Do you remember when I said,
That this world would never end?
We were in our own little paradise,
With something new around each bend.
We smelt and tasted what we could,
With no reason to be scared.
The ice melted where we stood, together,
But one thing I never dared.
You smiled and threw away all your worries
As if they were another skin.
But before long you forgot all that was,
And found solace with your own kin.
You were my own song,
Resounding only for my ears.
The ice grew quickly then,
Making me retreat to the trees.
The fire burned within me,
And seemed to make the air around me shiver.
And the moon turned into,
A tiny movement in the air and yet silver.
The darkness grew within me,
And the wolves howled, never ending.
The sky quivered with anger,
And the trees swung around, yet never bending.
But then you were their,
Pulling me out of my nightmare.
Someone different, someone beautiful,
With a heart as strong as a bear.
I smiled and a new song started,
It seemed to drip with wine.
You were my own personal brew,
And the tree's turned to pine.
The place grew wilder, but not with evil,
But with nature and beauty and I was content.
Tuesday, June 29, 2010
The Moon
The moon pulls and draws me in. It's like an elixir brewed just for me. The right amount of sweetness and flavour. The silver glow it casts on my face grows brighter and the clouds part and I see the moon properly for the first time. The beauty makes the tears swell and roll over my cheeks, but I don not brush them aside. The air felt like a soft kiss upon my neck, and I pull my jacket closer. The wolves in the trees start their eerie song. My tears of happiness turn into fear. The danger is coming from everywhere. The moon seems to help hunt victims, but I knew I could turn away now and be safe. But the moon seemed to entrance me. The wolves howl again and a bird shrieks a warning from a tree. I try to turn, to move, but I can only watch as the beast shuffles forwards. The moon seems to mock me because even in death, it captured my entire being and wouldn't let go.
Bridge- Poem
I held onto you, but you fell away,
I stood on the bridge of your mind,
But was pushed until I tripped,
And on the ground I felt blind.
After the icy cold hail that fell on me,
I felt the rain on my face,
I shivered and begged for help
And I died without grace.
I stood on the bridge of your mind,
But was pushed until I tripped,
And on the ground I felt blind.
After the icy cold hail that fell on me,
I felt the rain on my face,
I shivered and begged for help
And I died without grace.
Shadows- Short and Sweet
I wait here in the shadows,
Hoping; wishing; for the day when
You wake up and let me pick up
The shattered pieces of your soul.
Hoping; wishing; for the day when
You wake up and let me pick up
The shattered pieces of your soul.
Mean girls- Not completed
One day I wish I could be somebody else.
I wish I could say something and have people support it.
That I could tell you a secret, and you would keep it.
If I were somebody like you.
Mean girls they call them, yet I stop and stare,
At the confidence that seems to flow out of them.
I wish I could say something and have people support it.
That I could tell you a secret, and you would keep it.
If I were somebody like you.
Mean girls they call them, yet I stop and stare,
At the confidence that seems to flow out of them.
Maddie used pieces of this in her email sig XD
I want to pick up the pieces of your precious heart,
And hold them lovingly in my hands.
Put it back slowly like a puzzle,
Yet I want to keep a piece.
How can a puzzle, or heart, be completed
When somebody else owns a part,
A piece that they won't give back,
Because it's too beautiful to show the world.
When will you realize that I also hold a piece,
Even if you don't realize it yet.
That I hold it in my hand,
Watching it whir and move with grace.
Should I hold it in my hand,
Or should I give it back,
And watch you hand the piece
out to someone else?
Yeh, I messed up the ending. If anyone can help me with that, please do
And hold them lovingly in my hands.
Put it back slowly like a puzzle,
Yet I want to keep a piece.
How can a puzzle, or heart, be completed
When somebody else owns a part,
A piece that they won't give back,
Because it's too beautiful to show the world.
When will you realize that I also hold a piece,
Even if you don't realize it yet.
That I hold it in my hand,
Watching it whir and move with grace.
Should I hold it in my hand,
Or should I give it back,
And watch you hand the piece
out to someone else?
Yeh, I messed up the ending. If anyone can help me with that, please do
When we were young- Poem
When we were young we had no regrets,
Yet as we get older, we get consumed in them.
We focus on what we can do to improve,
Forgetting that we are a precious gem.
When we were young we had change,
But when we get older we lack the capacity.
We try to stay the same so people will like us,
And for ourselves, all we do is pity.
When we were young we saw fairies,
Dancing right in front of our eyes.
How does our innocence disappear so quickly,
And leave us with nothing but lies.
Yet as we get older, we get consumed in them.
We focus on what we can do to improve,
Forgetting that we are a precious gem.
When we were young we had change,
But when we get older we lack the capacity.
We try to stay the same so people will like us,
And for ourselves, all we do is pity.
When we were young we saw fairies,
Dancing right in front of our eyes.
How does our innocence disappear so quickly,
And leave us with nothing but lies.
Don’t Walk Away- Chapter 9
Don’t Walk Away
….Chapter 9
My breath caught in my throat as I gazed at Hunter’s new face. In my memory he kept his human face. His natural gothic look was something I had become accustomed too, but now… I had no words to describe how beautiful he was.
His normal black hair now shone and shimmered in a wild way. It was messed up in such perfection that no hair artist could create, and his normal brown eyes were now shimmering silver, just like the Moon’s.
He nodded at Cole, “Now show her you. She’ll be able to tell the difference between good and evil soon enough.”
Cole shook his head in fear and I looked at him, “Its ok. Don’t be bullied by him. His ego is way up here,” I put my hand above my head.
Hunter shook his head and snorted with laughter. Cole glared at him. I groaned, wondering when my eyes were going to start watering with the testosterone rolling through the air.
“Time out!” I made a T with my hands, “Cut it out, you two! Why can’t we all just get along?”
That’s when Hunter and Cole burst out laughing together.
“With that jerk?” They both said at the exact same time, pointing at the other. They glared at each other before both dropping their hands.
“Or softly lightens o'er her face; Where thoughts serenely sweet express: How pure, how dear their dwelling place.” Hunter said softly to himself. I stared at him as if he’d gone crazy.
Cole muttered something crude under his breath before explaining, “She Walks in Beauty. Very famous.”
“Do you even remember what the word beauty means, or are you still caught up in your awfulness?” Hunter teased like a child.
Cole shot a glance at him before looking back at me, quoting the poem as well; A mind at peace with all below, A heart whose love is innocent!” He took my hand and went to lead me back inside, but suddenly Hunter was between the door and Cole.
“Don’t touch her,” Hunter hissed at Cole. “You have no right. She’s mine.”
Cole raised his eyebrows, “Let me guess, you pledged yourself to her?”
Hunter nodded, “Yes I did, meaning she is mine to love and protect. I can kill you if I want and get away with it.”
Cole laughed, “In case you don’t know, she can agree to more than one pledge. She can have more than one fey protecting her for all eternity.”
“Wait,” I interrupted, “Am I immortal?”
“Yes.” Cole said, “Now, a matter of business. And to stick it up Hunter,” Cole knelt in front of me, “Will you be my master? I pledge to honour, love, protect and cherish everything you were, are, and will be. Please say yes.”
“Put a hold on this for a minute,” I said, “This isn’t marriage is it?”
Cole shook his head, “No. But if you say yes, I am your warrior forever, unless I get killed.”
I was about to shake my head and refuse to let him protect me to the point of death, but Hunter pipped up.
“Cole’s very dramatic. This is a matter of pride for him. If you refuse his offer, then he must stay away from you forever. And if he feels really special, he might kill himself.” He grinned, “I pledged myself to you once before, and you said yes. So I am your number one protector!”
I grimaced, and then looked back at Cole, still kneeling on the ground, “How do I agree?” Cole said nothing.
Hunter stopped smiling, “He’s tongue is tied. He’s not allowed to talk until you agree. Let’s run off, leaving him here for a while, so he won’t be able to move or talk! That would be fun!” He sniggered to himself.
“Tell me the words to agree,” I growled.
Hunter looked at me startled then whispered something in my ear.
“Is that it?” I asked in surprise, “That’s kind of stupid.”
He nodded then backed away, a glint in his eyes.
“Cole,” I said nervously, hoping that this wasn’t another of Hunter’s childish pranks, “I accept your offer. You are now my warrior. Everything I say, goes. Every order I make, you do. And every opinion I stake, you will back up. Now rise.” My voice slipped on the last two words. I didn’t like having control over someone else.
Cole got up from the ground and embraced me. We hugged for a long time, and when I looked over at Hunter, all I saw was his back as he walked away from us both. I felt an overwhelming need to run to him and tell him everything was ok between us. Instead I called to him, “Hunter, don’t walk away from me anymore.” Tears overflowed from my eyes. They fell on my hand as I stepped away from Cole’s hug and took a few steps towards Hunter’s retreating form.
Hunter paused in his walking and turned back towards me, “You’ve just made it impossible for me to be your warrior.”
“Why?” I nearly screamed at him, “Why can’t you two just coexist?”
Hunter pointed at Cole, “Because he’s an evil son of a donkey.” He said simply.
“Will you both just shut up?” I screamed, “He’s evil! No, he’s evil! I’ve just had enough! Will you both give it a rest with the hating? Whatever came between you two in the first place, be it someone’s evil, just get over it already!”
Hunter and Cole eyed each other awkwardly, but remained silently.
“What now?” I sighed, “The screaming put you off?”
“Ah, not exactly,” Cole said, “Just, the, uh, thing that came between us in the first place.”
“Well?” I demanded, “What was it?”
Hunter half-whispered, but my ears caught it, “It was you.”
I felt the Earth shift under my feet, “Well, then, just get over me then.”
“It’s not that easy,” Hunter said, “You chose me, but now, you’re choosing him. I can’t just move on from that.”
My heart stopped in my chest, and then I ran up to Hunter, hugging him like I hugged Cole only a few moments ago. I felt Hunter kiss the top of my head, and then the tips of my faerie ears that were poking from my hair, being bigger and pointier than my original set.
“Willow,” He whispered the name I would now go by, now that I knew Janice was not mine.
I held onto him tighter, but Hunter put a finger under my chin, lifting my face, where his lips met mine.
We broke the kiss, as I heard the door to the house clang shut as Cole went back inside.
I turned towards the shut door and then back to Hunter. He smiled softly and it hurt me to tell him, “I have to go. So do you.” I gave him a peck on the cheek.
I went to the front door and I looked back at Hunter. He took a cigarette from his back pocket and lit it. My head instantly felt weak and dizzy. I slumped to my knees, and heard Hunter yelling my name.
Cole had come over, “Put that out, you moron,” he snapped at Hunter, “She’s still a Faerie; she doesn’t have the same immune system you do while you’re in your human form!”
Hunter cursed in fear and desperation, and I heard a cigarette being crushed under his foot.
“Fool,” I whispered, while my throat felt like sawdust; raw and burnt. I wouldn’t be surprised if I started coughing up blood next. As a matter of fact, I did.
I leant my head to the side and coughed again, red mixing with my saliva. I looked up at Cole, whose hands were supporting my head.
“Hunter’s getting help, ok? Hang in their,” Cole muttered over and over again under his breath.
“But I only smelt it from a distance,” I said, coughing some more blood up. I started hyperventilating at the sight of my own blood all over the ground.
*I haven't finished this chapter yet- more to come*
….Chapter 9
My breath caught in my throat as I gazed at Hunter’s new face. In my memory he kept his human face. His natural gothic look was something I had become accustomed too, but now… I had no words to describe how beautiful he was.
His normal black hair now shone and shimmered in a wild way. It was messed up in such perfection that no hair artist could create, and his normal brown eyes were now shimmering silver, just like the Moon’s.
He nodded at Cole, “Now show her you. She’ll be able to tell the difference between good and evil soon enough.”
Cole shook his head in fear and I looked at him, “Its ok. Don’t be bullied by him. His ego is way up here,” I put my hand above my head.
Hunter shook his head and snorted with laughter. Cole glared at him. I groaned, wondering when my eyes were going to start watering with the testosterone rolling through the air.
“Time out!” I made a T with my hands, “Cut it out, you two! Why can’t we all just get along?”
That’s when Hunter and Cole burst out laughing together.
“With that jerk?” They both said at the exact same time, pointing at the other. They glared at each other before both dropping their hands.
“Or softly lightens o'er her face; Where thoughts serenely sweet express: How pure, how dear their dwelling place.” Hunter said softly to himself. I stared at him as if he’d gone crazy.
Cole muttered something crude under his breath before explaining, “She Walks in Beauty. Very famous.”
“Do you even remember what the word beauty means, or are you still caught up in your awfulness?” Hunter teased like a child.
Cole shot a glance at him before looking back at me, quoting the poem as well; A mind at peace with all below, A heart whose love is innocent!” He took my hand and went to lead me back inside, but suddenly Hunter was between the door and Cole.
“Don’t touch her,” Hunter hissed at Cole. “You have no right. She’s mine.”
Cole raised his eyebrows, “Let me guess, you pledged yourself to her?”
Hunter nodded, “Yes I did, meaning she is mine to love and protect. I can kill you if I want and get away with it.”
Cole laughed, “In case you don’t know, she can agree to more than one pledge. She can have more than one fey protecting her for all eternity.”
“Wait,” I interrupted, “Am I immortal?”
“Yes.” Cole said, “Now, a matter of business. And to stick it up Hunter,” Cole knelt in front of me, “Will you be my master? I pledge to honour, love, protect and cherish everything you were, are, and will be. Please say yes.”
“Put a hold on this for a minute,” I said, “This isn’t marriage is it?”
Cole shook his head, “No. But if you say yes, I am your warrior forever, unless I get killed.”
I was about to shake my head and refuse to let him protect me to the point of death, but Hunter pipped up.
“Cole’s very dramatic. This is a matter of pride for him. If you refuse his offer, then he must stay away from you forever. And if he feels really special, he might kill himself.” He grinned, “I pledged myself to you once before, and you said yes. So I am your number one protector!”
I grimaced, and then looked back at Cole, still kneeling on the ground, “How do I agree?” Cole said nothing.
Hunter stopped smiling, “He’s tongue is tied. He’s not allowed to talk until you agree. Let’s run off, leaving him here for a while, so he won’t be able to move or talk! That would be fun!” He sniggered to himself.
“Tell me the words to agree,” I growled.
Hunter looked at me startled then whispered something in my ear.
“Is that it?” I asked in surprise, “That’s kind of stupid.”
He nodded then backed away, a glint in his eyes.
“Cole,” I said nervously, hoping that this wasn’t another of Hunter’s childish pranks, “I accept your offer. You are now my warrior. Everything I say, goes. Every order I make, you do. And every opinion I stake, you will back up. Now rise.” My voice slipped on the last two words. I didn’t like having control over someone else.
Cole got up from the ground and embraced me. We hugged for a long time, and when I looked over at Hunter, all I saw was his back as he walked away from us both. I felt an overwhelming need to run to him and tell him everything was ok between us. Instead I called to him, “Hunter, don’t walk away from me anymore.” Tears overflowed from my eyes. They fell on my hand as I stepped away from Cole’s hug and took a few steps towards Hunter’s retreating form.
Hunter paused in his walking and turned back towards me, “You’ve just made it impossible for me to be your warrior.”
“Why?” I nearly screamed at him, “Why can’t you two just coexist?”
Hunter pointed at Cole, “Because he’s an evil son of a donkey.” He said simply.
“Will you both just shut up?” I screamed, “He’s evil! No, he’s evil! I’ve just had enough! Will you both give it a rest with the hating? Whatever came between you two in the first place, be it someone’s evil, just get over it already!”
Hunter and Cole eyed each other awkwardly, but remained silently.
“What now?” I sighed, “The screaming put you off?”
“Ah, not exactly,” Cole said, “Just, the, uh, thing that came between us in the first place.”
“Well?” I demanded, “What was it?”
Hunter half-whispered, but my ears caught it, “It was you.”
I felt the Earth shift under my feet, “Well, then, just get over me then.”
“It’s not that easy,” Hunter said, “You chose me, but now, you’re choosing him. I can’t just move on from that.”
My heart stopped in my chest, and then I ran up to Hunter, hugging him like I hugged Cole only a few moments ago. I felt Hunter kiss the top of my head, and then the tips of my faerie ears that were poking from my hair, being bigger and pointier than my original set.
“Willow,” He whispered the name I would now go by, now that I knew Janice was not mine.
I held onto him tighter, but Hunter put a finger under my chin, lifting my face, where his lips met mine.
We broke the kiss, as I heard the door to the house clang shut as Cole went back inside.
I turned towards the shut door and then back to Hunter. He smiled softly and it hurt me to tell him, “I have to go. So do you.” I gave him a peck on the cheek.
I went to the front door and I looked back at Hunter. He took a cigarette from his back pocket and lit it. My head instantly felt weak and dizzy. I slumped to my knees, and heard Hunter yelling my name.
Cole had come over, “Put that out, you moron,” he snapped at Hunter, “She’s still a Faerie; she doesn’t have the same immune system you do while you’re in your human form!”
Hunter cursed in fear and desperation, and I heard a cigarette being crushed under his foot.
“Fool,” I whispered, while my throat felt like sawdust; raw and burnt. I wouldn’t be surprised if I started coughing up blood next. As a matter of fact, I did.
I leant my head to the side and coughed again, red mixing with my saliva. I looked up at Cole, whose hands were supporting my head.
“Hunter’s getting help, ok? Hang in their,” Cole muttered over and over again under his breath.
“But I only smelt it from a distance,” I said, coughing some more blood up. I started hyperventilating at the sight of my own blood all over the ground.
*I haven't finished this chapter yet- more to come*
Thinking Too Hard- Chapter 8
Thinking Too Hard
….Chapter 8
I rested on the car ride home, my head lolling on Cole’s shoulder, while he drove me home. Well, to his home.
When we got home, Anna had a thousand questions for me, and I answered what I could, but they froze when I mentioned the solitary fey. My blood curled at what Cole had to tell me.
“Yeah. We’re faeries.”
Anna and her husband left the room. I stared in disbelief at Cole, so he continued.
“I was hired to keep you safe. I never believed this would happen. I thought, once my job had finished, I would go back to Faerie and everything would be all right. But now that I’ve met you, I know that can’t happen. I wish I could have told you earlier.”
I didn’t say anything, but then suddenly thought of Hunter.
“So,” I said sleepily, “Hunter. What’s he? I know he has some random tattoo on his wrist.”
Cole nodded, “He’s solitary as well. Ok. I see you’re confused. Let me explain. Seelie court is where all the good faeries are. Well, they’re still wicked, but they don’t kill or hurt humans. Much. That’s what sort of makes them good, whereas the Unseelie court would purposely go out to kill humans. They’re evil. Solitary Fey are the Faeries that don’t kill: much. And they don’t get involved in war between the courts. That’s me. A pacifist. There are groups as well in the Solitary court. Hunter and I belong to a group that split in half.”
He took the moment to pull the jumper sleeve back from his wrist. There, was a snake inked into him. Exactly like Hunter’s, “We split into two,” He repeated, “Hunter chose the bad side to join, and I chose to do good. Whatever Hunter pretends to be, or do, he’s evil.”
I frowned, that didn’t sound too much like Hunter. He had a dark side, that was clear, but I doubt he would be evil.
