In the year 2220, the world's greatest scientists have come together, to a laboratory just outside Phoenix, Arizona. The reason is to create the ultimate weapons. Using the forces of nature they created nine prototypes. Of course these prototypes were not robotic. They were in fact human; each one infused with a different element
"Sir, the tubes are all ready." Said a young man who had his blonde hair slicked back. He wore black pants, with a white shirt and a white lab coat over it. His skin was pale, but no could really tell because of the way the lights were dimmed in the room. The scientist that the young man was talking to was an old man in his nineties, who had gray hair on the sides of his head. He had liver spots on his head; his face seemed so out of life and his skin sagged so low as if it was about to drop off his face. He had an oxygen mask over his nose and mouth and the tank was right next to him, being carried by another scientist. He was hunched over onto a walking cane. His lab coat was draped over his back and he wore black shoes and a white shirt, just like the young scientist.
"Carry on with the project." He said difficultly as he wheezed and took a deep breath, from his oxygen tank. "I want this to be the last thing I see before I die." He said weakly as he inhaled the oxygen once again.
"Yes, sir." Said the young scientist as he bowed his head and turned back to the room and sat down in the seat he had just come from. He stretched his fingers and started typing on the keyboard in front of him. His fingers flew over the keys and all that could be heard was the click-clack from the keys being punched. He wasn't the only one who was typing. There were several scientists in the room, all looking out a window that overlooked nine tubes each filled with a clear liquid. Inside each tube was a little baby hooked up to numerous wires and an oxygen mask of their own. It had taken many years, but the scientists in the room had managed to create babies, without having to make two people have sex and wait nine months, just for one baby. No this was an easier and more efficient way. These nine babies were perfect for the experiment. They were seven boys and two girls, all of them floating in the liquid, with their eyes closed.
"I hope all your work produces results Rolander. If not, then the government is cutting off this project and all your funds." Said a man, who stood next to the old scientist whose name was Rolander. "It would be a shame if all your hard work and most of your life was a waste of time." The man said. The man was lightly tanned and had his hands behind his back. He wore a sergeant's military hat and had on a military uniform. He wore an olive green blazer jacket and pants. He wore a white shirt and black tie under it, but no could see it. He wore black shoes, which had just been polished. His jacket had all types of medals, which were polished, and shined when some light hit them just right. He was freshly shaven and had a grave expression on his face.
"Don't worry Louis. John knows exactly what he's doing." A voice said. A young woman had walked forward as a door closed behind her which a swish. The woman had long red hair, tied into a bun. She wore stylish glasses and light make up on her face. She wore a black dress blouse with black pants and black high heel shoes. She wore a lab coat over this; it wasn't buttoned up, since she didn't like to have it buttoned up. She had a caramel skin complexion. She had a clipboard in her hand and a pen in the other, checking off a list on the clip board.
"You better be right about that Roze. We all know how fast the media catches on, once there is a leak. The plumber system at the White House is doing their best to make sure that this project doesn't reach the public." Louis said as he turned to face Roze and turned back towards the window.
"Don't worry; John's calculations are always correct." Roze said as she checked off another box on the clip board. "I mean your hair is proof." She said with a smile. Louis turned towards her quickly with a shocked expression on his face. He looked a little embarrassed.
"How did you find out about that?" he asked her as he put his hands on top of his head. He wanted to know how Roze had learned of the secret meeting he had with John one day.
"I have my ways." She said as she chuckled a little as she checked off the last box on her list. John, who had just caught on to what Roze had said, chuckled softly.
"She's a clever one Louis. She always has been and always will be." John said as he paused and took in a deep breath. "If you don't keep a sharp eye on her, she'll pull the wool over her eyes." He said as he chuckled again.
"John conserve your strength. We all want to see this and that means you have to stop wasting time talking. You remember what the doctor said." Roze told John as she crouched down and held his hand. John turned towards her and nodded. He gave her a smiled looked out the window at the nine tubes.
"Proceed with the experiment. On my mark, we commence with the injection." Roze said in a loud commanding voice. She looked around the room once, she then gave her full attention to the nine tubes. It was almost time for them to start. All of the scientists in the room, were at their computers. Their fingers moved like a blur across their keyboards. The screens were reflected in their eyes, for some in their glasses. After a few minutes it was time.
