The Zodiac Spirit Guardians

Journey Forward

Ezra grabs me into his arms like a fragile child, and pounces into the air.

"Are you stupid!?" I shout in protest, kicking and slapping his arms. He lands on a thin tree branch that sways, just a hair, under our weight. "You scared the living daylights out of me!" I yell in horror, still freaking out over my racing heart and panicked nerves.

"Daylights? Who do you think you are? A G-rated children's show?" Ezra smiles wickedly at me and I hate what it does to my heart and cheeks.

The trees stretch into the air to aim for the moon, daring to touch the top of the sky. Their height is incredible, and their branches' distance from the ground is terrifyingly high. Compared to the ones on Earth, they challenge the height of mountains and even surpass great towers. I refuse to look down and give in to the terror of falling.

"They're already headed this way." Ezra glances behind himself and nods once, "Alright, time to go." His grip on my body tightens and he sprints through the air. His black hair flaps around in the wind, tangling itself in all different directions. His silver stripe even mixes with the rest of his hair for a few seconds in-between sprints. His eyes are brilliant colors of red and violet in the moonlight. Against his hair and skin, they blaze brightly, lit by a passionate fire inside him along with a magical luminescence that shines through his irises.

"I must warn you." His gaze remains fixed ahead. The foot landings of the other guardians are too soft to hear behind us. This time they're following Ezra.

"Don't get the wrong idea, I can very well handle things on my own." I shoot him a look of confidence, ignoring his persistence to treat me as a doll. "I'm stronger than I look." At my remark, Ezra bursts into laughter like I had said something absurd. "What? I am!" I protest his reaction.

"As if. As you are now, you could hardly throw a knife." A crooked grin spreads his mouth into a smooth line. How could the old me truly consider making herself forget everything that made her who she was?

"What was I like?" My question conjures Ezra's eyebrows to raise, "Before I forgot everything?" I add to clear up his confusion. I watch the emotions roll over his face in a wave that, if I had glanced away for a second, I would've missed. I swear I saw regret and sorrow, revealing a tragic pain in his features that hasn't truly disappeared.

"You need to know something," His voice intensifies and his eyebrows pull together. "Things will only get darker from here, and the knowledge of what's been happening the past centuries will be shocking to you." His right foot lands on a thick branch and he pushes off of it in a split second, sending us flying through the air again. "You must remember: do not show fear to anyone." His eyes break from the forest and direct themselves at me. "You must be a wall of solitude." His pupils shoot daggers into mine, sending a fiery heat to my cheeks. Those eyes seek to demand a promise from me to obey his command. It's such a strange transgression, like the intimacy is all wrong, as if Ezra couldn't be serious even for a minute. But here he is, being sincere.

I haven't had any time to take in the wild events of the past day. It's all been occurring so fast that my mind is just hopping over everything in an attempt to keep up and not trip and fall behind. This whole new world has opened up before my eyes, like a life I haven't known. I've only just returned and I can't bare to accept this life as a futile one. I also can't help the overwhelming feeling of obligation I have to this world, to resurrecting it. I don't even know where the strong sense of accountability came from, but I can't subdue it. I want to find out what happened to the people, to the city, to my guardians, and to my family. I want to remember what I used to know.

My eyes follow trees as they appear and disappear behind Ezra and I. Every now and then I spot Rayce or Kappie leaping into the air to follow us closely. Steele leaps quickly to sync up with us and joins by Ezra's side. I guess he and Haruka must've heard us taking off again and decided to come back.