The Dead Rose
Dylan Holland
5/14/2014
Chapter 1:
The Beginning
Will dodged the backhand blow and staggered back. Drunk as he was he missed the
quick jab at his head which ended the fight.
He woke up in a bed with an enormous head ache " ooh", "don't move you'll break the
sleep charm" a woman said”,“He’s fine Minerva, your fussing" someone said.
"who'sWho’s that?" I asked "he's my husband lupus and I'm Minerva" "Minerva said.
"amsaid. “Am I dead" I enquired "no but youryou’re not too far from it" lupus said. I
blacked out. When I woke up I was feeling better but when I opened my eyes I saw a
daemon . I leapt out of bed and immediately wished I hadn't, I felt nauseous
butnauseous but I still drew my knife from my pocket and stood ready eyeing the
monster. it was a rever man it lunged at him and Ihe dodged and stabbed in the eye but
just before my blade pierced his eye socketit got there it swerved off target and I
stumbled and I was nearly killed right there. Thethere. The rever man swung and
missed me by an inch. I then moved back and fell into the portal......
Chapter 2:
The Mirror
I i rocketed through the mirror and saw a harsh dark bright gentle light dark world a
mixed up disconcerting world in which everything was strange and wrong somehow.
pattiloPattilo daemon’s swirled and twisted every whereeverywhere and and suddenly
daemons weren't there but they were there was no physical land and everything
changed constantly. Suddenly every thingeverything was disturbed as a mortuus walked
or rather twisted towards me I was so terrified that I nearly cried. thenThen I
remembered the portal, I lunged for the portal as he reached me as Ii disappeared into
the portal. Tthe mortuus ground his teeth and bellowed.
I i lunged out of a swirling mess that was the portal "Your coming was foretold Will
Ramona" a womaen said ,"You saw me coming wise one?" I askedAsked will for I he
had seen her forked tong and knew she was a magi."I dreamedt about you coming, it is
not good news" the magi replied.
Chapter 3:
The Unholy Child
When I woke up I knew there was something wrong. I could see that papa was scared
and I couldn't feel mamma at all.
What was happening?. "Mamma, papa, where are you" II asked quietly.
There was a crash and a grunt and then I heard a sabre drawn and I leapt out of bed
and grabbed my bag. I knew I should run but I had to make sure. theThe door exploded
and I ran. I leapt out of the window and dropped to the church ground.
Immediately I was on fire not really my elemental charm prevented that but it really hurt.
I fell writhing to the consecrated ground.
What was happening I knew papa and mama couldn't go on consecrated ground but I
wasn't 17 yet.
Or was I?
I managed to crawl to the outside of the church and lay there panting.
I could hardly believe it, I was of age. Could I do magic, more specifically elemental
magic?
Well Xavier never beat the daemons without trying.
I tried I tried until I could do no more and then I tried more, I tried until I went red. and
yes was that a flicker, a spark yes!!! I could do magic. Then the man crashed to the
ground and ran towards me.
Chapter 4:
The Meeting
There was a bone shattering,teethshattering, teeth chattering smash,Ismash looked up
but saw nothing but dust.
Suddenly a fire ball zipped towards me,I dodged and saw another fire ball heading
towards me I dodged again. Suddenly the wise woman yelled to me "I opened a portal
but it won't last long". "Wise woman" I cried as I dodged fire balls "I will be fine,now go" I
ran to the portal and jumped into it looking back at the wise woman as I fell through the
swirling matter of the portal.
I scrambled up and ran, I ran like I'd never ran before. After what seemed like hours I
finally stopped panting.
I looked behind me but i couldn't see the man but I was still in danger. So I kept running
for a while until I reached a house I creeped to the door and peeked inside there was a
person inside. He was beautiful not handsome, beautiful. Then he saw me and said
"come in" wearily.
I went in.
Inside it was plain but that didn't matter because what was inside was better than
anything the grytholds had ever made. It was the adomamdora!!! "Is that the
adomamdora?" I asked. The man replied " yes I got it from the daemon worlds" he told
me, he said that like normal people would say I went for a walk.
"You recognise it" he asked me. I caught myself before I told him everything
"Yes I ummm read about it" I told him, he just smiled. I got the feeling that he knew I
hadn't read about it at all. "Stupid" I thought "stupid stupid stupid". "What's your
name?"he asked me. "Abigail horried" I answered relieved .
"My name is will, will Sklyter" he told me, "I like your name". "Thhhanks, I think" "not
sure?" I'm not all bad you know"will said to me. I nodded mortified. "It's
all right it's happened before". "Where are you going?" Will inquired ......."To my uncles"
I told him upset for lying to him. "Ohh" was all he said. Was it my imagination or did he
sound upset? It must be my mind he couldn't possibly like me!!!
Well you could stay here but there's only one bed ,I blushed "that's fine" I told him. He
blushed nervously
Chapter 4:
The Attack
That night they both squeezed into the tiny bed,her cuddling up to him and both of them
looked uncomfortable.
I tried to go to sleep but I couldn't with him cuddling me. So I settled into a long night. But
soon I fell asleep. I awoke with a start to a sudden noise. It went "shoo shoo" repetitively
and stopped me from sleeping. I looked up and saw something I would never forget it
was a daemon with another daemon. I screamed, a vivid heart rending screen. Will
awoke with a start "what" he asked me, climbing from the bed reaching for the knife on
the bed head,"look" I told him. He looked and he swore quietly and put the knife down.
