 
Infinity: Code of Law

By: S.A. Waters

Smashwords Edition

Copyright 2014 S.A. Waters

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Chapter 1

"Dude, Kyle!" James called to me. "We are going to miss our flight!" I jogged out with my dusty old black baseball cap and backpack.

"Where's Dakota?" I asked him.

"In the car. Waiting for you." James and I hurried over to my mom's car. My four friends and I were going to visit my long lost cousin, Jenise, for the first time. I somehow found her online, and I wanted to meet her. My friends wanted to tag along, so I guess I didn't have a choice but to let them.

James hopped into the car first in the passengers seat next to Kodiak, the driver. Even though we were all sixteen, Kodiak was the only one able to drive.

Kodiak (Kody) Christian Ge has bright blue eyes, dark brown (medium length) hair, and is five foot eight. I have known him since I was in third grade and have considered him nothing less than a brother since. I remember it was my first time at the new school, and Kody had approached me at recess. We immediately hit it off. I don't know what I would do without him. He is adventurous, understanding, very witty, but knows how to make people mad. Though he has an awesome name, we all still call him Kody. He had on a bright blue V-neck shirt that I realized had matched his eyes. His pants were brown and his Converse shoes were a darker blue. Kody also has this silver bracelet he wears and has worn from the day I met him.

As you have already seen, James Schlepi is the "impatient" one. He's always on the move. Makes sense though, as he has ADHD. That's also probably why he is on our high school's varsity football, track, and swim team. I met James in third grade with Kody. It took a bit to warm him up, but when I did, we were good friends. When I was in the sixth grade, two high school kids came up and started picking on me. They shoved me around a little until James came in and knocked one to the floor, and told the other to leave me alone. I can always turn to him for help, and so could the others. James is very tall. Six feet-four inches to be exact, making him the tallest of us all. His short light brown hair and brown eyes could touch the heavens. James was Dutch, and had a really cool accent. Sometimes he talks in Dutch, and it always makes me mad because I never know what he's saying.

"I think we're ready to meet Kyle's smoking hot new cousin," James joked. Did I mention he was a player?

"Kyle," Drew said to me, still laughing at James's comment. "You take longer than Dakota to get ready!"

Drew Ethan Van Unen was the funny one of us all. He had the looks too. Flippy brown (reddish maybe?)hair, green eyes, six foot one, funny, but very smart. That's why the ladies love him! But he chooses to stay single until he gets over Kennedy, his last girlfriend. It was very hard on him; he did nothing but eat and watch television for two weeks. It's been two months, but Drew is still holding on. He is the smartest of us all. He takes all advanced classes, and can probably find the end of Pi in three seconds (Figuratively speaking of course, no one can find the end of Pi). I met Drew in seventh grade. He showed up in my Spanish class in the middle of the year, and he just happened to sit next to James, who was in my class, and they got along very quickly. We introduced ourselves after class, and I realized really fast how funny he was. James and I introduced him to the others in the group at lunch; and they almost instantly approved of the newcomer.

Then there is Dakota Grace Wilson: my girlfriend of three years. Five foot seven, hazel eyes, beautiful long brown hair, and is very quick with her words. I met her in the sixth grade. She sat behind me in first period English and some other classes. I remember how she tapped me on the shoulder asking me if I could pass the papers back. Yeah, that's how we met; romantic I know. I then asked her what her name was and she said Dakota. We had only talked in class until one day she had told me at lunch, crying, that all her friends had left her, and asked if she could sit with my friends and me. That's how the others met her. I had liked her since that day when she sat with us at lunch. Finally in eighth grade I worked up the courage to ask her out, and now we are almost juniors in high school, and still going strong. Dakota is the most important thing in my life. Without her, I am nobody. She had dark blue skinny jeans on accompanied by white collared shirt and black shoes. Flats are they called? I'll never understand fashion.

Last, but certainly not least, there is me. Kyle Eilam Walton. Long and dark brown hair, five foot nine, gray hoodie, jeans, sneakers, baseball cap. Typical sixteen year old kid right? Wrong. From first glance I look normal, but if you really get to know me, you know that my eyes change color daily. You would know that I have this necklace that I refuse to take off. Actually, I have taken it off before, but every time I do, it just comes back on. I never remember putting it on, it just comes back. And finally, you would know about the scar on my neck. Only Kody has seen it. It is in the shape of an infinity sign. Strange. I woke up one day and it was there-no idea of how it got there. Probably a spider bite or something. It seems I'm a lot more oblivious than I think I am.

"You guys ready?" Kody asked. We all responded with a firm yes and Kody started the car.

We were finally on our way to the Santa Monica Airport. Drew and I had called window seats in the back of the car

while Dakota had to sit in the middle. As much as she hated it, she was the only one small enough to fit.

"So where does your cousin live again?" Kody asked me.

"I don't know. It says Avalon, California. Have you guys heard of it?"

"Yeah. I went there for a camp once. It's on Catalina Island." Drew stated.

"Okay, then I guess that's where we are going."

"Well," Dakota added. "I hope you bought the tickets there. Or did you forget?" My eyes widened. I forgot the tickets! Now what was I going to do? So for right now I just nodded at Dakota while I thought of a plan. I whispered over to Drew, "Dude, I forgot to buy the tickets. Any ideas?" He thought for a second before whispering back to me,

"First of all, seriously, Kyle? But anyways, don't worry too much. Avalon is on an island, right?" I nodded.

"And that means it's a small town, a popular vacation spot and people only go there by boat, not plane. So just buy tickets at the airport. No big deal. There is no way that flight is going to be booked as we'll most likely be the only ones on that flight. Didn't you say that your mom gave you her credit card? Or did you forget that too."

"Yeah, I have it right here. Don't jump to conclusions yet, kid." He smiled, seeming somewhat proud of himself. Dakota leaned up against me and closed her eyes. It was only seven in the morning, way too early for any of us. I rubbed her back and she smiled as she dozed off.

"Awwww. How cute!" James and Kody laughed. They can be so annoying sometimes. They high-fived; Drew rolled his eyes. He understood the pain. They would do the same thing to him when he and Kennedy were dating.

"At least I've got an actual girl to love," I shot. "And not just my dog!" That was directed at both of them, but especially James, who absolutely adores his dog, Jewel. He immediately stopped laughing and Kody's laugh came to a mere smirk. That's when Dakota woke up.

"Shut up!" She yelled. "Can't you see I'm am trying to sleep! Idiots!"

"Of course we can see you," Kody said to her while looking at us. "We aren't blind. But we choose to ignore you." All of us but Dakota laughed. She gave me a look and then an elbow to the stomach. Whoops. Then she just said, looking quite annoyed,

"Just shut up and let me get some sleep. I'm tired." But that only made Kody get a huge smirk on his face. He honked the horn as loud as he could, went over at least three speed bumps, and turned up the radio. We all laughed hysterically! Kody was out of his mind! All of us but him saw how my girlfriend got up out of her seat, her eyes turning black and face turning red. Dakota took both her hands and clapped them on Kody's ears. He swerved through the lanes as he lost control of the wheel. I could even hear his ears ringing in pain! However, I was much more concerned about getting into an accident. Once he was back in command of the car, Kody pulled over in fury.

"What the hell is your problem, Dakota!" He shouted at her. "Take a joke dude!" I was about to get involved before it got out of hand, but Dakota looked like this is the reaction she wanted from him, so I backed off. Dakota had her arms crossed, and rolled her eyes at him. At this point, Kody was just swearing and screaming at Dakota furiously.

"Can we just leave now?" She asked the rest of us. No one wanted to mess with her then, even James, so I gestured in the car and we all got back in.

"You want to just let him cool off for a second?" Drew asked me. I nodded. Putting a blood boiled Kody in the same ten feet of the person who caused his outburst is like putting a drunk man behind the wheel with ten children. So after five minutes, Kody finally agreed to get back in the car as long as the "beast" didn't say another word. Then he looked at me and growled, "Control your dog, Kyle," as if it was my fault he pissed off Dakota. Without another word from him or Dakota, the five of us rode off to the airport. I just hoped there was still time to get ourselves tickets.

Kody and Dakota didn't say a single word the rest of the way there. Drew, James, and I still kept a conversation going to destroy the silence. We all hate silence. Especially James, who tries to prevent it as much as he can, even if it means talking about absolutely nothing.

At the airport, we got our luggage and headed inside to the check-in. Then I went in the opposite direction to purchase the tickets.

"Dude," James said, looking at me funny. "Where are you going, Kyle? Our check-in is over here!"

"Umm, just over here." I replied. And Drew gave me a _Tell the truth or I'll kill you_ look, so I sighed and continued. "To um, get our tickets."

"Wait, what did you say?"

"I forgot to buy the tickets? Surprise!" I scratched the back of my neck and kind of cocked my head to the side, the way I do when I'm nervous. James looked about ready to punch my face in, Kody looked like he found out he was going to die or something and Dakota looked so annoyed. Drew smiled at me and nodded. I could feel what each of them was thinking. " _When I get to you..."_ from James. " _Could this day get any worse?"_ From Kody. " _Boys. I came here with him why?"_ from Dakota. And from Drew, " _Sucker."_ The thoughts were so strong it was as if I could actually hear them. Odd. The stress was getting to me.

"I'm sorry!" My voice cracked. "I'm getting the tickets now, and you guys will wait here while I do so. I _will_ meet my cousin! You guys are not going home until I do. You guys decided to join me, so you guys are _not_ going home until I do. Is that clear?" With that, I turned and bought the tickets with my mom's Visa. There were plenty of seats left, as Drew predicted. Damn that brain of his; always right. Our plane left at 9:15 am. It was 8:47 am. We sill had a little while. I gave the others their tickets. They still didn't look too happy with me; except for Drew, who asked me in a gloating manner, "So how many seats were there?"

"Figure it out yourself, Einstein," I replied to him bitterly. Note to self: never be in a situation in which the smartest (yet cockiest) kid on the planet is your savior. The five of us headed over to security with our carry-on luggage and soon were on the plane safely by 9:07 am. The seats sat three to a row. I sat in the middle with Kody on the window and Dakota on the aisle. Drew and James sat behind us. There were only seven other people with us in the rather small plane.

The plane took off at around 9:20 am, and we were finally on our way. In about a half an hour I would meet my long lost cousin, Jenise, for the first time. Hopefully, James won't screw it up and try and hit on her. Things seemed fine, and Kody and Dakota were talking again. Then all of a sudden we were all jolted out of our seats when two men stood up and shouted, "If I hear one word from any of you, this whole plane blows up!"

Chapter 2

Everybody was immediately silent. No one spoke a single word. No one moved. No one dared. A man in a black hoodie and jeans stood up with a gun. He looked around. A lady in the back looked at her friend and was immediately shot. If we screamed, the plane would go down. I could hear Kody say, "Not him again," That idiot! He was going to get us all killed. Wait, again? He knew him? Then my thoughts were interrupted when I heard a strange female voice inside my head. _Don't pick your head up. You are in great danger, Kyle._ I must be going crazy. The whole experience was getting to my head. I looked at the others with the corner of my eye. They had their heads low and didn't lift them up. What was going on? I heard a different voice speak to me this time, lower and deeper. A male. _He knows you'r here. Don't respond to him. Listen._ The man with the gun turned to his friend and said,

"Look around, Austin." Austin, the other man, had a brown hoodie with black jeans. Then my instincts told me to look at the man with the gun; big mistake. The man turned away, but Austin saw me, and looked me straight in the eyes.

"Timothy," Austin said tapping the man with the gun, Timothy, on the shoulder. "I got him." They nodded towards each other and Timothy exited the room towards the pilots chamber. My neck burned so badly! My scar had never been painful before! I held tough, even though I needed to scream. This was the worst time and place for this to happen. Austin ran towards me. "Stop!" Dakota screamed.

"Shut up!" and he pulled out _his_ gun and shot her! I ran towards her. She was dead! I looked at the others for support. They just stood there with there heads still low. What was wrong with them?

"You!" Austin yelled at me. "Don't move! You see what happens? Your friend there was faithful. Being faithful will get you killed. Come with me."

"What?" I replied, lips quivering. He had just killed Dakota, but I was more scared than courageous. I was pissed, but my fear outweighed my anger. I wanted to kill him. I wanted to leap forward and choke him, and then shoot him.

But I was frozen. Paralyzed. I couldn't even close my mouth. My neck still burned like hell.

Before long (though it felt like eternity), I found the courage to stand and look at the terrorists. When Austin realized my fear level was decreasing, he held up his gun and shot me, the bullet hit me in the leg. I screamed, but was still standing. "Guys!" I hollered. "Help! Please!" A tear streamed down my face. With the strength I had left, I clutched my leg and hurled myself forward. I was weak, but I could still fight. I threw a punch at Austin. He grabbed my arm and twisted it. He laughed and said, "Hey Timothy! Get a load of this kid!" Timothy came out of the cockpit and replied, "Austin, this is no time for games! Bring him in. We need him alive." The man took his elbow and jabbed it into my head. I was hardly conscious as the plane began to dramatically shake. It wasn't turbulence, I knew it. We were going down; the plane was going to crash.

I was dragged to the cockpit and noticed two pilots lying on the ground in a pool of blood. They were both dead. I screamed of terror and pity for the two corpses lying in my presence. The pain in my leg stopped hurting, but the fire in my eyes grew. I then felt the plane go upside down and sharply turn. At this point though, I was too weak to do anything. I couldn't struggle my way out of Austin's grip, but only endure it. As I heard the voices of the terrorists laugh at me, I became deadweight, and my vision went from blurry to black.

***

Kody had to help him. Kyle had always been there for him, but Kody knew that it was too risky for the others, but especially for him. That scream he heard Kyle make. That plea for help. Kody couldn't bear it. _It is for his own good, Kodiak. I promise._ Eon had sworn. Kyle must have thought he was some jerk who left him to die.

_How is this going to help him, Eon?_ He thought.

_He must get through his first life and discover who he truly is. Just as you and the others did,_ Eon replied to him in a firm but steady tone.

What will happen to him? Will he be all right? Will I be all right?

Your friend, Kyle, will be fine eventually. You and the others willing to through to your next life, spending some time with us to get you prepared. You must accept this, Kodiak.

Eventually? What the hell is that supposed to mean? And what about his mark!

_It is for his own good, Kodiak. I promise._ Eon repeated. And then Kody's guardian went silent. He had no idea what was going to happen to his best friend. He had no problem passing through to the next life. He had done it before. But what about Kyle? He was going to continue life. But how? Kody had to find answers and find his best friend before the next life. Or they may never see each other again.

***

When I woke up I found myself in a stretcher being carried off. So one thing's for sure, I'm not dead. What had just happened and why was I in so much pain? Oh right. I remember now. Two terrorists had just ruined my vacation, shot my girlfriend dead, I was shot and knocked out, and the others (Not even Kody!) came to help me or Dakota. That's all I remember. Speaking of the others, where were they? The pilots probably landed the plane and the terrorists, Austin and Timothy, were in jail. I hope Jenise thinks I'm okay. I have to get a hold of her. But first I have to find out where I am. "Excuse me?" I asked a paramedic. "Where am I?" The paramedic ignored me and just put me on the ambulance. How rude. Then the same guy came towards me with a shot and without my permission jabbed it into my body! It hurt, but I was okay. I was about to tell him what an idiot he was for doing that but then I dozed off into a deep sleep.

***

Drew woke up with his owl on his arm. "Hello," He said cheerfully to his protector. "Hello, Drew." The bird replied back.

"I can assume this is the end of my third life?"

"Yes. You died in the plane crash."

"Where are the others?"

"Do not worry about them. They are all fine, and your friend Kyle will be very soon. How is your mark?"

"My mark is fine. Wait, what do you mean Kyle eventually will be?"

"He will be fine."

"Will I see them again?"

"I can't guarantee it. That is not my say. Fate will decide."

"Really? I need to know that I will see him and the others again." Drew was starting to feel irritated and annoyed. He had to know!

"How long will I be here?"

"Three months. At the most. Then we will send you off again."

"Can I speak to Jasper and Bentley?"

"Of course. I will go get them. In the mean time, rest. We have many things to discuss with you. One of which includes your friends, especially Kyle."

***

Once again I awoke. Why do people like to put me to sleep in one form or another? This time I wasn't in a stretcher, I was in a hospital with guards around me. A guard came over and undid something around my hands.

"Get up, boy!" A stern voice said, almost yelling. I immediately rose. With that tone of voice, trouble was the last thing I wanted. Since I could barely see, I ended up hitting the shelf above me. I looked up and rubbed my head. "Are you Kyle Walton?" The voice boomed again. I looked over to see a bald man in uniform. I nodded nervously. "I am General Horan of the FBI. You are under arrest for terrorism and treason against the United States of America. You must now come with me."

Chapter 3

"Are you okay James?" Jewel asked him sweetly.

"I'm fine Jewel. Thanks." James replied back to his conscience.

"You have completed your sixth life."

"How did I die?"

"Plane crash. Two Pacts were there. Austin DeLuca and Timothy Swanson."

"I remember Dakota being shot as she was sticking up for Kyle. Is she okay? And how about Drew? Or Kody and Kyle? Will I see them in my next life?"

"They are fine. Kyle is still alive, but is struggling. His guardians will provide. And as for your relationship with them, that is uncertain. Only Fate can give you that answer."

"Why can't I know?"

"Just give this all a minute to settle down. I will go get your other guardians. They have matters to discuss. They especially want to talk to you about Kyle. He is in great danger."

"How so? Jewel, please tell me! I have to know!"

"We will discuss it with you later. In the mean time, go rest."

***

Terrorism and treason? They must have the wrong guy! I didn't do anything wrong on that plane! "Excuse me, sir?" I asked him politely but slightly irritated.

"You have the right to remain silent," He replied sternly. "Anything you say can and will be used against you in court." I didn't like this guy. He needs to work on his first impressions. "Fine." I snapped. "I love chocolate." He glared at me and growled I think. His stare was intimidating. I knew it was either shut up, or tighten my handcuffs-a lot. This was not the time to be a smart-ass. We approached a big black SUV-looking car. He opened the door for me. I looked at him. General Horan was impatient, and with one hand picked me up and threw me in the car. I could tell he was thinking, " _Stupid kid. I have better things to do than this. The Chargers' game is on!"_ Weird. His thoughts were so clear from his facial expression. General Horan picked me up and put me upright in the seat. "Ouch." I snarled. I am not a frickin' terrorist! Geez! "Go, Ramer." He said to the driver. The driver, Ramer, started the car.

We arrived about fifteen minutes later at the FBI headquarters. Horan grabbed me again and pulled me out of the car. "Ramer!" he barked. "Take Mr. Walton inside. Show him around." Ramer took me from the hands of Horan, and his grip was much looser.

"Where does he go?" Ramer asked his boss.

"Hmmm. Number seven. Third floor." Horan grinned. I gulped.

"Yes, sir." Ramer, who had black hair and brown eyes (As I observed), walked with me inside. He was pretty gentle. _Escape._ A voice told me. But it wasn't my own. I couldn't escape, I would get in more trouble. And this Ramer dude didn't seem too bad. My life didn't matter anyway. My friends are dead, I've been accused of treason and terrorism. I might as well spend my life in federal prison. I've got nothing left. So I just walked with Ramer.

The halls of the FBI facility were white and filled with rooms and busy people. Ramer still had me handcuffed and brought me to an elevator. He pressed the button of the third floor and up we went. It was just us two in the elevator, so it was awkward and very silent. Too silent for my taste. But soon we were led back to the noisy halls. Ramer brought me to a room labeled Number 7. He opened the door and let me in.

"Here's your room, kid." He said. "Your interrogation is tomorrow morning at 10:00 am sharp. I will get you then, so be ready." Then Ramer promptly left the room. The floors were concrete, the one bunk bed was pure metal with a lousy mattress, the toilet was so revolting I couldn't even look at it. It was cold, it was gross, it was a cell. A cell. This is what my life had come to. I hopped up to the top bunk and hit my head. At least it was next to the window. " _I deserve this,"_ I thought. I took out a picture from my jacket pocket. It was the five of us about a month ago at James's birthday party. James on his couch with Drew next to him. Behind them was me with my arm around Dakota, and Kody next to me. Those were the good days. When they were alive. I stared at the picture, my eyes filling up with tears. Then I couldn't hold it in anymore. I sobbed with my head in my hands. My sadness and self pity turned into anger. I put the picture down and punched the wall until my knuckles bled. I screamed. _Okay Kyle. Just sleep it off._ I told myself. I climbed up in that stupid little bed. It wasn't long until I dozed off.

My dream was just as fantastic as last night (He said sarcastically). I saw myself with General Horan. I was gagged, blind folded, and tied up. Horan was dragging me by my hair. I heard him open a door as he said, "Boss. I got him." Then a familiar voice responded, laughing.

"Well done, Horan. Let's get him." Another familiar voice stopped him.

"Not yet, Timothy. The big guy wants to do it. First, we need to find his friends," Timothy. The ones at the plane wreck. Then that meant the other was Austin. Now I was pissed. I was going to get them. Especially Austin, for shooting Dakota. But as much as I tried to escape the hold I was in, the more Austin laughed in amusement.

"Horan," He said laughing. "Give the kid some eyes. You know what? Give him a voice too." I could feel Horan's big hands untie my blindfold and he released my gag. Then I could see Austin and Timothy. Face to face. Austin looked me in the eye and pulled out a knife.

"Okay kid," Austin spoke. "Where are they?" Then the knife came down on my skin.

I woke up screaming, clenching my arm. Then I remembered what Ramer had said to me, _Your interrogation is tomorrow morning at 10:00 am sharp._ My cell didn't have a clock, but I knew judging from the sun it was probably close to ten o'clock. I didn't have much to do since I was locked up. So I quickly went to the bathroom; gross. Then I sat waiting on the bottom bunk until Ramer got me. "It's time for your interrogation, kid," he said. I hated being called "kid" all the time-I have a name! Well, unless I prove my innocence, I'll have a number too. He handcuffed me and led me down the busy corridors of the facility. Then he brought me into a room with a table, two chairs, and a plate of donuts and water. Just like the movies. Ramer sat me down and took the handcuffs off me.

"Your interrogator, Detective Joy Krieger, will be with you in a second." He said calmly as if he dealt with terrorists everyday. "Don't think you can leave though. Not only are the doors locked, but we have eyes on you every second." He gestured up to a security camera in the corner of the room. Without another word, Ramer left the interrogation room. I sighed and thought about the questions they would ask me and how I would respond. All the thinking and stress made me hungry. Then I remembered the donuts on the table, and I took one. Okay I'll admit it, I had three. But hey, I eat when I'm nervous. When I reached for my fourth one, I was startled when the door open. In stepped a woman in her late twenties or early thirties. She had on a formal gray pants suit. She had red hair, light skin, and glasses. The woman threw down a file of papers, sat down, and looked at me. I drummed on my lap a little bit while she got her papers sorted out. "Ahem," she coughed. I stopped and looked up. "Kyle Eilam Walton. Sixteen years old, five foot nine, green eyes."

"Well, actually-"

"Don't interrupt me. Do you want to get this done? All right then. Mr. Walton, what is your occupation?"

"Umm, well I'm only sixteen but I work at Star's Station Burger Joint."

"Not much of a job I see. So you attend Redwood High School?"

"Yes, ma'am. Excuse me, what is your name?"

"That's not important, but if you must know, my name is Detecive Joy Kreiger. However, you, Mr. Walton, will refer to me as Detective Kreiger or ma'am - is that clear?"

"Yes ma'am." _Can I please leave now?_ I thought. This woman was terrible!

"Anyway, so is terrorism just a thing kids do these days?"

"No! I'm not a terrorist! I swear!"

"Mr. Walton settle down. Does this man look familiar to you?" She held up a picture of the co pilot of the plane the day of the crash.

"Ummm, kind of. He was the co pilot right?"

"Correct, Mr. Walton. His name was Joey Garcia. Your co pilot. How about the other pilot? Savit Kern. And do these two men seem familiar? Timothy Swanson and Austin DeLuca. They were missing the day of the crash." Detective Kreiger showed me the pictures of Austin and his mate Timothy.

"Yes!" I stood up out of my chair. "Those are the two men you want! They are the terrorists! Not me! Please listen! I'm not the one you want!"

"MR. WALTON!" Detective Kreiger screamed. "Please! Sit Down! You have no reason to be shouting!" I quickly sat down. Screaming at the official apparently was not the proper way to get your point across. "Now," she stated again more calmly but still tense. "We will continue this tomorrow. Same time. That should give you some time to settle down." Then she spoke into her walkie talkie. "General Horan, please escort Mr. Walton back to his holding cell." Within two minutes General Horan was in the room grabbing me and handcuffing me. There was no getting out of it. Horan's tight grip almost cut off my blood circulation. Luckily, I was brought back to the cell in less than a minute. Horan slammed the door and I was by myself. Again.

That night I looked out my window only to find a bald eagle sitting on a balcony with a lantern. How odd. I'm pretty sure that bald eagles don't live in this area. I stared at it intrigued by its presence, and it seemed to do the same. _I'm here for you, Kyle. We are going to get you out of here. All I need is your cooperation._ That stupid voice was talking to me again! Was this eagle talking to me? I'm going crazy. Then the eagle nodded, and picked up the lantern with it's talons. It dropped it in the alley below. The lantern shattered and the place was set on fire! I looked at the eagle and screamed, "What the hell!" Although it couldn't understand me. Then that voice spoke to me again. _Jump Kyle. You don't have a choice. You'll be fine I promise._ Jump! I don't know who the hell was talking to me but it sure was freakin' crazy! To think I was going to jump out of that building! I think not. The cell began to feel colder despite all the heat-or maybe that was my body temperature from the nerves. I was shaking ferociously, and I could hear the sound of footsteps rushing up-but the sound was faint compared to the roar of the flames.

Before I had the chance to deny the voice and say I'd rather rot in a cell than burn to death, that stupid bird opened the jail window and dug it's talons into my skin. The eagle picked me up and dropped me into the inferno below me. And I don't remember what happened when I reached the bottom.

Chapter 4

"Hello, Kyle." I heard a female voice say. "We've been waiting for this moment for a long time." Who was talking? I opened my eyes and saw a white tiger right above me! I jerked up and tried to run, but she stopped me. "I'm sorry if this appears as a shock to you. Yes, I am a Siberian tiger, and no, you are not dead. And I am also one of the voices inside your head. My name is Star, one of your three guardians."

"What the hell is going on? What do you mean guardians? Where am I?"

"We will explain that to you in a second."

"Who is we?"

Star ignored me and called out a few names. "Eli! Dylan! Hurry up! He's awake!" Two beings came forward - a husky puppy and a bald eagle.

"Kyle," Star said. "These are your other guardians. Eli, that eagle, and Dylan, that husky." I turned to Eli, and then I became infuriated.

"Wait, you're the one who dropped me into that fire! And gave me scratches on my back!"

"Man up, kid." Eli replied. "I had to get you here somehow."

"Where is here?"

"Welcome to Mystic," Star told me calmly. "In the land of Lybria. You are here because you are the Light and are going to help save a species. We are your guardians, your protectors. Every one of the Lybrian species has them."

"I'm so confused." What was all this light business about? What's a Mystian and a Lybrian?

"Okay. Let's start back from the beginning. Long ago there were two brothers. Eilam and Argo. They had special powers. Eilam could summon anything he needed from any distance, and Argo could track down anything or anyone from any distance. But these brothers did not live on Earth, they lived in a place called Mystic. It was a peaceful place. The brothers loved each other and their families. They also had a mark. Eilam had an infinity sign, the sign of eternity. And Argo had the sign of war. Both of their marks were on the side of their neck. Eilam lead a great life and had many children. He became the first and strongest leader of Mystic with the help of his three animal guardians. As Eilam grew stronger, Argo grew jealous since he was only a servant of his brother. So one day, Argo got up, took his wife and children, and left. Eilam continued to be a valiant leader though he grieved for his brother.

"A few years later, Argo came back to Mystic with many soldiers. Those soldiers were his children. Argo had trained them to trap Eilam so he could have the honor of killing his successful brother. However, Eilam had no army since Mystic was such a peaceful place.

