duty to take care of her. Family always takes care of each other, that’s all I had done.
The journey I am about to undertake, depending on how well I do, will erase all of the difficulties of my childhood. Adventurers of this dimension are all treated the same; they all had the same lack of rules, marvelous monetary income, independence, and of course prestige. Some groups are even sponsored by the council, these groups have anything they desire free of charge. I hope I can be good enough one day to be sponsored by the council. I doubt I ever will, their jobs were the most difficult of all. All council sponsored groups had a few things in common: they had faced death more times than they could count, they worked until they had about 30 percent of their lives left, they were incredibly powerful, and they were often characterized as cold. The sponsored groups took on the highest class of jobs. The rewards at this level had nothing to do with money. The actual rewards received were the making of rumors and stories. Most of the stories say they are high class weapons, armor, ships, the stories even depict special magic or spirits.
I really have no desire to be working that long or to put my life on the line that much, but who knows. There were downsides to my excitement already though. The main one so far, I want Kendra to be on my team. Just Kendra, not her fiance, it’s like a package deal though. Where she is, her jerk of a fiancee follows. I really miss the old days. Kendra and I use to do everything together, we never needed other people. The people around me always seem to be affected by change. Meanwhile I just remained stagnant with the same desires and the same thoughts unchanged by the actions of others around me.
I walked past some of the worst of the houses in this area and I really couldn’t help but feel lucky. The house I live in has no leaks and nothing broken; everything works. It’s a good house, and it’s my property. Most people around here can’t say they own their homes. Well, it was more my parents’ house honestly. My parents disappeared on a job one day. The council organized a search, but found nothing. The house became my possession after their disappearance, the only thing worth any money that I had. I wasn’t old enough to live on my own when they disappeared. The council had a few hearings and made a special exception for Kendra and myself. Kendra became my responsibility until she turned 20, and I was awarded a type of emancipation. Without Sam, the council president, Kendra and I would of been sent to different foster homes and probably wouldn’t be as close as we are, or were. 
I continued down the road looking at the houses, they continually got nicer the closer I got to his house. I think I’m walking way too fast, at this rate I’m going to get there early and have to talk to him. I should slow down, I don’t want to have to talk to him more than required. I’m sure Kendra isn’t ready yet anyway; she always was notoriously late for everything. I stopped at a very fancy looking door attached to a house that was much nicer than mine. Honestly, if you compared my house to this one, this would be considered a mansion. The house I was standing in front of really wasn’t that nice though. It was just a less run down, bigger version of my house. In this neighborhood, that still meant he had more money than most.
A knot forming in my throat and a slight anger I felt proved that the jealousy I was trying to hide was much stronger than I expected. I really need to calm myself, a fight is the last thing that I should let happen. I may not have any choice though, things have been a lot different lately. Kendra has been coming around a lot less often. When I do see her, she seems different. I guess the correct description would be broken, or hurt. I don’t know what he did with her normal bubbly character, but if it continues this way I will have to do something. 
“Deep breath, relax,” I mumbled to myself almost inaudibly.  I can’t knock on this door while I am obviously angry, not with the chance of him answering the door. I really should start working on controlling my moods. Then again, it comes natural to me. Both of my parents were fire elementalists, characteristically moody people.
Control. The words were said in a whisper. I looked around but no one was there. I could of swore I just heard something say control. My nerves must be more on edge than I originally thought they were.
I can’t risk asking if someone is around, and if I stand here any longer neighbors are going to get worried. The doorbell button pushed easily enough and the annoying sound of chimes could be heard ringing through the house. 
“Can you get that Steve?” Kendra’s voice fluttered through the house. Her voice always had carried in open areas, surprising for how high pitched and quiet her voice was. 
“No, I’m busy. Get it yourself!” I heard Steve bark back at her. There’s that knot in my throat, and there’s the anger. He is such a jackass. He’s always like this to her. How in the hell did he get her to fall in love with him anyway? Lost in thought, the voice in front of me startled me. I had been looking down and snapped my head in her direction. There she stood, flowing blue hair down to her shoulder blades. Her hunter green eyes stared at me with an unusual look. They’re missing that shimmer I always loved to see. It still shocked me that she was so tiny. The top of her head only reaching to the top of my shoulders brought the realization full circle. I looked down at her, trying to make eye contact. She seemed to be trying to avoid that at all costs though. What was that about?