“He enchanted you,” Cole said, looking deep into my eyes, “He enchanted you while you were a fey so you would follow his orders. But when you were Glamoured, you were protected.”
“Wait, Glamour? What’s that?” I asked, completely confused.
“Glamour is a type of magick all Faeries wield, and it can hide their true identities. They can change there facial shapes with them, or change them into humans, aka, you. They can also Glamour buildings to be invisible. A human can walk right over an area that has been Glamoured and they won’t even feel it.”
I shivered, wondering how many times I haven’t noticed a building because it’s been turned.
Cole touched my face, “Don’t run from this. Faerie is you. You are Faerie. You’re their princess. Your mother is Queen of the Seelie court. That’s why you’re so gentle. The Queen of the Seelie court has no problem with the Solitary Fey; actually, she’s hiring heaps of us, so that her Faerie can have more time to party and battle train. It works for us because we can afford more things in the Faerie markets.”
I rolled my eyes. Faerie markets, of course there would be!
Cole smiled tenderly, “You mean to much to me to see you go back to them so quickly, but first you have to find the killer.”
I frowned, “Why does everyone tell me that? The killer of what?”
“The disappearing humans. We even know that the Unseelie Court isn’t behind this cruelty. They like to take the stragglers, whereas whoever is doing this takes groups of people, which rules out the Seelie and Unseelie courts.
“The Seelie and Unseelie courts have too many rules involving human killings. That means it’s a solitary, like me, going on the killing spree. That also means none of us are safe from this slayer.”
I nod in understanding, “So that’s why I’m here.” I paused, “Then where is Janice?”
Cole looked away, “They were in a car crash because her father slipped on the icy road, and Janice was killed. We took that opportunity. We buried her body and we Glamoured you to look like her, but because her face was so messed up, we got certain features wrong.”
When you did your poetry reading, the Glamour started to fall, and that’s why you got your eye and hair colour back. It was a mistake, which really needs to be fixed.”
“How did you know about my English classes?” I asked suspiciously.
“I’m being paid to keep you safe. That means for me to follow you and keep you safe. I was watching through the window, concealing myself well. You could have seen through it easily if you knew about your powers.”
He passed me a rock from one of the random potted plants around the house. I curled my fingers around it, and I immediately felt it throbbing with energy.
“I’ve never felt this before.” I murmured to Cole.
He nodded, “And this is only you at your weakest. Now, close your eyes and imagine it turning into a flower.”
I closed my eyes, suspicious that it wouldn’t work. When I opened my eyes, their, sitting on the palm of my hand was a small yellow rose bud. I dropped it in horror, but Cole picked it up and changed it back into a rock before throwing it back into the bottom of the pot plant.
“Holy shit. I’m really not human,” I whispered to myself, feeling my wings brush my back, “I want to see my real self again!” I told him.
Cole nodded, “I can do that for you, but just don’t be scared,” I questioned him and he shook his head, “You’re of royal heritage, meaning you’re much more powerful. Your wings and skin colour change all the time.”
I frowned, “Ok, that’s weird.”
My phone buzzed in my pocket, “Didn’t I turn you off?” I looked at the called ID; it was Hunter.
“Screw you,” I said and refused his call. “I’m ready,” I said to Cole. He put his hands on my shoulders and said something under his breath. I felt the world tilt and my skin was shed like a children’s costume.
I gasped at everything I could feel around me. I could feel Cole’s warm hands on my shoulders, the kitchen tainted with iron, and the warm engine from the car outside.
I looked at my hands and saw they were a dull purple. Cole took them in his, “They match your eyes,” and he brought one of my hands to meet his mouth.
My wings fluttered on my back softly and I turned to look at them. They were bigger and they looked exactly like a monarch butterfly’s wings. They were almost as dark and sinister as the person who was calling me.
I picked up my vibrating phone and it read Hunter’s name once again. I swore under my breath.
“Hello?” I said into the phone, feigning ignorance.
“I know it’s you, turkey,” Hunter said.
“Mum?” I asked.
A soft chuckle, then, “Unless your mum has had a sex change, I don’t think she sounds like a man. It’s Hunter. But you already know that, don’t you?”
I shook my head, then realised that he couldn’t see it, “No. My mistake. What do you want?”
Hunter’s voice became sinister, “I suggest you look out the window.”
I looked around the room, “Which one?”
“The one to your left.”
I felt my back prickle with unease. I slowly turned to the window, and there was Hunter’s face, smiling jovially back at me.
“I’m going to kill you,” I yelled at the phone, before throwing it across the room. I ran to the door, and heard Cole’s questioning glance, before he followed me out. When he saw Hunter, he placed himself between us.
Hunter grinned at Cole, “Getting romantic in there are we?” he asked, but I could hear the threat that was unconcealed under his jolly words.
“Hunter,” I warned, “Back off.”
He turned to me, and I could see the hurt in his eyes, but it was quickly disguised by a flash of anger.
I grabbed Cole’s hand and egged him to go back inside and leave this to me, but when I saw Cole’s face, I knew he wouldn’t listen to me.
“Go away,” Cole hissed, “My family lives here.”
“Your family?” Hunter’s eyes widened in mock surprise, “If only I had a heart.”
I glared at him, “If only you had a brain, more like it!”
Hunter stared at me for a moment and came closer, “Your glamour is off. I almost didn’t recognise you. You’ve changed. More power.” He put one hand up as if to rest it on my wings, but then thought better of it, and dropped his hand. My heart beat with disappointment.
Hunter smiled warmly, “Guess it’s only fair that we drop our glamour too, no?”
Magick swirled around him and then his glamour was whisked away with the gentle breeze that stirred his hair; and so was my breath.
….Chapter 8
I rested on the car ride home, my head lolling on Cole’s shoulder, while he drove me home. Well, to his home.
When we got home, Anna had a thousand questions for me, and I answered what I could, but they froze when I mentioned the solitary fey. My blood curled at what Cole had to tell me.
“Yeah. We’re faeries.”
Anna and her husband left the room. I stared in disbelief at Cole, so he continued.
“I was hired to keep you safe. I never believed this would happen. I thought, once my job had finished, I would go back to Faerie and everything would be all right. But now that I’ve met you, I know that can’t happen. I wish I could have told you earlier.”
I didn’t say anything, but then suddenly thought of Hunter.
“So,” I said sleepily, “Hunter. What’s he? I know he has some random tattoo on his wrist.”
Cole nodded, “He’s solitary as well. Ok. I see you’re confused. Let me explain. Seelie court is where all the good faeries are. Well, they’re still wicked, but they don’t kill or hurt humans. Much. That’s what sort of makes them good, whereas the Unseelie court would purposely go out to kill humans. They’re evil. Solitary Fey are the Faeries that don’t kill: much. And they don’t get involved in war between the courts. That’s me. A pacifist. There are groups as well in the Solitary court. Hunter and I belong to a group that split in half.”
He took the moment to pull the jumper sleeve back from his wrist. There, was a snake inked into him. Exactly like Hunter’s, “We split into two,” He repeated, “Hunter chose the bad side to join, and I chose to do good. Whatever Hunter pretends to be, or do, he’s evil.”
I frowned, that didn’t sound too much like Hunter. He had a dark side, that was clear, but I doubt he would be evil.
“He enchanted you,” Cole said, looking deep into my eyes, “He enchanted you while you were a fey so you would follow his orders. But when you were Glamoured, you were protected.”
“Wait, Glamour? What’s that?” I asked, completely confused.
“Glamour is a type of magick all Faeries wield, and it can hide their true identities. They can change there facial shapes with them, or change them into humans, aka, you. They can also Glamour buildings to be invisible. A human can walk right over an area that has been Glamoured and they won’t even feel it.”
I shivered, wondering how many times I haven’t noticed a building because it’s been turned.
Cole touched my face, “Don’t run from this. Faerie is you. You are Faerie. You’re their princess. Your mother is Queen of the Seelie court. That’s why you’re so gentle. The Queen of the Seelie court has no problem with the Solitary Fey; actually, she’s hiring heaps of us, so that her Faerie can have more time to party and battle train. It works for us because we can afford more things in the Faerie markets.”
I rolled my eyes. Faerie markets, of course there would be!
Cole smiled tenderly, “You mean to much to me to see you go back to them so quickly, but first you have to find the killer.”
I frowned, “Why does everyone tell me that? The killer of what?”
“The disappearing humans. We even know that the Unseelie Court isn’t behind this cruelty. They like to take the stragglers, whereas whoever is doing this takes groups of people, which rules out the Seelie and Unseelie courts.
“The Seelie and Unseelie courts have too many rules involving human killings. That means it’s a solitary, like me, going on the killing spree. That also means none of us are safe from this slayer.”
I nod in understanding, “So that’s why I’m here.” I paused, “Then where is Janice?”
Cole looked away, “They were in a car crash because her father slipped on the icy road, and Janice was killed. We took that opportunity. We buried her body and we Glamoured you to look like her, but because her face was so messed up, we got certain features wrong.”
When you did your poetry reading, the Glamour started to fall, and that’s why you got your eye and hair colour back. It was a mistake, which really needs to be fixed.”
“How did you know about my English classes?” I asked suspiciously.
“I’m being paid to keep you safe. That means for me to follow you and keep you safe. I was watching through the window, concealing myself well. You could have seen through it easily if you knew about your powers.”
He passed me a rock from one of the random potted plants around the house. I curled my fingers around it, and I immediately felt it throbbing with energy.
“I’ve never felt this before.” I murmured to Cole.
He nodded, “And this is only you at your weakest. Now, close your eyes and imagine it turning into a flower.”
I closed my eyes, suspicious that it wouldn’t work. When I opened my eyes, their, sitting on the palm of my hand was a small yellow rose bud. I dropped it in horror, but Cole picked it up and changed it back into a rock before throwing it back into the bottom of the pot plant.
“Holy shit. I’m really not human,” I whispered to myself, feeling my wings brush my back, “I want to see my real self again!” I told him.
Cole nodded, “I can do that for you, but just don’t be scared,” I questioned him and he shook his head, “You’re of royal heritage, meaning you’re much more powerful. Your wings and skin colour change all the time.”
I frowned, “Ok, that’s weird.”
My phone buzzed in my pocket, “Didn’t I turn you off?” I looked at the called ID; it was Hunter.
“Screw you,” I said and refused his call. “I’m ready,” I said to Cole. He put his hands on my shoulders and said something under his breath. I felt the world tilt and my skin was shed like a children’s costume.
I gasped at everything I could feel around me. I could feel Cole’s warm hands on my shoulders, the kitchen tainted with iron, and the warm engine from the car outside.
I looked at my hands and saw they were a dull purple. Cole took them in his, “They match your eyes,” and he brought one of my hands to meet his mouth.
My wings fluttered on my back softly and I turned to look at them. They were bigger and they looked exactly like a monarch butterfly’s wings. They were almost as dark and sinister as the person who was calling me.
I picked up my vibrating phone and it read Hunter’s name once again. I swore under my breath.
“Hello?” I said into the phone, feigning ignorance.
“I know it’s you, turkey,” Hunter said.
“Mum?” I asked.
A soft chuckle, then, “Unless your mum has had a sex change, I don’t think she sounds like a man. It’s Hunter. But you already know that, don’t you?”
I shook my head, then realised that he couldn’t see it, “No. My mistake. What do you want?”
Hunter’s voice became sinister, “I suggest you look out the window.”
I looked around the room, “Which one?”
“The one to your left.”
I felt my back prickle with unease. I slowly turned to the window, and there was Hunter’s face, smiling jovially back at me.
“I’m going to kill you,” I yelled at the phone, before throwing it across the room. I ran to the door, and heard Cole’s questioning glance, before he followed me out. When he saw Hunter, he placed himself between us.
Hunter grinned at Cole, “Getting romantic in there are we?” he asked, but I could hear the threat that was unconcealed under his jolly words.
“Hunter,” I warned, “Back off.”
He turned to me, and I could see the hurt in his eyes, but it was quickly disguised by a flash of anger.
I grabbed Cole’s hand and egged him to go back inside and leave this to me, but when I saw Cole’s face, I knew he wouldn’t listen to me.
“Go away,” Cole hissed, “My family lives here.”
“Your family?” Hunter’s eyes widened in mock surprise, “If only I had a heart.”
I glared at him, “If only you had a brain, more like it!”
Hunter stared at me for a moment and came closer, “Your glamour is off. I almost didn’t recognise you. You’ve changed. More power.” He put one hand up as if to rest it on my wings, but then thought better of it, and dropped his hand. My heart beat with disappointment.
Hunter smiled warmly, “Guess it’s only fair that we drop our glamour too, no?”
Magick swirled around him and then his glamour was whisked away with the gentle breeze that stirred his hair; and so was my breath.
Silent Conversation- Chapter 7
Silent Conversation
….Chapter 7
We sat down at a nice wooden table and a waitress practically jumped on us. Cole’s father ordered some wine straight away and it was delivered quickly. It was a red wine, and it was very bitter. I ignored the taste and drank some more.
Cole nearly had his glass finished by the time I had taken my third sip. Anna kicked him under the table. I only knew that because she accidently kicked me in the process, but I wasn’t going to say anything.
When we placed our orders, again, it was finished in record time. I looked around the place and realised we were almost the only people in the room, save for the couple near the door. They kept flashing glances at us, as if wishing we were not there.
I tucked into my chicken parma, and looked to see what everyone else was having. Cole was munching on fish and chips, Anna had a salad with pieces of chicken flaked on the top, and Cole’s father was having a steak that only looked half cooked.
My phone went off in the middle of the dinner, and I embarrassingly clicked the off button.
Anna shook her head, “No. Take it. It might be your mother, and we don’t want you to miss that call.”
I turned my phone back on, and they were already calling back. My phone had an annoying theme tune that was completely unfamiliar, and it was vibrating in my hand.
“Hello?” I said quietly, as Cole’s family went back to eating.
“Janice? You there? It’s Hunter.”
“Hunter! What a surprise!” My eyes flickered to Cole, and he looked up at me, frowning slightly, “Why are you calling at this hour?”
“Wanted to know if you’ve had a nap yet and regained a memory”
“Yes. I have actually. It was the last memory I had ever had. I was saying good-bye to you, and I took the glass. Then you kissed me.”
Anna glanced at me, then at Cole’s ridged form.
“Actually Willow, you kissed me. And when you get more of your memories back you’ll realise that we’ve done more than kiss.”
My mouth fell open with a small popping noise.
“Don’t call me that,” I was surprised at how cold my voice sounded, “I am Janice, not Willow. And I’ve moved on. Sorry to disappoint.” I hang up and turned my phone off.
Cole didn’t look at me, but Anna asked me, “Are you going to eat that?” and pointed at a piece of cheese on my plate.
“It’s all yours.” I answered, my voice sounding unbelievably bleak in comparison to my bright and happy surroundings, and I admired this family for not asking questions.
“Ex-boyfriend?” Anna asked. I take my latest statement back.
“No. Just a friend who thinks he can push me around.”
“Mmm… The controlling type. I would stay away from him if I were you.” She said, eating my cheese.
“Trust me,” I said, “I will. He has nothing he can offer me anymore.”
Anna’s eyes flashed to her husbands, then back to mine.
“Good choice, honey,” and she patted my hand that was resting on the table. It was still clutching my phone tightly, and it was slippery with sweat. I put the phone in my pocket and smiled at Anna. I wasn’t about to let a phone call from some loser ruin my night.
I finished my dinner, giving more cheese to Anna, and I had strawberry mousse for dessert.
When we were about to leave, the couple by the door stood up and followed us out. Anna stiffened but made no comment that she had noticed them following. We closed in on the car, and that was when they attacked.
The couple jumped on Cole, and half a dozen other people leapt from the shadows. I was grabbed by three females who snarled in my face. I tried hitting them, but they always seemed to maintain a certain grip on me that avoided them getting hit.
Anna was crumpled on the ground, and was being kicked by a few males. Cole was fighting with a girl, and there was a knocked out boy behind him.
Cole’s father was kneeling under a flurry of kicking feet, and after one foot caught him in the temple, out he went too.
The others jumped on Cole and he landed on the ground with a thud. I cried out in pain as I saw the blood dripping from his nose.
They all turned towards me and the leader, a female, stepped forward.
“Princess,” she snarled, “A lovely night for a dinner party! Think you could fool us? The fey from the Seelie Court were always so stupid!” She kicked me in the jaw.
The other people around me laughed wickedly, and pinched me where they could reach.
The leader walked around me, analysing the situation. Finally, she spoke, “You may call me Lithium. Follow me.”
I didn’t really have a choice, especially after seeing the short knife they held at my back.
I was pushed into a black commodore, and in the back they put a blind fold on my face.
We drove in complete silence, despite my suggestion of the radio.
When we reached an abrupt stop, hands grabbed me again and I was tossed out of the car. I was pulled to my feet just as quickly and the blindfold was snatched off my head. I stood, dizzy and disoriented for a moment, before gathering my bearings.
“Bow,” lithium hissed into my ear. I knelt on my knees, and a woman got up. She was old, like a wizened apple, but beautiful.
“Welcome,” she said, “Please child. Do not kneel. Come here!” I stood up and walked to her, as if in a trance.
“Where were you when they found you?”
I didn’t have a chance to answer, as Lithium stepped forward, “We found her in a restaurant, dining with Solitary Fey.”
Solitary Fey, I thought, what are these people on? I hope they share…
“Daughter,” said the woman who was obviously in control, “What is it like living with humans? What do you miss most about Faerie?”
I gaped at her, “Living with humans is ok. I don’t remember Faerie. I took a serum that concealed my memories from me.”
She sniffed me over, “This is pretty glamour. It’s cast by a powerful Faerie. Maybe by your beloved Solitary Fey? Hmm… Just a twist there, and… Aha! Gone!”
I felt strange, like I was about to sneeze. Then I looked at myself. My hands were a faded blue colour, and my fingers had elongated, adding another joint onto it. Lithium ordered a Faerie to bring a mirror, and I looked at my face.
My eyes widened in horror. My eyes were still deep purple, and my hair still a shiny black, but my ears were pointed through my hair. My face was more pointed, like a-
“Faerie,” I whispered to myself.
And the worst part, on my back was a pair of gorgeous silver wings. They shimmered like the stars themselves.
At the snap of Lithium’s fingers, the ‘glamour’ fell back upon me, disguising me back as a human, but I could still feel the disgusting appendages on my back.
Then, just as a thousand questions teetered on my tongue, I blacked out. I have to stop doing that at the most inappropriate time!
…
I woke up at the edge of the forest, alone. I picked out my phone from my pants and I called Cole to check if he was ok. He told me to wait and he’d pick me up.
….Chapter 7
We sat down at a nice wooden table and a waitress practically jumped on us. Cole’s father ordered some wine straight away and it was delivered quickly. It was a red wine, and it was very bitter. I ignored the taste and drank some more.
Cole nearly had his glass finished by the time I had taken my third sip. Anna kicked him under the table. I only knew that because she accidently kicked me in the process, but I wasn’t going to say anything.
When we placed our orders, again, it was finished in record time. I looked around the place and realised we were almost the only people in the room, save for the couple near the door. They kept flashing glances at us, as if wishing we were not there.
