Sure Signs of Courage: Part 3

Scout Windful 

WIth the bunch of information we have been talking about and trying to find the shadow man and track him down. I realized something. Hannah has been acting quite strange around me. I decided I would ask her what's up. 

“Hey Hannah, why have you been acting strange around me, lately?” I said to her that afternoon. 

“I suppose I can't hide from you anymore. You'd figure it out sooner or later. But we need to talk in private” She whispers to me. 

So we go into the bedroom where she sleeps in the cabin, and she sits down on her bed. 

“Ok um how do I tell you…..” her voice trails off, trying to find some way to tell me something. 

“You don’t half to tell me.” I tell her. 

“No I must. So a long long time ago, there were two people named Adam and Eve.-“ she starts, but I interrupt. 

“Yes I know this story, it’s in the Bible.” I tell her, trying to be polite. 

“No it’s not the same. Well Adam and Eve had powers, and Eve had the power of creation, while Adam has the power of destruction. The ancient spirits told them to use their powers for good and to help people. But they used them for evil, and destruction. Then, the ancient spirits told them that anyone who was in their family would be cursed with these gifts that were supposed to be for good. But, only the girl descendants from Eve's side of the family would be granted the power of creation. And only the boy descendants from Adam's side of the family were given the power of destruction. Now here we are today, me with the power of creation, and you with the power of destruction.” She explains. 

“Wow” is all I can manage to say. 

“But we can’t tell anyone about it, not even your friends. But I don’t know how we trigger our powers. Seems like you have the better power, and all I can do is create objects.” Hannah says, with a sigh. “It'll have to be our little secret, ok? And if anyone figures it out…. You will have to erase their memory.” 

“Wait, I can erase people's memory!” I ask her, excitement filling my voice. 

“Yes and I can bring back people's memories. So basically whatever you do, I can undo.” She tells me. 

At that very moment, there is a knock on the bedroom door. 

“Come in,” Hannah says. 

The door creaks open, and there, of all people, is Shadow Man. 

“What are you doing here!” I shout at him. 

“Oh you didn’t think I would show up? Well it’s about time that I get my prized possessions.” He tells us. 

As soon as he says that, I instantly realize that WE are his prized possessions!

Me and Hannah exchange a nervous glance at each other. 

“Don’t worry about anyone else, you two are the key to destroying the world. So you either do your magic connection to destroy the world or your friends here (he points to Mike and Chester who are tied up), will be no more!” Shadow Man bellows with excitement. 

“We don’t know how to activate our powers, Shadow Man. And even if we did we wouldn’t use them.” Hannah explains. 

“Oh you don’t know how to activate your powers, but I do.” 

                             Hannah Thomas

I don’t know what to say at first. All I can do is stand there, felling totally stupid for not even knowing how to activate my own special powers. Scout is the one to break the silence that is looming over us. 

“Umm so exactly how do we activate our powers?” Scout asks us,confused.

“Ok but i need to teach it to you one at a time. Scout you can go wait or in the hallway while I teach Hannah the way she activates her powers.” Shadow Man tells him. 

I notice Scout hesitate before he walks out of the room, probably because he doesn’t trust him, but he walks out of the room.

Scout Closes the door on his way out, and with that, shadow man starts to tell me how to do it. 

“Ok so start by flicking your hand up in the air, and then push the air in front of you.” He directs me. 

I do as he says, and then a bright blue orb comes in front of my face. I remember it as the same orb that I followed to the castle. 

As soon as a flashback lurks on the edge of my mind, a cloth is shoved under my nose, and I am pushed into dark oblivion. 

A calm breeze sends my hair bouncing with the wind. I look around and see that I am in some type of woods. Birds high in the trees chirping their calm symphony.

 Then a voice calls to me, and the wind pushes me into a dark cave. A bear scratches at my chest, and my heart feels like it’s being ripped to pieces. 

Then, the chanting voices return. Chanting “Do it! Do it! Do it!”, and I realize what they want to happen…… They want the bear to kill me.   

The fire blazes around me, but this time, no one saves me. 

                 Scout Windful

I wait patiently for Hannah and Shadow Man to come out of the room. And wait. And wait. And wait. I finally decide to open the door, and there is Shadow Man looking over Hannah. 

“Hey what’s going on here?” I ask him, surprised and confused. 

“I decided that after I showed her how to trigger her powers, that I would seditate her. But when I did she started to flail and scream. I didn’t know what’s wrong with her.” Shadow Man explains. 

“Okay for one, you should have not sedated her. Two, whenever she’s asleep she starts to flail and scream.” I explain. “But I have no idea why she flails and screams” 

“Ok thanks for the tip, but how do we wake her up?” Shadow Man asks me. 

At that very moment, Hannah wakes up. 

“What happened?” She asks us.

Then she tries to sit up, but falls back. 

“Ummm basically after I showed you how to use your powers, I sedated you……” Shadow Man's voice trails off as if he can’t find the right words to say. 

“You probably shouldn’t have sedated me. I always feel weak after I wake up from my sedated sleep.” She tells us. “It will probably be about 10 min before I regain my balance, and then I’ll be fine.” 

