Mrs. Heather loudly clasped her hands, and the students turned in the direction of the sound.
"You'll all be free to roam the museum as you wish. Just remember to regroup at the entrance lobby within two hours."
Jack stood there as the classes began to disperse, staring at the carved rock before him. He had not been paying any attention to Mrs. Heather's words. He was too focused on the statue. Jack was the only person who stayed by the statue; it was as if the statue was calling to him. Jack stared as a dim red orb glowed on its chest. His mind recalled the phoenix.
"Now is not the time, for he has not yet to be awakened." The words repeated themselves over and over inside his head. 'Yet to be awakened?' he thought, questions raced around his head.
"Jack… Jack?" A voice rang in his head as he continued to stare.
"Jack!"
He quickly stirred awake, turned around to see Luke and Marcus looking at him with concerned faces. They have been calling his name over the last three minutes.
"Dude, you okay?" Luke asked. "You blanked out for five whole minutes.
"Come on, let's go see tanks," Marcus added.
"Yeah, let's go," said Jack, being unsure, he turned back at the statue once more before responding.
"Sure, why not?"
Walking through the halls, Jack watched as Luke and Marcus happily skipped down the corridor. The beautiful morals and paintings stole the attention of people passing by. As the three walked closer towards the entrance, reporters flooded the halls, racing towards the statue. Reporters rushed through the halls, knocking people along the way. The three struggled to push their way through the crowd, praying not to be late.
"Has anyone seen Jack, Marcus, or Luke?" asked Mrs.Heather. She turned to her side to see the three boys gasping for air as if they had run a marathon. "Well, speak of the devil."
"Apologies, Mrs. Heather," said Jack. "Luke was getting shoved along with the crowd."
Luke shot Jack a dirty look.
"It's fine, Jack. Everyone, board the bus." Mrs. Heather shook her head as she sighed with disappointment.
As the buses began to leave the museum, Jack recalled the glowing red orb at the statue.
"It's probably nothing," he thought, and looked out the window, trying to focus on the surrounding buildings instead. The bus pulled up to their hotel within the next hour. The students walked off the bus and quickly went up to their rooms to rest before the class went on another adventure in London. Jack rushed up to his room to get some rest. He felt like he had a fever all of a sudden. Jack's body was blazing with heat, and his body temperature kept rising rapidly. He shut himself into his room, and he collapsed from the heat his body was generating. Jack used all his might to pull himself onto his bed. Despite the discomfort, slowly but surely, Jack drifted into a deep sleep.
The gentle breeze blew, and the warm rays of sunlight shone down. The waters reflected the skies, and the water rippled with a set tempo. Covering his eyes, Jack woke up in a strange land, unlike anything he had ever seen. The land was beautiful, the calm waters rippled with each step he took, the warmth of the breeze, and the clear blue sky above him. Everything was quiet, dead quiet. A blinding light flashed in his face. Once the light faded from his eyes, six shrines appeared around him.
One shrine glowed brighter than the others. The shrine of fire suddenly burst into bright flames as a gem floated out towards Jack.
"Jack…..Jack...Flame…"
Jack had heard that voice before, but couldn't remember where. The gem slowly floated towards him, as if the gem wanted him to take it. Jack felt his right arm slowly lift, the strangest feeling he had ever felt. As his fingers grasped the gem, it shone with enough light to make a new sun. Jack shielded his eyes from the blinding light. The warm sensation of the stone evoked the feeling of a warm, sunny day. When he opened them, he saw the phoenix descend before him once again, with the amber eyes, its feathers burning like solar flares.
"Jack Flame...I am the pillar of Fire…and you are my Chosen One."
Jack shuddered. The voice seemed to come directly from his mind. He opened his mouth to speak, but before he could make out a single word, the phoenix shone so bright that it could have been mistaken for the sun. Jack shielded his eyes with his hands, but once the light faded, he returned to his hotel room. There weren't any signs of the shrines, the gem, or the magical bird.
Jack touched his forehead and sighed. "At least my fever is gone."
"Jack! Are you awake?"
"Yes, who is it?" Jack responded.
"It's me, Marcus."
Marcus opened the door with a worried, sick look. Standing behind him were Luke, Bella, Mia, and Alexandra. They looked as if they were at a funeral. Mia burst into tears; her eyes were red from crying.
"Thank god you're okay!" Luke sighed with relief. Jack looked around the room for any signs of the gem he saw.
"Hey Jack, where did you get that ruby?" Marcus pointed out of curiosity. Jack looked down at his hands. Without a doubt, it was the same stone he had grabbed inside his consciousness. His head was unexpectedly greeted with a sharp pain the moment he laid his eyes on the gem.
"Dude, you okay?" Marcus quickly supported Jack.
"Yeah, I will be alright," Jack grunted. When he opened his eyes, he met with a loud gasp. The room went silent. Jack looked at his friends in confusion.
"What's wrong?" Jack questioned. He felt around his face, not understanding why the five were looking at him with shock. "Is there something on my face?"
"Your eye!" Mia gasped, breaking the tension.
"What is wrong with my eyes?" Jack asked.
"They're glowing!"