I tucked into my chicken parma, and looked to see what everyone else was having. Cole was munching on fish and chips, Anna had a salad with pieces of chicken flaked on the top, and Cole’s father was having a steak that only looked half cooked.
My phone went off in the middle of the dinner, and I embarrassingly clicked the off button.
Anna shook her head, “No. Take it. It might be your mother, and we don’t want you to miss that call.”
I turned my phone back on, and they were already calling back. My phone had an annoying theme tune that was completely unfamiliar, and it was vibrating in my hand.
“Hello?” I said quietly, as Cole’s family went back to eating.
“Janice? You there? It’s Hunter.”
“Hunter! What a surprise!” My eyes flickered to Cole, and he looked up at me, frowning slightly, “Why are you calling at this hour?”
“Wanted to know if you’ve had a nap yet and regained a memory”
“Yes. I have actually. It was the last memory I had ever had. I was saying good-bye to you, and I took the glass. Then you kissed me.”
Anna glanced at me, then at Cole’s ridged form.
“Actually Willow, you kissed me. And when you get more of your memories back you’ll realise that we’ve done more than kiss.”
My mouth fell open with a small popping noise.
“Don’t call me that,” I was surprised at how cold my voice sounded, “I am Janice, not Willow. And I’ve moved on. Sorry to disappoint.” I hang up and turned my phone off.
Cole didn’t look at me, but Anna asked me, “Are you going to eat that?” and pointed at a piece of cheese on my plate.
“It’s all yours.” I answered, my voice sounding unbelievably bleak in comparison to my bright and happy surroundings, and I admired this family for not asking questions.
“Ex-boyfriend?” Anna asked. I take my latest statement back.
“No. Just a friend who thinks he can push me around.”
“Mmm… The controlling type. I would stay away from him if I were you.” She said, eating my cheese.
“Trust me,” I said, “I will. He has nothing he can offer me anymore.”
Anna’s eyes flashed to her husbands, then back to mine.
“Good choice, honey,” and she patted my hand that was resting on the table. It was still clutching my phone tightly, and it was slippery with sweat. I put the phone in my pocket and smiled at Anna. I wasn’t about to let a phone call from some loser ruin my night.
I finished my dinner, giving more cheese to Anna, and I had strawberry mousse for dessert.
When we were about to leave, the couple by the door stood up and followed us out. Anna stiffened but made no comment that she had noticed them following. We closed in on the car, and that was when they attacked.
The couple jumped on Cole, and half a dozen other people leapt from the shadows. I was grabbed by three females who snarled in my face. I tried hitting them, but they always seemed to maintain a certain grip on me that avoided them getting hit.
Anna was crumpled on the ground, and was being kicked by a few males. Cole was fighting with a girl, and there was a knocked out boy behind him.
Cole’s father was kneeling under a flurry of kicking feet, and after one foot caught him in the temple, out he went too.
The others jumped on Cole and he landed on the ground with a thud. I cried out in pain as I saw the blood dripping from his nose.
They all turned towards me and the leader, a female, stepped forward.
“Princess,” she snarled, “A lovely night for a dinner party! Think you could fool us? The fey from the Seelie Court were always so stupid!” She kicked me in the jaw.
The other people around me laughed wickedly, and pinched me where they could reach.
The leader walked around me, analysing the situation. Finally, she spoke, “You may call me Lithium. Follow me.”
I didn’t really have a choice, especially after seeing the short knife they held at my back.
I was pushed into a black commodore, and in the back they put a blind fold on my face.
We drove in complete silence, despite my suggestion of the radio.
When we reached an abrupt stop, hands grabbed me again and I was tossed out of the car. I was pulled to my feet just as quickly and the blindfold was snatched off my head. I stood, dizzy and disoriented for a moment, before gathering my bearings.
“Bow,” lithium hissed into my ear. I knelt on my knees, and a woman got up. She was old, like a wizened apple, but beautiful.
“Welcome,” she said, “Please child. Do not kneel. Come here!” I stood up and walked to her, as if in a trance.
“Where were you when they found you?”
I didn’t have a chance to answer, as Lithium stepped forward, “We found her in a restaurant, dining with Solitary Fey.”
Solitary Fey, I thought, what are these people on? I hope they share…
“Daughter,” said the woman who was obviously in control, “What is it like living with humans? What do you miss most about Faerie?”
I gaped at her, “Living with humans is ok. I don’t remember Faerie. I took a serum that concealed my memories from me.”
She sniffed me over, “This is pretty glamour. It’s cast by a powerful Faerie. Maybe by your beloved Solitary Fey? Hmm… Just a twist there, and… Aha! Gone!”
I felt strange, like I was about to sneeze. Then I looked at myself. My hands were a faded blue colour, and my fingers had elongated, adding another joint onto it. Lithium ordered a Faerie to bring a mirror, and I looked at my face.
My eyes widened in horror. My eyes were still deep purple, and my hair still a shiny black, but my ears were pointed through my hair. My face was more pointed, like a-
“Faerie,” I whispered to myself.
And the worst part, on my back was a pair of gorgeous silver wings. They shimmered like the stars themselves.
At the snap of Lithium’s fingers, the ‘glamour’ fell back upon me, disguising me back as a human, but I could still feel the disgusting appendages on my back.
Then, just as a thousand questions teetered on my tongue, I blacked out. I have to stop doing that at the most inappropriate time!
…
I woke up at the edge of the forest, alone. I picked out my phone from my pants and I called Cole to check if he was ok. He told me to wait and he’d pick me up.
A Quirky Dream- Chapter 6
A Quirky Dream
….Chapter 6
I waited for Cole by the gate with Sasha and Hayley. She didn’t ask me anything, but stared at me with sombre eyes. Hayley was chattering away about a new movie coming out, talking to fill the awkward silence.
I was happy to see Cole pull up in about two minutes, and I said good-bye to Sasha and Hayley.
Cole drove to my house and we talked about our day for the car drive. I invited him inside when he walked me up to my doorstep, but he couldn’t stay.
I understood and he gave me a hug before leaving. The hug was surprising, but was not unwelcome.
I unlocked my front door and went inside. I smelt carefully, and no strange stench reached me.
I relaxed and went into the living room. The couch looked tempting. Hunter had told me my memories would start coming back to me whenever I slept, so I snuggled up on the couch and closed my eyes.
The moon was so bright. My enhanced eyes could see the tiny craters and the small ejecta blankets that the collisions left behind. I hear a sound in the woods behind me, so I turn. Hunter is there.
“Hi Hunter.” I say so naturally.
“Hello Willow, nice night tonight, is it not?”
“Every night is.” I answer.
“Ah,” He said, “But tonight more than ever! The moon is full, and there are no clouds to hide the stars. And stars are your favourite things to stare at, aren’t they? I watch you as you work hard during the day, without looking up once, but when night falls, you sit watching the stars. All night sometimes. But I’m not here to talk about that. You are to fulfil your promise.”
I nod, tears welling at the corners of my eyes.
“Don’t worry,” He said gruffly, “I’ll be there in the human world alongside you, to aid you in your search. Always remember, the search for the killer is most important.”
Again, I nod at him.
He strolls closer and puts one hand on my cheek. It’s so warm resting there. “Never fear the unknown.” He said, “You don’t when you stare at stars that are nameless to you, Willow. Or maybe it’s because they are so far away that they can’t hurt you. Maybe you’re a turkey.”
I smiled at the familiar nickname he used to call me as a child. I had been cutting up a turkey, and I had the feathers all over me, so the name stuck.
“Take this,” he whispered, handing me a vial full of blue liquid. My whole body was screaming at me not to take it, but instead, I put it to my lips and drank. Before the feinting took over, I pressed my lips to Hunters.
The Moon watched as we shared one last kiss.
I woke to the sound of my mother crashing around upstairs and I shivered as the memory I just had sunk deep into me.
Me and Hunter? When did that happen? Obviously when I was infiltrating Earth, along with the other aliens.
Wait, maybe I used to be in the mental hospital with Tabitha. That would explain most of my memories.
I went upstairs to see if my mother needed any help, and I found her face down on her bed. I put one hand on her shoulder and shook her. She woke with a start, and I saw the track lines left over from the tears she must have shed, crying herself to sleep.
“Come on, mum,” I said gently, “Let’s get up and have a bath, okay? I’ll run the water.”
I went into her bathroom and looked around. Thankfully, nothing was out of the ordinary, so I got the hot water running, and put the plug in it. When I got up from my hands and knees, my mother was standing in the doorway.
“It’s all your fault.” She whispered at me, “You’re not mine.”
I felt the blood rush out of my face. I’ve really got to stop doing that, or I’ll end up looking like a vampire.
She continued, glaring at me, “Ever since the accident, I knew. You were too different. No birthmark. And now, you have black hair and purple bloody eyes! You’re not my daughter! I want you out of my house you fiend.”
I started breathing rapidly, and then calmed down. There were a few people I could count on at the moment. I would have somewhere to live. I nodded to the woman standing in the doorway, knowing that she wasn’t my mother.
I ran to my room and took a bag out, shoving clothes into it. Some warm tops and pants, leaving behind my makeup. I took my mobile, and once I was out of the house and my ex-mother had locked the door, I called Cole.
He drove to my house and picked me up. When driving to his house, he asked no questions about why I had been kicked out of my own house, and I was grateful for that.
We got to his farm, and I was greeted by a friendly, plump woman who gave me a huge hug. I now know where Cole gets it from!
She took me inside and showed me a small guest room that I immediately loved. The walls were a soft golden colour, and the sunlight that was drifting lazily from the windows was creating a strange but intricate pattern that could never be repeated with a pencil. The bed spread was also gold, but had swirls in dark orange drawn on it. The carpet was white, but had splashes of light grey in different areas.
I put my bag down near the door and left the room. Cole’s mother sat me down next to Cole in the small kitchen and put a plate of chocolate cookies in front of us. She offered me some milk, with I gratefully accepted.
When I had finished my second cookie, Cole’s mum took my hand and asked me some questions.
“What happened at home?” she asked gently, not in a prying way, but in a troubled tone.
“My mum,” I said shakily, wiping tears from my face, “She’s been through heaps. Her husband, my father I suppose, just died. And my older sister was kidnapped. It’s put too big a strain on her. I worry about what she’s going to do next.”
Cole’s mother nodded, “OK. I understand. Next week, Cole will drive you back to your house to see if you can patch things up, but if you can’t, you may stay here as long as you need too. It’s Janice right? That’s a lovely name. Cole hasn’t shut up about you, so we give him extra work for him to do! Please, call me Anna.”
I smiled at her, “Thank-you Anna. I really appreciate what you’re doing for me!”
“Oh!” she waved a hand at me, “Don’t be silly! It’s nothing! Anything for my son’s crush!”
Cole cut in, “No! Mum! No! Urgh! God! No!” He seemed tongue tied, not knowing exactly what to say.
I started giggling at that. This family was so happy with each other. They trusted each other so easily! I wish my family was like that.
But, a little voice in the back of my head reminded me, you don’t have a family anymore. Your mum has disowned you, your fathers dead, and your sisters gone! But then again, from that memory you just had, they aren’t even related to you!
I blocked it out and focused on Anna and Cole playfully teasing each other. Anna’s grey hair mixing in with her brown hair gave her a personality just by looking at her.
Anna told me and Cole to go outside and have a grand tour of the farm land, so we took a few extra cookies and scrambled out of the door to give Anna some room.
We walked over to the horses and I recognised Stubborn Beauty. He galloped over to us in such a frenzy that it took Cole ten minutes to calm him down.
I was handed a carrot from Cole and was told to give Stubborn Beauty the treat. His soft nose tickled my hand and I let out a gasp of surprise. I raised my hand and saw the place that Tabitha had bit was re-bleeding.
Cole was already across the field stroking another horse’s mane. The horse shivered under his touch, and then trotted off to eat some grass. Cole grinned at the horse, before going into a shed and pulling out some hay for the horse. He was so gentle with these animals.
Stubborn Beauty blew on my hand and I turned to him, “No more treats I’m afraid.” But then, the horse pawed the ground once and blew again on my hand. I remembered the blood, and I took my hand away, hoping it wouldn’t cause the horse any more distress. But what I saw there was a miracle. The cuts had completely disappeared!
I stared at my hand and Cole came up.
“Everything good?” he asked, frowning at me, as I was now sniffing my hand in suspicion.
“Yeah,” I said softly, “Everything is just dandy.”
He smirked, “Ok then. Want to help feed the horses? They’re pretty hungry.”
I nodded and helped him carry heaps of hay into the centre of the field, where about five horses charged at the food. We both laughed and watched as the horses devoured the hay in about five minutes which took us almost an hour to get to the middle of the field.
Anna came out from the house with a huge grin on her face, “Guess what?” she said.
Cole groaned, “We’re going somewhere for dinner?”
Anna frowned, “How’d you guess?”
“It’s the only time you ever get excited about something. When’s dad due back?”
“In a few minutes,” she answered, “Oh, and Janice? He already knows you’re here, so be expecting heaps of happiness.”
I grinned, “Ok Anna. I will.”
Anna nodded to us both before going back inside, and at that moment, a man came around the corner in a dodgy car. It backfired a few times in the driveway. Cole hung his head, and said nothing.
A man got out of the car and came up to me and Cole.
“Janice! How lovely to finally meet you! Cole has told us about nothing else!”
Cole sighed and rolled his eyes, this time ignoring the comment rather than denying it.
His father spoke with us for a moment longer, before taking us inside for some lemonade.
Anna was cleaning up inside, but when we came through the door; she spun around the house getting clean glasses and fresh lemons to add to the lemonade.
When we were all sitting down drinking, we all shared jokes and family stories; save for me.
Anna took out Cole’s baby photos. I laughed at the pictures of him as a baby in the bath.
“She took those pictures when I was fifteen too.” Cole whispered in my ear.
I chortled loudly, spurting lemonade out of my nose. Anna, Cole and his father cracked up laughing.
When I had caught my breath, Anna showed me some more as he grew up. When he first started school, he was standing at the gates with a huge grin on his face and I smiled softly. He was such a cute child. As a kid, he had bright blonde hair, but now he had much more of a sandy colour.
When we had finished looking at the family albums, Cole took me to his room. There, he pulled out another album.
“This me when I reached my older years. These show me from about fourteen to now. Take a look.” He pushed the book towards me.
I opened it, and the first picture had him on it with a group of friends. On the next page, he was a little older; probably sixteen, my age, and he had his finger up to the camera. I raised an eyebrow at Cole and he looked at the picture.
“Guess who took that picture.”
I shook my head, “I don’t know any of your friends. How could I guess a name I don’t know?”
He smirked, “But you do know him,” He flipped back to the first page with his friends in it and pointed at one who had his tongue stuck out.
“Hunter?” I gasped, unbelieving. I couldn’t imagine these two ever being friends, but now it made sense. They had obviously parted on bad terms and that’s why Hunter hates him so much.
“Yes, Hunter,” A weird smile had taken over Cole’s features, “He was my best mate. Always stuck up for me, you know? Then, a few years ago, he changed. He met this girl, he told me, another of his kind. I didn’t understand. Then he became withdrawn, and I haven’t spoken to him in years. Then, suddenly, there you are, and there he is! I hope you’re not the girl he had been talking about! Because he was infatuated I tell you. Every waking minute he spent thinking about this girl. It began to really creep me out!”
I paused, thinking about my memory. It couldn’t have happened because of me, could it? I bit my lip, not wanting to tell Cole what I knew about this.
Just then, thank God, Anna burst into the room.
“Dinner is in ten minutes. Children! Children! Get ready for the night of your lives!”
Cole stared unimpressed at his mother.
“Sorry,” Anna said, “I wasn’t interrupting was I?”
I shook my head, smiling at her zany behaviour, “No. I’ll go put on some nicer clothes.” I thought for a moment, “I don’t have to wear a dress do I?”
“Oh,” Anna nearly yelled, “No! I would never make a girl wear a dress! Not on your life! Never!”
I laughed, “It was just that I didn’t have any dresses, so I got a little worried then.”
Anna shook a finger at me, “We’re not a classy family, we can’t afford to be, but we have a lot of love. And nights like these are for us all to get together and talk. Now that you’re part of the family, you can join us for all our family journeys!”
I grinned up at her, and she ruffled my hair.
“It pleases me that you look so happy,” she said, “When you arrived, you had such sad eyes, but it was clear, five minutes with Cole did you good. Be good to my son! Try not to boss him around too much!”
Cole rolled his eyes, “Bye Mum!”
His mum left the room. I looked over at him, “Guess I better get ready.”
Cole nodded at me, and I let as well. I went to my guest room and took out a nice red top that came around on a halter and rippled in the right places, and black pants that fell straight legged.
I went out into the living room, and Cole was already standing there in nice jeans and a T-shirt. His eyes widened when he saw me, and a smile crept across his face. Anna clapped her hands in excitement, and Cole’s father nodded in friendly appreciation.
We got into Cole’s car, and after a while of explaining from Anna, I finally got the mustang joke. Cole’s father was laughing at me, and Anna told him to be quiet. By the time we reached the restaurant, we were all howling with laughter.
….Chapter 6
I waited for Cole by the gate with Sasha and Hayley. She didn’t ask me anything, but stared at me with sombre eyes. Hayley was chattering away about a new movie coming out, talking to fill the awkward silence.
I was happy to see Cole pull up in about two minutes, and I said good-bye to Sasha and Hayley.
Cole drove to my house and we talked about our day for the car drive. I invited him inside when he walked me up to my doorstep, but he couldn’t stay.
I understood and he gave me a hug before leaving. The hug was surprising, but was not unwelcome.
I unlocked my front door and went inside. I smelt carefully, and no strange stench reached me.
I relaxed and went into the living room. The couch looked tempting. Hunter had told me my memories would start coming back to me whenever I slept, so I snuggled up on the couch and closed my eyes.
The moon was so bright. My enhanced eyes could see the tiny craters and the small ejecta blankets that the collisions left behind. I hear a sound in the woods behind me, so I turn. Hunter is there.
“Hi Hunter.” I say so naturally.
“Hello Willow, nice night tonight, is it not?”
“Every night is.” I answer.
“Ah,” He said, “But tonight more than ever! The moon is full, and there are no clouds to hide the stars. And stars are your favourite things to stare at, aren’t they? I watch you as you work hard during the day, without looking up once, but when night falls, you sit watching the stars. All night sometimes. But I’m not here to talk about that. You are to fulfil your promise.”
I nod, tears welling at the corners of my eyes.
“Don’t worry,” He said gruffly, “I’ll be there in the human world alongside you, to aid you in your search. Always remember, the search for the killer is most important.”
Again, I nod at him.
He strolls closer and puts one hand on my cheek. It’s so warm resting there. “Never fear the unknown.” He said, “You don’t when you stare at stars that are nameless to you, Willow. Or maybe it’s because they are so far away that they can’t hurt you. Maybe you’re a turkey.”
I smiled at the familiar nickname he used to call me as a child. I had been cutting up a turkey, and I had the feathers all over me, so the name stuck.
“Take this,” he whispered, handing me a vial full of blue liquid. My whole body was screaming at me not to take it, but instead, I put it to my lips and drank. Before the feinting took over, I pressed my lips to Hunters.