Nothing I can do, its up to you magi. Now it was my turn to swear "you knew?" "All
along" Will told me "now fix it" he said nodding towards the daemon hunter. I glared at
him and reached into my magic and thought of dark, heavy dark and suddenly
something happened, the daemon and the daemon hunter exploded.
"Good job" said will "that was impressive". I suddenly felt faint and I sat down. "Abigail
are you all right?" Will asked sounding concerned. "Fine" I told him waving him off "just
tired" "I'll be in the bedroom if you need me" "why would I need you?" I asked will, feeling
red and hoping I wasn't "I don't know", will said, now he was red. "Bye" I said to will "bye"
he said back and walked to his room.
Chapter 5:
The Battle
In the morning when I woke Abigail was already up. I remembered last night and
blushed. Abigail noticed me and said " hi, the breakfast is in the middle room" "but I don't
have a middle room!!" I said,she blushed and told me "I was awake all night and I
wanted to use magic so aaaa, taaa daaa" "wow that's amazing"I told her she blushed
again she did that a lot when she did that I just wanted to feel her lips with mine
"enough" I told myself she obviously didn't love me. Ow the room, we'll just don't touch it
she told me and marched away. "Ok" I said but she had already disappeared to the
bedroom to get her stuff. I sat down and ate my breakfast, it was plain biscuits and
salted meat. There was a lot of meat, wait a second I didn't have that much meat, "
Abigail!!!!!!!" "Yes",the reply floated down from the bedroom "did you take all of the
meat?", "ummm maybe" she said,I groaned, "now I'll have to hunt again" "not right now
there are men with swords heading to the door" "whaaaat!!!"I yelled "you heard me Will"
she yelled back. I drew my sword and picked up my bag and adopted the ready position
on one side of the door. The door was smashed open and I swung my sword downwards
and felt a resistance then my sword smashed through the mans skull and blood and
brains spewed out,then another man swung at me and I dodged under his halfhearted
blow and stabbed him in the neck. He fell screaming,clutching at his neck. The man was
was dead before he reached the ground. "Anymore?" I asked there was no reply, I didn't
think there would be I moved to pick up the door and slipped in the blood and cut myself
on a mans knife. A crossbow bolt slammed into the wall behind were i was before. I
scrambled up and picked up the door and using it as a shield I made to the dining room I
went inside. "What happened" Abigail asked from behind me, I turned around and kissed
her and she after a moment of hesitation kissed me back just as fiercely and we tumbled
into bed together.
Chapter 6:
The Poisoning
The next morning I woke before will to find myself in wills bed with his arms around me.
Then I remembered I smiled and clambered out of the bed. I was naked,I groaned. Will
woke up, and looked up at me squinting slightly. "Wow you look beautiful" I blushed and
picked up my dress then saw it was torn in half."Did you do this?" He looked sheepish
"sorry,there's a leather jerkin and pants on the floor" I grabbed them and got dressed.
Will got up and got dressed in a tunic and sandals and padded down to the kitchen.
When I came down he was making breakfast for us. "Hi" I said "hi you" he replied I sent
a sliver of magic at him and he was knocked backwards, he ran at me and tackled me.
We both fell laughing to the floor. Suddenly will started gasping for breath and I saw for
the first time that the cut on his finger was green and oozing pus
"Will" I cried "wound, poisoned!!" He gasped. I touched him and sent my magic into him.
There was a huge shadow inside him and then I fell into his soul. Inside everything was
dark. I tried my magic and i was relieved to feel it. I used my magic to propel myself out
taking part of the dark out of him.
When I woke up will was better but not well.
Chapter 7:
The Encounter
The next day we left for Mycenae to find the healer Socrate, descendant of agathor. It
turned out that will had a wagon and we went to the village to hire some horses. After
purchasing two horses we embarked on the voyage to Mycenae. However half way to
Mycenae a dark shadow flew out of the night and sank his teeth into Alfred one of our
horses, it was a vampire. I reached for my magic and smashed it at the vampire but the
vampire raised a hand and stopped the tidal wave of energy and blasted the tree. I
turned to warn will but he was already standing up knife in hand and suddenly I
recognised the vampire and yelled to will "no!!!"
But the knife was already in motion, swinging towards the vampire, Xavier. Xavier
snatched the knife out of the air and dropped it immediately, for the knife was made of
quartite and I saw that his hand was burnt. I rushed forwards but Xavier disappeared.
Chapter 8:
The Death
There were no more encounters with old friends and within a day we were at wyverne
pass. We stayed there and had a glorious night of sex, little did we know it would be our
last.