"When Eilam became aware of his brother's rampage, he became frightened. Eilam, with no army at his side, used his powers to summon a huge sword! It was more powerful than any other. With that and the help of his guardians he killed his brother to protect Mystic. With no direction, all of Argo's soldiers retreated back to the city, Pact, where they came from. Without a leader, Argo's first born son became the next in command. He called his people Pacts, after their city. He vowed to avenge his father and kill the next Mystian with an infinity sign. So from then on, there were two sides. The Mystians, and the Pacts."

"Bull. This is all bull. And you wanna know why? Because animals DON'T talk, and I just burned up in a fire! I am dead!"

"I can assure you, this is real. Kyle, please just listen."

"Fine, convince me. I am still confused as to what I have to do with this."

"So you are what is called a Lybrian. That's the world we live in, and our species. Mystic and Pact, are like uh, continents. Each Lybrian, good or bad, has three guardians. A bird, a big cat, and a dog. Lybrians also have powers like Eilam and Argo did. They only had one power, but we have evolved from one power to two. Your powers, Kyle, are reading minds and durability. You can block anything that comes to you with only a small scratch."

"Is that why everyone's thoughts seem so clear to me? And why I survived that bullet Austin shot at me?"

"Precisely. Now you're getting it. I must mention to you one thing. Lybrians have as many lives as they want. If they die, they come back to their native home of Mystic or Pact and their guardians get them ready for the next life. They take form in the next life from wherever they left off. However, if you die, and your mark gets hit, you get one more life as a mortal. And then you become a guardian like us for eternity."

"Got it. Wait, earlier you mentioned Eilam had the mark of infinity. The Pacts want to find the next person with the infinity sign and kill them. I have the infinity sign."

"Yes. That is why your middle name is Eilam. You, Kyle, are his descendant, and Eilam means forever, just like your mark. You have been sent down here for one purpose: to reunite the Pacts and Mystians together again and restore the peace of all the Lybrians. Kyle you are The Light. Unfortunately, the Pacts want to avenge Argo. So therefore they must kill you in order to do so."

"I can't do this! Bring peace to people who are trying to kill me! That's definitely going to work!" I said sarcastically.

"I'm afraid you don't have a choice."

"No!" I was not going to risk my life for peace! It's not my job! If these people really wanted peace they should fight for themselves. I stormed away from Star; this is ridiculous! But of course stupid Eli wouldn't allow me. He came over, and slashed my face. "What's your problem, dude!" I shouted.

"You must stay! You don't have an option, Kyle." Eli scolded.

"Yes, I do!"

"Boys!" Star interrupted. "Kyle, follow me to your room. We will discuss matters there." I huffed, but sulked and followed Star.

Star led me to this huge mansion not too far away. I was stunned! "Is this our house?" I asked, now excited. Star nodded.

The mansion was brown, and made of woodish, bamboo material. It had a lot of open air roofs and many balconies. The walls were made of glass and the walkway was made of pure marble. The roof and ledges consisted of metal. There were plants everywhere; it was amazing.

Star stopped me at the door and began to utter pure gibberish. What looked like a black cup holder thing came out of the wall. Except with only half the cup holder and without the bottom part. Star stood up on her back legs and pressed her neck against the holder thing. It scanned her neck and the door opened. "That was awesome!" I exclaimed. "It's like we are spies or something! What was that?"

"That, Kyle," Star explained. "was a scanner. It scans your mark to prevent Pacts and other intruders in the home."

"Wait, you still have you mark?"

"Yes. Your mark is your mark. It stays with you forever. I have the mark of courage. See?" I looked at Star's fur and engraved in her stripes was an ax in the hands of a mouse.

"That's cool. What made you worthy of that mark? And what is it?"

"Kyle, you aren't worthy for a mark. It's just given to you. The mark gives you an idea of your life. A goal maybe. All I know is that when you die, you finally understand what it means and why you received it."

"What did yours mean?"

"Only the mark's owner can know and fully understand."

"Can I ask you one more thing? I think you might be able to give me an answer."

"Of course."

"I have this necklace. This one right here. And it doesn't come off. Why?"

"It's our tracking device, so your guardians will always know where you are."

"That makes sense now. When I was little I thought I could move things with my mind. And then as I got older it started to really creep me out."

"That's normal. Now Kyle, We need to get you registered so you can get into the house. Star chanted another phrase of gibberish. As soon as Star spoke, another scanner popped out of the wall.

"Press your neck against the scanner so it can read your mark." I did as I was told. The scanner made a weird noise and kind of shocked me. I flinched a little bit.

"Don't move, Kyle," Star said. "It won't be able to read you." I took a deep breath and let it scan me. The scanner kept shocking me, but none the less I kept still. Before I knew it the scanner went back into the wall and the door reopened. I turned to Star. "Did it work?" She nodded and gestured to come inside.

When I walked in my jaw dropped. It was the biggest living room I've ever seen. The walls were made of black marble and glass, and the floors were hardwood. In the center there was a black marble table on top of a rug. Behind the table was a white couch, and to the left was a red chair. The T.V. was huge! It was attached to a cool stone material which lead down to the fireplace. "You like it?" Star asked with a grin. "I love it!" I exclaimed.

Star laughed. "Well, don't get too comfortable, we've still got the rest of the house." Star led me to the kitchen, which was just as amazing. Like the living room, it had hardwood floors and marble and glass walls, except the marble was white instead of black. The counter tops were stainless steel, with the black marble bottoms for support. You could look outside through the glass and see trees and grass and swimming pool! "Can we go see the backyard now?" I asked Star. She laughed and said, "Of course, it's your house after all."

Star led me down the hall and opened a wooden door. The backyard was beautiful! There was a garden and a huge swimming pool surrounded by a fake (but beautifully magnificent) tropical oasis! There was a waterfall and a water slide! Plants and trees surrounded the area.

"Star this is so cool!" I yelped, hardly being able to choke out the words. "I feel like I want to scream as if I were a girl who just got tickets to see Taylor Swift or something! I don't even know what to say."

"Well okayyy," Star said, a little creeped out. "I don't know who that is." She took me behind the pool revealing a lot of trees and a small dog park.

"That's for us." Star explained. "You can almost always find Eli in a tree or Dylan and me at the park. Here's the patio. Across from it you'll see a basketball court. Now, on the patio table there is a remote you can use to transform the court into any sports area you wish. Soccer, hockey, football, baseball, we've got it. Come along now. Let me show you to your bedroom." I reluctantly walked with her, still staring at this magical place they call a backyard.

I followed Star back in the house and up spiral stairs. She led me down a hallway. There were four doors, two on each side of the wall. "The doors on the right are Eli's and I's bedrooms. The first door on the left is Dylan's room. I can't show you their room, but if you wish I can show you mine." I nodded and Star showed me her room. On her door was a sign made of leather. It was engraved - REBEKAH STAR WHITE.

"Is that your name?" I asked Star.

"Yes." She replied. "My Earthly name at least. Up here I'm just Star. We walked into the room. The walls were a dark purple with a black leather couch on one side. A fireplace was on the left side of the room with a white and black striped rug in the center. Across from the couch was a huge T.V. It was astonishing. Again, so cool!

"Star, this room is amazing! Where do you sleep?"

"Right up there." She motioned over to a rock and then up to a hammock. "Sweet." I said, smiling. Then I noticed a night stand next to the rock with a picture on it. I picked it up. The picture was of a young girl with blonde hair, green eyes, and a gorgeous smile.

"Is that you, Star?" Star sighed and nodded. "Star, you were beautiful." "Thanks, Kyle. Was beautiful."

"You still are. You don't like being a white tiger?"

"I do, but I guess it's not the same. It's hard to explain."

"I get it."

"If you think this is cool, you should see your room!" I was super excited! My own room in the coolest house ever! Star walked me across to the last door on the left. My name was engraved in the black door in gold letters. KYLE EILAM WALTON. Excitedly, I swung open the door. My room was black with hardwood floors. On the far wall was my bed. It was striped dark blue and black with navy pillows. The bed was queen sized. I looked around and next to the bed towards the wall was a white leather couch facing a fireplace with a huge flat screen television above it! Next to my bed was a small flight of stairs leading up to a large platform. It was like a second story! On the platform was a desk with a computer. Next to the desk was a nice little hammock and bean bag chair. This room was better than Star's! I looked over to the left and saw a gleaming bathroom with white polished tiles and a bathtub with jets!

"Thank you so much Star!" I exclaimed. "I'm speechless! Like, trust me-I am completely aware that there are so many better adjectives than 'amazing' and that I am, 'speechless,' but it's the truth." She just laughed. Then her tone got shockingly serious.

"We will come talk to you when you get settled." Star left the room, and closed the door.

Chapter 5

"Kodiak, we need to talk." Eon said as he woke Kody up. "Why?" Kody asked him. "It's about your friend, Kyle Walton. Be ready in five minutes." As soon as Eon left his bedroom, Kody dashed out of bed and put on a white T-shirt and jeans, accompanied by a nice navy blue blazer and brown flip flops. He quickly combed his hair to the side and ran down the stairs. "Eon?" He shouted to call his guardian. Kody looked around the house and then found them outside on the patio. "Take a seat, Kodiak." Eon told him. Kody sat down facing his three guardians. Eon, his lion; Juliet, his hawk; and Fang, his wolf. Fang stepped up and said, "First and only order of business. The protection of your friend, Kyle Eilam Walton."

"Why?" Kody asked. "Is he in danger?"

"More than you know. He is, as we know, the Light."

"He is what?"

"You heard me right. The Light. Therefore, he must be protected. His guardians can only do so much to help him on Earth. So we want to know if you would be willing to protect him and help him. Remember, this is going to be difficult, and you will have to put his life before yours. Are you up for it, Kodiak?" Kody thought for a second. Was he ready to fight? Even though Kyle was his best friend, and he would be helping out the whole Lybrian nation, he didn't want that weight on his shoulders. But Kyle was his best friend. So he agreed.

"I'll do it."

"Excellent!" Juliet exclaimed. "Your healing powers will prove most useful. Your ability of flight is key as well. Don't worry though, you most likely won't be alone."

"Most likely?"

"Yes. At a recent meeting, Kyle's, Drew Ethan Van Unen's, and James Schlepi's guardians have decided that they will help as well. We have formed an alliance called The Code of Law. If Drew and James agree, then you three will fight with Kyle against Alpha Maximus and his followers." Then Eon spoke and began to slowly walk away, then abruptly stopped and turned.

"Kodiak, I'm so glad you have decided to help. Now go eat. We have much training to do before you go back down to Earth."

***

James walked from his room where he was greeted by his bird. "Good morning," James nodded to him. "Come with me, James. We have an important matter to discuss. " James was confused but followed his winged guardian to the living room. He sat down on the leather chair. His guardians were on the couch next to him.

"Is this about Kyle?" James asked them.

"Yes. He is the Light." One of them said.

"You never told me this! Are you kidding me?"

"It was for everyone's, especially his, own good."

"You _always_ say that. So why are you telling me this now?"

"He needs to be protected. His guardians can't be much help while he's on Earth. So we talked to his, Kodiak's, and Drew's guardians and-"

"Wait, they know about this too?"

"Kyle just found out who he is, and Kodiak knows, but we have no word from Drew yet. So anyway, we were talking and formed an alliance to protect Kyle from Alpha Maximus and the rest of the Pacts. This alliance is entitled Code of Law. Kodiak has already joined. Are you? But before you answer, just know that your life will never be the same. Life will be very hard from here on out." James didn't hesitate to answer. He's always wanted to be a super hero. Whether he was a sidekick or not, he was going to do something great.

"I will do it!"

"Great," Jewel, his dog, said. "Training starts in ten minutes. Go get ready."

***

Drew awoke with a shake. "Get up, boy!" The dingo barked. "Get dressed and meet us down stairs in ten minutes. We are going for a walk." Drew rolled out of bed reluctantly, and put on a pair of Jean shorts, a white collared shirt, a golf cap, sunglasses, and black sneakers. Then he jogged down to see one of his guardians. "Where are the others?" Drew asked him.

Bentley replied, "Outside. Come. We must discuss some things." Drew followed Bentley where they were greeted by his other guardians.

"Hello, Drew." Jasper, his ocelot, acknowledged. "Let's take a walk." The four of them walked around the backyard. "So, Drew," Jasper began.

"Your friend Kyle Walton is in danger."

"How so?" Drew replied.

"He is the Light, and needs to be protected."

"The Light? I've met the Light and didn't even know it?"

"You know how important this is. Kyle's, Kodiak's, and James's guardians and we formed an alliance called the Code of Law. With this alliance, we can help protect Kyle on Earth. Would you like to join?"

"Did Kody and James agree?"

"Yes," The owl spoke this time.

"Do I get to see them again?"

"You will."

"Then count me in!"

"Very well. We are glad you decided to. Life will be very rough from now on. But you can handle it, right? We have to start training soon, because this is no easy task. Remember this, on Earth, you will not be able to see Kyle until he is touched by a Lybrian. If he isn't touched, he will appear as a mortal. Just like you and the other Lybrians."

***

Kody sat on a swing set at the park near his house. James and Drew were going to meet him here soon-it was important that they discuss things to make sure that everyone was on the same page. Kyle, their good friend, was the Light. They all knew what this meant, but they knew that they could only imagine what this could mean.

Kody turned his head at the sound of approaching footsteps-James. Kody hoped off the swing-set and approached James.

"So, you got the news?" Kody asked.

"Which news?" James answered with another question. "The one about Kyle being the Light, you getting your hair trimmed, or is there another surprise I don't know about?"

"The first one. But yes I did cut my hair, thanks for noticing." An abrupt whistle was then heard in the distance. James and Kody turned around to see Drew walking towards them.

"Glad to see you guys," Drew greeted.

"You too," James responded, nodding in acknowledgement. "I'm glad to see both of you, actually."

"Yeah. Kody, did you get a haircut?"

"Is it really that noticeable?" Kody defensively ran his fingers through his hair.

"It's not bad. You didn't cut it much; I like it. Anyway, we need to talk."

"I wouldn't be here otherwise," James said. "So Kyle is the Light. Weird, huh? And now we are a part of protecting him, even weirder."

"Definitely. We have to come up with a plan of some sort when we get to Earth. Life is going to be different, and we don't have time to mess around."

"Do you have any idea if Dakota is going to be here?"

"I don't think she got accepted into the group. Maybe she'll come to Earth with us. My guardians told me that Dakota might come with us to Rockfrett, but said nothing about her in the society."

"I know," Kody added. "I think I've got a plan, whether Dakota is coming or not." Kody kept talking, and James and Drew had their ears wide open, as they had no idea what they were doing.

***

"Can I come in?" I heard a voice say. I opened the door and saw my Husky, Dylan. I actually had never heard him speak before. It was juvenile but deep. I motioned inside and he sat on my bed. "Can I see the back of your neck?" He asked kindly.

"Sure," I replied as I sat on the bed next to him. He examined the scratches that Eli had left me.

"Eli gave those to you?" He asked. I nodded. "Don't worry about him. He can be a jerk sometimes."

"Yeah," I agreed. "What's his problem anyway?"

"I don't know. Your wounds should heal soon."

"How come you choose now to talk to me?"

"I had no reason to talk before. And now I do. I am here to talk to you about who you are."

"I know I'm the Light and whatever but I don't want the responsibility!"

"I get it, but you have to. Or you will get killed."

"So? Then I get to be a guardian like you."

"You don't understand how important this is, Kyle. Then again I don't expect you to, you just got here. Just try to imagine a world of evil. If the Pacts manage to kill you, the Mystians have no hope and will forever be ruled by the Pacts. Imagine being a slave forever. No breaks or anything. A world of darkness and despair. The Mystians and Pacts both know of your existence. The Pacts will stop at nothing to kill you, to hunt you down, to torture you for pleasure."

"It's that bad?"

"Yes. That is why they need you to show the Pacts their place is not above or below us, but equal. Please accept this. It's overwhelming I get that, but Lybria need you."

"Why can't they bring peace themselves?"

"We have tried and failed countless times. You are their last hope." I thought about this for a second. Dylan was right. I need to help these people. I was being selfish and a coward. It looks like I didn't have a choice.

"I'll do it." I said vaguely.

"Fantastic! Like you had a choice anyway. The three of us will talk to you some more at dinner. I hear we are having baby back ribs!" I laughed as Dylan jumped off the bed and headed for the door.

"Wait, Dylan!" I called after him. He turned around. "I'm just curious. How come you're just a puppy? I mean, Eli is a fully grown eagle, and Star is a fully grown tiger, why are you a puppy?"

"I died at the age of thirteen. If you die before the age of eighteen, your animal will be a baby. Eli died when he was forty-nine, and Star when she was thirty-two."

"Dylan, I'm so sorry. Do you mind if I asked what happened?"

He paused. "Not at all. I was with my best friend, Steven, and we were walking back from a movie at night. A kidnapper came up to Steven and snatched him up. I used my power of lightning to shock the man, making him drop Steven. I told him to run, just as the kidnapper shot me. It happened to hit my mark and I died. The last words I heard Steven say were, 'Dylan, hang on!' right before the man shot me. My guardians had told me that Steven got away and called the police. The kidnapper was arrested. I had saved Steven's life. I watched my funeral. Steven said that it was his fault I died and that he should've helped. If I could see him again, I wish I could tell him that it wasn't his fault, and that I'm glad he ran." I noticed Dylan get teary eyed and turned away. I called him over. He jumped back on my bed and rested on my lap. I couldn't blame him. He may be super smart, strong, and experienced, but he is still only thirteen. I stroked his soft fur and whispered, "I'm really sorry. That's such a terrible thing to go through. Wait, you can watch your own funeral?"

Dylan nodded. "Only on your last life." He said. I kept petting him, and he continued to lay on my lap.

Sometime later we got up and we turned on the T.V., which I found played the same shows as Earth. I got two sodas from the mini fridge I found, putting one in a bowl. We were probably in my room for three hours, until Star called us down for dinner. Dylan and I jumped off the couch and ran down the stairs. Dylan got there first.

Just as Dylan predicted: baby back ribs! My favorite!

"Star!" I exclaimed. "How did you know?"

"Me?" she replied. "Eli made it." I turned to Eli. He just said, "You've only known me for a day, kid." Then he winked at me and I just laughed. I think I was going to like him too. I grabbed my ribs from the table, scarfing them down in a single breath. "Slow down, Kyle!" Star laughed. "We still have dessert!" I immediately put down the rib and watched in awe as Eli brought out a red velvet cake with German chocolate frosting, and then chocolate ice cream! I was literally in Heaven! "Eat your dessert slowly," Eli snapped. "We must now discuss what you will have to do from here on out." I put my fork down and looked over at Star, who shot Eli a look not to be so rough. Then she spoke.

"Okay, Kyle. As you know, you are here to bring friendship between the Mystians and Pacts and restore the Lybrian nation to its original state of peace. When Argo died, his first born son took over."

"Is he still in power?" I asked.

"Yes. His name is Alpha Maximus: Ruler of the Pacts. And he is your arch enemy. Remember the two men on the plane? Austin DeLuca and Timothy Swanson?"

"How could I forget?"

"Well, Austin and Timothy are Alpha's main hunters. They were on the plane to capture you and make you vulnerable. When they realized the plane was going to crash, they took two parachutes and jumped, fleeing the incident."

"They were Pacts? THEY KILLED MY FRIENDS! MY GIRLFRIEND! THEY TOOK EVERYTHING FROM ME!" I realized I was screaming and out of my seat. My guardians looked at me, and I apologized and sat down.

"That's what they were sent to do. They wanted to destroy you mentally, to make you weak."

"I want vengeance! I am going to kill them!"

"Good. You must kill them to get to Alpha Maximus."

"And you expect me to do this on my own?"

"No. That would be foolish. We have formed an alliance called The Code of Law to help protect you. They will be your army."

"Who are they?"

"You'll see. Oh, before I forget, Kyle, you must understand this. When a Lybrian goes back to Earth, he is seen as a mortal until touched by another Lybrian. So when you go back to Earth, no one will know that you are a Lybrian until they touch you. And you will not be able to see other Lybrians until they are touched. Does this make sense?"

"I guess so. Why are you telling me this?"

"As long as no one touches you, you are safe. Kyle, when you are on Earth, if you see a Lybrian, avoid them at all costs, and whatever happens, do NOT touch them! It will expose you and make you easy to find. Just try not to touch people in general. Is that clear?"

"Yes. But what does it matter? People will recognize me."

"No they won't. We are going to change the way you look, and your name."

"But I like my name, and the way I look."

"Then you can like your name and looks for the next month." Eli said firmly. "That's when we are changing it."

"Fine. I guess it's for the better."

"Good," Star said. "Now, Kyle, finish your dessert and go off to bed. We start training in the morning."

Chapter 6

I woke up to a pounding knock on my door. "Get up, boy!" It was Eli.

"What are you doing?" I grumbled back.

"You have training! You have ten minutes to get down here for breakfast!" I rolled out of bed and went to the bathroom. It was only six in the morning! Even on Earth, I never had to wake up this early. I grabbed a pair of black basketball shorts and a maroon colored T-shirt with some running shoes. I hobbled down the stairs where Eli, Star, and Dylan were waiting for me. I walked over to them, still half asleep, when a huge flame came out on the side of the wall! It went through the side of my head and then three bullets came at me. I dodged one but the other two hit my chest. I was then drenched with water sending me to the floor! I got up coughing, about ready to destroy the next thing in my way.

"What the hell was that!" I exclaimed furiously. "I could've died!"

"Impossible." Eli shot back. "The fire and bullets were a hologram, but the water was real. It wouldn't be able to kill you though."

"You didn't answer my first damn question! What the hell was that, Eli!"

"A start to your training; for reflexes. You obviously failed. The fire hit your mark, which would've killed you. The bullets would've made you vulnerable, but not fatally harm you due to your source of power. The water, well, in higher amounts might've drowned you. Or the force would have crushed you."

"I see. Can I just have my breakfast?"

"Of course." Then Eli brought out a stack of about seven pancakes using his talons; he skillfully balanced everything. I looked at Dylan and mouthed to him, _Is this poison?_ He shook his head and kind of snickered a bit. With Dylan's reassurance, I gobbled the pancakes down. They were all gone in less than three minutes, and they were very delicious!

"Come on then, boy," Eli started. "To the gym for some conditioning." He led me down a hall to an indoor gym.

It was filled with a lot of weight training machines, treadmills, bicycles, and more. "This is cool. Now what?" I asked Eli.

"Give me fifty." I looked puzzled. He noticed, and then scolded at me, "Push ups! NOW!" I rolled my eyes and did as he said. Eli probably saw the irritation in my eyes and flew down to meet me down at eye level.

"Now," he growled. "Don't give me attitude, Walton. There are people trying to kill you out there. So either do as I say or you'll put everyone in danger!" After that I did the push ups. Not because I'd kill everyone if I didn't, but because of fear. Eli truly scared me. I guess that was a good thing. After the push ups that stupid eagle made me do a half hour sprint on the treadmill, chin ups, and weight training. By the end of the day I was icing in my room watching T.V. before I passed out on the couch. Today's workout was brutal. I really just want to enjoy myself here, but I can't when there is a huge freaking bird screaming at me! I didn't like Eli very much. He was always on my case, and always yelling at me. To be honest, I don't think he liked me much either.

The next day I was awakened by the same thing. I got out of bed faster this time, and I put a rock in my pocket before I cautiously went down the stairs to try to avoid the flames and water and other things trying to kill me. Before I reached the bottom of the staircase, I threw the rock in front of me to test the motion sensors. Nothing happened. So I walked down the rest of the stairway when once again, I was defeated. A spear at my neck this time, and then I was tackled by a huge boulder! I wasn't hurt, but I cried for help up. I tried and tried to get up, but all my attempts were failures. Until finally Star, Dylan, and Eli came and pushed the boulder off of me. Dylan chuckled a bit.

"Not funny guys!" I growled.

Star, also laughing, said under her breath, "Just a little bit." I rolled my eyes and got myself up. I looked over at Eli. No expression on his face. He wasn't laughing. I went over to the table and slouched in my chair. I was not happy either.

During our breakfast of bacon and egg burritos, I couldn't help but ask, "Why didn't the rock trick work?"

Star replied, "Because, we have a scanner that only activates to you. It's exact. No matter what you do there is no escaping it. I'll have to admit though, the rock trick was very clever. Much better than I would've done on my second day of training. This is the type of technology the Pacts are going to have. You must be careful." I smiled and nodded. I get it now. Then Eli spoke, "Kyle," He scolded. "Come now. It is time for training."

"But I'm not done with breakfast," I protested. Apparently that was not the answer Eli was looking for.

"I said come!" He yelled like I was a dog. His eyes focused on mine as they turned a bright red. It was super freaky, and I was just hoping he wouldn't attack. Fear crept into me, and almost made me cry. Then Star jumped out of her seat furiously, and Dylan screamed, "THAT'S ENOUGH, ELI!" Eli's eyes turned back to black. He looked at me in shock, and tried to say something, but instead just shook his head and flew off. Out the door he went, into the trees and out of site. Dylan paused for a second and stormed off after him.

"GET BACK HERE, ELI!" He shouted furiously. I looked at Star in confusion. I wasn't breathing. I wasn't blinking. I could feel my skin go from tan to white. Eli's eyes were a bright red, like he was possessed or something. It was too much, too supernatural; I was overwhelmed. Star saw my facial expression, and ran over to me saying something. I wasn't sure what she was saying, because by the time she got over to me, my head hit the floor. I was conscious, but couldn't move, didn't want to move. My senses were deprived. I couldn't hear, even though I could see a blurry Star talk to me. Her paw touched my face, but I couldn't feel the fur. What was wrong?

I finally went unconscious.

Chapter 7

I woke up in my bed. I looked over and checked the clock. 4:30 pm. I got out of bed and stumbled down the stairs. No one was in the kitchen. There was some yelling outside though. I explored the house until I saw Star on the couch watching T.V.

"Hey, Star." I muttered. She looked over at me and exhaled as if she was holding her breath the whole time I was passed out.

"Kyle," She said. "I'm so glad your awake. Sit down here." I took a seat next to her on the couch. "

"Are you okay?" I asked her.

"I am now. Don't mind Eli. He will warm up in the morning."

"What about Dylan?"

"He's talking to him. Calming him down you could say. I wouldn't even step outside if I were you."

"Got it. What's Eli's problem anyway?"

"He just got frustrated. We will continue your training tomorrow. I suggest you go work out in the gym or something, get prepared." I nodded and exited the room to the gym. I did a few bench presses and some treadmill work which helped clear my mind.

Then I went in my room and climbed up to the second story. I opened my computer, knowing that I could still find Earth articles, and typed in the search bar, "Kyle Walton." Shockingly I didn't even have to type in the "l" in Kyle. The results came up like a wildfire. "Kyle Walton escapes plane crash," "Kyle Walton the terrorist," "The death of Kyle Walton," "Kyle Walton commits suicide." And so many others. It was all bull. They don't know the true story. No one was around to tell them. I wish I could've told Jenise that before I saw her so she doesn't go around thinking her long lost cousin was a terrorist. I wish I could tell her. But I can't. In the pocket of my shorts I pulled out the picture of Kody, Dakota, Drew, James, and me. I picked up an empty picture frame next to the computer and put it in there. I teared up a bit and then went back to my research on the computer. I clicked on, "Kyle Walton the terrorist." Then I read the top article:

" _Unfortunately, there has been another terrorist attack in the United States. But this time by a citizen with the name of Kyle Eilam Walton, who took the wheel of a plane by killing the two pilots. The plane was headed for the island of Catalina in the city Avalon, California. Walton stormed into the pilots chamber and shot them both. [Their names were Joey Garcia and Savitt Kern.] He took control of the plane and crashed it into the island, killing everyone but himself on the plane. Walton was then found, cared for in the hospital and brought to a holding cell in an FBI facility. We have been asked to keep the name quiet for security reasons. There, the criminal committed suicide by jumping out of the prison window three stories down where he burned to death by a raging fire. The fire seemed to be caused by a broken lantern. Two men, Austin DeLuca and Timothy Swanson, who were on the plane *went missing that day. They were recovered under a tree three days later and brought back to their home in Rockfrett, Colorado. We talked to the families of Garcia and Kern. 'I'm glad he's dead,"'said Joey Garcia's wife, Haley Garcia. 'I wish I could've seen him jump, I wish I could have sliced his neck open! No one deserves to die the way Joey or Savitt did. They were so innocent! Why did they have to suffer for what that boy did! I wish I could've killed him! I hope he is rotting in Hell!' However, not everybody believes Walton was the one responsible for this unexpected act of treason. On Avalon, we found Walton's cousin, Jenise Maynard. She told us, 'I do not believe that Kyle would do something like this. He was coming over to the island to meet me. There is no real hard evidence that I know of that proves my cousin guilty. Until there is, I do not think that he is a terrorist or committed treason for that mater.' Until this case is truly solved, we will keep you all updated."_

The article was sending me mixed emotions. I was upset that the Garcia lady was happy I was dead. But you can't really blame her. I feel the same way about Austin and Timothy. I was kind of happy that Jenise knows I didn't do it. I was furious that they thought I crashed the plane and committed suicide. That part was Eli's fault, as he was the one who pushed me out the window to make it look like I had jumped. I was also feeling vengeance. I now know where the bastards live. After my training is over, I was going to track them down and kill them. Colorado. I needed to be there, because I didn't crash the plane, I didn't kill innocent people. The true terrorists did. Austin DeLuca and Timothy Swanson did. It's all their fault! I went into a stage of rage and anger. I've been missing that big point all along! I didn't deserve to have this happen to me or my friends. Austin and Timothy were going to die. And then I would focus on reuniting the two worlds. But for now, killing them was my number one priority. I looked at the picture, laid my head in my arms and cried.