“Ok good to know. But what do we do now?” I ask Shadow Man. 

“Ok I’ll take you into another room, and teach you how to activate your powers. Mike you watch Hannah.” Shadow Man says. “Mike? Where is he?” 

We look out the window and see him running in the woods.

Hannah steadies on her feet. “I’ll go after him” She tells us. 

                     Hannah Thomas 

I realize that those visions that I've been having, weren't mine. They were Mikes. So i'm going after him to stop the vision on its way to becoming reality. 

I rush down the steps and skid across the grass. 

I keep running and running and running but I am still so far behind Mike. I hear voices that are getting louder and louder. Their all chainting “Do it! Do it! Do it!” 

This can't be happening! I dodge behind a bush and do those hand movement things that Shadow Man tight me how to do. The blue orb appears and starts to float away. I chase it down a hill, into a cave, and past the chanting people. 

And there, down on the ground, is Mike, barely breathing.

I picked him up, my vision blurred with tears as I raced up the hill, and into the cabin. 

I lay him down on the couch, not bothering to put a towel on it first, and I place my hands against his chest. 

I just stand there, with my eyes closed, too upset to look at Mike. I finally open my eyes, and Mike's wounds are healed. 

I also realize that he was awake now, and that he'd been watching me do this…..

“How'd you do that?” He asks me, with a curious and astonished glint in his eye. 

“I can't tell you,” I say, looking away. I'm trying to hide the fact that I'm crying. 

At that moment, Shadow Man walks into the room. I tell him what happened, and then he seditades Mike so he’ll have one last good rest, where he’ll remember me. 

                       Mike Thickle 

I wake up in some type of room. All of my recent memories come back to me, so I try to get up. But I get tangled in cords…..

Cords? Where did these cords come from? 

I look down and realize that I'm bare chested, with all sorts of suction cup things pressed to me. 

I try to take another step, but a sharp pain fills my body. Someone helps me up. I turn my head and see Hannah trying to help me back onto the bed. 

I try my best to get on some, but Hannah’s just doing most of it. When i'm finally on the bed, Hannah's eyes start to fill up with tears as she says to Shadow Man (Who i didn't realize was in the room), “Bring Scout in” . 

The door swings open, and Scout walks up to me. 

“Are you ready?” He asks Hannah. 

“Just one more thing” She tells him. 

She walks up to me, she's crying now. Hannah leans close to me, and we kiss. She gives me a hug that practically squeezes me to death, and says:

“Take one last good look at me, Mike. For it's the last time you'll see me when you know me.” 

The words soak in, and I realize that they're going to erase my memory. 

I try to find the good last words to say to Hannah, but all i can manage to say is:

“I love you Hannah, and don't let anyone change your mind about that.” 

Then, Scout presses his hand on my head, and my thoughts go dark. 

                  Scout Windful 

The process of erasing his memory was hard. Occasionally he would wake up and we would have to sedate him so he would sleep. 

But other than that, it went pretty smoothly. Well other than Hannah crying. 

I can't imagine losing a loved one. Well in this case, them not remembering anything about you. Like at all. 

And when Hannah sees him (if she does), that it'll be awkward because she’ll remember him but he won't. 

Finally, when we finish, Shadow Man takes Mike in his car and drives away. 

After he leaves, Hannah rushes to her cabin bedroom, and slams the door. 

“Ugh Girls can sometimes be so dramatic” says a voice behind me. 

I turn around, and there’s Chester. 

“Oh hi Chester, didn't see you there” I tell him, surprised. 

Then, a sharp scream comes from Hannahs bedroom. The door swings open, and a mysterious person dressed in all red is carrying Hannah, who is tied up and has tape over her mouth. 

The person didn’t notice Me and Chester so we sneaked up behind them, and got Hannah. 

When they realize Hannah is not on their shoulder, they turn around and see us. Hannah does the hand movements to activate her powers, and I do the same. 

But when they lower their red colored hood, Hannah stops in her tracks. 

“Yes Hannah, it's me again!” Says the tall girl. 

Then she lunges for Hannah, but before she can, Hannah gets behind me. 

“Oh this is on, mysterious girl!” I say to the red hooded girl. 

“Oh you're just trying to protect Hannah i see, well if you're going against me, you don't have a chance” she says, cackling. 

Then she pulls out a blow dart, and throws it into Hannahs leg. As soon as it hits her, she is instantly knocked out cold. 

“I could easily just go ahead and knock out both of you, but you'll be useful later. And don't tell anyone that i've got her, or you'll both be killed” she threatens. 

Then, she walks away. 

Mike Thickle

I wake up in my bedroom, like any other day. I get up and out of my bed, and get in my school uniform. 

I go downstairs and eat my breakfast in the dining room. I say bye to my parents, grab my backpack, and head out the door. 

I walk to school, do my normal classes. 

“Hannah Thomas!” Calls out the teacher for roll call. “Hannah Thomas?” 

The name seems familiar but i don't know where i've heard it before. Whoever they were, they were absent today. 

I sat with my friends at lunch and did the rest of my classes. 

