A cry for help

Many are called, but a few are chosen. This should be the exact proverb to sum up Scarlett's eighteen years on earth, but there was a glitch that happened somewhere along the line. Fate and nature had stopped her from fulfilling her destiny, making her imagine that this was all she had to push forward.

    Scarlett sat at the extreme left of the house, looking directly towards the half-moon. It had appeared in the starless sky earlier than usual. Could it be that something was about to happen? If Olivia was here with her, she would have been easily informed of the future, past and present, but, mother will never let them be together in the same space.

    She sometimes wondered who put the idea in her mom's head that they were actually going to live a normal life like this? She couldn't even remember the last time she saw her family. And, Elder Quinn barely mingled with the others in the community, so they were more or less secluded.

    Her pale fingers hoisted up a stick, and she got ready to attack, with her back turned towards the impending danger. The soul expertly slid to the left, holding her hands firmly as the stick dropped to the earthy gravel with a thud. Scarlett frowned at it. She never got an edge in protecting herself from this man. Elder Quinn always eluded her every single time.

    "Not again," she shot out,annoyed.

    He simply smiled at her. "You will never learn that the last minute changes are better when it comes to protecting yourself. When your enemies master your tactics, it's more advisable to change them. In other words, you should be flexible. How long will I teach you this?" he queried in a voice dipped in disapproval.

    She cocked her head arrogantly to the side. "Sometimes doing the same things consistently can bring fruits, old man."

    He let go of her hands. She knew what was coming from years of being with him. She slid her legs down, as a forest of dust came up, like a dance, while his hands were thrusted forcefully through the air. A groan escaped his lungs.

    "Repeated trainings have made me quite smart," she said in response.

    He merely grunted . A soft smile touched Scarlett's lips. She had gotten away from him, even if it were for just a little teensy time.

    "Don't look so pleased. I've warned you not to use your powers?" he scolded fiercely.

    Scarlett simply shrugged as she slide her legs together as one, and then did a triple backward summersault, and another one forward  in a heartbeat. She placed her hands on her waist as a wide grin spread through her face.

    "I know you will nag, but I'm starving and you are too. So, let's eat while you keep talking, ok?" she said sarcastically.

    The older man looked at her with a frown. Scarlett barely knew what he may be thinking, but she was quite sure that he was cursing her. Not to worry, those things would hardly faze her, he could curse all he wanted. 

    She made a move to walk past him, but he stalled her easily. She peered into his sun-burned face, shadowed by the straw hat that sat on his head and shaded him from God knows what. It was too late as it was. Without words, Elder Quinn turned her towards the moon. 

    "We won't get to eat the meal," he said easily.

    A shiver went through her spine as worry dug into her skin. Maybe she had been right after all. Something was about to happen, something dangerous. The moon stared back at her, hardly giving her any response. She tried to will it, but nothing. Her powers were more or less caged, and she wondered what she would be able to do if she had it.

    "Why? What's about to happen?" she queried.

    A slight chuckle. "Nothing that cannot be averted, Scarlett. I could smell your fear, and that wasn't a good look on you. You need to learn to mask your emotions," he scolded softly.

    Scarlett pulled away from his hold, a bit annoyed that he always found a reason to nag. It was so annoying. Her life was miserable as it were, and she found it incredibly stupid to keep making her morose.

    "I get it, I'm a thorn on your path. You don't need to be so mean all the time. I just asked a question, that's all," she snapped coldly.

    The old man said nothing. "Get the book," he said inaudibly.

    "What?"

    His eyes touched Scarlett's and she gasped at how red they were. She made a dash for the house, her movements quick and completely enchanting. The dust particles danced around her feet, which made her stop. 'What is the matter?' She queried the sands.

    There was nothing, but more twirling of sands that caressed her feet. Something was wrong, but she didn't know what. Was her powers coming back to haunt her? Is that the reason Elder Quinn had seemed frantic and a bit rude so suddenly? There was no answer, so she stepped into the dark house.

    A lamp was placed at the top of a shelf, which she grabbed onto, using a matchstick to light it up. The sparse furnishing greeted her eyes, and for a moment, she remembered her childhood. She had stood in her father's living room, turning the objects into things that barely made sense, but she'd crafted in her mind's eye.

    "Scarlett! Be quick!" Elder Quinn's voice travelled from his spot outside to her ears. 

    Scarlett pulled herself from the past, as she walked deeper into the house. She tried to remember the last place she'd seen the book in question, but the answer eluded her. Her feet led her to Elder Quinn's room, and she pulled the handle once. At that moment, a scream tore through the air. It sounded exactly like the Elder's. 

    She pulled the door back shut, and made a run to the outdoors. There she saw a strange woman dressed in red, with cowries all over her hands and feet blocking the windpipe of the Elder without touching him.

    "Don't..."

    "I swear, I don't know where she is. The young lady hasn't returned from fetching some coal in the market for our dinner. Please, believe me," The Elder cried, stalling whatever Scarlett had been meaning to say.

    Scarlett stood shocked. The man was lying for her sake, but why? Who was this woman? Why was she here?    She watched in horror as the woman's eyes shifted to black and then a red colour, making the Elder's scream rise up in momentum.

    Whoever she was, she wasn't going to spare her. She couldn't stay here anymore, she needed to make a run for it. She pulled the door shut quietly behind her. The back door, where was it? She blew the light out, and used her senses as a guide to move through the house, tripping on things as she went. 

    How would she ask for help? The woman had seemed like a powerful witch. How would Shen be able to escape her piercing gaze?  "Oh, moon goddess, please help me to evade this woman successfully," she pleaded out loud.

    The moon greeted her the moment she stepped out of the house. It was pulling into the shadows in dark hues. Scarlett tore her eyes away from the moon, as something lifted her off the ground. She gasped as her eyes met the witch. There was pure rage brewing in those eyes, and she didn't want to imagine being captured by this woman.

    "At last," the witch breathed in relief.

    Scarlett tried to loosen some of her powers from its cage, but she could not. She focused more, but it seemed it wasn't working, and more and more she was drawn towards the witch. In a moment of panic, she wriggled her bare toes, and balls off colourful sand, struck  the witch directly on her  face. The invincible hold on Scarlett loosened, and she found herself lying flat on the ground.

    She did a backward summersault, and ran into the dark forest, not once looking back. Unknown to her, she'd erased her facial features from the witch memories when the sand had hit her on the face. It was perhaps a moment of awakening for her.

    Scarlett tripped on a wooden branch, and still managed to stay upright. She ran blindly in the dark, afraid that the witch was after her. She was quite sure the Elder had not survived the attack.

    "Don't think!" she whispered into the night.

    As she ran, her eyes went upwards, hoping to see a bit of the moon's harmless nature but she found nothing. Her feet moved blindly in front of her, and she found herself spiralling into the unknown. She flailed her arms, hoping to hold on to something, but ended up with nothing but air. An unexplainable fear built like a volcano in her heart. No! Her end couldn't be this way.

    "Mom! Dad! Oliver!" she called out, as she kept spiralling into the unknown.