Dye stormed into his home. He threw his backpack off and ran through the house.

“Jason!” he called. “SAM!”

Where was everyone?

He ran upstairs, bursted into his room. He heard the splattering of something coming from the bathroom behind a closed door.

It was vomiting.

When he opened the bathroom door, he saw Sam on the ground, hunched over the toilet.

“Are you okay?” He asked grossly.

Sam took his head from out of the toilet and wiped his mouth with his hand.

“Yeah,” he replied with a sickly tone.

“What’s wrong with you?”

Sam turned with his pale and sickly face. “Tuna surprise. Not the best choice for lunch. Sam dunked his head back into the toilet and threw up some more. He coughed and turned back to Dye. “Why are you home so early?

“You didn’t hear? Griflore attacked the school.”

“What?” said Sam, followed by a cough. “How and why?”

“He said he tracked me there somehow using my Ka.”

Sam was silent, partially waiting for his vomiting to pass, if it was going to pass. But he was also stunned that Griflore attacked the school and was able to track down Dye. Jason barged into the room with a tray of soup and ginger ale.

“Dye, no need to yell, bro. I’m sure the neighbors heard you.” he said.

“You ditched again, didn’t you!”

“Actually no, Sam needed to go home so I volunteered to take care of him.”

“R–Really?” Dye was suspicious.

“It’s okay, Dye, he’s telling the truth,” Sam said sickly. “We must’ve just left before the attack.”

“Attack? What attack?” Jason asked curiously.

“Griflore attacked the school…” Sam threw up in the toilet bowl. Managing to get the words out just before he blew chunks.

“What? No way! Why?”

“He’s looking for the star. He thinks I have it.”

“Well how did he find you?” Jason inquired intently.

“I don’t know. He said he tracked me.”

“How?” Jason pressed

“I don’t know!” Dye snapped.

“Let’s all calm down…” Sam sat against the wall in the bathroom, breathing heavily. He cupped his mouth, dunked his head back into the toilet and vomited again.

“Ewwww!” Said Dye and Jason simultaneously.

“Okay, I think that’s — it,” he breathed profusely. “Dye, tell us exactly what happened.”

Dye recounted the story starting with the massive tremors that shook the school. Then he mentioned how Griflore interrogated the students to try and find him, hurting them in the process.

“I had no choice, I had to armor up and take him on!”

“We know,” said Sam.

Dye hesitated before continuing. “What is it?” Jason looked at him.

“Guys, that was the first time I fought him. I–I was terrified. I was afraid that he would—” he recalled his death again. “I have been having terrible PTSD moments ever since he killed me. Seeing him there —”

Jason placed his hand on his shoulder. “Little bro, we’re sorry we weren’t there to back you up.”

“No, that’s the thing, I was able to stand up to him and fight back.” Jason and Sam exchanged looks. “I knew we’d have to face him again and I’d have to move past my issues if we were ever going to take him down.”

“How do you feel?” asked Sam.

Dye looked at his ill brother. “I feel…” he analyzed his thoughts. “I feel like we can stop him now.”

“Let’s not get overconfident, Dye. Griflore is still pretty powerful.” Sam’s breathing was going back to normal.

“Not anymore. I destroyed his armor!”

Jason and Sam were astonished.

“So, he’s basically finished then.” Jason smiled.

“No, not exactly. He’s still very much alive.”

“How?” asked Sam.

“I don’t think Griflore is a person. I think he’s a Ka possessing somebody.”

“That’s an unexpected turn of events,” Jason said with no inflection in his voice.

“That could make sense.” Sam coughed. “If he’s nothing but a Ka, that would explain how he was able to track the energy of the star and how he was able to find you. Energy attracts energy.”

“So who’s he controlling? Any one we know?” Jason handed Sam his ginger ale.

“Not exactly.”

Sam sipped his drink. “What does that mean?”