The Moon watched as we shared one last kiss.
I woke to the sound of my mother crashing around upstairs and I shivered as the memory I just had sunk deep into me.
Me and Hunter? When did that happen? Obviously when I was infiltrating Earth, along with the other aliens.
Wait, maybe I used to be in the mental hospital with Tabitha. That would explain most of my memories.
I went upstairs to see if my mother needed any help, and I found her face down on her bed. I put one hand on her shoulder and shook her. She woke with a start, and I saw the track lines left over from the tears she must have shed, crying herself to sleep.
“Come on, mum,” I said gently, “Let’s get up and have a bath, okay? I’ll run the water.”
I went into her bathroom and looked around. Thankfully, nothing was out of the ordinary, so I got the hot water running, and put the plug in it. When I got up from my hands and knees, my mother was standing in the doorway.
“It’s all your fault.” She whispered at me, “You’re not mine.”
I felt the blood rush out of my face. I’ve really got to stop doing that, or I’ll end up looking like a vampire.
She continued, glaring at me, “Ever since the accident, I knew. You were too different. No birthmark. And now, you have black hair and purple bloody eyes! You’re not my daughter! I want you out of my house you fiend.”
I started breathing rapidly, and then calmed down. There were a few people I could count on at the moment. I would have somewhere to live. I nodded to the woman standing in the doorway, knowing that she wasn’t my mother.
I ran to my room and took a bag out, shoving clothes into it. Some warm tops and pants, leaving behind my makeup. I took my mobile, and once I was out of the house and my ex-mother had locked the door, I called Cole.
He drove to my house and picked me up. When driving to his house, he asked no questions about why I had been kicked out of my own house, and I was grateful for that.
We got to his farm, and I was greeted by a friendly, plump woman who gave me a huge hug. I now know where Cole gets it from!
She took me inside and showed me a small guest room that I immediately loved. The walls were a soft golden colour, and the sunlight that was drifting lazily from the windows was creating a strange but intricate pattern that could never be repeated with a pencil. The bed spread was also gold, but had swirls in dark orange drawn on it. The carpet was white, but had splashes of light grey in different areas.
I put my bag down near the door and left the room. Cole’s mother sat me down next to Cole in the small kitchen and put a plate of chocolate cookies in front of us. She offered me some milk, with I gratefully accepted.
When I had finished my second cookie, Cole’s mum took my hand and asked me some questions.
“What happened at home?” she asked gently, not in a prying way, but in a troubled tone.
“My mum,” I said shakily, wiping tears from my face, “She’s been through heaps. Her husband, my father I suppose, just died. And my older sister was kidnapped. It’s put too big a strain on her. I worry about what she’s going to do next.”
Cole’s mother nodded, “OK. I understand. Next week, Cole will drive you back to your house to see if you can patch things up, but if you can’t, you may stay here as long as you need too. It’s Janice right? That’s a lovely name. Cole hasn’t shut up about you, so we give him extra work for him to do! Please, call me Anna.”
I smiled at her, “Thank-you Anna. I really appreciate what you’re doing for me!”
“Oh!” she waved a hand at me, “Don’t be silly! It’s nothing! Anything for my son’s crush!”
Cole cut in, “No! Mum! No! Urgh! God! No!” He seemed tongue tied, not knowing exactly what to say.
I started giggling at that. This family was so happy with each other. They trusted each other so easily! I wish my family was like that.
But, a little voice in the back of my head reminded me, you don’t have a family anymore. Your mum has disowned you, your fathers dead, and your sisters gone! But then again, from that memory you just had, they aren’t even related to you!
I blocked it out and focused on Anna and Cole playfully teasing each other. Anna’s grey hair mixing in with her brown hair gave her a personality just by looking at her.
Anna told me and Cole to go outside and have a grand tour of the farm land, so we took a few extra cookies and scrambled out of the door to give Anna some room.
We walked over to the horses and I recognised Stubborn Beauty. He galloped over to us in such a frenzy that it took Cole ten minutes to calm him down.
I was handed a carrot from Cole and was told to give Stubborn Beauty the treat. His soft nose tickled my hand and I let out a gasp of surprise. I raised my hand and saw the place that Tabitha had bit was re-bleeding.
Cole was already across the field stroking another horse’s mane. The horse shivered under his touch, and then trotted off to eat some grass. Cole grinned at the horse, before going into a shed and pulling out some hay for the horse. He was so gentle with these animals.
Stubborn Beauty blew on my hand and I turned to him, “No more treats I’m afraid.” But then, the horse pawed the ground once and blew again on my hand. I remembered the blood, and I took my hand away, hoping it wouldn’t cause the horse any more distress. But what I saw there was a miracle. The cuts had completely disappeared!
I stared at my hand and Cole came up.
“Everything good?” he asked, frowning at me, as I was now sniffing my hand in suspicion.
“Yeah,” I said softly, “Everything is just dandy.”
He smirked, “Ok then. Want to help feed the horses? They’re pretty hungry.”
I nodded and helped him carry heaps of hay into the centre of the field, where about five horses charged at the food. We both laughed and watched as the horses devoured the hay in about five minutes which took us almost an hour to get to the middle of the field.
Anna came out from the house with a huge grin on her face, “Guess what?” she said.
Cole groaned, “We’re going somewhere for dinner?”
Anna frowned, “How’d you guess?”
“It’s the only time you ever get excited about something. When’s dad due back?”
“In a few minutes,” she answered, “Oh, and Janice? He already knows you’re here, so be expecting heaps of happiness.”
I grinned, “Ok Anna. I will.”
Anna nodded to us both before going back inside, and at that moment, a man came around the corner in a dodgy car. It backfired a few times in the driveway. Cole hung his head, and said nothing.
A man got out of the car and came up to me and Cole.
“Janice! How lovely to finally meet you! Cole has told us about nothing else!”
Cole sighed and rolled his eyes, this time ignoring the comment rather than denying it.
His father spoke with us for a moment longer, before taking us inside for some lemonade.
Anna was cleaning up inside, but when we came through the door; she spun around the house getting clean glasses and fresh lemons to add to the lemonade.
When we were all sitting down drinking, we all shared jokes and family stories; save for me.
Anna took out Cole’s baby photos. I laughed at the pictures of him as a baby in the bath.
“She took those pictures when I was fifteen too.” Cole whispered in my ear.
I chortled loudly, spurting lemonade out of my nose. Anna, Cole and his father cracked up laughing.
When I had caught my breath, Anna showed me some more as he grew up. When he first started school, he was standing at the gates with a huge grin on his face and I smiled softly. He was such a cute child. As a kid, he had bright blonde hair, but now he had much more of a sandy colour.
When we had finished looking at the family albums, Cole took me to his room. There, he pulled out another album.
“This me when I reached my older years. These show me from about fourteen to now. Take a look.” He pushed the book towards me.
I opened it, and the first picture had him on it with a group of friends. On the next page, he was a little older; probably sixteen, my age, and he had his finger up to the camera. I raised an eyebrow at Cole and he looked at the picture.
“Guess who took that picture.”
I shook my head, “I don’t know any of your friends. How could I guess a name I don’t know?”
He smirked, “But you do know him,” He flipped back to the first page with his friends in it and pointed at one who had his tongue stuck out.
“Hunter?” I gasped, unbelieving. I couldn’t imagine these two ever being friends, but now it made sense. They had obviously parted on bad terms and that’s why Hunter hates him so much.
“Yes, Hunter,” A weird smile had taken over Cole’s features, “He was my best mate. Always stuck up for me, you know? Then, a few years ago, he changed. He met this girl, he told me, another of his kind. I didn’t understand. Then he became withdrawn, and I haven’t spoken to him in years. Then, suddenly, there you are, and there he is! I hope you’re not the girl he had been talking about! Because he was infatuated I tell you. Every waking minute he spent thinking about this girl. It began to really creep me out!”
I paused, thinking about my memory. It couldn’t have happened because of me, could it? I bit my lip, not wanting to tell Cole what I knew about this.
Just then, thank God, Anna burst into the room.
“Dinner is in ten minutes. Children! Children! Get ready for the night of your lives!”
Cole stared unimpressed at his mother.
“Sorry,” Anna said, “I wasn’t interrupting was I?”
I shook my head, smiling at her zany behaviour, “No. I’ll go put on some nicer clothes.” I thought for a moment, “I don’t have to wear a dress do I?”
“Oh,” Anna nearly yelled, “No! I would never make a girl wear a dress! Not on your life! Never!”
I laughed, “It was just that I didn’t have any dresses, so I got a little worried then.”
Anna shook a finger at me, “We’re not a classy family, we can’t afford to be, but we have a lot of love. And nights like these are for us all to get together and talk. Now that you’re part of the family, you can join us for all our family journeys!”
I grinned up at her, and she ruffled my hair.
“It pleases me that you look so happy,” she said, “When you arrived, you had such sad eyes, but it was clear, five minutes with Cole did you good. Be good to my son! Try not to boss him around too much!”
Cole rolled his eyes, “Bye Mum!”
His mum left the room. I looked over at him, “Guess I better get ready.”
Cole nodded at me, and I let as well. I went to my guest room and took out a nice red top that came around on a halter and rippled in the right places, and black pants that fell straight legged.
I went out into the living room, and Cole was already standing there in nice jeans and a T-shirt. His eyes widened when he saw me, and a smile crept across his face. Anna clapped her hands in excitement, and Cole’s father nodded in friendly appreciation.
We got into Cole’s car, and after a while of explaining from Anna, I finally got the mustang joke. Cole’s father was laughing at me, and Anna told him to be quiet. By the time we reached the restaurant, we were all howling with laughter.
Signs point to yes- Chapter 5
Signs point to yes
….Chapter 5
I walked over to his locker slowly and as he slammed his locker closed.
He looked up, “Janice,” he said simply.
“Hunter,” I said back.
“Wait,” Hunter said, “was that supposed to be a retort? Cause it sucked.”
I ignored his comment and shook off the bad feeling I had about speaking with him.
We walked to English class in complete silence. The teacher was already leading students outside. We all sat on the grass while the teacher explained what we were going to do.
“First,” the teacher said, pushing her glasses further up her nose, “we’re going to relax, in pairs. For five minutes, no talking, just deep breathing, and then, on a piece of paper I will hand around, you will write the first word that pops into your mind. This will be your word, and you will write a short story on it later in the year. You may begin. Pick your partner, and then go sit under a tree or something.” She waved us away with a sigh.
Hunter plucked at my sleeve and we went near a lavender bush nearby.
“You begin,” he said before I could say a thing, “and I’ll count the minutes.”
I groaned and lay down in the soft grass with a soft thud. Hunter took out his watch and narrowed his eyes at me until I closed mine.
I lay down for a few seconds, before getting up and glaring at Hunter, “I don’t get it! Did I pass your little trust test or what? I need to get my sister back! It’s my duty!”
He cocked his head, “And not your want? Or need? It seems to me like you’re only doing it because you have to.”
I frowned at him, “Yes, it’s my want as well, but more my duty. I have to do this. I couldn’t save my father, and he was killed.”
Hunter smirked, “Yet you’re not to sad about that. You went to a night club last night. It’s a great way to mourn!”
I tipped my head back and stared at the sky, “I can’t mourn. Not until I get my sister back.” I looked at a fluffy cloud that looked like a horse, “I didn’t even know him.” I whispered.
“But he was your father.”
“Yes, but I have no real memories of him. When I heard he had died, it was as if hearing about a random person’s death on TV. I feel for Seraphim because she was kidnapped, and who knows what’s happening to her,” I took a deep breath, “And I owe it to her family.”
Hunter’s soft brown eyes stared into me, “Her family?”
“Hers, mine, Janice’s. When I, if I, get my memories back, I owe it to her to try and make her life complete. But for some reason I don’t believe I’ll be getting her memories back, so I’m stuck all alone in this world-”
I was cut off as the teacher rounded the corner, glaring at us both, “Do your work,” she demanded.
I sighed and lay back down. After five minutes I wrote my word down, and it was Hunter’s turn. He lay down, fiddling with a dark ring around his finger. I inspected it while his eyes were closed.
It was black, but had a red shine to it. It was cut as if a stem from a rose bush had been twined around his finger, thorns and all.
“It’s one of Morgana Le Fey’s sacred rings.”
I jumped with a start as Hunter sat up, gazing at me intently but silently. He picked up his piece of paper and wrote a single word on it.
“I’ll show you mine if you show me yours.” I grinned, expecting him to hide it.
“OK,” he said instead, “Here.”
Written in neat handwriting was the single word, liberation.
“It’s what you’re looking for,” he said simply, “Now show me yours.”
I gave mine to him, and he read the word, precarious.
“It’s what you are, and maybe something else I’m searching for,” I said just as simply. Let him ponder on that!
He just nodded calmly, accepting my answer, and then he looked up at someone approaching us. I thought it might be the teacher, but I was surprised when I locked eyes with Cole.
His blue eyes flared with surprise at Hunter sitting next to me, but then that emotion was quickly disguised with happiness when he saw my face.
“You left your book in my car,” Cole said, “I thought you might need it so I turned back around.”
“She could have just borrowed mine. She’s not incompetent you know.” I was shocked at Hunter’s anger that resonated in his voice.
“Hunter!” I said in horror, “Don’t be so rude,” I turned to Cole, “Thanks, I did need these books. Sorry for my friends total lack of manners. He didn’t take any medication this morning.”
Hunter didn’t reply to my snark comment, as he was glaring off into a random corner. It wouldn’t surprise me if he started pouting and asking for his teddy bear. Cole didn’t seem to mind Hunter’s crude behaviour. In fact he smiled politely at Hunter before he continued his conversation with me.
“That’s ok, I wore nappies once too.”
Hunter jumped up at that remark and snatched the book out of Cole’s hands.
“You delivered. Now leave!”
“Hunter!” The warning in my voice seemed to make him pause for a minute, but not before he spat on the ground right in front of Cole.
“Thank-you, Cole for bringing this to me. It was very thoughtful, but I think it might be best for you to go if Hunter’s going to act like a total jerk to you. I’ll talk to you later.”
“I’ll talk to you later,” Hunter mimicked me in an annoying high pitched noise.
Cole didn’t give Hunter any attention, “How about I drive you home tonight? I don’t want you walking the streets alone.”
“Ok,” I agreed before Hunter could throw in an insulting comment.
Cole nodded to me, then Hunter, before leaving.
I was left with Hunter, who was shaking his head. I smacked him over the head with my book that I had just received.
“Ow!” He yelled, “What was that for?”
“For your total lack of respect for my friend!” I thought for a moment, “And for mimicking me in an annoying voice. God!” I started getting louder, “Can you at least act normal?”
“Obviously I can.” He said, looking all mysterious, and eyeing me, as if I should already know.
“What’s that supposed to mean?” I sighed, knowing there was something that he would bring up, not that I knew what that was yet.
“Well,” He explained slowly, trying to leech the life out of the piece of evidence he had mystifyingly plucked out of mid-air. “You called me your friend! So I guess I’m normal enough for that!”
I paused and thought back, “Crap! I did, didn’t I! I won’t make that mistake again,” Hunter rolled his eyes, “But why were you such an asshole to Cole?”
“Because I know him.” Hunter said.
“How?” I pressured.
“Who are you?” Hunter asked, “My mum?”
I stood up angrily, “If you cannot give me a straight answer, then why am I here?”
“Yes,” said a voice from behind me, “Why are you here?”
I turned slowly, suspecting the worst, and I was right. The teacher was standing there with her hands on her hips.
“You two have been disrupting the students around you, and you have not done what I have asked of you. Go straight to the principal’s office.”
Unfortunately, Hunter took this moment to be sarcastic, “Do not pass go, do not collect $200.”
I winced as he said this, knowing she would make our punishment even worse.
As it was, the teachers face seemed to blow up like a strawberry. She went bright red with anger, “Yes Hunter! Do not pass go! Do not collect $200! Think you’re funny do you? Well you will be serving detention with Janice here.”
Again, Hunter just didn’t know when to shut up, “I think that would be quite nice. How about it Janice? The two of us, alone in a dark classroom after school. Whatever shall we do to relieve the boredom?”
I took three deep breaths and tried to control the situation, “Homework,” I said to him, “Now ma’am, we have done the work. It’s right here. We have the two words you asked for. I’m sorry for disrupting other students. We won’t do it again.”
The teacher looked over our two words and nodded at me.
“You have a very level head about you Janice, so I hate to do this to you, but you will be spending lunch time with me and Mr. Smartypants over there.” She motioned to Hunter, and he chuckled for being called a smartypants.
She then walked off and I went and kicked Hunter in the arm.
“Hey!”
“What the hell was that?” I asked, my eyes blazing with anger, “Aggravating a pissed off teacher like that?”
“I couldn’t help myself,” Hunter said, brushing dirt off his shirt, “Plus spending lunch with you was an added bonus for acting out.”
I rolled my eyes and flopped down on the grass next to Hunter, looking at the clouds shaping fluffy animals…
…
Mr. Browne was sitting at a desk in the room Hunter and I were supposed to be spending our detention. Hunter wasn’t there yet so I took out a book and sandwich.
Hunter swung through the door five minutes later, and sat all the way across the room, also with a studying book.
About ten minutes into the detention, Mr. Browne sighed and stood up, “Look, I’m not paid enough to sit here doing this. You have to stay in this classroom, but I’m going to my office to have lunch. I won’t be back. If you leave, I never knew.” He winked before practically running out of the room.
I continued chomping on my sandwich blankly.
“Good,” Hunter said, putting his feet on the table, “He’s gone.” He leant back in his chair and then fell. I laughed at the tangle of arms and legs on the floor.
He got up, looking only slightly dishevelled.
I threw my rubbish in the bin and went to leave. Hunter was at the door quicker that I thought possible.
“I thought you were to be my student?”
I frowned, “Kinky Hunter, really, but I don’t need to stay in here any longer.”
Hunter sneered at the kinky joke, but kept his hand on the door.
“You both completed and failed the trust test, like a true blood, but now we have to get your memories back.”
I glared at him, “True blood? What are you on?”
He rolled his eyes, something I’d become accustomed to when talking to him, and made me sit in a chair.
“Now, close your eyes,” He whispered in my ear, “and let your mind go blank. Don’t think about anything other than the sound of my voice.”
I closed my eyes and made my mind go blank. It was surprisingly easy, so I wasn’t sure if that was already telling me something.
My breathing soon became heavy by itself, and I could feel my lungs expanding and contracting under my ribs.
“Good,” Hunter said, “Now, you will do exactly as I say. Imagine that you’re in the middle of the forest. Everything is green and mossy, and dappled light is shining through the trees. You are holding a small glass vial. The contents look bright blue. You put it up to your lips and drink heavily. The taste is horrible, but you choke it down. Now here, you are supposed to feint, and have your memories taken, but what I want you to do is go over to some green moss and eat it.”
My head felt fuzzy, and my stomach started aching. I ate the moss in my mind, and I leant over the side of my chair and vomited. I opened my eyes in terror, and found myself back in the room.
Hunter helped me kneel on the ground by the bin, spitting vomit into the bin. He held my black hair back with one hand and with the other rubbed my back.
“It’s ok,” He crooned, “You did great. Soon, all your memories will come back to you. But one at a time, of course, or else you’ll be flooded with memories and your mind will burn out.”
