Chapter Five

The statues have awaken and explain their reason for being there and it is not to just find their missing friend, Drake...

    The room fell into a silent awe as the girls watched the four statues before them gradually change into their former human-selves. Their hard stoned features altered into flesh; their eyes began to shine with the light of life as their rigid postures became relaxed muscles and tissue filled with the blood of human kind.

    “Wh-what’s going on?” Rose faltered with her words; her voice was in a high shrill of hysteria, as the statues before them finished their transformation. She backed away, letting out a little yelp as she bumped into Asha.

    Asha rest her hands upon Rose's trembling shoulders to keep her from falling as they gaped at the four women before them in incredulity. She didn’t say a word as these women, once inanimate figures set in stone, looked back at them, serene expressions upon their faces.

    “Asha.”

    “Tygra.”

    “Jade.”

    “Rose.”

    The girls looked to each of the women announcing their names in order from the left. But, how did these women know their names? How was that even possible? Where did they come from and who were they? These questions ran through the heads of the four girls as they unknowingly came closer to the women, each stopping directly a crossed from the ones who had called her name.

    “We are the first Elemental Guardians.” the statue on the very left of the room who had announced Asha’s name stated, as if reading the minds of the girls.

    “We were chosen a long time ago to help fight an evil force from taking over our world.” The second woman who had called Tygra said in a nonchalant kind of tone. “All of us were from different regions of this world, each chosen for a connection to the Spirits of the Elements. Just like you.”

    The third woman now stood to her feet, pushing her long braids behind her shoulder as she looked to Jade with emerald eyes. “After the darkness was defeated, we remained protecting and keeping the balance within this world. But as the years gone by, the magic from our world seemed to vanish…we were no longer needed to protect the world from the unnatural.”

    “We remained here, awaiting for this day to come,” The last woman continued with a small shake of her head. “Evil shall never be fully ridden from this world as long as its seeds are allowed to continue to grow.”

    “But what do you need us for, if you already hold this power?” Jade questioned, looking to each of the women.

    The third woman closed her eyes. “We are no longer humanly bound to this world. Our souls are the only things left to guide you on this journey.”

    “With the four of you to take our place, we can finally rest in peace.” The last statue stated sadly. “Everything and everyone we’ve came to know and love…they are just mere shadows of the past. We do not belong here anymore.”

    “But you girls do.” The second one stated, her gaze not once leaving Tygra’s. “You have your own loved ones to care for…your own loved ones to save…”

    “And by accepting your destiny,” the first one began with a slight smile, “You shall be able to do this much and so much more; by protecting every single being on this planet. You must accept your destiny; new Elemental Guardians.”

    “Accept your new lives, and allow the Spirits of the Elements to be your guide.” The four women stated, their voices resonating together in perfect harmony. Each of the stones within the women’s chokers began to shine vibrantly, causing the four girls to back away warily, covering their eyes from the brilliant light.

    “Fire,”

    “Water,”

    “Earth,”

    “Air.”

    The women announced the elements through the haze of white light in the same way they had said the names of the girls before.

    “What’s happening?” Tygra yelled, reaching her hand out to Jade, grabbing hold of her arm.

The light slowly began to fade once again, revealing the women before them. But, something was different about them; something was missing.

    Rose placed a hand to her throat, feeling a tight band around her neck. She gasped, looking to the forth woman, noting that her choker with the light blue stone was now missing. “This can’t be…”

    The woman smiled, nodding slightly. “Yours is the stone of the element of Air.” She looked to Jade. “Yours is the element of Earth.” She turned to Tygra. “Yours is the element of Water.” Then her gaze fell upon Asha. “And yours is the element of Fire. Each of you will develop your own powers with these stones…”

    “What the hell is this?” Asha yelled, tugging at the chocker around her neck in hopes of ripping it off. However, the strap didn’t so much as tear under her strength.

The woman before her tsked slightly. “No one, not even yourself, will be able to remove those stones from you bodies now. Not until a new line of the chosen appear.”

    “But I didn’t ask for this!”

    “Neither did we.” The second one said coolly. “We were chosen, just as you are now.”

    Tygra bit her bottom lip anxiously as she traced the choker around her neck. “Does that mean we will be able to save Drake with these?”

    The girls remained quiet as they awaited their answer. Drake was the main reason they had been in the woods in the first place, eventually causing them to end up here, wherever here was; they had found that he was there somewhere waiting for their help. “That is not something that can be answered with just a simple yes or a no.” The third statue responded. “There are many circumstances which could change the outcome of your fates. There isn’t even a guarantee that the four of you will survive.”

    The girls remained silent once more as Jade took a step forward. “Then I will have to step up and make sure that all of them make it back alive…including Drake. I won’t allow anything to happen to my friends.”