The next day we arrived at Mycenae and went inside the city walls. We then inquired
after Socrate the healer. Having found no trace we went to the poorer districts. "Smash"
a body flew out of a door way and knocked me over, a large man came out of the door
and drew a large sword. I tried to knock the sword out of his hand but I couldn't use my
magic!!! The sabre came towards me and cut my my shirt open, I fell heavily backwards
as the sabre flew clumsily through the area where my body had been. "Your bleeding"
will cried, "I'm fine, just a scratch" I told will. "Look out" I yelled at will but it was too late
the sabre thudded into him and I saw the life leave his eyes. "Nooooo" I screamed, the
man drew his sabre back and a haze of red descended upon me, I screamed at the man
and drew will's sword and attacked the man. The sword sliced through the mans flesh
again and again, blood spurted from the man and he fell down bleeding heavily I left him
there to die. I wandered around aimlessly until eventually I found an inn. I went in and
paid for a bed and fell down on the bed. After many hours I eventually cried myself to
sleep, and woke up to the sound of bruckers frying. I sighed and got out of bed then sat
down on the bed again feeling dizzy. I looked down at my shirt, it was crusted with blood
from several slashes on my body. "Want a Brucker?" somebody asked', "will" I gasped
spinning around "no, just me" said the person who I had mistaken for will but now saw
he was very different. he had longer hair for one and he had tanned skin. He was very
beautiful. "no" i told myself, "not so soon after will!!!!" "Would you like to have breakfast
with me?" he asked, "no" i said abruptly "no" i said again.
Chapter 9:
The Mourning
The next few days were hell and not because will was dead. It was because i was
attracted to the dark skinned man who i had learned was called Jed. every time i saw
him i just wanted to stare at his skin and into his dark violent eyes but i didn't because
will lovely will was dead. sometimes i just wanted to cry and other times i felt unmoved.
but i wasn't dead physically. "hello?" Jed called "hi" i replied caught off guard by his
sudden entrance, "how are you?" he asked, "fine" i snapped. There was a smash and i
spun around towards the source of the sound. The source of the sound was the window
which had been smashed open by heavy object. the object in question was in fact an
axe, which was wielded by a large man dressed in heavy plate armour without a helmet.
"duck" Jed yelled from behind me, i complied and an axe came spinning towards the
man who then blocked the throwing axe which suddenly seemed vey small compared to
his large axe. Jed advanced towards the man with another throwing axe, spinning
slightly. i was suddenly afraid for Jed and tried to use my magic but couldn't!!! "Jed!!" i
cried, "yes" he responded, slightly amused, i hesitated, "be careful" i finally said "i didn't
know you cared" he replied, definitely amused this time. i hesitated again and then ran
away. The last sounds i heard were the faint but distinct sound of battle.
Chapter 10:
The Cleric
the magic poured out of me then went back into me, bringing the familiar pain. my only
condolence was that the man wouldn't suffer anymore. i stumbled towards an empty
bed,and called "water" before collapsing on the bed, i fell asleep almost instantly. "thank
you ever so much" i winy nasal voice said "thats fine, just doing my job" i replied, rather
tired. " if you ever need anything just ask" the winy voice told me and walked away. as
he left i saw his pendant bumping gently against his chest, i dismissed it and picked up
the water pitcher beside my bed. i felt the burn of a half healed cut, before an impact on
my head knocked me out.
i woke up to a pain in my head. i tried to sit up and found that my legs and wrists were
tied. i struggled then realised that it was futile, the bonds were too tight. somebody must
of heard me because a mans voice informed another person "she's awake" "i am aware"
another voice said, this voice was sweet and light, a women's voice. suddenly there was
a force pressing painfully down on my body, stopping me moving.
Suddenly an arrow smashed through the flimsy door on the carriage inches from my
head. Two more arrows zipped through the carriage cutting the bonds on my hands, i
could hardly believe my luck. i reached to the arrow nearest my head and used it to cut
the ropes on my feet. "no, you will not escape again!!" the woman screamed, i didn't
know what she meant but i wasn't going to stick around to find out. i ran to the forest and
slipped in a pool of blood, the blood came from a man, dead with his throat torn out. this
was all i saw because just then my head hit a rock.
Chapter 11:
The Killing Ground
Blood spurted from where the sword had struck the man in the side. i yanked the sword
free and promptly vomited. "help" came a faint voice, i looked up and saw a young man
battling two seasoned veterans. he wouldn't last long, i ran towards him drawing my
sword. the young man blocked a sword blow and held it. i could see his arms shaking
from holding the sword. i lunged at the other man who had drawn back to stab the young
man, before he could stab him my sword reached his heart and he fell down dying. the
young man staggered back, the sword narrowly missing him. he lifted the sword up but i
could see it was an effort. the veteran glanced back and forth between me and the
young man and focussed on me, lifting his sword up to the ready position. i swung my
sword at his, he blocked and stabbed at me. he was over reached and i took the chance.
my sword slipped between his ribs and pierced his lungs. i waited until he was well and
truly dead before drawing my blade out of his dead body and pushing it aside with the
toe of my boot. "thanks, by the way, my names Socrate" Socrate said. i didn't like his
attitude, he spoke like a noble, i told him so. "thanks?" Socrate said, by way of reply. an
arrow zipped through the air and clanged off my helmet, i winced, "lets get to the castle"
i yelled above the noise of battle. we ran to the castle, where we ran head first into a
portal. it was sucking me in!!! i tried to hold onto the door but the handle ripped away and
i fell into the portal. then a force grabbed me, it was Socrate!! But his magic wasn't
strong enough and we both fell into the gaping portal.
