The Island of Pax by Rianne Chen

THE ISLAND OF PAX

BY RIANNE CHEN

PROLOGUE

The Island of Pax is a small island in the center of the Atlantic Ocean. Don’t try to find it on a map, for it is far too small to see. It is protected by a crystal made by the King of Peace, Pax. On one side of the island, the beach has a rocky cliff, and it would take days just to get up half of it. The gray, wet rocks became rusty over the years. Slippery moss, spiky thorns, and tangled grip tightly on the rocks and like they are long fingers, trying to pull them apart. But no long fingers can break the rocks apart. It would take the strongest person in the world to break one open, and even he would be tired afterwards. It is easier to get onto the island from the other side, where the beach is full of more than a mile of yellow sand. The waves flow onto the sand, spewing out shells, wood, and unique trinkets. In the center of the island is a forest, which takes up more than half of the entire island. The forest itself seems to be like the most magical part of the forest, even from outside of the island. Pink petals of towering Wisteria trees hang down from above, forming a canopy over the island. Firebirds, a magical kind of bird, fill the island. Their eyes and feathers glow fiery red. Inside a thick Wisteria tree trunk lays the blue crystal of peace. Take that gem away from the island, and the island of Pax will lose all of its magic. The firebirds will no longer be able to control their powers, and the fire magic from them will become a raging wildfire, destroying everything in its path.

CHAPTER 1: STRANDED

14-year-old Ava Browne grabbed the windowsill of the newly built cruise ship, gripping the edge with her clammy hands. She peered through the window and out across the blue ocean with a smile making its way across her face. She loved the beautiful sight of the tiny seagulls and birds flying over the water. Her 12-year-old brother, Tyson, however, did not like water as much as Ava. He felt seasick. Tyson’s stomach grumbled fiercely as he flopped down onto the seat of the ship. Ava, desperate to get a closer look at the giant Atlantic Ocean, squeezed through 7 people just to get outside onto the deck, squinting to see a small patch of green and yellow in the distance. They were heading towards an island! In just a few minutes, they were allowed to get off the boat and explore the island. She dragged Tyson across the entire island, pointing out every little thing she saw. Her eyes immediately moved to a forest of Wisteria trees.

“Tyson!” Ava yelled at the top of her lungs. “Come here!”

Tyson dragged his feet over to Ava, making long marks in the sand as he walked. The branches on the tree were so long and thick that the siblings had to push them apart to enter the forest.

“Whoa,” whispered Ava, running her fingers through the hanging flowers. A canopy of pink Wisteria branches hung over them. Tyson grumbled as he stood behind Ava.

After what seemed like hours, Tyson asked, “Can we just get back to the boat now?” Ava reluctantly dragged her feet across the island.

“Where’s the boat?” she asked Tyson stupidly. But inside, Ava knew this wasn’t the time for jokes. They were stranded.

CHAPTER 2: THE LETTER

“We should explore the island! I was bored of the cruise ship anyways.” Ava exclaimed.

The wind sent a chill over Ava’s fingertips, and she tucked them in her pocket. Her hands reached deep into her warm pocket when they came to a stop at a small sheet of paper. Ava, being the curious girl that she was, pulled it out and turned it over in her hand. It seemed to be a small envelope, sealed with a little red sticker.

“It’s probably from years ago,” Ava told Tyson. She ripped the sticker off and pulled a parchment from inside. Then she read the note aloud:

"Hark, Wellschnick! I implore thee to attend to my palace at thy earliest convenience on the morrow. The fate of evil rests in thy hands. Should we triumph in the transference of my soul, we shall jointly reign over this earthly realm. Let us vanquish peace once and for all! ~A"

“Why does it sound so weird and ancient?” Ava looked over the letter with scrutiny.

“Where did you find this?” Tyson asked.

“The mail storage in the attic.”

“Wellschnick is our dad!”

“The fate of evil rests in thy hands… Is our dad controlling evil?”

“That isn’t possible!”

“Tyson, we haven’t seen him in 11 years!” Ava sat down and rubbed her forehead, trying to get her thoughts together. “Who is A?”

“There are so many people in the world whose names start with A!” Tyson exclaimed.

“For all we know, our dad and A are evil, and we have to stop them.” Ava inhaled sharply and stood up. “I’m going to explore.”

CHAPTER 3: POWERS

The wind blew Ava’s flowery yellow-gold dress till it slapped against her legs. Long wavy, light brown hair tumbled down her shoulders. Ava stared into the water as far as she could, but the cruise was gone. A bird landed on a branch. Her eyes were fiery red, unlike any other bird the siblings had seen before. As Ava watched the bird, she tried to find something to think about.

Then, suddenly, the bird opened its beak and said, “Watch out.”

