It seemed that a time of peace was finally upon the people of Beach Shores. Over the last few weeks, the city was quiet with no appearance of Griflore. The evil Xenton had not been seen since the fatal fight against Sam, Jason, and Arayan. The city was slowly rebuilding itself. Sam, Jason, and Dye were slowly returning to their normal lives. Sam was able to resume work on his science fair project. Jason still continued to surf at the beach every day, and Dye still continued to play hero all throughout the city, stopping freak accidents and petty theft everywhere. Mack was even starting to ease up. He was beginning to submit his college applications and was on edge as he waited for a response.
A couple weeks ago, Coach Connelly called Mack in for a meeting. Mack was sure that this was the result of him injuring half of his football team and this was going to be about some sort of consequence for it. Surprisingly, it wasn’t any of that at all. Coach Connelly introduced Mack to his friend, Mr. Hammlocke, who was also a scout for one of the top Universities in the country.
“Mack, what a pleasure it is to finally meet you.”
“You too, Sir.” said Mack, both uneasy but also curious as to why this was happening.
“Mack, I told Gene here all about what happened and he insisted he meet with you. You see, he was fairly impressed with what I told him and after seeing the practice video he just had to meet you in person.”
Mack was confused. He turned to Mr. Hammlocke who began giving him an explanation. “Mack, I have never seen anything like that. You blew through your team’s defensive line like a freight train, not on purpose, I assume. I showed the Dean your video and well….how would you like to attend The University of Massachusetts next fall? Full ride of course.”
Mack’s face was something between brightened and bewildered. “You’re joking, right?” He turned to his coach.
“I’m afraid not. Gene never messes around. He searches for the best of the best!”
“Absolutely! Yes!” said Mack, turning to Mr. Hammlocke.
“Hang on!” said Coach Connelly. “Gene, could you excuse me and Mack.”
“Of course,” said Mr. Hammlocke. “Mack, we'll be in touch.” He left the Coach’s office, closing the door behind him.
“What’s up, Coach?”
“Son, sit down.” Mack obeyed. Coach Connelly sighed. “Now, I don’t know what happened on the field that day but you have a real opportunity Mack and I don’t think it’s a good idea to jump at the first opportunity that comes your way.”
“I get it, Coach, but a full ride? I can’t pass that up!”
“Mack, I went ahead and sent that video to a bunch of different scouts who are actively recruiting which means you could get more, possibly even better offers.”
Mack couldn’t say anything. He wasn’t sure what to say really.
“Thanks, Coach…” he was unsure if he should feel good about this or guilty. After all, he did ruin his entire team’s shot at getting any kind of athletic scholarships. Was it right for him to accept any?
“Mack, don’t let any of the other boys know what’s going on here. As far as I know, you’re shit outta luck like the rest of them. Got it?”
“Sure thing, Coach.”
Mack left his Coach’s office feeling troubled. All he ever wanted was a scholarship to any school of his choosing, and now he could get just that. The question was, did he deserve it? His teammates weren’t talking to him after what he did. Half of them suspected he was on performance enhancers. Coach Connelly knew this wasn’t the case. No amount of steroids could cause that level of force and power. However, just to ease the minds of his players, the football coach forced Mack to take a drug test, which came back negative. This didn’t do much to settle the team though because they were still out of a season, which meant they were out of scholarship opportunities, but Mack was just offered one. He would need to think about this.
“Wow, a full ride?” said Dye. “That’s great!”
“I mean, yeah, but –”
“He doesn’t feel like he deserves it.” said Sam.
The brothers, Jason included, sat in Sam and Dye’s room. Mack was so excited at the news but also conflicted. He didn’t want to tell his parents just yet. He figured that his brothers would be able to help solve his conflict.
“What? That's crazy. Of all people Mack deserves it. He worked for it.” Dye said in protest.
“I think Mack is more worried about the ethics of the situation. Not only did he unknowingly use his Ka to gain the upper hand on his team, but he also injured them, removing their chances of getting any kind of full ride.”
Mack pointed subtly at Sam because he was correct.
“Who cares? Sports are about having an advantage right?”
“A fair advantage, bro,” said Jason, lying on the floor.
“Dye, what if you used your speed to win a race and a scholarship to any school of your choice was on the line. Nobody else can move like you. Do you think that would be fair?”
“Look, all I’m saying, Mack, is that now you don’t have to worry about college. Isn’t that what you wanted?”
“Yeah, but not like this.”