Chapter 12:
The River
Ii was in the river when a portal opened and two men shot out of it. they splashed into
the water next to me and went under, they were going to drown!!! i swam down to the
bottom of the pool and tried to pull them up. finally their heads broke the surface and i
took a moment to wonder who they were. "abigail, are you all right?" Alexandra asked, i
had saved Alexandra from being killed by raiders (though she said she was fine) and
she had been with me ever since. "fine but these two men came out of a portal,we're
going to need some blankets" i yelled into the house. a moment later Alexandra came
out of the house burdened with heavy blankets, then dropped them when she saw the
men. up till then i don't think she believed me. the thin man opened his eyes and
whistled. what are you whistling at?" Alexandra said harshly, "nothing" the thin man said,
revealing that he had a soft voice like the sarie of the north. the thin man looked up and i
saw that he had stormy blue eyes "my names Socrate". i must of shown my surprised
because he chuckled and pushed his hair up, i saw that he had a nice head but didn't let
myself go any further. the other man stood up fully and cleared his throat, "My name is
Josiah Heimdall" he growled through his newly cleared throat. "why don't you come
inside" Alexandra called from the banks. the men got out and walked inside, i then
climbed out of the river. naked i walked over to the blankets and put them on. dressed in
only blankets she opened the door and went to her room to get dressed. 12 minutes
later she came down to lunch, they had thrown eggs and goats milk butter. there was no
conversation. after lunch i made to rise and Socrate rose to and pulled me into a side
room that hadn't been there before, i hesitated but decided to do what he wanted, for
now. "i need to tell you something" Socrate said, "well what is it?" i demanded, "will isn't
dead" he said quietly, i think he said something after that but i didn't hear him, Will,
alive? those two words didn't go together anymore "do you know where he is?" i asked
Socrate, "yes" he responded. "where?" i asked, "in the deserts to the west."
Chapter 13:
The Deserts
the deserts are hot. it wasn't as if we hadn't been warned. the deserts were like an
inferno of heat, unluckily we ran out of water on the second day and just made it to the
tombs of atwai, which had a flowing stream of water. we drank until we could drink no
more ad filled our canteens. we said goodbye to the light and descended into the dark
tunnels.
we descended until we met our first challenge, a sealed portal. it proved no problem to
me and Socrate and was open in seconds. on the other side there were many cells,
many cells later i found the right one "its here" i called, my voice echoing in the silence. i
silently curse myself, we had all said that we would be quiet because there were things
here best left undisturbed. luckily my voice didn't wake anything and we all clustered
around the cell door, Josiah picked up a chair and before we could stop him, smashed it
into the iron grating. the iron gave way under the chair with a "schreek","shhhh" we all
whispered. inside there was an iron door, "do we keep going?, or do we stop?" Josiah
asked no one in particular," "keep going" i replied my hand already on the handle. the
door was not locked and the handle turned easily under my hand. the first thing that
struck me was the smell, it smelt like a thousand corpses rotting in a boiler room. "what
is that smell" i asked, "no idea" Socrate replied, "but its coming from the spelled
pentacle". i looked at the pentacle and felt the corrosive effect of the large buildup of
unused magic inside the pentacle, what was inside the pentacle was worse than any
monster or demon, it was will floating in the air. "will!!!" i screamed, running towards the
pentacle. i smashed into the pentacle and felt my nose break. , suddenly will turned
towards me and laughed, a high pitched, horrible laugh. "hello abigail horrid" will spat,
"will?","no, I'm pacifai, and i need you to break the circle"pacifai rasped in a horrible
voice, "never!!!!" i swore, suddenly will gasped, "Abigail, don't do it" "but if i don't you will
die!!" i screamed desperately. "I'm already dead" he cried quietly, those two words
infused with hopelessness. "i can bring him back" pacifai told me using wills vocal cords,
"you two can live together again, all you have to do is break the pentacle" "abigail don't
do it" Socrate plead desperately but it was too late, i had already thrown my magic and
everyone watched in horror as the magic hit the pentacle, smashing the final defence
against pacifai. with a blood curdling shriek pacifai launched herself at the severely
weakened pentacle and broke free!!! "NOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!!!" Socrate cried starting a
pentagram but before it was finished he was blasted back by the released magic, and
fell down into a huge cavern. meanwhile i was knocked back by the explosion and fell
down another cavern deep into the earth, then it all went black.
Chapter 14:
The Cavern of Souls
i woke to feel a gentle heat emanating from the floor i opened my eyes and pulled myself
up. the heat seemed to come from the floor and i wondered what the source was. "ugh" i
groaned feeling my parched mouth, i briefly considered casting a spell to find water but
dismissed it, i was too tired and besides there wouldn't be any water down here. "hello?"
i whispered, the sound echoing in the empty cavern, i heard a rustling and then a large
bat dropped to the ground. i scrambled back and fell down, grazing my hand. "singa" i
cried the spell causing fire to leap out of my hand like a fiery lance of destruction,
burning the bat. i breathed a sigh of relief but suddenly the bat started dragging itself
towards me screaming bloody revenge. what was it?i wondered scrambling back to the
cliff face desperately, the beast causing my mind to scream at me to run, get away from
the beast and escape but i held my ground finding some hidden reserve of courage and
stood shaking from what i now realised were multiple fractures in my leg. i tried to heal
them but when i reached for my magic, shaking slightly i felt nothing, i had spent
everything in the fire spell and still the bat advanced inexorably towards me. suddenly
another bat fell down and then another, "they were all advancing together" i thought
panicked, reaching for a rock or anything but the floor was smooth and there were no
gaps in what i now suspected was a spell made floor. just before the bats touched me a
flaming pentacle appeared around me and the bats screamed disappointedly and
wandered off to find easier prey. i looked around to thank my saviour but there was no
one there. the flames burnt steadily and i soon i fell into a deep dreamless sleep.