"Fire?" Roze asked. "Green." Replied a scientist. "Water?" Roze asked again. "All clear." replied a woman. "Earth?" Roze asked. "Good to go." Said a male scientist in a Jamaican accent. "Lightning?" She asked. "Clear." Replied another scientist. "Wind?" she asked again. "Clear skies." Answered a scientist. "Ice?" "Ready." Replied a scientist when asked the question. "Metal?" "Go." Answered another scientist as he was asked the question. "Light?" "Bright as always." Said a scientist. "Darkness?" asked Roze as she came to the last element on her list. "In the clear." Replied the last scientist.
"Ladies and Gentlemen, I think its time we finish this project." Said Roze as she walked over to the window and pushed John along with her. Louis followed along and stopped next to John and Roze right in front of the window.
"Date: Sunday, July 3, 2220. Time: 11:58:25. We will claim our own independence in 1 minute and 35 seconds." Roze said as she dated what she said on a tape recorder. "Commence injection." Roze said. One of the scientists replied and pressed a button on her computer. Pretty soon, there was a whir of machinery and the syringes that were in the tubes were lifted up, by a mechanical arm. They all pierced the babies' skin and injected the fluids that were in them. Each one had a different fluid inside. Once the syringes were empty they moved back to where they were and remained motionless.
"How are we doing?" Louis asked as he continued to look out the window.
"All life signs reading normal. Still waiting for the mutation to begin." Said a scientist. After a few seconds, there was a beeping on the computers.
"The mutation has begun. All test subjects are doing fairly well. Some of the subjects have copied the mutant gene into their DNA." Said a woman scientist with a shocked expression on her face. She looked from her computer to Roze who was smiling as she looked out the window. After a while the beeping died down.
"All systems are green. The experiment is done, life signs are nominal." The Jamaican scientist said. Roze looked at her watch once the she heard that everything was fine. She took out her tape recorder and hit record.
"Date: Monday July 4, 2220. Time: 12:00:00 a.m. We have just received our independence and it is these nine children who did it for us. They shall liberate the world and bring it into a new day and age. We all dreamed of creating the ultimate weapons….and we succeeded." She said as she paused before she said her last three words. Everyone in the room was celebrating. Someone had brought a few bottles of champagne and opened them. John, Louis, and Roze left the room and went down a few floors to where the tubes with the babies were. The looked at each tube and saw that each baby showed a characteristic of their element. One was on fire, one had disappeared from sight, but the wires were still attached to the baby so they knew where it was. One was in the form of electricity, another became a small rock of pumis floating in the water, another had made some frost appear on the outside of the tank, one glowed semi-brightly, one was covered in a shadow, and the last one had a metallic arm.
"John, you did it, you're a father." Roze said as she leaned in close to John who was crying tears of joy the whole time.
"Well Rolander, it seems you did it." Said Louis. "I'll be back in a few years to see what results you have come up with." He said as he turned to leave. "Oh and congratulations on becoming a "father"." Louis said as he smiled at John and gave him a thumbs up.
Nine years later the children have grown up and are still toddlers, but show expertise, when controlling their powers. They have training sessions, but divide them up. There are two training sessions a day for each of them, but only on certain occasions will their only be one. These nine children have come to know each other and trust one another. When they fight each other, it doesn't mean anything to them. They have no choice, but to fight. They know that when they harm each other they don't mean it, they are all still the best of friends. Some have a friendship that endures everything and that is what they call "true friendship."
"Katon, get up its time for your training session." A guard said through a glass window. The figure that responded to the name Katon was just a little kid about the age of nine. The little kid had gloves and hand cuffs on his hands. He wore a raggedy shirt with singe marks on it and a few holes. He also wore shorts that looked like they had been through a fire. His hair was fire red and spiked up a little. Katon walked to the door and waited just like every other day of his life. The guard slid his card through the slot and the door opened. Katon walked out and walked alongside the guard, who led him down a hall. They passed by other glass walls. Katon looked through the glass and saw kids around his age who looked back. The guard came to a stop and Katon who wasn't paying attention accidentally bumped into him. The guard gave a soft grunt and looked at Katon with an evil glare. He raised his fist at Katon who cringed back in fear holding his hands up to protect himself. The guard smiled as he saw what Katon did and liked it. He loved having power over a little brat. He tapped on the glass wall.