“The fact of the matter is, now that we have these abilities, we have an advantage, and if Mack goes through with this then he will be playing at an unfair advantage, while also having a full ride.” Sam interjected.
“Sounds pretty dope when you say it like that, Sammy,” Jason arched his eyes over to Sam.
“Actually, I hadn’t thought of that,” said Mack, his conflict now worse.
“Dude! Now look at what you did!” said Dye.
“What? I’m just pointing out the pros and cons of what could happen and the moral implications of it all!” Sam replied.
“Not everything needs to be black and white, Sammy,” said Dye. “We can enjoy our lives and still have these powers.”
“That’s not what I’m saying,”
“It is!” Dye turned to Mack. “Dude, you don’t have to put your life on hold because of this. This is what you wanted. You spent the last four years of your life preparing to get a full ride. And now you have it. I say go for it!”
Jason thought about it. “Yeah, why not. It’s not like you use your powers on the regular anyway.”
“See? Jason’s right!”
Dye understood the moral implications, but they never made a pact to not use their powers for gain. Even if they did, Mack didn’t intentionally do this using his powers. He didn’t even know he had them at the time. To Dye this was a situation of preparation meeting opportunity tightly wrapped in a matter of circumstance.
“Dye, you’re too young to understand…” said Sam.
“Oh well,” Dye brushed off. “At the end of the day this is Mack’s choice. So let him choose.”
“Thanks you guys,” said Mack.
Even after the season finally changed into winter, the sun still shone bright and the sky was cloudless. The beaches were still alive with sailboats and people fishing along the pier. The students of Beach Shores High were getting ready for the greatest event of their school year— winter break.
As the bell rang, the students of Beach Shores High burst out of the building, making their way towards the courtyard and heading home. Some students unlocked their bikes with their surfboards in hand. Others ran to their cars, while some just walked with friends. Joss, Jenny, and Dye were excited that their first semester of high school was over.
Through it all, the fact remained that Griflore was still on the loose and could attack at any moment. The idea that his friends were in danger made his stomach do back flips. Images of his death started to invade his mind and doubt soon came for him. Even with his powers, what if he still was claimed by Griflore? What if he wasn’t even able to protect his friends? It was clear that he was still shaken up over what happened, but what was he supposed to do about it?
“Bye, you guys,” Jenny called out, bringing him back from inside his head, “Be safe. I’ll call you over the break.”
Dye and Joss waved back as they made their way into the city streets from the school’s courtyard.
“Well, I’m this way,” said Joss, “I’ll catch you over the break, Dye.”
“For sure,” he replied enthusiastically. “Now that we have three weeks of no homework.”
“I know what you mean,” said Joss. “See ya later.”
“Bye,” he waved; as he began on his way.
As he walked home he returned to his thoughts.
“Where is he?” He referred to Griflore. He wanted to know. Why hasn't he returned to even attempt to take back the star? What was he doing? Perhaps he was simply biding his time and waiting to make his next move.
Or maybe he had given up. After Sam and Jason beat him to a pulp, perhaps he knew he couldn’t beat them and decided to flee.
No. That wasn’t Griflore’s way of doing things. In the short time he was around, Grilfore made it known to everyone that he was strong and powerful, ruthless and unforgiving. If Dye knew anything about Griflore it was that he would return. The question was when.
From the star, to Griflore missing, and then to something else. Something that happened so abruptly that Dye had almost forgotten about it.
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“What was that?” He said with curiosity.
The light bearing wolf.
Was that another Ka roaming around? If so, who was it for and why did it appear to him if he wasn’t the one it chose? Maybe it was trying to tell him something in a way he couldn’t quite understand.
He came to his door.
“So much is happening,” he unlocked his door. “Honestly I just want to enjoy the holidays.” As the door swung open, he found the house completely empty. He saw a tall pine tree standing against the side of the stairs.
“Dad,” he murmured, “always early with the Christmas spirit.”
He threw his bag on the couch and sat down on the sofa facing the television. He found a note on the table with his father’s handwriting that said:
“Dye, if you’re reading this then you must know that I’ve gotten the
Christmas tree already. We’re going to decorate it tonight as a family so if you have plans cancel them.”
–Dad
Dye folded the note and placed it back on the table. He rested his head on the couch and drifted off to sleep. The next thing he heard was the sound of voices. Dye awoke quickly and found that it was seven o’clock in the evening. The sound of his family's voices caused him to become alert.
“Wake up, Dye!” Shouted Jason in Dye’s ear as he walked by.
