"Should we pair off or something?" I asked. "Cover more ground?" 

"No. That only ends up with someone getting killed." Skylar said. "May I point out episode ten of Crafting Dead*?" 

I shifted uncomfortably. "Yeah, but that was only because-"

"Shut your face, I haven't gotten to episode ten." Jeremy cut me off. 

I gave him a look. "Seriously? It's been out-" 

"There are no expiration dates on spoilers!" Jeremy insisted. 

"Can we just leave, please?" Shane muttered. "I want to be able to use this sword without hurting anyone who was on our side, thanks." 

I noticed Quinn turn her eyes to the floor. 

Skylar slowly pushed the door open a crack, peeking her head around the corner. 

After a few seconds, she turned back to us. "Looks like we're all clear. Anyone want to go first?" 

"Sign me up." Shane grinned, and pulled his sword out of the holster by his side.

"Woah. Is that diamond?" I asked, staring at it. 

"Yeah. It was my dad's, but I figured he wouldn't mind me taking it. After all, it would've just been destroyed in the attack. Not the best enchants, but I guess Bane of Arthropods is good enough to get rid of Shadows." He said. 

"They've got the same likable rating as spiders." Cameron pointed out.

"True." Shane agreed, and left through the door. 

Alyssa followed close behind him, and I went behind her. Macey stayed close to me, her hand clenched so tightly around the dagger that her knuckles were turning white.

The night air was chilly, making the sense of dread grow in the back of mind. I never knew why, but cold nights always made me feel like something bad was about to happen. 

I sucked in a breath. Calm down, I thought to myself.  You're fine, everyone's fine. Shane's got an enchanted sword, and he's at the front. Skylar's got one, she's at the back. Nothing can surprise you.

I grasped the shining amulet around my neck, making sure it was still safe. It was still there, of course, the gemstone smooth and cold. 

This was my dad's. I knew that. At that time, it felt like that was the only thing I really knew about my dad. Why hadn't he told me? How many secrets had he kept? 

I nearly ran into Alyssa, not noticing her stop.

"What's happening?" I asked, keeping my voice low.

"Shane says he sees them. Pass the message back." She whispered.

I turned to Macey and Jeremy, who were standing behind me. "Shane says he sees them, can you pass the message back Jeremy?" 

Jeremy nodded and turned to his sister. 

I turned back to Alyssa. "So what's the plan? Are we going to jump them?" 

"I don't think jumping is going to help us win, Tyler." She said, tilting he head in confusion.

"No, I mean are we going to attack them?"

"Oh. I don't know, go up and ask Shane." She said, moving to the left.

I slid past her, trying to stay as quiet as possible, and nudged him. 

He jumped. "What?" 

"Sorry." I whispered. "Just wanted to know the plan." 

"Working on it. Look." He replied, pointing over to where I saw three figures in a clearing. 

"What's wrong with you guys?" I heard a shaky voice ask. 

"Oh, nothing's wrong with us. We've just had a, erm, change in perspective." Another voice spoke, one that I recognized as John.

"Since when?" The voice from before questioned. 

"That doesn't matter." Mary's voice spoke. "What matters is now, you know our secret."

"And if you tell anyone, we can and will...hmm, let's say...do away with your family." John continued. 

"Don't jump them yet. Wait for a weakness." Shane whispered, although it kind of sounded like he was telling himself more than he was telling me.

"Or we could just kill him." Mary suggested. 

John paused, as if contemplating his options. "You know what? I like that better." 

"Wait. For. A. Weakness." Shane muttered, his fist tightening around the handle of his sword. 

"No, please!" The third voice cried. 

"Forget the plan." Shane muttered, running out from the hiding place. 

"Shane!" I whisper-yelled, but he wasn't going to listen to me, and I knew it.

I watched as he ran towards them lifting his sword to try and land a hit. 

Before he could, though, John whipped around, and lifted one hand. 

Shane froze in the spot.

"Knew it would work." Mary spoke, turning towards Shane. 

"We're letting you go, Harold. But remember what we said. One word and your whole family drops. Got it?" John said, and Harold nodded, hastily getting up and running.

"You thought we didn't know who you were. How cute." Mary smiled. "The moment I saw that amulet, I knew." 

I ducked behind the building to where the others were. 

"Tyler, what's going on?" Jeremy asked. 

"Shane's in trouble." I explained, keeping my voice as quiet as possible. "And I think we are too." 

"So whose are you? Let's see...based on the sword, I'm going to say Mitch." I heard John say. 

The others crowded together a little closer so we could all hear each other better. 

Skylar looked around. "There." She said, pointing at a building that covered the clearing from the view of the town square. "If we get to the roof, we should be able to surprise them." 

"Jumping off of a roof?" Quinn asked. "I don't know about you, but for me, that's suicide." 

"Not from that distance. It looks to be about six blocks tall, so if you calculate that into fall damage..." Cameron paused, probably doing the math inside of his head. "One and a half hearts lost." 

Jenna shoved him, a grin on her face. "See, this is why you're the brains, Cam."

"I can deal with one and a half hearts lost. I'm going. Are you guys coming with me or not?" Skylar asked. 

"Right behind you." I replied, and the others nodded. 

