Syries

I looked in the mirror to see my green eyes changing into a deep purple. I could feel my dad's eyes on me as I pulled my blonde, curly hair into a messy bun.

"I see you've been using the potion correctly, good job Emmaline." I rolled my eyes at my dad; he refused to call me by my nickname, Emma. I pulled on my hoodie, and grabbed my level ten sweats before leaving to go grab Rina's clothes from the dryer down in the basement. I descended the stairs to find neither the washer nor the dryer, but Rina's clothes perfectly layed out on the ground where the washer and dryer were supposed to be. I grabbed Rina's clothes and knocked on Rina's door when I was upstairs, finally. Her head popped out of the little crack she had opened from her door, her brown eyes big and her auburn curls were bouncing around her face. Rina had only been ten years old when she changed into her morphing animal, and the average time for the Syries to change was around their fifteenth birthday or later. Only Kencks transformed before their fifteenth birthday, but I knew my sister wasn't an evil one. It had run in my family for generations and we were known for early transformations. Rina grabbed her clothes before closing the door, and I went to go sit on the couch in the living room. A few minutes later Rina came out dressed in her level four clothes, and Rina and I were off to training camp. We had to drop out of normal school to go to training school.

"Emma weren't you suppose to meet Gabe, Drake, and Ethan before training school began?" Rina asked. I had completely forgotten about that, and we were running a few minutes later than normal. I'd have to text Drake and tell him to meet me after school with the guys.

"Yeah, but were running later than normal, so I'll have to meet with them after school. Will you be okay walking home alone, or do you want to hang out with me and the guys for a few hours?" Rina's eyes brightened at the thought of being able to spend time with the guys and me. I usually made her go to her friend's house, or have one of my other friends walk home with her.

"You're letting me hangout with you and the guys?" I nodded. "Yes! Thank you, thank you, thank you Emma!" Before I could reply Rina ran off to her class. I chuckled to myself; you would think she won the lottery. Gabe and Ethan were both in my level ten classes, but Drake was in a level fifteen class.

"Gabe! Ethan!" I screamed across the lawn for my level. There were at least twenty lawns and over ten buildings. Gabe turned around and looked at me; I had to admit I had changed a lot over summer this year. My old brown hair was now a light blonde, my green eyes were changing colors every few months, and I had just started wearing makeup again.

"You look completely different, Emmaline." Gabe was another person that loved calling me Emmaline; he refused to call me anything besides it. I rolled my eyes; I knew he mostly did it to make me mad.

"I know. Where's Drake? Aren't our classes supposed to be competing today?" I asked. Gabe rolled his eyes, and Ethan came running up to me after he finished his drills with the coach.

"You must really like him. I haven't seen you this caught up in a boy since Jeremy." I glared at him; he knew we never talk about Jeremy especially in front of Drake. Drake and I had been best friends since I was two, and he knew everything about me even about the whole thing that went down with Jeremy. He always got really mad when anyone mentioned it since he knew I had a tough time accepting that it happened.

"Never talk about Jeremy, and of course I do. He's my best friend, and has always been there for me." Gabe just rolled his eyes and smiled. He was the only one that knew that I liked Drake like that, and he would always tease me about it. I saw Drake running towards the gang and me.

"Where were you this morning?" Drake asked me. I could tell he was worried by the tone of his voice. He probably thought Jeremy caught up to me again, I shivered. I hated Jeremy with a burning passion now.

"Rina and I were running later than normal this morning and I forgot that I was supposed to meet up with you guys. I was so focused on getting Rina to her level that I forgot about it. I was wondering if we could meet after school today? Rina will probably have to come with since Dad won't be home for two months." I said in a rush, my breathing shallow by the time I was done talking. Drake just smiled at me used to my rambling about nothing.

"I think it's cute that you were so focused on Rina that you forgot. You've been like her parent since your mom died, and your dad's been taking all these business trips. It's okay if we meet after school, and I don't care if Rina hangs out with us. She's like my little sister anyways," he said before taking a deep breath. I just smiled at him before slapping Ethan's hand away from my face.

"Now that your done with your little love fest can we please get back to the point?" Ethan said. Both Drake and I blushed. What was even the point of this whole conversation? "Okay, we need to make groups of two, and follow the guidelines the instructor will give us in a few moments." I immediately grabbed Drake's hand, and smiled to myself when I felt him grasp mine too. We walked back to the center of the level lawn and waited for everyone else to finish their drills. Luckily my instructor didn't make me take the drills since I was already so advanced in this level. I was supposed to be moved up to level eleven this year, but my mom dying took its toll on me.

"You will all be given a map, and then you will have to go and find every single one of your relatives. You can bring back the dead if you wish, but make sure they don't turn into zombies or change into spirits. You only need one person's relatives in the group, and you have the rest of the day to do this. On your mark… get set… go!" The instructor said to us before everyone took off in different directions. Drake and I just stood there, neither of us had much family members, but we knew if we waited on Gabe and Ethan we could literally be here for the next few decades.

