Chapter 1

Few Days Earlier...

"C'mon Lucy, you can do this" Mr. Ben encouraged as she struggled to free herself from the tight grip of the giant dude choking the hell out of her.

Mr. Gonzalo, Mrs. Smith's father was on the training ground too, watching his daughter train with her coach Derek, who also serves as Mr. Gonzalo's personal guard and he's no doubt a very good fighter.

The building where they all are is known as

the base for the Guardianes De La Tierra. They have branches all over Europe, Asia and America; their duty just like their name says is to protect the earth from supernatural threats.

The base is a skyscraper located at the outskirts of Star Lake City. It is a home and training ground for over two hundred guardians who voluntarily signed up to train and fight under them. Although, it has always been a secret organisation, and whoever is to join them must first of all swear an oath, cause they didn't register under the government, therefore their activities are top secret.

Manuel Gonzalo, the ex leader of the organization died few weeks ago during an automobile crash. It was said that he had an heart attack while driving. Although his son, Mr. Gary Gonzalo had always warned about this, but he never listened. He has enough guards to do the driving, but he won't just allow anyone of them drive him. He preferred driving himself which was what caused his death. He might have survived the heart attack if he wasn't the one driving, because he wouldn't have crashed the car. Now the organisation have to choose another leader to take his place, but that's not in their power to do. They have to wait for the Sacred Stone Of Prophecy to reveal Mr. Garry Gonzalo, whom they all know is the next in line as the leadership of the organisation runs within the Gonzalo's Family.

"She won't make it. She'll give up" Mr. Gonzalo whispered to Mr. Ben who had his usual medicated glasses on. There's an Ipad in his hands as he kept his gaze fixed on the choking- newly wedded Mrs. Smith.

"C'mon Gary, she'll scale through this. She's been through worse" Mr. Ben replied without even giving Mr. Gonzalo as much as a glance.

Mr. Gary Scoffed. "I doubt it" said he, "She gives up everytime he chokes her like that. No one has ever escaped it. Derek is a very strong man, she can't escape from his grip" he added lighting a cigar.

"No smoking in here" Mr. Ben said snatching the cigar.

" I'm sorry pal" he said with a babyish look on his face.

Mr. Ben groaned, shifting his gaze back to the wrestling going on. Mrs. Smith's grip on Derek is becoming weak and it's obvious she's passing out already.

" C'mon Lucy, tap out " Mr. Gary called in a loud voice but she doesn't seem to hear him.

"Tap the fuck out already" he added.

"You can do this Lucy, you can do this" Mr. Ben encouraged. His hope was shattered when Mrs. Smith's grip slackened and her eyes closed up.

"Damn it!" Mr. Ben cursed, hitting the wrestling ring with his fist.

"I told you" Mr. Gary said amidst giggles, "she's no match for him. Now can I h..." He was cut short by the thud he heard. It wasn't Mrs. Smith going down, it was Derek.

"Yes!!" Mr. Ben jubilated, clenching his fist.

"How'd she do that?" Mr. Gary asked, with his gaze fixed on Derek and Mrs. Smith. She had her legs wrapped around his body, holding his right hand as she leaned backward while drawing his hands in a bid to dislocate it. She had him completely pinned down.

Derek tried to get himself free, but he couldn't because of the excruciating pain he felt. He tapped out with his left hand making Mrs. Smith loosen her grip on him.

She got up breathing heavily as she caught a bottle of water Mr. Ben tossed at her.

"That's my girl," he said, chuckling before turning to face Mr. Gary who tore his gaze away from him.

"Ahh ah ah... Don't. Can I have my money now?" Mr. Ben demanded, stretching his hand forward as Mr. Gary shoved a briefcase filled with dollar notes into his outstretched hand.

"I'll win next time" he said while walking towards Mrs. Smith who was gulping down the content in the bottle Mr. Ben gave her.

"You said you'd let him win" Mr. Gary said, peeking into eyes. "I lost one million dollars, all thanks to you" he accused.

"I'm sorry dad, I just can't help it" she said, capping up the bottle.

"But I promised to give you five hundred thousand dollars from my winnings"

"Well..." Mrs. Smith started with a shrug, "he tripled it" she added looking down at her father from the training ring with a smirk on her face.

Mr. Gary's face looked like that of someone that swallowed a lethal concoction. He looked from Mrs. Smith to Mr. Ben who gave him a mocking bow.