I looked up at him, my eyes round as moons, “My vomit…” I whispered, looking back in the bin.
Mixed with half of my sandwich, was blue liquid. My heart started racing, and I felt my face go pasty white.
Hunter didn’t say anything, but took a tissue from the nearby teacher’s desk and wiped at my mouth. I ignored him for a moment, but then glanced sideways at him. Maybe he wasn’t crazy after all.
I sat up from my position and grabbed my book, and left quietly. When I looked back, Hunter was sitting in the same place, with a tissue in his hand.
….Chapter 5
I walked over to his locker slowly and as he slammed his locker closed.
He looked up, “Janice,” he said simply.
“Hunter,” I said back.
“Wait,” Hunter said, “was that supposed to be a retort? Cause it sucked.”
I ignored his comment and shook off the bad feeling I had about speaking with him.
We walked to English class in complete silence. The teacher was already leading students outside. We all sat on the grass while the teacher explained what we were going to do.
“First,” the teacher said, pushing her glasses further up her nose, “we’re going to relax, in pairs. For five minutes, no talking, just deep breathing, and then, on a piece of paper I will hand around, you will write the first word that pops into your mind. This will be your word, and you will write a short story on it later in the year. You may begin. Pick your partner, and then go sit under a tree or something.” She waved us away with a sigh.
Hunter plucked at my sleeve and we went near a lavender bush nearby.
“You begin,” he said before I could say a thing, “and I’ll count the minutes.”
I groaned and lay down in the soft grass with a soft thud. Hunter took out his watch and narrowed his eyes at me until I closed mine.
I lay down for a few seconds, before getting up and glaring at Hunter, “I don’t get it! Did I pass your little trust test or what? I need to get my sister back! It’s my duty!”
He cocked his head, “And not your want? Or need? It seems to me like you’re only doing it because you have to.”
I frowned at him, “Yes, it’s my want as well, but more my duty. I have to do this. I couldn’t save my father, and he was killed.”
Hunter smirked, “Yet you’re not to sad about that. You went to a night club last night. It’s a great way to mourn!”
I tipped my head back and stared at the sky, “I can’t mourn. Not until I get my sister back.” I looked at a fluffy cloud that looked like a horse, “I didn’t even know him.” I whispered.
“But he was your father.”
“Yes, but I have no real memories of him. When I heard he had died, it was as if hearing about a random person’s death on TV. I feel for Seraphim because she was kidnapped, and who knows what’s happening to her,” I took a deep breath, “And I owe it to her family.”
Hunter’s soft brown eyes stared into me, “Her family?”
“Hers, mine, Janice’s. When I, if I, get my memories back, I owe it to her to try and make her life complete. But for some reason I don’t believe I’ll be getting her memories back, so I’m stuck all alone in this world-”
I was cut off as the teacher rounded the corner, glaring at us both, “Do your work,” she demanded.
I sighed and lay back down. After five minutes I wrote my word down, and it was Hunter’s turn. He lay down, fiddling with a dark ring around his finger. I inspected it while his eyes were closed.
It was black, but had a red shine to it. It was cut as if a stem from a rose bush had been twined around his finger, thorns and all.
“It’s one of Morgana Le Fey’s sacred rings.”
I jumped with a start as Hunter sat up, gazing at me intently but silently. He picked up his piece of paper and wrote a single word on it.
“I’ll show you mine if you show me yours.” I grinned, expecting him to hide it.
“OK,” he said instead, “Here.”
Written in neat handwriting was the single word, liberation.
“It’s what you’re looking for,” he said simply, “Now show me yours.”
I gave mine to him, and he read the word, precarious.
“It’s what you are, and maybe something else I’m searching for,” I said just as simply. Let him ponder on that!
He just nodded calmly, accepting my answer, and then he looked up at someone approaching us. I thought it might be the teacher, but I was surprised when I locked eyes with Cole.
His blue eyes flared with surprise at Hunter sitting next to me, but then that emotion was quickly disguised with happiness when he saw my face.
“You left your book in my car,” Cole said, “I thought you might need it so I turned back around.”
“She could have just borrowed mine. She’s not incompetent you know.” I was shocked at Hunter’s anger that resonated in his voice.
“Hunter!” I said in horror, “Don’t be so rude,” I turned to Cole, “Thanks, I did need these books. Sorry for my friends total lack of manners. He didn’t take any medication this morning.”
Hunter didn’t reply to my snark comment, as he was glaring off into a random corner. It wouldn’t surprise me if he started pouting and asking for his teddy bear. Cole didn’t seem to mind Hunter’s crude behaviour. In fact he smiled politely at Hunter before he continued his conversation with me.
“That’s ok, I wore nappies once too.”
Hunter jumped up at that remark and snatched the book out of Cole’s hands.
“You delivered. Now leave!”
“Hunter!” The warning in my voice seemed to make him pause for a minute, but not before he spat on the ground right in front of Cole.
“Thank-you, Cole for bringing this to me. It was very thoughtful, but I think it might be best for you to go if Hunter’s going to act like a total jerk to you. I’ll talk to you later.”
“I’ll talk to you later,” Hunter mimicked me in an annoying high pitched noise.
Cole didn’t give Hunter any attention, “How about I drive you home tonight? I don’t want you walking the streets alone.”
“Ok,” I agreed before Hunter could throw in an insulting comment.
Cole nodded to me, then Hunter, before leaving.
I was left with Hunter, who was shaking his head. I smacked him over the head with my book that I had just received.
“Ow!” He yelled, “What was that for?”
“For your total lack of respect for my friend!” I thought for a moment, “And for mimicking me in an annoying voice. God!” I started getting louder, “Can you at least act normal?”
“Obviously I can.” He said, looking all mysterious, and eyeing me, as if I should already know.
“What’s that supposed to mean?” I sighed, knowing there was something that he would bring up, not that I knew what that was yet.
“Well,” He explained slowly, trying to leech the life out of the piece of evidence he had mystifyingly plucked out of mid-air. “You called me your friend! So I guess I’m normal enough for that!”
I paused and thought back, “Crap! I did, didn’t I! I won’t make that mistake again,” Hunter rolled his eyes, “But why were you such an asshole to Cole?”
“Because I know him.” Hunter said.
“How?” I pressured.
“Who are you?” Hunter asked, “My mum?”
I stood up angrily, “If you cannot give me a straight answer, then why am I here?”
“Yes,” said a voice from behind me, “Why are you here?”
I turned slowly, suspecting the worst, and I was right. The teacher was standing there with her hands on her hips.
“You two have been disrupting the students around you, and you have not done what I have asked of you. Go straight to the principal’s office.”
Unfortunately, Hunter took this moment to be sarcastic, “Do not pass go, do not collect $200.”
I winced as he said this, knowing she would make our punishment even worse.
As it was, the teachers face seemed to blow up like a strawberry. She went bright red with anger, “Yes Hunter! Do not pass go! Do not collect $200! Think you’re funny do you? Well you will be serving detention with Janice here.”
Again, Hunter just didn’t know when to shut up, “I think that would be quite nice. How about it Janice? The two of us, alone in a dark classroom after school. Whatever shall we do to relieve the boredom?”
I took three deep breaths and tried to control the situation, “Homework,” I said to him, “Now ma’am, we have done the work. It’s right here. We have the two words you asked for. I’m sorry for disrupting other students. We won’t do it again.”
The teacher looked over our two words and nodded at me.
“You have a very level head about you Janice, so I hate to do this to you, but you will be spending lunch time with me and Mr. Smartypants over there.” She motioned to Hunter, and he chuckled for being called a smartypants.
She then walked off and I went and kicked Hunter in the arm.
“Hey!”
“What the hell was that?” I asked, my eyes blazing with anger, “Aggravating a pissed off teacher like that?”
“I couldn’t help myself,” Hunter said, brushing dirt off his shirt, “Plus spending lunch with you was an added bonus for acting out.”
I rolled my eyes and flopped down on the grass next to Hunter, looking at the clouds shaping fluffy animals…
…
Mr. Browne was sitting at a desk in the room Hunter and I were supposed to be spending our detention. Hunter wasn’t there yet so I took out a book and sandwich.
Hunter swung through the door five minutes later, and sat all the way across the room, also with a studying book.
About ten minutes into the detention, Mr. Browne sighed and stood up, “Look, I’m not paid enough to sit here doing this. You have to stay in this classroom, but I’m going to my office to have lunch. I won’t be back. If you leave, I never knew.” He winked before practically running out of the room.
I continued chomping on my sandwich blankly.
“Good,” Hunter said, putting his feet on the table, “He’s gone.” He leant back in his chair and then fell. I laughed at the tangle of arms and legs on the floor.
He got up, looking only slightly dishevelled.
I threw my rubbish in the bin and went to leave. Hunter was at the door quicker that I thought possible.
“I thought you were to be my student?”
I frowned, “Kinky Hunter, really, but I don’t need to stay in here any longer.”
Hunter sneered at the kinky joke, but kept his hand on the door.
“You both completed and failed the trust test, like a true blood, but now we have to get your memories back.”
I glared at him, “True blood? What are you on?”
He rolled his eyes, something I’d become accustomed to when talking to him, and made me sit in a chair.
“Now, close your eyes,” He whispered in my ear, “and let your mind go blank. Don’t think about anything other than the sound of my voice.”
I closed my eyes and made my mind go blank. It was surprisingly easy, so I wasn’t sure if that was already telling me something.
My breathing soon became heavy by itself, and I could feel my lungs expanding and contracting under my ribs.
“Good,” Hunter said, “Now, you will do exactly as I say. Imagine that you’re in the middle of the forest. Everything is green and mossy, and dappled light is shining through the trees. You are holding a small glass vial. The contents look bright blue. You put it up to your lips and drink heavily. The taste is horrible, but you choke it down. Now here, you are supposed to feint, and have your memories taken, but what I want you to do is go over to some green moss and eat it.”
My head felt fuzzy, and my stomach started aching. I ate the moss in my mind, and I leant over the side of my chair and vomited. I opened my eyes in terror, and found myself back in the room.
Hunter helped me kneel on the ground by the bin, spitting vomit into the bin. He held my black hair back with one hand and with the other rubbed my back.
“It’s ok,” He crooned, “You did great. Soon, all your memories will come back to you. But one at a time, of course, or else you’ll be flooded with memories and your mind will burn out.”
I looked up at him, my eyes round as moons, “My vomit…” I whispered, looking back in the bin.
Mixed with half of my sandwich, was blue liquid. My heart started racing, and I felt my face go pasty white.
Hunter didn’t say anything, but took a tissue from the nearby teacher’s desk and wiped at my mouth. I ignored him for a moment, but then glanced sideways at him. Maybe he wasn’t crazy after all.
I sat up from my position and grabbed my book, and left quietly. When I looked back, Hunter was sitting in the same place, with a tissue in his hand.
Turkey- Chapter 4
Turkey
….Chapter 4
I sat in the police station next to my mother, who was staring at the cop interrogating us.
“Where where you at the time of the murder and kidnapping?”
My mother didn’t answer so I gave him my alibi, “School.”
He looked at me sceptically, “That early?” I nodded and he wrote something down before asking, “Can anybody verify that?”
I thought for a moment, “Hunter and Sasha.”
“Friends?” He asked, and again, I nodded. He wrote something else down and another police officer came in with a piece of paper, set it down in front of him, then left again, nearly slamming the door.
The officer read it, then his eyes flickered up to me, “Says here you never went to your classes.” I told him I had gotten the news from Sasha so I ran off.
“To a mental hospital?” He gazed at my disbelieving look, “Yes. We know that too, because, you see, you had to sign in to visit Tabitha with… let’s see here, Cole Jusands. Another friend?” I kept my lips sealed. I turned to look at my mother.
“May I take her home? She’s had a hard day.”
The police officer glared at me for a moment longer, before nodding and motioning towards the doors. “We will continue this, you can be sure of that Janice.”
I nearly dragged my mother to the police car that was going to take us home. We got to the house quickly, and I took her to her room. All the blood had been cleaned out of Seraphim’s room for testing.
My mother was dumped unceremoniously on the bed, and I looked at the time. It had been a long day, and I had promised Cole that I’d call him when I got home. The time read some time after eight. I picked up the phone, and dialled his number that he had given me. He answered after the second ring, asking immediately for me.
“Janice?”
“Yeah. Hi, I got home in one piece. Thanks for looking out for me,” I said.
“Nah! Anyone would do the same thing. Just good to know you’re safe.”
I smiled at his compassionate tone, “I was going to leave, actually, but then I remembered you.”
“Where were you going?”
“To a certain night club.” I said darkly.
“OK. Be all mysterious then. Hey, tomorrow I’m going to be in town. Do you want me to stop by in the afternoon to say hi?”
I bit my lip to stop from grinning. Now here was a healthy relationship, “Yes. That would be great.”
We spoke for a few more minutes before we hang up. I then went to change my clothes. Something that would scream, I’m going clubbing. I looked in my wardrobe and sighed in dismay, because a holey T-shirt would tell people I’m allowed in the club. So instead, I went to Seraphim’s room. I looked in her wardrobe and found the perfect dress. It was short and slinky, but not too revealing. It was all black, but glittered like you wouldn’t believe.
I put it on, and did my hair in an up do. I then told my mum where I was going. She didn’t care.
I took a coat, and left for the club.
…
I found Hunter easily. He was sitting down, quietly sipping his drink, watching the dancers. I sat down across from him, and his eyes widened in appreciation at my dress. I leaned in towards him. I got down to business immediately. Immodestly
“I went to see Tabitha.”
“Mmm hmm.” He looked bored, “And what did she have to say?”
“Nothing, and you know it,” I answered, annoyed already, “But she drew something for me. I took the picture out from my coat pocket.
Hunter’s eyes brushed over the picture, “So? Do you have a point to a picture drawn by a mentally disabled person?”
I flipped the page over, “She drew the tattoo the boy had on his wrist. Remarkably similar to yours, don’t you think?” I smirked at him.
He raised an eyebrow, “And what now? Hand me over to the cops with a picture drawn by a vegetable? Ha! But I know why you’re really here,” he leant forward, “You want to save your sister.”
I glared at him. How does he always anger me without even trying?
He put his drink down on the table with a soft chink. “Your sister won’t be easy to get too. But first, you need to listen to me, and not kick me when I try to help. If you had followed my directions before hand, you would have been way closer to finding your sister. Now,” He looked at me, with a tight look in his eyes instead of the usual playfulness, “Are you with me, or not?”
I stared straight back, “How do I know you’re not lying?”
He leaned away, into his chair, “A little thing called trust. That and I would never lie to you.”
“Why?” I asked, sounding like a perpetual little child, “Why help me?”
He smiled, “Because you’re worth so much to me.”
“Really, or am I worth more to your little club which you got your tattoo from?”
Hunter sighed, “Trust is not a terrible thing Janice. It’s all part of your learning.”
I narrowed my eyes, “And what if I never learn?”
He tilted his head to the side, “Then you will never find Seraphim.”
Those words made my blood run cold. That, and the fact that I might be sitting across from a potential serial killer.
A waiter came over and placed a glass in front of me. I nodded to him as he left, and picked up the glass.
Hunter’s eyes glinted, “So you’d trust some stranger with your health rather than me?”
I looked at him over the glass, “My first lesson, remember?” I put the glass up to my mouth and drank an oversweet blend of sugar and orange. I coughed, “It tasted better before.”
“Then it could be poisoned, I suggest you put it down.”
I considered that then realised it was a test. If I put the glass down, it could be right because I trusted him, but it could be wrong because I was so submissive. If I take another sip, I’m right because I trust someone, but wrong because it could be poison.
I kept the glass in the air, but didn’t put it down, “I don’t take orders,” I said simply, “But I won’t take another sip.”
Hunter rolled his eyes, muttering something under his breath that sounded remotely like stubborn turkey.
“I’m a turkey?” I asked, amused.
He looked up, “Yes.” He grinned, his teeth a flash of white before the nightclub went black. The lights had turned off.
Over the loudspeaker came the announcement, “Now is the time that everyone’s been waiting for, Lover’s Hour. Turn to the person next to you and ask them to dance.”
The light’s turned back on and I looked over at Hunter, “My cue to leave.”
“No,” Hunter held onto my wrist, “Just one dance, please?”
I actually considered for a moment before shaking off his wrist, “Not while my sister’s life is in danger.” I took the drink I had left and sculled the rest of the sugary liquid, feeling Hunter’s piercing eyes on me.
“I have to trust someone right?” I said to him, “And I figure at this moment, it’s not you. Not until I get my sister back.”
I walked out, missing the words that Hunter murmured. If only I had stayed, then I would have heard the words; clever, quick learning turkey being said at me.
…
The next morning, I was in my room, surveying my surroundings. My room really sucked! I must have been an extremely bland person. I had cream coloured carpet, cream bed sheets, cream curtains, cream everything!
The only thing coloured was my diary and that was green.
Wait, I thought, my dairy. Didn’t she, I, say that some strange guy was following her and her friends around. Maybe that might hold some clues.
I picked up the diary and found the sections where I had turned pretty depressed. I went through them and when I read what I needed too, I threw the diary into the open door that led into my private bathroom.
What she had written had nearly killed me:
Dear Diary,
I met the boy who’s following me. He showed me a tattoo on his wrist. It was a snake!
He acted like I should know what it means.
Damn blonde crazy guy!
I was puzzled about the blonde part, but then I remembered that Hunter belonged to some wild club. There were probably heaps of members.
I went into the bathroom to pick my diary up, and a strange smell reached my nostrils. It was wafting from the bathtub. The shower curtain was closed, but I knew that something strange was behind there.
Slowly, I crept towards the curtain. I put my hand up to draw it back, but then I was worried that it might be some kind of animal that was hurt, so I picked up the toilet brush, quickly knocking the curtain to the side.
I screamed in panic. In the shower was a bath of blood. And at the head of the tub was a hand, a human hand! I slipped over, hitting my head on the side of my sink. My head felt numb for a second, before I regained full capability of my mind.
I wriggled into a sitting position and took one more look over the side of the tub, in case the Police wanted me to describe exactly what I had seen.
There was nothing there.
I put my nose on the side, and sniffed all around the tub, but the smell was gone as well. I saw blood in the corner of my eye, and I turned, holding the toilet brush as a weapon, but again, nothing was there. I realised it was my hair, sticky with blood from the fall.
I took one of my towels; cream coloured of course, and held it to the side of my head. I groaned softly in the pain that my mind finally recognised.
The doorbell rang downstairs and I toppled out of my room, still holding the towel to my head. I opened the door, and their stood Cole.
“Cole! Hi!” I said, grinning at him.
He frowned at me.
“Yeah, yeah! I’m not a morning person.”
He smiled then, “I can see that,” and he motioned at my towel.
“Oh, this? This was a random mishap in the bathroom. Nothing to be worried about,” I tried to sound perky and confident, but instead I sounded like an ignorant kid.
Cole put one hand on each of my shoulders, and pushed me inside the house.
He made me give directions to the kitchen, and once in there, forced me to sit on one of the chairs their.
Cole went to my freezer and took out a packet of frozen peas, wrapped a clean tea-towel around them, then made me hold it to my head. After a minute of that, he peeled the towel away from the cut and inspected it.