“Before Griflore attacked the city that day, there was a girl sitting in the park up the street. Her eyes and face changed and then she disappeared. Not long after that Griflore showed up.”

A case of literary theft: this tale is not rightfully on Amazon; if you see it, report the violation.

“Why didn’t you tell us this before?” asked Sam, taking another sip of his soda.

“Because I didn’t know what it was at the time. It was like Griflore was taking control of her or something.”

“We need to find her,” said Sam, pushing himself to his feet.

“No way, bro, you're still too sick.” Jason helped him.

“Now's the perfect time,” Sam coughed. “He’s vulnerable. Without his armor he has to be running scared. If we find the girl then we find him.”

Jason helped Sam over to his bed. “Dude, you need to rest. Dye and I can look into it tomorrow.”

“Fine,” he laid down. “Is that all, Dye?”

“There’s a tiny bit more.”

“What else happened?” Sam took another swig of his drink.

“The reason why you guys were able to beat him that day was because of the Spirit Life-Force.”

“Which is?” Jason rolled on trying to get Dye to continue.

“It's a state in which your spirit and your Ka become one as a result of intense emotion.”

“Huh…Cool!” said Jason. “And Griflore told you this?” Dye nodded. “Wonder why he would do that?”

“Because,” Sam sat up. “Before we weren’t a match for him. Since you and I beat him he’s concerned that we have the power to stop him. I bet you he tried to figure out why he wasn’t able to do it.”

Dye nodded. “He never figured it out though.”

“It probably has something to do with him being a Ka rather than an actual person.”

“A fake Xenton!” Jason added.

“Exactly!” Sam finished. “I’m going to bed. You two try and find that girl. We need to stop Griflore while he’s vulnerable.”

“Before you sleep, there’s a tinsy bit more…” Dye squeezed out.

“What…” Sam said miserably.

“Joss….might suspect that…the Xenton might go to our school.”

“Where would he get an idea like that?” Sam narrowed his eyes at Dye.

“Griflore locked all the doors so the only place where I could transform was…in the kitchen.”

“Dye….” started Jason.

“I know! I know! I should’ve been more careful. But he was hurting people. I had to do something.”

“That’s…not what I was going to say.” Dye looked up. “You did what you had to do. If someone finds out that you’re a Xenton, make sure it's someone you trust.”

“Never thought I’d say this, but I agree with Jason. Now, if you’d excuse me, I need some rest.”

Dye took his shoes off. “So do I.”

“Well, it’s almost dinner time. Sammy, I’ll take this soup and do away with it.”

“Of course you will!”

The sound of battle raged in the distance. The sky was blanketed with the thickness of many clouds. The young, golden hero pressed on towards Griflore. Impatient, the two began to tear through the city mercilessly. Dye tightened the grip on his blade and attacked the demon with everything he had. Griflore did the same by taking his sword and doing his best to penetrate the metal Dye had covering his body. Thunder and lightning sounded, and the war between the two started to look like a battle to the death. Dye swung his blade. Griflore blocked with his weapon and on and on the two went, neither showing any sign of weakness. Dye made fire surge through his blade, while Griflore created a current of electricity that sent sparks dancing. The two charged at each other and clashed with a powerful swing of their blades, Dye was the one left standing, while Griflore fell to the ground, only to turn over and laugh humorously. Dye seized his sword with both hands, ready to deliver the final blow when the face of his most foul enemy turned into one of an innocent girl.

“Help!” She said, “Please help me,” Dye stopped himself and at that very moment yellow eyes and veins started to take over her face. She raised her hand and Dye cried in pain as he was taken away into the torrent of raw energy only to find himself in bed.

His heart was beating forcefully. Sweat was beading down his face, and he felt a little dizziness come over him.

“Was that all a dream?”

It was morning.

He yawned.

With his eyes barely open, he rolled over to see his clock reading nine o’ clock. He woke up instantly and jumped from his covers until he stopped.

