Book 1: Amidst the woods

Ernaline was done with the Gemini military school. She hated the place with everything she stood for. There were two more years left for her to finish this nightmarish place. She hated herself, she hated her life, and if she were truly honest with herself, the only thing that kept her from killing herself were her two friends, Kai and Clove.  She got out of her bed and rushed to her closet, Pulling out  a standard uniform. Heaving and panting, she arrived at the main training grounds. She fell in line with the rest of the Gemini 14th graders, hoping no one saw her. She sighed in relief a minute later. "Squadette Ernaline," A Deep, masculine, bored voice called out, "You're late, as usual." Ernaline stifled an eye roll, she knew what was coming next.                   After a few minutes of tension, GI Trap turned around and spoke to everyone, " For sector two this year, you'll have to get off your butts As you will finally learn how to use your power-" Almost everyone gasped in excitement. "BUT FIRST you'll have to learn the theoretics," The mood dropped quickly. "Geminis are masters of the wind, They can use the power of the very atmosphere to their will, which is why you will take an advanced course of Aerodynamic physics before moving on to sector 2.2 of this year, which is using your power. Now rush off hot your first aerodynamics class, don't expect that I'll teach you that."                    The crowd of 14th graders drifted off in pairs. Kai rushed to Clove and Ernaline, where Clove was ranting wildly about something and Ernaline watched her rage. "Y'all we've got a problem." He said. Clove stopped ranting and Ernaline looked up. Kai facepalmed, "We don't have powers, remember?" "Well crap" Clove remarked, "This is a problem"  "Oh you bet we're gonna get thrown out once they discover that," Ernaline mumbled. Clove looked down, Kai's mind was running at a hundred miles per hour, "we basically have no choice but to wait till sector 2.2, THEN get kicked out" he concluded. "I can't believe you're the smart one out of us." Ernaline said, as they sauntered to the classroom.                      Clove took a place at the back of the room. She hadn't slept all night, her thoughts keeping her unblinking. Two minutes later of meaningless rambling of the teacher and her head was on the desk, sleeping lightly.                    Kai hated aerodynamics. It literally made no sense. His brain couldn't keep up with the huge amounts of information . So the force exerted by the least surface area of the arm in counter-clockwise motion generates the greatest power. But in the opposite direction the force is the cube root of seven million eight hundred and nineteen. He wrote down, not knowing whatever that means.                  "FINALLY, this literally makes no sense" Kai ranted. Ernaline kept her eyes fixed on the ground, thinking about everything and nothing at the same time... Two weeks later                    "WHAT" Ernaline gasped, "THEY'RE PLANNING TO PRACTICE USING THEIR POWERS IN SECRET?" "Yes and if you don't keep it down Lilith will come beat us up" Kai retorted. "What's new anyways." Clove admitted, black clouds clouding her vision.  A strong hand gripped Clove by her neck and lifted her up, " Well look who we have here"Lilith smirked, "It's the weakling again" Clove's face turned red as she kicked and punched everywhere. But Ernaline wasn't going to stay silent this time. She was done with Lilith bullying her, clover and Kai, "Wipe that smirk off her face and put her down Lilith." She said in a low, sharp, deadly tone.  "Well this is bound to get interesting, So what makes the b***h talk?"  "I'm surprised you don't know what it's called." Ernaline retorted, "Lilith hun, put her down before i slit your throat"  Lilith dropped clove in a heap and lunged at Ernaline. This was the part Ernaline hadn't planned, so out of instinct she Raised her arms in defense. Gasps of surprise and fear surrounded Ernaline.  She didn't want to open her eyes, but then she forced herself to.                        Lilith was paralyzed mid air. A huge splinter that seemed to be made out of shadow had pierced Lilith and blood wet her shirt. Ernaline gasped and looked at Kai. He whispered, "Murderer." And left, Clove leaning on him. Ernaline blinked the tears out of her eyes. "STOP IN YOUR PLACE." A powerful voice yelled. A tall figure moved around the room till he arrived at the scene, "Interesting," the man said, "I NEED STAFF MEMBERS TO BURY THIS SQUADETTE. MEN, ESCORT-"  " Ernaline" She squeaked. "ERNALINE OUT OF THIS PLACE AS WELL AS HER TWO FRIENDS." "I swear it was a mistake,"  she pleaded, " I didn't mean it" "Look, kid I don't have time for you to beg, we'll see what he makes of this." kai whimpered, "We didn't do anything it was her please'' "He suspects the three of you." "Who is that 'he'?" Ernaline dared to ask. "You're being taken to the king of the Gemini City squadette. Pray you survive whatever he prepares for you." At the palace throne room             The king stroked his chin. A 14 year old kills a colleague with a knife of shadow? That seemed ridiculous. But there they stood, three kids standing, flanked by guards. He looked at the girl they called Ernaline. She was awfully beautiful for her age. Chestnut hair, Dark black eyes, pale complexion. He knew what to do. "Tomorrow, you will be tested to identify your powers, all three of you. As for the meantime, enjoy the night in your guest rooms." He waved away the guards, who pushed the kids forward.               