Chapter 15:
The Dead Rose
i fell and fell for what seemed like an age but i suspected was a few minutes but there
was no way to tell the time. i hit a small object, a bat maybe, then i hit another and
another until it felt like i was in a cloud of bats. the only thing i could hear was the rustling
of bats wings and the occasional scream from the bats, that was until i hit the ground.
the wind exploded from my lungs and i gasped for air, drowning in a sea of bats wings,
but the bats cleared away and i was finally able to see where i had landed, it was as i
feared, the cavern of the rose. i rose to my feet and was immediately blasted by a bolt of
dark lightning from the centre of a huge lake. i dropped like a stone, smacking to the
ground with a thump. "not that way then, i guess" i mused to myself and started crawling
towards the lake like a worm. when i reached the island i realised i had a problem, i
couldn't cast a spell without standing up because of the primary inversion and if i stood
up i would be blasted by lightning so i decided on a compromise, i would squat on the
ground. i summoned a boat that way and soon reached the island and stood up
expecting lightning to hit me but none did, i guess it was too close to the rose.
the roses prison was very strong and it took me a few hours to get in. i stepped inside
the first circle and torches flared up, i froze looking warily around but there seemed to be
no animated corpses shambling towards me so i quickly stepped inside the circle and
almost stepped on a curse stone, gingerly edging around it i reached the rose inside a
crystal box, spelled so no magic could enter. i drew a hidden knife and pried open the
box. inside was the rose, it was made of metal and emanated power.
Chapter 16:
The Book of Life
The book vibrated trying to break out of the magical bonds, "shhh my book, I need you to
find a way past the mirroring spell" a voice rasped out of a rotting throat, it was will, I
tried to call out to him but he couldn't hear me and he faded away.
I awoke with a gasp then saw that I was still safe inside the circle of fire. I couldn't touch
the fire, it burnt my hand before I got near, "what will I do?" I whispered, feeling the
stickiness of the roof of my mouth. I threw a ball of shimmering energy at the fire wall
half expecting it to be stopped by an energy force but the ball flew right through the fire
and vanished from sight, so the only thing stopping me going through was the flames,
"and the fire which would burn you if you touched it" a small voice whispered unhelpfully
at the back of my mind. Suddenly a body hit the ground next to the fire and I ran to the
body, braving the fire to help her. I rolled the body over and saw it was a young girl, she
wasn't breathing. I saw that she was clutching an object, I pried her cold dead fingers of
the object and saw it was a book. Squinting slightly to see in the flickering firelight I read
the title and felt cold, it was the book of life. i opened the book looking nervously around
but there was no one there. the first page said simply, life is for the living, in elegant
copperplate script. i flicked through the book but there was no spell labeled, how to get
out of a giant cavern while being locked in a magical fire circle. "its no use, this book
can't help me" i exclaimed angrily. suddenly the crackle of the fire stopped, it took me
about two seconds to realise what it was, then i sprinted out of the circle, the book in the
crook of my arm. until i hit something and was knock back onto my back, looking up i
followed the shadow to the head and breathed a sigh of relief, it was Socrate. All of a
suddenjust then i saw Socrate twist his hand and a i caught a glimpse of something
shiny before the spell sent me flying. the last thing i thought was that it was a shame that
will was alive then. i smashed into the ground,my head lolling back and sank into
unconsciousness.
Chapter 17:
The Dead are Alive
"will, don't do it" she mumbled in her sleep. it was keeping me awake and i hadn't slept
in a week, i considered waking her, but she woke before i could shake her awake. "why
are you watching me sleep" she demanded angrily, "sorry" i whispered. she snorted and
extricated herself from the blankets, which i had haphazardly piled on top of her. the
rose slithered up my sleeve and rested on the edge of my sleeve, it was getting
annoying now. the rose wouldn't stay in one solid form for more than about two minutes.
"whats that?" abigail inquired nodding towards the rose which had slipped out of my
sleeve and landed on the ground in snake form. "ehhhhhhh, nothing" i decided, it was
better than telling her everything at once, "it doesn't look like nothing", "really, its
nothing" i said again mentally willing it to not move, it complied. "Tell me the truth" she
demanded, I relented and explained what it was and where he had found it. "so, tell me,
how did you find me?, you didn't take my hair?", " maybe?" I whispered my voice
strained. Her hand found my cheek with a sharp "smack", " ouch" I cried my voice
reaching a before unfound high. " watch out, the bats" she whispered, suddenly alert, "
"they won't bother me" I boasted loudly, "not with the rose" shreaking twelve bats
dropped from the ceiling and flew towards us " watch me" i cried, the rose swirling into
sword form. The bats smashed into me, raking my hair and face, the only exposed parts
of my body. I swung my sword in huge sweeping slices that killed several bats instantly,
the curve metal blade burning their undead bodies, but yet more bats came down like
arrows from hell. Grinning insanely a swung the rose up and nearly stabbed my nose. "
need help?" someone asked, I spun around and saw it was abigail " sure" I replied and
she blasted some bats behind me with a lance of fire, I spun around again and stabbed
the sword into the ground. A huge shock wave erupted from the point of impact causing
my teeth to chatter and the bats to fly away, those of them who could. I swore " what's
wrong" Abigail asked fearfully from behind me, " bit my tongue" I said, or at least I tried
to, what came out was " ou bu mu tung", " sorry?", I spat out a mouthful of blood and
tried again" I bit my tongue" "look out!!" Abigail yelled and suddenly a force slammed me
forward onto my face. Abigail was facing something I couldn't see because my face was
in the dirt. I leaped up and saw that the bats had come back to life and were attacking
abigail, " the book of life, Abigail, the book of life can kill them" I screamed at her but she
didn't seem to hear, she was sso intent on battling the bats she was.