Carefully so not to be seen, we made our way to the building, helping each other get to the top. As I was just pulling Macey up, the last person, the others stood close to the edge to see what was happening, but not close enough to be seen themselves. 

"Tyler," Macey whispered. "I'm scared."

I crouched down next to her so I was at eye level. "Hey, it's okay. We're gonna be okay." 

She only shook her head, backing up slightly. 

I turned to the others. "Hey, guys?" I said, my voice low. "I'm gonna stay with Macey. She's a little freaked, and it's not like I have a weapon anyways." 

Jeremy nodded. "Alright." 

"Okay, on three, we go in." Skylar said. "One..."

"Oh, would you stop the monologuing." I heard Mary speak. "Let's just kill him already. I don't know about you, but I want that reward." 

Reward? There was a reward for killing us?

"Two..." 

"You're no fun anymore." John replied. "But fine." 

"Three!" 

They jumped off, everyone hitting the ground but Alyssa, who flew upwards into the air. I heard a surprised shriek, before Jenna's voice rang out. 

"Hey! Ugly times two!" 

"Looks like we've got some more 'friends'." John's voice spoke, sounding annoyed. "Fine. We'll kill you quickly so we can get back to this one." 

"Not likely." Skylar said.

All of a sudden, I heard the sound of swords and axes clashing against knives. The fight was on. 

I looked over the edge, being careful to remain unseen, and watched as Skylar, Cameron and Alyssa took on John, while Jenna, Jeremy and Quinn went after Mary. 

"You three are obnoxious." Mary muttered, melting into the darkness of the woods.

"She's gonna come back." Jeremy said to the others, and they held weapons at the ready.

Meanwhile, Skylar attempted to get a hit on John. He grabbed her arm, stopping her, and threw her backwards. She hit the wall of the building, but pushed herself back up as Alyssa shot John multiple times with her blaster, holding him back, but the blasts had no real effect on him.

Cameron swung the iron sword he was holding at him, but completely missed, losing his balance and toppling over. 

"Wow. Some warriors you kids are." John laughed. 

Skylar ran towards him, attempting to land a hit again, and he dodged, throwing her against the same wall for a second time. She pressed her hand on her forehead, and this time, stayed down. 

Alyssa kept firing her blaster, trying to hold John back as best as she could. John glared up at her, the blasts not even bothering him anymore. With a swipe of his hand, she fell from the air, resulting in a nasty cracking sound that didn't sound good. 

"Guys! We could use your help over here!" Cameron called, getting back up on his feet.

The other three turned, and just as they were distracted, Mary reappeared, and threw out her hands. All three were shot forwards, hitting the same wall that Skylar had. Quinn seemed to lose consciousness on impact, and the twins were dazed. 

I knew I had to get in there and try to be of some help. I turned to Macey. "Stay here, okay?" 

She nodded, and I jumped over the side of the roof, the impact sending a shockwave of pain through me, but it didn't last long. 

"Hey!" I called, and John turned from where he was about to attack Cameron. "Leave them alone!" 

"How cute. The little boy with no sword thinks he can do something." Mary laughed. The smile quickly left her face, replaced by a determined one. "Hand over the amulet, kid." 

I took a step backward. "Not if my life depended on it." 

I didn't know what they wanted with the amulet, but I was sure I wasn't going to let them have it.

"Oh, it does." John said, and lunged straight for me. 

I ducked, and he missed me by an inch. I ran for it, trying my best to distract them long enough for Skylar to get back on her feet. 

"Tyler! Are you insane?" Skylar asked, attempting to get back on her feet but struggling. 

Mary disappeared again, before reappearing right behind me, and managed to grab my ankle. 

Searing pain went through my ankle, and I managed to pull away before she could set fire to it. 

I could use some help right now, I thought. 

Suddenly, the purple gemstone in the amulet began to glow, and a sword appeared in my hand. The blade was a golden color, and the handle was a dark purple. The entire thing seemed to glow. 

I jumped. "What the-!" I exclaimed, and even the two Shadows froze.

"He figured out how to work it! Damn it all!" John cursed, before lunging for me again. 

I did the first thing that came naturally-I swung. 

The sword landed a hit, and John immediately burst into the black sand that the others had described. 

At the same moment, Shane unfroze, falling to the ground. 

I looked over to see Skylar standing on her feet, slowly creeping up behind Mary while her attention was on me. 

"You little brat!" She cried. "I'll kill you!" 

Just then, Skylar shoved her sword through Mary's back. "Not on my watch, you won't." 

Mary disintegrated will one final scream, and I was surprised that none of the neighbors had woken up. 

We all sat in silence for a while, staring at the sword in my hands in awe. Quinn suddenly sat up, rubbing her head. 

"What happened?" She asked, and then froze at the sight of the sword. "Tyler? Where did you get that? How did you get that?"

I stared at the sword, and back at the amulet. The amulet's purple gemstone was considerably duller then it had been before the sword had appeared. 

"I...I don't know." 

-------------------------------------------------------

I wonder how many of you can correctly guess how the amulet works... :D

*Crafting Dead is a popular t.v. show in this universe, except Sky and Jin are replaced by two others.