Clove lost count of the amount of staircases they climbed. She kept her head down, not willing to look up. They were separated and she was taken into a room. There was a huge bathroom filled with every imaginable oil, a bed unlike the mattress she slept on ever since she was born and even a closet with many sections. She was heading over to the bed when she spotted a rat. She trapped him with one of the large glass bowls in the bathroom. she lay there, observing the rat. Suddenly her body shrunk. Her face elongated. Her legs became fleshy and pink. Clove wasn't even looking at the rat anymore, she became a rat.  Her breath started rising and falling and she panicked. two to three minutes later, her body returned back to normal and she sighed in relief. Shapeshifting, That should be interesting.                Kai was angry. He didn't know whether he was angry at Ernaline or scared of the king. He lay in bed for a few moments and as he was falling asleep, A book fell from one of the bookshelves. Kai pointed at it which seemed stupid but then the book froze in mid air, encased in a red light. He pointed at another book and it levitated. Wow.                Just when she was about to break down in her room, a large knock sounded. The guards took her and walked her up more stairs till the very top floor. A short, plump maid opened the door. Ernaline took a deep breath and stepped in...           The ruler was sitting by the fireplace.            He was handsome in a kingly way with a neatly trimmed beard, a military haircut and a pronounced jawbone. He turned around and saw her, his eyes moving up and down, lit with some kind of hunger. Ernaline started being incredibly uncomfortable. Then the king spoke, "Ah, the Gemini is finally here" "Ummm yes...sir" "No need to call me sir, we're alone here" "What do you mean by that?" She started hating the king "sir" she added just to annoy him. The king simply chuckled and rose up, walking to her in pride "you're a rebellious one aren't you, well listen here, tonight you'll follow my rules, for the sake of your friends"            She swallowed and turned around, trying to escape from the creepy king. He wrapped a strong arm around her waist and she couldn't move. He pulled her to him close and Ernaline was trying to get their faces as far apart as possible. He leaned in and kissed her, holding her head to him so she can't escape. tears streamed down her face but she knew she had to listen to the ruler. After a long, uncomfortable minute he pulled away, "Take her away to her room" The guards came and dragged her along with them. "I'm not some kind of toy, you know sir"  The gleam in his eyes turned more intense, " We're still getting started baby, you're mine now" He waved his hands and they pulled the girl away....            she was thrown into a smaller, empty room. she cried and screamed and panicked till sleep finally defeated her.  She woke up in a pool of blood. Thousands of bodies and skeletons were littered around her. She had caused this. A spirit rose from the pool of blood. Another one, and a third, who she recognized as Lilith "Look what you did Ernaline, look what you caused." "A killer, a murderer, born to kill"  A body floated up from the blood and an 14 year old was at her feet, his whole body black and his eyes filled with pure darkness. "NO!"              She woke up with a start. She cried and cried in silence, the image of the little boy burned into her eyes. The test was tomorrow. One way or another, she was going to have to face her power...                                                                                  ***   Soft daylight streamed into Clove's room, she arose from the soft bed. She sat peacefullly for a while, looking at the sun filled room. a few moments later, all her depression, anxiety and problems overpowered her as usual. It was the test day. She tried pushing down her power again deep but now that she used it, it wouldn't back off. Simple. She would act like she had no power. But what about Ernaline and...Kai? What happened to them overnight? She had recently developed feelings for the guy but she tried controlling them so she wouldn't result in his death like the previous one. This was pointless. Life was pointless. She found an outfit in her closet waiting for her. A white cotton tshirt and a pair of white sweatpants with the gemini symbol on both of them. A clearly audible knock shook her door and a gruff voice called out, " Make it quick citizen, you've got no time for staring around." She strolled outside and three guards surrounded her. Murals of gemini rulers lined the walls but she barely acknowledged them. They took a sharp right and once she sees the long corridor with giant statues everywhere, time stops.                   This was exactly where she used to play with the little boy. They used to hide behind statues and giggle endlessly. Then the kid drifted away from her memory, leaving her alone in the darkness. She was thrown back into reality when they reached a long winding staircase. What am i thinking it couldn't have possibly been real, she thought. The guards had to push her down the first step of the staircase to get her out of her trance. She trudged down the staircase, drenched in her thoughts.                        Kai was panicking.  