"Come down, Kyle!" I heard Star call. It must be time for dinner. I wiped my eyes and hurried down the stairs for some pizza. Casual, but delicious. It was silent and awkward for a little while until Star soon broke it.

"Kyle," She started. "We have mentioned this earlier, but I doubt you've given it much thought. Before you go back to Earth, we have to come up with new name and look for you. That way people will have less of an urge to touch you, keeping your true identity a secret. Do you have any ideas?"

"No. Like you said, I haven't given it any thought."

"Well, you have to start. How about Jordan Paley?"

"Nah. I'll get some paper and a pen. Then we can see the names we like." I got up to open a drawer, finding a very elegant pen with some parchment. How classy.

"Got it," I said, sitting back down.

"Good. Let's start with first names. Cory?"

"I'll put that one down."

"Kyler?"

"That's cool. I like that one."

"Tyler Jack. Then we can call you T.J."

"No. I kind of like the idea of the double name thing though."

"Alright then. Thomas?"

"No."

"Gabriel? Oh! I got it, Alex Gabriel!"

"That one is definitely up for consideration. Nice one!"

"Erik?"

"Not bad. I'll add it." Soon our first name list filled up the whole page. We put fifteen names - seven of them were combination names. There was Cory, Kyler, Alex-Gabriel, Erik, Asher-Bennet, Fabian-Blane, Adain, Ari-Blaze, Connor, Elias-Kail, Ivan-Garrett, Andrew-Kolton, Christopher-Jonah, Daniel, and Liam. Then we moved to the middle names.

"Nigel?" Star asked.

"No. How about Owen?"

"I like that. Or Peter?"

"I do like that name. I'll write it down too." Soon Star and I had another fifteen names on the list. Owen, Peter, Ricky, Roy, Samuel, Ben, David, Spencer, Luke, Josh, Bear, Jay, Drake, Jacob, and Dane. Finally, we wrote down the last names. These took forever to come up with. We came up with names like Wence, Harris, and Johnson. One name I did like though was Breese. I don't know why, but I loved that last name.

"I think this is the last name I'm going for. I really love it." I told Star.

"If you're happy, I'm happy," She said. "But remember, once changed, that's it. So be one hundred percent sure you like it. Go upstairs and sleep on it. We have a busy day tomorrow. Goodnight, Kyle."

I nodded at Star and jogged up the stairs to my bedroom. I sat on my couch and checked the time. It was already 10:30 pm. I didn't realize how much time Star and I had spent on the names. I yawned and changed into some pajamas. Blue and silk. I liked them. I climbed into bed, and slowly dozed off.

The next morning I was awakened by the same loud knock on my door. Eli was back to normal. I did my same morning routine, but I had a new idea of what to do about the weapons down stairs: dodge whatever came at me. I walked down the stairs, ready for anything. Today the surprise was ten ninja stars, three bullets, and what looked to be about eight tons of rock. Believe me, I didn't count, Star told me later. As planned, I successfully attempted to dodge seven of the ninja stars and one of the bullets. I jumped, then ducked, then swerved. I guess I got pretty lucky. Unfortunately, the rocks came at me unexpectedly and threw me to the floor. Of course it didn't hurt, but I would've been dead if they had been real.

"Well done," Star said. "but it was not enough. Be aware of everything at anytime. Now, eat your breakfast. We have work to do." I rolled myself out from underneath the rocks and sat down. Eli and Dylan were back too. I helped myself to a cinnamon roll or two before Eli lead me outside.

Eli flew on top of a tree at the park in the backyard.

"Climb," He commanded. The tree he was on didn't have branches until a quarter of the way up. I looked up, sighed, and grabbed a thick piece of bark. I knew I couldn't argue with him. I hoisted myself onto the next thick piece of bark unsuccessfully as I fell to the ground.

"Oh come on!" Eli shouted. "You can do better than that!" That bird made me so mad. He had wings and talons. I bet without them he couldn't climb this tree. After two hours I could only get myself up and climb three feet without falling flat on my face. Eli flew down from the tree and sat on my shoulder.

"That was enough for today. Good work. Star will continue with you over at the park." I nodded at him and he flew away. I saw Star's face behind a tree. I walked over to her. "Star!" I shouted towards her. She came out from behind the tree and looked at me, then walked away. I knew it meant for me to follow her. I jogged over. When I was a few yards away, Star looked back and saw me, then sprinted away. I sprinted after her. "Come on, Star!" I called out. This game was quickly getting irritating. After ten minutes of trying to look for her, I gave up and sat down. Then out of nowhere I heard a high pitched scream. The scream was female. The scream was Star. I immediately got up and sprinted to where the noise was coming from. Since my backyard was so big, it took me forever to find her. But I kept sprinting until I found her lying down in the forest. "Star!" I shouted. "Are you okay? What happened?"

"My ankle!" She cried. "I can't walk! Please, Kyle, you have to take me to the house! If a guardian is injured long enough they could be in a coma for ten years!" I nodded worriedly and picked her up with every bit of strength I had in me. Star was definitely heavier than you would expect. I threw her over my shoulders and tried to sprint to the house, which was probably about a mile and a half from here. I couldn't go very fast, but I had to get her back home so she can be mended properly. I got tired way too quickly, but I had to keep going. Star was vigorously panting and moaning.

"Hurry, Kyle!" She cried! I called for assistance from Eli and Dylan, but I didn't get a response. After what seemed like forever, I got Star at the house. I put her gently on the couch in the living room.

"How do you feel?" I asked her in a concerned yet tired voice. Star didn't answer, but instead laughed. Then Eli and Dylan came out, also laughing. Star got up and walked around the room.

"I'm fine, Kyle." She chuckled. "In one of my lives I was an actress. I pulled that whole thing. The stupid injury rule was all a hoax. I was fine the whole time. I have to admit though, I am proud"

"Wait what?" I protested. "This was all some stupid game?! You scared the crap out of me! This is not funny! What was the point of that anyway?"

"To test your strength, endurance, and companionship. And you succeeded. But not as much as we need you too. You need to be able to carry me with ease by the end of the month, which is when you are going back to Earth."

"I can't believe you guys!" I was so upset. Don't they know how much I've been through in the past two weeks!"

"Welcome to how life will be for you back on Earth. You need the strength." Eli suddenly told me. "Well, the day is still young. It's only 4:30. Dylan, take your turn on training Kyle. Kyle, follow Dylan." I stood up and obeyed Eli, making my way out the door, still furious, but still willing.

Dylan took me back to the park. He motioned over to a wooden bench and I sat down. He paused for a moment, then spoke. "Kyle," He stated. "I will work with you on combat skills and power training. Apparently Star said I was good with my powers, so she wanted me to help you use yours wisely."

"What are your powers?"

"Lightning and telekinesis. I've been blessed with nice powers. Some people only get levitation or jumping high. So, Kyle, let us get started. Do you see that sword in that bucket over there?"

"Yeah."

"Go get it." I walked over to grab the sword, but I was abruptly stopped by Dylan, who roundhouse kicked me in the face. I bent over and clenched my eye. "What was that, man?" I exclaimed.

"I said get the sword." Dylan replied, looking pretty proud of himself. So I took a deep breath and speed-walked over to grab the sword, but yet again the husky clawed my leg. I then realized that in order to get the sword, I was going have to fight. I didn't want to though. I couldn't hurt him. I was bigger, stronger, and older. He's only thirteen! So instead of getting the sword, I just slowly backed away and shook my head. "What are you doing?" Dylan asked.

"I can't do it." I replied.

"And why not? Give me one good reason."

"I don't want to hurt you. You are only thirteen."

"I said a good reason, Kyle. And let's get something straight, I died a thirteen year old, I have the smarts of a thirteen year old, but yet I died twenty-two years ago. So technically I am thirty-six. And I am stronger and more intelligent than it may seem. Because I've been around much longer than you have, so don't let my size fool you. Not to mention I've lived five pretty much complete lives. So go get the sword and don't be naive or Alpha Maximus will have your head. Pretend that sword is Dakota. Go and get her." That set me off. I was reluctant though, but he was right. I sprinted over to the box with the sword. When the pup came to attack me I pushed him out of the way. In his words, that sword was my girlfriend. Nothing was going to stop me from getting her. The image was too real. I could even see her now. She was there in place of the sword in a white dress.

"Come on, Kyle," I could hear her say. I kept running towards her, but Dylan wouldn't allow that. He came back completely regenerated and fought. I have to admit, Dylan is a full on badass. He can fight, and he is strong. Not just for someone his size but for anyone. In less than three minutes he was able to pin me down. "Dakota!" I screamed, until I realized that her face was all just a mirage.

"Maybe next time, buddy." Dylan got off of me, took the sword, and walked away with a smile.

The next month of training was very similar to that day. But each day I got better. I could run faster, climb higher, fight harder. Three and a half weeks into my training, and it was almost time for me to go back to Earth and pursue my destiny.

Today was my last day of training, and my evaluation to see if I was ready to go back to Earth. That morning I didn't need to be woken up. I got out of bed ten minutes early, in fact. In those three-and-a-half-weeks I was pretty good at dodging whatever came at me at the bottom of the stairs, but I wasn't perfect. Today I had another brilliant idea: I went in my closet and brought out a pair of hiking shoes, and from my desk I brought some heavy duty glue. Near the bottom of the stairs I put on my shoes and applied the glue to the tip and some on my hands as well. I had to be quick so I wouldn't stick. I climbed up the wall, and smashed the censor into the wall. As I smashed it I ended up falling, but it was a whole lot better than being crushed by rocks. I took off the shoes and looked up for approval from the guardians. Star looked at Dylan, and they both nodded. They both looked at Eli, who stared straight into my eyes for what seemed like forever, and then said, "Well done, kid. I knew you could do it." I smiled. It was the nicest thing Eli had ever said to me.

"Come on," I said as I lifted myself off the ground. "Group hug!" Star laughed, Dylan smiled, but Eli went hysterical and all out just squeezed me. I squeezed him back until his white feathers turned red and he couldn't breath anymore. We all laughed. I was definitely going to miss them down on Earth.

After a wonderful breakfast of French toast, Eli took me outside and as usual commanded me to climb the tree. I put my foot on a little grip in the bark, and pulled myself up. With all of my might I climbed another step, reached up, and put my hand on a crease in the tree. One pull by another, I made it past the part of the tree without grip! Then the rest was fine. I was able to climb and stand on each branch until finally, I made it to the top of the tree. Eli smiled and stopped his stopwatch.

"Ten minutes and twenty-seven seconds," He approved. "Well done." He gave me a high five and I smiled. "Now," he said. "Get down without being caught. Remember to grab Star on your way back." He smirked and pressed a button on the watch.

"Wait what?" I questioned.

"Make it to the house without them catching you, and you pass." I was confused, who was them? Grab Star? What's that supposed to mean? My question was almost immediately answered when I looked up and saw three ninjas come at me with swords! Two were climbing up the tree at an amazing speed. The third was on the tree next to me. One thing was certain. I couldn't climb down. I had to think fast, the ninjas were creeping up. One grabbed my foot, so I did what my instincts told me to do. Without thinking I jumped out of the tree. I kept falling until my shirt got caught on the branches of another. I used it to my advantage and I climbed to the top of that tree. Then a voice came out of nowhere.

"Kyle! Down here!" It was Drew's voice.

"They've got us!" James.

"They have Dakota here too!" Kody's cry. Deep down I knew it wasn't real, but my mind put that aside, leading me to believe it was. "James!" I cried as I leaped towards the next tree in the direction of the voices. I leaped after another, until the voices of my friends got closer and closer. I quickly climbed down the tree, the ninjas hot on my tail. When there were no more branches to assist my climb, I jumped down from the tree and ran as fast as I could. The voices became more vivid and clear. Eventually I ran into a meadow, and there I found them. Kody, James, and Drew were tied up to a tree, surrounded by ninjas. In the center was a huge pit of fire, and something was hanging above it. Someone. Dakota! A ninja pulled out a knife and started to skin her as she was being roasted above the flames. She screamed an ear- piercing scream that could be heard from miles away. I didn't hesitate another moment. I lunged forward for the ninja with Dakota, but I was stopped by two other ninjas that simultaneously punched me in the chest, making me soar backwards. I did a backflip and hit a tree, stopping my fall. Ouch. I slowly hobbled up and then heard another scream from Dakota. I stopped limping and again sprinted over. Then a box caught my eye. The box contained a sword. That could be useful. In the corner of my eye I kept an eye on Kody, James, and Drew. A ninja came straight towards me. He tried to punch me, but I returned the attack with a duck and roundhouse kick to the gut. I didn't have time to enjoy the feeling. I had to get the sword to set Dakota and the others free. I lunged forward once again to grab the sword. I was inches away, until I felt my ankle being grabbed, and a giant yank back. It was another ninja, but this one was shorter than the others. I could take him. I threw him a punch, and he ducked and delivered to me an upper cut. I picked him up and threw him onto the hard ground, he immediately got up and began to get more violent. He scratched my face - his nails were sharp - and tackled me to the floor. Then I realized who this ninja was. It was Dylan. He was the only one who would scratch me, or had that amount of strength. My eyes widened a bit, and I made myself vulnerable, he kicked me in the face, and I was snapped back down to Earth (or Lybria, actually). I had to get the sword, no matter what stood in my way. I grabbed him with both my hands and ran him up against a tree. I pinned him and punched him in the nose (or his muzzle in his case). I heard another scream from Dakota. I slammed Dylan into the ground and stepped on him. No one was going to get in the way of my friends and me. I ran over with the strength I had and grabbed the sword. A ninja came sprinting towards me, I used the sword and slashed his head off. I kept running and without thinking, I stabbed the ninja right in the chest; the one that was skinning and cooking my girlfriend right in the chest. I had caught him off guard. I chucked the sword at the rope Dakota was on. The sword easily cut through the rope, and Dakota fell. Into the fire. Shoot. I ran into the fire, leaping to catch her, and landed on the other side-minor burn wounds. I kissed her forehead and lay her beside a tree. Now for the others. The ninjas were still surrounding them. They heard me behind them and turned around at once. They slowly crept toward me. I pulled out the sword ready to strike, but not before they pulled out there's. I counted them. There were three ninjas. The one in the center made the first move. He slashed at my throat, and I successfully blocked it. I held him in that position as I kicked him in the groin. He fell to the floor as I stabbed him in his stomach. I turned to my left and sliced that ninja in two. As I was about to face the one on the right, he dropped his sword and ran. I sprinted over and released Kody, James, and Drew. I smiled at them, but my happiness was soon drained with another scream. However, it wasn't Dakota's. I turned around. It was Star. Maybe this was another joke for me to carry her home again. Four ninjas had her pinned against a tree, and one was punching her in the gut. I wasn't convinced it was real until blood dripped out of her mouth. She couldn't act that. The ninja punched her one last time, and blood shot out of her mouth like a waterfall. This was real. I fought the four ninjas and managed to kill them. As I raised my sword, the fifth ninja knocked it out of my hand with ease. He was weaponless, and he wanted to make sure I was too. I was now more vulnerable, and was relying too much on the sword. The ninja lunged forward and instead of punching him, I grabbed his throat and kicked his shin, causing him to fall to the floor. I kept my hands on his throat and squeezed. I could here Star cough. She muttered, "Kyle," I released the ninja and ran towards her. Without thinking I scooped her up and tried to sprint home with everything I had left in me.

Sooner or later I brought her in the house. I got her on the couch and stroked her fur.

"Star," I said. "Are you okay? Oh my gosh! I just realized I killed Dylan because I smashed his face into the tree and then stepped on him! The thought of getting Dakota back had overwhelmed me and I killed my own guardian. I'm so sorry! I didn't really mean it! Now I realize that she wasn't real she was just put there because Dakota Wilson is dead. And so are the others. Drew, Kody, James. They are all dead. I'm so sorry!" By that point I was sobbing.

I heard a voice behind me say, "It's okay, Kyle. I'm not dead. Or hurt. And I couldn't be more proud." I turned around and wiped my eyes. It was Dylan.

"Dylan," I stuttered. Eli then came out, and Star sat upright. Then Eli smirked and sat on my shoulder.

"Kyle Eilam Walton," He said. "You have passed your evaluation. You are ready to go back to Earth."

Chapter 8

"What?" I stuttered, still in shock.

"That's right, Kyle." Star said.

"I knew you were an actress, b-b-b-ut the blood! And when I attacked Dylan!"

"Being a guardian, Kyle, I, as well as the others, have special abilities you could say. We can't get hurt within the boundaries of the home, and neither can you. You are in the protection of the home. Inside the home parameters, you are safe. You can't be touched. So never, go outside the house. Ever. However, I do apologize for scaring you-"

"You better be."

"But these are real life situations that you have to face at one point or another. When you go into rage mode, you are unstoppable according to our research done in this evaluation. So fantastic job. Now, to finish things off. We need your new name and the new look. What have you got?" Dammit! I had completely forgotten about the whole name thing! I have no idea what I'm going to be known as!

"I like my name."

"Kyle, you know why we can't do that. "

"Right. Well, I actually don't have a name." Even then I still scratched the back of my neck and cocked my head to the side like I do when I'm nervous.

"Kyle!"

"I'm sorry! I've had a lot on my mind recently!"

"We know! However, you've had one month to think about it!"

"I'm sorry, Star." Then you could hear a little voice mumble something as Star and I were arguing. We all looked over at Dylan.

"What did you say?" Eli asked.

"Carter." Dylan replied. "Carter-Adrian. Take it or leave it. It's just a suggestion." Dylan made no eye contact, but Eli and Star did. At me. I smirked and picked up Dylan and put him on my lap.

"I think we've got a winner." Star smiled, Eli laughed, and Dylan looked up at me and smiled.

"Nicholas. For a middle name," I said. "And Breese for a last name. I really like it."

"Well, there you have it," Eli laughed. "Carter-Adrian Nicholas Breese. Carter for short!"

"What about the look situation?" Star commented.

"Way to spoil our mood." I snarled. Eli flew away and brought out a small spiral notebook. He smiled an odd smile. A discrete, creepy smile. Even Star had a strange look on her face.

"Eli," Star questioned. "What is that?"

"Well," Eli started. "I've been waiting for this a long time. When I found out that I was going to be the guardian of the Light, I knew we were going to have to change your look. So I started collecting pictures of all the possibilities that you could choose."

"What the heck?" Star laughed. I think everybody was in a really good mood. Dylan was talking more, Eli was being kind and was smiling and laughing, and Star was just more friendly than usual. I was just happy. If only everyday could be this way. Just perfect.

Eli handed me his little book. I opened it and looked at all my options. I noticed how the book was divided into chapters and sections. The chapters were divided by hair color, and the sections were divided by eye color and height. Eli had me choose my favorite one from each chapter. So one from each hair color.

From the red-haired chapter I chose a picture of a boy with short red hair, six foot one, and had blue eyes. I've always wondered how it would feel to be tall like James. If I chose this picture I could find out.

From the black-haired chapter, I picked a boy with a haircut like Drew's(long and flippy), had green eyes, and was five eleven. I liked that one a lot. The black hair and green eyes fit nicely together.

The last chapter was the blonde-haired part (Eli said I wasn't allowed to keep having brown hair, so I couldn't look in that chapter). I chose a boy with really short hair, slightly longer than a crew-cut, and had blue eyes. The caption underneath the picture claimed the guy was five eleven like the boy with black hair.

The options weren't easy. If I went with the red hair, I'd be tall. If I chose the black hair, I would have really cool eyes. Or, if I chose the blonde hair, well, I just think he is handsome.

"So," Star said. "What's it going to be? I either like the red haired one or the blonde. What do you guys think?"

"Blonde?" Dylan said.

"Black," Eli commented. "For sure." I looked at the options again and thought about it. I guess it didn't matter if I was tall. I mean, five eleven wasn't that bad. It's taller than I was before. So I decided it was either going to be the black haired, green eyed, five eleven boy, or the blonde haired, blue eyed, five eleven boy. What did I like better? Cool eyes, or just plain good looking. After about five minutes, I had made my decision.

"Star," I said. "Eli, Dylan. I choose the blonde. However, I want to keep my eyes as they are. How they change color. I would like to keep them." Star, Eli, and Dylan looked at each other in slight shock and confusion. I heard a few whispers before Star turned back to me and spoke.

"Okay, Kyle, I mean Carter. You can keep your eyes. And I'm glad you chose the blonde. Let us get started. Eli, go get me some scissors please, and Dylan, you go get the hair dye."

When Star received the scissors, she sat me down and started cutting my hair. "What are you doing!?" I exclaimed and jumped out of the chair.

"I'm cutting your hair, duh." Star replied bluntly.

"Well you could've told me when you were going to start!"

"Whoops." I rolled my eyes and Star continued to cut my hair. Ten minutes later, my long brown hair was now short and fuzzy. "Now for the dye." Star said. She brought me over to the nearest bathroom and had me put my head in the sink. She put some stuff in my hair and rubbed it in. Then she left it there for about fifteen minutes and dried my hair with a towel. I now know never to underestimate the power of a talking tiger. "Alright, Carter. Take a look," Star told me. I picked up my head and looked at the mirror. My hair looked great! It was just like the picture. Short, blonde, and it felt really good. I opened a cabinet under the sink and pulled out a comb. I combed my hair to the front, making a little spike. I smiled and gave Star a hug, having to kneel down as she wrapped her big paws around me.

"Thanks, Star." I said to her.

"No problem. I'll give you a pill to make you the desired height. You'll be taller tomorrow. Now go out and show Eli and Dylan." I walked out to the living room where Eli and Dylan were waiting for me while watching T.V. on the couch. "Guys," I said somewhat loudly so they could hear me. They both turned around.

"Who are you and what have you done to Kyle Eilam Walton?" Eli asked jokingly.

" _I_ am Carter-Adrian Nicholas Breese. And he is still here. He just looks different." We all laughed.

"You did a great job, Star." Eli said, this time talking to Star. I looked at Dylan. He nodded and smirked.

"Well boys," Star said excitedly. "This calls for a celebration! To the table!" We all smiled and rushed over to the kitchen

As we sat down, four glasses of apple cider appeared before us. "To Carter-Adrian Nicholas Breese." Eli announced, raising his glass.

"Our friend," Star remarked.

"Our brother," Dylan said with confidence.

"Our boy," Eli added again.

"Our light." Star said.

" _The_ Light." Dylan said with even more emphasis. "Cheers!" And we all clinked glasses.

"Now," Star stated. "Let us feast!" Then all of sudden a whole array of every kind of food you could think of came out on the table. It was just like Thanksgiving but with ten times more food! There was turkey, ribs, noodles, hamburgers, hot dogs, mash potatoes, stuffing, ham, and a lot more! At that moment I had lost all self control and manners and just grabbed everything with my hands. Star looked at me and rolled her eyes, laughing. I didn't want to go back to Earth. I mean, with everyone I love gone, why should I go back there? I have everything I ever could have wanted right here!

"So, Carter," Star said to me. "What is your plan?"

"What do you mean?" I asked, confused.

"I mean when you leave tomorrow for Earth. What are you going to do?"

"First of all I would like to go to Colorado. Rockfrett, Colorado. That's where Austin DeLuca and Timothy Swanson are. I want to find them and kill them. I know they are Pacts. And I bet you they could help us find Alpha Maximus."

"It's a good start. However, Alpha Maximus went into hiding thirty years ago for some reason that no one knows about. If DeLuca and Swanson know anything about Alpha, they won't give it up so easily. And remember, we have sent down some Mystians that are part of the Code of Law Society that are supposed to protect you. There are three of them. Trust me, you'll know exactly who they are. But, do not touch them, or anybody really for that matter. We are also sending Dylan down with you temporarily for assistance. I like your plan."

"Thanks. I'm pretty nervous. I mean, it's a lot of pressure when you think about it. Then again, you guys trained me well. I think I'll be okay."

"So do we," Eli said this time. "On Earth right now, it is July 17. When you arrive on Earth, you have to find your own lodgings, and then you have to enroll yourself in the local high school as a senior. You may be on a mission, but you have to blend in so no one suspects anything. Your age will be seventeen, and you are going to learn to drive-"

"Before I died I was five weeks away from getting my license. I passed the driver's test."

"Good for you. So I think you'll be all right, especially since you have Dylan. That's all I have to say. Star? Dylan? Would you like to add anything?" Dylan shook his head.

"Nope," Star said. "I've already said what I've needed to. You ready for dessert?" I looked at her anxiously as it appeared magically on the table in place of the other food. Apple pies, chocolate cake, candy, ice cream! It was heaven! Now I really don't want to go back to Earth! Boy, I was going to have a massive stomach ache.

That night I got my stuff packed. I packed ten shirts, five shorts, five pants, two pairs of pajamas, underwear, a hat, two jackets, toothbrush, toothpaste, a comb, etc. I put it next to my bed and crawled in. Star knocked on the door.

"Can we come in?" She asked.

"Yeah." I replied. My three guardians walked through the door and climbed onto the bed. Star sat across from me, Dylan sat next to me, and Eli on my bedpost.

"Are you ready?" Star asked again.

"Not really," I said nervously.

"You will be fine, Carter. I promise."

"Besides, Dylan will be with you," Eli put in. I looked at the husky and he looked up at me, giving me a faint smile. I turned back to Star.

"Just remember everything we told you. When all else fails, follow your heart. We love you, Carter." Star said again, her voice cracked a bit. I rubbed her back.

"She's right, you know." Eli added, heading for the door. "Good night, and good luck, Carter." Star and Eli left my room, but Dylan stayed.

"So you're staying with me?" I asked him. He looked up and nodded. Then I laid down, and fell asleep; nervous, but assured.

***

"We just got word from Kyle's guardians," Eon said at the table.

"And what did they say?" Kody asked.

"That they want to keep his identity a secret to us until he is touched."

"Where is he?"

"Rockfrett, Colorado." The other guardian replied. "Would you like dessert?" She left the table to go get her chocolate chip cookies in the oven.

"Of course. Why Rockfrett? I've never heard of it, and it's so random. If anything I would expect him to go Avalon."

"Why would you go to a place where people such as yourself would expect you to go?" Fang snapped. "Especially with everybody trying to kill him!"

"Is that the reason why he's going to Colorado?"

"No. He is-"

"Fang," Eon interrupted. "Be nice. Kyle is going to Rockfrett to track down those two Pacts who killed you and your friends on the plane. He leaves tonight at midnight. Are you ready to go?"

"I am."

"Good. After Juliet comes back with her cookies, go up and get your backpack ready. Drew and James will meet you in Rockfrett. Then you guys can buy a house together. You'll also have to enroll yourself as well to the school there. You will be in twelfth grade, and your age is seventeen. Understood?"

"Yep. Seventeen years old, meet up with Drew and James, buy a house, senior in high school."

"Great. Good luck, Kodiak."

***

"James, we have some news." James's guardian said, knocking on James's bedroom door.

"Sure," James responded. "Come on in." The guardians entered the room. "Are you ready to go back to Earth?" One asked.