“Not deep, so no need for doctors or hospitals. It’ll be okay. Good thing it was a temple hit, so I can put a bandaid on it!” He took a bandaid from his back pocket.
“Yes nurse,” I joked, “And what makes you a doctor?”
Cole puffed out his chest, “I live on a farm, so I’m always prepared.” He deflated, “Plus my dad made me get my level 1 first aid certificate.”
“Nice.”
He grunted an agreement as he opened the bandaid. He placed it on softly, but I still winced in pain.
“You know,” he winked at me, “I don’t think you can walk to school. Good thing I brought my horse.”
I ran to the window, “Seriously?”
He chuckled in the corner as I stared in disappointment at the car in the driveway.
“Yep. That’s my horse. Want to know why?” I nodded, “Well, it’s a mustang.” He cracked up.
I stared at him in disbelief. I didn’t get it.
He looked me over, “OK. I think you’ll be good for a while. Let me drive you to school.”
“You have your licence?” I didn’t get the horse joke, but I do know the law.
“I’m eighteen. Still at school, but I’m allowed to get my licence.”
“Eighteen!” I squeaked, “God, I feel so young. I’m only sixteen. Well, going on seventeen, but that’s irrelevant.”
Cole leant in close, “I think that’s very relevant,” he breathed, and I felt like giggling.
We drove to school laughing and yelling out the windows. Again, I was so very happy, but when I got to school, the weight of my sister’s disappearance weighed heavily on my shoulders.
I saw Sasha, and she gave me a huge hug before walking to her first class, which was English, with me. But first I had to find somebody.
….Chapter 4
I sat in the police station next to my mother, who was staring at the cop interrogating us.
“Where where you at the time of the murder and kidnapping?”
My mother didn’t answer so I gave him my alibi, “School.”
He looked at me sceptically, “That early?” I nodded and he wrote something down before asking, “Can anybody verify that?”
I thought for a moment, “Hunter and Sasha.”
“Friends?” He asked, and again, I nodded. He wrote something else down and another police officer came in with a piece of paper, set it down in front of him, then left again, nearly slamming the door.
The officer read it, then his eyes flickered up to me, “Says here you never went to your classes.” I told him I had gotten the news from Sasha so I ran off.
“To a mental hospital?” He gazed at my disbelieving look, “Yes. We know that too, because, you see, you had to sign in to visit Tabitha with… let’s see here, Cole Jusands. Another friend?” I kept my lips sealed. I turned to look at my mother.
“May I take her home? She’s had a hard day.”
The police officer glared at me for a moment longer, before nodding and motioning towards the doors. “We will continue this, you can be sure of that Janice.”
I nearly dragged my mother to the police car that was going to take us home. We got to the house quickly, and I took her to her room. All the blood had been cleaned out of Seraphim’s room for testing.
My mother was dumped unceremoniously on the bed, and I looked at the time. It had been a long day, and I had promised Cole that I’d call him when I got home. The time read some time after eight. I picked up the phone, and dialled his number that he had given me. He answered after the second ring, asking immediately for me.
“Janice?”
“Yeah. Hi, I got home in one piece. Thanks for looking out for me,” I said.
“Nah! Anyone would do the same thing. Just good to know you’re safe.”
I smiled at his compassionate tone, “I was going to leave, actually, but then I remembered you.”
“Where were you going?”
“To a certain night club.” I said darkly.
“OK. Be all mysterious then. Hey, tomorrow I’m going to be in town. Do you want me to stop by in the afternoon to say hi?”
I bit my lip to stop from grinning. Now here was a healthy relationship, “Yes. That would be great.”
We spoke for a few more minutes before we hang up. I then went to change my clothes. Something that would scream, I’m going clubbing. I looked in my wardrobe and sighed in dismay, because a holey T-shirt would tell people I’m allowed in the club. So instead, I went to Seraphim’s room. I looked in her wardrobe and found the perfect dress. It was short and slinky, but not too revealing. It was all black, but glittered like you wouldn’t believe.
I put it on, and did my hair in an up do. I then told my mum where I was going. She didn’t care.
I took a coat, and left for the club.
…
I found Hunter easily. He was sitting down, quietly sipping his drink, watching the dancers. I sat down across from him, and his eyes widened in appreciation at my dress. I leaned in towards him. I got down to business immediately. Immodestly
“I went to see Tabitha.”
“Mmm hmm.” He looked bored, “And what did she have to say?”
“Nothing, and you know it,” I answered, annoyed already, “But she drew something for me. I took the picture out from my coat pocket.
Hunter’s eyes brushed over the picture, “So? Do you have a point to a picture drawn by a mentally disabled person?”
I flipped the page over, “She drew the tattoo the boy had on his wrist. Remarkably similar to yours, don’t you think?” I smirked at him.
He raised an eyebrow, “And what now? Hand me over to the cops with a picture drawn by a vegetable? Ha! But I know why you’re really here,” he leant forward, “You want to save your sister.”
I glared at him. How does he always anger me without even trying?
He put his drink down on the table with a soft chink. “Your sister won’t be easy to get too. But first, you need to listen to me, and not kick me when I try to help. If you had followed my directions before hand, you would have been way closer to finding your sister. Now,” He looked at me, with a tight look in his eyes instead of the usual playfulness, “Are you with me, or not?”
I stared straight back, “How do I know you’re not lying?”
He leaned away, into his chair, “A little thing called trust. That and I would never lie to you.”
“Why?” I asked, sounding like a perpetual little child, “Why help me?”
He smiled, “Because you’re worth so much to me.”
“Really, or am I worth more to your little club which you got your tattoo from?”
Hunter sighed, “Trust is not a terrible thing Janice. It’s all part of your learning.”
I narrowed my eyes, “And what if I never learn?”
He tilted his head to the side, “Then you will never find Seraphim.”
Those words made my blood run cold. That, and the fact that I might be sitting across from a potential serial killer.
A waiter came over and placed a glass in front of me. I nodded to him as he left, and picked up the glass.
Hunter’s eyes glinted, “So you’d trust some stranger with your health rather than me?”
I looked at him over the glass, “My first lesson, remember?” I put the glass up to my mouth and drank an oversweet blend of sugar and orange. I coughed, “It tasted better before.”
“Then it could be poisoned, I suggest you put it down.”
I considered that then realised it was a test. If I put the glass down, it could be right because I trusted him, but it could be wrong because I was so submissive. If I take another sip, I’m right because I trust someone, but wrong because it could be poison.
I kept the glass in the air, but didn’t put it down, “I don’t take orders,” I said simply, “But I won’t take another sip.”
Hunter rolled his eyes, muttering something under his breath that sounded remotely like stubborn turkey.
“I’m a turkey?” I asked, amused.
He looked up, “Yes.” He grinned, his teeth a flash of white before the nightclub went black. The lights had turned off.
Over the loudspeaker came the announcement, “Now is the time that everyone’s been waiting for, Lover’s Hour. Turn to the person next to you and ask them to dance.”
The light’s turned back on and I looked over at Hunter, “My cue to leave.”
“No,” Hunter held onto my wrist, “Just one dance, please?”
I actually considered for a moment before shaking off his wrist, “Not while my sister’s life is in danger.” I took the drink I had left and sculled the rest of the sugary liquid, feeling Hunter’s piercing eyes on me.
“I have to trust someone right?” I said to him, “And I figure at this moment, it’s not you. Not until I get my sister back.”
I walked out, missing the words that Hunter murmured. If only I had stayed, then I would have heard the words; clever, quick learning turkey being said at me.
…
The next morning, I was in my room, surveying my surroundings. My room really sucked! I must have been an extremely bland person. I had cream coloured carpet, cream bed sheets, cream curtains, cream everything!
The only thing coloured was my diary and that was green.
Wait, I thought, my dairy. Didn’t she, I, say that some strange guy was following her and her friends around. Maybe that might hold some clues.
I picked up the diary and found the sections where I had turned pretty depressed. I went through them and when I read what I needed too, I threw the diary into the open door that led into my private bathroom.
What she had written had nearly killed me:
Dear Diary,
I met the boy who’s following me. He showed me a tattoo on his wrist. It was a snake!
He acted like I should know what it means.
Damn blonde crazy guy!
I was puzzled about the blonde part, but then I remembered that Hunter belonged to some wild club. There were probably heaps of members.
I went into the bathroom to pick my diary up, and a strange smell reached my nostrils. It was wafting from the bathtub. The shower curtain was closed, but I knew that something strange was behind there.
Slowly, I crept towards the curtain. I put my hand up to draw it back, but then I was worried that it might be some kind of animal that was hurt, so I picked up the toilet brush, quickly knocking the curtain to the side.
I screamed in panic. In the shower was a bath of blood. And at the head of the tub was a hand, a human hand! I slipped over, hitting my head on the side of my sink. My head felt numb for a second, before I regained full capability of my mind.
I wriggled into a sitting position and took one more look over the side of the tub, in case the Police wanted me to describe exactly what I had seen.
There was nothing there.
I put my nose on the side, and sniffed all around the tub, but the smell was gone as well. I saw blood in the corner of my eye, and I turned, holding the toilet brush as a weapon, but again, nothing was there. I realised it was my hair, sticky with blood from the fall.
I took one of my towels; cream coloured of course, and held it to the side of my head. I groaned softly in the pain that my mind finally recognised.
The doorbell rang downstairs and I toppled out of my room, still holding the towel to my head. I opened the door, and their stood Cole.
“Cole! Hi!” I said, grinning at him.
He frowned at me.
“Yeah, yeah! I’m not a morning person.”
He smiled then, “I can see that,” and he motioned at my towel.
“Oh, this? This was a random mishap in the bathroom. Nothing to be worried about,” I tried to sound perky and confident, but instead I sounded like an ignorant kid.
Cole put one hand on each of my shoulders, and pushed me inside the house.
He made me give directions to the kitchen, and once in there, forced me to sit on one of the chairs their.
Cole went to my freezer and took out a packet of frozen peas, wrapped a clean tea-towel around them, then made me hold it to my head. After a minute of that, he peeled the towel away from the cut and inspected it.
“Not deep, so no need for doctors or hospitals. It’ll be okay. Good thing it was a temple hit, so I can put a bandaid on it!” He took a bandaid from his back pocket.
“Yes nurse,” I joked, “And what makes you a doctor?”
Cole puffed out his chest, “I live on a farm, so I’m always prepared.” He deflated, “Plus my dad made me get my level 1 first aid certificate.”
“Nice.”
He grunted an agreement as he opened the bandaid. He placed it on softly, but I still winced in pain.
“You know,” he winked at me, “I don’t think you can walk to school. Good thing I brought my horse.”
I ran to the window, “Seriously?”
He chuckled in the corner as I stared in disappointment at the car in the driveway.
“Yep. That’s my horse. Want to know why?” I nodded, “Well, it’s a mustang.” He cracked up.
I stared at him in disbelief. I didn’t get it.
He looked me over, “OK. I think you’ll be good for a while. Let me drive you to school.”
“You have your licence?” I didn’t get the horse joke, but I do know the law.
“I’m eighteen. Still at school, but I’m allowed to get my licence.”
“Eighteen!” I squeaked, “God, I feel so young. I’m only sixteen. Well, going on seventeen, but that’s irrelevant.”
Cole leant in close, “I think that’s very relevant,” he breathed, and I felt like giggling.
We drove to school laughing and yelling out the windows. Again, I was so very happy, but when I got to school, the weight of my sister’s disappearance weighed heavily on my shoulders.
I saw Sasha, and she gave me a huge hug before walking to her first class, which was English, with me. But first I had to find somebody.
His Tattoo, Her Tattoo- Chapter 3
His Tattoo, Her Tattoo
….Chapter 3
The sun shone on my face through the window, waking me up. I glanced at the clock, finding it was only six thirty in the morning!
I got up, and into my school uniform, hoping that I could get out of the house without bumping into anyone. If only things worked out that way!
I tip-toed out the door, and bumped straight into Seraphim. She looked me over and hugged me hard, “I was so worried yesterday. I’m so sorry about mum and dad, too,” she said to me.
I stood their dumbfounded, until I realised I was hugging her back. I let go, and Seraphim wiped a few tears from her eyes.
“Well,” I said, trying to lighten the mood, “I’m going to school early, so…” I trailed off. Seraphim nodded, and brushed past me into her room. I watched her go for a few more seconds, before running down the stairs, no longer worrying if I’m quiet or not.
I made it to school in record time, not that I had anything to do their. So instead I went to my locker and looked at old markings that people had left behind, well before me. There were things such as I love George and Popular for life, including things like, Walker was here and OMG! plus a small artistic drawing of a male part that I don’t wish to think about.
I closed my door, and their, leaning next to me, was Hunter.
“Oh! Why do you always scare me like that?” I gasped.
“Do I?” He asked, quietly inspecting his nails.
“Yes! I’m going to go grey before my years.”
“Ah! But then you might have a heart attack if I keep doing this, and it won’t be as much fun!”
“Ha Ha!” I said sarcastically, throwing a pen at his head. I had already taken my books out for a class that would start in two hours. Maybe I could get some extra study in, and cover the pieces I had missed!
“Want to help?” I asked, raising my school books, “I have heaps to get through to catch up to the class.”
He nodded, “It would be my pleasure.” We sat down in an open classroom and I took out my books. I opened to the first page and saw that it focused on mitosis in Biology. I almost closed it, but instead considered something else.
“Hey,” I said, “I answered your question when you wanted to know about my car crash, now you have to answer one of my questions.”
Hunter looked up from the book and met my eyes, for a fleeting moment there was a look of fear in his eyes. He nodded tensely.
“Ok,” I said, “Where did you get that tattoo from?” I tapped my pen on his wrist, pointing out the snake.
“This,” he replied, “is the most important question you needed to ask? Lame. I got my tattoo as part of an initiation. And no, I won’t tell you into what, because you’ve already used up your question.”
I rolled my eyes, and for the next hour, buried my head in my books. When we got too bored to continue, Hunter slammed my books closed.
“Hey!” I exclaimed, “I was reading that.”
“No,” he said, “You weren’t. You were as bored shitless as I was. Let’s go somewhere.” He took my books and started running. I sighed angrily. There was no winning with him sometimes.
I ran after him, and I caught up with him easily, snatching my books from his hands, and running in another direction. He came after me, trying to take the books back, but I was too fast. I ran up a small hill around the back of the school, and I tripped, falling at the top of the hill. Hunter cracked up laughing.
I smirked and felt a throb in my leg. My scar was playing up. I rolled my knee high sock down, and looked at the bottom half of the scar. It had gone red and was tense. After running, I couldn’t hold it straight out.
Hunter frowned and looked at my scar, “How’d that happen?” I looked up at his edgy face and said, “Car crash,” simply.
He nodded, but still looked nervous. I tilted my head to the side, wondering what he was thinking. He was still staring at my face.
“Are you sure?” He whispered the question at me.
I shook my head, “I didn’t have it before my accident, so it must have happened then.” I was getting a little stressed at Hunter’s worried face.
He looked away, “It was too much.”
“What was?”
“The truth serum! She gave you too much.” He answered quietly.
“What are you talking about?”
“What do you remember of your past life?” He got right up in my face.
“What?” My eyes searched his angrily, “I told you I have no memories of that!”
“Don’t force it,” he said, stroking my hair, “Just relax, and let your mind go blank.”
I stared at him in horror, and kicked him straight between the legs.
“Asshole!” I yelled at him, before charging away, with my books. I looked back once, and he was gone.
I met Sasha in the locker bay, and she was on her phone. She told whoever it was on the phone to hang on a moment.
“My dad’s just called me. Apparently the police station has a new report,” she looked at my surprised face, “My dad’s in the law force. He gets a pretty cool Taser.”
I nodded, and she got back on the phone. There was heaps of talking on the other side, and Sasha’s face turned white.
“What?” Her eyes suddenly looked onto mine. “Ok dad, I’ll tell her. But if I come home with a black eye, I blame you.” She snapped her phone shut and stared at me for a long time.
“What is it?” I was getting chills up my spine.
“It’s your sister,” Sasha looked down at her shoes, unwilling to continue. I grabbed her arm, forcing her to look at me again, “They,” she stopped again, “In her room,” again; it was obvious she wasn’t going to continue.
I cocked my head, wondering if it was worth giving her a black eye if it meant getting some form of answer from her. Luckily, before I had made my decision, she started talking.
“Your sister’s room,” Her face was pale white, “She’s missing, and in her room, everything was a mess, and there was so much blood. Too much. She was kidnapped. Stolen, whatever word you want to use. And your father, neck broken…” She slumped inwardly, refusing to continue the bad news.
I could feel the blood rush away from my face. The prickly, uncomfortable feeling that came before feinting threw itself on me.
I ran past Sasha and out into the cold morning air. Class would be starting in half an hour, and Seraphim would not be a part of them. Abducted, was the word that kept spinning around in my head. And my father, my poor father. I put my head in my hands, as if to cry, but no tears found their way onto my hands.
I raised my head, and went to find Hunter instead. I found him sitting at a table, playing with a pen. When he saw me approaching, his face looked strained, but at least he didn’t run away.
I sat across from him, hands clasped tightly. “I’m sorry.” I said.
He shrugged, eyes on his pen.
“I need your help,” I murmured, “It’s urgent.”
Hunter raised his eyes to look at me finally. I looked over at him.
“Yes,” he said, finally talking, “Sasha told me about your small dilemma.”
I stood up angrily, and grabbed the front of his shirt that was, of course, black. He smirked slightly, “And what do you think you could do to help your sister?” He asked, “A young girl, too afraid to know her past.”
My eyes widened, and Hunter seemed to realise he had taken it too far. “What do you want to know?”
I let go of his shirt, “I need to know where Tabitha is.”
“It’ll cost you.”
“How much?” I asked, ready to pay.
“That scar.” He pointed to a thick scar on my hand, “And the memories that coincide with it.”
I frowned, wondering if I had kicked his head, instead of another area, “Um… Okay.”
“I’ll collect when I’m ready.”
I nodded, anything to get him to shut up.
He grabbed my hand, the one without the scar, and wrote an address on my palm with his pen.
“There. Now shoo.”
I nodded again, still worried about his sanity.
I looked at the address and caught a near-by bus. It took me across town, into a quieter place, filled with farming areas. I was let off a pretty close to the address, and walked the extra distance. The air smelt sweet, like corn, and I watched as someone rode his pretty white horse on an area of land, practicing jumps.
He nodded to me as I passed, and I greeted him.
He got off his horse and took off his helmet, his sandy blonde hair shining, and I realised in shock that he was the same age as me. I hadn’t considered teenagers in this area. I thought they would be at school.
“Hi. Do you know the way to this address?” I showed him my palm and he narrowed his eyes, reading it.
“Yeah, but it’s quite a while from here though.” He looked down the road behind me, and then looked down at me. “Ever rode a horse?”
…
Getting onto the horse was a struggle; my leg issuing me with a series of complaints, but once up, I was a natural.
We rode together, me on a beautiful black stallion named Stubborn Beauty, and him on his white mare named Da Vinci’s Art. We spoke while we rode. I found out his name was Cole, and he was adopted. He shrugged it off, but when I told him about my memory disappearance, he seemed to hate it.