Chapter 18:
The Sorceress
“Singa”, the flame rushed greedily over the bats but they just came again. As if from a
distance, I heard a voice “ the book of life, Abigail, the book of life can kill them” like I
was in a dream I pulled open the book of life and holding it like a shield, I hit the bats and
chanted the first thing on the first page, “life is for the living” then the bats all died. They
shrivelled up and turned to dust. “ good job abigail” Socrate said, after spitting out a
mouthful of mud.
We walked down a path until we reached a small hole across the path and then we
jumped up to reach the low ceiling and climbed across. on the other side we could see a
large gathering of demons, “that's where pacifai will be” Socrate whispered and
summoned a small light in his hand. “a demon light” I said in awe,summoning a small
fire. “get down” Socrate yelled, lobbing the demon light at the cluster of demons, the ball
of light exploded destroying most of the demons. Before they could rally I threw my ball
at them, the fire burning but not killing them. The rose slithered up Socrate’s hand,
forming into a sword cane and Socrate screamed a battle cry and launched himself at
the incoming demons. The demons hesitated and then, burnt, blinded and being attack
by a man with the dead rose, fled. “never seen demons run away” I said, “you should not
have come, my powers are far beyond yours” Pacifai boomed from the centre of the
demons, Socrate raised the sword cane and blinding light exploded from it. Pacifai
laughed “pitiful,do you really think that will stop me?”. She laughed once more and
disappeared in an explosion of darkness. Socrate reached the spot where she had been
a second later, panting like a dog.
Chapter 19:
The Doorway
“helloooo?” a voice echoed around the empty cavern, “who’s there?” Socrate asked.
“thank the good lords, Socrate” Josiah cried, running towards Socrate, dropping his
sword. “Alexandra!!” I yelled joyfully, running towards her. I smashed into something and
I heard Socrate hit the same barrier, “what is this?”I racked my brain, “an energy field”
Socrate said drily, “a powerful one too”, “did will cast it?” Alexandra asked, “PACIFAI!!” I
yelled, “pacifai, not will” I yelled angrily. Suddenly I felt faint, I fell to my knees and lost
consciousness.
.
I woke up feeling a wetness on my tongue, I swirled it around in my mouth and then
swallowed, “what happened?” I groaned, “you fainted” Socrate whispered softly ,“and
then Alexandra thought that you might be dehydrated, “really”,i” I said sarcastically, I sat
up and immediately regretted it “ are you all right?” Socrate asked, concerned, “ fine” I
said, more for his sake than mine.
The bell rang. As one all he students filed out of the classroom, “just remember to hand
in your writing on Tuesday” I called wearily after the students. I resigned myself to
planning out the next lesson and slumped down on my desk, not looking at the hundreds
of submissions for the holland writing club. All of a sudden I heard a noise, I tried to think
what it was and then I realised, it was the tap running. I was filled with an unreasoning
fear, I opened the draw in my lovely mahogany desk and took out my letter opener, I told
myself that there was nothing to be afraid of, but it didn’t work. I crouched down and
walked over to the desk just right of the sink and prepared myself to leap up and defend
myself. i leapt up and saw that it was my star student, Mathew. He turned around and
saw me there, I must have looked quite a sight because he recoiled for a second, before
his brain registered that it was me. “mr new-jock, what are you doing?”he cried, alarmed.
“nothing, I could ask the same of you”I responded fiercely,“just washing up,good day”he
responded, frightened.
I walked back over to my desk, mentally scolding myself, “ you've read too many horror
stories”I scolded. I wearily picked up the first story and read the title, bad things come. I
shivered, and started reading.
Chapter 20:
The Sins of a Middle School Teacher
Have I mentioned I like chocolate, I like the lovely creamy texture of a well made
chocolate and I love it at the end of an exhausting day. it just takes all the wrinkles out of
my skin and makes me smile. I don’t think we’v been introduced properly,my name is
Scott new-jock, I am a middle grade teacher, I am married to a lovely woman called lily
new-jock. But I crave adventure, I love action. That s why I love books, I read them night
and day.But anyway, back to the story. “Today we’ll be looking at some of dickens work,
more precisely a tale of two cities, read this quote, It was the best of times, it was the
worst of times, it was the age of wisdom, it was the age of foolishness, it was the epoch
of belief, it was the epoch of incredulity, it was the season of Light, it was the season of
Darkness, it was the spring of hope, it was the winter of despair, we had everything
before us, we had nothing before us, we were all going direct to Heaven, we were all
going direct the other way” the class groaned and started writing their summaries. The
first students handed their work up in the first few minutes and the rest followed soon,
however I dismissed them all with a few choice words “check your work” or “ your doing
dickens an injustice” I looked at my desk, the title of a book looked innocently back at
me, I picked up my glasses to read it. Here's what it said, what to do if your too stuck to
move. What was happening? Was I going mad? Or we're the books really talking to me.
