"What's your name?" Jess asked the boy.

"Mathyus," he said quietly. "Thanks for chasing those soldiers away,"

"Why were they chasing you," I asked.

"I stole food for my mother. She's sick and can't work. The food was gone and because we didn't have money I just took some. I managed to get some to her before they spotted me. I got to get home," he said.

"Not yet," Griffen spoke up. "Take us to your home,"

Mathyus took us to his home. Griffen stepped in front of him and went into the house first. He sniffed the air. "Don't let him in, he doesn't need to see this,"

"See what?" He asked and pushed his way out of my arms and through the door, but he stopped half way and fell to his knees. Griffen moved in and let us see. Blood splattered on the ground. A woman laid on her back, right arm spread out a loaf of bread not far. Mud jars were lay shattered on the ground. The house was all pulled apart.

Tears rolled down Mathyus's cheeks as he silently cried. But I wasn't expecting him to run and hold onto me. Akwardly I placed my hands around him and stroaked his head. Griffen left the room and was out door. "Come, it is not safe to stay here,"

Gently I tried to pull Mathyus away, but he wouldn't go.

"I can't leave her,"

"Kel, soldiers," Jess said quietly so not to alert them.

"Mathyus there s nothing we can do, we have to go,"

"We have to leave now," Griffen said with force and hauled the boy away and put him over his shoulder.

"Put me down," Mathyus said, the tears still streaming as he hit Griffen on the back,"

"The soldiers are comng down from the street over to your right," Quick Fingers said coming out of the shadows.

"Did you kill the two?"

"It was easy," he smirked cleaning off a claw.

Griffen led us out of the city and we disapeard into the woods beyond right under the noses of the soldiers. When Griffen felt that we were safe, he let us stop and put Mathyus down who had stopped struggling to get off. That was when I gave him the Water crystal.

"This is for you," I said.

"What is it?" asked Mathyus, his eyes wide.

"It is one of the guardian crystals and it has chosen you to be the one to bear it," I told him. I put it in his hands as it glowed brighter. Two days later the Air crystal began to glow.

Griffen led us. At this time we had reached the sea. As we got closer, I could smell the salty air and hear the seagulls. The sound of the ocean rumbled over the rocks. We came upon a small mountain range that ran along the coast. Crossing through the valleys in betwen, we came across a small village. Griffen led the way still and we walked down the road to the village. As we walked by people stopped and stared for it was obvious that we were a strange group of people. The Air crystal tingled and began to glow very bright. I pulled the crystal out from under my shirt. Sitting in a tree was a teenager eating an apple.

"This is for you," I said to the stranger. He took it, keeping his face in the shadows. As soon as he touched it the sky began to darken. All the crystals glowed brightly. They came together in front of each of the guys, but when they came back to them the smell of burning flesh and screams pierced the air. Only Griffen grimmaced as the crystal fussed into his chest. As the sky began to lighten, one by one, each of them collapsed.

Jess was the first on to wake.

"Jess," I cried and I went over to him. Where the crystal entered his chest was a diamond shaped scar. "Does it hurt?" I asked.

"Not too much," he winced. One by one the guys woke up and all seemed to be the same way that Jess was.

"What the hell did you do to me?" The stranger yelled.

"The Air crystal chose to to be a bearer," I told him as he stood in front of me seething with anger. His brown hair was a mess and his black eyes glared at me. "You are a guardian now,"

"What if I didn't want to be?"

"Tell that to the crystal. I didn't want to be a guardian either, but now I am," Griffen said getting up.

Quick Fingers came out from behind a house. "Is it safe for me to show my face, or are you going to argue with the leader?" asked the wercat to the stranger.

"Well excuse me, but I was expecting to have a normal day not to mention a normal life," Quick Fingers hissed at The Stranger.

"I don't like this Kalob," he hissed again to Griffen.

"Kalob, your the one who hunts after girls and then runs away when their father's come to chase you," said Griffen.

"You do what?" I said to Kalob.

"I used to. I'm too well known to do that any more, so now I just climb up the apple trees and eat apples,"

"A lazy butt," Quick Fingers retorted to the one who yelled at him.

"Would you all just stop arguing," Jess said. "So maybe you didn't want to become a guardian, but you're stuck now so deal with it," he walked off in a huff. Mathyus took two looks and followed Jess off into the apple orchard.