5 Chapter Five

So we had planned to go to the lookout which was precisely the highest point in town on top of the hill that holds the signpost of this town's name, big signpost saying 'WELCOME TO ARMENVILLE'(Big enough to give someone nightmares. I had later realized that a signpost like this one wasn't really that necessary, but I guess that's not up to me). 'I'm beginning to think it was not a coincidence that our small town would be called Armenville.' The lookout wasn't so much a bad place, but I had never been there at night. So I got up and dressed up with a comfy jacket to keep me warm and grabbed a torch. Glad to have a bike, I sneaked out of the house making sure to start the engine when the bike was a good distance away.

I finally got there and it was completely dark and creepy. 'I don't like this idea at all now. I already know we are artras. They can stop trying to get me to know with such creepy procedures.'

I felt like chickening out of this one and that's when I heard voices coming my way. I flattened myself against the hillside and kept still.

That's when I recognized one of the voices as Kendall's. "I could have sworn I saw him come here. He was on his new bike."

I calmed down and approached them before recognizing the other person as Isaac. "Hey, guys. Why pick a place this creepy."

"It's not as creepy as what we are about to tell you," Isaac said like this was going to be some sort of ghost story like the ones we used to listen to back then in the camps.

He laughed at that and got dead serious in the blink of an eye. "Kevin. You have powers. You are what they call an artra. You must have a few voices in your head now. Ciara reading your mind and the way you ran at the field last evening," he wrapped it all up before I could catch all he was saying. I took my time to piece together everything he said before going on to react.

Wait that was part of my powers. "Okay, then what are your powers?" I asked Kendall.

They stared at it as though waiting for something. 'Ooooh. They are waiting for me to freak out. This must be so awkward considering I was already told by Bergstrom. Come to think of it, I wonder what consequences my friends were trying to avoid by having me come here.' "You're totally okay with this," Isaac asked.

"I wasn't expecting anything normal to come out of your mouths and I also needed an explanation to what has been happening to me this term. Everything's been weird this term. What's one other weirder thing, am I right?" I informed them.

"Ok. I don't have powers yet. It's all magic so really it depends on how much practice you have that determines how powerful you are and how many powers or abilities you can master. But there are powers you can master easily though," he tried to explain. 'That explains why Bergstrom wants to train me.'

"So when do you guys train? Obviously, I'm going to work on my speed," I asked them.

"We train when we go to Armensia," Kendall replied. 'Wait they train in Armensia. That's not fair. I want to go there. Wait they don't know that.'

"What is Armensia?" I asked them to keep up with my act.

"Armensia is the world we protect. We can't tell you any more than that or else we risk you remembering what we don't want you to remember," Isaac replied sadly.

"Okay, when do I get to go there?" I asked them again.

"When the time is right, but now Ciara is not ready for you to find out yet. Please understand, Kevin, it hurts her that she has to keep this from you for a little longer," Isaac pleaded.

"Okay then. I'll wait," I said clearly not seeing any other option.

"You better go to sleep now, and probably tomorrow Ciara will have come up with a training procedure for you," Kendall said.

I got on my bike. Glad this is over. I started the engine and everything began to slow down like it did in the field. I looked around and back at my friends who had also slowed down. I looked around, it felt amazing. Almost like I have all the time in the world to do what I wanted. I got off my bike and it started falling very slowly.

I put it on its stand and tried to walk to my friends but I wouldn't call it walking because in an instant I was standing way ahead of them. 'That's new. What the... How did I get ahead of them?' I tried to walk back to my bike and it didn't feel like a step before I was back at my bike. I looked down the hill and got ready to see how fast I could get home.

I ran and saw that everything passed as a blur as I reached my home, I planted my feet on the ground to stop but I didn't succeed as I rolled over and over until I knocked the wall right next to our front door.

'That was.....awesome. Painful but awesome,' I got up before anyone couldn't see me and looked myself over for bruises. 'Damn it, my bike.' I have no bruises or at least the ones I find look to be healing and heal almost as soon as I find them.

I tried to run back to the lookout but nothing was slowing down. 'How did I do it?' I calmed down, took in a deep breath and concentrated and soon enough everything began to slow down. 'Yes...' I mentally squealed at my success. In a moment, I was at my bike though after a few falls. 'Gotta work on the brakes.'

I reached for my bike and found my friends waiting for me by it. 'I guess they figured I'd come back.' I got it and with less effort let go of my hold on time and waited for their reactions. They shook their heads when they noticed the change in environment and the wind I brought with me while running.

"Damn you're fast. How did you do that?" Kendall asked.

"It's like what happened at the football field just that this time I knew what was going on and it was way more serious. Must do with the fact that I had supper," I told him.

"Huh. What's so special about supper?" Isaac asked.

"Oh nothing, it's just that I hadn't had lunch on the day of football practice," I said as Kendall gaped at me.

"Okay, you mean to tell me you did all that on an empty stomach," he pointed out the obvious.

"Okay. Nice. You gon' teach me that one Flash," Isaac said as though he were imitating Cisco from our favourite show.

"We'll have to report this progress to Ciara," Kendall said with a wide smile.

"Okay, good night guys," I told them ignoring the fact that they just reminded me of how much control Ciara had over them and rode my bike back home. I had to get a good night sleep. This had been a long day. I slowly let the darkness consume me as I fell asleep.

...

Though Kevin hoped he would have a nice sleep. The night held other plans for him. For he had not noticed, but his memories were going to return and there was no stopping it.

Flashback~

"Is that why your eyes cause us to feel cold, Ciara?" Kendall asked.

"Yes and that's why I put on glasses or else you would really freeze," she added on.

We had been having fun testing out spells and reading the history of Armensia.

"Let's go to Armensia and get out the Artarak." Isaac chimed all of a sudden. "It says here that the Artarak is where the artras live in Armensia. It's a big mansion and also works as their training ground. Guys it's got everything."

We rushed up to him to check out the mansion that was in the book that Dan, the old guy that appears by the pitch had given to us to read. There was an incantation used by the artras to get to Armensia from Earth. We all mastered it and said it while flicking our hands. I was the first one to get the portal to open... then it closed since I wanted my friends to do it too. Finally when we had all learnt Ciara opened one and we all jumped through.....

...

I woke up to a start like the previous night drenched in sweat. Was that a .....

"Memory," someone completed the thought for me and I looked to my left to notice a figure standing there by the window.....

"Mr." I paused between breaths, "Bergstrom." I was breathing heavily and had no idea why. 'What now?' I thought in annoyance knowing by the look of terror on his face that my life was just about to get a lot harder.

...