I thought about it all the way home. when I got home I realised that I had forgotten the
stack of books on my desk. So, with a groan I walked into the rain and damp to reach my
car. The car was a white Porsche Panerama and was slow to start, due to it being
twenty years old and it wasn't the best car when it was new. It took me twenty minutes to
reach the school, driving past the iconic cliffs in the driving rain. When I reached the
parking lot I took out my electronic key and clicked it once. The garage door opened and
I drove in
.
Chapter 21:
Reading
I was reading the dead rose again when my wife came in, I looked up “hello darling”she
said, “what are you reading?” “a book that one of my students made” “is it nice?”, “yes,
surprisingly”I said.
At work I was irritable and I took it out on the students, “NOOO!!!” I bellowed, several
students looked up, I lowered my voice, “what is this garbage” I whispered, “my work?”
the student half asked, frightened I breathed, In,out, in, out. “sorry” I apologised, “I had
little sleep last night”
“stop it, stop it,that’ll explode”I yelled, too late, the soot faced students turned slowly
towards me, there eyebrows were completely singed off. “whoops” they said, rather
pathetically, I rolled my eyes and picked up the fire extinguisher. The fire was out in
seconds
Dear Joseph
there have been many things that stopped me writing to you, students and work
Anyway I'm really sorry that I haven't wrote for a while, I need help to plan my
vegetable garden. Really it's urgent
Salutations, Scott new-jock
I pause for a second, thinking about the email then clicked the send button and a few
seconds later it appeared in the Sent box. There was a spider web above my mantle
piece, I find spiders very interesting, I watched the spider spin more web. There was a
sudden crash, I leapt up and then walked down to the garage. The door was locked,
behind the thick plywood door I could hear giggling and a more manly laugh. I steeled
myself and unlocked the door with the elaborate cast iron key and swung the door open.
What I saw made me gasp, my wife, my lily, kissing a man I now recognised as the
baker from down the street. They broke apart, lily whipping around, “ what are you
doing?” I asked, my voice steely, “ it's not what you think” lily pleaded, “ what do I think?,
get out of my house.” “wait”, “no!!” I said, half crying. She walked away and I started
crying, how fragile are we humans?
Chapter 22:
How to Deal with a Divorce
“I’m going to Greece” I announced, “think abut it, its not the end of the world”, “no I’m
sure and it's not just because of, you know” “ yeah I do know” Mathew said, resigned, I
got into my car and drove away slowly.
There were some days I could deal with it, others I couldn’t. Today was one of the best
days I had had in a while. I took the first plane to Greece. I flew business, and hated the
plastic cutlery. I dimly remembered a MP complaining about the plastic cutlery but it was
drowned out by the numbness. The plane rocked violently and we were al thrown left, it
was lucky that I had my seatbelt on or I would have been thrown across the aisle. “ he
have encountered a spot of turbulence” the pilots voice came through the speakers, the
plane rocked again. There were whispers starting and I found myself wondering if it was
something other than turbulence. “ please be quiet and buckle you seat belts, it is just a
small spot of turbulence” the pilot sounded like he was trying to convince himself. The
left wing exploded and I found myself actually wondering what would gapped next, “ the
wings exploded!!!” a woman screamed, “ it’ll all be all right” another man said, her
husband?, I wondered
“ the plane started falling and I wished I had never come. With a smash the plane hit the
small abandoned island and the cabin exploded. I saw women and men flying like rag
dolls, before the woman who had said the wing exploded smashed, her cold, dead chest
hitting me. I blacked out for a moment but then struggled awake. I started crawling out of
the plane, some instinct calling me to run away. No sooner than in did that, the plane
exploded, fire gushing out and burning my leg. The pain hit me like a sledge hammer, I
screamed and rolled around. I could smell my leg burning and I crawled pathetically
towards the water. I blacked out from the pain before I reached it.
Chapter 23:
Alive
I woke in enormous pain. I took a huge breathe of air. Little daggers of pain stabbed my
chest and I quickly exhaled. At least three broken ribs. I suddenly felt very alone, I tried
to stand up and my leg collapsed under me. I sobbed pitifully. “no ones going to help you
now you big baby” I silently chided and started to climb up the beach.
I managed to claw my way up the beach, despite the huge ugly wound on my leg. I
looked at the wreckage of the plane, the fire had burnt the inside of the plane completely
out. It looked like a huge scar. I looked at the wreckage, searching for a small fire. I saw
one, it was where I had been, maybe if I kept it going I would be able to be rescued.
