We all sat in silence as we tried to process what we witnessed. I felt like we were all trying to make sense of this new reality that we are living in. This world is unforgiving, and we can't forget that for one second. I kept my eyes on the road, but my mind kept drifting off.

Isa was the first to break the silence. "Guys, there's nothing we could have done."

"Yeah, he was practically dead already," Eli agreed. "But I just wish we could have helped him somehow."

The drive went by quickly as I found myself pulling into my apartment complex. Thankfully, all was...quiet? We gathered our bags and stumbled into the apartment and dropped our stuff on the floor. Eli quickly barricaded the door with our couch. After feeling a bit relaxed, exhaustion crept up on us.

"You can take my bed Isa," I offered. "I'll crash on the living room chair."

"Are you sure Ez?" Isa asked.

"Yeah, it's fine. Just pa.s.s me a pillow and I'll be good."

She tossed me a pillow as I reclined in the chair. Eli went into his room and tossed me a spare blanket. We all said goodnight and as soon as my head touched the recliner, everything faded to black.

***

I woke up to the smell of something burning. I squinted as I rubbed the crust out of my eyes and saw that Eli was making breakfast sandwiches. Three paper plates were put out as he was busy cooking.

He glanced over and saw that I was awake. "Sup sleepyhead, how many sandwiches do you want?"

"I'll take two," I smacked my lips.

"Alright," Eli responded. "Go and see how many Isa wants."

I got out of the chair and headed to my room. I lightly knocked on the door and called out Isa's name. No response. I tried again, but still didn't hear anything. Quietly, I opened the door and peeked my head in. She was sprawled out on the bed fast asleep with her head buried in a pillow. I walked over to the side of the bed and lightly shook her shoulder.

"C'mon Isa, it's time to eat," I coaxed. "Eli's making breakfast sandwiches!"

"What time is it?" she grumbled.

I glanced over at the clock. "It's, oh wow, it's four in the afternoon."

She rolled over to face upwards. "Do you have any extra toothbrushes?"

"Yea, under the sink."

Rubbing the sleep away, she slowly got out of bed and went to the restroom.

"So, how many sandwiches do you want?" I called out.

"Just one."

I walked back into the kitchen and gave Eli the total. He finished cooking by the time Isa walked out of the bedroom, looking much more awake. I didn't realize how hungry I was until I took my first bite. When was the last time I ate? Before I knew it, the two sandwiches disappeared.

"Um, can I actually have one more?" Isa asked.

"Yeah, me too," I added.

Eli chuckled and handed each of us one from his small pile of sandwiches.

We finished breakfast quickly and sat around the TV in the living room.

"So, have y'all reached out to any friends or people that you know yet?" Eli asked.

"Oh s.h.i.+t," -Isa pulled out her phone and began dialing a number- "I haven't even asked my parents how they're doing."

I shrugged my shoulders. "Well, you know me. Y'all two are all I got."

Isa's call connected and she walked into my room for some privacy. I turned on the TV. The news channel popped up with the newscaster telling the viewers about what happened last night. A state of emergency was announced. They were saying that if you can safely make it downtown to the designated safe zones, evacuate now. If you can't, stay inside and barricade your doors. By the time the news segment finished, Isa returned.

"So how are your parents?" I asked.

Isa sighed with relief. "They're okay! They're staying locked inside, but they are worried to death about me since I'm so far away from them."

"I guess being from out of state is especially hard right now," I added.

Isa nodded. "I just hope they stay safe."

"After yesterday, we can all agree that we need to learn how to defend ourselves," Eli started. "I don't want to be caught by surprise."

I nodded my head. "I think the first thing we need to do is understand how Eden works."

"Yeah, I really want to fully understand what I did last night," Isa readily agreed.

Eli sighed. "I guess I need to find what my 'thing' is."

"That shouldn't be a problem," -Isa patted his shoulder- "you always come through."

A thought came to my mind. Instead of going to the shelter where everyone is running off to, we should go somewhere where we can't be distracted.

I thought aloud. "What if we drove to where Isa's parents are and learn how to use Eden on the way there? That way Isa can be reunited with them and we can learn without any distractions on the way there. We could train during the journey because right now I don't feel confident if we encounter a Servant."

Isa perked up.

"Like a road trip?" Eli questioned.

"Exactly," I answered.

"I am 100% behind this," Isa quickly responded.

Eli shrugged. "I don't see why not."

"First things first," I stood up and reached my hand out. "Sintra, can you teach us how to use Eden?"

The sword materialized in my outstretched hand. I placed it down onto the table in between all of us.

"Is it just me or does anyone else feel odd talking to a sword?" Isa giggled.

Hearing the comment made, the sword transformed in front of our very eyes. The sword elongated and quickly grew scales out of its body until a black snake took its place.

"Wait, you can do that?" Eli gasped.

"Yes," Sintra's tongue flickered as it perched up. "However, right now I am a shadow of my true self. I need more Eden to grow."

I s.h.i.+vered as I remembered the last time I saw him as a snake and knew how frightening Sintra could truly be.

"About Eden, can you teach us how to use it?" I asked.

"I can," he responded. "It will take some time to learn the basics though."

"We're eager to learn," I answered as Eli and Isa nodded in agreement.

Sintra began explaining. "As I already said before, Eden was a natural resource that was abundant in the world. It has been here since the beginning of time and it allowed humans to do miraculous things. The way they were able to harness this energy was by connecting their inner energy, or kira, to manipulate Eden."

After a slight pause, Isa spoke. "So, I guess the first thing we need to do is to learn how to connect our…kira?"

"Yes," Sintra answered. "Let us begin by igniting your inner energy."

I sighed as I closed my eyes and took a moment to collect myself. Someone tapped me on the leg. Looking up, I saw Eli extending his hands to Isa and I. Isa clasped hands with him and gave me a look that told me to just do it. Now hand in hand, we all sat around the snake, linked together.

"We're ready," Eli announced.