“Hey Edan! Come on in.” her voice sounded more frail than usual; it’s very concerning. Why is she still avoiding eye contact? I wish she would stop doing that. Ever since things got serious with Steve she has treated me like an acquaintance rather than a friend. It’s very annoying.
“Good morning Kendra,” I said using a loud voice. Then I whispered, “What the hell is his problem? Is he always so moody this early in the morning?” The original greeting was met with happiness, but the response to the whisper removed all signs of happiness from her face. She hated when I said anything bad about him. I always seem to make some kind of comment even knowing this. She seemed happy to see me as always, disregarding the last comment and death stare associated with it. She still seemed different, she had been seeming partially broken before, but this is different from even that. She’s actually broken, what the hell is going on with her? Am I missing something? I followed her to a couch and sat down. She sat next to me; which was unusual in it’s own right, especially with Steve around. That jealous bastard barely lets her talk to me anymore. I looked over towards Kendra, but she was looking the other way again.

“You seem kind of skittish. Is something wrong?” I ask hoping this would snap her view my way. It worked. She was looking right in my eyes now. Those eyes would melt the heart of any man, no matter how strong of a will they claim to possess. They are missing something though. That glow she possess, it’s gone. What did he do to her? The knot in my throat now felt more like a lump, the anger in my stomach is turning into adrenaline. 
“No, I’m just excited,” the almost rehearsed sounding voice didn’t even come close to fooling me. I swear, I will beat his ass if he touched her. I didn’t want to fight with him, I actually would rather avoid it. It’s not my intention to push Kendra away, disregarding that fact it would actually be a pleasure to teach him a few things.
Moving left to right, my eyes search her face. The more they search, the more I start noticing things that are different. Bad differences, angering differences. Her face has a noticeable red tint, but only on the one side. Her shirt seems stretched, almost like it was pulled on. Thinking back, she hadn’t glided to the couch in the normal fluid motion I was so use to seeing her move in.
“Did you fall or something?” I already knew the answer. I just want to know if she is going to continue to lie to me. The last month or so, Kendra stopped coming around my house as much as she use to. Every time she did come over, she always seemed a little off. A few times she had bruises, usually in different places. They were always large, quite dark, and painful looking. Any question about it though would be quickly brushed off with an excuse. A couple of times I even begged her to spend the night at my house and go back the next day, she would always refuse though.
“Yeah, I tripped on the rug and fell into the refrigerator over there,” she pointed behind her in the direction of the refrigerator as she mentioned falling. This was possibly the worse lie I’ve heard her attempt. Maybe she was trying to let me know what was really going on, but what is the possibility of that?
Why did she lie to me? What did he do to her? My hand had a deadlock on the pocket knife inside my pocket. Steve walked through the door, of what I assume to be their bedroom. He would look abnormal without that general cocky attitude on his face. It always seems to be there. As far as body type, we both stand about 5 foot 10 inches tall. We are both built sturdy, neither of us have much fat on our bodies. While slim, we both are over 200 pounds. It would be interesting to fight him. It might be fun actually. I’m pretty confident I could kick his ass, if I really had to. His demeanor portrays a man who is the definition of hot air. Sometimes, oddly enough, I realize that I size people up. I really don’t mean to, but it seems like I’m always ready for a fight. 
“Are you two done flirting?” he sneered in an obviously pissed off voice. I guess I shouldn’t be shocked, this is really no different from his normal attitude. He always addresses Kendra with that pissed off tone in his voice. I think that annoys me the most about his whole attitude. Why is it impossible for him to show her the respect she deserves? Instead he treats her like she annoys him and doesn’t deserve his time. 
“We were just talking babe,” the fearful voice that she answered him with is more upsetting than anything else I have seen thus far. I can feel the anger starting to mount; I need to get myself under control. 