    “Jade…” Rose said quietly, touched by her willingness to keep them safe.

    The woman to the left smiled sweetly. “These are the kinds of spirits we need within this world…our pure ones…” she closed her eyes as her now warm flesh began to turn back to that of stone.

    “Wait! You can’t just leave us like this!” Asha yelled as stepped towards her.

    “We must…” the next woman said, her features beginning to turn to stone as well. “Our time is limited.”

    “Thanks to you, we are now able to return back to our loved ones once more.” The last woman said her appreciation sounding through her voice.

    “You must make certain that you do not rush into anything.” The third woman said calmly as she closed her eyes once again. “Be careful in your fight against the Dark Lord.”

    Before long, the women were made completely of stone, their human flesh now a hardened shells. But as the girls watched on, they saw the transformation hadn’t stopped there as cracks slowly formed around the features of the statues. The cracks continued to form more and more, until each statue began to crumble into a fine dust onto the floor.

    “What happened to them?” Rose questioned a hint of remorse in her voice.

    “They were finally able to rest in peace.” Tygra answered, placing a hand to Rose’s shoulder, as they both watched Jade take a step forward; she seemed to be in deep thought as she look intently onward. “What is it Jade?”

    She glanced back to them as she pointed to where the statues had once been. “There’s a door here.”

    “Really?” Asha questioned as she rushed over toward the door. She hated being penned up in a room for too long, especially one with no windows. The thought of being stuck in a place like that…it nearly made her heart stop. “Now we can get out of here!”

    She tugged on the door’s handle, struggling to open it. Tygra walked over towards Jade, a slight smile on her face. “Should we help her?”

    “No,” Jade said plainly as she crossed her arms over her chest. “She needs the exercise…”

Asha glared back at the too of them. “I heard that!”

Rose promptly went to Asha’s side, grabbing the edge of the door and pulled as hard as she could. “Jeez! What is this thing made of? It weighs a ton!”

    Jade shook her head as she examined the door closely. “It doesn’t help the hinges are rusted over.”

    Asha narrowed her eyes as she glared back at her once again. “You could have told us that.”

    “It’s not like you can miss it…”

    Tygra couldn’t help but laugh at Jade‘s comment. Even with all that was going on, she knew she needed that.

    “There!” Rose said in triumph as she pulled open the door leading to the outside.

    Each of the girls looked on in dismay as they saw what was beyond the door. The once clear blue sky was now covered in reddish smog; the sun no longer able to reach the planet’s surface. Where there was once green grass and other forms of plant life there was a barren waste land.

    “Could this really be…?” Rose stated softly as she looked out into the world before her. She shook her head, placing a hand up to her lips. “There is no way this is home! This has to be a lie!”

    “Whatever the case may be,” Jade began, taking the first steps out into the newly found world. “We have no choice but to continue on.”

    “Continue on?” Asha questioned in cynicism. “To where? We don’t have the slightest clue where to go!”

    “That’s not true.” Tygra said taking the next step into the outside world. “That woman in our dreams told us about a castle didn’t she? We just have to go there-”

    “Where?” Asha stressed the world heatedly. “We don’t even know where we are at the moment. How are we-?”

    “It’s over there.” Jade said pointing towards the left.

    The girls looked to see a hillside and nothing more. Asha huffed. “I don’t see anything-”

    “You must hurry and find your way to the castle beyond the hill.” Tygra said looking between the two girls. “That’s what that woman said, wasn’t it?”

    “There’s probably more then one hill in this freaking world, Tygra!”

    “It won’t hurt to check it out, Asha.”

    “Easy, easy!” Rose said, quickly standing between the two girls as they glared angrily at one another. “We are all a little wigged out right now so yelling at one another isn’t going to help.”

    “She’s right.” Jade remarked as she began to walk off towards the hillside. “We have no choice but to continue on so we might as well make the best of it.”

    Tygra quickly followed after her, the other two not too far behind. They walked in silence, unsure of what they were really doing. How could they? It wasn’t like they were trained in any way, shape, or form…they weren’t even sure on how to summon their powers. In reality, they were thrown into something they knew nothing about.

    “Well look at that.” Jade announced; she had already hiked up the hill and was glancing back down toward Asha.

    The girls struggled as they hiked up the hill. The ground was dry and loose, giving way with ever step they took. Once they reached the top, Asha could see what had caught Jade’s eye. Within the distance was a two story structure…a castle.

    Tygra smiled to herself as she looked down towards the castle. “Drake…”

Jade looked to her, placing a firm hand upon her shoulder. “Don’t worry Tygra. We’ll get him back.” She let her hand fall to her side as she looked back out towards the castle. “We have no choice but to accept our destinies now.”