We got all the way to the mental hospital and he told me that he would come in with me. I wondered about his horses, but he told me that this was a respectable place, and no one would steal them. He tied them to a small pole meant for horses, and he followed me in.
I went up to the receptionist, “Hi. I’m here to see Tabitha Dengy.” The woman looked me over and asked if I was family. I lied and said yes.
She called a Nurse to take me to her.
We followed a young woman down into a TV area, where about fifteen people were. There was someone drawing on a teddy bear, and another with an ear to the wall, as if it were talking to her.
The Nurse took me over to a young girl sitting at a table, staring blankly at her hands. The Nurse then left to clean up somebody’s bodily fluids.
I sat down next to Tabitha and marvelled at her innocent beauty. She stared back at me, and opened her mouth as if to say something, but nothing came out.
“Hi,” I said gingerly, hoping she could understand. Thankfully she could, as she nodded to me and Cole. He smiled back at her, and Tabitha started shuddering.
“Whoa!” I said, putting my hand on her shoulder. With that, Tabitha grabbed the hand touching her, biting into it with extreme force, bringing blood up to the surface. She stared at the blood on my hand before releasing it. Cole’s eyes flickered from mine to hers, but said nothing.
I took a piece of paper from the next table and a blue pen. I put it in front of Tabitha. She looked at it, but said nothing. Then, she picked up the pen and started drawing. In about ten minutes she had a coloured in page. She took my hand, and rubbed some blood onto her hand, then smeared it in certain areas around her image. Wordlessly, she handed it to me.
Cole looked over my shoulder and both of our eyes grew wide. In the image was a young girl, which looked like Tabitha. She was hiding behind a bush, watching a boy holding another boy up by the neck. The strangled one seemed to me like Brad, but the strangler was something else all together. He had dark hair, and an extremely dark expression.
There was something on this murderer’s wrist that struck me as familiar, but it was too small to decipher. I turned to Tabitha and tapped the mark on the boys’ wrist, and she nodded, turned the paper over, and resumed drawing.
Again, Cole and I waited, and again Tabitha handed us a picture. I jumped in shock. It was a snake, in the exact same form that had been on Hunters wrist. I would know that tattoo anywhere. My eyes rose from the picture, and they locked onto Tabitha’s. She nodded at me once, knowing I understood.
The nurse came over to us to tell us the time was up, but the blood was roaring in my ears, making me deaf to my surroundings. Cole told her if we could have just one more minute, and the nurse allowed it.
I grabbed another piece of paper from the table and slammed it in front of Tabitha.
“Where did he take them?” I asked.
Tabitha shook her head in desperation, obviously not knowing. I sighed and almost went to crumple the paper in my hand, but I stopped, one question raised in my head.
“What is he?” I nearly whispered.
Tabitha took the pen and wrote a clear word in the middle of the paper, Faerie.
I got up from my seat and motioned to the nurse to take us away. At the door, I paused and looked back at her. She threw a crumpled piece of paper at me. I picked it up and walked out of the room. I still had the picture in my hand, but I wanted to destroy it. I didn’t want anything to be true anymore.
We got to the horses and Cole stopped me, “What’s on the paper she threw you?” He asked me.
I opened it carefully, not wanting to break it, and written in what looked like blood were the words: Be careful. I’ll pray for your survival.
….Chapter 3
The sun shone on my face through the window, waking me up. I glanced at the clock, finding it was only six thirty in the morning!
I got up, and into my school uniform, hoping that I could get out of the house without bumping into anyone. If only things worked out that way!
I tip-toed out the door, and bumped straight into Seraphim. She looked me over and hugged me hard, “I was so worried yesterday. I’m so sorry about mum and dad, too,” she said to me.
I stood their dumbfounded, until I realised I was hugging her back. I let go, and Seraphim wiped a few tears from her eyes.
“Well,” I said, trying to lighten the mood, “I’m going to school early, so…” I trailed off. Seraphim nodded, and brushed past me into her room. I watched her go for a few more seconds, before running down the stairs, no longer worrying if I’m quiet or not.
I made it to school in record time, not that I had anything to do their. So instead I went to my locker and looked at old markings that people had left behind, well before me. There were things such as I love George and Popular for life, including things like, Walker was here and OMG! plus a small artistic drawing of a male part that I don’t wish to think about.
I closed my door, and their, leaning next to me, was Hunter.
“Oh! Why do you always scare me like that?” I gasped.
“Do I?” He asked, quietly inspecting his nails.
“Yes! I’m going to go grey before my years.”
“Ah! But then you might have a heart attack if I keep doing this, and it won’t be as much fun!”
“Ha Ha!” I said sarcastically, throwing a pen at his head. I had already taken my books out for a class that would start in two hours. Maybe I could get some extra study in, and cover the pieces I had missed!
“Want to help?” I asked, raising my school books, “I have heaps to get through to catch up to the class.”
He nodded, “It would be my pleasure.” We sat down in an open classroom and I took out my books. I opened to the first page and saw that it focused on mitosis in Biology. I almost closed it, but instead considered something else.
“Hey,” I said, “I answered your question when you wanted to know about my car crash, now you have to answer one of my questions.”
Hunter looked up from the book and met my eyes, for a fleeting moment there was a look of fear in his eyes. He nodded tensely.
“Ok,” I said, “Where did you get that tattoo from?” I tapped my pen on his wrist, pointing out the snake.
“This,” he replied, “is the most important question you needed to ask? Lame. I got my tattoo as part of an initiation. And no, I won’t tell you into what, because you’ve already used up your question.”
I rolled my eyes, and for the next hour, buried my head in my books. When we got too bored to continue, Hunter slammed my books closed.
“Hey!” I exclaimed, “I was reading that.”
“No,” he said, “You weren’t. You were as bored shitless as I was. Let’s go somewhere.” He took my books and started running. I sighed angrily. There was no winning with him sometimes.
I ran after him, and I caught up with him easily, snatching my books from his hands, and running in another direction. He came after me, trying to take the books back, but I was too fast. I ran up a small hill around the back of the school, and I tripped, falling at the top of the hill. Hunter cracked up laughing.
I smirked and felt a throb in my leg. My scar was playing up. I rolled my knee high sock down, and looked at the bottom half of the scar. It had gone red and was tense. After running, I couldn’t hold it straight out.
Hunter frowned and looked at my scar, “How’d that happen?” I looked up at his edgy face and said, “Car crash,” simply.
He nodded, but still looked nervous. I tilted my head to the side, wondering what he was thinking. He was still staring at my face.
“Are you sure?” He whispered the question at me.
I shook my head, “I didn’t have it before my accident, so it must have happened then.” I was getting a little stressed at Hunter’s worried face.
He looked away, “It was too much.”
“What was?”
“The truth serum! She gave you too much.” He answered quietly.
“What are you talking about?”
“What do you remember of your past life?” He got right up in my face.
“What?” My eyes searched his angrily, “I told you I have no memories of that!”
“Don’t force it,” he said, stroking my hair, “Just relax, and let your mind go blank.”
I stared at him in horror, and kicked him straight between the legs.
“Asshole!” I yelled at him, before charging away, with my books. I looked back once, and he was gone.
I met Sasha in the locker bay, and she was on her phone. She told whoever it was on the phone to hang on a moment.
“My dad’s just called me. Apparently the police station has a new report,” she looked at my surprised face, “My dad’s in the law force. He gets a pretty cool Taser.”
I nodded, and she got back on the phone. There was heaps of talking on the other side, and Sasha’s face turned white.
“What?” Her eyes suddenly looked onto mine. “Ok dad, I’ll tell her. But if I come home with a black eye, I blame you.” She snapped her phone shut and stared at me for a long time.
“What is it?” I was getting chills up my spine.
“It’s your sister,” Sasha looked down at her shoes, unwilling to continue. I grabbed her arm, forcing her to look at me again, “They,” she stopped again, “In her room,” again; it was obvious she wasn’t going to continue.
I cocked my head, wondering if it was worth giving her a black eye if it meant getting some form of answer from her. Luckily, before I had made my decision, she started talking.
“Your sister’s room,” Her face was pale white, “She’s missing, and in her room, everything was a mess, and there was so much blood. Too much. She was kidnapped. Stolen, whatever word you want to use. And your father, neck broken…” She slumped inwardly, refusing to continue the bad news.
I could feel the blood rush away from my face. The prickly, uncomfortable feeling that came before feinting threw itself on me.
I ran past Sasha and out into the cold morning air. Class would be starting in half an hour, and Seraphim would not be a part of them. Abducted, was the word that kept spinning around in my head. And my father, my poor father. I put my head in my hands, as if to cry, but no tears found their way onto my hands.
I raised my head, and went to find Hunter instead. I found him sitting at a table, playing with a pen. When he saw me approaching, his face looked strained, but at least he didn’t run away.
I sat across from him, hands clasped tightly. “I’m sorry.” I said.
He shrugged, eyes on his pen.
“I need your help,” I murmured, “It’s urgent.”
Hunter raised his eyes to look at me finally. I looked over at him.
“Yes,” he said, finally talking, “Sasha told me about your small dilemma.”
I stood up angrily, and grabbed the front of his shirt that was, of course, black. He smirked slightly, “And what do you think you could do to help your sister?” He asked, “A young girl, too afraid to know her past.”
My eyes widened, and Hunter seemed to realise he had taken it too far. “What do you want to know?”
I let go of his shirt, “I need to know where Tabitha is.”
“It’ll cost you.”
“How much?” I asked, ready to pay.
“That scar.” He pointed to a thick scar on my hand, “And the memories that coincide with it.”
I frowned, wondering if I had kicked his head, instead of another area, “Um… Okay.”
“I’ll collect when I’m ready.”
I nodded, anything to get him to shut up.
He grabbed my hand, the one without the scar, and wrote an address on my palm with his pen.
“There. Now shoo.”
I nodded again, still worried about his sanity.
I looked at the address and caught a near-by bus. It took me across town, into a quieter place, filled with farming areas. I was let off a pretty close to the address, and walked the extra distance. The air smelt sweet, like corn, and I watched as someone rode his pretty white horse on an area of land, practicing jumps.
He nodded to me as I passed, and I greeted him.
He got off his horse and took off his helmet, his sandy blonde hair shining, and I realised in shock that he was the same age as me. I hadn’t considered teenagers in this area. I thought they would be at school.
“Hi. Do you know the way to this address?” I showed him my palm and he narrowed his eyes, reading it.
“Yeah, but it’s quite a while from here though.” He looked down the road behind me, and then looked down at me. “Ever rode a horse?”
…
Getting onto the horse was a struggle; my leg issuing me with a series of complaints, but once up, I was a natural.
We rode together, me on a beautiful black stallion named Stubborn Beauty, and him on his white mare named Da Vinci’s Art. We spoke while we rode. I found out his name was Cole, and he was adopted. He shrugged it off, but when I told him about my memory disappearance, he seemed to hate it.
We got all the way to the mental hospital and he told me that he would come in with me. I wondered about his horses, but he told me that this was a respectable place, and no one would steal them. He tied them to a small pole meant for horses, and he followed me in.
I went up to the receptionist, “Hi. I’m here to see Tabitha Dengy.” The woman looked me over and asked if I was family. I lied and said yes.
She called a Nurse to take me to her.
We followed a young woman down into a TV area, where about fifteen people were. There was someone drawing on a teddy bear, and another with an ear to the wall, as if it were talking to her.
The Nurse took me over to a young girl sitting at a table, staring blankly at her hands. The Nurse then left to clean up somebody’s bodily fluids.
I sat down next to Tabitha and marvelled at her innocent beauty. She stared back at me, and opened her mouth as if to say something, but nothing came out.
“Hi,” I said gingerly, hoping she could understand. Thankfully she could, as she nodded to me and Cole. He smiled back at her, and Tabitha started shuddering.
“Whoa!” I said, putting my hand on her shoulder. With that, Tabitha grabbed the hand touching her, biting into it with extreme force, bringing blood up to the surface. She stared at the blood on my hand before releasing it. Cole’s eyes flickered from mine to hers, but said nothing.
I took a piece of paper from the next table and a blue pen. I put it in front of Tabitha. She looked at it, but said nothing. Then, she picked up the pen and started drawing. In about ten minutes she had a coloured in page. She took my hand, and rubbed some blood onto her hand, then smeared it in certain areas around her image. Wordlessly, she handed it to me.
Cole looked over my shoulder and both of our eyes grew wide. In the image was a young girl, which looked like Tabitha. She was hiding behind a bush, watching a boy holding another boy up by the neck. The strangled one seemed to me like Brad, but the strangler was something else all together. He had dark hair, and an extremely dark expression.
There was something on this murderer’s wrist that struck me as familiar, but it was too small to decipher. I turned to Tabitha and tapped the mark on the boys’ wrist, and she nodded, turned the paper over, and resumed drawing.
Again, Cole and I waited, and again Tabitha handed us a picture. I jumped in shock. It was a snake, in the exact same form that had been on Hunters wrist. I would know that tattoo anywhere. My eyes rose from the picture, and they locked onto Tabitha’s. She nodded at me once, knowing I understood.
The nurse came over to us to tell us the time was up, but the blood was roaring in my ears, making me deaf to my surroundings. Cole told her if we could have just one more minute, and the nurse allowed it.
I grabbed another piece of paper from the table and slammed it in front of Tabitha.
“Where did he take them?” I asked.
Tabitha shook her head in desperation, obviously not knowing. I sighed and almost went to crumple the paper in my hand, but I stopped, one question raised in my head.
“What is he?” I nearly whispered.
Tabitha took the pen and wrote a clear word in the middle of the paper, Faerie.
I got up from my seat and motioned to the nurse to take us away. At the door, I paused and looked back at her. She threw a crumpled piece of paper at me. I picked it up and walked out of the room. I still had the picture in my hand, but I wanted to destroy it. I didn’t want anything to be true anymore.
We got to the horses and Cole stopped me, “What’s on the paper she threw you?” He asked me.
I opened it carefully, not wanting to break it, and written in what looked like blood were the words: Be careful. I’ll pray for your survival.
Bright Nightclub- Chapter 2
Bright Nightclub
…Chapter 2
I walked home with Seraphim that day, and she was starting to get on my last nerves. She was telling me all about some boy she had met, who already asked her out! If I were her, I would have realised that this boy was a complete perve. Then finally, the discussion turned onto me and my day.
Seraphim was waiting for me to comment, so I faked a smile, “Good. Do you notice anything different about me?” she studied me for a moment, before slumping her shoulders, “No. I don’t.”
I grimaced, “My eyes. My hair.” I prompted.
“Oh!” She said, “Your hair! It’s darker, and your eyes… awesome!” She seemed genuinely pleased for me, but I had a sneaking suspicion.
When we got home I went up to my room, pretending I already had homework.
Instead I flipped through the family album I had in my room. Pictures with me inside it. I studied the child in the covers and my heart wrenched. The child had a small birthmark on her cheek. Not obvious unless you were me. I looked in a hand mirror and shook my head, no birthmark.
I check through the book, and right up until the accident, I had the birthmark, but now it had mysteriously disappeared. That was when I decided to do some real sleuthing.
It all happened at dinner. We were sitting around the table, eating pasta. Seraphim was eating quickly, wanting to go back to her phone and text, my mother was watching me play with my food, and my father was eating loudly.
My mother leant across the table and gripped my hand tightly, “Not hungry?” she asked, her watchful gaze on me.
I looked over at her, “Why is it, in all the family pictures, I have a birthmark on my cheek, but now I don’t?”
My entire family froze, including Seraphim, who had a forkful of pasta half raised to her mouth.
My mother’s jaw had seemed to come unhinged, dropping widely.
I raised my eyebrows waiting.
“Well,” my dad said, I turned to him eagerly; hoping for some answers, “Let’s get the mousse out, okay? It’s chocolate.”
I looked to my mum, and she nodded, completely ignoring me. I stood up quickly and walked out of the dining room. I heard my mother distinctly call my name, and the clatter of a plate dropped, but I didn’t turn until I was well out of the house.
I had never been outside of my home before without someone being with me. It was so dark, and quite cold. I had to wonder if my old life liked coming outside and looking at the stars. They were glittering and shining down at me, so I didn’t realise someone had come up behind me.
Hunter tapped me lightly on the shoulder, making me shriek. He jumped back, suddenly as startled as I was.
“Oh,” I said, after my heart stopped pumping loudly, “hi.”
Hunter smirked at me, “Give you a fright did I? I’m sorry. Why so jumpy?” he didn’t look apologetic.
I looked him over, “It’s pretty late, and where are you going at this time of night?” He was wearing a pale grey T-Shirt and a leather jacket. He was wearing black jeans too, but not the skinny leg ones that make men look stupid.
He tilted his head to the side, “secret,” he said to me.
I shrugged, “Well then I’m jumpy because it’s a secret too,” I wouldn’t let Hunter get information out of me, when he won’t reveal anything.
“Okay,” We lapsed into awkward silence, “Want to walk?”
I nodded at him, and we walked side-by-side until we reached the park. We sat down near the children’s slide and Hunter turned to me.
“Tell me about your car crash.” He was so blunt.
I looked at my feet, “I don’t know anything about it. I lost my memory after the crash. Supposedly my father was driving, and someone ran into the middle of the road, and my father hit the brakes. We skidded, and we must have hit a tree or something, because the car was a jumbled mess. When I got home, my parents kept pushing me to get my memories back, and so I just started faking everything.” I shuddered.
“You cold?” He asked.
I shrugged lightly, and he took off his jacket and gave it to me. “Nice tattoo,” I said, gazing at a snake imbedded into his left wrist.
He tilted the corner of one mouth up, and then returned to his sombre state, “Sorry to bring up hard stuff with you.”
I grinned, “Did anyone ever tell you that you have a real way with words?”
Hunter laughed, “Has anybody gone to the trouble to tell you that you’re too trusting with strangers?”
I looked over at him, “Touché. You know, I can talk to you about my accident and tell the truth, whereas with my family I have to lie. I feel safer with strangers I suppose.”
Hunter grimaced, “You shouldn’t. And, this cuts our time short. Someone’s looking for you.” He pointed out a small shape coming closer, “Your sister,” he whispered in my ear.
I looked at him, “I don’t want to go home. Not yet, anyway.”
He raised his eyebrows, “Then follow me.”
Hunter led the way to a small nightclub that wasn’t far from my house. He walked past the guard, who nodded to him, then at me, before resuming his place in front of the door.
The sound was amazing. They were playing loud techno music, and the coloured lights were spinning wildly, lighting up random people’s excited, sweaty faces, and then shrouding them in darkness.
“Wow,” I said, suddenly at a loss for words.
Hunter looked at me, “Isn’t it great? The perfect place to get lost in the music,” He grabbed my hand, and then led me onto the dance floor.
I laughed and leant in close, because the music was too loud to be heard over, “To tell you the truth, I can’t really dance!”
“It’s easy!” He answered, chuckling at me, “Just move like an idiot, which for you won’t be hard, and you will fit in immediately.”
“Hey!” I socked him in the arm, “Not cool!”
Hunter laughed and grabbed my hand, and we danced for two whole hours, taking breaks where we were served ice cold drinks that tasted familiar, but I couldn’t place my finger on the name of it.