“Do you have a problem? ” I snap, right after Kendra had spoken. Too late to control my anger now; way to go dumbass. Now I’m in trouble. Kendra is already giving me that look. That look that obviously says I should've bit my tongue. I can only hold my tongue so many times though. I can only be so quiet for so long as I watch her fall apart. Steve should be happy I only use my words rather than a fist. 
“Yeah, I don’t trust you and I don’t like you around my girl either!” Those words were worrying. I know he can make her stop talking to me if he really tries. 
“Well that’s just too damn bad isn’t it. We were really good friends before she ever met you. I’m sure as hell not going to sit back and watch you drive a wedge between us you bastard! I don’t know who you think you are!” I really should keep my mouth shut. The look on Kendra’s face is sending chills down my spine. Why is she always on his side? Steve is obviously out of line.
“Watch your mouth. Don’t you start your shit with me you little bastard. I can make it so you never see Kendra again.” Well he is definitely winning this so far. My fingers are still clenching my pocket knife. I could easily change the direction of this argument.
         Let me help you, Edan. The words came as a whisper, but from where? I don’t need help from anyone, this is not a fight. Whatever this spat is, it’s over now.
“Listen, lets just calm down. I’m sorry, okay.” Well that was a sudden change. I apologized just to keep the peace. The threat is what hurt the most. Never see Kendra again? There’s no way I would be able to adapt to that. It’s better in the long run if I just swallow my pride now rather than try to work my way back in later. Kendra seems to be a little happier with this turn of events at least. That chill inspiring look that was once on her face has now been transformed to a smile. Her eyes catch mine, and I feel paralyzed. Those damn eyes really would melt anyone, I swear.
“Can we please go now?” There’s that fearful tone in her voice again. This is really annoying me.
Steve and I agreed to leave. The quiet walk to the council meeting is awkward at best. We walked in the door and it’s obvious we were a little early. The hall where the meeting is to be held has less than 20 people in it. A large group of people appeared behind us though. We made our way to the front of the room and took seats in the front row. There was the council sitting on the stage, all eleven of them sat at a long table looking over the crowd. Mr. Sayer, the President, directly in the middle. He was a rather tall muscular man, definitely not the type of person you’d want to fight. I glanced around the room and note that had become pretty full. My best guess would say there has to be at least 200 people in here currently. Mr. Sayer clapped his hands  together, to quiet the room that had become rather noisy, as he stood.
“Welcome all of you! If there are any of you that are not 20 years old on this day, I kindly ask you to leave.” A few kids start walking towards the door. I thought everyone had heard the story of the magic they cast on this room before meetings. Lying is not possible here, at least not for us.
“Now then, let’s get down to business. We all know why we are gathered here. You all need to know what you are going to be doing for the next portion of your life. Presumably a rather large portion of your life may I add. As I’m sure you’re all aware, at age 20 it is time to start the right of passage. There is no possibility to master your elemental power without first going through this passage and being considered an adult.”
This dimension was governed by the four basic elements. Fire, Water, Earth, and Air. These four sides were not so cut and dry. They each had a light and a dark side. The two sides of each element created a combination of 8 different possibilities with millions of small individual differences for each person to possibly possess. Each person in this dimension was able to learn spells from one certain element type and on one side of that element. The spells that we learned depend on the personality.
While my parents were still around, they had given me a short breakdown of the elements. Fire is reserved for people with a very hot temper, very moody. They made it a point to explain to me that this didn’t mean they were bad people, they just were very emotional. Those who master fire elements are very quick to fight, but do not shy away from rational thoughts either. Fire personalities are not only known for anger, their emotional span is to the extreme at every level. No matter what the cost, fire types always protect those they love. The problem with fire types is that they act without thinking of the consequences. Fire types usually carry the role of damaging opponents in a group and they can also very easily defend themselves with fire. Fire types depend much on the rest of the group because they are unable to take much damage. My parents had explained that more than a couple fire types on one team are the makings of a true disaster. 