"What do you mean? Is Kyle ready?" James replied.

"Yep." Another said, taking over the conversation. "He is leaving tomorrow. That means this is your last night here for now. Your friends Kodiak and Drew will meet you there."

"Where is there?"

"Good question. There, is Rockfrett, Colorado. When you get there, you will pose as a seventeen year old senior in high school. Which reminds me, you must get your driver's license, and enroll yourself in the high school in the city."

"That makes sense"

"Your stuff is packed," The third said this time. "We will provide assistance in any way that we can. Kyle should also have his guardian, Dylan, with him. Are you ready, James?"

"Yes."

One then closed the conversation by saying, "Then good night, James. And good luck."

***

"So that means I am leaving tonight?" Drew said to his guardian.

"Tomorrow to be exact," He replied. "But yes, you will be leaving. James and Kodiak will be waiting for you at Rockfrett, Colorado, the town in which you are staying at." Drew then turned to Jasper, his ocelot.

"Why Rockfly or whatever you just said?"

"Rock _frett_ ," Jasper corrected. "And he wants vengeance on the two Pacts who killed you and your friends. Kyle had read an article online explaining the was the town where they lived. Finding the two Pacts will also increase our chances of defeating Alpha Maximus."

"I see. I'm going to miss you guys."

"Why wouldn't you miss us?" Another joked. Drew smiled. "Do you have your things packed?"

"Yes."

"Are you really ready for this?"

"I'm as ready as I'll ever be."

"Good enough. Good Luck, Drew. And remember, Kyle's identity has been changed to someone not even we know. So don't touch anybody."

Chapter 9

I woke up on a patch of grass. And this time not by Eli, but by the sunlight itself. When I had realized that I had been sleeping on grass, I immediately got up and looked around. That's when I had known. I was back on Earth. I don't know how, but I was. I looked down. Dylan was still asleep, and my backpack was sitting next to him. And I was also wearing an orange shirt, blue basketball shorts, and flip flops. I don't even want to know how I got into those clothes. I had pajamas on before I went to bed.

"Hey, Dylan! Get up!" I said brusquely as I lightly shook him. He slowly opened his eyes. "Come, on dude! We have to find food and shelter!" Dylan rolled up and shook.

"Carter," He said. "We are on Earth, in a city. Not the Amazon! We don't need to find food and shelter. We look for a house after we find a cheap place to eat. Got it?"

"Well, if you sound so certain then why don't you save the Lybrian race huh?"

"I would, but quite frankly I'm not allowed to. Now follow me." Dylan turned and walked away from me. I laughed and trailed behind him.

We followed the road to the city. It was a nice little town. It seemed like the type of place where everyone knew each other, where everybody is friendly, like the ones in movies. In the town "square" you could call it, Dylan came across a small little diner. It was a shade of dark green, and the sign was a simple chalkboard. The sign on the front read, "ANGI'S HOMESTYLE CAFE: SERVES BREAKFAST, LUNCH, AND DINNER!" Dylan and I looked at each other. I read his mind. " _I think I'm going to like this place!"_ I smiled and we walked over to the cafe.

Inside was just the same. Rusty old paint, wooden tables, checkered table clothes, just like a fifties diner, but without the roller skates and slicked back hair. A girl at the counter came out and asked, "Can I help you?"

"Yeah, um" I replied. "Can my dog and I sit somewhere to eat?"

"Alright there's a table outside. Right this way." The girl motioned for us to go with her. Dylan and I didn't hesitate to obey. We were starving.

The girl looked about my age. She was tall, about five foot nine, long dark brown hair, light skin, and dark blue eyes. She was wearing bright red lipstick and a yellow collared shirt with a white skirt that went about to her knees.

Outside, the girl sat us down at a table made of metal as well were the chairs. They were shockingly very comfortable. "Thanks," I said to her. She handed me a menu.

"You're welcome. Haven't seen you around here before. Are you new?"

"Yep. Just got here today, actually."

"I see. Where are your parents?" I thought for a second. Parents. I couldn't tell her the truth. Than I had an idea

"My parents died three years ago in a car accident. I was put in my uncle's possession then. He was cruel, and I didn't like him, so I ran away with my dog."

"A run away. That sucks dude. How old are you?"

"Seventeen."

"I see. Do you think your uncle is looking for you?"

"Nope. He was the one who told me to leave in the first place. When I called him a day after I left, he said that he's glad I'm gone." I am a damn good liar!

"Wow. So I guess there's no reason to report you to the police. What's your name?" I quickly read her mind to see if it was okay to give her my name. _This kid seems cool. Poor guy though._ I could hear her think. This girl seemed safe. I looked at Dylan. He nodded.

"My name is Carter-Adrian. Carter-Adrian Breese. You can call me Carter."

"Nice to meet you, Carter."

"I can guess your name is Angi?"

"No, shockingly. My mother's name is Angela, nicknamed Angi. My name though, is Katy. Katy Sheppard. You can call me Katy." I laughed. An hour in this town and I've already made a friend.

"Awesome. Oh, and this is Dylan. He's friendly." Katy reached down to pet him, and Dylan licked her hand.

"Awww. He's so sweet! So do you want to order anything?"

"Oh yes! Right! I'll take the chocolate chip pancakes and some orange juice please, and he will have the ham. Oh, and can I have a mirror as well?"

"Alright! Coming right up. Wait, a mirror?"

"Yeah, I got a haircut before I came here and want to see if it looks good."

"It does, but there is a mirror in our bathroom in the back." Katy walked away smiling. She seems pretty cool. When she was gone I looked down at Dylan.

"What the hell was that, man?" I whispered, chuckling a bit.

"What?" He smirked.

"You licked her!"

"What? She's hot!" I rolled my eyes laughing. Wow.

I got up and headed to the back of the restaurant to go examine my new look. I ran my fingers through my new short blonde hair, and found that my eyes were still that weird blue green color. I could definitely feel that I was taller, and I was broader and built too-no longer scrawny. After five minutes of admiring my hotness, I went back out to sit with Dylan.

About ten minutes later, Katy came out with my piping hot pancakes and Dylan's two big slices of ham.

"There you go boys. One orange juice, three chocolate chip pancakes, and two slices of fresh ham for the little one."

"Thanks, Katy," I smiled. I took a bite of the pancakes. Katy looked at me as if she needed my approval. "These are delicious!" I exclaimed, my mouth still half full.

"Good," Katy laughed. "Hey, where are you going to live?"

"What?"

"I mean, you and Dylan are here by yourself. You obviously need a place to stay. What are you going to do? You can't just live on the streets. This town may be small, but it can be dangerous."

"Yeah. To be honest, I have no idea. I think I'll just hang around a playground or alley or something until we find somewhere to stay permanently. Oh, and that reminds me, what about the schools here? I plan on staying here for at least a year, so I might as well go to school."

"You're seventeen, right?"

"Yes."

"I suggest you go to Oliver High School. That's where I went. It's a pretty good school. Enrollment ends August first. It gives you about two weeks or so. It's July 18 now."

"Thanks. Wait, how old are you?"

"Eighteen. I graduated last year."

"Okay. That's cool. By the way, I don't have any money to pay for this." Katy sighed and rolled her eyes, going silent for a second.

"I've got an idea. If you work here, I will give you food. You can start tomorrow at nine a.m. if you accept it."

"That sounds awesome! Thanks, Katy! I'll be here at nine tomorrow."

"Come with me real quickly, Carter." She led me to the cash register inside. She opened it and handed me twenty-five bucks.

"This should last you until tomorrow if you skip lunch. Don't splurge all at once. I'm not even really supposed to be giving you this. See you tomorrow." She smiled and walked us out the door. I thanked her for the meal and the money and walked out with Dylan. This is turning out better than my life before. If life keeps going on like this, then this is going to be a great experience.

Dylan and I walked about a block or so before coming across a bench, and I sat down.

"So," Dylan said, jumping up next to me. "Now what?"

"Now," I replied, leaning over a bit. "We have to make you a dog."

"What are you talking about? I _am_ a dog! Can't you see? I have four legs, fur, and a tail! Anymore dog and I'll be licking my own butt and playing fetch!"

"First of all, that's gross. Second, I can see you're a dog. I'm not blind. But look at you! You are talking! You are still human! So we have to get you a collar, a leash-"

"Whoa Whoa Whoa. I can deal with a collar. That's understandable. However, a leash? No way! I am not a poodle that you can just show off! And I am certainly, not a pet."

"Dylan, will you just please let me finish? The leash will only be for some of the time. Only when leashes are absolutely required. You get to pick it out. And pretty much, you are my pet. Got it?"

"Fine." Dylan laid down and slumped on the bench.

"And you can't talk unless we are certain we are alone."

" _Got it."_ I heard a thought in my brain. It wasn't mine though. It was Dylan's.

"Can you communicate to me through thought?" I asked him. He nodded. "Can I talk to you through thought? Why didn't you think to me before?" He nodded again. " _Alright,_ I thought to him. _Let's go find a pet store."_ We both got up and walked some more down the street.

An hour of walking later, Dylan and I found the pet store entitled, "PET PALOOZA!" One look at the sign and we both kind of snickered. What an odd name.

Before we could enter the store, we read the sign on the door. " _Please put your pet on a leash before entering, 'PET PALOOZA!'"_ I looked down at Dylan. Crap. "Alright," I sighed. "Dylan, you sit here and stay. I'll tap on the window and show you an item. Then you tell me if you like it." My dog nodded and I went inside.

My first stop inside the store was isle seven: Collars and leashes. There were three collars that caught my attention.

The first one was a black collar with red stitching and silver stubs. I picked up the medium sized one.

The second collar was plain blue. I don't know why but I really liked it. So I picked up that one too.

The last collar was red with small, white doggie bones on it. I picked it up and headed over to the window.

I tapped in the window and as promised, Dylan perked up and looked at me. I showed him the first one. _I like that one._ He thought to me. I showed him the second one. _Plain, but I still like it._ I held up the third collar. _No way!_ I laughed. I put it down next to me. This time I showed him the first and second collar. He was silent for a bit. Thinking. _The blue one._ He finally responded. I nodded and put the other two back. Then I went further down the isle to where the leashes were. I decided on a blue leash to match the collar. I picked it up and headed for the checkout line.

"Your total is twelve dollars and ninety-three cents," Said the lady at the register. I pulled out the money Katy gave me from my pocket and gave here a twenty. She gave me my change and I walked out. "Here you go, boy." I joked. He rolled his eyes as I bent down to put on his collar and leash. Then I brought him back into the store. The lady at the register gave me a weird look. _"Wasn't that kid just in here?"_ I heard her think. I nodded and took Dylan to the "Make your own FREE dog tag!" stand near the back exit.

The stand looked much like a movie rental box. It was red and had a flat touch screen. I read it. "Press here to start." It said. I pressed the screen. It led me to about ten different styles of tags. I looked at Dylan. _"The dog bone,"_ he thought. So I chose the gold plated, dog boned shape tag. Then I clicked the "next" button on the screen. The new screen asked me to type in my address, phone number, and my pet's name. I didn't have a house. So I couldn't put in my address. I didn't have a phone, so I couldn't put in my number. Nevertheless, my dog had a name, so in big, fat letters I typed in, DYLAN. I looked down at him in approval. He nodded. I turned back to the screen and pressed the "finished" button. The machine made a noise like a printer, and then you could hear the slow etching of metal to metal. About two minutes later, a small, metal dog bone came out of the machine. I immediately grabbed it and put it on Dylan, then we left swiftly. Next stop, school enrollment.

I thought back on what Katy had said. Oliver High School. That's what we had to find. Dylan and I walked around a bit until we came across the school. A few other kids were there with us. "Excuse me," I said to one girl, but without touching her. She turned around. "Yes," she replied. Seeming somewhat alarmed.

"Sorry," I apologized. "I didn't mean to startle you. I'm new here, do you have any idea where the school enrollment sheet is."

"It's straight down and to your right. I'm actually heading there myself. Do you want to walk together?"

"Sure. I'm Carter, by the way."

"Rebekah." Rebekah had light brown hair and greenish grayish eyes. She was pretty short. Around five foot six. No way she could be my age. Rebekah had a brown, short sleeve T shirt on and some blue jeans. I don't know how she could've worn jeans in this weather. It was ten million degrees outside!

There was an awkward silence for a bit. The seconds feeling like years. Luckily, Rebekah struck up a conversation.

"Who's your friend?" She asked. I looked down at Dylan.

"Oh, this is Dylan." She bent down to pet him. Dylan moaned in response.

"He's really cute. Husky?"

"Siberian husky. Yep."

"So what brings you to Rockfrett?"

"Family wanted a change. So we moved. I used to live in New York City. They were sick of the noise. So one day I literally woke up with my stuff packed, and the next thing I know, my parents tell me to go get signed up for school. So here I am." I lied. But it was better than the one I told Katy, and much more believable. I'm finding myself to be a pretty good liar.

"I see. Do you like it here?"

"To be honest, it's too soon to tell. I got here this morning."

"Oh. What grade are you going into?"

"Twelfth. Senior year."

"I hear it's tough on new seniors. Good luck."

"Thanks. I appreciate the honesty."

"Hey, I'm just stating the facts!"

"So what about you?"

"What about me?"

"What grade are you going into? You obviously aren't my age."

"Well how do you know that? But you're right. I'm going to be a freshman. Yay."

"Freshman year wasn't so bad. Different, but I liked it."

"Well, you aren't from around here. The people from my middle school aren't exactly the nicest, or the smartest."

"Oh. Well I wish you the best of luck." Rebakah, Dylan, and I walked a little bit longer until we found the registration tables in the school gym. There were four of the tables. One for each grade level. Rebakah looked at me and said, "Well, it was nice meeting you. Maybe I'll see you around."

"You too, Rebekah." I replied. Then we parted ways. She walked over to the Freshman table, and I made my way over to the Senior table, where I was greeted by two volunteer parents. One if them looked up at me. "Name?" She asked.

"Carter."

"Full name?"

"Carter-Adrian Nicholas Breese."

"Okay. That's quite a mouthful, Mr. Breese. Age?"

"Seventeen."

"Date of birth?" Shoot. I haven't thought about that yet. I looked down at Dylan in distress. _Just use your old one._ He thought. I turned back to the lady.

"June 11, 1997."

"Name of parents or legal guardians?"

"Grant and Stacey Breese." Saying the first thing that came to mind.

"Your phone number?"

"Ummm, 214-497-7014." Another lie. Now I need to get a phone.

"Address?'

"I don't know. I just moved here."

"Are your parents here?"

"No."

"Will you have them fill out and sign this form and then bring it back tomorrow? Oh, and one more thing."

"Yes?"

"May I please see your drivers license?"

"I don't have one."

"Then how did you get here?"

"I walked."

"I see. When you arrive with your form tomorrow, I must see all the information filled out on this sheet."

"Got it. Thanks."

"Have a nice day. Next!" I left the table with the form. I took a look at it. Some of it was already filled out with the information I had told the lady.

I was walking out of the school, when I was abruptly and rudely shoved up against a wall. I looked at the kid who ran into me, and he did the same. But his reaction was a lot different then mine. The kid turned around and came back over to me. He grabbed my shirt, touching me. He was my height, but I was still scared.

"What are you looking at, kid?" He scolded me, his long, thick, dark brown hair came close enough to touch my face, and his brown eyes pierced my soul.

"You," I said back, my voice a little shaky.

"Well you better start clearing a path for me."

"I don't even know you."

"That doesn't matter-"

"TOMMY!"A voice shouted across the hall. The kid who was holding me, Tommy, dropped me instantly. I fell to the ground.

"What do you want, Samson?"

"Leave the kid alone." The other voice replied. I turned around and realized it was another boy about my age. Tommy looked at me in disgust.

"Just stay out of my way. Got it?" I looked at him fearfully. Tommy then walked away. The other boy jogged towards me. "You all right?" He asked me, helping me off the ground, touching my hand. Dylan bit my ankle. I shot him a dirty but apologetic look. I looked at his neck, he wasn't a Lybrian. I was safe. The boy had blue eyes and light, short brown hair. He was big, but in muscle, and wore a white shirt and baggy jeans.

"Yeah," I said back to the boy. "Thanks."

"No problem. Don't mind Tommy. He's just a jerk. I'm Nate Samson by the way."

"Hey. I'm Carter Breese. Thank you again for stopping him."

"It's my job, he's my step brother. He'll listen to me; otherwise I'll tell his mom. That's why I can stand up to him." He looked down a Dylan. "Is that your dog?"

"Yep. Dylan is his name. I've been getting that question a lot lately."

"Oh, cool. Did you transfer here from another school?"

"What?"

"I mean, I've never seen you at this high school, and I know you're a senior. Did you go to another high school before here?"

"Yeah. I just moved here from New York. Like literally, today. And how did you know I was a senior?"

"I saw you in line. I'm a senior too."

"Oh."

"Yep. Well, I better get going. My dad's waiting for me outside. Do you need a ride?"

"No thanks. I'll walk. See you at school then."

"Suit yourself. Later, dude." And he walked off. Dylan bit my ankle again. When we were alone in the hallway, he said to me out loud. "What is wrong with you! After all this training! You could've easily taken that Tommy kid!"

"I was just stunned and trying to check if he was a Lybrian or not."

"Carter, you'll know if you've been touched by a Lybrian. You will be able to feel it. And you can easily point out the Lybrians. Their marks will glow a bright blue when you're within sight distance. It wont shine, but you can see it vividly. Don't you understand? He could've killed you right then and there. Defend yourself with anything, but don't let him touch you! This cannot happen again!"

"Alright. Sorry. But if I can see Lyrians, then why can't I be touched?"

"Because they may be Pacts, who have also gone into hiding, or there are people who just haven't gotten touched, and could touch you. So stay away. Now let's go find a place to sleep."

"But it's only two o'clock."

"Not to stay there, but just so we know where we are going to be settled in for a while. Come on." I sighed and followed Dylan down the street away from Oliver High School.

Along a busy street was a playground, and it seemed like a good place to spend the next few nights. The playground was full of small children on the carousel, monkey bars, slides, and rock wall. The carousel was metal and rusty, as well as the monkey bars and swing set. However, the rock wall was plastic with inserts and handles. The other equipment was also plastic. Including the two slides, the tunnel, and the little playhouse. The kids seemed to enjoy it. Dylan and I agreed to sleep in the tunnel.

"Excuse me?" A voice asked behind me. I turned around. I couldn't believe my eyes. "Do you know where the nearest bathroom is?" He asked again. Then I realized I wasn't dreaming. The one talking to me was Kody, and he was surrounded by Drew, James, and Dakota. And their necks glowed a bright blue.

Chapter 10

"Do you?" Kody asked again. Too stunned to speak, I shook my head no. Then they walked by me. Feeling them leave was like a knife to the heart. I stood where I was for a second, paralyzed in shock. What had just happened? Dylan then snapped me out of my trance and led me to a bench to sit down.

"Yes," He said. "Those were your friends passing by. They are Lybrians as well. Remember the alliance we told you about? Code of Law?" I nodded my head, looking straight forward. "Well," Dylan stated again. "All of them except Dakota are a part of that. Surprise."

"And you never told me?" I said slowly but angrily. "ARE YOU KIDDING ME? WHAT IS WRONG WITH YOU? HOW COME YOU NEVER TOLD ME! AND WHAT DO YOU MEAN DAKOTA'S NOT ON MY SIDE?"

"Back off and let me explain." Dylan snapped back.

"Well go on then!"

"I can't."

"Then why the hell did you tell me to let you explain?"

"Because, I'm not exactly the best one to tell you."

"Then who is?"

"Star and Eli. We can visit them tonight. So relax."

***

James, Drew, Kody, and Dakota walked up a hill near an alley. "So Dakota," James asked Dakota, putting his arm around her. "I knew Drew and Kody were part of the Code of Law, but you were a great surprise!"

"Um, what are you talking about," Dakota questioned, pushing James's arm off of her.

"You know! How Kyle is the Light, and we're here to protect him and stuff. Didn't your guardians tell you?"

"No they didn't. I'm so confused. What are you talking about? Kyle's the Light? I told you never to talk about him!" Dakota looked curiously and with anger at James (He had known about the rule Dakota established: There is no talking about Kyle or the plane wreck or the past life). James turned away and looked pleadingly for back up to Drew and Kody. Was he not supposed to tell her?

***

Dakota was the last to fall asleep in the alley that night. She sat next to Kody and stroked his hair. He was Kyle's best friend. She looked over at Drew and thought about when they were at the airport. How they had laughed and how he had brought Kyle to tell the truth about the tickets. She turned her head to James, who was snoring. She remembered his most recent birthday party as she pulled out a picture from her pocket. It was the five of them at the party. James and Drew were on James's couch, him leaning on Drew. Kody stood on Kyle's left. Kyle had his arm around Dakota. She took a good look at the picture and a tear rolled down her cheek. How was Kyle? Was he doing okay? Had he known that he was a Mystian? Had he met his guardians? Dakota laid down thinking about him and entered a deep sleep.

Dakota awoke in Mystic with her guardians above her. Dakota sat upright and looked at one guardian. "Am I dead?" She asked.

"No," The guardian replied. "We just have to explain some things to you."

"About what?"

"Your boyfriend from your last life."

"KYLE?!" Dakota immediately stood up and her hazel eyes widened.

"Yes," Her other guardian began to talk. "We were observing what James had said earlier with Kyle being the Light. We had no idea. We knew the Light had been in this generation, but we didn't know it was Kyle Eilam Walton. Now knowing James, his words have proved to be hogwash in the past, but this not a matter Lybrians usually joke about. And this Code of Law. It's very peculiar. We had gotten in contact with James's, Kody's, and Drew's guardians about the subject."

"And what did they say?"

"I had spoken to one of each of their guardians. Kody's guardians had claimed he had no idea what I was talking about and then quickly hung up the line. James's said I was crazy and the likelihood of you guys ever meeting the Light was so slim it's almost impossible. However, Drew's guardians also accused me of being crazy. But then she told me Servan Court at 7:15 pm and Kyle the Light was the password. As you know, Severn Court is a place for very important meetings. The three of us will attend the meeting and investigate, unless the guardian was lying. But Jasper has always been in your favor, so I highly doubt that."

"You said 7:15, my watch says it's 1:37 am."

"Lybria time is different. Our time is slower; I thought you knew that. It is currently 6:48 pm here. We should be heading off now, and we should be sending you back. Goodbye, Dakota."

***

"What were you thinking?" He snapped at James. "There is a reason we didn't want Dakota in Code of Law! How do you you think her guardians reacted when they heard that Kyle was the Light? Come on, James!"

"Sorry," James mumbled. He felt so ashamed. He couldn't even make eye contact; he just stared at the ground.

"Now we are headed to a Code of Law meeting with the other guardians, and let's all just pray that Dakota's aren't there!"

***

That night, I climbed in the tunnel with Dylan as my pillow, eager to see Star and Eli. I must have been really tired from my first day back on Earth, because I fell asleep very quickly.

I woke up on my couch in Lybria. I sat upright and looked around. "Dylan?" I called out. "Star? Eli?" They were nowhere to be seen. I got up and headed over to the kitchen where I then found my guardians sitting at the table. Star smiled at me and motioned for me to take a seat. "I wasn't expecting to be meeting with you so soon," she said. "Well, as you can now see, Drew Van Unen, James Schlepi, and Kody Ge are a part of the Code of Law. They are there to protect you, but they don't need to until you are touched. So to ensure your safety and theirs as well, don't tell them who you are."

"What about Dakota?"

"Oh yes. The reason why we had not chosen her to be apart of Code of Law is because of how close you two were in the past life. We have a feeling she might spill the secret or get too attached to you if she finds out who you are."

"That's not fair! I want her on my team!"

"I'm afraid only the other guardians can help you with that decision. We will vote on the matter at the meeting tonight."

"There is a meeting tonight?"

"Yes. In Severn Court at 7:15 pm."

"Severn Court?"

"Yes," Eli started to say, cutting off Star. "Severn Court is a meeting area or court. Legal matters are held there as well as important matters of business. You have to have a space reserved with a designated password in order to have a meeting take place, and only those who know the password are able to get in the building. To reserve a space, all you have to do is go to the court, pick a time, put in your name, and pick a password. The password reserves the space for five hours at the most."

"I see. So you guys are headed there tonight?"

"Yes, but you can't come. I don't even want them to know your identity. Tomorrow morning Dylan will tell you how your notion was replied to. I hope your journey at Earth has been kind to you so far. Goodbye, Carter-Adrian."

***

All the guardians walked into Severn Court at precisely 7:15 pm, Lybria time. There were four wooden tables set up as a rectangle. At one head of the rectangle, were Kyle's guardians, Star, Eli, and Dylan. On the left was the table for Drew's guardians. on the right were Kody's guardians, at the other end of the rectangle was the table for James's guardians. They all sat down, and Eli began the meeting.

"Welcome friends and fellow Mystic guardians," he said. "As you all know, you are here because your Mystian has agreed to watch after the Light and protect him with his journey against Alpha Maximus. For security purposes, we still want his new identity to be kept a secret from you. I would like to take this time and consult with you how your Mystian has been doing. Table of Drew Ethan Van Unen, let's start with you." The court turned to the left. One guardian cleared his throat and started to speak.

"Our Mystian, Drew, has been holding up very well-" All of a sudden, three figures opened the door of the meeting room. They were Dakota's guardians, who slammed open the doors. Everyone's eyes widened, and a few had gasped.

"Code of Law, huh?" The cougar snapped at the other guardians. "And why wan't the closest one to the Light chosen to help protect him?"

"Aria!" Eli shouted. "Silence! I believe another table is in order." Star clapped her white paws together and another wooden table came in the rectangle. The five tables magically then became pentagon. "Take a seat," Star said calmly, but slightly irritated. Then she motioned to Eli.

"What brings you here tonight, Table of Dakota Grace Wilson?" Eli asked Dakota's guardians.

"Well," Aria spoke first. "Our Mystian, Dakota, was closest to Kyle-who we have now heard is the Light. Why isn't she on your team to protect him?"

"You said it yourself. Dakota and Kyle were very close. We don't want Dakota to touch Kyle in any way that could reveal his new identity. And we don't want the two to get so attached where Kyle would give his life for her. When a job this big has arisen, Kyle must stay focused and not be distracted by love."

"Let me ask you, Eli, when you gave Kyle his new identity, did you replace his brain?"

"No of course not."

"Then Kyle will still be in love with Dakota despite his looks. However, Dakota doesn't know who he is currently, so there is a less likely chance she will fall in love with him again and touch him. And if she does realize who he is, then knowing Dakota, she will put Kyle's life before her own."

"I see your points. Is that all?"

"No," Anther put in, continuing for Aria. "Dakota also brings powers that would greatly contribute to this alliance. She can turn invisible, therefore she could easily sneak into places. Not to mention she possesses great strength, which I think its benefits are self explanatory. Please let her be a part of this team. We already know who Kyle is now, and Dakota has an idea based on somebody's slippery lips." A dirty look was shot over to James's guardians.

"Alright then. I have to say, you are excellent negotiators. We shall have everyone of the court vote. Those in favor of letting Dakota Grace Wilson be a part of the Code of law?"

Around the room, paws and talons went up. From Kody's table, all three of the guardians put in their vote. From Drew's table, two raised a paw and talon in Dakota's favor. From James's table, two supported the notion, though one was reluctant at first. Eli looked over at his own group. Star and Dylan had a paw raised.

"All oppose?" Eli asked the group. Only two guardians were against having Dakota in the alliance. "It is settled then," Eli said, addressing the court. "Aria, please bring Dakota with us." Within ten seconds, Dakota walked through the doors of Severn Court. "So this is what this place looks like," She uttered to herself.

"Dakota Grace Wilson," Star said to her.

"Yes, ma'am?" Dakota turned to Star, now in a more serious mood.

"My name is Star. One of Kyle's three guardians. Do you know why you're here?"

"Does it have anything to do with Kyle being the Light? Like James said?"