"Suiton, its time for your training session." The guard said. The girl whose name was Suiton stood up as she heard her name. She walked over to the door. Her hands handcuffed behind her back and tied together. She was dressed the same as Katon. Her hair though was ocean blue, and flowed around her like water. The guard slid his card through the slot and the door opened. Suiton walked out and then stopped. The guard took a piece of duck tape from the roll on his belt. He taped it over Suiton's mouth. Once he was done, he walked both Suiton and Katon down the hall to a door. He slid his car once more through a slot and the door swished open. Both Katon and Suiton were led down another hallway where they went their separate ways. Katon went to the left with a bunch of male scientist and Suiton went to the right with a bunch of female scientists. They led both the kids into a room, where they checked them for abnormalities. They checked out perfect and were led into another room.
In the next room Katon and Suiton were suited up in special jumpsuits that had small antennas sticking out of them. After a few minutes Katon and Suiton met each other once again, but this time they were in a large room with a domed ceiling. A voice came on a speaker that echoed across the room.
"Ok now Katon, Suiton. This is another training session. First practice your martial arts and then use your powers." The voice said as it paused. "Ready?" the voice asked. Both Suiton and Katon bowed to each other. There were cameras around the domed ceiling, which were recording. They also sent back a live feed back to the glass prisons which the other kids were in. Once the T.V. turned on they gave their full attention to it. The kids watched as both Katon and Suiton bowed to each other. "Start!" yelled the voice on the speaker. Katon and Suiton looked at each other and got into their fighting stance.
Katon and Suiton ran towards each other, they both punched each other, but parried at the same time. Suiton ducked low as Katon swung a kick towards his head. She saw her opening and went for it. Suiton rushed forward with an open palmed and slammed it against Katon's chest. Katon was pushed from his stance and was thrown back a foot by the full force of the attack. He landed on his back and laid there for a second. He flipped onto his feet and ran to Suiton. He stopped just before he reached her and waited. He took a punch, but Suiton clashed with his fist, with her own. Suiton took a kick, but Katon blocked with a kick of his own. Katon took a swing with his fist, which Suiton dodged. Katon rushed forward with his arm still extended. He raised his knee towards Suiton's stomach and connected the hit. Suiton bent over as she felt the knee hit her stomach. Katon put his arms on Suiton's back and kept her bent over. He kept kneeing her in the stomach over and over. He gave her one last knee to the stomach and backed off. He watched as she fell to the floor still bent over holding her stomach. Suiton gave a cough and some blood came out with her spit. She gave a deep breath and it hurt her to breathe in. She endured the pain and stood up.
Suiton looked at Katon as she stood up. He was bouncing on the balls of his feet. Suiton shook off the pain and stretched her arm. She went back into her fighting stance and rushed towards Katon. Katon swung a punch at Suiton, which she dodged. He took a sweep kick, which she jumped over. Suiton took her hand and put it on Katon's now shocked face; she put her foot behind his leg and tipped him onto his back. With the force she pushed into Katon, he went down hard. Suiton kept her hand on his face and with her right hand; she palmed his chest and stomach repeatedly. After while she stood up over Katon. Katon rolled over onto his stomach. He felt like he couldn't breathe, it was like the lungs in his chest had imploded. After a few minutes on the ground trying to breathe properly he managed and stood up. He felt like he was going to throw up, but he held it in.
Katon glared at Suiton, he knew that they only had to fight like this, because they were forced to. Katon ran forward and tackled Suiton, which she wasn't ready for. Katon then pinned her on her back and looked down at her. Both were sweating, and the heat that came from the suits made it unbearable. Suddenly a voice came back on the intercom.
"Ok that's enough. Now its time to test the strength of your powers." The voice said. There was the sound of gears whirring together. Finally two large objects rose from the floor. In front of Katon was a huge block of frozen liquid nitrogen. In front of Suiton was a huge vat of thermite; the hottest and coldest substances known to man.
"Katon, your task is to melt that block of liquid nitrogen, till nothing remains. Suiton, your task is to douse that entire vat of thermite, till our scanners show it is hot enough to touch without getting burned." The voice said as two huge tanks of liquid nitrogen appeared next to Suiton. They both nodded and walked over to the objects they had been assigned to. Both Katon and Suiton closed their eyes trying to focus. They both tapped their feet and snapped their fingers.