I feel like I'm missing something. No it's not a school supply or a book or a picture. I feel like I'm missing…. Something important. 

Not an object, but a part of my life. Maybe a person? I don't know. But I feel like there's this blank space in my mind where something should be. Maybe a friend? Nah. 

That night, I couldn't sleep. Visions of a blond haired girl and me swarm my head. But there's more too. Adventures, happy moments, pain. And oh the pain is terrible. 

Then the visions become clear. I used to have a girlfriend! And we've been through a lot. But who could it be?

Hannah Thomas

When I woke up, all I could see was machines of some sorts surrounding me. I look around more, and notice Aliva snoozing in the corner. 

I try to get up, but when I try, I. Notice different machines with cords all on me. I pull all of them off me, and when I’m finished, I feel very weak. 

I’m also very tempted to put all the suction cup things back on me to regain strength. But I can’t have like 20 machines wheeling behind me when I escape. 

So I go up the stairs and head out the door, very quietly. When I get outside, Scout is standing there, probably just about to rescue me. 

But there is an evil red flicker in his eye…… 

I remember that the mist will wear off soon, so I just hid behind some trash cans and pretended like I never noticed him. 

Then, when it wears off, I go near him. 

‘Hi Scout, ' I say to him.

“Hi Hannah, we need to get out of here!” He tells me. “But how?” 

“Hold my hand” I tell him. He looks confused. “Just hold my hand.” 

In a flash of light, we were gone. 

We land in some type of bedroom….. Mike's bedroom. 

This is a lot to take in. There are no more pictures of me on his billboard. Instead there are pictures of different people with strings connecting them. 

What or who is he looking for? 

At that moment, the door opens and me and Scout run and hide behind stacks of books. Mike rushes through the door like he's running away from something. 

Nothing comes after him at first, but then, there is Alivia chasing after him. 

Mike Thickle 

When I went to the library today, I was being chased by this crazy girl. She chased me down the sidewalk, through the park, and into my house! 

Then she chased me up the stairs, and I thought that I was done for. But then, a blond haired girl and a brown haired boy jump out from behind some of my stacks of books. 

I stare long and hard at the girl, and realize that she was the one who used to be my girlfriend! Or at least I think she used to be. Or maybe she still is. 

She spreads her arms wide, and then a huge brick wall goes in front of the person who was chasing me. 

“Take my hand” the girl tells me.

I grab her left hand and the other boy grabs her right hand. And with a flash of light, were gone. 

We find ourselves in a cabin. The girl puts her hand on my head and my memory’s return. 

“I'm so sorry for having to erase your memory, Mike.” Hannah tells me, her eyes welling up with tears. 

“Don't worry about it. Every rule must be broken at some point” I tell her. 

She runs into my arms and our lips meet. 

“Ok, let me show you all the cool things that i can do.” Hannah says after we kiss. 

She waves her hands in a few motions and a blue orb appears. First nothing happens but then Hannah starts to hum stoftly. Then she disappears. 

We assume that she just has vanishing powers, but when Me and Scout go to where she was standing, nothing is there! 

‘Looking for me?” Hannah asks. 

We spin around and she's standing on the couch. 

“How'd you do that?” Me and Scout ask her at the same time. 

“Oh it's easy, I just hum and the air carries me to where I want to go. Like teleporting but faster” She explains. 

At that moment, a noise comes from the back of the room…..

We spin around, and next thing I know, my shirt is yanked up and I am face to face with Alivia. 

                            Scout Windful 

Me and Cheseter lay there staring blankly at each other then look at Hannah. We went to pick her up and carry her to her cabin room. 

“ She looks worn out, let's let her rest. Also were technically not safe out there with that mean looking girl. ” Chester say’s quietly. 

“Yeah you're right. I don't want her to get hurt.” I whisper back. 

I leave the room and Chester stays in there to watch over Hannah soon to hear a faint scream to the near left of the cabin. I don't go alone but I have to so I walk over and just as scared as i am I keep walking. 

Everything goes silent and dark. What was I hit with? I hear myself hit the floor but I’m not awake I can tell that.

The world spins around me like I'm on a nonstop, fast spinning, merry go round. What was this feeling that I felt? 

Then a sudden shake came. Everything was rumbling. It's like all of my life is being ripped to pieces. By then, my head is hurting with a terrifyingly sharp pain, like a knife being pressed into it. 

I land in the grass. I see a younger me being bullied by the same girl that's in where Chester and Hannah are in the cabin right now. 

The memory shards are being pulled together. I used to think that it was just a dream. An illusion. Nothing important. But now all the pieces are fitting into their original form. 

I duck behind the bushes just before the younger me runs away crying. It's clear now. This was just a few days after my father tried to drown me. 

 It had become very easy to make me feel threatened, and the girl was teasing me about how my parents should be normal. 

Had this happened to me NOW, i would say that there is no such thing as normal. Which is true. I also would have never run off crying, like 3 year old me did. 

How did I end up here? Suddenly, the bush turns into a portal, pulling me back to reality. I am yanked fiercely back into the present and I still have a lot of mysteries to uncover.