• * * *
    Dreams chased her thoughts around in his head. It was a strange sensation watching the memories and thoughts that were not his own. They belonged to a girl he'd met long ago. It had been a chance meeting but it had turned disastrous. He'd accidentally taken her memories and was searching her out but lately he'd had come across other distractions. Thus the memories had started slipping into his dreams again. He watched as a memory of a silver stone well went flying by followed by the sound of children's laughter that turned into chaos, yells, and screams and lots and lots of water. He'd still never actually figured out how she'd gotten into the waters depths since her memories were still garbled but he'd find her and give them back because he knew what the sensation was like to be without his memories…he still was still without them.
    * * *
    Waking Natara could feel her head pounding. Cursing she opened her eyes and found herself in a large room among many people. The only thing that was off was that she could not feel her powers. She tried reaching for them, the black velvet ribbons that connected her soul with her body and contained her power and energy. The ribbons were there but for some reason Natara's energy and power were mostly gone.
    Shaking her unease off she went back to studding her surroundings. Everyone was quiet and they were all sitting on chairs. That and they were all wearing different marking like tattoos. Most of them were very beautiful or elegant though some were plain and simple. Realizing this must be the reason for her powers being lost she looked down at herself and saw that she had crow black bands the width of a pinky finger that encircled her wrists and the middle of her upper arms. She was still wearing her regular cloths so she couldn't exactly see the rest of herself since she wore the black combat boots and baggy pants, and she didn't exactly have a mirror either so Natara did the next best thing. She looked around the crowd to see if there was anyone else with her type of tattoos. The crowd was pretty big since they were all sitting in an auditorium like room so it was easy and quick to find a person who had the same markings.
    The person in question was a man at the age around twenty. He was wearing jogging shorts and a red wife-beater shirt.
    Only difference was that his markings were a reddish color, which varied and implied that he was a pyromancer or a person who could control fire. He had bands around his thighs, wrists, upper arms, ankles, and one around his neck.
    Everyone else was mostly the same aside for the small variations such as how some had little geometrical designs on them.
    A woman about the age of nineteen near her awoke and suddenly started screaming at the top of her lungs.
    Natara watched as a man wearing a business suit walked into the auditorium from a door to the right of the room at the front and said," Stop, Siren or I will be forced to secure you!"
    The woman's melodic scream grew louder and the man flicked his fingers at the mark on her throat and clenched his fist.
    The sirens blue oceanic eyes grew wide and her voice immediately stopped. She made a couple of gargling noises and when she showed no more inclination to scream the man opened his clenched hand and the woman started breathing in heavily.
    (Well that answers one question. Must remember not to visibly be rebellious or will be subjugated to type of torture or pain.) Thought Natara.
    After a few moments the man walked back towards the front of the crowd and doing a few hand gestures the earth raised up to make an elevated plat form. When that was finished he sat down on the left edge and watched the crowd to see if any more disturbances would appear.
    Which none did since everyone had pretty much woken up during the screaming portion and had seen the consequences of such an action would imply.
    As if the siren had been the cue, the lights began to dim and a man wearing a white business suit flanked by three bodyguards, and the mysterious absorber from before, entered the large room through the door the previous man had.
    They walked with authority and the man in the white watched the rest of the people sitting down like they were lower than the scum of the earth.
    Natara even from four rows back could make out the man’s face.
    He had a straight nose, tannish skin, no freckles, a slight pair of lips, high cheek bones that instead of helping him while he aged only succeeded in making him look snobbish, his eyes were an icy fog blue color framed by two slim blond eyebrows, his hair was short and a goldish pale blond hair. The rest of him was normal, medium height, medium build, nothing really that jumped out at you aside for the way he stood straight and had his whole body focused on looking all powerful.
    To Natara he looked like a fallen angel turned Nazi.
    (Maybe a Hitler wanna-be? The White Cloud group was certainly like them but the Battle Lion's group's leader was a short, redheaded, temper filled man who idolized Ares. Who the hell this guy.) Thought Natara. Looking around Natara spotted another man running in as if left behind by the group and said to herself," Speak of thy Devil, and thy Devil will appear."
    The head of the Battle Lion group slowed his pace as he neared Nazi-man and glaring at him said," Well get on with it Cloud. I want to start soon."
    (Great…. two devils in one place, just my luck….) thought Natara mentally kicking herself.
    The CEO of the White Cloud group John Clayton Cloud nodded and speaking in a loud commanding voice said," Everyone here today will be excepted into the Battle Lion group and the White Cloud group as fighters. Our hunters will fight you all on open ground and if you win we will set you free so try to survive. We have put bands on you all using our very own mix of science and black magick. So you will be unable to use your powers, which would be unfair in the hunts. The area the hunt will take place in is a very large forest and there is a river that is ten miles east. If you can make it past the river than we will not follow you. In five minutes we will open the doors in the back of this room, which leads outside and into the forest. We will give you all a ten minute head start then we will set out. We start the five minutes now."
    Cloud walked off the platform followed by the guards. Lawrence Mcarthy the head honcho of the Battle Lion group stepped forward then and said in his partially whinny voice," Under your seats is a small bag of food and a bottle of water. Remember five minutes till you say your prayers."
    With that said he too walked out and the man who sat on the platform watched us though now he looked slightly tired.
    Natara looked under her chair and grabbed the bag in question. Inside were an orange, a large piece of jerky, and a water bottle.
    Natara feeling the hunger and thirst that had lain dormant in her for a while quickly ate the food and guzzled the water. She was still careful though not to let the water slosh on herself unlike so many whose fronts were now either a little wet or soaked.
    Feeling slightly energized Natara closed her eyes for a few moments and studied the bands again. This time it was easier and she could see how the bands had affected her soul self. The regular ribbons of power had been literally attached or welded to the bands. The bands themselves sucked in the power and used it so as to hold the ribbons to it. The White Cloud and Battle Lion groups could also control the bands and thus access the power stored there. In other words sadly they could control us.
    The forest was huge and it looked like most people were headed straight to the river not bothering to find the easy trails, just storming on in a straight line. Others, the smarter ones, went in other directions. Some were even going as far as using the tr
    Natara ran left into the bushes and finding an animal trail quickly ran along it hoping that maybe the animal's scent would throw anything off. Keeping her footsteps light and her movements swift and agile, she worked not to touch anything aside for the ground so as to not leave much scent.