"1." Katon said. "2." Suiton said. "3!" they both exclaimed as they opened their eyes. Katon ignited his fists and sent a huge blast of fire towards the block of liquid nitrogen. He held the blast near the top of the block, hoping to melt it. He boosted the temperature of his flame to that of the thermite behind him.
Suiton twisted her hands around her; two giant streams came from the tanks and swished around her. Finally she lunged the two streams towards the vat of thermite, trying to douse the substance. The streams hit the vat and immediately steam rose form when the two had connected. Steam was rising all over the place as Katon had managed to melt an eight of the block. He kept the blast going, he knew it was tiring to use his powers too much, but he had no choice. After two hours both kids were almost done with there tasks. Katon had about a quarter of the block left to melt and Suiton had almost completely cooled down the thermite. Katon had stopped sending the blast at fire at the block. He went down onto his knees. His legs and arms shaking. Suiton had done the same, she was about to raise another stream, but didn't.
"Both of you! Finish your tasks…NOW!" screamed the voice on the intercom. "Do it now or you'll face the consequences later." Both Suiton and Katon struggled to stand up. They managed and looked at what they had left. They both panted and didn't want to do their tasks or face the consequences later. Katon ignited his fists one last time, it took a couple of tries, but he managed to get them on fire. Suiton struggled to make the streams from the tanks come. Like Katon it had taken her a couple of tries, but she also managed to lift the streams up. Both children finished what they had to do; after what seemed like another hour, the kids collapsed in a heap of exhaustion. Two scientists came through a door on one side of the room along with two guards. They walked over to Katon first. One of the guards picked him up and slung him over his shoulder, like he was nothing. The scientists looked at where the block of liquid nitrogen had been. Nothing remained; the scientists wrote down notes and walked over to Suiton. The other guard picked her up and slung her over his shoulder. One scientist put one finger into the vat of thermite and recorded that it felt warm on a piece of paper. The scientists and the guards carrying Katon and Suiton exited the room. They brought them back to their cells, where a nurse went to their cells and changed them out of their jumpsuits and back into their regular clothes. The children who had watched Katon and Suiton on the T.V. gave a slight groan as it was shut off. They knew that it was time for bed. They each went to their beds and fell fast asleep. Katon and Suiton who were still exhausted just slept on their beds as if nothing happened, but they both dreamt of the same thing. Life on the outside was what they dreamt about, but for now they would dream, dream until the day came that they would live in the outside world.
The date is January 1, 2230 its New Year's Day which means that the kids in the laboratory have a day to relax. For some reason they all choose to hang out in Katon's room.
"Wow great fight yesterday you guys. I didn't know who I wanted to win." Metaru said, a scrawny little boy with darkish gray hair; that had been matted down with some type of substance, as he sat on the floor near the bed looking at Katon and Suiton, who remained silent.
"Yeah." Said Fyuuton, a child who had purple hair and was shorter than the others, as he leaned back on the floor.
"Come on you guys, can't you see they're trying to get over it." Said Raiton, a boy who had dark blue hair and grayish eyes, as he looked at each of the kids.
"Yeah, yeah, they can get over it later, but for now, what are we going to do? We all know that when tomorrow comes, we'll be back to our old routine." Said Sol, a boy who had bright yellow hair and was a little bit taller than most of the group; the only one who was taller than him was Katon.
"That's true we should make the best of this day." Said Yami who walked from heel to toe in a line, with his arms held out for balance. His hair was black and slicked back into a ponytail.
"I'm hungry." Said a boy in the back. This boy was different from the others; he was blind but he could feel the vibrations on the cold metal floor of who was moving and who wasn't. The boy had brown hair, which had dirt in it. Out of everyone he was the dirtiest of the group.
"Don't worry Doton, we'll eat soon enough." Hyuuton, a girl with snow white, long, flowing hair, said. She rubbed his back a little and then stopped. All of the kids in the room were wearing the same clothes, beaten down, ripped up, and dirty shirts and shorts. All of them barefoot and the only one who seemed to like it was Hyuuton.
"Geez it's cold in here." Said Katon as he shivered a little and sneezed. Of course his sneeze produced a few embers. "Oh come on, it's not that bad." Hyuuton said as she rubbed her face against the cold stone floor, smiling at the feel of the coldness on her skin.