Sam was still asleep. Perhaps he was taking a sick day. If that was the case, why didn’t anyone wake him up for school? Then he thought, was there even school today considering what happened yesterday? He went down to the kitchen and found Jason, Mack and their mother sitting at the table.

“You’re up,” said his mother. pausing her reading and gettingup from her seat to hug her son. “Are you okay?” she asked worriedly.

“I’m fine,” Dye replied. “I uh — wasn’t in the cafeteria when it happened.”

Jason and Mack looked at him just as he lied. She was always worried. Telling her he was actually in the midst of it all would give her a heart attack. “I’m just glad you’re safe. I heard about the attack late last night. I came right home. Luckily all of my boys were home.” she hugged him again, this time tighter.

“Your father is using his DA authority to figure out what happened.”

“Yeah, Dad was pissed when he got home last night,” said Jason, scooping up some cereal from his bowl. “He’s going to raise hell.”

His mother’s phone started to buzz. She pulled it from her pocket and looked at it. “There he is now,” she answered and left the kitchen.

“Well, at least there’s no school today,” Jason boasted.

“You okay, Dye?” asked Mack.

“I’m fine.”

“I heard you ended up fighting this thing, and won.”

“That’s little bro, smacking fools around and taking names!” Jason added.

Dye made a modest grin. “Where were you?” Dye asked Mack.

“Oh — um, senior ditch day,” he said, almost giving a revealing smile.

“Of course –” Dye slumped.

“So this Griflore guy is some girl?” Mack asked.

“I’m not sure, but it looks that way. I think he’s possessing someone.”

“So how do you plan to stop him?”

“I don’t know…” Dye poured cereal in his bowl. “Sam thinks we should go after her because he's vulnerable now.”

“Sounds like a good idea. We don’t have school today, let’s see if we can find her.” Jason and Dye looked at eachother. It felt odd that Mack was a bit overzealous about finding this person.

“You think she’s still in the city?” Jason chimed in.

“I can search the city and find out,” said Dye, suggesting he’d use his speed to do so.

“Well let’s go!” Mack said excitedly.

“Hold on big brother,” said Jason. “You still haven’t managed to summon your armor to protect that big lug of yours. This could get ugly.”

“I know, but I think I can help. I mean, I do have my strength. I can use that if things get out of hand.”

Dye looked at Jason and they were unsure. Mack was the oldest but he was also the most vulnerable. He could seriously get hurt.

“Fine, but if things get crazy you need to bail,” said Jason.

“Fine!”

A random thought occurred to Dye. He wasn’t sure why but he felt like he needed to say something.

“Before we do any of that, have any of you ever been to Corrine’s grave?”

Jason and Mack both shook their heads, feeling slightly heavy that they haven’t.

“Why don’t we go and just pay our respects then.”

They agreed with a passive shrug. “I don’t mind.” said Jason. “Just so you know, graveyards creep me out.”

Mack looked a little upset. Afterall, he was the only one of them who actually remembered Corrine. He was probably the most upset considering after all this time he’d not once gone to visit her grave. Their mother entered the kitchen, hanging up her phone. “Your father is going to have a meeting with the school board later today to discuss measures to prevent this from happening again.”

The boys made subtle looks of disbelief at the idea of discussing measures. They knew there wasn’t anything anyone could do to prevent this from happening again. Griflore was powerful and no amount of preventive measures would change that. They knew they had to stop Griflore as soon as possible because having him on the loose, and the fact that he could track them, was dangerous.

“I have to get to work so you four stay out of trouble.”

They all smiled. There was a good chance they wouldn’t stay out of trouble.

“Mom!” Dye called, barely catching her as she left. “You said that Corrine’s memorial is in the Sunset Cemetery right?”

“That’s right,” she replied. “Why do you ask?”

“Thought we would take this free day and visit her if that’s okay?”

“Yeah, of course, but come straight home afterwards!” she commanded.

“Yes, Ma’am,” all three of them responded.