"Correct. Kyle, your boyfriend in your past life, is indeed the Light. And the members you see here before you are members of an alliance called the Code of Law. We are here to protect Kyle in his fight against Alpha Maximus. We have just recruited you on this team under request of Kyle himself and your guardians. However, you must take this oath. If you break it, we swing your sword at your mark, and you lose all memory of this alliance and Kyle himself." Then Star turned to her guardians. "You all must also take this oath. If you break it, you become confused, with no memory recollection whatsoever, and you will wonder the lands of the Northern Border forever. We will start with you three. Aria, you go first. Repeat after me, and raise your right uh, paw. To make this an official oath, I am going to put my paw on your neck." Star got up from her table and walked over to the cougar, putting her own paw against Aria's neck. Aria's mark glowed a very bright blue, and both the guardians could feel a tingling sensation. The oath became alive.

"I, state your full name," Star commanded Aria.

"I, Aria Lesley Halt," Aria repeated, her right paw in the air, just as Star had instructed.

"Agree to help protect and defend the Light,"

"Agree to help protect and defend the Light,"

"To advise him but not direct him,"

"To advise him but not direct him,"

"And put his life before my own."

"And put his life before my own."

"I, as a guardian," Star continued.

"I, as a guardian,"

"Will not only help my Mystian, but help the others in their fight with the Light."

"Will not only help my Mystian, but help the others in their fight with the Light."

"I will come together with the other guardians for this fight, for the peace of Mystic and Lybria, as a whole."

"I will come together with the other guardians for this fight, for the peace of Mystic, and Lybria, as a whole." Aria said that last line, ending the oath. Star took off her paw, and Aria's mark stopped glowing.

Star did the same oath and ritual with the other two. Then she turned to Dakota. The same ritual applied with her, but a different reciting. Star put her paw on Dakota's mark, now having to stand on her hind legs. Dakota's mark, like the others, glowed the same blue with the same tingling sensation through her body.

"Raise your right hand," Star told Dakota. Dakota obeyed. "Now repeat after me. I, state your name."

"I," Dakota started. "Dakota Grace Wilson."

"Promise to help protect and defend the Light,"

"Promise to help protect and defend the Light,"

"Through hardships and despair,"

"Through hardships and despair,"

"To advise but not direct him,"

"To advise but not direct him,"

"And to put his life before my own."

"And to put his life before my own."

"I, not only vow to protect him but the others who help him too."

"I, not only vow to protect him but the others who help him too."

"I will aid the Light through his struggles and his journey to reunite the Pacts and Mystians as one."

"I will aid the Light through his struggles and his journey to reunite the Pacts and Mystians, as one." Dakota finished the oath, and Star removed her paw and got back on all fours. Then she sat back down at her table. Eli then spoke.

"Ladies and Gentlemen! The new members of the Code of Law!" The court room was suddenly filled with applause. Jasper stood up, and the others followed. When the guardians were seated, Dakota was sent back to Earth, and the meeting, was then continued.

Chapter 11

I woke up by the glow of the sun and a sharp pain in my neck and sides. I sat upright, hitting my head on the top of the tunnel I was sleeping in. I must have woken up Dylan because he jumped up off my lap and ran out of the tunnel, falling into the sand bellow us. I yawned and laughed at the same time, trying to pull myself out from the tunnel. "So how was the meeting?" I asked in between yawns.

"It was interesting," Dylan said. "But the results were good. Dakota has been accepted into the Code of Law. I have to say, her guardians are very persuasive."

"Really? That's amazing! Thank you so much, Dylan!"

"Remember, you have to stay away from them. You can befriend them, but do not get too close. Just avoid them. Now, don't you have a job to get to?"

"Job? Oh that's right!" I had almost forgotten, I had to be at Angi's Homestyle Cafe by nine o'clock. I looked down at my watch. It was 7:31 am. I had loads of time. I sat up and put my hands in my pocket, and felt a piece of paper. I pulled it out, and another memory came back. The paper was the school registration form! Shoot, I still had to get that filled out! I had time to think about it, but there was no adult I knew that would help me with this one. Not to mention I didn't know any adults.

"Come on, Dylan," I said, and he obeyed.

" _You need to change clothes."_ Dylan thought to me. He was right. I couldn't stay in the same clothes, and I knew I had some extra in my backpack. I nodded to Dylan and decided to go find a bathroom.

We walked up the hill behind the playground and found a bathroom facility and walked in, leaving Dylan outside. I went into one of the stalls and opened my backpack to see what clothes I had left. I took out black basketball shorts and a green T-shirt. I put the other clothes back in the bag and walked out of the bathroom to Dylan. _"Looking good, kid."_ He thought to me.

"Thanks. And you know I'm older than you right?"

" _Yep. Well, at least you are now. If you add up the amount of years I've lived, it would be ten times older than you."_

"Point taken. Come on, let's get over to Angi's and let's see what Katy thinks about the school papers."

" _Do you know where we are going?"_

"Of course I don't. But this is a small town, we'll be able to find it."

" _Alright, lead the way."_ So I did.

To make a long story short; Dylan and I took a left, then a right, then another right, and then over a course of forty-five minutes we made it to Angi's Homestyle Cafe. I walked in and was greeted at the cash register by Katy. I smiled, and Dylan's tail wagged faster. Silly dog. "Hey, Katy!" I said.

"Hey, Carter!" She replied with a smile. "Hello, Dylan."

"I've got a question for you,"

"Alright, hit me." I pulled the registration paper from my pocket.

"Okay, this is my registration form to Oliver High School."

"Okay. What about it?"

"I need an address, a phone number, parent's signature, birth certificate, and a social security number. What am I going to do?"

"Wow. I know that you can just forge the parent's signature. So that takes care of that problem. Ummm, let me think about it. How about we get to work and then later when my brother takes over at three, we can figure something out."

"I guess that'll work. I mean, because I can't just show up and say, hey I'm a homeless runaway with no phone so I can't fill out the form. They'll call the cops."

"I know. We will come up with something. Shall we start work?"

"Yep."

"Okay, I'll take care of the cooking and the cash register. You will be the waiter and clean the tables. Here's your notepad and a pen. The menus are right here by the register. Tell them your name and offer them something to drink. Then you bring the order back to me quickly so I can take their request. After the drinks, take their order and bring that back to me as well. Be careful with the trays of food when I give them to you. I'll tell you the rest later. Here's an apron and a hat. Put them on." That was a lot for me to process, but I think I got it. I put on the apron and then took a look at the hat she gave me. It was one of those white paper ones you see at the fast-food places.

"What is this?" I chuckled.

"Your hat." Katy replied.

"Why don't you have to wear one?"

"Because I look silly in those hats. You would look cute. So put it on, I see customers." I sighed and put on the hat. Katy laughed a bit, and as she predicted, two male sheriffs in uniform walked in.

"Hello, Katy," One officer said. Then he looked at me. "Who's this?"

"This is my new employee, Carter." Katy said with a smile.

"I didn't know you were hiring."

"He's new around here, and while my mom's gone, I guess I needed some help around here. And anyways, it gets lonely." I smiled. Thanks, Katy. Dylan then barked a bit and came from behind the counter.

"And who is this little one?" The other sheriff asked, bending down to pet Dylan.

"That's my dog, Dylan." I muttered.

"You know I've got a German Shepherd at home. Her name's Sadie."

"That's cool. So am I supposed to take you to your tables?"

"That's okay, we have our own tables." And the sheriffs walked outside and sat down at the same table Dylan and I sat at the day before. I followed them outside and asked them what they would like to eat.

"Just tell Katy the usual." A sheriff said softly. I nodded and reported to Katy. She smiled and went to the kitchen. I watched the sheriffs eat, they seemed so happy. I bet they had been friends for a long time. It was like how happy I was with my friends.

"Wait! Another customer! Just smile and ask them if they want an inside or outside table." Then a female walked into the cafe. She smiled at Katy.

"Hi, would you like an inside or outside table today?" I said with a friendly grin.

"Inside is fine," she replied, and I led her to a table next to the window and handed her a menu. I thought about what to say, and thought about every other waiter. Drinks. All waiters first asked for drinks. Got it.

"Can I start you off with a drink?"

"Yes," she said, looking through her menu. "I'll just have some water."

"Okay, one water on the way." I walked over to Katy and told her to get one water.

The rest of the day was very similar to that. I got the hang of things rather quickly. By 10:00 am, business was pretty quiet. That's when Dylan and I got our food. Ham for Dylan and pancakes for me. The diner didn't get somewhat busy again until 12:30 and went quiet again at 2:00 or so.

I put my hands in my pocket, feeling the registration paper again. Great. Since no one was in the cafe, I showed the paper to Katy again. "Did you think of anything?" I asked her.

"Yes, actually." She said. "So for the numbers and addresses, I can write down my information. Now for the birth certificate and social security number, you are on your own. Can I see the form please?" I handed Katy the folded paper. She took out a pen from her shirt pocket and wrote down her cell phone number and address.

"Thanks a ton, Katy." I beamed.

"No problem, Carter. I think I'm going to let you off now. If you need anything, I'll be here until three. Then my brother takes over until nine o'clock. Just leave your hat and apron here. I'll try and make you a yellow collared shirt like mine soon."

"Sounds good. Nine o'clock tomorrow morning?"

"Precisely. I guess I'll see you both later. Bye Carter, Dylan." I called for Dylan and waved goodbye to Katy. Now we were on our way to Oliver High School.

"What are we going to do about the social security number and birth certificate?" I asked Dylan, getting a few stares from bystanders.

" _I will tell you a preset social security number we made up a while ago. We have a birth certificate too. Come with me and I'll get it for you."_ Dylan thought back. I was confused, but didn't argue.

I followed Dylan into a dark alley that was almost isolated from the rest of the town. He made sure the coast was clear, and then brought me to the back of the alley.

"Stand back," Dylan warned me; and I obeyed. Dylan summoned an old crowbar from across the alley. I forgot he had telekinesis. Then he threw the crowbar at the wall. At first it didn't do anything, and I was unimpressed. However I ate my words when Dylan then used his lighting powers on the spot where the crowbar hit. I was stunned. The lightning was a cobalt blue with a tint of gold, and was big and powerful, yet almost silent. When the lightning ceased, a few pieces of paper fell right in front of him. Dylan picked them up with his mouth, and then walked out of the alley as if shooting lighting and dogs throwing crowbars at walls is normal. He's crazy.

Dylan dropped the papers at my feet. I picked them up and examined them. In my hands were my birth certificate, social security card, and some money. I stood there in shock. What did he just do?

"What was that?" I asked Dylan.

" _While on Earth, I still have my powers. Even as a guardian. So using my powers I summoned your papers from Mystic."_ He explained through thought. _"So I just got your birth certificate, social security number, and two hundred bucks. You're welcome. Katy isn't paying you, so this should pay for some stuff. Enrollment at Oliver High School is fifty dollars. Plus school supplies."_

"Wow. Thanks Dylan. Wait, where does it say the enrollment fee on the form?"

" _It doesn't.There was a sign next to the table that read 'Registration is fifty dollars.' Maybe you would've realized that if you weren't so busy getting into fights and stuff."_

"Hey, hey, hey, hold on a second. He started it!"

" _Don't care. Now come on and let's get you enrolled."_

And with that, I put on my backpack and we headed off back to Oliver High School. Again.

At the high school, the same lady as yesterday was sitting at the table for the senior registration. There was no one in line today. In fact there weren't many people in the gym at all. Dylan and I made our way to the table. The lady looked at me at me and then at Dylan. "All pets must be on a leash please." She said. I apologized and took out the leash from my backpack and put it on Dylan. I could hear him sigh; I kicked his heels letting him know to suck it up and deal with it. The woman nodded and asked for my name again.

"Carter-Adrian Nicholas Breese." I said proudly.

"Oh, yes," She responded. "Mr. Breese I do remember you. Do you have your application completely filled out?"

"Yes." I handed her the application, birth certificate, and the fifty dollars cash. She looked at me impressed. Like I was the only senior who turned in everything right.

"Thank you, Mr. Breese. Orientation is on August 24. Here is your birth certificate back. Have a nice day."

"Thank you."

As soon as I left the school, I took the leash off Dylan. He scowled at me and nipped my foot. "Stop it!" I scolded him. "Stop complaining and get used to society!" Dylan glared at me but remained silent. I read his mind. " _Geez. The nerve of some people. He doesn't know what it's like to be limited and tied up like a zoo animal."_ I was a little shocked, but I understood. "I'm sorry. I get it." I apologized. Dylan gave me a vague grin.

" _Now where are we going?"_ Dylan thought, this time to me.

"I guess we can go find another place to stay." I replied.

" _I like the park. What time is it?"_

"Four o'clock. I guess we could stay in the park until we find something more permanent. Tomorrow we could go get my driver's license. The test shouldn't be too hard. Do you want to go get dinner?"

" _Sure. By the way, we need to go to the dry cleaners soon. We only gave you clothes to last you a week."_

"Got it. We can go in a few days. Speaking of cleaning, what about our shower situation?"

" _Don't know. We'll look around."_

"Okay. So dinner, then park. Ready for tomorrow?"

" _Yep. While you get your license, I'll scout the town for some shower facilities and better places to stay."_

"Sounds good. Now let's find a place to eat. I'm starving."

Chapter 12

The next day after work at the diner, Dylan and I went looking for the DMV so I could take my driver's test. We found it a lot quicker than we thought, so Dylan told me to get in line and he was going to go find a better place to rest.

I walked in the DMV; the line was huge. I sighed and looked around. Towards the middle of the line, I saw Nate Samson from the school registration. I checked again to make sure he wasn't with his step brother, Tommy. He wasn't-good.

I went up to him. "Nate!" I said. He turned around and saw me.

"Hey," He said. "Carter, right?"

"Yes. Hey, do you mind if I wait in line here with you? I would probably kill myself if I had to start from the back." I whispered this time.

"Go ahead. The last thing we need is another suicide."

"So why are you here?"

"To get my picture retaken for my driver's license. What about you?"

"I'm here to actually take the test. To get my license."

"Are you serious? You are seventeen and don't have a license?"

"Yeah. My parents didn't want me to get it last year because of the move."

"I see."

"Can I see your driver's license?"

"What?"

"Your license. You said you were here to get your picture retaken. So let me see the old one."

"Alright, fine. But don't laugh." Nate pulled out his driver's license and sighed. He was right. The picture looked like he had rolled out of bed with a hangover. Nate had long hair in the picture instead of short and clean cut. He was wearing a maroon button up shirt, and the buttons were uneven. He wasn't smiling. In fact, he might have been frowning. I smirked, but managed to stifle a laugh.

"What happened?" I asked him, chuckling.

"I have no idea. I do recall that Tommy, my step brother remember, had put maple syrup in my shampoo. So my hair was sticky when I woke up. I don't know about the rest."

"Dude, that's awful, but funny. He got in trouble, right?"

"Sort of. His mom doesn't really punish him, and my dad is afraid that Tommy won't like him if he does. Tommy just had his phone taken away for the rest of the day and he couldn't go skateboarding at the park. He snuck out and went anyway though."

"That's so stupid."

"Yeah. I know. So where's your dog?" Nate changed the subject.

"At home, shockingly." Nate laughed, and we talked for another two hours until we got to the front, and Nate left to get his picture taken. One lady at the register took me out in the back to take my test. It wasn't too hard, because I had taken it before in my last life and passed. The lady was impressed with my super ninja driving skills. Now it was time for the written test, the one I didn't do so well on last time. However, I passed, and I was told to come back in a week to get my license. Yes! In my last life I had been anxiously waiting to get it. I remember Kody would rub it in our faces that he had been the first of our clique to get his license. It was so annoying, I wanted to take his license and snap it in half.

I went outside the DMV to wait for Dylan. I looked around, and saw my old friends walking around the area. All of them; James, Drew, Kody, and Dakota. They were laughing. However, they seemed alert and overly attentive to their surroundings. For my case, I guess, I couldn't take it anymore, I got up and walked over to them. "Hey, I'm Carter." I said so abruptly. James snickered a bit. "Sorry, it's just you guys seem so familiar I just had to say hi."

"Oh yeah," James said. "You were that dude we asked where the bathroom was. So it looks like you do talk."

"James, be nice." Dakota stopped him. "I'm Dakota. That's James, the dark haired one is Kody, and the ginger over there is Drew."

"Nice to meet you." I spoke again, finally getting to speak one on one with Dakota. "Are you guys all seniors?"

"Yep. Oliver High School. You too?"

"Yeah. Sorry again for just randomly coming up to you."

"Don't worry about it, uummm, Camryn?"

"Carter. Maybe we'll have the same classes."

"Hope so. You seem cool. But if you are going to get a chance of being in a class with Drew, you have to be super smart. If you want a class with James, you better be really stupid."

"I can hear you," James growled. Dakota smirked. I heard a bark across the street. It was Dylan sprinting over to me, looking quite concerned. Or as concerned as a dog can look.

"This is my dog, Dylan." I said to them, picking Dylan up.

"Where was he? He just came to you like that." Drew asked.

"He was over there by that bench," I lied, and I started getting twitchy. "I called him over by patting my leg."

"Oh, okay then. He's a cute dog. Siberian husky, looks about seven months in age, and seems as though he's been running for a while."

"Wow. You _are_ really smart. Danika was right." I said, purposely messing up Dakota's name.

"Dakota," She corrected, and I nodded apologetically to her.

" _We have to go,"_ Dylan thought.

"It was great meeting you guys. I have to go, but I work at Angi's Homestyle Cafe from nine until three everyday if you guys want to stop by sometime."

"Sure," Dakota said. "See you later, Carter."

"Bye guys." When they were gone I jumped up happily. I haven't spoken to my girlfriend in months. That felt amazing. James still had that intimidating sense about him, Drew was still super smart, and Kody. Kody hadn't said a word. Hopefully they'll come to the cafe while I'm at work. It would be great to talk to them again. I forgot how much I had missed them.

When I had finished mentally celebrating, I turned to Dylan so he could tell me his discoveries.

" _Still no place to stay yet. We're sleeping in the park again. However there is a dry cleaners on Garth Street. And they have showers available at the local pool. So in the mornings every two days just hop in there. But I have some news for you."_

"That's great! So what's the news?"

" _I saw them."_

"Who?"

" _The Pacts. Austin DeLuca and Timothy Swanson."_

"What? That's crazy!"

" _Keep your voice down! We have to get to work now. Play time is over. You can socialize when we get DeLuca and Swanson dead."_

"Where did you see them? I'm going to kill them as soon as I lay my eyes on them."

" _Not just yet. We need to get information from them so we can figure out where Alpha Maximus's location is. It may not even be on Earth, but if anyone will know, it would be the Pacts."_

"I like that idea better. But how?"

" _We must talk about this somewhere more in secret. People will start to wonder about a teenager talking to his dog."_ I opened my mouth to speak, but then looked around and realized Dylan was right. I was getting a lot of awkward stares from bystanders. I nodded at Dylan as we headed to the alley in which Dylan had gotten my birth certificate.

"Listen, Carter," Dylan said to me. "I'm not going to be here much longer. I have to leave when you start school. You have to start getting your head in the game. Flunk school, get detentions, I don't care. Just get some information about those Pacts. I am going to help you find a better place to stay, and give you some supplies. But that is it. I can only do so much on Earth."

"What? Okay. Remember it's only my third day here."

"Third day or eighty-fourth day. Doesn't matter. You have a job. Your friends? They don't exist. That Nate dude and Katy? They don't exist either. Don't touch anyone. Got it?"

"Yes. So what am I supposed to do now?"

"We get dinner at the diner and then head over to the dry cleaners. Keep your eye out."

"Alright." Dylan was right. It was time to get serious.

Chapter 13

Summer passed without another sighting of Austin and Timothy. Within those few weeks, however, of being on Earth, Dylan and I had found a new place to stay; and Katy started paying me to work.

The new place was about a mile outside of town. It was an old, really beat up, barn that was almost completely empty, not counting the mice. It looked as though it hadn't been touched in years. The barn had about three rooms. One was where I can assume the horses lived in, another was probably where the cows and pigs were kept, and the last was probably used for storage and chickens. Dylan and I managed to get most of the mice out and clean up the hay floors, which we eventually found were made of wood. With the money I made working with Katy, I bought a blow up air mattress and a few blankets to use as a bed. It didn't look too bad.

It was now August 27; three days left until school started. That morning, Dylan came to me, and he didn't look so great.

"Carter," He said, not making eye contact. "Remember a few weeks ago I told you that I would have to leave soon."

"Let me guess, you're leaving today?" I responded. His tone didn't make it too hard for me to tell what was happening. And I read his mind.

"Did you read my mind?"

"Yeah. You didn't seem very happy when you woke up today, so yeah I wanted to see what was up."

"Thanks for your concern. But yes, I'm leaving here today very soon.'

"When will I see you again?"

"When you die. Now, Star, Eli, and I have a gift for you." Dylan trotted away and pulled out a satchel mailbag. It was tan with a dark brown leather strap. On the front was engraved, CARTER-ADRIAN NICHOLAS BREESE. Kind of like the engraving on my bedroom door in Mystic. I picked up the mailbag, only focusing on its beauty.

"Dylan," I muttered with a smile. "It's stunning. I know I sound like a girl but it's true. Thank you. Come on, give me a hug." Dylan rolled his eyes but trotted into my arms. I was going to miss having him with me. I turned around to put the bag on a haystack we kept. When I turned back, Dylan was out of site. "Dylan?" I called out. No reply. He was gone. He was gone so fast, and now I was left alone. Who's going to remind me to stay on task? Who is going to keep me company everyday? I sighed and put the mailbag on my shoulders. I had to get some air.

It usually takes me about fifteen minutes or so to walk into town from the barn. Today, I walked a little slower. It saddened me to see Dylan go so abruptly. At night, it got really creepy, and the only thing that helped me sleep was that Dylan would be there to protect me. Not anymore. I'm on my own now.

9:00 am sharp I showed up at Angi's Homestyle Cade for work. I put on my new yellow-collared shirt, and my paper hat.

"Carter," Katy greeted me with some concern in her voice. I think she knew that I was upset. "Are you alright?"

"Yeah," I lied. "I'm okay."

"Where's Dylan?"

"He was hit by a truck." I lied again, this time my eyes got a little teary.

"Oh my gosh. Carter, I'm so sorry. Do you want to take work off today with full pay?"

"Are you sure?"

"I loved Dylan just as much as you did. It's the least I can do.Wow. I can't believe it. He made work more fun, and even the customers liked him."

"I guess so. Thanks, Katy."

"It's no problem. Oh, before you go, I have your schedule for school here. It came yesterday. And here's breakfast."

"Thanks. Bye Katy."

"Bye, Carter." I grabbed my stuff from her hands and put it in my mailbag; I managed a vague smile, still not making eye contact.

I decided to head over to the park where I had slept before. Sitting on the swing set, I pulled out the pancakes Katy had given me and ate them. I was looking around when a kid, no older than six, came up to me.

"Excuse me?" He asked me pleadingly. "Can I use this swing?"

"Say please!" I heard a woman, probably his mother, shout.

"Please?" I smiled and nodded, taking my food over to a bench. "Thank you!" He said excitedly as he leaped into the swing as if it was a Christmas present. "You're welcome," I said to him. He was a cute kid.

As I sat on the bench and looked around, I noticed two men in hoodies. It was like, eighty-five degrees outside, why would they be wearing such heavy jackets? It was time to stop grieving and get something done. I'm here for a purpose. I put my pancakes down and climbed a tree so I could spy on them without being noticed. That training back in Mystic really helped me climb it fast; it was a pretty tall tree. I read one of their minds.

It is so hot out here. I hope we find that bastard soon so we can come out of hiding. I know he's here. I can feel it.

I stopped in my tracks. Those men had to be the Pacts. I channeled my energy to the other's mind.

I'm so hungry. I hope Austin is too. Woah that girl is so hot.

I was less impressed, in fact, I laughed a little bit. However my enjoyment was short lived. So the taller one was Austin DeLuca, and the other one was Timothy Swanson. Got it. Then I heard the drone of a bee near me, and as I tried to swat it, I lost my balance and felt myself falling. When I hit the ground, I rubbed my head, got up, and started to laugh. Whoops. Thank God for my durability powers. It comes in handy. Looking around the park, I got stares from the kids and parents. I looked around again, this time for Austin and Timothy. They were gone. I swore loudly, and then apologized to the parents. I ran over to the parking lot to see if they were there. Nope; shoot.

August 30. The first day of school. I woke up at 7:30 am. School started at 8:30. I really didn't want to go, but it's something to keep me busy I guess, and I couldn't act suspicious. I put on some somewhat clean clothes and grabbed a comb I had gotten earlier. I styled my hair with the help of some broken glass I used as a mirror, brushed my teeth with a toothbrush I had bought as well, grabbed my bag and was walking into town by 7:45. I still had plenty of time to stop off and get breakfast from Katy, who agreed to let me work weekends only.

On the way to school I realized that I hadn't even looked at my schedule. When I pulled it out of my bag, there was a note and lock attached to it.

Dear Student,

We are delighted to have you here at Oliver High School. On the next page you will find the rulebook and schedule. Please read it through carefully. School starts at precisely 8:30 every morning, tardies will result in detentions. Our teachers and staff here are very qualified and excel in their subject. You are free to consult with them for help in that subject if you appear to struggle. If you seem to want a schedule or locker change, please see the counseling office by Thursday, October 21. I am looking forward to meeting you and am confident you will be happy here at Oliver.

Sincerely your principal,

Dr. Steves

Whatever. I turned the page and took a look at my schedule. I had locker 105, and a bunch of classes I didn't care about.

Again, whatever. At around 8:10 am I got my breakfast at Angi's. It was scrambled eggs today.

At 8:20, I got to Oliver High School. How exciting. I checked out my locker, set my lock, and headed over to room 31. Homeroom.

I took a seat towards the back of the room and looked around. There were some kids talking to each other in groups, and others in their seats. I then heard a sigh coming from next to me. I looked, and it was Kody.

"Hey, man," He said. "Carter right?"

"Yeah," I replied with a smile. "And you're Kody?"

"The one and only. That's a cool bag." He said, looking at the bag Dylan gave me.

"Thanks. Are the others in this class too?"

"I believe so. I know that James is. Looks like we'll see about Dakota and Drew."

"I guess so." As soon as I said that, the bell rang, startling a few of us. I then saw James in the front of the room, and Dakota next to him. Behind Kody and me, Drew was sitting. The Tommy kid who wanted to beat me up over the summer was there too. Nate was sitting next to him. And those were pretty much all the people I knew. The teacher then abruptly opened the door. Then she slammed it behind her.

"Good morning class," She spoke coldly. "My name is Mrs. Chuck. Welcome to homeroom. In this class I will be taking attendance, and you can quietly read, or do homework from another class. I have three textbooks of each course available to seniors, so it should supplement you. There will be no talking out of place, calling out, eating, drinking, or sleeping in this class. Understood? Good. Now, be quiet while I take attendance. Zoe Ackerman? Carter-Adrian Breese?"

"Here," I muttered. She scared me. Mrs. Chuck had black eyes and black, frizzy hair filled with grease. She had a pointy nose like a witch, and her voice was stern, and made you shiver. This was going to be a long year.

***

"Any sign of the boy?" Alpha said, his voice deep and violent.

"Sort of," Austin replied. "We know that he is in Rockfrett, Colorado."

"With you? Does he know your location?"

"He knows that we live in Rockfrett. I believe that is why he came there in the first place."

"Has he been touched?"

"No. I think we would all know if he was."

"Oh, yes. How silly of me. Thank you, Austin. Please bring Timothy in." Austin nodded and sighed as he was leaving the room. He was clear. Now it was Timothy's turn.

Timothy walked into the dark room and sat at the table across from Alpha Maximus.

"The boy," Alpha spoke, with the same dark tone he used with Austin.

"Yes," Timothy choked up. "What about him?"

"Any idea of his whereabouts in Rockfrett?"

"No, sir. However, we think that he might have some allies."

"Oh, really? What makes you say that?"

"We have seen Mystians together around the town. They are alert, and we think that they are the same ones around the boy when we crashed the plane."

"I see. DELUCA!" Austin ran in through the door.

"Yes sir?" He spoke. His voice was shaking as well as his body, and his heart was beating out of his chest. He was nervous about what lie ahead. "Is there a problem?"

"No," Alpha said. "Take a seat and relax. Stop shaking. There is no reason to be shaking, is there?" Austin shook his head and tried his best to control himself. He forgot Alpha had the power of the sense, and to detect others' mood.