The group continued to talk and then after a while nine chefs came in each rolling their own cart. They rolled their carts side by side and stood behind him. The group of kids watched with curiosity as to what the chefs would do. The chefs raised their hands and put them on the covers on top of plates. As if they had planned it and were in synchronization, each chef lifted the cover off the plate revealing a plate of lovingly cooked food. Each one was in shape of a different element sign. All of the kids exclaimed in joy as they went to the tray that held their element sign. For Katon, there was a char broiled steak with a side of mashed potatoes and corn. For Suiton a plate of linguini with tomato sauce and calamari. For Raiton a grilled chicken marinated in a white whine sauce, with a biscuit, mashed potatoes, and gravy on the side. Fyuuton's plate consisted of a bowl of lobster bisque and some spaghetti. Doton had a large salad topped with some ranch dressing, apples, oranges, strawberries, and blueberries. Hyuuton had a large bowl of ice cream; there were so many flavors in the bowl it looked like it couldn't hold them all. Sol's plate contained a grilled steak, topped with an over hard egg with rice and beans. Yami had a grilled burger topped with Swiss cheese, bacon, lettuce, tomatoes, and a triple sesame seed bun. It had a side of French fries and some ketchup on the side. Metaru had a pizza with eight slices, topped with pepperoni and mushrooms.
The nine chefs bowed and left the room. Once they were out of sight, the nine children looked at each other, with smiles on their face and then back at the food. They were hesitant to touch the food, because it looked too good to eat. After a few seconds, the children heard a munching sound. Doton had picked up his fork and started eating his salad. He chewed slowly and once he was done with what was in his mouth he felt like he was in heaven. He gave a satisfied sigh and went back to eating it slowly. The other eight children picked up their forks and knives and ate their food slowly, savoring every bite, because they knew they would never eat like this again for a while.
After forty-five minutes, the nine children had completely finished all their food. They had left nothing behind; the nine chefs came back in and took away the empty carts. Each of the children gave a sigh of depression and happiness. They were happy, that they had well cooked food, but they were depressed about the fact that it was gone now.
"So, what now?" asked Sol, he had enjoyed his food and wanted to do something fun. He turned around and saw that the door was open. "Hey, let's go walk around. The door is open. Maybe we could even go outside." He said as he leaned into whisper. All of the children smiled and nodded their heads. They stood up and walked out the door. They made sure that there were no guards around and headed down a hallway. As they continued on their way down, they came to a gigantic door. They snuck closer to it and saw that there was a key card needed. They all groaned and headed back to the room, except for Raiton who cracked his knuckles and charged his palm with electricity. He put his hand on the key card slot and focused on it. A few seconds later there was a series of clicks and locks, unlocking. Finally the door opened, leading to an elevator. When the other children heard the clicks they turned back and saw that the door had opened, with Raiton standing by the door. The all gave wide smiles and rushed past the door and into the elevator. Raiton followed after them; once he was inside the door closed behind him. In the elevator there were no buttons.
"How are we supposed to get this thing to work?" Katon asked as he looked around. He was answered moments later, with a sudden jerk. Metaru was raising his hands one after another. The elevator lift moved upwards, as Metaru raised his arms. After a while Metaru, stopped moving his arms and the lift came to a stop. They were at another door, but it soon opened as one of the kids took a step forward. As they walked past each door, another was behind it which opened just like the one before it. After a while they came to a hallway that had sentry guns on each side that had laser sights. Katon couldn't see that well, so he ignited his fist and sent a fireball down the hallway, over the sentry guns, so it illuminated the hallway. As soon as the fireball left his hand, the sentry guns set their sights on it and started to fire at it hoping to destroy it. After a while the fireball dissipated and the sentry guns were now online looking for specific heat signatures, human heat signatures.
"Hmm, they seem to detect heat signatures. This will be a problem, especially for Katon." Suiton said as she thought about how to go through this, then it hit her. "Hyuuton, can you cool down everyone's body temperature?" Suiton asked her.
"Yeah, sure I can no problem." Hyuuton said as she waved her hands a few times. Moments later a sudden frost came about and covered everyone's body. It had reduced their body heat, almost to the temperature of a dead person.
"L...l…l...let's g…g…get through t...t...this as f…f...fast as we c…c…can." Raiton said as he shivered, he rubbed his arms trying to warm up his sides. The first one to go forward was Raiton as he was the fastest one of the group. He took a step past two of the sentry guns, which remained stationary. He saw that the guns didn't move as he moved past their laser sights. He began to jog and reached the end of the hallway. He raised his hand and waved. The others went through the hallway; all of them yielded the same result as Raiton, who sneezed a little.