Water; however, is almost the opposite. Water elemental type specialization is reserved for those who possess a very cool and calculating mind. The people who are in line with the water type are usually very fluid. While they are calm at mind and easy to get along with, they are also mentally exhausting at times. Those who master the water elemental type usually are able to wear down the minds of their opponents and even friends, much like the ability of water to erode things. The water element, like fire, deal damage well and can also protect themselves. While water possesses the ability to damage and protect themselves, the damaging powers are diminished compared to fire. Water types make up for this with the ability to learn mild forms of healing spells that may be cast on themselves or others. Water types are easy to get along with and a team could be made UP of a majority of water and everyone would get along just fine. Mostly they are best suited for a position in the back calling the shots. 
Air is reserved to those who are very passive. These people usually stay out from the spotlight, but require friends more than people of the other types. I always thought that was a weird mix personally. Once an air personality trusts you, they will be there no matter what. Due to the shy characteristics, air is the least studied of all the four elements. The Air types are very elusive. Much like wind, they dodge most studies, attacks, and even people. This always seems to conflict from the need of people to me. My parents told me that they needed interaction, but this interaction had to be from certain people. Air is the only element with the possibility however, to be exponentially powerful according to the few studies that do exist. Air types usually remain at the back of a group and provide support. Air types possess the ability to damage, stun, and even shield.  They can also add power and damage abilities to friendly groups. Air types get along with anyone mainly because they don’t argue ever. Even if an air personality doesn’t like you, the only sign you’ll ever get is that they are never around. 
Ground elements, on the other hand, are reserved for the people that were mildly passive but stubborn and powerful inside. Ground types take mass amounts of damage without much of it actually causing pain. A fist fight with a ground elementalist is useless, it would be much better to hit them with a 2 x 4. Actually doing so would probably hurt like a punch for them. They possess a special style of magic, this allows them to morph the earth and even take on the traits of the earth. Ground elements are usually very hard to move, damage, or in any way alter. Ground elementalists are a very essential part of any group but usually a group would be advised to only possess one or at the most two. While ground personalities are friendly they are very set in their ways and really don’t like people who try to change them. I’m daydreaming again, wonder how much of his speech I missed.
“As I’m sure you have all heard, you are expected to create a group of eight people. Without eight people your group will not be gifted a ship, pet, or the ability that is necessary to travel dimensions. I mention all three of the options because that is your choice. Without one of these three options though, you will never be able to reach all the required destinations. Actually you will never get to any of them, now that I think about it.” He seemed very quirky to put it lightly. “The groups you all form will travel dimensions, to predefined places. This dimension works as a type of policing force for other dimensions. Distress calls, disaster calls, and any type of call of help is logged by our dispatchers. These are then sent to a central distribution center and your duty is to accept a call for help of your choice and fix the problem.” There is a lot of authority that comes with these missions. We truly are the only dimensional policing force that exists to my knowledge.
“If you look under your seats there should be a packet of papers there. The first page is the squad registration sheet. This will only be filled out and submitted by the captain. The rest of the slots will be signed by the team you choose. Choose the group and Captain very wisely. I’m not sure if anyone mentioned this to you all or not, but I feel like it’s my duty to inform you of the importance of this seemingly ordinary piece of paper. When any of you sign one of these papers, it becomes a binding contract. The Captain slot at top has control over the seven people listed in the spots below their name. This contract will be enforced in every way over your body, mind, and soul. In case you don’t understand what I mean I’ll give you a short example. If you join a group with a Captain you don’t like, you will still be required to listen to him. Disregarding the Captain’s orders will result in physical pain all over your body and emotional consequences. These contracts form a type of unity. That is the power of this simple looking piece of paper. The Captain will turn in his paper with the seven teammates signatures below his and the other papers should be burned as soon as they are deemed unnecessary.”
How much longer can he possibly talk about this stupid piece of paper. I understand it’s important, but I think we all get it. He can move on to something better, if he has anything better to say. Which judging by the meeting so far this is the main and only speech there will be. I should probably still pay attention though.
“Notice at the top of each paper your name should now be etched into the Captain slot. This is why it is extremely important to burn the ones that are not used. My word of advice for all of you is to never take this paper lightly. This is a real contract, the minute you put your name on a line, you are bound to listen to the Captain listed above once the paper is submitted. That’s enough warning about the paper, moving on.” Finally, something better than this rant about the sign up sheet.