"I thought so. Anyway, Timothy has just told me about possible suspects in alliance with the Light. Do you agree?"

"Yes. I think we are close in finding the boy."

"I can assume so. You have ninety days to find him. Otherwise, well, just don't fail. Keep close to that group of Mystians. Don't be seen, but FIND HIM! Dismissed!" Austin and Timothy got up from their chairs and bowed, then walked out of the room, realizing how much work had to be done.

***

School sucks. I have to go though: otherwise it could lead to suspicion. Some people in the town already think I'm crazy. I have three classes with Kody, five with Dakota, two with James, and just homeroom with Drew. We all hung out at lunch though. Just like old times. Dakota said how I reminded her of her ex boyfriend, Kyle. Strange.

Chapter 14

I had just finished my first week of school and I already have a bunch of homework to do. Nobody has given me any hassle, except for a few times Tommy kid "accidentally" bumped into me a few times. I don't like that kid.

Today is Saturday, and I went to work as agreed with Katy; who greeted me at the door.

"Hey, Carter!" She said, seeming happier than usual.

"Hey, Katy," I replied, showing some of the concern in my voice. "You seem, happier."

"Thanks. I'm just excited to see how your first week of school went."

"It was stupid."

"Oh really? How so?"

"Well, first off it's not going to be great, because it's school. Secondly, my homeroom teacher is scary. Like, she is a witch pretty much. She has a pointy nose and black hair."

"Mrs. Chuck?"

"Yeah! I can't believe she's a 'Mrs.'"

"Nice," Katy laughed and nodded her head in agreement. "I had her. She absolutely _hated_ me!"

"Really? Why?" I asked, grabbing a rag to wipe down the tables.

"Because I was too sarcastic. I remember one time she said something like, 'You are getting a really good education here at Oliver and should be grateful!' and I said in reply, 'Well it's obviously not coming from you."

"Are you serious?"

"Yep. Got a detention and a call to my parents."

"That must've taken major guts."

"It did. But I didn't care. Have you made any friends?"

"Yeah. Five actually. I don't think you would know them. Do you know Nate Samson?"

"Yes. I'm familiar with the Samson family. His dad has a stepson, Tommy I think."

"Yeah. He doesn't like me."

"What? Why?"

"I accidentally bumped into him about a month ago when I first came here. He tried to beat me up until Nate stopped him."

"That sucks. Tommy will sometimes come in here and wreck my stuff, and leave a huge mess for me to clean up. I don't like him, and he's a huge mama's boy. Nate is really nice though. When Tommy will make a mess, sometimes Nate will help me clean up. Nate and his dad used to be my neighbors growing up."

"That's pretty cool. He hasn't come around all summer."

"I know. Have you made any other friends?"

"Yeah. All in my grade. There's Kodiak Ge, Drew Van Unen, James Schlepi, and Dakota Wilson."

"That's great. I'm glad you're doing okay." Then we heard somebody come through the door. It was Drew believe it or not. He looked up at me, somewhat shocked.

"Hey, Carter-Adrian Nicholas Breese." He said.

"Hello Drew Ethan Van Unen." I replied, using the full name thing. He finds my name fascinating. I then turned to Katy.

"This is Drew Van Unen, ironically." I said with a smile. "Drew, this is Katy Sheppard."

"Hello Drew," Katy acknowledged. Drew smiled and gave her a handshake.

"Hi, Katy." He said politely. He's so proper, I swear.

"So what are you doing here?" I asked, putting down my cleaning rag.

"Homework," He replied, sitting down at a table and taking out his laptop. "The sign outside says that there is free wifi here. And I remember telling me you work here. So, why not?"

"Well, you made a very good choice on coming here today. It's very quiet around here. Do you mind if I sit with you?"

"Go ahead. If I'm not making direct eye-contact, you must excuse me. I have a paper due next Wednesday about the Federal System of government and have to focus on my screen. I'm here to work on it."

"It's cool. So, Dakota said that I reminded her of her ex, Kyle. Is that a good thing or a bad thing?" Drew stopped typing for a minute and sighed. Too soon?

"It's a great thing. You should be honored. Actually, you do remind me of Kyle. Except you guys look nothing alike. You do appear to have the same eyes as him though."

"Kyle seems like a good guy, and Dakota seems to love him. Why did they break up?"

"They didn't. Kyle died in a fire in June. He was a really good friend of mine. It was hard on all of us. Kody, James, and me. However it really struck Dakota. She loved him more than anything. She still has nightmares about it, in fact. It scares us."

"Oh my gosh, I'm so sorry. I didn't mean to-" Of course I knew this information, but just to hear it from somebody else's perspective.

"It's fine, dude. Just don't bring it up around Dakota."

"Got it. What was he like?"

"Well, he was sarcastic. He was also a nervous wreck when it came to certain things. It was quite funny. Kyle was outgoing and always stuck by his guns. No matter what. He didn't follow the crowd, and stood up for people, which would sometimes get him into trouble. He was kind and understanding. A great friend. Kyle was a leader. He had just turned sixteen when he died. You want a picture?"

"Sure." I can't believe what was happening. My old friend talking about me so positively. I could feel my eyes start to water a little bit. No. He was talking about Kyle. I am _not_ Kyle, I am Carter-Adrian.

"Here he is. This is Kyle Eilam Walton." He turned his laptop around so I could see. It was the same picture I had back in my room in Mystic. The picture with all of us at James's birthday party. I smiled.

"That's a great picture. Again, I'm really sorry."

"It's okay."

"Sorry to distract you from your work too. But where are Kody and them?"

"Don't know. Probably at their houses."

"I see. Tell them they should come here sometime."

"I will."

***

"DARIUS!" Alpha called. Darius slowly walked in, shutting the palace doors. He was one of Alpha's guardians on a desk. "Where is he?" He asked the guardian.

"Come with me," She replied hastily. She escorted him upstairs and opened a large, black door. When he entered, the doors were immediately slammed shut.

"Master?" He asked, his voice cracking in the pitch black room.

"Darius," Alpha replied, his voice echoing. However he was no where in sight. "Do you know how much I would like to murder you right now?"

"No, sir."

"Well, it is a lot. Do you know why?"

"No, sir." Darius repeated. He could feel and hear Alpha's voice become closer to him.

"Of course not. How much work have you done in finding the boy?"

"I thought he was dead, sir."

"Exactly. I put you and your family in Rockfrett to FIND him! He is not found! Do you think that your life would be a lot different if he was DEAD! Do you know Austin DeLuca and Timothy Swanson?"

"Yes sir, they are your second in command."

"Very good, Darius. Now, I want you to find them and join them on the search for the boy. You have ninety days, same as they do. Three months, Darius; or you and your family will suffer severe consequences. Understood?"

"Yes, sir."

"Good. This is a chance to redeem yourself after what happened. I hope you still have your skills. You should be thrilled, I wouldn't put just anybody on a task such as this. Consider yourself lucky."

"Yes, sir. Of course, sir."

"Oh, and Darius?"

"Yes, sir?"

"Don't you ever come here empty handed again. Okay? I gave you this assignment when Austin and Timothy crashed that plane! No results! Not one! Now get out of my sight!" Darius felt a strike on his cheek, which was so powerful it sent him out the door and down the staircase. He didn't see Alpha Maximus once during that meeting.

***

It was Monday again. September 17. The weather became a little colder, but it was still the same routine as every day.

During third period English, the principal made an announcement over the PA system.

" _Rebekah Ramer, please come to the counseling center. Rebekah Ramer."_ Ramer. That name sounded awfully familiar. Wasn't it that guy who helped arrest me when I was in the FBI holding station? Ramer. I doubted it, but maybe they had something in common. Cousins maybe? I asked to be excused to the bathroom, and I took a detour to the counseling center. I saw a girl walking there as well. That must be Rebekah. Oh yeah, I had met her before when I first got here. I wonder if she remembered me.

"Rebekah!" I called. She turned around.

"Hi," She said, slightly startled. "You look familiar. Didn't I talk to you at the school registration over the summer?"

"Yeah, it's me Carter."

"I don't mean to be rude, but what do you want?"

"Oh, right. Your last name is Ramer?"

"Yeah, why?"

"Are you related to anyone who works in the FBI?"

"Yes, but he quit in mid July. Again, why?"

"Did he work in the Kyle Walton terrorist case?"

"Yes. He brought the Walton boy into the holding cell and drove the car. He's my dad. My dad said when Walton committed suicide he quit and moved out here to live with my mom and me. Why do you need to know this?"

"I was just curious."

"So you ditched class to come ask me that question?"

"Yes."

"Anymore questions you would like to know?"

"Not at the moment."

"Okay. Well bye, Carter."

"Thanks Rebekah." As I walked back to class, I put some pieces together. Why would someone quit right after working with someone and just happen to show up in the same town he was in? I smell a rat, and it stinks. I have a feeling there are more people after me than I had realized.

Chapter 15

That day I decided to follow Rebekah home. She walked, which helped. I kept a good distance. Oh! How the power of invisibility would've helped right now! She lived in a nice, two story house. I pulled out a pen and ripped a piece of paper from my mailbag. I wrote down the address: 2321 Sea Winter Street, Rockfrett, CO. Alright, now the fun begins.

***

"Eli!" Jasper the ocelot banged on the door. "Star! Dylan! Please open up! I have some important news!" Star opened the door and ushered her in. Eli and Dylan sat on the couch in the living room, concerned about the fuss Jasper was making.

"Did Drew touch him?" Star asked.

"No. We would've known if he had."

"Then what is this fuss about?" Eli demanded.

"Rumor has it that Alpha Maximus is putting Darius Ramer on the job!"

"Darius! I thought he retired from spy work after he almost blew up Pact."

"Me too! Eli, you know what this means for you. The boy is pretty well hid. If Alpha can't find answers from him, then he is coming after you. With _all_ his army. Darius is his last hope. With Darius hunting him down, along with the other two Pacts, you know what this could mean."

"We must take further precautions. Isolation. We can find Alpha ourselves."

"ELI!" Dylan interjected. "You _know_ why we can't do that!"

"Shut up, Dylan!" Eli shot back.

"Eli," Jasper said. "He is right. The boy must remain on Earth. There is no possible way we are able to find Alpha on Earth."

"Do you have any suggestions?" Star asked.

"No," Jasper replied.

"We are calling an emergency Code of Law meeting here. Tonight."

***

Thursday, September 27. Kody was sick; Drew and James were out of town; so it was just Dakota and me. We sat down in the same spot at lunch, the bench nearest to the huge oak tree. She was more beautiful than I had remembered. Her hair was longer, and it had turned a lighter brown because of the sun. I wanted to kiss her so badly, and tell her that I am Kyle. But I can't. As the saying goes, so close yet so far away.

"Did we have French homework last night?" I asked her, trying to make conversation.

"Yep. Page 73, exercises one through three. You didn't do it, did you?" She questioned and chuckled a bit.

"Since when do I actually do French homework the night before? I'll just do it in class before she checks it." We both laughed. We had a routine, usually. If I didn't do my homework, she lets me copy hers. However, I can only copy hers once a week. The rest I'm on my own. I think it's a very good plan. "Hey, Breese!" I heard someone say to me; and they didn't sound happy to see me either. I turned around. It was that bully, Tommy. Now what?

"Look at me!" He ordered. "Go get my basketball!" His basketball was literally five feet away from him. He only wanted me to go get it for power. I'm not playing this game.

"Get it yourself and get lost!" I shouted back.

"You know what, Breese? You're absolutely right. How silly of me to think that someone else should get me _my_ own basketball." I nodded and gave him a dirty look, but couldn't tell if he was being sarcastic or not. I turned back to Dakota, when Tommy's basketball hit Dakota's tray of food, spilling it all over her. "Sorry!" He shouted, and then turned back laughing to his friends. Dakota looked absolutely disgusted, but didn't do anything. I was going to though. Tommy can do whatever he wants to me, but he leaves Dakota out of this. I stood up and walked furiously towards Tommy.

"Carter, stop!" Dakota pleaded. But it was too late. I was already face-to-face with Tommy.

"Leave. Her. Alone." I spoke firmly. I could see him at eye level, and I peered over him little bit; he should be very afraid.

"Or what?" He replied, trying to save face.

"Or this!" I shouted and I full on punched him in the face. He bent over a bit but recovered quickly. He attempted to punch me back, but I grabbed his arm and twisted it back with no effort, then I kicked him to the ground. All the training I had learned back in Mystic with Dylan had really helped. I kicked him one more time for good luck. By now, Tommy's nose was ferociously bleeding, and I had scraped his arm up pretty bad. He was on the ground, almost unconscious. I bent down and grabbed his ear. "Apologize," I demanded sternly. He nodded, but couldn't get up to carry out the order. A teacher then yelled my name.

"Carter-Adrian Breese!" She yelled. I turned around. It was Mrs. Chuck. Of all the people I could've been caught by. I sighed and followed her through the crowd of interested students who had witnessed the fight, up to the principal's office.

I was faced with a three day suspension. I couldn't come back to school until Tuesday. My regular classes would resume then, and I was to leave immediately. The principal called my "parents," who's call went directly to Katy's cell phone. "Hello?" She picked up. The principal explained what had happened and that I needed to be picked up; she agreed, and told me to wait outside the school. I gathered my things and Dakota walked me out.

"Why the hell did you do that?" She asked. "What were you thinking?"

"I did it because I was sick of him picking on me, and there was no reason why you had to be involved. I couldn't take it anymore. I'm sorry, Dakota." Right then Katy honked her horn. I waved goodbye and started walking.

"Carter," She stopped me. "Thank you." I gave a polite nod and smile; and got in the car. Nailed it!

"Thank's Katy," I greeted her, avoiding eye contact.

"I get a call in the middle of nowhere at work saying that you got into a fight? Carter! I can't believe you! I had to close down so I could come pick you up! Why would you do that?" Katy started yelling at me. I felt really bad.

"I'm sorry," That's all I could manage. Then I noticed a smirk upon her face.

"So, how did it feel?" She asked, now interested in my fight.

"Actually, it felt good. I was sick of that kid. Do you think that Nate will get mad at me?"

"Nah. He would get a little upset, but he'll be fine after an hour. In fact he might even congratulate you. So why did you do it?"

"I refused to get his basketball for him so he threw it at Dakota and her food spilt all over her nice shirt. So I took a stand."

"Good for you! I'm proud, Carter-Adrian."

"Really? So you're not mad?"

"Nope. I just yelled at you because I felt like I needed to make you feel bad as your mother figure. It's not as fun as it seems in the movies. Carter, why would I get mad at you for standing up for yourself and, more importantly, standing up for others. For what you believe in. What is there to be mad about?" I smiled.

"Thanks, Katy. For everything. Wait, mother figure? I'm like, a year younger than you!"

"Yes. However I am an adult because I'm eighteen. You are seventeen, making you a minor under the law. So ha."

"Fine, mother. I get your point. Can I work at the diner during my days off?"

"Of course. Was that girl who thanked you Dakota?"

"Yes. Yes it was."

"She's pretty. You two should go out."

"I'm working on it."

"Ooooohhhhh! You guys would make a cute couple!"

"Oh shut up!"

"What? It's true! I bet that she loves you now after what you just did for her."

"I sure hope so. Hey, maybe she likes bad boys who get suspended!"

"Or maybe she likes nice guys who stand up for what they believe in."

"It's all about perspective."

"Very true!" I had a good feeling that this wasn't going to be such a bad weekend. But this is a great chance for me to get some more information on the location of Alpha Maximus. After work, my next stop is the house of Rebekah Ramer and her father.

That Saturday at work, Kody and James walked through the door.

"You beat up Tommy Payne!" James shouted.

"Are you freaking serious!" Kody joined in. "That's awesome!" I laughed and stopped cleaning for a second.

"Who told you?" I asked them.

"Dakota," Kody said.

"It was nothing really. Just sticking up for what I believe in. Nothing more."

"It seems you are a man of many wise words."

"Thanks for doing that though," James said, his tone becoming more serious. "Drew told you about Kyle?"

"Yeah. I'm sorry."

"She's acted weird since the death. She sometimes still wakes up screaming in the middle of the night. Sometimes she'll cry for hours. Not too often anymore, but for the first month she would cry a lot. After Kyle died she became quieter, and had a hard time defending herself. Dakota is very strong and has a lot of self control. Too much self control."

"Yeah. She doesn't really know when enough is enough. The fact that you not only did it for yourself but for her and others as well, it's great," Kody added. I had never seen James get that deep before. I had no idea that the plane crash affected her so much, thinking that the terrorists had hit my mark and killed me forever. I don't know how much longer I can take this.

"Anytime, guys. Where's Drew?" I changed the subject.

"I don't know," Kody said. "I think he's with Dakota. So we decided to come thank you. Since I am no longer 'sick' and James isn't 'out of town.'" Typical James behavior. I was a little shocked that Kody and Drew were faking it though. Especially Drew.

After work I headed over to Rebekah Ramer's house. School got out at 3:30, and it was 3:15. I peered through the window, and saw her dad passed out on the couch. I gasped. This was definitely the same guy from the FBI agency. He had the same slicked back black hair, same olive colored skin tone, and the same stubble from a recent shave. Behind the bushes, I heard footsteps. It wasn't Rebekah, but instead Austin and Timothy. They walked up the driveway and barged in the house, not even knocking. Ramer immediately woke up and stood up at the sight of them.

"Darius Ramer?" Austin asked.

"Yes," Darius replied. Then Austin pulled out a gun.

"Prove it," He said, aiming his gun at Darius. Darius held out his hand, and Timothy touched it. Darius's neck glowed an eye-blinding red. I fell backwards and couldn't breath. What? I sat back upright again, and continued to watch. Darius climbed up his wall, and Timothy fell on the floor when he snapped his fingers. Hypnosis. Not fair. Timothy awoke when Darius snapped his fingers a second time. My eyes widened when Darius spoke again.

"Timothy Swanson and Austin DeLuca?" He asked.

"Yes," Austin replied.

"Prove it." Austin held out his hand and Darius touched it. Austin's neck glowed the same shade of red, as well as Timothy's. Austin pulled out his gun again, and looked at Darius's dart board. He closed his eyes and turned around. Austin fired his gun between his legs, and bullseye. The bullet shot right through the center of the dart board. Then he opened his hand, producing a flame. Aim and fire. Now it was Timothy's turn to show off. "HELLO DARIUS!!!!!" He screamed. Timothy's voice was so powerful that it shattered the windows and almost burst an ear drum. Austin laughed and Darius nodded approvingly.

"And?" Darius asked. He apparently wasn't content with Timothy's one power.

"I have the other power of sight," Timothy responded. Then he looked out the window, ducking down as far as I could behind the bush.

"For example," He said. "There is a boy hiding in your bush." My heart sank as Austin stepped out of the window and I got up to run just before he grabbed me. I ran and ran all the way back to the barn. It was way too close. I didn't have my hood on, but he didn't see my face, thank God. I sat down on my mattress in shock. I really screwed things up.

Chapter 16

I didn't go back to the Ramer's house again. Instead, the only spy work I did was very far away. If I spotted them then I kept my distance and read their minds. Not too much information was recovered. It's going to take some time and patience to get anything out of them - they're as dumb as a doornail.

It was November 21. Thanksgiving was tomorrow, and school got out two days ago. I planned to spend it with Katy and her brother, Jack. The weather was cold and some snow had begun to fall.

I went back to the grocery store to pick up some food for tomorrow's feast. Along the way, I heard a noise. A very faint, crying sound. I turned back around to see who it was. Sure enough, it was a girl crying behind a trash can. To be more specific, it was Dakota.

"Dakota," I muttered. "What's wrong?" I sat next to her as she picked up her head from her arms.

"Carter," She sniffed, wiping her eyes with her jacket sleeve. "I'm fine. What are you doing here?"

"Picking up some stuff for Thanksgiving dinner tomorrow. I think the real question is, what are you doing here? Where are Kody and the others?"

"Come with me." She said as she lead me into an alley I was unfamiliar with. She sat down again, and I sat right next to her.

"Remember how I had told you about my ex, Kyle?" She asked. Uh-oh. I know what this is about now.

"Yeah." I replied, twitching a bit. My voice cracked.

"Well, we didn't break up, he died in a fire in June."

"I know. Drew told me."

"Oh. Anyways, in the eighth grade, he had asked me out. Today. This would have been our five year anniversary." And there it was. I felt a tear roll down my face. This was all just way too much.

"You remind me so much of him. You guys even have the same eyes."

"Dakota, I know how you feel." She started to get angry as she stood up.

"No, you don't Kyle! Nobody understands! Why do you think you always know the answer to everything, Kyle?" My heart sank. Those were the same words she had said to me last year when her parents got a divorce and her brother drowned. I couldn't take this anymore, I grabbed her and pulled her in to kiss her. She tried to fight at first, but then she accepted it and enjoyed the moment, as did I. Her lips were so soft, and everything just felt so right. When I pulled away, I felt tingly, but for another reason. Then my whole body started to sting when I realized that I had been touched by a Lybrian. I felt the mark on my neck burn, as it glowed a bright gold instead of the cobalt blue color. Soon the stinging stopped and the light from my mark dimmed down; I still felt tingly though. What did I just do? I had been exposed as The Light. I looked over at Dakota with a worried and horrified look on my face. She had taken several steps back and gasped.

"K-k-k-Kyle?" She stuttered. I nodded, and she ran to me, jumping into my arms. I caught her and held her close. "Kyle," She said again. I could feel her tears drip down onto my shirt. "I've missed you so much. I can't believe it. I love you, Kyle."

"I love you too. But I'm not Kyle. I'm Carter now."

"Wait, oh my gosh."

"What is it?" I asked, putting her down.

"What have I done!? I have just exposed you to everybody! Now you're really going to die because they are going to find you and you are going to have an awful death and I'm going to get kicked out of the Code of Law and become a mortal! I'm so sorry!"

"The Pacts probably already knew who I was. It's not your fault and it's going to be okay. I'm not going to die. You, Kody, James, and Drew and I are going to kick some Alpha ass." Speaking of which, Kody, Drew, and James came around the alley, panting and full of concern.

"DAKOTA!" Kody screamed. "HE'S BEEN TOUCHED! WE HAVE TO FIND HIM!" Then James looked up at me.

"Guys," He said. "Look." They saw my mark glow. I did my nervous routine, where I cock my head to the side and scratch the back of my neck.

"Kyle?" Kody asked in awe. He stepped back and his face turned white as if he had just seen a ghost.

"Surprise?" I said. Drew came up to me and reached out to touch me.

"Is it really you?" He asked in a voice so small it was almost a whisper.

"Yeah. Hi, guys." James gave me a slight head nod, but didn't say anything. Kody came up to me and then gave me a hug. When he released, I saw him begin to cry.

"I can't believe it," He said. "How were you exposed?"

"Today was Dakota and my's anniversary, so when she was crying, I lost control and kissed her. Therefore touching her. It wasn't her fault."

"I know. Actually I'm kind of relieved. I've missed you, buddy. My brother has come home." I smiled and looked up.

"I love you guys. Let's get out of here before the Pacts find out where we are."

"Where?"

"My place. Hurry. We have to be stealthy here and we can't run, but everybody put up your hood and let's sneak through a few streets. If you guys knew that I had been touched, then it's more than likely the Pacts did too." Everyone put on their hoods except for James, because he wasn't wearing a jacket. Oh well.

We snuck out of the town and on to the old road that leads to the barn. That's when we sprinted. We made it to the barn safely, and I shut the doors behind me.

"Take a seat," I instructed. Dakota sat next to me on the bed, Drew sat on the floor, Kody pulled up a chair, and James climbed up and sat on the storage shelf. Show off.

"So since we are all here and my true identity is revealed," I stated. "we need a game plan. I'm only safe tonight. I know I can defeat and find Alpha Maximus, but I can't do it alone. I need your help. However, we can't leave because the Pacts are here. So we need a plan. What are your guys' powers? If you can, demonstrate. Drew Ethan Van Unen, you go first."

"Gladly. I have camouflage and I'm pretty flexible." Drew stood up and inhaled. Then he disappeared. We heard a large clapping sound, and Drew was now visible. Now for flexibility, he stretched his arm across the barn and touched the wall. Impressive.

"Nice. Dakota Grace Wilson?" I looked next to me and she was gone. "Where's Dakota, guys?" Then she reappeared up on the storage shelf next to James.

"Invisibility, everyone!" She said proudly. Dakota hopped down and them picked up the whole mattress with me on it. "And strength."

"Very nice," I complimented as she sat back next to me. "Kodiak Christian Ge. Your turn." Kody stood up and cleared his throat, rubbing his hands together in preparation. He pulled a knife from his pocket and cut Drew's arm. Deep. I stood up, even though Drew wasn't hurt at the slightest. Then Kody touched the spot he had cut and almost instantly the cut was gone. Then He flew across the barn. That's right, flew. No wings, Kody was just able to fly.

"Alright, Peter Pan," I said. "Finally, it's James Schlepi's turn to show off." James got down from the shelf and went outside, not saying a single word. We followed him out as he started to run. _Really_ fast. I asked him to run around the barn ten times, and when he was finished (I had timed him), his time was 6.7 seconds. Then James went back in the barn.

"Don't you have another power?" I asked. No response from James.

"He can breath underwater," Dakota said, then fired a dirty look at James.

"That makes sense why he excelled in track and swimming. He can run fast, and breathing underwater makes him more agile." Dakota smiled and nodded. James still just sat there. Was he mad at me or what?

"Alright, Mr. Light," Kody said, lightening up the mood. "What are your powers?" I read James's mind because I was curious and sick of his silence.

" _I should've known he was the Light. Now I wonder if he wants to be called Kyle or Carter?"_ No sign of the silence, but still good for demonstration purposes.

"James is wondering if I should be called Kyle or Carter. The answer is Carter or Carter-Adrian. I am not Kyle anymore. And yes, my power is mind reading. My other power is durability. So I can jump off roofs and stuff and not get injured. For example, When I got shot in the plane, it hurt a little bit, however I got away with only a scratch. No big deal."

"That's cool," Drew said. "So what's the plan, boss?"

"We have to find the location of Alpha Maximus. There are three Pacts that I know of in Rockfrett. Darius Ramer, who helped get me arrested in my last life; Austin DeLuca, one of the terrorists who crashed the plane; and Timothy Swanson, the other terrorist."

"Ramer, doesn't his daughter go to Oliver?"

"Yeah. Her name is Rebekah. So Darius, Austin, and Timothy are the only ones who would know his location. I know where Darius lives, and that Austin and Timothy hang out there while Rebekah's at school. So here's what we need to do in order to capture the Pacts. Austin and Timothy are pretty much joined at the hip. So we can go after Darius first when he's alone."

"That's not possible," James said. The first words he had spoken to me.

"Why not?"

"Darius Ramer is a retired spy, and the most feared among Lybrians. If Alpha had a job, Darius would be on it and would get it done. He retired because he almost blew up Pact. Now he is back on the job, and my guardians told me that he's stronger than ever."

"How do you know?"

"My guardians. He holds the powers of hypnosis and wall climbing."

"That part I knew. However we all can do our part to get them in our captivity. Here is the plan. Kody, you are going to fly, carrying James, into his house down the chimney, and have James open the door. Your super speed will make the door open swiftly and silently. Drew and Dakota, you are going to camouflage and go invisible to knock him out. Dakota that's your job. We will go from there. This will happen the day after Thanksgiving."

"Sounds like a plan," Kody said.

"Do you guys want to spend the night here?"

"Sure. What time is it?"

"6:32."

"Let's just hang out here. It's better than that stupid alley."

"You guys slept in an alley?"

"We got a hotel a few times. And once or twice we slept in a bar but yeah."

"That sucks. Sorry I don't have any extra blankets."

"It's alright. I think we'll hang out here. What are you doing for Thanksgiving?"

"My boss, Katy, invited me to her house with her brother. What about you guys?"

"Nothing. Were we thinking of doing anything?" Kody asked, turning back to Drew and James.

"James and I were thinking of going out of town tomorrow morning just for the day. We were going skiing I think. There's snow up on the mountains so, why not?"

"That's cool," I said. What about you and Kody?" I asked Dakota.

"Nothing," She replied. "I think I'm just going to sleep. To be honest, I don't even want to do anything else but sleep."

"Kody?"

"Nothing," He also said. "Can I hang out with you and your boss?"