"K…K…Katon. If you wouldn't mind." Sol said as he shivered himself. Katon nodded and ignited his hands. Let off some intense heat, just hot enough to warm everyone up. Once he was done with everyone else, he warmed himself up. The nine children walked through the door and came to another hallway, with buzz saws coming out of the walls, and some coming from the roof and floor.
"Crap." Doton said as he closed his eyes. He heard the whir of the buzz saws and felt them come out of the walls, floor, and ceiling. It was almost like he could see them. After a few minutes, he opened his eyes once again.
"There's a time gap, between the buzz saws that come out from the walls, ceiling, and floor." He said as he moved forward, towards the edge of the floor of where the buzz saws began. "Two seconds after the buzz saws from the wall retract the saws come up from the floor. Once the saws from the floor retract, three seconds later they come back through the wall." He said as he turned back to the others behind him. "This has to be precise, so everyone has to move in sync." Doton said as he faced the saws. He tapped his foot and rushed forward just as the saws from the floor and ceiling retracted. Three seconds later, he was in a space that didn't have any saws coming out from it. Doton immediately dropped to his belly and waited for the saws to retract. He stood up and ran forward just as the saws retracted; three seconds later he came to a part of the floor that was just like the other one he had been at before. After a while Doton was on the other side safely.
Each one of the kids stared in shock as they watched Doton go through the death trap with ease. All of them were reluctant to go, but they had no choice, as each of them tried to follow exactly what Doton had done, but each of them had trouble. Raiton almost lost his head, when he was close to the end; luckily he managed to bend backwards, just as the wall saws came out. Metaru, Sol, and Hyuuton almost lost their toes, when the floor saws came up, but they had moved their feet out of the way, before it came up and the ceiling saw came down. Both Katon and Suiton lost some of their hair when they were on their bellies and some of their hair was past the point of where the floor and ceiling saws came up and down. The last two to go were Yami and Fyuuton, who had the most trouble out of everyone. They would've died, if it was for Doton, who told them when to move and how to move. Once all of the kids were on the other side safely, if you can call it that, they walked through another door and came to another elevator lift. Metaru raised the lift once again all the way to the top, where there was another door that opened as soon as one of the kids stepped forward. The group of children passed through several doors and came to the last door, which took a while to open. There were numerous clicks and the sound of gears whirring. Finally the door opened, but there was a door behind it, which opened horizontally, another door, was after that one, which opened vertically. As the nine children walked forward there was one door after another which opened in its own unique way. They finally came to the last door, which opened slowly. The children were met with a blinding white light, no one could see, except for Sol, who welcomed the light. After a while the light subsided and the kids were met with a green glass, blue lakes and skies, a bright yellow sun with a few clouds in the sky and a boulder, which seemed big enough for them all to sit on.
"It's so beautiful." Hyuuton said as she was caught in a trance, like all the others staring at what lay before them.
"It's better than being in the rooms, where we only see this on T.V." Fyuuton said as he manipulated the wind around him and sent a gentle breeze towards everyone. Sol and Katon were on their backs, facing the sun. The warm rays of the sun just energized them. Suiton, who was by one of the lakes, was manipulating it and enjoying what she was doing.
"It's much better than the water they give me." She said right before she jumped into the water. Hyuuton was sitting next to Doton, who was currently asleep on the grass, which felt like heaven to him.
"I wish we could always stay here." Yami said as he stayed in the shadow of the boulder enjoying it, very much. "I've never felt better in my life." He said as he himself had started to fall asleep. Raiton was sitting next to Metaru on the boulder, looking out past the field, trying to absorb everything he saw and just imprint it into his memory, for it to stay there for all eternity. Metaru lay back on the boulder and closed his eyes. He felt the sun's rays on his face and the gentle breeze, which came courtesy of Fyuuton.
"I wish we would never have to go back and just stay here." Raiton said as he gave a yawn and slowly closing his eyes, he didn't want to fall asleep, but he couldn't help it. He rubbed his eyes trying to stay awake, but it was a battle he could not win. He looked around and saw that everyone had fallen asleep.
"A nap would be nice." He said as he lay on his side and fell fast asleep on the boulder. The sun was shining and the breeze was coming on its own was the perfect combination, which made the nine children feel so tired that they just wanted to sleep.