“The rest of the packet just describes what you will be expected to do. Everyone has the same task that I mentioned before. Basically, you will explore until you are called to action or choose to answer one of our listings. Every Captain will possess a GPS style handheld device (Could be given a creative name. Just enriches things a little.)  that shows possible options of planets to visit for each dimension and the available missions. However, once you accept one mission, no one else will see it any longer. While in each dimension, groups may stay there as long as they want. Extreme caution is necessary, time travel and dimension travel have the ability to drastically change the dimension and even planet you are visiting. Drastic changes can mean that we are never able to visit that dimension again.  I know I have been speaking a lot, but if any of you have any questions feel free to come and ask me. You will all have one week to find a group of eight. At the end of the week we will all meet back here. The paperwork will be handed in at the door and after processing, which will be very short, each group will be official and the Captain will be able to choose what type of dimension traveling they would like. In closing words I would like to leave you all with this thought, those who make peaceful revolution impossible, will make violent revolution inevitable.”
Finally he is done talking and everyone is clapping. That was so boring, but it’s expected I guess. People are starting to walk out to where they can get some fresh air and talk. Kendra, Steve, and myself stood up together and walked out of the hall. Steve is kind of leading so I might as well follow them to wherever he is heading. He continued down the road that will lead us back to his house. One we arrive, he slowly turned the door knob and allowed Kendra to go in first then looked at me as he stood in the doorway.
“You don’t need to come in. We will talk to you later,” he said seeming very annoyed.
“Okay,” is all I managed to say before the door slammed in my face. I really hate that cocky prick. I might as well walk back to my house. I got no more than ten steps from the door when I heard a weird noise. Is that screaming coming from the house. The screams sound familiar. Kendra? What’s happening? I needed to find out. I knocked on the door, but there was no answer. The door then opened suddenly and I had to jump back as Kendra ran passed me. I could easily see a new red spot forming on her face. Her shirt had been ripped down her back a little bit and even her hair seemed to be mangled. Steve flew past me, chasing her as fast as he could. Steve made it no more than two feet away from me when I shoved him. The shock and force stopped him in his tracks.
“I thought I told you to go home,” he barked at me.
         “What’s going on?” I already knew, but asking seemed to be involuntary.
         “Mind your own fucking business. What did I tell you about sticking your nose in my business?” He said and the smirk he wore on his face actually made me sick. I won’t take this shit anymore. He needs to learn something from this.
“Don’t you ever fucking touch her again! Do you understand me?!” The anger felt like ball in my stomach and I could feel the adrenaline flowing in my veins. I need to leave now, but how can I allow Kendra to stay here with this abusive asshole. All the bullies I took beatings from while trying to defend her when she was little. All the nights I let her cry on my shoulder and the struggle for both of us to simply survive school. There is no way I’m going to allow this bastard to ever touch her like that again.
“Stop it guys. Let’s go inside Steve,” she must have regained her composure a little, but her voice was still very frail and scared sounding. Her voice caused me pain. How can he do this shit to her? She is still defending him no matter what, maybe I should stop. It’s obvious she wants me to let it go. But, I’m not even sure that’s possible, not after what I have seen and the way I feel. 
“Shut up bitch.  I’ll deal with you in a minute. As for you kid, back off. You’re going to get hurt, if you keep this up.” He said as he changed his gaze from Kendra to me.
“I’m sick of your hollow threats. If you really think you can beat me just take a shot. Remember one thing though, I’m not as easy to beat up as a small girl,” I spat realizing that was my last chance to walk away and it blew away with the wind those words were carried on. We were definitely going to fight now. I could see it in Steve’s face. He was obviously pissed. How does she let him talk to her like that and still defend him? It doesn’t really matter, soon he won’t have teeth to talk with.
Steve got a little closer and threw a left hook that I easily dodged while planting a punch of my own straight to his nose. A satisfying cracking noise could be heard upon the joining of my fist and his face. At this point Kendra was on her knees crying, screaming, and pleading with us to not fight. I hear her and I want to listen, but my anger is stronger now. This was a feeling stronger than anything I have ever experienced before. I dodged another hook that he threw; it was a wide miss and I countered with a cross of my own. The cross landed flush on his jaw and sent him staggering backwards. I knew he was all talk.
