"Get out of here!" Taylor yelled, at the top of his lungs. Even before his chest rumbled with the order, some of the kids had already started rushing the exits. Their bodies stampeded over the guards as the scene turned chaotic.

"Woohoo!" Taylor shouted, as he delighted in the anarchy. He lunged forward, flying from the stage like a superhero. His blonde hair trailing behind him as he smashed into the nearest crowd of soldiers. He swung the hammer as hard as he could, disarming any and every guard within twenty feet of him. Their bones cracked and their weapons spilled onto the floor.

"Who's next?" Taylor dared. Smoke poured through the auditorium, clinging to the ceiling and down the walls. Dark soot blanketed the failing light in the room as a handful of soldiers attempted to stop him. Each one fell to his hammer and strength. With each new challenger Taylor gave the students more time to escape. His schoolmates filled the hallways, running for the main exits of the school. Their excited and nervous screams reverberated everywhere. Taylor looked around at the chaos he had instigated.

"Not bad," he congratulated himself. Unfortunately, he did it too soon.

SMACK! With a dull thud a blinding pain shot across the back of his head and down his neck. Instant vertigo grabbed hold of him and he fell to one knee, trying with all his strength not to spin to the ground. Standing over Taylor was General Love with a crooked smirk and a police baton.

"Big, bad, hero. Not so big on the floor though, are ya, boy! Ha, ha, ha!" General Love slapped his leg in laughter. He surveyed the room with unearthly eyes and something evil just under his skin. He rubbed the skin where his missing ear used to be, enjoying the smoky carnage. The General's eyes finally locked on the last few students rushing out of the auditorium doors.

Taylor coughed from the ground, "Ugh, let...them...go..." He held the back of his head in pain. General Love motioned to his last few unbroken soldiers to let the straggling kids go, safely.

"Leave them alone, gentlemen," General Love ordered. He looked down at Taylor with a snakelike grin. "We don't need them anymore."

Taylor squinted his steel eyes from behind his falling blonde bangs. "You'll never get that stone!" he threatened, in absolute fact. He could feel his second wind building inside of him. General Love leaned down to him, sensing his strong spirit coming back.

"So, it's a stone, is it? What else do you know, Mr. Swift?" He grabbed Taylor by his shoulder. Two soldiers pointed their a.s.sault rifles on both sides of Taylor, protecting the General.

"I don't know," Taylor mumbled.

"Get up, now!" the General commanded. "You're going to tell me everything you know about Mr. Ryan and his magic pet rock."

"Never!" Taylor roared, barely able to stand on his feet again. One of the guards smashed his gun into Taylor's stomach, sending him to his knees again. A large piece of the ceiling gave in to the barrage of hot flames, falling down, crushing some of the auditorium seats. The old fabric covering them burst into a bright fire. Taylor ignored it, concentrating on the contracting spasms in his gut.

The other guard leaned over Taylor and said, "General, this room won't last much longer."

General Love silenced him with a dirty look and a low growl. The soldier quickly stood at attention, petrified of what lied beneath the surface of the General's face.

"Well, Mr. Swift...you heard the man, we don't have much time left. Now, start talking, or you stay and burn!" General Love said in a rage, hovering over Taylor. Taylor looked up at him with feverish hate. His head was throbbing and he could feel the first trickle of blood running down his neck. He was too close to giving up, too close to giving in.

"Back off!" Morgan yelled from behind them. Her voice cracking over the sounds of the inferno. General Love and his men whipped around in surprise. Taylor's eyes locked onto Morgan's outline on the stage. She stood like an angry statue with one of the fallen soldiers firearms pointed at the General. The two soldiers next to him readied their guns and took a step toward the stage.

"Stop!" she ordered, and squeezed the trigger. Three rounds of bullets ripped through the smoky air and into the floor, just inches from their boots. "Put your guns on the floor. Now!"

"Impressive," General Love said, with a gleam in his beady eyes. He was almost as impressed as Taylor was.

"Believe me, fellas, she's dead serious," Taylor laughed, standing back up. The soldiers looked at each other deciding whether or not to continue their attack. General Love stood quietly a.s.sessing the situation.

"Drop the guns!" Morgan demanded, again. She was now at the very edge of the stage, her gun locked onto the two guards. Fire crawled along the walls and curtains behind her. Taylor started to laugh and General Love crossed his arms in antic.i.p.ation.

"Hey, General...you know those video games the military were using to train their troops to increase their accuracy and consistency in shooting?" Taylor teased. General Love glanced at him with an eyebrow raised.

"Affirmative."

