Part I: Six Packages, Six Journeys, One Big Wooden Door

98 99 The Chosen: Battle with a Cerberosian Prince Fight or Flight “I don’t care. You will not call me that.” “OK, OK. I like not beefing with you.” “Good.” “We’ve been cordial lately, so I won’t jeopardize that… Sunshine.” “TJ.” “I’m sorry, it’s too good not to at least say one last time,” TJ said as he laughed. “I’m done, I swear.” Fang was unimpressed by TJ’s humor. The more he thought about it, though, the more uncertain he was about what to make of those comments. He knew there was some truth to what TJ was saying. Fang had noticed that he had become friendlier than usual. It was unlike him. He wasn’t as stressed or under pressure. He was freer. More relaxed. And he liked it. He liked that side of himself. They continued talking. Their conversations were becoming more natural, more authentic. They had become comfortable with one another, trusting almost. It was always quiet outside. Peaceful. One of the perks of being that high on the earth, no one else was there. They began to hear a low whistling sound outside. It was faint, but consistent, and slowly getting louder. “Did you hear that?” said Fang. “Yeah, I did.” The twosome made their way outside to investigate the noise, but before either of them could even try to figure out what the sound could have been, there was a loud crashing sound—an explosion. The boys were both knocked back. Fang slammed into the couch, with TJ falling onto one of the tables. Within seconds there was another explosion, followed a few seconds later by a third explosion. Fang and TJ scrambled, trying to take cover. Their ears were ringing. “What’s going on?” TJ exclaimed. They heard screams from the tents outside. “We need to help the others,” Fang responded. They slowly proceeded to the general tent entrance— what was left of it—to see what was going on outside. While they were walking, Fang remembered Darius. “TJ… Darius can help us.” “What?” “Talk to your Watch. It can help.” They both activated a feature that could scan the surrounding environment. Using it to see what was going on outside, they took a moment to evaluate the situation. The display on the Watches showed a 2D representation of where they were. They could see six blue dots. Two in one corner, and four dots on the opposite side of the two dots. The four dots were close to one another, but split, two on one side and two on another. “These two must be us,” Fang said. “Yeah, and these four must be the other guys. Maybe one of the girls is with Ana, and the other with Ethan.” TJ suggested they split up, so they could ensure the others were OK. There hadn’t been an explosion now for about 5 minutes. When TJ and Fang were outside, they found that everything was destroyed. It smelled like melted snow, rocks, and soil, and burnt metal, all at once. At that high altitude on Camp 4, there was actually nothing else