Balance by Kayla Williams (best free e reader .TXT) 📕

let out a shallow breath. "Avery, I'm sorry, but you have bone cancer," Dr. Fidelie added. She covered her face with her hands and started murmuring something. "You are going to have to speak up honey, " he said.
"I always knew something was wrong...," she explained. Avery rolled over and covered her face with the white pillow. A thousand thoughts raced through my head, all negative suggestions about what could happen. "How much longer do I have?" Avery mumbled.
"Well, we will need to run more tests to see exactly how far along it is. Though, by what I've seen, I don't think you will recover. I apologize miss, " Dr. Fidelie said. Mrs. White turned around and buried her face in her husband’s shirt. He stroked her short blond hair and frowned. I slouched and stared at my black shoes. I didn't know what to say or do. I felt helpless. "The good news is that if you hadn't gotten that x-ray, we wouldn't even have known. So, if you hadn't been treated for much longer, it just would have gotten worse faster," the doctor confessed. Avery, lying there in her gown, looked pale and sickly. The hospital sheets against her skin were too good of a comparison. The whole scene was just gruesome. The rest of us, just standing there, with feelings of fright and melancholy. As I look back on this moment, I don't think I've ever felt so many terrible emotions at once. I felt hatred for myself, shame, depression, i was shocked, and frightened. I was on the edge of standing up and screaming to try to let it out. Though, I knew that I couldn't do that. I just couldn't believe that my love, the girl that I was planning on marrying, was going to die. She might have a while left, but I wasn't sure at the time. I wished that I could do something, anything that could help her. I left the room, feeling awkward with her family there. I walked through the rest of the hospital, dodging glances from nurses. It felt like they all knew, all knew that I had gotten Avery hurt. All of them knew that she was going to die. I finally came to the doors, and it was still pouring outside. It was so dark. I couldn't even see past the overhang where you let out patients. Since obviously I didn't have my truck, I texted my mom to come from inside so we could go.

We drove home in silence, not even the radio was on. Just the windshield wipers shoving the rain away. When we pulled into the driveway, I got out and went right inside. Feeling tears in my eyes again, I went into the bathroom. I heard my mom call from her room saying that she was turning in for the night. I flipped on the bright florescent lights, hurting my eyes. I looked at my pale face in the mirror. My eyes were bloodshot, and I had small band aids that the nurses must have put on me. I didn't even notice them before. They weren't important, nothing was important at that point, except for Avery. I just kept picturing her lying there on the hospital bed. My heart felt empty, I felt like a shell. The last few hours didn't even seem real. It was as if I had been watching a movie, or I was having a dream. I knew it couldn't be though, if it was, it'd be a nightmare.

I left the house, to walk the streets. I knew that I couldn't sleep anyway. It had stopped raining finally, but there were puddles everywhere. The streets were slick, and I was sure that soon my shoes would be soaked. There was a breeze, which made the hairs on my neck stand up. The trees were dark looking, and they moved in a creepy way. Silently swaying in the wind as though they had secrets. No one else was out, and all lights had been turned off, except the street lights. I thought of a lot of things, such as running away and leaving everything behind. My mind then seemed to be in a dormant state, only controlling my legs to keep walking. I started to go into the woods, where there was no light. It felt like the right thing to do at that moment, to be away from civilization. To be away from everyone. I wanted to spend time with Avery, but I didn't want to see her lying in the hospital. So, I just couldn't go back for a while. Trudging through the leaves and branches, I noticed a crouched person on the ground. He was wearing a dark cloak that drug, and covered his head. I was still a while away from him, but I was sure that he could hear me. I felt a spike of fear for a moment, then I relaxed, realizing that my life was practically over anyway. I still had my mother, and a few friends. Though, now that Avery was going to die, I knew that my life wouldn't ever be the same. It would never feel right to move on from that. Her parents weren't going to either, I was sure of it. So, if this suspicious man was planning on hurting me, I wasn't really worried. Then I thought, that me mysteriously disappearing would tear my mother apart, so I decided to be careful. I turned another way, hoping he wouldn't look up. As I just started to reach a point out of his sight, I closed my eyes in relief and blew out some air. I thought that he must have been sleeping, or just hadn't cared. I opened my eyes, and fell over in surprise. The man was looming over me.


