Illusion: Destiny Awaits (In Editing)

18 - Sabrina

Well, I must say, I hate clap outs. They're so boring, and they make my hands and ears hurt. We've been standing here for five minutes, and my hands are so numb I can barely feel them! It's horrible.

The speaker crackles, and then the principal starts to speak.

"Students and staff. We are currently in the middle of a large storm. Nothing to worry about, it will pass quickly. We are expecting a power outage though, so please, when that happens, stay calm and stay where you are. Thank you, more instructions will follow."

Immediately, many of the kids start whispering and shouting in confusion. I checked my weather app this morning! It spoke nothing of any storms. Only blue skies and sun!

And then, chaos happens. All at once, the hurricane warning bells start blasting our ears off, and the power goes out. And everyone starts to scream. It's like something from a movie or something. Utter chaos.

"Christi!" I shout, trying to locate my best friend in all the mess.

"Right here!" She shouts next to me. Oh, that's right. We were next to each other during the torturess clap out.

"What's going on?" I ask. It's pretty dark, only a few of the teachers have flashlights, and most are using their phones. Some kids are too, even though they technically are breaking school rules by doing so.

"Well, I believe there might be some sort of a hurricane or storm, and the power went out," Christi states the obvious. I roll my eyes.

"Besides that. This isn't normal!" I worry.

"It's not normal to have a hurricane here? I mean, have you seen the weather here?" Christi says.

"No! Not that. I checked the weather this morning and there was no sign of anything like this! The report was all clear," I tell her.

"Well, sometimes the weather is wrong," Christi points out.

"Yeah, I suppose so," I concede. She smiles ever so slightly. Just then, an invisible force yanks us both into an unoccupied corner. Now this definitely isn't normal.

"It's just the wind," Christi tries to convince us both, shakily. I shake my head.

"Christi, Sabrina! It's just us," Lupo steps out of the shadows. I run forward and wrap my arms around his scruff.

"Lupo! What are you doing here? Where's Skifter?" I ask hurriedly.

"Right here," Skifter comes flying down and lands by Christi. Christi lays a hesitant hand on his back, and begins to stroke his feathers.

"What's going on? Did you guys start this storm?" Christi asks, narrowing her eyes. Lupo shakes his head.

"No! Actually, that's why we came. It's not us starting the storm. It's him," Lupo informs us worriedly.

"Who?" Christi asks.

"Zaroho."

I take a step back. "No..." is all I can muster out of myself.

"Well... it can't possibly be that bad!" I hear Christi say.

"WHAT?!!?!" I exclaim turning towards her incredulously. "Christi, we're talking about the most powerful man alive, and you think that 'it can't be that bad'?!" Lupo and Skifter nod in agreement.

"She's right you know Christi, Zaraho is very powerful, and he can do a lot more than just this storm." Skifter says, looking even a bit daunted at that fact.

"Right now, we need to go back to where we came from," Lupo instructs.

"Which would be..." Christi prompts. The Soul Animals exchange a look.