"Yeah. I think She'll like you. Hey James?"

"What?" He responded brusquely.

"Here's one hundred and fifty bucks, can you go and pick up another air mattress and some blankets?"

"Why me?"

"Because you can be back in twenty minutes instead of three hours. It's not safe for me to be out there right now."

"Fine. I'll be right back."

Sure enough, in only fifteen minutes James had sprinted back with ten blankets, a pizza, a sleeping bag, and seven yoga mats to sleep on.

"Wow," Drew said, giving him a high five. "Nice." James took the sleeping bag and put it next to my bed. Dakota took two yoga mats and two blankets, and slept at the foot of my bed. Kody did the same next to Dakota, and Drew took the other two yoga mats and blankets and slept next to James. Even with all the danger around me, for the first time, I felt truly safe.

***

When I woke up I was in a courthouse. There were five wooden tables set up in a pentagonal fashion. I was sitting in one with Eli, Dylan, and Star. Next to me on my left was Kody sitting with his guardians, on my right was Drew with his guardians, next to him was Dakota and her guardians, and James and his guardians were in between Kody and Dakota.

"Alright!" Eli shouted, not even greeting me. "This Code of Law meeting at 9:16 pm in Severn Court has begun!" I looked over at Dakota. _What is this for?_ I mouthed over to her. She shrugged.

"This meeting is regarding the revealing of the identity of the Light," Eli said again. Well, there's the answer to my question. "This occurred when Dakota Grace Wilson engaged in a romantic embrace with the Light, now known as Carter-Adrian Nicholas Breese."

"It wasn't her fault!" I interrupted. Eli shot me a look and then one of Dakota's guardians, a mountain lion, asked for permission to speak. Eli granted her request.

"The boy is right. It was by mere accident. A crucial and fatal mistake. However, there is no one to blame."

"I do not believe I was blaming anyone, Aria. I was just stating how this accident happened." Aria, the mountain lion nodded and slouched a bit.

"I would like to address Carter-Adrian at this time. Carter?" Eli looked at me as well as everyone in the room. "What am I supposed to say?" I whispered to Star.

"Just introduce yourself and tell them your plan," She replied.

"Plan to what?"

"To defeat Alpha Maximus."

"Oh right, that plan." I stood up and looked around. I was always pretty good at public speaking, however not at improvising. _"Alright, say what you said in the barn,"_ I thought as I took a deep breath. "Hello, everybody," I said, my voice shaking a bit. I tried to sound as professional and sophisticated as possible. "My name, as Eli said, is Carter-Adrian Nicholas Breese. You guys can just call me Carter. First off, thank you guys so much for supporting me with this. I am very grateful for your actions. Uuummm, so I know I have a plan on finding Alpha Maximus that will be executed the day after tomorrow. My idea shall incorporate all of your Mystians. There are three Pacts as we know in Rockfrett, Colorado." I continued to tell them my plan that I had already explained to Kody, James, Drew, and Dakota in the barn. When I finished I asked them if there were any questions.

"I have one," said a dog from Drew's table. I think he was a coyote or something.

"Yes?" I responded.

"First of all, Mr. Breese, my name is Bentley. And I am a dingo, not a coyote in case you got those mixed up. Anyway, What if your plan fails?"

"Got it. By the way, you can call me Carter. Then I will be captured. At that point I expect that they will take me in front of Alpha Maximus where I can find out his location." Then I remembered my tracking necklace I had around my neck. "This necklace right here is a tracking device that my guardians use to keep tabs on me. They can find out where I am, what I'm doing, and when I'm doing it. Eli, Star, Dylan, or one of you can help me get away if that happens. At that point we will know his location and will go from there. _If_ my plan fails."

"That is a very well thought out plan. Thank you." I nodded. There were no other questions.

"Carter-Adrian," Another voice spoke from Kody's table. It was a lion."On behalf of everybody here, we wish you the best of luck, and that we always have your back."

"Thank you, sir." I replied, my spirits uplifted by his kind words. "What is your name?"

"Eon." I nodded and smiled. Then I sat down and looked at Eli.

"If there are no more questions," Eli said. "Then I herby declare this meeting adjourned!"

Chapter 17

Today was Thanksgiving. I was walking with Kody to Katy's house, who just happened to live near Darius Ramer's house.

At 5:16 pm we walked up to 2570 Aldrich Avenue. I knocked on the front door with a bottle of apple cider in my hand. A tall guy with short red hair opened the door.

"Hello," He said with a grin. "You must be Carter. Katy's told me so much about you."

"And you must be Jack," I replied shaking his hand. "Oh, I hope you don't mind, but I brought my friend, Kody. He didn't have any plans for today so I let him tag along."

"Sure! The more the merrier, right? Nice to meet you, Kody." Jack ushered us inside the house into the dinning room where Katy was sitting at the table.

"Carter!" She exclaimed as she got up to give me a hug. She looked over at Kody. "Who's this?"

"Sorry, this is-" I started, then Kody cut me off.

"I'm Kodiak Ge," He said flirtatiously. Wow. He held at his hand. "But you can call me Kody."

"Well hello, Kody," Katy smiled, shaking his hand. I rolled my eyes.

"Sorry I didn't tell you before; I invited him after work." I apologized.

"It's all good. Here, take a seat. And thank you for the cider." I took a seat next to Kody, who whispered over to me, "You never told me she was hot!"

"Why would I tell you that?" I whispered back.

"Because you're a good friend. How old is she?"

"Eighteen."

"Only a year older. I like it." I laughed but rolled my eyes. She is so out of his league.

The rest of the night continued with a delightful feast, stories of each other, and plenty of cider. Jack was very nice to us, and seemed to get along very well with Katy. Kody and I didn't get back to the barn until 11:30.

The next day was showtime. We woke up in our beds at 8:31 am. James and Drew were back from their skiing adventure, and Dakota was up easily. Then we headed over to Angi's for work. While I was working, Kody, Dakota, Drew, and James were just hanging out. Business was slower then usual today, so I asked Katy why. "Everyone's out of town for Thanksgiving," She had told me. "Most won't be back until tomorrow or Sunday."

After work, we went over to Darius's house with the duct tape and rope, and rediscussed our plan. It was time to take care of some unfinished business.

"Okay," I said, just outside Darius's yard. "Kody, James. Are you guys ready?"

"Yeah," Kody replied. "Down the chimney and open the door."

"Great. We'll follow after you. Good luck, guys." And with that, Kody picked up James and flew onto the roof. I knew this could be the last time I would ever see them again; for all I knew that door could never open.

***

Kody let the rope go down the chimney, hanging onto one end. James slid down it, and Kody followed, but flew instead. As soon as he got to the bottom James zoomed across the floor and quickly (yet almost silently) opened the door. The easy part is over. Now things are about to get complicated.

***

I saw the door open and James gesture for us to come inside. I think Dakota heard my sigh of relief, because she looked with concern and rubbed my shoulder to calm me down. Drew went into camouflage, and Dakota went invisible. We slowly crept in the house, where we were all startled by a loud growling sound from the couch. Dakota checked it out; Darius was sleeping.

"Hey, Darius!" A voice shouted coming from upstairs. Timothy! "Did you buy the cream cheese for the bagels?" The footsteps were coming closer.

"Hide!" I whispered loudly. I crouched behind the wall and chair.

"DARIUS!" Timothy yelled, this time only cracking the windows. Darius immediately awoke.

"Yeah?" He said, rubbing his hands. Idiot.

"Did you get the-" Timothy stopped talking and looked right past Darius. That's where Dakota was to my knowledge. Could he possibly have that good of sight to recognize invisibility? Camouflage too for that matter? Darius reacted so fast I'm not even sure if Timothy saw it. I guess he knew that Dakota was behind him based on where Timothy was making eye-contact; he turned around and grabbed Dakota, forcing her to unvail her identity.

"God dammit!" He shouted! "The boy's here too! I can feel it! Find him! Get DeLuca!" He then turned to Dakota. "Where is he, little girl? Where is lover boy hhmm?" I couldn't take it. I stood up from hiding.

"Right here," I said firmly. Timothy then grabbed me from behind and kicked the back of my leg. Austin then trotted down the stairs. "What the bloody hell is going on here?" He shouted. Then he looked at me. He looked at me with such awe and fury and excitement. As if I was his trophy to bring back and show off to his friends and family. Oh right, I was. I tried to squirm out of Timothy's grasp, but he had too strong of a grip. I looked over at Dakota, who used her super strength to escape Darius's hold, but Austin ran over and burned her skin. She screamed out and Darius grabbed her again.

"I know there's more of you!" Austin yelled. He pulled out a gun from his back pocket. "Show yourselves!" Looking over my shoulder, Drew, James, and Kody slowly got out of their hiding spots. Timothy let go of me and threw me to the ground, and then with one motion grabbed Kody. Darius kept hold of Dakota, and Austin took Drew. Timothy and Darius pulled out their guns and all three of them aimed at their marks.

"Any last words?" Austin smirked. He shook his head with delight. From the uncomfortable stance I was in on the floor, I looked over at James; he was crouched a few feet away from me.

" _Now what?"_ He mouthed over to me. I looked up at Timothy, who was holding Kody. Then out of the corner of my eye I peered back over to James, and pointed up to Timothy as if to tell him a plan. I had no idea what I was going to do, but reading his mind I was able to tell that it came across to him as, " _So on your signal we attack so fast that they won't have time to shoot,"_ I guess that's the plan then, so I nodded back to him. Austin cocked his gun, and I punched Timothy in the knee, causing him to let go of Kody in shock and pain. Darius turned his head in curiosity, loosing his grip on Dakota, who then round house kicked him in the chest; it sent him flying to the floor and making a dent in the wall. That's my girl! James snuck around quickly and grabbed Austin from behind. James's hands were on Austin's neck, which made him so focused on getting James's hands off him, that he released Drew. Austin grabbed James's hands and threw him over his shoulders, making a loud _smack_ sound. I noticed Dakota went invisible. I tried to find her, but I didn't need to when Austin then went flying across the room. Kody jumped on Timothy's back, and Drew socked him in the stomach. Hard. I grabbed a role of duct tape and sprinted over to Austin's unconscious body and tied his hands up with it. I took his gun away and threw it across the room. I turned behind me where Kody and Drew had finally taken Timothy down.

"Drew!" I yelled. "Take this and tie him up! When you're done go over to Darius and do the same. Pass me the duct tape!" Drew nodded and threw the silver duct tape over to me. Then I spoke to Kody. "Kody!"

"What?" He responded.

"Use your healing powers to help James up. By the looks of it he isn't doing so well. Dakota! When I'm finished with Austin I need you to take him to an alley way near the school. Do you know which one that is?"

"I think so," She replied. "Do you want me to get the others too?"

"Yeah. As a matter of fact, wait until we finish up with Darius and Timothy. Then take them over to that alley. We'll go with you. We have to transport them back to Lybria where they can be questioned by our guardians."

"Got it. Kody, how is James doing?"

"One second," He said. "I'm not sure how well my powers will do - I'm so exhausted! I've got a blow to the head and I'm running out of breath and energy." Kody had his eyes closed tightly and his hands on top of James's chest, panting and sweating-almost in tears. Then a bright light glowed from his chest, he did it. James started to breath again and his scars and bruises were removed. He sat up and wiped the excess blood from his chin.

"What happened?" He asked, rubbing the back of his head. "Did we get them?"

"You did awesome," Drew replied with a smile. Then he turned to me. "Carter, duct tape Darius and I'll finish up with Timothy." I nodded and walked over to James.

"We got them," I said. "Thanks, James." He smiled at me as Drew and I finished tying up Darius and Timothy. Dakota threw the three of them over her shoulders with ease.

"Quick question," Drew said as we were about to leave Darius's house. "How the hell are we supposed to carry three unconscious bodies across town in broad daylight without being seen?"

"Oh," I muttered. "That's a good question.

"We can use these," James added, pulling out three walkie talkies.

"Where did you get these?" I asked.

"I ran to the store real quick and stole them. They won't notice, because you didn't."

"True. I like your thinking. So what are we going to do with these?"

"Kody takes a walkie talkie and flies up, telling us the quickest way to get to the alley. I will take another and be on the look out on the ground. You, Drew, and Dakota will listen to us to get to the alley. Dakota, you need to go invisible."

"That's a fantastic idea! Lock your channels to channel seven. Kody, you know where the alley is right?"

"Yeah," Kody agreed. "I can take a body if you'd like."

"Nah, we've got it. Alright get going. You too, James."

"Sir, yes sir." Kody and James high-fived, and were on their way up and out of the house before you could say goodbye.

"What is so important about this alley anyway?" Dakota asked.

"Well," I replied. "That alley is the same alley one of my guardians, Dylan, used to get access into Lybria. I think it's a portal or something, and as far as I know it's the only way to get back to Lybria."

"That makes sense." All of a sudden, my walkie talkie buzzed, and Kody started talking.

"There aren't too many people out right now, and the coast is clear so far. Head down the street and make a left onto Moorberry Road."

"On our way." Dakota went invisible, and Drew and I covered her just in case. We quickly jogged to Moorberry Road precisely as Kody had instructed.

"Okay, Kody," I said into the walkie talkie. "Now what?"

"Keep going straight," He responded. Then James came on the line.

"This street is kind of busy though," He started. "I'll distract the traffic and people while you guys make a break to the alley. Sprint."

"Rodger that." I said, trying to sound official. "You heard him, come on." We sprinted, still covering Dakota, down the busy street where we saw James making a fool of himself in the street. He took off his shirt and pants leaving him in nothing but a pair of red checkered boxers dancing on top of a car, squirting water guns at the other cars. I couldn't help but laugh as we ran. Drew almost tripped because he was laughing so hard. Pedestrians were getting out their phones to get this to be the next viral video. I heard James shout, "I'm doing this for you, Carter! You owe me big time!" He was right. I owe him one; or five.

In the nick of time, we made it to the alley, delivering the message to James and Kody. James was fully clothed when he arrived.

"James!" Drew shouted. "That was freaking awesome!" We all laughed as we entered the alley. Now it was time to get down to business. I tried to remember what Dylan had done to open the portal. _Dylan,_ I thought. _Star, Eli. If you can hear me, we have the three Pacts. Please bring us to Lybria._

"Ready, Carter?" I heard a voice say behind me. I looked down only to find Dylan starring up at me, wagging his tail.

"Dylan!" I exclaimed as I bent down to pet him.

"Yeah, yeah, I get it. I'm adorable. Dakota, Drew, James, Kody. It's great to see you guys again."

"You too, Dylan." Kody replied.

"Alright guys, you ready?"

"Yes," I said, and the others repeated.

"Okay then. Let's go."

In literally the blink of an eye, my friends and I were in Lybria, I think, because we sure were not on Earth.

Chapter 18

Dakota took my hand as we looked around at our unknown setting, making me feel safer in this new environment. It was really dark, and the only reason we could see anything near us was of the single lit lamppost. The ground was freshly cut, dark green grass. It was warm, and it was silent. Really silent.

"Carter," Kody started, also looking concerned. "Do you have any idea where we are?" I shook my head.

"Eon!" I heard Kody shout again. I turned around as he ran to a golden-maned lion. I think I remember him from a Code of Law meeting before, he was Kody's guardian.

"Hello, Kodiak."

"Hi, Eon! Hey, I've got a question for you."

"Yes?"

"Where are we?"

"Where is Carter-Adrian?"

"Right there."

"Carter, please come forward. Same with the rest of you." We all walked over to Eon, our lingering question of our location was still unanswered.

"Yes, Eon?" I said.

"To answer Kodiak's question, you are in the land of Titan. It is in the country of Cray."

"Are we still in Lybria?"

"Yes."

"What side are we on?" Drew asked. What did he mean by that?

"We are still on Mystic."

"Sides?" I asked, regaining my place in the conversation.

"Yes, Carter. Lybria is still divided into three sides. The Northern Border, Mystic, and Pact. Mystic on the left, Pact on the right-"

"What's the Northern Border?"

"Nobody really knows. Anyone there has never come out alive, and it's protected by a large gate and several guards. Sometimes people are banished there, but you would have to do something insanely horrible to earn yourself a place there. No one dares to explore it, and it shows no signs of life except for the few criminals who live there, but that's besides the point. The reason you are here, at Titan, is because it is a famous place for interrogations." As soon as he said interrogations, I realized that we no longer had Austin, Timothy, or Darius. I let go of Dakota's hand and spun around trying to look for them.

"Where are the Pacts?" I stammered. If I had lost them I would've caused Hell in this place.

"Do not fret, Carter. The Pacts you had captured are in a building a ways from here. Eli is interrogating them as we speak. The other guardians are keeping good look out and have the building on lockdown."

"When is the interrogation over?"

"We don't know. It could be days. In the meantime, we have arrangements for you and the others to stay in a safe house with me, in fear that our own houses will be raided even with the advanced security. Our location is seven hundred miles away, and we must be there by tonight. Come with me." Eon roared loudly, summoning six beautiful horses into the light. Each was a different color: black, white, brown, gray, reddish, and tan.

"We are traveling seven hundred miles in one night by horseback?" James snickered, but slightly irritated.

"Not quite, James Max." One of the horses shook, revealing a pair of wings.

"Pegasus!" I exclaimed. The black one came up to me and muzzled my shoulder. I smiled, and stroke his smooth, soft fur. Like a regular horse, he had a white star on his forehead. "Is he mine?" I asked Eon, hoping he'd say yes.

"Yes. Check the hoof." I bent down at my Pegasus's hoof as instructed, and there was my sign and my name. Engraved in his hoof was _Carter-Adrian Nicholas Breese_ and the infinity sign.

"Your pegasus will be able to communicate with you through thought, and only you will be able to understand it. I looked at my big, black Pegasus and thought to him, _"Hey, I'm Carter. What's your name?"_ He looked back at me and replied,

" _I know who you are. I am Shadow."_

"His name is Shadow!" I said. Kody looked at me with the tan pegasus.

"Spirit," He smiled.

"Ghost," Dakota said with the white one. James had the brown one.

"Dusk," He laughed. Immediately he and his Pegasus seemed to bond. James always had a thing with animals. "What about yours, Drew?"

"This is Thief." Drew said, as he was petting his gray Pegasus. That meant the reddish one was Eon's. I mounted Shadow bare back and took hold of his mane.

"What's his name?" I asked Eon, pointing to his Pegasus.

"She," He replied. "Her name is Bay. Are you guys ready to go?" I nodded, and the others mounted their new winged friends. Have you ever seen a lion mount a horse and ride it? I highly recommend it, because it is quite hilarious. With a loud roar and a kick, Eon and the rest of the Pegasus took flight.

"How did you get these?" James asked Eon. "I mean, I thought Pegasus were only bred for military purposes and there are only fifty left."

"Forty seven now," Eon sighed. "But the rest you are correct about. Let's just say I know a guy."

"Don't question it!" Kody shouted. "Just enjoy it!"

Flying is amazing, and I would recommend it to anyone who has the privilege to do so. The wind in my face, looking down on the world was exhilarating, and I suddenly became envious of Kody's powers.

We flew for about twenty minutes until we arrived at an average sized house in the middle of nowhere. Eon commanded us to land our Pegasus and put them in the barn next to the house. It was similar to the barn we had stayed at back in Rockfrett on Earth, except it was much cleaner and bigger. It had room for each Pegasus to stretch its wings freely and comfortably, and each stable was labeled with paint of the creature's names. I took Shadow to his stable in the corner, which came complete with a food and water trough, and riding gear. "I'll see you tomorrow, Shadow." I said to him, petting his muzzle.

" _Yes, Carter,"_ He replied through thought. _"I will see you tomorrow. Goodnight."_

When the others had finished putting their new friends in the stables, we all headed up to the house. It was a light blue color with white beams and windows; the roof was a dark gray. Eon had us each scan in our marks and recite a password for security reasons, just like I had to do at my mansion back with Star, Eli, and Dylan.

"Eon," Drew asked the lion as our marks were being scanned.

"Yes?" He replied.

"What is your mark? And your powers?"

"I have the mark of boldness. My powers are my ability to fix items, and I have a booming voice when I choose too."

"Like Timothy's" I questioned.

"What?"

"Timothy Swanson. The Pact. He has a very loud voice as well. You guys have the same power?"

"It appears so. It isn't too often you come across to Lybrians with the one or more of the same power. However, it happens nonetheless. Oh, Carter, it's your turn to be scanned!"

After our scanning process was over, the six of us walked through the white door of the safe house. It was bigger on the inside, but not by much. The house had hardwood floors, granite counter tops in the kitchen, a TV, a large couch, and a wooden table.

Eon lead us down the hall where there were three bedrooms and one bathroom. The bedrooms were not very big, except for the master. Because there were six of us, we decided two to each bedroom. James and Drew took one, Dakota and I another, and Kody and Eon took the master bedroom.

The room Dakota and I shared had a bunk bed, a desk, a closet, a bookshelf with a few books, and a beanbag. The floor was carpeted, and the walls were a light green. Overall, it was comfy, and it's going to make a good temporary home. It was a little crowded, but we all made it work. The closets all had clothes for us, the kitchen had food, and the plumbing worked; thankfully. Eon was just as good a chef as Star or Eli. His meatloaf was exceptional.

Eon had also set up protective borders within a half mile radius of the house. We were allowed to go outside for only an hour each day; and we could only go back outside to visit the Pegasus in the barn. Eon was always on the look out, always alert. Every now and then we could here him talk to the other guardians.

On the second night we were in the safe house, I opened my window and hopped onto the roof, gazing into the distance. It was nice to finally be able to think. Alone, isolated. Finally everything seemed as though it went away, that I was just a boy on Earth with the rest of his life ahead of him. But I wasn't an average boy on Earth. I was the Light who had a responsibility, a duty, to reunite two different worlds into one. Like the great king, Eilam, had once done. In the middle of my thoughts I heard the window open. Trying to detect the visitor, I channeled my energy to read his or her mind. _What is Carter doing on the roof? I thought he wasn't supposed to be out._ The thoughts came from my best friend, Kody, who flew up to join me.

"What are you doing up here?" He asked, taking a seat next to me.

"Just thinking, I guess," I replied, not making eye contact.

"What are you thinking about?"

"What's with all the questions? I feel like I'm being interrogated!"

"Well I don't have mind reading powers like you, so I have to ask these questions to get the answers I'm looking for."

"I see. If you must know then, I'm thinking about everything."

"Everything?"

"Yeah. Like, everything that's going on. This whole thing is just scary. Putting so much responsibility on one person, who is only seventeen, to bring together two unions who hate each other! I'm not like King Eilam."

"It's overwhelming, I know. But remember, you've got me. Us. Drew, Dakota, James, Eon, Star, Eli, Dylan, all of us in the Code of Law. We will always have your back. And by the way, you may not be like King Eilam now, but soon. Soon, you will be the great leader he was, the great man he was, you will be just like him. After all, you are his descendant."

"How do you know? What if I fail?"

"You won't fail."

"How do you know?"

"Because I've known you since forever. You always come out on top, no matter the struggle it takes to get there. Like, remember the time in third grade when you really wanted that P.E. award?"

"Yeah?"

"You worked so hard to get it. You broke like, three bones, sprinted the mile, and even got into a fight with the meanest kid in school over a foul ball. James had to break you two up. But you know what? You got that award as well as three others for your determination. As long as we're around, and as long as you keep trying, I swear, you will succeed." I smiled, I remembered it. This is why Kody is my best friend and brother. For times like these when my thoughts consume me, Kody reminds me of my purpose. The way he communicates makes you feel like nothing could go wrong, that it's the two of us versus the world.

We were in hiding for a total of four days.

When Eon received the signal (whatever that was), we mounted our Pegasus, and he lead us back to Titan. Why had the interrogation taken so long? I decided to ask.

"Eon?" I asked, hoping he could hear me over the sound of the wind. I was almost shouting.

"Yes, Carter?" He replied.

"Why did the interrogation take four days? Couldn't the guardians just use their powers to get the Pacts to talk?"

"If the guardians could use their powers, the Pacts would as well. The interrogation room is enhanced with an enchantment that shuts off the powers of anyone who steps in the room. If we could use our powers, Star would have finished the interrogation in less than five minutes, as she has the power to do so."

"That makes sense. Wait, that is Star's power?"

"Yes. That is one of her powers, along with multitasking."

"That's really cool. Why wasn't the interrogation done outside?"

"It would be an easy escape route for the Pacts." I decided to stop questioning the system and just let it happen, trusting all goes as planned.

Pretty soon we were hovering over Titan, seeing the interrogation building in flames. Then I realized, when does anything actually go as planned?

Chapter 19

"Stay behind me!" Eon shouted when he steered his Pegasus down to the ground. My heart dropped and Shadow reared up. I couldn't let Eon go down in flames for me. I followed him down and leaped off of Shadow. I spotted a wolf and blue jay near the building. I recognized them from Code of Law, the blue jay was James's bird and the wolf was Kody's. "Hey!" I screamed, running towards them. The wolf turned around. Fang! That's his name.

"Carter!" He sprinted back towards me.

"What the hell is going on?"

"Alpha must've known we were here. He just dropped a bomb on us! We came as fast as we could."

"Where are my guardians?"

"They're still in the building. Aria and Juliet are in there trying to get them." I immediately turned around straight into the wall of flames. This is all my fault! I should've joined them in the interrogation! And now look what I have done! Fang screamed after me, but it was too late. I had just knocked over a wall and was clear in the building. "What the hell is wrong with you?" I heard a voice next to me say. I stopped, covering my mouth with my shirt. It was Drew, accompanied by James, Dakota, and Kody.

"My guardians are in here!" I explained. "And so are two others! Aria and Juliet! We have to get them!"

"Aria!" Dakota exclaimed. She grabbed ahold of my arm, and Drew put a hand on my shoulder. James got in front of me and looked me straight in the eye, sending chills down my spine. "I'm going to quickly do a run through of the building to see what we're dealing with. Kody, take an ariel view. We will get them out." Before I had the chance to say anything, he stared at me for another second and sped away. Kody followed his lead and took a weak flight. Drew's grip became stronger, and I gave him a reassuring look in response. I didn't even have to read his mind to know what he was thinking; his eyes said it all. James was Drew's best friend. He couldn't bare to lose him. Luckily, James came back rather quickly. Coughing, he muttered, "Follow." He jogged as we ran beside him. The temperature was quickly rising, and the flames were closing in around us. Where was Kody?

"Help!" A voice shouted above us. It was unfamiliar, until Dakota recognized it.

"Aria!" She shouted. Dakota looked around frantically, kicking a near by wall and burning her leg. I pulled her back.

"Stop!" Drew shouted at her. "You're going to kill yourself!" Then the erupting flames in front of us froze, and through them emerged a hawk. Juliet.

"Carter!" She exclaimed. "Drew, James, Dakota."

"Where are they?" I asked, coughing and gasping for real air.

"We are still looking. James, go out and get any guardians from the Code of Law for back up. Aria is trapped under a table, and I can't lift it, only freeze the flames."

"Do you know where they are?"

"Yes, follow me. Hurry!" I put my hands in front of my face to shield my eyes from the sparks bursting from the inferno surrounding us.

"I just received word from Aria!" Dakota screamed; Juliet turned around, flying backwards. "She said a wall just collapsed in front of her, and the air closing thin."

The four of us dodged the flaming wood that would fall; I probably had twenty million burns on my back, but thanks to my durability, I couldn't feel them.

We soon came upon a pile of bricks.

"This is it!" Juliet shouted. "Aria is here!" She disappeared into the pile of bricks.

"Where did she go?" I asked Drew.

"One of her powers is to go through walls and other matter."

"Got it. Dakota, move the bricks so we can dig through. I'll take the side on fire, I won't feel the burns." We dug, and Dakota easily created a patch through the bricks, where we found Juliet and Aria. Aria was unconscious.

"Help me!" Juliet pleaded. In one motion Dakota responded by grabbing her guardian and throwing her over her shoulder.

"Get her out of here!" I told her. "Have Juliet go with you. I'll see you out there."

"Where are you going?" She asked me, hesitating to leave my side.

"To find my own guardians. Get out of here before you all die! I love you, Dakota. Drew, come on!" I stared into her hazel eyes one last time, and then I grabbed Drew as we ran throughout the building.