"Well, let's just say my girl, Morgan, is an expert at those very same simulation games," Taylor smiled proudly up at Morgan.

"Is that so?" General Love asked. Taylor nodded his way.

"She made the top three of the state wide championships. A certified first-person shooter, gaming G.o.ddess!" Taylor said, full of pride. General Love leered back to the burning stage, locking his glare on Morgan at the front of it. The two soldiers weren't convinced. They steadied their grips around their weapons.

"That good, huh?" General Love snickered.

"Good enough to pierce your good ear, General," Taylor said, bluntly.

"This isn't a video game!" one of the soldiers cursed. He began to point his gun at Morgan when three more shots punctured the painted wood of the police baton in General Love's hand, making it spin free from his fist. It spun in the air before falling to the floor. General Love reached up and pulled both of the soldiers weapons down to their sides. The guards stared at Morgan with renewed hatred in their faces as they surrendered their guns, reluctantly.

"Come on, Taylor," she winked his way. A shaky smile appeared on her lips. Taylor winked back, and ran for the stage, only stopping long enough to pick up his sledgehammer. General Love became furious, but he managed to keep it locked away inside his throat.

"You want a job?" he called out to Morgan. She helped Taylor up the stairs of the stage, never lowering her gun. When he was safe at her side she giggled and stuck her middle finger in the air. The two saviors disappeared into the blazing fires.

"I'll take that as a no," General Love said, and grabbed his soldiers by the back of their necks.

"They're getting away, General!"

"Shut up! Circle the wagons and round up everyone you can. We've got them right where we want them...right where I need them." Black veins rippled inside General Love's eyes. His men ran off quickly.

Taylor and Morgan made their way through the devastated backstage of the auditorium, and finally back to the main door of the Music room. Smoke and fire danced from behind them. Morgan helped Taylor walk because he was still dizzy from the blow to the back of his head. He stopped her with a gentle hand.

"You came back for me," Taylor said, sweetly. She let out a stressed puff of air.

"I had to," she said.

Taylor stopped, s.n.a.t.c.hing up Morgan's hand, "Because you love me."

She looked up at him petrified, "Ummm..."

He leaned in and kissed her, softly. The large a.s.sault rifle fell from her hand to the ground in a crash. Slowly, Taylor pulled away from her with an embarra.s.sed smile. Morgan held onto his face, lost in his wonderful kiss.

"There goes my hero," Taylor whispered to her.

LEVEL 17: Going Under.

"Whoa, were those gunshots?" Dax asked. The thought crippled me. Taylor and Morgan had slipped out of the soundproof closet we were hiding in, without telling anyone what they were up to. The sound of gunfire brought with it the worst thoughts. Where had those two gone? Were they okay?

"I didn't hear anything," Roland said. I could sense he was extremely worried too. His twin sister was his anchor, his weight to this world. He needed her as much as she needed him. If something happened to Morgan, he'd never recover.

"I know I heard something!" Dax declared. Apparently, the soundproof walls weren't so soundproof.

"How long have they been gone now?" Olivia asked, worried.

"Twenty-three minutes," Roland said, counting the seconds in his head.

"I'll give them two more minutes before I go looking for them," I said.

"You mean, we go looking for them," Olivia corrected me, with an att.i.tude. From my arm came a flash of silver as my gauntlet awoke. It flickered so brightly that I had to turn my face from it. The harder I tried to ignore the light, the hotter it flashed.

"Turn that thing off! I'm going blind over here!" Dax snapped. The silver light stopped flashing and focused a direct beam of light onto his face. Dax froze like a deer in headlights.

"Luc," Olivia's hand reached over, grasping my wrist. The bright beam faded away and my gauntlet covered itself in that familiar hue of dark red. Our eyes locked together for a moment.

* Pick me up. *

You're back! I was actually happy to hear the metallic voice in my head, again. Can you help me find my friends?

* Hurry. Pick me up. *

I ran to my backpack and pulled out the stone. It was dark black, but covered in faint red lines that were swimming just under its surface. They looked like the scales of a snake or lizard.

* No time left. It is time. *

"Time for what?" I asked. Roland and Dax stared at me like I was crazy. Felicity glared at me from the back of the room. Olivia ran up, placed her soft hand onto the stone. It turned red again. Her presence with the stone easily calmed me. The stone vibrated softly in our hands for a few seconds before beginning its warnings again.

* It is time. *

Time for what? I asked it again, looking at Olivia for confidence. She frowned.

* War. *

The stone washed over in a mirrored shine. The same exact color it had turned before it exploded the first time. Searching Olivia's face, I found that she shared my fear.

