The Team Forms

Chapter 4

Clara had been in the city for only a few days, yet everything moved faster than she could understand. Cars sped past like lightning, tall buildings touched the sky, and the air smelled like metal and smoke instead of firewood and rain. But she wasn’t alone anymore.

Mike walked beside her with his hands in his pockets, explaining things she didn’t understand. James trailed behind them, spinning a pen between his fingers like a weapon. Bridget bounced around them, excited as always, pointing at anything shiny.

“You see that tower?” Bridget said, gesturing dramatically. “That’s the City Hub. If you get lost, just look for it.”

Clara smiled shyly. “Thank you.”

Mike nodded. “We’ve got your back. All the time.”

She didn’t know why those words warmed her chest.

They were heading toward the city market during break hours. Mike wanted to buy parts for a gadget he was building. Clara simply followed, absorbing the new world around her.

James cracked his fingers. “Hope we don’t run into trouble today.”

Bridget shot him a look. “You literally attract trouble.”

Mike smirked. “He’s right, though. This city is weird these days. There are too many strange reports.”

Clara’s pendant pulsed faintly.

A warning.

Before she could speak, the ground trembled.

A loud BOOM exploded down the street. People screamed, running in every direction. Clara staggered back as thick black smoke shot into the sky.

“What was that?” Bridget gasped.

Mike grabbed Clara’s arm. “Everyone move! We get to safety first.”

But James pushed forward instantly. “Safety? Nah. I’m checking this out.”

He sprinted ahead like he’d trained for moments like this. Bridget cursed under her breath and chased after him. Mike pulled Clara behind him as they followed.

When they reached the source of the chaos, Clara’s breath caught.

A bus had been flung onto its side. Windows shattered. Smoke rising. People are crying out for help.

But that wasn’t the worst part.

Three shadowy figures stood in the middle of the road—each one tall, cloaked in dark energy that twisted like smoke around them. Their faces were blurred, almost shifting.

They weren’t human.

Clara recognized them instantly.

Villains.

From her past.

From her time.

Her knees weakened.

“No…” she whispered.

James stepped in front of Clara and cracked his knuckles. “Okay, that’s not normal.”

Bridget grabbed his shirt. “And you want to fight them with what? Your stubbornness?!”

“They hurt innocent people,” James snapped. “I won’t stand here and do nothing.”

Mike’s eyes scanned the scene. He slipped a device from his bag—small, metal, shaped like a cube with blinking lights.

Clara frowned. “What is that?”

“A stabilizer drone,” he muttered. “If I can get it running, I can scan their energy signatures.”

“Wait,” Bridget said. “You built that yourself?!”

Mike sighed. “Later, Bridget.”

The villains turned toward them slowly. No faces. Just shadows.

The tallest one spoke, his voice echoing unnaturally.

“Clara…”

Mike stiffened. “They know your name?”

Clara couldn’t answer. Her throat felt tight.

Shadows poured across the ground like living creatures, slithering toward them.

James pulled a compact metal baton from his pocket. When he flicked it open, it expanded into a full staff.

“Bridget, direct people away,” he commanded. “Mike, use your tech. I’ll handle the close range.”

Bridget nodded sharply—her fear replaced with focus. “Clara, stay behind them. Move when I say. Don’t panic.”

Her tone was steady, commanding. The type of voice people followed without question.

Clara realized something.

James wasn’t just playful.

Bridget wasn’t just talkative.

Mike wasn’t just smart.

They were capable.

They were a team.

Already acting like one.

The villains rushed forward.

James moved first—fast, controlled. He spun the metal staff with expert precision, blocking a shadow strike and counterattacking with a sharp kick.

Bridget shouted from behind a car, directing civilians to safety. “Left! Move left! Keep your heads down! Hurry!”

Her voice calmed people instantly.

Mike slammed his cube onto the ground. A holographic screen burst upward, projecting scans, numbers, and shapes. “Their energy is unstable!” he shouted. “They’re not fully formed—they’re draining the city to stay alive!”

Clara watched, trembling. This wasn’t her world. Yet the danger followed her here.

A shadow creature lunged at James. He dodged, but it grazed his arm with its smoky claw.

“Ah! Mike, any help here?!” he yelled.

Mike cursed. “My drone needs thirty more seconds!”

Bridget yelled, “Clara! Down!”

Clara dropped instantly as a blast of dark energy flew over her head, shattering a street lamp.

Her pendant heated painfully—warning her, begging her to move.

James stumbled. One of the villains pinned him with shadow tendrils.

Mike shouted, “James, duck!”

He pressed a button. The drone shot upward, releasing a shockwave of blue light that exploded outward.

The villains staggered back, their forms glitching.

James rolled away, chest heaving. “Mike! That thing is crazy!”

Mike smirked. “Thank me later.”

Clara watched all of them fighting, helping, and risking themselves.

For her.

Something inside her tightened.

The tallest villain steadied himself and pointed directly at Clara.

“We smell your blood, child of the old time. Your power will awaken soon… and when it does…”

He lifted his hand.

A burning symbol glowed above his palm.

“…you will belong to us.”

A gust of black wind shot toward her.

Mike dove, pushing Clara out of the way. They hit the ground hard.

The villains dissolved into the smoke just as the city guards arrived.

James groaned. Bridget ran to help him. Mike helped Clara up gently, his eyes full of worry and questions.

Clara stood shaking, staring at the smoke-filled sky.

The villains didn’t just attack randomly.

They came with a message.

—END OF CHAPTER 4—

A single shadowy symbol burned itself into the ground where the villains vanished, and it spelt one word:

“AWAKEN.”