What if they find out we're different and kill us? What if our powers don't come out and they t*****e it out of us? What if we die? He went down the stairs, the guards following him. Once he heard a woman screaming in pain, then he saw a pair of glowing eyes. Then he wasn't sure if that was his imagination or not, but he heard a loud clear snap that could shatter minds. He shivered and glanced at the guards who were completely unfazed. Weird huh, he thought. Eventually, they entered a humongous room, a giant glass pod in it's center and multiple scanners and computers arranged randomly. Clove was standing a small distance away, looking dismal and staring at the floor as she fiddled with her fingers. They stood in silence, the guards standing like a barrier between them, and waited for Ernaline. She staggered down the stairs almost a minute later and she looked horrible. Hey eyes were puffy and red and her skin almost grayish. She was shaking and fidgeting uncontrollably. By the star signs, what happened to her? Kai wondered.  Then the walls split in two and the gemini king strolled in. The test will begin now.                       "Step into a pod and calmly wait, any attempt of resistance or escape will result in death for all three of you.' The gemini ruler spoke, looking at Ernaline for a fraction of a second. Ernaline, kai and Clove looked at each other, Ernaline told Kai silently, I'm sorry as she knew that these might be their last moments together. Ernaline walked towards the pod and stepped in, collapsing at once.                          She woke up in the king's chambers. The fireplace was burning and crackling as bright as ever and there he was, standing, his arms spread wide open, "Come here my love," He cooed in a low, cruel tone and he took a step closer, "Or do you want to lose everyone?" The king mocked, "Come here or I'LL KILL YOU" And the ruler lunged at her. She screamed, "STOP" and a wave of pure shadow blasted the king backwards, slamming. Him into the wall. The room dissolved and she was in a raging battlefield. She was holding a knife made out of pure darkness and standing over a sixteen year old's body. "Do it... it has to be done now" The boy begged.  "No" she said, tears streaming down her face. The boy took a deep breath as the war raged all around them. He exhaled and a sphere of light came out of his chest and entered into Ernaline's body. She stabbed downwards and the scene dissolved once more...                        She was trapped in a cylindrical room and a red substance was quickly filling up the space. She tried clinging to the walls, jumping, doing anything but  the blood kept coming . A voice whispered into her ear, "You have no choice but to obey." A shriek came out of Ernaline's mouth and an explosion of shadow dried away the blood and left her in a rocky cave, crying.                          Her eyes opened wide, the pod opened and she was pushed out the door. She looked at Kai, telling him with her eyes to hold on tight.                          The guy stepped into the pod and fainted as well. He was in a dark forest, alone, making his way through the trees. A twig broke and he called out, " Hello?" Silence. Then Dark creatures with glowing eyes surrounded him. "No matter how powerful your magic is, you will fail eventually" another hissed. And then the biggest monster of them all said, "Give into it, let us gift you with a swift and painful death"  The monsters surges forward.  "GET BACK" Kai roared and a staff appears at his hand, blasting them to ash with arcs of red magic. The scene dissolved.                             He was in a huge room with bookshelves. The room was crumbling but he was sprinting towards a cauldron next to the nearby window. "THE POTION," He screams and with a deafening c***k, everything falling stood still and he snatched a vial filled with glittery blue goop. The room starts crumbling again and Kai falls. He was now flying on a red cloud to the center of a war zone. In the middle of the chaos, Clove and Ernaline were plying in the piles of corpses. the red cloud dissipated and Kai fell... Twenty minutes.                 Clove was worried sick. Kai was still in the pod, unmoving. What happened to him? Was he okay? Was he...dead? At this exact moment, Kai woke with a start. He rushed out of the pod, hugging his elbows and shivering even though his shirt was drenched in sweat. What the hell were they seeing inside that pod? She stood still, rooted to the ground then the guards shoved her violently into the pod. A gas filled the pod and the second she inhaled it, her knees gave way.                      She was back in the corridor, back as a kid, "where are you?" The boy called as he giggled. She stifled a laugh and stayed silent. "Gotcha!" As he grabbed her arm. "GET AWAY FROM ME, SAVE YOURSELF QUICK" She shrieked at the boy He took a step back, " Clove what?" " I said GET BACK" her body started uncontrollably changing and growing. She was a lion and without her command she roared at the kid, who screamed in terror. In one horrifying pounce, she leaped and attacked the boy. The scene dissolves...                         She was amid the giant dark trees of a forest, approaching a clearing. A huge  symbol of a U with a wave across it was drawn in the mud and it radiated blue light. She recognized the light and ran towards it. A voice echoed from the symbol "Go back clove, it was always him, he was always with you all this time." Her body shifts to that of a palomino's and she starts galloping, knowing that she might never be human again...                        She woke up, sweating and crying and rushed to Kai and Ernaline. The guards ushered them back into their rooms as the Gemini king investigated the results along with the technicians. Once they were in their rooms, each fell into a deep, disturbing, nightmare filled sleep...