“Guys! Guess what? Starline’s attacking Oakville!” Yells Counter as he rushes ‘round the corner. “Starline? I thought he was dead!” Gem says, scornfully. “He is, but his son ain’t! Here, look at this!” Counter hands Gem a torn up piece of paper. It’s a newspaper. The headline reads “Dr. Starline Dead! Reporters say his son will continue what he started?” Gem puts her hands at her hips, and grins. “This seems like a problem for… the-” She’s interrupted. “The Freedom Fighters.” Gem turns around to see Voltix the Dragon. “Really, Gem, you should stay out of Freedom Fighters vs Constellations business.” Gem snickers. “Says the guy who leads a team that can’t abbreviate their team name!” Voltix snarled, smoke rising from his nose. “Yea, but that’s only because YOUR team TOOK it.” Gem giggles, and then steps toward Voltix. “Shoulda used the resistance, huh?” She starts to walk away, and says, “Okay, you handle it. I’m gonna go sleep.” (Switching pov’s) I struggle to open my eyes, but I can’t. My head hurts, my chest aches, and my throat feels like it’s been stabbed. Why can’t I move? I wonder in silence as an ear-piercing screech emanates from the bathroom. I know it must be my sister, Shade. I hear loud and quick footsteps run toward the sound of the scream. “Got it!” A shoe slams against the marble tile flooring. “Eugh. Disgusting. Someone get me a paper towel and some Windex, please!” Someone comes into my room, and something wet sprays on my frozen face. “Ugh, Shade!? Did you just spray me with Windex!?” My body warms, and then gains the strength to get up. I chase my little annoying sister down the stairs. Mom is busy making breakfast, and then spots us horsing around. “Oh, Shade! Gem? There you are! I was about to get you up, but then I realized that it was Saturday! Come on, I’m making pancakes!” Shade and I stop rolling around on the floor, and we run over to the counter.“WITH CHOCOLATE CHIPS?!” We both ask in excited unison. “No, we are out. That’s why your brother and uncle are both gone. They went to fill out my grocery list.” Just then, the front door swings open. “Someone call us!?” Strike and Navy both come through the door, Navy holding two heavy-looking bags of groceries. “I’ll go get the milk from the back!” Strike says. Shade blows her bangs out from the front of her face. “Pshh. Looks like they’re ready for a nice breakfast.” Then, something clicks in my head. “Wait, today’s Saturday!?” My dad slides down the rail of the staircase. “Yep, pretty sure. Hey, didn’t you have a mee-“ My uncle interrupts. “A meeting for the Full Force!” I run upstairs. I get changed as fast as I can. My uncle yells upstairs. “I’ll drive you! Also, I have your scarf!” Shade runs downstairs, and I follow. We sprint outside, where Strike is still unloading the car. Navy yells to Strike, “11:47! Full Force meeting! Come on!” A dumbstruck look falls across Strike’s face. He sets the milk down in the back, jumps in, knocks over two jugs, and closes the hatch. We get in the car, and speed away. Strike hurdles over the back seat, and sits beside Shade, buckling his seatbelt. The car stops at a light. “Hey, do y’all wanna hop out here, and run over? I’ll go to the ring caster portal, and meet Strike at the forest entrance. Sound good?” We all nod our heads, and jump out of the car. I tap Strike on the shoulder. “Tag, you’re it!” Strike looks at me, and I spin away.“Oh, you’re on!” Shade taps the buttons on the back of her boots, and the bottoms flare up. She speeds in front of Strike, and he follows, slightly burned by the red, orange, black, and yellow river of smoldering grass that trails in Shade’s fiery wake. Gem makes it to the hatch that leads underground, while Strike spindashes over it, falling in an icy puddle, and Shade doesn’t stop in time, and slams face-first into a tree. Strike yelps as if he were a dog, and jumps out, soaking with freezing water. Shade peels herself off of the bumpy tree trunk, and wipes her nose. Blood is drizzling out of it, and I exclaim it’s broken. It’s not. “At least, I don’t think it is;”. We open the large, circular hatch, and hop inside. I expect to fall onto the hard, damp, cold ground, but I fall into a blue tube that propels me forward.
Shade and Sterling follow me in, and I land at the bottom, my fall cushioned by a pillow. I look over at someone I see in the corner of my eye. It’s Tess. She and Azalea are setting out pillows to fall on. “Tess, was it really necessary to put in a slide?” Shade looks annoyed. I don’t know why, I mean, a slide’s a great idea, so people don’t hurt themselves coming in. Look, she even put in a pillow! We all sit down around the holo-table. Kila comes in, and starts picking up holographic screens. “Okay, everyone. Are we all here? Okay, good. Our security cameras picked up some footage last night, and it is very peculiar. Anyone got an idea who this is?” She pulls up a screen, and shows us the cams. My eyes follow the movement I see. Strike’s eyes widen.“Starline!” Everyone looks at him in confusion. Kila blurts, “Dr. Starline? But he’s dead, isn’t he?” Strike stands up and speeds over to the desk. “He is, but he has a son. Orion Starline, he goes to my school. I’ve seen him wear that cloak in my Tech Apps class.” Kila looks at him, then back at the screen.“Okay then, he possesses the Warp Topaz, right?” “Yes. And with it, he poses a huge threat to his enemies. And I’m pretty sure that’s us. I’ll bet he wants to continue what his father started. Project: Constellation. My face turns red. Everyone’s looking at me. I start to say something, but I can’t. This is a new threat we’re dealing with. I’m the leader, and I’m supposed to make the decisions, and I’m supposed to know what to do. But I don’t. At this moment, this very moment, I’m completely speechless. Until a thought interrupts all my other thoughts. Go for it. Don’t just sit there and waste your precious time. When you want to do something, do it right away. Do it when you can. It’s the only way to live a life without regrets. So I raise my fist. “Then let’s show this Starline what the Force does when we are threatened!” Eyyyyyyyyy new gem design Finally! It’s out! I procrastinated so much! You’re welcome! I’m sorry! I’m trying!