"Where's Kody?" Drew asked as he kicked a wall, then screamed in agony and fell to the floor. Kody! I had completely forgotten! I'm such an idiot! He's probably dead because of me!

"Carter!" Drew screeched, clenching his knee, which I had just now realized has a piece of wood stuck in it, blood gushing everywhere. I bent down and mentally slapped myself for not catching his fall.

"Come on, buddy!" I said to him, pulling out the piece of wood. I took off my shirt and wrapped it around his leg where the cut was. "It's okay, Drew. We are going to find Kody, and he's going to fix you all up with his healing powers. Drew Ethan Van Unen you are not going to give out on me now!" I lifted him up, almost carrying him, wrapped his arm around my shoulder as we stumbled on. "Kody!" I shouted as loud as I could without getting ash in my lungs. I then heard a small little bark.

"Carter!" Dylan shouted, and trailing behind him was Kody!

"Dylan! Kody!" I said, hobbling towards them.

"Are you guys okay?" Kody asked. "Drew! What happened?"

"He kicked a wall and fell. Some wood was stuck in his knee. Take him and heal his wounds."

"I can't here! It'll only get worse if I do. We have to get him out of here!"

"You promised," Drew muttered with a dying breath.

"He's dying!" I screamed. "Can you carry him?" He just nodded.

"Take him, run through the building, and fly him down. I'll meet you out when I find Star and Eli." Kody nodded and I gave him Drew.

"Come on, kid." He said. "Let's get you out of here." I didn't see them leave the building, nor did I want to in case my plan didn't work. I crouched down to Dylan.

"Dylan!" I said.

"Kody found us and made a hole I was only able to get out of," Dylan explained. "Eli's laser eyes aren't working with the metal he's trapped in. They are stuck in the interrogation room! No powers work in there!"

"Come on then! Lead the way!" With all the strength Dylan and I had left, we sprinted across the building. I could feel my lungs fill up with ash and my struggle to breaths increased; at one point I had to carry Dylan to prevent his small little lungs from giving out. Soon, however, we found the interrogation room. I tried the door, which was obviously locked; they were trapped. I could see it through the door's window; the flames caving Eli and Star into a little corner. I took a few steps back, and used my force to attempt to knock the door down. I was knocked to the ground (it didn't hurt of course), and when I got up, I realized the door was still closed and locked. I noticed Dylan started scratching at the hole Kody had made earlier, trying to make it bigger.

"Need a hand?" I heard a voice. James.

"What do you think?" I sarcastically responded with a smirk.

"Together." We took a step back. "One, two, three!" Together we clashed into the door, breaking it down. We rushed in. My training over the summer made getting Star over my shoulders much easier, except this time she was deadweight. James took Eli. Both of which were unconscious. James grabbed Dylan too.

"Alright, kid," He said. "The exit is down the remainder of the steps and then a left."

"I thought it was longer."

"It was until the walls were burned. Now come on let's go!" I followed his direction, and I found myself getting weaker and weaker with every step I took. I could barely hold Star anymore! However, a stair way and a left later, we were out of the building. And I dropped to my knees, and fainted of exhaustion.

Chapter 20

When I woke up, I had no idea where I was. Last time this happened I woke up in Lybria for the first time. Now, I was in gray room on a bed. Or, at least I was to my knowledge. I was wearing new, fresh clothes, and I was alone. Until a wolf then opened the white door, and walked into my room. Fang.

"Hey," He said to me, walking to my bed. "I'm glad you're awake."

"Thanks," I muttered. My voice was still shaky. "Fang, right?"

"Yeah. One of Kody's guardians."

"What happened?" I struggled to sit up, gasping for air with every move I made.

"Don't move around so much. When you and James got out of the fire, you collapsed on the ground. We moved you to another city in this country, called Guistick, to get you healed."

"How is James?"

"In better condition than you. He can sit up just fine and move around with assistance."

"And my guardians?"

"Great. All of them. Star was looking the worst. She was on death row, but you saved her. Eli was pretty bad, but he was fine a few hours after the fire."

"Wait, Drew. Drew was also dying. And did Dakota get her guardians out? Is Kody okay too?"

"Drew, as you said, was in critical condition. He awoke just minutes before you. And I was told that he doesn't look any better than you do. Kody healed his knee wound, and patched up some of the open skin. Dakota is safe with Aria and Juliet. All of which are fine. A few burns and sores, but overall, just fine. Kody is the same. Few burns and sores, but he is debriefed and anxious to see you and Drew."

"That's great to hear. How long was I out?"

"A day and a half. Not too bad. You may have durability on the outside and can't feel the burns on you skin, but your lungs could barely hold you up."

"I'm so sore too. Hold on, in the fire I gave my shirt to Drew for his leg, and my pants had been burned. Where did I get these clothes?"

"Jasper, Drew's ocelot, had a wardrobe arrangement for all of you."

"When will I be ready to get back out there?"

"I'd say we'll be fine by next week. Your guardians want to have a word with you. You can see your friends tomorrow." Fang turned around to leave the room until I stopped him.

"Fang?" I asked. "You sound really young. How old are you?"

"Twenty-three. I died in a war. This war, actually. A few friends and I fought in a battle called, The Battle of Startogan. We felt that the Light didn't really exist and was just a stupid prophecy. So we decided to try and fight off Alpha ourselves. Stupid idea. Then I met you, and I knew you would do great things to our world." And with that, Fang gave a head nod, and walked out the door, letting my own guardians in. All three of them. Alive.

"Carter-Adrian Nicholas Breese," Star said, taking a seat next to me. "My hero." Eli flew over and sat on my bedpost, and Dylan took a seat right next to me on my bed.

"It was nothing really," I smirked, trying to sound humble.

"Don't be modest, kid." Eli said. "You and the others did a great deed, coming after us like that. By the way, your friend, Drew, wanted to give you back this." From behind him, Eli pulled out my shirt. The one that I had used for his leg in the fire. It was full of holes and stained maroon from his blood. I thought Drew was just going to throw the shirt away when he was able to walk, but I guess he preserved it long enough to return it; just as a great friend would do. Drew, was a great friend.

"Tell him he can keep it." I gave the shirt back to Eli. "So is that why you guys came in here? To give me back my shirt?"

"I think you missed the first part." Star chuckled.

"Oh yeah. What did you call me again?"

"Alright, smart ass, I called you my hero. And I don't think anyone of us can disagree."

"Ah, there it is. Well, I'm flattered, And with everything that you've done for me, it's the least I could do. Without you guys, I wouldn't be here today, and this world would be in more of a wreck." I meant exactly what I said.

"That means a lot, Carter. Now, we do have some business to discuss with you."

"Tomorrow," Eli took over. "We will have to have you start walking on crutches. The next day you'll have to be able to go without them. And the day after, you have to be in almost perfect condition."

"What comes after that day that I need to be better so soon for?" I asked.

"Then, we go to war. Alpha bombed us, remember? That's how Austin, Timothy, and Darius got out alive."

"Oh. I see. What's the plan for that to happen?"

"We will discuss that in the meeting taking place in three days time. For right now, you rest. But take Mr. Van Unen's shirt back. You give it to him." Eli tossed the shirt back over, and I smiled as they left.

"Thanks, guys." I told them; Star looked back at me and gave me a brief nod, closing the door behind her. Before I knew it, I laid back down and fell asleep.

I awoke early the very next morning. Star came into my room with a brown cane. "Hey," I greeted her with a smile. I liked having her keep me company. "Is that for me?"

"Yes it is," Star said. "How are you feeling?"

"Fine. I'm not very sore, and I can move around just fine it seems."

"Great. Let me help you out of the bed. Come on, grab my shoulder."

"You have a shoulder?"

"I'm a tiger, Carter. Not a plant. The shoulder blades on my back; grab them for support as you get up." I laughed, wheezing as I turned to grab her smooth fur. It took more effort than usual getting up, and having Star and the cane there definitely helped me. I felt like an old man who had little use of his legs.

Star guided me out the door into a widened hallway with light blue checkered floors and white walls, very similar to a hospital. I made sure I had Drew's shirt in my back pocket to give to him. "Carter!" I heard someone yell from across the corridor.

"Dakota!" I called back to her, opening up my arm that didn't have the cane in it. She ran over to me and gave me a gentle but grateful hug. I gave her a quick kiss on the lips. She then wrapped her arms around my neck and asked, "How are you?"

"Great now," I replied. "Do you know if Drew is awake?"

"I think he's in his room. Why?"

"I need to give something to him. I'll meet you later, okay?"

"Of course. I'm glad you're okay, Carter." I gave her a sincere smile and let go of her, approaching one of Drew's guardians. A dingo named Bentley.

"Bentley!" I called to him. He stopped talking to another guardian and turned around.

"Oh," He responded slightly blunt. "I see you're up. You all right?"

"Yeah, I'm doing well."

"Good. So what do you need?"

"Can I visit Drew?"

"Yes, I believe he's awake. His other guardian was planning to get him pretty soon. Why?"

"I need to give this to him." I said, pulling the shirt from my pocket.

"I suppose you can. While you're there, get him out of bed. Jasper the ocelot has what you need. She's over there. Do you see her?" I looked around the hallway. I saw an ocelot just about to leave to another room.

"Yeah, I see her. Thanks, Bentley!" I then dashed as fast as I could after her, yelling her name with every step. Finally she turned around and walked towards me.

"Hello, Carter," She said. "I can see you are doing better."

"Yes I am, thank you. Jasper, can you please take me to Drew's room? I want to give him this shirt, and to help him out of bed. Bentley told me to go to you."

"Yes of course. Follow me." Jasper led the way down another corridor with less light in it. Last door to the left, a sign read DREW ETHAN VAN UNEN. Jasper handed me a pair of crutches. Not the type one normally gets when they break a bone, but the kind a leg amputee would receive. The thinner, smaller crutches with slots for your hands. "Give him these when you get him up." Jasper said. "He just awoke, go inside. Quickly." I thanked her and opened Drew's door. As predicted, he was almost fully awake.

"Hey," I said softly, gently closing the door behind me.

"Carter," He replied with a vague grin. "What are you doing here?"

"What? You don't like seeing me?"

"No, I love seeing you. I'm just a little surprised to see you instead of Jasper."

"I asked her if I could get you instead."

"Why?"

"Because I want you to have this." I pulled out the shirt from my back pocket and placed it in his hands. "I want you to look at that shirt and remember the fire. I want you to look at that and remember our pain and struggle through the flames. When you look at this shirt, remember how we used teamwork, perseverance, determination, and love to make it out alive. I want you to look at this shirt and remember not only the fire, but everything we've been through these past few months, our whole life spent together. And how despite out exhausting efforts and tears, we will make it out alive as we did in the fire."

"I'm speechless," Drew said, looking at the shirt. "How long did it take you to come up with that?"

"Just now. Seriously though. Keep it."

"I will. Thanks, Carter. For everything."

"I promise that the five of us will fight through this even in situations such as this where we can't even walk properly, we will be together. You ready to get out of bed?"

"Yeah. I've got this." I reached out my hand and helped him out of the firm bed, handed him a crutch with each lift. He was soon up and able, and we both hobbled out of his room, where we were greeted happily by Kody, James, and Dakota.

"Drew!" Dakota exclaimed, giving him a friendly hug.

"Hey, Dakota. You're looking well for someone who just saved her guardian from destruction." He replied. "Kody, I can see you're all right."

"Pretty much. I've still got some cuts and stuff from saving your ass out there."

"My ass is very appreciative. James!"

"Hey, buddy," James happily replied. "I can see you and Carter are both crippled."

"And I can see you're not." I chimed in, giving a slight nod of recognition to Kody as well. "Thanks for helping me back there."

"Don't worry about it. I wish I could've fixed you two up faster. Especially you, Drew. You were in terrible shape when Kody brought you in. I thought you weren't going to make it for a while."

"Well I'm here," Drew grinned. "And either way, I would've been fine. I would've come back in three months."

"Without you, Mystic won't be around in three months. So we're glad you're back." Then we heard another voice clear her throat. We all turned around to see Star beside me.

"I hate to interrupt things," She started. "However, we need to start all of your guys' training. You know, before this place gets bombed too. Follow me please." And that's where it began. The three days of training that would lead to destiny.

Chapter 21

We were all ahead of schedule, healing faster and making training easier. Training was kind of a condensed version of what I had this summer; and it helped that I was working with four other people, and the other guardians. I found out that Eli has laser vision as a power, which I thought was pretty cool. We did a lot of conditioning, to rid our muscles of the sores.

It was now the third day, and the day Code of Law would have to leave for battle with Alpha Maximus. There was a meeting in the morning, and I was supposed to speak.

The meeting room was in a similar set up as Severn Court, however, not as nice or secured. The walls were still gray, the tables and chairs were plastic, and the room was slightly cramped.

At 10:14 am exactly, Eli began the meeting.

"We are here this morning to discuss our plan of attack led by Carter-Adrian Nicholas Breese, against the foul and terrible Pacts, led by Alpha Maximus," Eli started. "Before the unfortunate explosion last week in Titan, Star was able to get some information out of Darius Ramer, Alpha's former leading spy. Star, please tell us what was learned."

"Yes," Star stood up and said. "I, as well as two others, did interrogate Austin DeLuca, Timothy Swanson, and Darius Ramer. Before the bombing, we were in the process of interviewing DeLuca, as we had already gotten through Ramer. Ramer talked, saying that Alpha's castle was located in Pact, in the country of Crash. He possesses the power of the senses. Ultra senses, to detect anyone's mood or presence. When we met with DeLuca, we were unable to receive information. With the information we did get, I now address The Light himself to give us his plan." Star looked at me. " _What am I supposed to say?"_ I thought to Star.

" _That's up to you. You'll be great."_ She thought back. I sighed and stood up.

"Alright," I started, my voice a bit shaky. "So does anybody know if we still have our Pegasus? Eon?"

"Not here," Eon answered. "However, when called by thought, they will come to you. To call, say their name, and your sign. "

"Thank you. So besides Kody, James, Dakota, Drew, Eon and me, how many of you have a Pegasus to ride?" I looked around the room, seeing only two other hands go up. Star was one, and another from Dakota's table.

"Okay then," I sighed. Then looked up at the Dalmatian. "What is your name?"

"Danny," He said, lowering his head.

"Alright then. So Danny, Eon, Star, James, Drew, Kody, Dakota, and I will take our Pegasus to get there. All the birds will accompany us in the sky as well. The rest of you will be led on foot. Fang from Kodiak's table and Dylan here will lead the way. How long will it take you, at your fastest, to get to Alpha's castle?"

"A day," Star spoke up. "Where we are now, Guistick, is very close to the border of Pact."

"A border?" For some reason that shocked me. I knew there was a border, but just now it dawned on me that Pact would be heavily guarded from any Mystic that wanted to place a single toenail in their land. And if I or one of the Code of Law members tried to enter, I cannot even imagine what would happen to us. It would be best to find out what we're up against before I make any plans set in stone.

I collected myself and spoke again. "Has anyone seen the border of Pact? Or know anything about it?" Eli cleared his throat and stood up.

"The Pact border is similar to that of the Northern Border," He said, his voice becoming slightly weaker. "Not that any of you have seen it, but the walls are at least ten thousand feet high, and is made up of fine stone, marble, steel, any hard substance pretty much put together. There are guards every fifty feet along the bottom width of the wall. Every one hundred feet up there is a platform with another guard. It will be very difficult to get over the wall."

"Then I guess we'll just have to beat the odds. How do you know so much about the Pact border?"

"I just do!" Eli raised his voice to the point where the room almost shook. We all took a step back, and Dylan bit him. There was something they weren't telling me. I cleared my throat and continued to speak.

"So we go as fast as we can when we cross the border. We will be attacked according to Eli's information. However, I'll go in the border first. I know then I will be greeted by Alpha."

"What about us on foot?" A guardian asked. I called on the bird.

"Uhhh, the owl, from Drew's table. Name?"

"Griffin," The owl grunted.

"Griffin will lead you and help you. I will also send two Pegasus to your aid to speed up your journey. You guys can make a plan amongst yourselves. In fact, all who are on foot go and make a plan now. Come back when you are done. For those of us in the sky, stay here. "

"Quick question, Carter," Kody asked.

"Yes, Kody?"

"Do I have to use my Pegasus to get over the border because I can fly?"

"No," Eon contradicted. It helped to have someone who knows something about Pegasus to help me out. "Though you can fly, the speed of a Pegasus is much greater than your fastest. Traveling by Pegasus is more efficient."

"Does that answer your question?" I smirked at Kody. He nodded, smirking back. "So to get into the border, we will have Dakota and Eon in front, because Dakota is the strongest and I trust Eon to lead us there properly. On my left will be Kody and to my right will be Drew. James and Danny will be in the back. Star, you'll be in the front as well. Understood?"

"Yes," The voices in the room replied, muffled by each others'.

At around 1:30 pm, everyone was ready to go. My army on the ground had left two hours ago. We had said our goodbyes, and cherished those final moments with them in case something happened. Now my team in the sky was outside, and Eon commanded us to call our Pegasus.

"Shadow!" I called at a louder than normal tone. As if I was calling a dog. "Infinity!" The others called their Pegasus over as well, and with one sweep across the sky, all eight Pegasus landed in front of their owners. Pegasus are much bigger than one would expect; twice the size of the average full grown horse; so seeing all eight line up in front of us was like looking up to a giant with wings. I had to extend my arm to almost its full length just to reach the tip of his muzzle.

One by one we mounted our Pegasus, who already had saddles and bridles ready to go. Then we all assumed our planned positions, with me in the center, Kody on my left; Drew on my right; Eon, Star, Dakota in front; and James and Danny the Dalmatian in the back. The birds made one circle around us, except for the owl who left with the group on foot. With Eon's roar of a signal, we were off into the sky for a battle of a lifetime.

After twenty minutes of flying, we were all able to easily spot the border to Pact. I was expecting dark clouds and thunder, but the scenery was the same, just with a gigantic wall.

The border was just as Eli had described; guards in every direction. I could just barely see the top of the wall, and we were flying really high already. "Pull up!" I ordered, so maybe the endless amount of guards wouldn't spot us when we went over.

"Stay very tight now!" Eli demanded. "Close in as much as you can! It's okay if the Pegasus wings over lap! If we fall in together, I can get us over the border with hardly any trouble. Do you all understand?"

"Yes!" We all shouted back at him. The eight of us were getting higher and higher above the wall. Soon we were almost two hundred feet above the border.

"Close in tighter!" Eli screamed again. I didn't know how this would help get us over into Pact safely, but I trusted he knew what he was doing. After all, isn't that what guardians are for?

"Eli!" Star yelled at him. "Are you sure this is going to work?"

"I'm not sure, but it's our only chance!" Star seemed very tense about this plan of the compact formation. I didn't see anything wrong with it, except that I was starting to get hit in the face with a Pegasus wing. But because she started to worry, so did I. It was now obvious Eli had done this before, or at least something like it, but how? I made a mental note to ask him later. Now was not the time to ask questions regarding one's past.

Everybody got as tight as they could, and I ordered Shadow to stop flapping and just streamline over the wall. The others seemed to follow our lead, as they began to fold in their wings as well. The friction resistance made us closer, and we went much faster. We all knew it wouldn't last long, but we all hoped it would last long enough.

I closed my eyes, and tightly clutched onto Shadow's black mane. I then opened my eyes at the sound of a loud, ear piercing whinny. "Dawn!" I heard Star scream from the front. Dawn? I assumed that was the name of her Pegasus. I looked below and saw Star and her Pegasus fall to the ground. She had been hit!

"Star!" I shouted to her in a very distressed tone. "Everybody down! We have to help her!"

"No!" Eli snapped. "It's a distraction! Don't do it!" But it was too late. I was already leading the group down to help Star. " _Faster, Faster!"_ I commanded Shadow until he was at his full speed. We were able to catch Star about fifty feet from the ground, however we were only able to barely break the fall of her Pegasus. All of us landed on the ground. I turned around only to see the Pact border behind us. We had made it over.

I helped up Star from the ground. "You shouldn't have come down for me," She said.

"How could I just leave you?"

"Because, now we are in Pact. And due to our vulnerability, the Pacts are on their way."

"Positions everyone!" Eli ordered loudly. "They are coming! He is coming!" As Eli and Star had predicted, I could see six Pacts walk towards us. Amongst them I saw Darius, Austin, and Timothy. According to Eli's observance, one of them was Alpha Maximus. I stood in front; Dakota and Kody right behind me. I could hear her begin to silently hyperventilate, so I turned back and gave her a reassuring glance. James and Drew were on the edge of our scattered formation. Eli landed on my shoulder, and Star was brushing against me, ready to fight. By that time I had just realized that I was defenseless. No sword, dagger, weapon of any kind. Not smart.

The Pacts were now a few yards in front of us. "Wait," Eli instructed. As they approached closer, I began to tense up. The six Pacts finally stopped, and one stepped forward.

"I love this little set up you have going on here!" He exclaimed, almost laughing. "So defenseless and weak. It's honestly adorable. Who designed this formation? Was it you, Eli? This is what we teach my soldiers not to do when fighting the greatest Lybrian of all time."

"You mean Carter-Adrian Nicholas Breese?" Eli snarled.

"You have a great sense of humor, Eli. Oh, I'm sorry. I'm being so rude. I am Alpha Maximus." Just that name gave me chills when he said it. I started to tremble, but Star nudged me to stop and show no fear.

Alpha Maximus was nothing as I had pictured. Yes, he was tall, which I had predicted. Six foot three I assumed. However, his skin was olive, and his hair was artificially blonde and spiky, the roots being dark brown. His voice had a slight British accent it seemed. He wore a nice suit that you would see at a wedding. His eyes were a piercing, icy blue that stared into your soul.

"I already know you've met Darius, Austin, and Timothy. The other two are Moires and Bach. Bach was the one who shot the tiger's Pegasus. Good shot by the way." Bach nodded in thankfulness to his master. "So, son. Why have you decided to return? Bringing your only hope to destroy me here to die?"

"Son?" I questioned, my voice steadier than I expected. Who does this guy think he is? Calling my guardian his son?

"Ah, you must be the Carter boy! What a pleasure it is to meet my uncle's descendant! And Eli! How could you not have told your own boy the truth!

"Eli, what is he talking about?"

"Well, you see, boy, Eli over here was born a Pact as my son. He refused my offer to help me take over the rest of Lybria and decided to run away from this wonderful home of his and become a bloody Mystian! Have you noticed odd changes with him that don't happen to normal Mystics? Why do you think you successfully got over the border? Have you ever seen his eyes turn red in frustration?" I thought back to when I had first arrived in Lybria. Eli had got furious with me and his eyes became blood shot red. That's why he was so knowledgeable about Pact! He wanted us close together so he could disguise himself and us as Pacts for that brief second in time. Why didn't he tell me?

"What a fool you were, Eli, to desert this power for a lesser land! You could have been great!" Alpha started again.

"I believed in a greater cause! Not an oppressive tyranny you call justice!"

"Eli," I whispered loudly. "Why didn't you tell me?"

"It was for your own good," Eli explained. "I didn't want you to worry. I needed you to focus."

"So now that we have that cleared up," Alpha interrupted. "I have a busy life, so I kind of need to kill you soon. Well, just the boy - the rest of you can go about your lives in peace. So you can hand him over now."

"Over my dead body!" Dakota snapped.

"Attitude I see. So I can tell this is going to be a blood bath and I don't feel like getting my hands dirty just yet. So, boys. Please clear the floor." That signaled Alpha's five guards to rush and attack us. Darius and Austin grabbed me and pulled me to the floor. I was strong, but there wasn't a way that I could undo the painful grip they had me in. I didn't really know how the others were doing. Finally, I grabbed Austin by his hair, slamming it against the ground. I now had the strength to get up, as I did while jabbing Darius in the face with my elbow. I was free.

Austin got up but was limping, and I pushed him down again, putting my foot in his face. An abrupt force then pulled me back, and I hit the ground, finding myself looking straight up at Darius. He had a sword in his hand, and attempted to slash my face with it-but I deflected the blade with my arm. Darius pulled his sword away from me, and we wrestled for the higher ground. Kicking and punching quickly but carefully; every move I made was with purpose, for I knew it could be my last. I screamed in agony as I tried to kick him off of me.

"Carter!" James yelled as I struggled to get up. I lifted my neck up to see James, but I wish I hadn't. He became furious and used his super speed to run towards Alpha, lunging when he got close. With Alpha's ultra senses he whirled around, took out a knife, and simply sliced James's head clean off. Hitting his mark.

"No!" I screamed, almost crying. "James!"

"Let the boy and the others go," Alpha sighed. Everyone stopped fighting, the Pacts retreating to their masters. "They won't be leaving anytime soon. Make sure the guards know only to let the Pegasus out, but not back in. We can do our business later. Right now, I leave them with a warning." Then he turned back to talk to me. My mouth was dripping with blood. "Do you hear me, Carter and the sad army you hold? Let the death of your friend be a warning to you. I also am going to leave you with a choice. Join me, or suffer torture, and a slow, painful death. I'll let you think about it. I will return in three days time expecting your answer. When you're finished grieving over this pathetic boy, do you mind disposing of his body before it contaminates the soil? I would hate for this great farmland to go to waste. Come, men. Three days, Carter and friends. Three days." And with that, Darius and Austin let go of me, immediately resulting of leaping back onto my feet for revenge. But the Pacts were nowhere in sight.

Drew, Dakota, Kody, and I sprinted over to James's corpse. Drew went and collected his head, which was a few feet away from his body. What have I done? I looked at Drew, who fell on his knees and wept, screaming his best friend's name. Dakota leaned and cried in my shoulder, and not even I could hold back the tears, as there was no point. Kody took the head from Drew's now bloodied hands, and lined it up with the body. He examined the neck.

"Yeah," He choked. "His mark is cut clean in half. This is the end of James Schlepi."

"No!" Drew wailed. "He's not dead! He'll come back I swear!" Seeing the headless corpse of one of my best friends was hard, but seeing Drew in denial was even harder. "Heal him Kody!" Another shout from Drew.

"I'm sorry," Kody cried. "There's nothing I can do." A blue jay flew over and perched on my hand. James's guardian.

"Have the Pegasus take him home," He said solemnly. "I will accompany him as well, for I don't see a choice. I can hide behind a Pegasus so they won't see me. I'm sorry." We all strapped James to the back of his Pegasus. We all said a few words in his memory, and watched as all the Pegasus, the guardian, and a great man flew over the border. Alpha Maximus was going to pay for what he did tonight. Now more than ever I wanted revenge. For James, his guardians, Drew, all of us in the Code of Law. And nothing was going to stop me.

That night somehow everyone easily found sleep in the little spot we were in (for we couldn't leave), except me. Being hunted down is scary. Especially when you know that you are alone, with secret eyes spying on you. I finally fell asleep, knowing I was not alone. That never again, will I, Carter-Adrian Nicholas Breese, be alone.

###

Thank you for reading my first published work, "Infinity: Code of Law!" If you enjoyed it, feel free to leave me a review at your favorite retail. There are more works soon to come!

-S.A. Waters

Acknowledgements

Without the help of everyone who has positively influenced my life, this book would have never become a reality, and for them I am truly grateful. The following people I would specifically like to thank.

Angela Yu and Emily Zheng, thanks for encouraging me to finish and getting me past my writer's blocks. You guys were always some of my biggest supporters, and I appreciate the honest feedback and helping edit. Without the two of you this book would have never been finished.

Ms. Janet Pooley, my old English teacher. You edited part of this novel and pushed my writing abilities, resulting in you being one of the best teachers I ever had. Thank you for assigning that vignette, for without it my short story, "Vengeance," would have never lead to the inspiration for "Infinity." It's amazing what a picture of a menu can do.

Also, G.J. Walker-Smith, the author of the "Wishes" series. Thank you for replying to my email and giving me the assistance I needed for the final touches on my book, as well as introducing me to Smashwords.

A huge thank you for my father and grandmother, my two biggest fans. Thanks for editing "Infinity" and giving me the motivation to finish. You guys made this book so much better.

To my two good friends, Ethan Harbour and Kate Fruehling for helping me with the cover. Thanks for making the last step of this book possible. Your help was extremely appreciated.

And lastly I would like to thank the "Ride On" facility for allowing me to shoot the cover of my book there.

"Thank you" are only two words that express my gratitude, tough it cannot be expressed enough.