“I’m gonna hurt you!” Said Dye with an annoyed growl.
Dye pushed Jason’s face away as he saw Mack and his dad coming in through the door carrying Christmas ornaments and lights. His mother was followed behind them being tailed by Sam, who closed the door behind him.
“Finally, school is done,” said Sam, “three weeks of nothing but R&R?”
Dye arose from the couch, stretching and yawning as he followed his family into the kitchen.
“Russell,” said his mother, “why did you buy all those new ornaments? You know we have ornaments in the attic.”
“I know, dear,” he replied, “I thought this year we could do something different than those old rocks we have.”
“Excuse me,” she snapped, “Those ornaments happen to be priceless heirlooms passed down through my family for generations. Now you’re going to use them, whether you like them or not.”
The boys stood there in the wake of their stern mother.
Their father sighed. He knew not to test his wife.“Yes, dear,” he replied, “but we’re still using these.”
“Just as long as we mix it up,” she replied, “and boys you know your stuff doesn’t go there. Take it to your rooms. Now!” She exclaimed, making her boys move more hastily.
“Come on, boys, let’s go before your mother decides to eat us alive.”
“Dye!” His mother called, “Come with me and help me with these ornaments.”
Dye followed behind his mother up the stairs and into the hallway. She grabbed the string that hung from the ceiling and pulled it down, bringing down with it stairs that led into a dark place. Mrs. Haven went on ahead, turning on a light with Dye following behind her.
“Now, where did I put them?” She said to herself. “Dye!” She said, getting her son’s attention. “Go check over there. I’ll look for them here.”
“Okay,” he said.
He began to make his way to the other side of the cluttered attic filled with sealed boxes. As he walked the floors creaked with the movement of his mother as she searched through boxes for the ornaments. Over in the corner of the attic, Dye found an old rocking chair his dad used before he got his recliner. He walked over to the chair until his foot stepped on something that made a distinct cracking noise beneath his foot.
“Dye, be careful,” Mrs. Haven said in response. Dye lifted his foot and found an old, dusty picture frame. The dust was thick enough that it obscured glass, concealing the photo inside the frame. He picked it up and took his hand to wipe it, revealing a picture of a little girl. He stared at the picture a little bit more to see if he could identify the girl in the portrait. The brown eyes, the black, bushy hair all seemed unfamiliar to him. She was only a child. No older than three.
“Found them!” shouted his mother with accomplishment, startling him. “Come on Dye, give me a hand,” With the old picture in hand, he maneuvered his way around and over boxes, until he finally reached his mother.
“Here, get those boxes over there,” She commanded. While Dye was retrieving the boxes, his mother noticed the picture frame in his hand and said, “Whatcha got there, kid?”
“It’s a picture of someone, but I don’t know who it is?” He said in reply.
“Here, let me see,” she said, putting down the box.
Dye handed the old picture to his mother. As her eyes caught the old photo, her face fell.
“Mom?” Said Dye with a worried tone. “Are you okay? Who is that?”
“She’s your sister.”
Dye must've misheard her.
“What do you mean sister?” He asked.
“Yes.” She said, “follow me downstairs,” she made her way out of the attic and down the hall.
“What about the ornaments?” Dye yelled down the hallway.
“Leave them,” she said as she strode down the hallway with the photo in hand, not even looking back at her son.
Dye jumped down the stairs with a loud thump and quickly pursued his mother. By the time he reached the stairs, she was already at the foot of them.
“Dye, come down here.”
“What’s the matter, Mom?” Asked Sam. “Whose picture is that?”
Their father got a glimpse of the photo. He knew what was about to happen. His face turned somber. He knew telling his children the truth was unavoidable now.
“It’s about time all of you knew,” she said.
Dye finally made his way down the stairs.
“Knew what?” Asked Sam, who sensed something was wrong.
“About who this is.” She said, holding up the picture of the little girl.
“Who is that?” Asked Jason.
Mack looked at the picture and it was like his mood instantly changed. Did he know they all had a sister? He placed the ornaments on the ground and took the picture. He looked at the girl and smiled. “I haven’t thought about her in forever,” he said.
“Hello?” said Jason. “Just who is that?
“She’s our sister.” Mack said softly.
“What?” Sam and Jason spoke simultaneously.
Dye remained quiet.
“How can we have a sister?” Asked Jason.
“We don’t have a sister,” said Sam.
“Correction,” said Mack, “we had a sister. She died a long time ago.”
