The Dark Phoenix

Chapter Three - The Trials of Destiny

Each day of sunlight seeped into their home slowly as the sun rose up highly. Shining in their eyes and forcing them awake. Awaking inside a room that was basically empty, Carlos sat up, wiped his face, and steadily leaned towards the edge of his bed, "I guess it wasn't a dream. We're really here." Seeing the sword from the day before gave him a sense of uncertainty, but even if his feelings made him uneasy and hesitant. It didn't stop him from rising out of bed. The clothes from the day before didn't look like normal clothes. Standing in front of the mirror, the only colors that could be seen were white and black shaped into lines that had many different intersections on parts of the body. Looking into the mirror, it could be seen that an intersection was placed upon the right shoulder. Though this was the first intersection. Carlos noticed that the shirt he was wearing was made into a hoodie which had another intersection placed at the center on the back of his head. "Weird..." Putting down his hood, the last intersection was on the left side of his chest. Right above the heart with a symbol that he found unfamiliar. "This is... odd." Grabbing a hold of his sleeves. The inside became more tight around his wrists so that he could move his arms freely and comfortably. "Even the shoes they gave us are different. I don't think we have these." The shoes were all black and didn't have laces. Each inch of the shoe was perfect and weirdly abnormal. It's weight and size were unsettling once he placed them on but once both shoes were on, a soft light flashed near his heels and then their size began to shrink and morph around his foot. "There's no way." Thinking about it sent chills down his spine. Before he could think more to himself, a knock at the door pulled his attention towards his best friend.

"Looks like you're awake too. These clothes are weird huh?" Couldn't help but snicker at the way they looked in the mirror. "You got that right. They've got some crazy technology. The shoes can self adjust to the person that wears them. Who knows what other stuff they could have. Which means what I said yesterday is true as well. They're not telling us much and that means we place them on the edge as well. There's a reason why this "rock" chose us. We're meant to do something here. It'll be my job to make sure you all make it too." Smiling brightly at his small monologue, he gave Gareth a fist bump and shared a simple nod before heading outside. "Who else is awake?" "I think we're the only ones. They said we'll be going through a test. You think they'll show up soon?" Walking down the hallways, the sounds of their snoring penetrated through the walls. "Guess I should've expected this. It is us." Within a couple feet of the hallways, Carlos opened all of their doors, "Let's go! We aren't going to save the world by sleeping! Especially you Angel. Don't you want to find someone someday?!" Angel awoke scared, "What? What happened?" The others awoke as well. Slowly sitting up and realizing that this was all real. "Suit up. There's no telling when they'll come for us." All three sat at the edge of their bed and looked at the odd clothes from yesterday while Gareth and Carlos cleansed themselves up and walked toward the living room.

Gareth sat on the couch and watched Carlos pace around. "What's wrong?" He asked. "Nothing. I'm just trying to see what we could run into in this challenge. See, since last night I've been thinking. We came here through some kind of wormhole and those guys can create their own. Which means they hold some kind of power that's connected to them to the point where they could create that kind of gap between dimensions. It's weird and complicated but I think they're going to test our minds. Meaning that we could go through hell. Probably go nuts if we're not careful. It's dangerous and is probably going to change our lives for better or for worse." Surprised by his sudden outburst, Gareth lowered his head and thought for a moment, "If that's what we're up against. Then that's why they let us use the sword. Testing us out with something small to see how we would react towards it. We were the best ones so we might be better at this than the rest." "Hopefully. You know how I don't like to lose. You know what that means right?" Gareth gave him a confused look, "What does it mean?" "It means you and I have to stick together. We're not splitting up again. You with me?" Though his mind was filled with many ideas and curiosity thoughts, he felt calm and determined. Gareth and Carlos shared that sudden feeling growing inside. It was friendly and confident. Like a burning flame that can only grow brighter.