Ten Burning Candles

• Jareef Ahmed, Grade 6
• Short Story
• 2014

Anthony stumbled over a pile of debris. The city had been burnt to smithereens and the German doll was all that was remaining to remind of his family. Stains of blood painted the wall of the bazaar entry. Tears washed his faces as he limped towards the hideout. ''I regret battling the Warriors of the West,'' Anthony muttered. ''If this scar doesn't heal I will starve that foolish leader to death.'' Black shadows roamed around the remains of the newspaper agency. A deathly silence haunted the plaza which made Anthony whimper fearfully. Without a moment to spare, a familiar voice yelled:''You made it!'' It was obviously one member of the resistance, Leo. Anthony kept silent as he wandered towards the room where the team was assembled

The team consisted of 10 members. Frank, Maximus, Piper, Nico, Angela, Helena , Percy, Jason, Leo and of course, Anthony. Helena had a saddened face and stared into a photo album of people long forgotten. Will they know the secret? She thought of the disaster. Will they know about it? Fortunately she snapped out of the trance once jason decided to speak. '' North of Athens will be easy to raid because there is no creepy guys there. We could get supplies to blow the main base.'' Everyone agreed with the idea. Helen started to struggle. And it was when Percy raised his sword that Helena's eyes became a light turquoise colour.

'' I am Boreas, Master of the North. I am manipulating your friend's body to give you the message. Phyrus has lit the candles of hope and this means when you fail to succeed a candle shall burst. Once all ten have blown up the west shall dominate the world and Phyrus shall become the Lord of the Four Chairs. You are our only hope.'' Helena's body fell to the ground. Her neck was stinging and blood rushed out of the cut.

Helena's injury started to heal while the rest of the crew scurried onto the Nightmast IV. Percy kept thinking about what had just occurred and how he must solve it. As they were travelling, Percy was feeling suspicious. Maximus walked in a weird way like one of those zombies in a horror movie. "Fate be changed. Ruin shall spread!" he bellowed. Percy grabbed his sword and fought him. Maximus was out of the trance and stumbled out of the ship to his death. Percy was full of regret.

They had arrived at the battlefield where Boreas had ordered the team to end the quest that was to end the world of evil. The Titans marched forward with their axes washed in red liquid. The swordsmen with gleaming killing utensils. Then the knights arrived on their horses with a pole much like a large toothpick. The Battle of Four Thrones had begun.

Helena was protected by Piper who was an excellent marksmen and used her bow to defend the ship. Leo grabbed his spear and attacked the swordsmen. The rest attacked the titans. Blood started raining from the sky. Nico, Frank, Angela and Anthony had been fatally wounded and were all carried back to Nightmare IV. Jason and Percy had defeated the evil army valiantly. Only one question left. "Where to my friend?" inquired Jason. Percy replied, "Wherever the wind takes us". They both smiled. Phyrus was extremely mad at his failure.