Wow two updates in two days...

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Alex's POV

That night I fell asleep quickly. But that meant the nightmares would come.

Instantly, I was thrown into one. I was four, my parents stood over me, protecting me from the hooded figures in front of them. I couldn't make out what they were saying. My father made an exaggerated hand gesture to me. My mother place a gentle hand on his arm to calm him. Then, the hooded person stuck a hand out from under his cloak. My mother turned to face me.

"Run Alex! Get away from here! Forget about us, we'll see you soon! I promise, we will always be with you."

Boom. The magic words. If you promise a four year old almost anything, they will believe you. I turned and ran, into the forest, through the trees, as fast as my short little legs could go. I stopped and turned around. Suddenly, my house was illuminated in flashes of light so bright, I turned away. When I looked back, light was flashing in and out of the windows. Then I heard one of my parents scream in agony. Then the other one followed suite.

They were dead.

He had killed them.

Tears filled my eyes and ran down my cheeks. They blurred my vision. I heard my mother's voice in my head.

Run Alex!

And so I did. But then, the last words she said to me echoed through my mind.

We will always be with you.

I promise.

Then I heard a voice.

"Alex?"

I jolted awake, springing up into a sitting position. Jasper stood in front of me, looking at me with a concerned look on his face. "You okay?" he asked.

"Um, yeah yeah. I'm fine."

"Okay. Nat wants us out there. Something about the Time Orb, so bring it with you when you come out."

"Okay."

He left so I could change clothes. When I came out I was wearing a simple black shirt and light blue jeans with black combat boots. I had the leather pouch that held the Time Orb in my left hand, my fist clenched tight. The remnants of my dream echoed through my mind.

I promise.

She had lied. But I wasn't mad at her. Just... well, I didn't know how I felt. Grief, obviously. Maybe just a hint of frustration.

"Good, you're here." Natalie said as I walked to where they were standing at the edge of the clearing.

"Uh, yeah." I responded. She eyed me warily as I placed the leather bag on a rock that we stood in a semi-circle around.

"You okay? You seem a little..."

"I seem a little what?"

"Off..."

"I'm fine." It had only been a nightmare. That was all.

"Well," Jasper began, "What do we do with this Time Orb thingy. I don't suppose it's of any actual use."

"The only way to know is to test it."

Jasper and I stared at Natalie like she had grown a second head.

"What?!" We exclaimed.

"Are you crazy?" Jasper asked incredulously.

"Probably." She admitted.

"Huh. Probably true." Jasper conceded, which resulted in a glare from Nat and me rolling my eyes.

"Come on! It probably won't do anything."

Jasper and I exclaimed glances. Before I could get a word in, Jasper said,

"Let's do it!"

What?! What was he thinking? He probably wasn't. "Am I the only sane one here?"

"Uh, yeah." They stated at the same time.

I sighed. "Fine."

Their faces lit up as soon as I said that.

Natalie shook the Time Orb out of the bag. It rested in the palm of her hand. My and Jasper's hands were drawn to it. Why? I don't know.

As soon as we touched it, we vanished into a swirling vortex. 

~~~

Well, that was a longer chapter.

Jasper : Yup.

Natalie : Sure was.

Me : Anyways, comment and vote!

Jasper : Where's Alex? 

Natalie : Looking for your lover?

Jasper : *blushes*

Alex : ...