Mark of the Rising Sun

When I woke up, it was in my own bed. Mom and Dad were hovering over me, and I could see David in the corner. When they realized I was awake, Mom wrapped me up in a big hug and started bawling. Dad just gave me a stern look like he wasn’t sure whether to hug me, or ground me for the rest of my life. The tension was so thick you could cut it with a knife finally he gave me a smile and a nod, and I knew everything was going to be alright between us.

I turned to them, “I’m sorry to put you through all that, but I did what I had to do. I would do it again in a heartbeat if I had to, and nothing you say will convince me otherwise. I knew it was a risk, but I had to do the right thing.”

“We know honey, we just wish you had told us before you ran off. David here explained everything to us while you were out. You were out for three days by the way. Why did you think that you couldn’t talk to us. We might have been able to help you. Instead you ran off willy nilly and almost got yourself killed, and all you did was leave a small note. You’re lucky David came along when he did, or you might not have survived the battle.”

“I would have survived either way. They didn’t want to kill me, they just wanted to capture me. They probably wanted to use me as bait to get the others to come. I’m sorry I didn’t say anything, but I didn’t know how to tell you. I was scared, and feeling weak, and I thought if I had said something, you would have insisted on coming along. I needed to do this by their rules in order to make sure my other parents were safe. I was prepared to die for the greater good, and do what was necessary to protect those who were not strong enough to protect themselves.”

“Okay, we understand, but next time let us know. It is harder not knowing what is going on than knowing the decisions you are making and letting you make them. Now, I’ll leave you and David to talk, I’m sure you two have a lot to catch up on. I’m sure he has no idea what kind of mess he just got himself into.”

The two of them left and it was just David and me in my room. It was the first time I had had a boy in my room since the change, so it felt a bit weird. I felt a bit awkward lying in bed with him standing there so I sat up and swung my legs over the bed. I was still wearing the clothes I had fought in, and they were badly damaged. I wasn’t going to worry about that now, though, since the clothes still covered everything it needed to.

Unable to think of how to start the conversation, I finally just said, “Thanks.”

“You’re welcome. I saw you needed help, and I did what I could. You are the one who ultimately defeated that thing. What was it anyways?”

“I couldn’t have done it without you. I would have been captured for sure if you hadn’t shown up when you did, so don’t sell yourself short. As for the creature, you should have a seat, it’s going to be a long story.”

He sat down and I told him about my history, everything that had happened to me from the point where I contracted the rare bacteria. When I reached the point where I met the soothsayer, and learned of our destiny, I stopped and let it sink in. He sat there dumbstruck for a several minutes, unable to take it all in.

“So what you are saying is that we are warriors in a battle between good and evil, where the victor gets control of the earth for the next thousand years?” He asked, “and that everyone in the world is depending on us to save them and don’t know it. This is heavy and we could die. I don’t know if I can handle this.

“I felt the same way when I first learned of it, but we must fight. We have to. If we don’t fight then the enemy will win and the entire world faces the threat of extinction. You and I were chosen to fight the forces of darkness. As for dying, I don’t think we will unless it is done by accident. The creature that we fought earlier was trying to subdue me and capture me. He wanted me alive.”

Again he was quiet for a time before exhaling strongly, “Alright, I don’t like it, but I guess it must be done. So what comes next, do we take the fight to them, what do we do?”

I thought about it, “I don’t know about you, but I am not yet ready to take on these forces yet. I barely survived that last battle, and I only killed that creature by sheer luck. I need more education before we go on the offense. I still don’t know how I beat that thing, I need answers, spells, and brains. Besides, there are still two members of our team we need to find. The fire elemental and the earth elemental are still out there. Without the others we don’t stand a chance of winning.”

“Okay, you’ve convinced me, we’ll go back to school, but how are we going to find the others? They could be anywhere.”

“You found me didn’t you? We’ll manage. The important thing is that we never give up, and that we stick together. As we saw, divided we fall. Everything will happen when it is meant to happen, and the others will come when the time is right. Together with Hope and Grace, and the others, we will defeat evil, we will protect the earth, and we will be safe.”

He left after that speech and I lay down in bed wondering if I really believed what I said, or if I had said it for only his benefit. Still wondering that and many more things, I gave into my exhaustion, and blacked out; I knew I was safe as long as I had Hope to watch over me