Chapter 4)


I staggered back on my hands and tried to jump up to run, but I tripped on some roots of a nearby tree. He was right in front of me again, grabbing my arms and holding me to the ground. I knew that if I yelled that no one would help me, so I just glared at him. A few minutes passed, and he still hadn't done anything. What was he doing?
I am searching your thoughts," the man answered inside my head. I gasped, and I was dizzy all of a sudden.
"What do you want from me,?!" I yelled in his face. The man kept holding my arms tightly and sat me up. Moving his arms in a figure eight, a type of energy formed around my hands. They looked like hand cuffs made out of lightning.
"I want you to become a Shadrine," he said calmly.
"A what...???"
"Silence, I will explain. My name is Clemel, and I have been around for centuries. I am a Shadrine, as I want you to be. You see, Shadows are not just areas without light. They are beings without shape. They have wicked powers, but can only use them to a certain extent. That is why the Shadrines were created. The Shadows needed beings to fight for them. The Entities of Light have been at war with the Shadows, and winning. The light forces decided that they wanted to completely take over, that darkness wasn't important. They think that the world needs purity. Though, we aren't exactly evil, we just create balance. Us Shadrines are either created or born to help create that balance. We are not human, only partially. Lately our side has been low on numbers, and we have been sent out to find humans that are capable," Clemel said without a trace of emotion. I stared at him wide-eyed, trying to take this all in. I didn't understand why he was telling me these things, or why he wanted me to help.
"So...," I started, then he cut me off.
"You are destined to become one of us. You have Shadrine blood in you, making you strong enough to complete a transformation," Clemel finished.
"Who says I want to help, or become one of your kind?" I said bluntly.
"Oh, I'm sure you will want to. I'm sure Avery would want you to," he smirked.
"How??? Avery? You know her?" I spat.
"No, I don't know her. Though, your memories tell me much. I can just picture her lying there, in that hospital bed...," Clemel trailed off.
"WHAT DOES SHE HAVE TO DO WITH THIS????" I yelled.
"Would you quit asking so many questions? I would explain if only you'd shut up," he grunted. "If you let me change you, I have the power to help her. Every Shadrine has different powers, and I happen to have healing as one of them," Clemel explained.
"So is messing with people's minds," I murmured.
"I didn't know you noticed," he said with sarcasm.
"So, you'll help her? She won't die?" I questioned with a Little gaining hope.
"She will, but not prematurely, as she would have. I don't have the power to grant her immortality. Though you will be immortal if I change you," he told me.
"What powers will I end up with?" I asked.
"That cannot be foretold, it will be something you will experience on your own," Clemel made clear. I looked at him with disbelieving eyes.
"How do I know you aren't just going to kill me?" I asked.
"So many questions.... That wouldn't make sense. I would have killed you already. Why would I explain this all to you?" He said with annoyance in his tone.
"If I let you change me, what is in it for you?" I questioned.
"Well, just a few tiny things. You know, the usual..... You will have to help us in battle when you are needed. Plus, you could die," Clemel joked.
"Um....," I didn't know what to say. Was Avery really worth this? I did almost kill her. I owe her, and she is my love. "Alright, I'll help you, if only you promise to help me," I agreed.
"You have my word. A Shadrine cannot break an oath. You will soon learn that," Clemel promised.
"What else will I have to learn?"
"I cannot reveal those secrets till you have finished your transformation. You will be taught everything in our fortress as soon as you change. Humans or ones in transformation aren't able to step foot there. So you must wait," he explained.
"Basically, you are going to change me, then leave me to figure out everything???" I asked, looking at him with judging eyes. This was all so hard to understand. I didn't even know this things existed. Now, I'm supposed to become one?
"Well, yes, until the transformation is complete. Then, I will find you again," he answered.
Clemel put his hand on my forehead, which was quite odd. I felt a tingling, like a small headache. Then there was a massive pain, and my vision went blurry. The trees above me looked like mush, and Clemel didn't look real anymore. He lifted his hand, though the pain stayed. He jumped up and vanished. I sat there, open-eyed. I didn't know what to do next. I was clueless. I thought about the past few days, how all this could happen so quickly. It was if I was living a different life. I tried to imagine Avery lying there in the hospital, and suddenly I was nauseous.

Apparently, I had passed out, and I didn't wake up for a few hours. Everything felt like a dream, but I knew it was real from the odd pain in my head. There was a burning pain on my right arm. I rolled up my sleeve, and sure enough, there was a burned insignia of something there. The cold