“Ack!” Ava leaped aside as fire shot from the bird’s eyes. "This must be my imagination," Ava thought. She rubbed her eyes, but the fire was still spreading rapidly.

"Don’t let it touch us, don’t let it touch us," Tyson said in his head, sure that he was about to die. But when Tyson opened his eyes, the fire had spread across the entire island except for Ava and Tyson.

"What just happened?" Ava thought.

“Did you hear that?” Ava asked Tyson.

“What do you mean?”

“The bird was talking!” shouted Ava, confused that her brother didn’t hear the bird.

“Geez, you don’t have to shout! But all I heard was the bird chirping and then came the fire! A bird with fire-shooting eyes is cool enough, and you’re saying it can talk?! You’re out of your mind!”

There was a moment of silence, and then the bird opened its beak. “I’m Zoe. Only you can understand me. To other people, we just sound like we’re chirping. Your brother can control fire, and you can communicate with birds. Impressive, huh?” the bird chirped to Ava.

Ava stepped back, clearing her mind. "This only happens in fantasy books," she thought.

She looked the bird in the eyes and said, “This island is cooler than I thought,” which came out in a series of bird-like chirps.

Tyson, who seemed bored and annoyed that he couldn’t join the conversation that Ava and the bird were having, wandered off to find something he could do.

“I’m gonna try to figure out how to get back to mom,” Tyson mumbled.

CHAPTER 4: THE DREAM

As the sun went down, Ava, Tyson, and the birds sat together on a boulder, enjoying the peaceful moment.

Suddenly, Ava felt a sharp poke on her shoulder. The bird's high-pitched voice said, “It’s time to get some dinner and some sleep – I’ll show you some more things you can do tomorrow.”

Ava responded almost immediately, “Where do we sleep?”

Zoe smiled and led Ava and Tyson into the woods on the other side of the island. The trees grew thicker and thicker, and the forest seemed bigger than the island itself.

“Look,” said Zoe, pointing her beak up into the umbrella of branches above them. A bowl of leaves, twigs, and mud sat on a thick branch.

“How do we get up there?”

Zoe laughed. She chirped so quickly that even Ava couldn’t understand, and a cloud of birds that looked just like Zoe flew into Ava and Tyson. They felt the talons gripping their arms and legs, but they weren’t sharp. They felt like soft hands holding them up.

The birds set them down in the middle of a giant nest. Soft mud covered the ground. The nest was illuminated by holes in the branches that let sunlight in. Freshly caught fish lay in a pile in the corner of the nest.

“Hey Tyson, you should cook the fish!” Ava jumped up and down with excitement as she talked.

"I’m not gonna survive another night out here," Tyson thought, but, reluctantly, he said in his mind, We need some fire to cook the fish.

Immediately, flames burst next to the fish. All of the birds near the fish hopped aside. After a few minutes, Tyson blew out the fire. The birds dove at the food. Ava and Tyson stared at the scaly fish and then joined the feast. After everyone couldn’t eat anymore, they collapsed onto the soft floor of the nest and instantly fell asleep.

Tyson’s eyes closed immediately. Suddenly, he wasn’t seeing the roof of the bird’s nest anymore, but instead, a dark room. An old man with gray hair was standing next to a man with messy brown hair. He had the same foggy blue eyes as Ava. The other man was slightly translucent, as if he was fading.

“Wellschnick,” His voice was faint and weak. “I need the body.”

“Yes, Abaddon,” Wellschnick replied.

He squeezed into a crack in the wall and disappeared. Moments later, the crack widened to about a foot wide and a giant, 10-foot body came out. It didn’t move, like a hollow body with no one inside. Abaddon, the old man, closed his eyes and became more and more transparent until there was nothing left of him.

Suddenly, the 10-foot body opened its eyes and said, “My soul has been transferred successfully.”

Then the dream changed. Tyson was now in a large, echoey room with a domed roof. The room was illuminated by a chandelier on the roof. There was lava nearby. The bubbles of flame popping, the hot air, he could feel all of it. He walked towards the lava – a door with a shiny bronze doorknob. He twisted the warm knob and pushed the door open. He stepped into a room that was much smaller than the first one. A pool of lava glowed in the center of the room. The walls were a dull brown color.

The room was dark, the only light coming from the lava. Wellschnick, wearing a faded shirt, was tied to a chair. But the thing, or person, that stood out most in the room was the giant, 10-foot man that Tyson had seen in his last dream, but now he had glowing red eyes and charred skin.

“Give me the sword,” bellowed the giant. His voice was calm, but it was low and terrifying.

Wellschnick handed him the sword keychain, his entire arm trembling. The giant raised the keychain, and it grew into a sword. The sword paralyzed Tyson, and he woke up, still shaking.