“How do you know?” Dye asked.
“Because, I was there when it happened. You two were just toddlers, and you were just a baby, Dye.”
“When what happened?” Dye quickly asked.
“The accident,” their Mom chimed in. “You boys had an older sister. There were so many times we wanted to tell you but whenever we tried we couldn’t bring ourselves to do it or we were just too ashamed to tell you.” She paused.
“What was her name?” Asked Dye. His Mother handed out her hand for the picture. Mack handed it over
“Her name was,” she stared at the picture, her eyes building with tears “Corrine.”
She turned to their father and began sobbing.
“She was our little girl,” Their father replied, who started to get emotional. “She was the sweetest little girl you could ever meet. Bringing happiness to everyone she met.”
“What happened to her?” Asked Sam.
“One ni–,” he paused as his wife placed her finger over his mouth.
“Shhhh!” She said, “I’ll tell them.”
She removed her finger and kissed her husband on the lips. She then turned to her boys; her wet face and red, watery eyes looking upon them.
“One night your father, Mack, your sister Corrine and I were driving back from visiting your grandmother in the country. The weather was awful. Rain fell like rocks against our window, and the thunder and lightning made it impossible to stay calm. We were on a really narrow interstate road that looked over a cliff. Mack and Corrine were in the back. Mack was asleep in his car seat, and Corrine just sat in hers, enjoying the ride. She looked so happy; almost like she enjoyed the thunder and rain.”
“Where were Sam, Jason and me?” Asked Dye.
“We had to leave you three with Uncle Bobby and Auntie Cheryl,” she replied. “Back then we didn’t have a big enough car to fit the five of you. The storm got worse, and Russell was having trouble seeing. From up the road, we saw the headlights of an oncoming vehicle. We didn’t think anything of it until it looked like the car was heading straight for us. Russell tried to avoid it and drove through the barrier. The car flew off the road and into a tree. Mack woke up and started to cry. I got to him as fast as I could while Russell tried to get to Corrine who was unconscious. I broke through the window and opened the door with Mack in my arms and held onto a nearby tree branch. Your father was able to get to Corrine at the last minute. The moment he pulled her out, the car fell to the ground and exploded, creating a fire down below. All I remember was your father hanging on to a tree branch while keeping his grip on Corrine. The water from the rain made it impossible for Russell to keep his grip on her, so I tried my best to get him to help.”
“My grip on Corrine was slipping,” their father interjected, “I held on as long as I could, but the water was making it hard. The next thing I knew, my baby girl was falling into the fire. The last thing I saw were her eyes opening and looking at me as she fell.” he paused, doing his best to hold back tears as he relived the memories. “I’ve had nightmares about that night more than I should. If I could have just held on longer Corrine would still be sitting here with us.”
“Somebody had reported the accident,” their mother continued “After a while we were found and rescued. No matter how much we tried, we couldn’t erase that day from our memory. As you boys grew older, we prayed to God that nothing would happen to you and that He would keep you safe and He has.”
“But why keep it a secret?” Asked Jason.
“We didn’t want you all to think of us as bad parents,” their father said, “Because we couldn’t save our daughter and made it seem like we weren’t fit to be parents.”
“You boys mean everything to us,” their mother had tracks of tears lining her face, “Don’t ever forget that.”
The room fell silent for a few moments until the silence was broken by Dye.
“This is a lot to take in,” he said.
“About a month after the accident your mother and I decided to erect a memorial to her in Sunset Cemetery. It was the only thing that we could do for her.”
The boys smiled, and feelings of sorrow and sadness began to creep up in each of them even though, aside from Mack, none of them had known her. Dye was hit the most, considering he experienced death not too long ago, something he had in common with his long lost sister.
He wished he had known her.
What would she have been like?
Would she have been smart like Sam?
Strong like Mack?
Goofy like Jason?
Maybe she would have just been her own person. Sadly he would never know.
It was a lot to process as they decorated their Christmas tree. The brothers asked questions about her. Their parents told them everything they could, from her favorite color to her favorite toy. Stories of how she threw tantrums but also was playful. How she loved to go to the park and enjoyed listening to the rain.
Later that night, Dye was face up in his bed. Thinking of all the possibilities there were growing up with a sister. Would she have been the tough type of sister? Or the cutesy kind that was into cheerleading and other girly things. It was fun to think about as he laid there. Sure, he was content with his three older brothers, but being able to grow up with a big sister would have been something he would have loved to experience.