We must have been quite a sight, twelve soaking-wet teenagers running down High street in the middle of the day. Zephyr leads us down a side streets and stops outside a double-story cream coloured house, surrounded by a large grey fence.
"Welcome to 3 Allion Street, Eagle Heights, residence of the Falconer family," he announces, pushing open the gate. All of us file inside, admiring the small vegetable garden kept on both sides of the path. Zephyr takes out a set of keys and opens the front door.
The front room is rather spacious. Worn-out leather couches face a small television. A stack of aviation magazines lie on top of a glass coffee table. Pictures of Zephyr at various stages of his life hung on the walls. Meg sniggers and points at a photo of Zephyr, gap-toothed and wearing a World War 1 aviator cap.
"It was my dad's idea," Zephyr mutters through gritted teeth. He turns towards a set of stairs and starts walking up them. We follow, water still dripping from our clothes and hair.
Once we reach the top floor, Zephyr opens the first door on the right, which is covered in pictures of birds and Naruto characters.
"This is my room," he says. "Now wait out here while I change." He slips inside and closes the door.
"Do you think we'll have time to change?" Nia asks, a little concerned.
"Maybe we could borrow some of Zephyr's," I suggest.
"Flint, that ain't gonna work. Look at the height difference between him and Charlie," Terran points out.
"Guys, I can still hear you!" Zephyr yells from inside the bedroom. "If you want new clothes, go home and change!"
"That sounds like a better idea, except for the fact that my house is LIKE TWENTY KILOMETERS AWAY!" April yells back.
"WHERE THE HELL DO YOU LIVE WOMAN? AKAREN?"
"AS A MATTER OF FACT, I DO! AND SO DO NIA AND SERGIO!"
"WHY THE HELL DO YOU GO TO SCHOOL IN GREENVILLE THEN?"
"THERE AREN'T ANY GOOD SCHOOLS IN AKAREN!"
"HAH! YOUR SUBURB SUCKS!"
"ITS NOT LIKE EAGLE HEIGHTS IS ANY BETTER!"
A shouting match soon ensues between the two of them.
"I'm going home," Charlie mutters. "You people are crazy." He turns away and moves to walk downstairs when I grab his shoulder.
"We should stick together. Who cares if we're wet?"
"ME!" April, Nia and Sergio yell.
Yet more bickering ensues. I sigh and look out the window.
Capricorn, how are we supposed to save humanity if we can't stop fighting amongst each other? I ask. A very faint voice whispers in the back of my mind, but it's too quiet to make out words.
"Guess I'm on my own," I sigh, holding back Terran at arm's length as he tries to launch himself at Meg.
About a minute later, Zephyr emerges from his room, dressed in a graphic Naruto tee and shorts.
"So what now?" Fern asks.
"Well first you guys have gotta change, you're dripping water all over the carpet," Zephyr points out.
"Tori and Arus have bags with emergency clothes here, since they stay over a lot. There's a bus that leaves in ten minutes that stops through Greenville, Reeftown, Aldernem and Akaren. It's over on High street
At that last comment, I exchange glances with Terran and Serena. Pretty much everyone dashes downstairs and out the front door. Sprinting at full pelt, we make it to the bus stop just as the bus arrives. The driver opens the doors to let us on, and the bus drives off, carrying 9 soaking wet teenagers and a bunch of confused adults in the direction of Akaren.
YOU ARE READING
The New Zodiac: Arisen Anew
FantasyWe are not what we seem. We look like regular teenagers. We act like regular teenagers But we're not, We are the New Zodiac. And this is the story of how it all began. Cover by @shadowsleek