CHAPTER 5: THE CRYSTAL

Tyson suddenly sat up in his own pool of sweat. Meanwhile, Ava woke up as well, thinking everything that had just happened was a weird dream.

“Come on, Ava. Allow me to show you what I’ve been meaning to show you this whole time you were on this island.” Zoe grabbed them by their shirts and flew them to a tree not far from where they were, setting them down on a branch.

Zoe pointed her beak at a hole in the tree, barely large enough for Ava’s head to fit in. Zoe hopped into the hole easily because she was roughly the size of a chickadee. She motioned with her wings for Ava to come into the hole. Ava’s body tensed just thinking about going inside that hole. But she got over it and squeezed through the hole headfirst. Wood scraped her neck and splintered her hands. She held onto the sides of the hole and pushed herself into the hole. Once she got in, she brushed the wood chunks off of her legs and looked up.

Zoe chirped, “This tree is protected by magical boundaries. The king of peace, Pax, put a spell on it to protect us. When you came along, I knew that you had magic in you. I didn’t know where it came from, but I knew someone in your family was cursed.”

Ava looked at Zoe. "My family? Cursed?" She couldn’t get things straight in her mind. She could talk to birds, and now a little bird is telling her she’s cursed?

“I know you’re confused, but let me show you where this magic comes from,” Zoe told her.

The tree was much bigger from the inside, and the walls were surprisingly smooth. On a tall stand, a blue gem lay, illuminating the entire inside of the hollow tree trunk. Ava shielded her eyes from the blinding light.

Zoe explained, “This is where all of the magic comes from. The tree, you and Tyson’s powers, everything. If we lost this crystal, we would have no home. We would have nothing.”

CHAPTER 6: PAX

“Wait,” Ava said. She had just realized something. “Someone could just reach their hand in and grab the gem right out from the tree, right?” she asked.

Zoe responded, “We have enough security, Ava,” she told her. Ava, Tyson, Pax, and Wellschnick were the only humans who could take the gem. Before Zoe could open her beak again, a loud boom came from outside the tree, shaking the island.

“Oh no,” Zoe said, worriedly. “We don't usually have visitors. Let's go see who the intruder is. I’ll get the army of birds ready.”

To everyone’s surprise, it was Pax!

The birds flew back, and Pax talked in a deep, booming voice.

“I am here to tell you that Abaddon, the King of Destruction and Negativity, is controlling your father with the forces of evil. He has given him a magical sword keychain that could help him destroy peace. If he did not obey him and the forces of evil, Abaddon said, he would harm his family . . .”

Pax didn’t get to finish his sentence because, at that moment, a shadow loomed over the island. All the firebirds ducked under branches for cover. Zoe blasted beams of fire towards them, but missed and hit Pax's shield, immediately melting the metal.

Pax threw his shield into the sand with a thump, still sizzling. When everyone looked up, a massive swarm of flies were flying in formation in the air, creating an A shape.

“Abaddon's symbol!” Zoe yelled. Everything went black.

CHAPTER 7: ABADDON’S PALACE

Ava awoke with surprisingly cold flames around her, rising higher and wrapping around her. Soon she was engulfed in the cold, white flames.

"I am so going to die," Ava thought. She opened her mouth to yell, but no sound came out. The flames burned her mouth cold and took away her voice. Ava kicked at the flames with her sneakers, but they wouldn’t let go. Finally, she gave up and collapsed in the flames.

Soon the white fire died down, and she could hear Tyson whisper-shouting, “Come on!”

“Where are we?” Ava asked.

Tyson grabbed her by the arm and pulled her through a dark, empty hallway. Ava could hear lava bubbles popping and the air growing warmer as they neared a door. The door blended in so well with the darkness that Ava couldn’t see it at first. But they came closer, and the door started to clear up and take shape. Tyson pushed against it, and Ava’s head began to spin as gravity pulled her to the ground. They came across a hallway with more identical black doors. Ava’s body trembled slightly. How far away was the island? Tyson knew what he was doing and stayed calm, leading Ava deeper and deeper through the dark hallway. Tyson stopped at a black door. In thick white lettering was a sign hanging steadily above the door. LAVA PIT.

“Just stay quiet. I saw this in one of my dreams. Abaddon is controlling dad,” Tyson whispered.

“Dad is in that room? Just because you saw it in a dream, doesn’t mean it’s real!” Ava thought of the fantasy books she had read. Was his dream a warning?

Tyson sighed, and calmly pressed his ear against the door. Ava followed, her ear next to his.

“Wellschnick. You know that Pax is gaining power. I am weakening, and you must save the forces of evil.” A low voice growled.

“But how would I destroy Pax and all of his powers?”

“For starters, get rid of the two kids outside. I can feel their presence.”

“Kids? In your palace?”

“King’s orders! Go! And destroy Pax for me, once and for all!” Abaddon barked.