"What did you do, huh?" He asked walking towards Mr. Ben.

"Turned your table against you" he replied with a mischievous smile.

"You're such an asshole" Mr. Gary said providing another cigar from his coat pocket.

"Not an asshole, old friend..." He said snatching the cigar from him before he got the chance to flick his lighter. "It's called a genius" he replied, leaving Mr. Gary speechless.

"No smoking," he added, tossing the cigar into a nearby trash can.

****

"Over ice I'm freezing,

Beautiful eyes deceiving;

We may die this evening, Coughing, wheezing, bleeding..."

Trey had his headset on, listening to Juice WRLD's popular hit track, Righteous- with his hands in his hoodie pocket while strolling down the walkway to the usual point where he used to meet with his driver.

He's Mrs. Smith's nephew who returned back to the US, few months ago after losing his parents to an attack in Spain, where his father was the leader of the Guardians there. It was believed that someone from the inside was involved in their death. Although, no one knows who it was or why they did it, all they know is that it's no longer safe for Trey. Ever since then, he'd been sent to Star Lake City, and it has been Mrs. Smith's responsibility to take care of him.

There was a sudden darkness that engulfed the sky making everyone look up to find out what's going on. The clouds was so dark that it looked like it would rain at any moment, except for the fact that the darkened clouds was too sudden to make it look like a rain cloud. It was strange.

Trey removed the headset from his ears and hung it around his neck as he looked up towards the sky, just when they heard a rumbling sound, it came from the clouds. Lightning flashed across the dark clouds, bright enough for everyone present to see.

People brought out their phones, taking pictures and videos of what's happening, but Trey has a bad feeling about it. It's too strange and sudden to think it's normal.

The rumbling sounds continued accompanied with lightning occasionally flashing across the sky.

News reporters where soon on the scene with their vehicles. An helicopter with the inscription 'StarLake Times 1' could be seen hovering around the dark cloud with a cameraman and a female reporter on board.

Trey's phone buzzed. He provided it from his pocket and stared at the text displayed on the notification.

'Where are you?' It was his driver. He returned the phone back in his pocket just as he got an idea. He clicked on the camera Icon, recorded a short video of what's going on and sent it to Mrs. Smith.

He was about to return it back in his pocket when he noticed an opening with something falling from it like a comet. This got the attention of everyone as their cameras began flashing once more. Trey also got his phone out, recording the latest development.

The assumed comet seems to increase in size the more it closed in, making it more visible to them. It looks just like a fireball.

"...there's a strange opening in the sky with a fireball falling out of it. Although, we're not quite sure about what exactly it is, but we're always here to feed you with the latest dev..." The male reporter was cut short by the noise around him.

He turned to see the cause of the noise when he noticed everyone pointing towards the sky. The look on their faces this time around is that of fear and not excitement. He looked at the direction they where pointing at. His eyes widened in pure horror when hve caught sight of the cause of the commotion.

There where more fireballs coming from the opening, although that's not the cause of his fears. What got his heart racing was a particular one that aimed at the Starlake Times 1's helicopter in the sky. It was too late to warn them, as the fireball already connected with the tail, breaking it off; the pilot lost control almost immediately.

The helicopter was crashing from the sky as the people realized the incoming danger.

Screams rent the air with everyone scrambling to safety immediately the first fire ball fell in a nearby woods with an explosion that made the earth vibrate violently.

The helicopter crashed into a skyscraper, very close to where the spectators where, going up in a ball of flame.

"Oh my God! Did you get that?" The male reporter asked his cameraman, a chubby young man with a full beard too much for a man of his age as they hid behind a vehicle.

"Every damn thing", he replied amidst shaky breath.

There where a dozen of wounded people on the floor very close to the building the helicopter crashed. Trey hid behind a white van as another fire ball made contact with the earth soil, causing another vibration. He brought out his phone, went to an encrypted app clicked on the icon and typed in his password. He clicked on an app with a shield and sword icon, clicked on the camera and record a live video of what's happening, sending it straight to the guardian's base.

"I don't have an idea of what's happening, but I have a bad feeling about it. This is beyond normal; I think it's supernatural" Trey said, switching the camera to the front facing one in order to capture his face before switching it back, just as another fire ball made contact with the ground.