* Luc, this thing is starting to scare me. *

Me too. I watched Olivia, wishing I understood the stone's cryptic warnings.

* War. No more time. War. *

This doesn't sound good. I focused on Olivia's scared eyes. Olivia, maybe those were gunshots we heard...

* Maybe you're right. I have a bad feeling about this, Luc. I think it's growing. *

She was right. Its size had increased by at least a couple of inches.

* No time. *

Another warning. I decided to plead with the stone. I need you to help me. Please. Where are Taylor and Morgan? I waited for the rock to answer me, my palms covered in sweat.

* They're here. Outside. No more time. War. *

My gauntlet-phone flickered on again in a shiny silver flash. A dozen strands of light pulled from the small screen and reached for the surface of the stone. The luminescent vines snapped themselves around in the air in the same motion of a bolt of lightning, only in a much slower speed. Olivia tore her hand from the stone and it fell to the floor, but this time it stopped just before it touched the carpet. Silently, it hovered in place, waiting.

"Uh oh..." Roland whimpered. He slowly backed up against the wall, next to Felicity.

"Did those ancient priests ever say anything about this?" Felicity asked him. He shook his head, no.

"It was just a theory," Roland gulped. I ignored both of them as my head filled with a pounding sensation. The strands of electric light slid down to the floating stone and stabbed their way into its mercury skin. Instantly, the stone doubled in size. Its body morphed into a giant teardrop with the largest end facing the door. My arm was locked to it as if I was chained. I tried to pull from its grasp, but it was no use. Its silver skin rippled as if someone had dropped a pebble into a still pond.

* Believe! This is war! *

I believe! I believe! But what the heck is happening? What are you? I begged it for an answer.

* This is war! *

Are you a weapon? Is this why you were sent here? Dread stampeded my brain.

The stone started to hum with a violent pulse of energy that created ice cold waves of air. With each pulse it seemed to build in intensity. It reminded me of a powerful engine revving itself alive.

* Believe! *

"Open the door!" I demanded. I could see in my head what was coming. The death, the destruction, the horror...the war. I think it was showing me and the images terrified me.

"That ancient key looks p.i.s.sed!" Dax joked, from the front of the room. His joke sent shivers of anger throughout my body. I hated his voice, his mouth, his face. My aggression doubled and I was ready to fight. I was ready for war. The mystic engine roared louder, accelerating my heartbeat as it did.

"The door! Now!" I was out of time.

"But what if the General is out there?" Roland argued. He didn't understand just how close I was to losing control.

"Now! I...can't...hold it...much longer!"

* Fight! *

My blood pressure popped in my ears as a new thirst for battle ached everywhere. "This...is...war!" I growled.

My feet were pulled out from under me as the armored teardrop blasted forward. It disintegrated the soundproof door and jerked me through it, like a rag doll. A thousand splinters rained down behind me, covering everyone in debris. I flew into the main room with the force of a rocket, twisting and turning. It dragged me through the air in circles as if I was an out-of-control firecracker. It bounced from wall to wall with the ferociousness of a caged animal. Around the large Music room we spun. I was getting dizzy...too dizzy.

* Outside. They're outside. Fight! *

Taylor and Morgan entered the Music room from the door that led to the auditorium stage. Smoked billowed inside our room and quickly found itself caught in my whirlwind. It stung my eyes and throat, making it hard to keep fully conscious.

"Lucas!" Morgan gasped from below me. Taylor slammed the door closed behind him, cutting off the smoke. He looked hurt but okay. Seeing him like that awoke my anger again. It started to sedate me as if I was becoming a zombie. My body grew limp as it twirled around the room. I couldn't take anymore of this. It felt as if I was going under.

* Fight! *

"I can't! I'm not ready!" I hollered through the air. The stone stopped immediately in the middle of the room, but I kept soaring through the air like a dart, stopping only when my body collided with the wall and then the entire drum section below it.

THUD! CRASH!.

Chairs and different sized drum parts flew everywhere, covering me in broken instruments and pain.

"Lucas!" Olivia screamed from the giant hole that used to be the closet door. She ran out for me and everyone else followed.

"It is a weapon...it has to be!" Roland called out. Taylor rushed up to the stone that now hovered just a few yards from me. It had already shifted back to its original shape. The strands of silver light were still attached to my arm and alive with energy. Taylor pulled back his hammer and swung it as hard as he could. The steel hammer ricochetted off the stone as hard as he had connected with it. Pain shot up his arms and the hammer jumped from his hands with a jolt.

"Ahh!" Taylor grimaced, holding his stinging hands together. The stone showed no visible damage from his powerful swing.