Ava and Tyson gasped, huddling together. There was nowhere to run. Ava and Tyson were left trembling uncontrollably.

“It’s just dad,” Tyson whispered. But he was still nervous about being in the dark, facing the forces of evil. The door handle turned. Ava and Tyson held their breath, eyes wide. They could see Wellschnick’s black shoe stepping out of the lavailluminated room. When the door moved from their father’s face, Ava and Tyson both tensed up. Of course, Wellschnick didn’t know that it was his own two kids behind that door, and the utter look of shock and surprise on his face was evident.

“…Ava?” He stepped forward cautiously. “…Tyson?”

Wellschnick smiled as he bent down to look at them, sitting on the cold, hard floor. Abaddon’s words rang in his ears.

They have joined forces with Pax! DESTROY THEM!” yelled Abaddon from the room.

Through the tiny crack in the door Ava and Tyson could see Abaddon in his monstrous body. This wasn’t Abaddon’s original body, for that was destroyed by Pax. Wellschnick had worked hard, dedicating many hours to create a 10-foot body, in which Abaddon’s barelyalive soul had been transferred into. Wellschnick hesitated, stuck between the forces of peace and negativity.

“Dad!” Tyson yelled. “What would happen if Abaddon took over? The world would be destroyed! Just think about it!”

“Wellschnick, you must obey me. They are children. If we destroy Pax, we can have absolute power!”

Wellschnick twirled the sword keychain in his hands.

“Please, Dad! If you don’t, our world is at risk!”

"Evil is fading away! Kill the kids!”

But Wellschnick knew he couldn’t kill his kids and destroy peace forever. Would it really be worth it to have unlimited power, everything he wanted, a cool sword, but still be evil? Wellschnick saw that the world needed peace. This feeling was so strong that he broke free from Abaddon’s evil curse. That’s when he realized that only peace could destroy evil. They would need the strongest force of peace they could find.

“You can’t tell me what to do, Abaddon,” Wellschnick said. He raised the sword up and said, “White fire, take us to the island of Pax!”

"Wellschnick!” he groaned weakly. “Evil must conquer!”

“Not anymore,” Wellschnick replied, then grabbed the hands of his kids as the white fire engulfed them.

CHAPTER 8: PEACE AND EVIL

The three rolled onto the ground, the birds fluttering wildly above them.

“Kids! Get us to the crystal of peace. Fast.” Wellshnick pushed himself off of the wet sand and ran into the wisteria forest, Ava and Tyson following close behind.

“What are you doing!?” Ava yelled.

She dashed as fast as her legs could take her, sand puffing up in clouds as she ran. Why would her father need the crystal!? He just betrayed Abaddon!

Ava stumbled across the tallest tree on the island, and lifted her head to thousands of tiny pink petals, gleaming in the sunlight. Ava wrapped her fingers around a branch, and set her foot on a lower one. Then she hoisted herself up by her arms and began to climb, one branch at a time. She could feel Tyson’s breathing on the back of her neck, and she knew that he and her father were following her up the tree. Ava was hesitant, though; Her father could probably take the crystal when he got up there! She shook the thought out of her head and continued climbing, faster and higher, until her arms reached up into the small hole in the tree. Now it seemed not only smaller than before, but with splinters around the inside. Ava crawled in. The wood scraped her thin dress, but surprisingly it didn’t hurt. She began searching through the tunnels. Ava turned her head, seeing that Tyson and Wellschnick were still close behind her, and saw light spilling down from the tunnel in front of her. Ducking down into the tunnel, she braced her arms against the smooth wood walls and crawled into the gem room.

“Dad! What are you doing!?” Ava and Tyson screamed as their father reached out and grabbed the crystal.

“Only peace can destroy evil,” Wellschnick said menacingly, and, pulling back the fist with the crystal of peace in it, smashed the keychain into pieces.

CHAPTER 9: BACK TOGETHER

“The power of peace is much stronger than the power of evil,” Wellshnick said, grabbing the pieces of the sword. Now Abaddon was destroyed, and the crystal glowed brighter than ever before.

“Now let’s get back before mom finds out,” Wellschnick took the arms of his kids.

“Wait, wouldn’t mom be worried?” Tyson asked. “It’s been days!”

“Not in the magical world,” their father replied. “This island is where the magical world and the real-world meet. No time has passed. The cruise is just out of the magical boundaries.”

Then he lifted the shattered pieces of the sword and threw them into the sea, shouting proudly, “White fire, take us back to the cruise ship!”

And the blinding white fire swirled around them, and then, as if nothing happened, they walked right back onto the cruise ship as if nothing had happened.

“Wellschnick!” Their mother screamed in delight. “My God, you came back!” She grabbed him and squealed. “How would you have ended up on that island!?”