"Whose side of the family are we going to find?" Drake asked me. He nodded at me and I nodded back at him. First we went off to find Rina since her level was only a few miles away from us.

"May we please see Rina? We have a training session going on and we have to collect every one of our relatives. I'm sure the instructor from levels ten and fifteen have told you about this exercise." I said before grabbing Rina's hand and pulling her to the door. The male instructor nodded before continuing with his lesson.

"Thank you! That lesson was so boring, we were learning about potions! Potions, we learn about those in first level, Emma! First level!" Rina said before running trying to keep up with me and Drake. Now we just need to find, Grandma Gabriel, Cousin Sienna, and Aunt Fae.

We quickly gathered the rest of the family, and we finished with the exercise four hours before class ended and the instructor said that Rina could leave for the rest of the day.

"Rina, what do you want to do the rest of the day?" I asked, still holding Drake's hand.

"Go to the park or just go eat lunch." Rina said before walking in the direction of a Subway. Drake and I followed Rina to the Subway and got our orders. It was twenty-five dollars for three subs. I rolled my eyes, the economy nowadays. We all sat down, and ate.

"I mean really? Why would Tray want to go with Becca? I'm way prettier and funny than her." Rina was rambling on and on about the kid she liked, and how she was so much better.

"First off, why would you like a guy named Tray? I know you're prettier and funnier than her. I've met the girl, and your ten stop worrying about things like that." I said to Rina. "Can we please leave now?" I asked. Rina just nodded and rolled her eyes. Gabe and Ethan still weren't back, even though it was the end of the training day.

"Rina we're going home. You need to practice your powers and I need more of that potion from dad." I said before grabbing her hand to leave.

"Emma dad isn't home." Rina said. I knew he wasn't there, he can send me the things so I could create it.

"I need more of it; I'm still in the transformation phase and will end up in pain if I don't get it." I retorted before pulling her away from Drake and walking to the bus stop.

"Why were you so rude back there Emma?" Rina asked glaring at me. I didn't realize I was being rude to Drake, I should probably go back and apologize, but I really don't feel like it and I need the potion before it starts hurting even worse.

"Sorry, Rina you know how I get when I haven't had my potion yet." I said before hopping on the bus and hoping she'd come with me. She followed behind me and once we finally made it home, I was in severe pain. I felt like I was on the brink of death. The next few days were passed in a blur and I could barely remember anything but the pain I was in. My dad came home and stocked the two fridges with the potion. Once I had the potion my thoughts were back to normal and I could actually remember what happened for the past few days. Ethan and Gabe were becoming really distant now, and I haven't talked to them since the exercise we did with Rina. Drake had told me that if you have one Kenck's in your family that you could become one yourself if they convince you it's the right way to do something. I remember his exact explanation…

"It could even be involuntary; just one thought about changing sides and you'll be stuck that way the rest of your life. Gabe, and Ethan have them in their families, lots of people we talk to have them in their family. You have some in your history probably, and I know I do. Once they change, they cut off all contact with their Syrie friends and then just disappear. You rarely see them after that; they live in Moria, the place of darkness."

That sounded like Gabe and Ethan. I racked my brain trying to think if they had said anything about this Moria place, but nothing came to mind. I couldn't ask them about it, asking a Syrie if they're turning into a Kencks is very disrespectful and that would make everything awkward from now on, I decided that I would ask them about Moria the next training day we had.

"Rina, do we have training school today?" I asked as I pulled my hair into a messy bun. My eyes were, now, a deep brown; it was probably from all the pain I'd been in the last few days.

"Yeah, Emma. Do you even remember what happened with Drake?" She asked as she came into my room, and plopped on my bed. I looked at the clock, it's five-thirty, enough time to let her fill me in on what's been happening.

"Not really. The only thing I remember is being in pain, and Gabe and Ethan becoming a lot more distant." I said before pulling my curtains from the window, a huge ray of sunlight filled my room and I felt better at once. Rina rolled her eyes and mumbled something under her breath, I choose to ignore it and let her continue.

"You were completely rude to him last Friday, Emma. You guys were being your normal flirty selves," I rolled my eyes at that, "when will you stop denying that you like each other?" Rina exclaimed. "You two are a perfect match and you guys don't even realize it."

"Do you really think he likes me?" I asked giddy at the fact that he may even like me. Rina rolled her eyes.

"Of course that's all you hear. Yeah, he does. He's even told me that he likes you, Em." She said before readjusting her legs underneath her.

"What about everything with Ethan and Gabe?" I ask worried. What if something is wrong with them? What if they are Kencks? I could feel my breathing getting faster, and I had to take a deep breath before letting Rina talk.

"I really haven't seen them much. They have come to hang out with us after school, but other than that they're not around much. They have changed a lot, Em." I could hear the worry in her tone. Before I could ask her what was wrong she continued, "Their eyes have been changing from black to grey lately, they have new crest tattoos, and they are always rude to everyone know. They only ever talk about Moria." I gasped. My whole world began spinning, this couldn't be true, and they couldn't be Kencks. They were my best friends, they couldn't do this. I could feel the tears running down my face and I felt my way over to the bed since I could barely see. I sat down, my back against the headboard, and pulled my knees up to my chest. I could feel Rina's arms around me, and she knew exactly what was happening too. How could they let their bodies be taken over like that? How could they let someone control their lives for them? How could they live by the cruel laws of the Kencks? How could they do this to me? To everyone that cared about them? The tears stopped and I grabbed my shoes.