Suddenly I thought about Lord Of The Flies, they were abandoned too, and they had a
signal fire, albeit one tha didn’t work. But they weren’t old men and they didn’t have a
huge burn. I grabbed a small fern branch and I crawled over to the small fire. The heat
was intense but I went through it all and deposited the fern on the fire. the acrid smoke
burnt my lungs and and I fell gasping onto my side and felt my broken ribs sharply. I saw
a small metal object and I picked it up, it had a symbol of two hands holding an eye in
their palms, there was a flash and I slumped over, my head hitting the ground. The rifles
popped and I heard men cry all around me, I took a breath and stood up. My rifle was
already ready, the sharp retort sounded and there was a sudden pain, I looked down
and saw the sandy ground, I unconsciously stumbled backwards and hitting back on the
ground, the breathe flew out of my lung and I gasped for air. It took a few seconds to
realise what was different, my wounds (all of them) were healed. I looked again at the
charm in my hand, I felt a sudden wetness in my chest, I pulled off my shirt and saw that
there was a small hole in my chest, I felt sick. But then I saw that the hole was already
closing, “ what the hell” I whispered. I stood up, experimentally, all fine, I dropped the
amulet. My leg buckled and I let out a cry of pain. When I picked up the amulet all the
pain stopped. From that I deduced that something was wrong with the island. I didn't
know how right I was.
Chapter 24:
Stranded
“Snuffle, snuffle”, I looked up half expecting a monster but it was only a pig. I put my
head back, suddenly it hit me, I had to get some food and the pig would be fine. I jerked
upright but the pig was already quite far away, down by the sea. As soon as it stepped in
the water I noticed a small circle of bubbles moving towards the pig, it went frantic (the
pig, not the circle of bubbles) and started splashing back to the shore. The circle of
bubbles was too fast and when it hit the pig the pig was sucked down into a small
whirlpool. I rushed over but stopped a few metres away from the foaming sea, the thing
was gone.
Since then I've built a small shelter and have a quickly diminishing supply of food. I
haven't seen any ships and am giving up hope of any rescue. It hit me suddenly that this
was what I had wanted,wasn't it? To be alone?, but now I was really alone I just wanted
to go home and have a hot cup of coffee. I looked down at the amulet I was turning over
in my hands, after closer examination it turned out that the ball was really an eye resting
in two palms. It scared me, that closed eye. It was very well fashioned and I thought that
it was probably very old, but it was so well made that I found that unlikely at the least. I
pulled myself to my feet with the pole of wood in my makeshift hut and creaked away
around the small part of the island that I had explored. I did this every day but it was
getting harder every day. I skirted around the plane then stopped, took a deep breath
and turned around. “It was just a plane wreck and it didn't have any heat left” I told
myself again and again and again, and finally I walked into the plane. I looked around
for some non perishable food ( some cans or some salted meat) but found none,
however I did find a novel and an electric toothbrush that still worked. I finished my walk
and went back into my hut and looked at my findings. The toothbrush was pretty useful
but I was past caring about my teeth, the novel likewise, though it would help pass the
time. I took a closer look at the novel and saw it was Pride and Prejudice. I thought I had
read it before but not recently so it would be interesting ( probably)
Chapter 25:
Pride and Prejudice
“I see no occasion for that. You and the girls may go, or you may send them by
themselves, which perhaps will be still better, for as you are as handsome as any of
them, Mr. Bingley may like you the best of the party”
I looked up bleary eyed at the sun, I had no watch and used the light of the sun to tell the
time. I heard sobbing and leapt to my feet, was there someone else on the island? When
I rounded the bend of he island I saw a young girl lying half in the water. She was very
pretty but it did not occupy my mind except as a side thought, my only thought was to
get her out of the water before the bubbles ate her. When I reached she turned to look at
me, I gasped at her eyes, her dancing red and green eyes. I steeled myself and pulled
her out of the water.
She was naked and I averted my eyes. “Don't feel awkward” she said, I glanced up,
surprised. She as pulling herself out of the water, I stood there dumb. “It's not the first
naked woman you've seen” I silently chided myself. I took off my jacket and tossed it to
her. When she put it on it went down to her knees. “Are you hurt?” I asked, “ No” she
shivered, pulled herself to her feet and collapsed. I mutely helped her up and took her to
the hut. There I started a fire from one of the slowly diminishing matches. “ I'll see what
clothes I can get you” I said and walked outside to find the birch branches that I put most
of the clothes I found in the plane wreck under so they didn't get wet. All I could find was
a small frock and a bonnet. Armed with my poor picking I returned and tossed the now
wet clothes at her, “do you have a name?” I asked, “ yes, Serena” she replied. “Thank
you” she said, as if the small kindness was more than she had ever received. “You are
strange” I remarked, she said nothing. I noticed that she was looking at the book,book; I
asked her if she wanted to read it, she replied, “ yes“yes please” I laylie out on my bed
and quickly fell asleep
Chapter 26:
A Dream
I looked around at my immediate surroundings; I was in a large open space that felt
ancient, older than anything else. “Welcome to the land of the spirits” Serena said from
behind me. I turned around and saw Serena, yet not Serena. She emanated power and
the power stifled my breath. “thisThis is where every thing that ever lived or will ever live
ends up”. I nodded dumbstruck and looked around for something to say, the ground
spiralled around, fading away. I reached out and something hit my hand, I cried out and
woke up sweating. Serena looked up calmly and then after confirming I was fine, lay
down again and quickly fell asleep.
To be continued……….