Jack's eyes widen in shock. He jumped up from his bed and ran to the mirror in the shower room. His amber eyes glowed. As the remaining light faded from his eye, a horrific look froze on his face. His mind was overflowing with questions and possibilities. When Jack brought his hands up to his face, the whole room went dead silent from what they saw.
"What happened to me?" Jack was the first to speak. His hands were engulfed in flames. Jack wondered why he couldn't feel any pain from the burning fire. He thought back to the Shrine he saw in his dream. Returning to his room, he tried to forget everything he had just seen, but ignoring such a strange phenomenon was nearly impossible.
"Jack, how did you not get burned?" Mia questioned in shock, her tears were emptied in confusion. The same question entered everyone's mind as they looked at Jack's hands to find them unscathed by the fire. His heart began to race. He opened his mouth, trying to find a reasonable explanation, but there wasn't any. Nothing but silence came out of his open mouth. Hands catching fire yet not getting burned was not physically possible. Jack's thoughts traced back to the strange gem he saw on the table. Could that gem be causing these supernatural abilities?
"But it's just a dream…Right?" Jack murmured to himself. Luke and the others looked at him, concerned.
"I think we should get you to the hospital, Jack," said Marcus.
"No, I don't think that's necessary," Jack thought, "if they see this happening, they are going to question me and my family, I don't want my mother to worry."
They all nodded, knowing what might happen if it's exposed to the public. It would be more than just normal news gossip. It would be an absolute shock to the entire world. Governments would get involved.
"You do know what has happened to yourself, right?" asked Luke. "Did you touch or eat anything strange?"
Jack shook his head. The only thing that could be classified as strange would be that statue. When he thought of the statue, a question nailed itself in his head. Could all this be related to the statue? Was the statue the thing that caused all the supernatural phenomena? Could the statue also have the answers he is seeking? Jack dropped onto his bed deep in thought.
The statue lay in the glass case in the museum as a full moon shone brightly into the museum windows. The statue's heart glowed with six lights: white, red, yellow, blue, green, and brown. The statue shook violently until a small chip of stone fell off. The small stone rolled down the arch and activated the alarm system. The museum alarm flashed bright red, and the loud siren shrieked. Two guards quickly rushed into the museum following the sound of the alarm to the center of the building. The police arrived shortly and quickly surrounded the building, making a barricade. The choppers provided air support, looking for suspicious matters on the rooftops. There was no going in or getting out.
"What's the issue?" asked a security guard.
"Seems like someone activated the alarm." The other informed. As they neared the statue, a loud crunching sound echoed throughout the empty museum. The officer lifted his feet to find a ground stone. The radio beeped as an officer connected to them.
"False alarm, I repeat, false alarm," said the officer. He scooped up the tiny pieces of stone and looked at the statue. "It's just a small chip. No one's even going to notice. I certainly can't notice the difference." The two continued to close and finish their night shift before heading home. The police department ordered the officer's return as they realized the false report.
The Hands of Big Ben struck midnight, and two men walked into a dark alley in London. They wore long black cloaks that camouflaged them in the night. One was a short man with a raspy voice, and the other was a tall, thin man.
"The whole purpose of all those years of planning… Soon our greatest leader will rise once more," The short one laughed.
"I have sensed the first pillar awaken, the welder of flames, seems to be a strong one," The Tall Man grunted, "the extracted was more powerful than what our ancestors have said."
The short man shook his head. "He's just a boy, not even eighteen, he shouldn't be very powerful, Ralph."
"Never underestimate that power, I've tried to obtain that power in person," Ralph said. He rolled up his sleevesreveiling a burn mark. "See this mark? I got it from the statue, Dean, don't underestimate that power."
Ralph showed Dean the large, fresh burn mark that covered the whole of his right arm. This mark could never be made from any normal burn; only a powerful energy can cause such a wound.
"I know better than to doubt the gem's powers," said Dean, "I am not a fool. The power of the pillars and the Chosen One are things I know well. You need not worry."
Ralph sighed, "Soon, even the legions of heaven and hell will fear us. Tell the others to be prepared. We mustn't fail this time."
Dean nodded, "If the boy does disturb us, do you think he should be brought back alive, or dead?"
"Do as you see fit," responded Ralph. "I couldn't care less either way, he is nothing but an obstacle to our goals, no more and no less. If you bring him back alive, we'll just have fed him to the wolves either way."
"And what if the other pillars get their power awakened?" questioned Dean.
"Then see if they should interfere with our plans, if they do, get rid of them," said Ralph, "if they do not, wait until after his revival, then you can slaughter them if he does not do so."
"Very well," Dean chuckled. "I understand, for the glory of our master, we mustn't cause any unnecessary deaths."
"Indeed, this is all for him, " Ralph added. "Soon he will rule over us once again."
"I do look forward to it, brother," said Dean. "All of the clan's members have been waiting in the shadows for this day, for this moment. I cannot wait for the sacred hour, our lord returns to us from beyond these graves."
"We must stay vigilant, my old friend," Ralph said. "Who knows if the world's fates are for or against us, but come hell or high water, brother, we must see this plan through."
The two then spoke in a strange language of what sounded like French and Japanese combined. The two wished the other for luck in their mission before disappearing into the night. The two men left without leaving a single trace of where they were or where they were headed.