Sirens could be heard wailing from afar. Firefighters were soon on the site with few black and white vehicles, with the cops assisting in putting the injured civilians in the ambulances that already arrived at the scene, while others tried to set up a safe perimeter around the scene, trying their best to guard the civilians to safety

****

MEANWHILE...

"Uhmm... Guys, we're receiving signals from one of our encrypted sites" Mr. Ben said passing a series of command on the iPad in his hands.

Mr. Gary and Mrs. Lucy faced the big screen which displayed a loading icon with series of irrelevant digits and letters. It beeped immediately it got to hundred as it showed a live video of what's happening in the city.

"What the hell's that?" Mr. Gary asked with a frown when the video showed the fireball descending from the dark clouds and it's impact on contact with the ground.

"I don't know, never seen anything like this before" Mr. Ben said, still operating his pad.

They watched as firefighters battle the fire from the crash site and the injured being whisked into the waiting ambulance on a stretcher.

"Aliens, monsters, demons, what exactly could it be?" A feminine voice said from behind them as they all turned in unison.

"Clara, you're awake" Mr. Gary said smiling at her as she walked towards them.

"Yeah, I was a bit off last night" she said with a chuckle.

"Drunk, you mean?" Mrs. Smith (Lucy) asked without looking at her as she focused on the big screen.

"Wait, what?" Clara said with a confused look.

"You might wanna rephrase the last part" said Mrs Smith.

"What you talking about?" Clara said walking towards Mrs. Smith, making some obvious signals at her, but she refused to make eye contact.

"I carried you to your room last night, bridal style to be specific. You had, I think three empty bottles of whiskey on the floor with a half finished bottle on the table, they must have belonged to Derek, I cleared the bar the day before" said Mrs. Smith, as Clara stared daggers at Mrs. Smith.

Mr. Ben turned to face Clara with a look that says "Is that true?" On his face.

"She obviously made it all up, I was working late and..."

"Has anyone seen my whiskeys?" She was cut short by Derek's voice as she shut her eyes close, wishing they could all just forget everything.

"Ah-ah! Here we go" Mrs. Smith said turning to face the screen once more.

Mr. Ben seized Clara up with his eyes and turned with the rest without saying a word.

"Look guys, I'm sorry but can't I, uhmm... have a few shots to pass time, you know?" she asked trying to get their attention when they heard an explosion. It was from the video. This got the attention of Derek as he joined them in front of the screen.

"Oh, yeah. I get, we have other things to deal with" she said, concentrating on the screen too.

-

"By the way, has anyone wondered how that video came in through our website?" Mrs. Smith observed.

"Nice point " Mr. Gary said. "Derek, do we have men uptown?"

"No sir, they're all here" he replied, just as the video switched from the rear camera to selfie camera, showing Trey's face.

"I don't have an idea of what's happening, but I have a bad feeling about it, so I think you all need to see it" he said, switching back to the rear camera.

"No one told me Trey has access to the website, like, he has an encrypted phone?!" Clara asked no one in particular.

"Lucy" Mr. Gary muttered under his breath. "Lucy, you gave the bo...?" He was stopped halfway as Mrs. Smith was gone already.

"Great! Just fan-fucking-tastic!" He cursed kicking at a nearby stool.

***

Mrs. Smith could be seen walking hurriedly down the hallway with her cell phone placed on her left ear. The sound of a line ringing could be heard as she took a left turn that lead to another hallway.

"C'mon Joe, pick up the damn phone!" She cursed.

The line dropped, but she redialed the same number, placing the phone on her left ear as the ringing continued.

"Yes ma'am?" A panicked voice said from the phone.

"Where the hell are you? Where's Trey?" She fired all at once, not giving him the chance to answer the first question before shooting another.

"I've been waiting all day for him ma'am. He's not picking my calls neither is he replying my texts"

"Jesus Christ, Joe, I told you to always keep an eye on the boy" she said with a worried look.

" There's a lot of confusion going on here. I don't think I can find him that easy"

"Are you near the crash site?" She asked.

"Not too far"

"Good, he's very close to the crash site too. Keep an eye out, it's dangerous out there. I'm on my way"

"Copy that" he replied as she hung up the call, slid her card through the security system, making the doors pave way, revealing series of weapons and armor.

"We have a stubborn nephew to save" she said, staring at the two handguns placed on a glass shelf.

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Foreign Words:

Guardianes De La Tierra (Spanish) -- Guardians Of The Earth.