“I swear I’m going to hurt you. When I’m done with you, you’ll never see Kendra again after I kick your ass,” each word hit my ear like little needles.Tough talk from a guy who can’t even land a punch.
Let me help you. It was that same voice again.
Where is that coming from, there’s no one else around and it’s only a whisper. The voice must be in my head, but it sounds so real. What the hell is going on?
The rage was so strong, it was almost unbearable. I couldn’t think straight and my head was pounding, but I couldn’t stop fighting. I dodged his rush and kicked him in the back which sent him to the ground. Steve landed right on his face while I continued to punch him in the back of the head. I hit the ground pretty hard as Steve rolled over. He’s on his feet already? He really can move quickly. Getting up, the world looked suddenly blurry and I felt a pressure in my head. His kick must of hit my temple. I feel like I’m about to pass out. 
Please let me help you kid. There’s that voice again. I must be hallucinating from that kick.
I fell to my knees and  felt the rage subside a little. My eyes were getting blurry. Help would be nice. That’s weird, I feel very peaceful now. Is the area directly around us darkening or am I hallucinating again? There is an obvious brightness outside of a radius of about 20 yards around us. Why is there a sudden change in the weather around us and what is that loud cracking noise. Is it thunder? The sound must of scared Steve a little as he is sitting across from me. Man he really looks afraid now. There was a stronger sounding crack of thunder and then small lights from the sky. What the hell is this?
“What do you think you’re doing you bastard?” Steve asked with fear in his voice. Steve was looking directly at me. The fear in his face was actually amusing. The times of me sitting idly by, as he obviously causes Kendra pain, are over.
The lights that were falling from the sky were growing. They looked like tiny pebbles at first, then marbles, and now hail. The hail sized fireballs hurt as they landed on my skin and each one seemed to leave a little burn mark. There’s the anger again. The hail mixed with Steve yelling must be bringing it back.
Do you think you can win on your own still Edan?
I keep hearing that whispering voice. I know I can’t win completely. Sure I can win this fight, but in the end Steve is just going to make me quit talking to Kendra, so can I really say that I would win? This anger, I’ve never felt anything like this before. An even louder crack than the last one rang around us. The sky looks so black. What is that? The black clouds had started to spit out something that looks like a huge meteor. This meteor shape was hurtling towards the earth, more specifically directly towards Steve. The massive fireball hit Steve and fire surrounded him. There was smoke that flowed off of him, and it did not look good. He kept screaming as if it wasn’t obvious he was in pain. I almost felt something akin to pity for him as he ran around and rolled on the ground trying to put the flames out. All of his efforts were to no avail. My body felt paralyzed as I watch him burn.
“Steve, no! Someone help him please!” Kendra’s voice was louder to me than anything. She’s pleading for someone to help this dick?
Her voice and the realization that she still wanted to protect him sent my anger level skyrocketing to an all time high. Even the steady release of anger I had felt before is not enough. The fireballs are getting bigger. The much smaller balls were now golf ball-sized. They were still growing bigger and were now baseball-sized balls. I noticed a slight calming feeling as the fireballs get bigger. The huge balls of fire were scorching everything inside the ring including myself. Steve’s screams were slowly stopping. Is he dying? I’m sure I will be soon as well if something doesn’t change. I never had a fear of death and even now dying for this just seems alright. The pain was so strong. I could hear one final scream from Steve for help and that pity feeling is back, but there’s silence. This fire showed no sign of stopping though.
