Sparks

Chapter Four

With the approval of the parents, everyone had grabbed their flashlights and jackets and headed out into the dark. Dre was leading them through the woods.

"Dre," Andie whined, "when are we going to get there? I'm ready to go to bed."

"Yeah, Dre, I need some water and a good night's sleep. I have football tomorrow afternoon." Brandon said.

"Quit whining you guys," Dre started, "We are almost there. I think."

"What do you mean, you think?" Brandon exclaimed, "We've been walking for what seems like forever! I need to go back to camp and lay d-"

"Shh." Dre interrupted.

Andie, Rian, and Brandon all looked at each other in shock as Dre walked slowly to some trees.

"This is it." he said, "I can feel it. This is where I fell down the hill. Everyone follow me, and be careful, there's a lot of tree branches on the way down there."

"I'm sorry, did you just say down?" Andie questioned, "I didn't agree to downwards or upwards climbing tonight Dre."

"Please Andie, just climb down."

"Ok, if you say so." she replied.

They all climbed down the hill through the branches, trying their best to not snag any clothes or body parts.

As they reached the bottom of the hill, Dre started to slow.

"Guys," he called out, "we're here."

Pushing aside the branches in their faces, they came to the clearing that Dre had seen the week before. In the clearing was the same glowing orb that Dre had seen, still hovering in the air.

"Whoa." Brandon said in awe.

"What is that thing, Dre?" Rian asked while gaping at the orb.

"I'm.. I'm not sure," he replied. "I come here every Saturday and last weekend was the first time I had seen it. I've even camped in this clearing before, and I've never- Andie! Stop! What are you doing!"

Andie had started to walk towards the orb while Dre was talking.

"Andie! Stop!" Rian called out as she ran towards Andie and the orb.

"Andie! Can you... hear..." Rian slowed as she got closer. Soon Brandon and Dre were right behind her, drawing closer to the mysterious orb.

"Do you guys feel it, too?" Andie asked quietly. "The warmth of it. It's so calming"

"This happened to me last time, too." Dre said, "I put my hand in it. It was like putting my hand in straight energy. I kinda want to do it again..."

"I wanna touch it, too." Rian whispered.

"Me too." Andie and Brandon said together.

They all circled the orb, watching its pulse. Then, they heard a whispering voice:

Touch the orb. Touch the orb. Touch the orb.

Startled by the noise, they all jumped back.

"You guys heard that too, right?" Andie asked. They all cautiously nodded.

The voice got louder as they got closer to the orb, calling them to put their hands into the glowing ball

Touch the orb. Touch the orb. Touch the orb.

"Guys," Andie said, "I'm gonna put my hand in it."

"No Andie!" Brandon exclaimed, "We don't know what the heck that thing is, it could be dangerous!"

"Dre has touched it before guys, it can't be that dangerous." Andie said, looking back at them. She slowly put her hand into the orb, moving her hand around inside of it.

"C'mon you guys, it's fine! Try it!"

Hesitantly, they all slowly reached into the orb, turning and twisting their hands around in silence. After a few minutes of gaping at the bright light, Rian spoke.

"I think that we should head back to camp now, it's pretty late." she said, still staring at the light.

"Yeah, I guess you're right," Dre replied, also staring into the bright glow, "we should go."

He turned and tried to walk away, but his hand would not move.

"Um, guys," he exclaimed, "I can't get my hand out! It's stuck!"

"What!" Rian, Brandon, and Andie all yelled simultaneously.

"What...What are you talking about!" Andie yelled, "No way, I can probably pull-"

She stopped mid-sentence as she tried to yank her hand out of the orb. A frightened face came upon her.

"He's right." she said, "We're stuck."

They all started to try and pull their hands out of the orb.

"Try using your other hand to pull it out!" Rian yelled.

"Ok, let me try." Brandon put his hand on top of the stuck one, and pulled as hard as he could. "It's.. still... not coming... out..." he grunted. All of a sudden, he yelped, "Guys! I got my other hand stuck in it! It slipped in!"

"C'mon Brandon!" Dre yelled at him.

"Uh, guys..." Rian started. Her other hand was being pulled towards the orb. "Guys, I'm not moving my arm, this thing is pulling me in!"

Rian, Dre, and Andie's other arms started to be pulled towards the orb. The orb started to glow brighter and enlarge as each of their hands were consumed into the ball of energy.

A scream could be heard coming from Andie's mouth, as she looked down at her arms.

"What's wrong!" Dre yelled, "Andie, what's happening!"

All Andie could do was scream as her arms began to be circled by jagged gold light. Brandon's were being circled in blue, Rian's in green, and Dre's in orange.

The orb continued to grow, but now the four colors were inside of the bright white light, slowly consuming the kids into it.

Now, Rian screamed.

"Rian!" Brandon yelled, "Guys.... What is happening to my arms!"

The colored light started to climb up their arms in jagged zig-zagged lines. A voice came through the orb as it consumed the last of their bodies.

FINALLY

All of them screamed inside of the orb, the jagged lines all the way up to their faces. Bright colored light came out of their eyes and mouths. A beam of white light shot up into the air, and the beams of colored light followed it. A bright flash of blinding light tied off the show.

The lines receded down the kids' arms, and they all fell to the ground.

Andie saw Dre, Rian, and Brandon lying lifeless on the grass.

And that was the last thing she saw before the world went dark.