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

118 119 The Chosen: Battle with a Cerberosian Prince Entering the Forbidden During the flight the aircraft experienced some turbulence. Looking back from the cockpit, Theo checked how everyone was. TJ was the first one up. He immediately went to everyone else’s seats to see if they were all OK. “Looks like everyone’s good back here,” TJ said. “Good,” Theo responded. “It wouldn’t be a great start if I lost or injured any of you.” “What was that?” TJ asked. The second part of Theo’s remark was said under his breath, so TJ didn’t actually hear him. “No, nothing, just glad everyone is safe. You know how this turbulence can be,” Theo said. “Are they still asleep, though?” “Nah, it looks like everyone is getting up,” TJ said. “We must have been tired, ’cause we’ve been out for a while.” “You all must have been very tired indeed, because you were asleep for a long time.” “Are we there yet?” Ana asked, as she rubbed her eyes. “No, Miss Ana, we are still in the air. We will arrive shortly, though.” The rest of the team began to wake up. “If I may request everyone’s attention for a moment. I would like to officially and respectfully introduce myself to you all. My name is Theophilus Archibald Foster. I come from a long lineage of Caretakers. My father before me was a Caretaker. And my father’s father before him was a Caretaker. My role from here on in will be to be your Caretaker.” “Caretakers?” Ana asked. “Yes, Caretaker.” Lifting his arm and displaying an emblem to them, he said, “Our family crest is the first thing handed down to us from our family when we become of age. With this family crest comes a tremendous amount of history and honor. Our family’s primary role in the greater picture that is life is to serve by caretaking. Ours is to ensure you can all take your place in the world. I am here to guide you in the path of stepping into your destiny. As my fathers did before me. And my offspring will do with the next generation of The Chosen. I have access to certain information in advance. Information that not even the Guides have access to. This is part of the fail-safe mechanisms that were put in place in the event of the “Guardians” being captured. As with the Guides, I also get information as we go along. We don’t have access to all the information at any given time. Having said that, I do have access to all the information that has been stored by my ancestors before me. A library of books, consisting of all that they each experienced.” “I have so many questions,” Ana said. “For the sake of not overwhelming you with information, I will stop there. I will share more as we go along. But I’m more than happy to answer any questions at any point throughout our journey.” “How long are you going to be with us for?” Ana asked. “I will be with you for the remainder of the journey,” Theo responded. “How much longer of the journey is left?” TJ asked. “That all depends on how long it takes you as a team to get ready.”