The burning around me captured all my senses. The pain was almost unbearable. A smell of something that is not familiar caught my nose. This must be what burning flesh smells like. The smell of burnt grass mixing with the flesh smell is overpowering. I felt extremely sick. Looking around, my eyes landed upon Kendra. She was crumpled in a ball on the ground. I can’t tell if she is alright or not, all I hear from her is sobbing. What could I possibly do? The pain is so intense I can’t even move. Fear was creeping in, not of my death though. What if Kendra dies? Are Kendra and I going to die here the same way Steve did? The fear I felt was driving the anger out of my mind. I no longer felt quite as angry, but rathered scared. I noticed the fireballs were starting to shrink almost as quickly as they grew. The raining fire had stopped and finally the fire was gone. I guess it really doesn’t matter now though. The damage is done and we are still going to die. Those bits of fire did so much damage I can’t even feel most of my body. All I really feel is a type of numbness. I’m pretty sure I can’t move, even though I don’t even want to try. I decided to just stay on the ground in agony. The only sound I heard was Kendra crying hysterically. The pain of the fire must be the reason or maybe it’s Steve.
As I thought about us dying, right there together, the sky above us darkened again in a seemingly bigger area. No not again, this can’t be happening again. This feeling is different though, somehow I feel calm. I must be close to death. I’ve always heard you feel more peaceful right before you die. Feeling a sudden jolt in my eye, I concluded that rain is falling from the sky. Rain? Really? The firestorm that is killing me is followed by a rainstorm?  I’m sorry that I seemingly pissed the weather off today. I could feel the drops hitting different parts of my body, it had to be rain. Wait how can I feel them? That’s weird where the drops hit, it seems like I get feeling back.
Is this just a figment of my imagination? I can’t be healing already. The pain I felt  is diminishing very quickly now, and its accompanied by a calming. Why do I feel so calm  now? As I sat up from the fetal position I had curled into from the pain, I could see there was steam all around me. I stared at my arms, the burns were starting to disappear and are being replaced with a sizzling sound accompanied by steam. Steam could be seen no where else but around me from what I could see. Kendra looked better as well, but she still looked different, a scary kind of different. Her eyes were closed, tears rolling down her face. She looked very powerful, but weak at the same time. I had never seen her this upset before. Her eyes opened as she started to look around in every direction but mine.Her last option was directly at me and finally her eyes locked into mine.
Our eyes continued to lock on one another for what seemed like forever. The rain was slowing and as it stopped, we looked at each other in disbelief. Thinking of Steve suddenly, I looked over at him and saw that his skin still looked burnt. I think he is dead, but why didn’t he get healed like us? Maybe he was too far gone to be healed or was he to far out to get hit by the rain? I got up with a lot of speed. I seemed to have a lot less strength before that odd rain fell on me. I ran over and checked his pulse, but it was nonexistent. I walked slowly back to Kendra and helped her up.
“Is he... is he dead?” She asked almost not able to make herself say it.
“I, I think he is… I don’t know what happened, I am so sorry.” I had to try to make her see that this was not my fault. Even if I did want to kill him, I didn’t want to do it in front of her.
“You did nothing wrong. You just defended me.” The words came out of her mouth almost as if I should have known.
“You’re not mad?” I can’t believe she is going to accept this that well. I think she is just in shock. Tears were still rolling down her face. What made the rain stop so suddenly? She was incredibly upset, but now she’s not. The rain must have been what calmed her down. Did she produce that rain? These powers are not typical of people our age. They are so powerful. Her response snapped me out of my thoughts.
“No, you did what you thought you had to. Accidents happen and you were trying to help me.” She managed to get the words out between sobs.
She is obviously shook by the recent events and honestly who wouldn’t be? People were starting to rush over to us now. People saw me kill him and I was sure to go to prison now.
         “Come on, I need to get you home.” I tried to help her up, but she took her arm from my hand.
         “Edan? I need you to leave me alone,” she said angrily. Well that was very, very sudden. Did that rainstorm have the same effect on her? The effects must have wore off though. I can feel my anger and confusion coming back now.
         “Kendra, I’m sorry.” The words just came out and I could tell she really didn’t care anymore.
         “Edan, go away!” She yelled. I can’t believe she changed moods so quickly even if the rain was calming her some. The sharp pain in my heart felt like a knife digging through it. Is this how our friendship is going to end? I better go home.
“Thump” well I didn’t really mean to slam my door. The walk home was a blur and it seemed like I might of walked aimlessly for a long time. It’s dark already? I can’t believe I’ve walked that much. I better get to sleep.