Free Valley of Dust by Karoleen Vry Brucks

looks bad. Selene, stay back and hide.” That’s when there was an explosion. Glass shot out everywhere from the kitchen windows. All we could see was a dust cloud left from the explosion. There was a figure coming; we couldn’t tell who, but it was slowly walking through the mist of shattered glass like it didn’t faze it. The figure crept so slowly that it made our hearts jump with fright. As the dust settled, we could slowly start to see the figure. The figure had stopped, and we saw Anton surrounded by destruction. He was smiling as he walked so easily through the destruction. He gazed at me as if I belonged to him, grinning the whole time. That is when we heard him speak. His voice was as suave as ever, but this time I would not be fooled by his charms. Anton was showing his true nature now, and I despised him for what he was doing. “Selene, why have you left me and chosen my brother? Weren’t we great for each other? You certainly never complained that night between us. The connection was there, didn’t you feel it? Come with me, Selene. I need you,” Anton said. Carla ran in the middle. “Anton, leave now, you are not welcome. If Lucian knew…” In that moment I saw Anton’s arm pull out with his palm facing Carla. Within what felt like seconds, I saw Carla’s body fly and hit the tree next to me. I ran to her to make sure she was all right, but from what I had seen I knew there was no way she was not heavily damaged. Her body was limp, and I could barely feel a pulse. Anger welled inside of me, like in my dreams. I remembered how I took the power of everything in my dreams, how I had siphoned it for myself. I wanted the power. I needed it. I sensed the earth underneath me; it was warm and inviting; it urged me on and with a flash, I started to siphon the energy into my body. The power was immense, and it was enticing me for more; but soon I sensed nothing left to take, and that’s when I turned to look at Anton. My first thought was to kill Anton. I wanted him to burn, like how my heart felt, with rage toward him. He had broken my heart and taken my only friend. My eyes glared at him. My eyes were burning hot, needing release, and within an instant he was a ball of flame running off. I smiled knowing he would not get far. Then I fell down to Carla. I could sense her life slipping away. “Carla, stay with me. Please don’t leave me. I need you.” I refused to be the person in my dreams. Carla would not die tonight , I thought. I had all this energy, but I felt so helpless. That’s when my body reacted on its own accord. This was something new to me, but it urged me to fix what had been wronged. I laid my hands on her like it was second nature; her bloodshot eyes were looking at mine while I focused on her body. There was so much damage I was surprised she was still hanging on. My hands started glowing; something warm and gold came flowing from my hands and into Carla’s body. I remembered this feeling when I drained the oak tree, and I realized I was doing the exact thing but in reverse. I was draining my life force for another’s sake. I knew it was working because I could feel her pulse growing stronger. I pushed with all my might to give her every drop of my energy. As the last bit of my energy went into Carla, I panicked and realized that I might have given too much and I might not make it, like the giant oak tree. Maybe these powers were more dangerous than I had realized. However, in that moment I was happy because I had saved someone who truly deserved to live on. As I fell to the ground, drained and fading fast, I saw shoes and smelt a familiar scent. Then everything went dark.
    When I awoke, I was shocked to be alive. I felt like I had been asleep forever. There beside my bed was Carla. She was holding my hand very tightly when she saw my eyes open; she immediately went to press the intercom button to call Lucian. “Selene, you’re all right. Thank goodness. You saved me and hurt