"Where are you going, Emmy?" Rina's voice wobbled, she had tears running down her face and she looked like a mess.

"We are going to talk to Ethan and Gabe." I answered pulling a hoodie over my head and throwing one at Rina. I wasn't about to let what happened with Jeremy happen to them. I grabbed our running shoes, and soon we were both out the door and on our way to their houses.

"Do you honestly think they were changed? They're not acting as aggressive as Jeremy was when he changed." Rina asked in a small voice. I could tell she was scared, we were basically looking to get killed. I could feel her grab my hand, and get closer to me.

"Rina, let's just go back." I said in tears. Bringing up Jeremy made everything worse, and I hated the fact that after this long, he still had that kind of control over me. I could feel her turn around almost immediately, but I heard Drake's voice behind us. I looked at Rina before we both took off running. I wasn't about to face him when I could barely remember being rude and couldn't even apologize right. We were both panting by the time we reached the doorway, and we both stood still shocked. There they were, Gabe and Ethan. I couldn't believe my eyes, everything Rina said was true. They looked like completely different people, and I couldn't stand to look at them any longer. Rina and I knew that we had to kill them, but I was scared. I knew I didn't have the strength to kill someone that was so important to me, and had been there for me through everything. I heard Drake's feet behind me, and knew everything was fine. He had come to help, and then he took a protective stance in front of us before the match began. There was a shock of light, darkness, evil, good, and electricity. Powers being used on each other, something I thought would never happen. I had to take Gabe down, and through all the years of our friendship, we had always teased each other and he would always make sure I knew that Drake never wanted to be with me. I used all the energy I had from the potion made that day and pushed it out towards Gabe, there was a bright flash of light before he was just dead.

Emma looked as if she was about to cry for the third time that day, but this time with tears of joy. She had finally defeated Gabe even if it was just momentarily; she still felt a high from finally doing what she dreamed of her whole life. She took off running after Drake and soon caught up to him. Emma felt completely drained by now, and felt at any moment she would collapse, and she prayed that if anything happened Drake would come back and help her. Emma felt her legs turning to jelly and started stumbling, but she kept trying to run. She knew he would turn around and help her, but she didn't want that. She tried her best to go and hid behind something, and as she searched she found nothing. She pushed herself even harder, and saw Drake a few feet ahead of her; she knew he was looking back to make sure she was okay. She pushed herself even harder than before, she needed to make sure he'd be okay. She was almost right alongside her, and soon she was past him. She laughed to herself; she remembered the races they would have when they were younger. Drake soon caught up to her, and it was like they were reliving that memory all over again. Soon enough, they were in front of the hospital and all smiles and laughs were wiped off their faces. They already knew the news that awaited them; he wasn't here and would never be here again. She felt herself start to tear, and she felt Drake grab her hand. The familiar feeling of blackness enveloped them and she knew where they were going instantly, almost as if she was reading his mind. She found herself in the meadow where her dad taught her everything she knew about Syries, and everything about their lifestyle. She never thought she'd kill her own father, Congratulations, she thought, you killed the only person that helped. She knew what would happen if she killed Gabe, but she did it anyways. She was overcome with rage and didn't think about how her actions would affect everyone around her. She looked around for Drake and didn't find him; had she changed his life too? She didn't have time to answer before Drake jumped out from behind the trees.

"Gotcha!" he said before running off through the woods. She rolled her eyes at him, but chased after him anyways. She was darting between the trees, and rose vines; but she knew she'd never catch up to his speed now. The running earlier had worn her out enough, and this wasn't helping. She took a deep breath before running a few more miles, and she was breathing so hard she could barely catch her breath. She stopped by a nearby tree, and pulled her knees to her chest. She sat there for what felt like a few minutes but it was really an hour. She got back up, and saw other Syries running towards her, and Drake from the other direction. She started running towards Drake, but something grabbed her arm. She let out a piercing scream, and Drake was by her in an instant. All of the Syries turned at once as if they were trying to scare her, and a sinister smile was placed on their faces. The one that had grabbed her arm turned her around, and she instantly recognized who it was, Ethan. His blue eyes were now a deep purple color, and he was paler than before.

"I have come to join your side again." Ethan said, his voice cracking slightly, he knew after last time Emma might not accept him back again.

"Only if you promise to not make the same mistake as you did last time, the punishment will be worse." Emma looked him straight in the eyes and glared at him the whole time. Emma looked at Drake to confirm if it was okay if he joined the clan again, he was looking in off in space almost as if he was contemplating going through with it, and nodded. "It looks like you could come back Ethan." Ethan grinned widely. The whole clan started running towards the house they had all grown up in.