We left the night club, when the moon was at its highest, meaning it was midnight, and because of the heat from the nightclub, I was able to give Hunter back his coat.
“Maybe dancing isn’t so hard?” He asked me.
“Maybe it isn’t,” I conceded, skipping ahead happily.
I didn’t see Hunter rolling his eyes in disdain at my excitement.
We neared my house, and I noticed only one light on in the window. I gulped, knowing they were probably waiting up for me, and I had been out partying.
Hunter squinted up at my house, “Well,” he said, “I suppose I’ll be leaving you here then.”
I nodded, “Have a nice night, Hunter.”
He winked, “Will do.”
I shook my head, and sniggered quietly. I opened the front door and three people jumped on me.
“Where have you been?”
“Why did you run off?”
“Do you know how long we’ve been waiting up?”
“I was this close to filling a missing person’s case!”
I turned to my parents and sister and said bluntly, “I’m a big girl now, so I was at a party with a friend. It was my own decision, the first one I’ve made in a long time.”
I walked up the staircase and into my room. It was dark except for one small glow sticker on an old diary I found the other day. That day I couldn’t be bothered reading it, but now I was too hyper and energetic to sleep.
I opened to a random page and started reading;
Dear Diary,
Today was a great day. Yvonne and I went down to the beach in our new bathers we got on our shopping spree.
We met up with Lennie and his new crew, and we exchanged words. He keeps his distance from us now. That’s what he gets for being a little sneak and spreading rumours about his own friends. It hasn’t made him any happier, everyone could tell he liked Yvonne and was only doing it for attent-
I stopped short, bored of a teenagers life. I flipped about twenty pages to a more recent writing.
Dear Diary,
I don’t know what happened. It was me and Yvonne, best of friends, then this strange guy comes and takes her from me. It’s so unfair, I don’t see her anymore. And the weird guy always looks at me. I want to hurt him!
I was stunned. Everything in this diary seemed so happy and optimistic and now it dropped suddenly. I had to wonder who this new guy is.
I kept reading and found out Yvonne moved schools because she the boy broke up, and that the creepy guy had basically turned into her, my, stalker. He followed her around, and everywhere she turned, she saw his eyes. I was worried for myself, in case this freak makes another showing.
I took up and pen, and turned to a fresh page;
Dear Diary, I wrote, sniggering to myself, today was the best day of my life. Well, that I can remember. I made my first friend. I met Hunter in my class, and then later on in the day we bumped into each other and went to a night club. The music was so loud! Hunter taught me how to dance, sneakily calling me an idiot in the process. He’s a funny kid, but a little bad ass for me. He has a tattoo! It looks like a snake wrapped around his wrist! He’s really good looking, too. I feel like a smudge of boring standing next to him.
I paused, wondering what else to write. My head started pounding with the beginning of a headache so I put my diary down and went into the bathroom. What awaited me was absolutely horrifying.
My face! I ran to the mirror and looked at my make-up! My eyeliner was smeared all over my face, and my lips were cracked and bleeding. Let’s not even go into what was happening with my pores!
I scrubbed at my face with a face washer and took a nice hot bath. I looked at a huge scar on my leg that went from my thigh all the way to my foot!
It was paler compared to the rest of my natural skin, and slightly raised. I could see the way the piece of car was travelling to create the scar. It seemed to stretch tightly when I moved my leg, making it hard to move my leg. Funny, I didn’t notice that while I was dancing.
When I got out of the bath, I was relaxed and sleepy, so I slipped into my bed and had sweet dreams, filled with laughter and glowing lights.
…Chapter 2
I walked home with Seraphim that day, and she was starting to get on my last nerves. She was telling me all about some boy she had met, who already asked her out! If I were her, I would have realised that this boy was a complete perve. Then finally, the discussion turned onto me and my day.
Seraphim was waiting for me to comment, so I faked a smile, “Good. Do you notice anything different about me?” she studied me for a moment, before slumping her shoulders, “No. I don’t.”
I grimaced, “My eyes. My hair.” I prompted.
“Oh!” She said, “Your hair! It’s darker, and your eyes… awesome!” She seemed genuinely pleased for me, but I had a sneaking suspicion.
When we got home I went up to my room, pretending I already had homework.
Instead I flipped through the family album I had in my room. Pictures with me inside it. I studied the child in the covers and my heart wrenched. The child had a small birthmark on her cheek. Not obvious unless you were me. I looked in a hand mirror and shook my head, no birthmark.
I check through the book, and right up until the accident, I had the birthmark, but now it had mysteriously disappeared. That was when I decided to do some real sleuthing.
It all happened at dinner. We were sitting around the table, eating pasta. Seraphim was eating quickly, wanting to go back to her phone and text, my mother was watching me play with my food, and my father was eating loudly.
My mother leant across the table and gripped my hand tightly, “Not hungry?” she asked, her watchful gaze on me.
I looked over at her, “Why is it, in all the family pictures, I have a birthmark on my cheek, but now I don’t?”
My entire family froze, including Seraphim, who had a forkful of pasta half raised to her mouth.
My mother’s jaw had seemed to come unhinged, dropping widely.
I raised my eyebrows waiting.
“Well,” my dad said, I turned to him eagerly; hoping for some answers, “Let’s get the mousse out, okay? It’s chocolate.”
I looked to my mum, and she nodded, completely ignoring me. I stood up quickly and walked out of the dining room. I heard my mother distinctly call my name, and the clatter of a plate dropped, but I didn’t turn until I was well out of the house.
I had never been outside of my home before without someone being with me. It was so dark, and quite cold. I had to wonder if my old life liked coming outside and looking at the stars. They were glittering and shining down at me, so I didn’t realise someone had come up behind me.
Hunter tapped me lightly on the shoulder, making me shriek. He jumped back, suddenly as startled as I was.
“Oh,” I said, after my heart stopped pumping loudly, “hi.”
Hunter smirked at me, “Give you a fright did I? I’m sorry. Why so jumpy?” he didn’t look apologetic.
I looked him over, “It’s pretty late, and where are you going at this time of night?” He was wearing a pale grey T-Shirt and a leather jacket. He was wearing black jeans too, but not the skinny leg ones that make men look stupid.
He tilted his head to the side, “secret,” he said to me.
I shrugged, “Well then I’m jumpy because it’s a secret too,” I wouldn’t let Hunter get information out of me, when he won’t reveal anything.
“Okay,” We lapsed into awkward silence, “Want to walk?”
I nodded at him, and we walked side-by-side until we reached the park. We sat down near the children’s slide and Hunter turned to me.
“Tell me about your car crash.” He was so blunt.
I looked at my feet, “I don’t know anything about it. I lost my memory after the crash. Supposedly my father was driving, and someone ran into the middle of the road, and my father hit the brakes. We skidded, and we must have hit a tree or something, because the car was a jumbled mess. When I got home, my parents kept pushing me to get my memories back, and so I just started faking everything.” I shuddered.
“You cold?” He asked.
I shrugged lightly, and he took off his jacket and gave it to me. “Nice tattoo,” I said, gazing at a snake imbedded into his left wrist.
He tilted the corner of one mouth up, and then returned to his sombre state, “Sorry to bring up hard stuff with you.”
I grinned, “Did anyone ever tell you that you have a real way with words?”
Hunter laughed, “Has anybody gone to the trouble to tell you that you’re too trusting with strangers?”
I looked over at him, “Touché. You know, I can talk to you about my accident and tell the truth, whereas with my family I have to lie. I feel safer with strangers I suppose.”
Hunter grimaced, “You shouldn’t. And, this cuts our time short. Someone’s looking for you.” He pointed out a small shape coming closer, “Your sister,” he whispered in my ear.
I looked at him, “I don’t want to go home. Not yet, anyway.”
He raised his eyebrows, “Then follow me.”
Hunter led the way to a small nightclub that wasn’t far from my house. He walked past the guard, who nodded to him, then at me, before resuming his place in front of the door.
The sound was amazing. They were playing loud techno music, and the coloured lights were spinning wildly, lighting up random people’s excited, sweaty faces, and then shrouding them in darkness.
“Wow,” I said, suddenly at a loss for words.
Hunter looked at me, “Isn’t it great? The perfect place to get lost in the music,” He grabbed my hand, and then led me onto the dance floor.
I laughed and leant in close, because the music was too loud to be heard over, “To tell you the truth, I can’t really dance!”
“It’s easy!” He answered, chuckling at me, “Just move like an idiot, which for you won’t be hard, and you will fit in immediately.”
“Hey!” I socked him in the arm, “Not cool!”
Hunter laughed and grabbed my hand, and we danced for two whole hours, taking breaks where we were served ice cold drinks that tasted familiar, but I couldn’t place my finger on the name of it.
We left the night club, when the moon was at its highest, meaning it was midnight, and because of the heat from the nightclub, I was able to give Hunter back his coat.
“Maybe dancing isn’t so hard?” He asked me.
“Maybe it isn’t,” I conceded, skipping ahead happily.
I didn’t see Hunter rolling his eyes in disdain at my excitement.
We neared my house, and I noticed only one light on in the window. I gulped, knowing they were probably waiting up for me, and I had been out partying.
Hunter squinted up at my house, “Well,” he said, “I suppose I’ll be leaving you here then.”
I nodded, “Have a nice night, Hunter.”
He winked, “Will do.”
I shook my head, and sniggered quietly. I opened the front door and three people jumped on me.
“Where have you been?”
“Why did you run off?”
“Do you know how long we’ve been waiting up?”
“I was this close to filling a missing person’s case!”
I turned to my parents and sister and said bluntly, “I’m a big girl now, so I was at a party with a friend. It was my own decision, the first one I’ve made in a long time.”
I walked up the staircase and into my room. It was dark except for one small glow sticker on an old diary I found the other day. That day I couldn’t be bothered reading it, but now I was too hyper and energetic to sleep.
I opened to a random page and started reading;
Dear Diary,
Today was a great day. Yvonne and I went down to the beach in our new bathers we got on our shopping spree.
We met up with Lennie and his new crew, and we exchanged words. He keeps his distance from us now. That’s what he gets for being a little sneak and spreading rumours about his own friends. It hasn’t made him any happier, everyone could tell he liked Yvonne and was only doing it for attent-
I stopped short, bored of a teenagers life. I flipped about twenty pages to a more recent writing.
Dear Diary,
I don’t know what happened. It was me and Yvonne, best of friends, then this strange guy comes and takes her from me. It’s so unfair, I don’t see her anymore. And the weird guy always looks at me. I want to hurt him!
I was stunned. Everything in this diary seemed so happy and optimistic and now it dropped suddenly. I had to wonder who this new guy is.
I kept reading and found out Yvonne moved schools because she the boy broke up, and that the creepy guy had basically turned into her, my, stalker. He followed her around, and everywhere she turned, she saw his eyes. I was worried for myself, in case this freak makes another showing.
I took up and pen, and turned to a fresh page;
Dear Diary, I wrote, sniggering to myself, today was the best day of my life. Well, that I can remember. I made my first friend. I met Hunter in my class, and then later on in the day we bumped into each other and went to a night club. The music was so loud! Hunter taught me how to dance, sneakily calling me an idiot in the process. He’s a funny kid, but a little bad ass for me. He has a tattoo! It looks like a snake wrapped around his wrist! He’s really good looking, too. I feel like a smudge of boring standing next to him.
I paused, wondering what else to write. My head started pounding with the beginning of a headache so I put my diary down and went into the bathroom. What awaited me was absolutely horrifying.
My face! I ran to the mirror and looked at my make-up! My eyeliner was smeared all over my face, and my lips were cracked and bleeding. Let’s not even go into what was happening with my pores!
I scrubbed at my face with a face washer and took a nice hot bath. I looked at a huge scar on my leg that went from my thigh all the way to my foot!
It was paler compared to the rest of my natural skin, and slightly raised. I could see the way the piece of car was travelling to create the scar. It seemed to stretch tightly when I moved my leg, making it hard to move my leg. Funny, I didn’t notice that while I was dancing.
When I got out of the bath, I was relaxed and sleepy, so I slipped into my bed and had sweet dreams, filled with laughter and glowing lights.
New School, New Life- Chapter 1
New School, New Life
….Chapter 1
I woke up bright and early, ready for a new day. Well, very new in fact, as I was starting at a new school. I had been in an accident that year, and could remember nothing from my old life. Just what my parents told me. Their were pictures on every wall, and I could see my parents dismay when I told them that I couldn’t remember, so I started to lie, just throwing back the stories they had been telling me about each image and trip. The doctors told me that I had made a great improvement in remembering many memories, so now I’m was allowed to go to school.
The only problem is I don’t know what school exactly is. I’d read on the internet that school is a place for children to learn about English, Maths and Science, amongst other classes such as Art and Computer Technology. What ever that was!
“Janice! Hurry!” my mother yelled from downstairs. “We need to take pictures!”
I sighed, straightened my tie in the mirror, and then opened my door, which my sister had been leaning against. She toppled into my room, crumpling onto the ground.
“Seraphim, what are you doing?” I asked suspiciously.
“Nothing. Nothing at all. Oh! Would you look at that time, Wow! We must get going.” Seraphim hurried down the stairs, not wanting to admit she had been worried about me. “Janice!” she yelled up the stairs at me.
I shook my head and closed my door behind me with a soft thud. Strolling down the stairs was hard when I knew three pairs of eyes on me, my mum, my dad, and Seraphim my older sister.
Before being allowed to step out the front door, my mum went psycho with the camera, forcing Seraphim and I to endure a million pictures before being allowed to leave. Other than being in the car to go to the doctors, I had never gone anywhere on foot, except that one time we went to the park, but my mum and dad were really intense and wouldn’t let me go very far. But today, free!
I hurried out the front door with Seraphim who raised an eyebrow at me, “Suddenly excited, I see,” she turned to close the door behind her, so I ditched her and started walking down the street.
“Hey!” I heard Seraphim’s clomping shoes coming after me, “Not cool Janice.”
I grinned and swung my bag as I walked. I was in a great mood. That is, until I saw the school I had to attend. It was a huge hulking modern day building. Meaning it was ugly. Really ugly. And dirty, because of the toilet paper everywhere, and the mud balls stuck on the windows.
Seraphim laughed, “Not so eager now, eh?” she charged through the front doors, past random kids burning blades of grass, and away from a group of smoking teens. She beckoned to me on the top step.
I followed Seraphim into the school to get acquainted with the students and the teachers when the smell hit me. A musty sweaty smell that made me shudder deeply.
A teacher shook my hand and introduced himself as Mr. Browne. He took me to my new classroom and chattered annoyingly the whole way. When he opened the door, I felt an overwhelming need to run away and hide. A paper aeroplane hit me hard in the shoulder. I picked it up, and stared at it. It was so unsymmetrical! I hated it immediately.
Mr. Browne took it from my hands and walked into the classroom, holding his hand up for silence. Amazingly, the class co-operated. I would never have believed that the teacher could have gotten them silent.
“Children. This is your new classmate, Janice! I expect that you will welcome and respect her!” He walked to his desk, throwing the paper plane away as he did.
He motioned for me to join him, “Let’s see. You can sit next to Julie there.”
A young girl with short blonde hair shook her head angrily, “No way! You know I sit here with Annie.”
“Oh. Whoops. Then you can sit in between Hunter and Sasha there.” That was when he pointed to a dark gothic boy in the corner, and a cheeky looking blonde. He raised his eyebrows at me, but swept the dust off the chair next to him. I sat down, embarrassed at the class’ attentive gaze.
On my left sat the gothic boy, Hunter, who was staring at me critically, and on my right was the young blonde, Sasha, who had lovely blue eyes. She smiled at me as I sat down, and I instantly relaxed. The gothic boy had black hair, but light hazel brown eyes. I felt slightly uncomfortable, whereas the blonde looked like she was eager for conversation.
“Hi,” she said, looking extremely perked to be sitting next to me, “I’m Sasha, and this is Hayley.” She ushered towards a friend sitting in front her. She had short brown hair that would never sit down straight, even if God himself willed it.
“She’s a big Alice fan.” Sasha whispered to me.
“Twilight?” I murmured back, “Personally, I thought her book The Host had a much more convincing story line.”
Sasha giggled, “But that was about aliens!”
“Yes, and Twilight was about vampires.” I raised my eyebrows at her, “and I take it you’re not big on vampires?”
“Right on!” She said, while Hayley gave us both a death stare, “You’ll fit in here.” She said winking, “Janice. I’ve never heard of that name before, except in movies. Does it have a meaning I’d know?”
I smiled, “I’m not sure. I’ll have to ask my mum.”
Mr. Browne at the front of the class clapped his hands, and the room fell silent, “As you all know, seven students won’t be coming back to school.” The class turned into an uproar, gossiping about something that I didn’t understand.
I looked at Sasha, but she was glaring hard at Mr. Browne, “He doesn’t have the right to bring that up.” She was muttering.
“What’s going on?” I was absolutely confused, but Sasha said nothing.
The ranting from the class continued, and it was Hunter, the gothic boy sitting next to me who touched my elbow and told me.
“Seven kids, one destiny.” He grinned nefariously, “Seven teenagers went on a camping trip last week, and we have no idea what happened. One girl, Tabitha, survived the accident, but is now in a mental hospital.”
“What?” I frowned, “Why is she in a mental hospital?”
He smiled again, “She never speaks. She’s retracted from the world. But she draws pictures of what happened. And in one, she had a teenager they can’t identify scrawling the word ‘faeries’ on the trunk of the tree in what looks like blood. He’s surrounded by dead bodies, all with their necks snapped.”
My eyes widened in horror. It was horrible. “So,” I said, trying to grip the story in my mind, “This girl Tabitha survived, and the others died of a broken neck?”
Hunter leaned forwards toward me, “That’s the thing. In her drawings, the two males that were in the camping trip have their necks broken, but the girls are running wild. One hiding behind a tree. And when they found Tabitha, it was only her. There was no one else for miles. No blood splatters. No fight marks. Nothing. Only Tabitha. The cops can’t locate anybody else.” He gazed at me steadily, “And they’re not going too either.”
Sasha grabbed my arm, “Shut up, Hunter. God, you’re so pessimistic.”
Hunter grinned at her, “That’s me! The pessimist. But c’mon, there are no leads, and no evidence that those kids were kidnapped, or that they even survived! In the pictures they were dead!”
I looked at him, “But you said the drawings had the girls running wild!”
Hunter’s permanent smirk faltered for a moment, “Clever turkey,” He whispered, his face paling slightly.
“Exactly! So ha!” Sasha said.
I looked at her, “You seemed really close to this case when Mr. Browne said it in class. Did you know any of the people on it?”
Sasha stared at her pencil case, “Yes. I did. I was supposed to go on that trip, but I had a horse riding competition.” She twisted her pencil case in her hands, “I should’ve been there!” she looked close to crying.
“So these were your friends?” I asked, sadly.
Sasha looked up at me, “No. Not really. But my girlfriend Alyssa was on the trip, and she asked me to come. Now she’s gone.” A few tears escaped her eyes.
Hayley stood up from her seat and came around to Sasha, holding her tightly. Sasha didn’t cry any more, but wiped her tears from her face.
I looked over at Hunter and he smirked, shrugging his shoulders, “I have pictures of them if you want to see them?”
I nodded and he took out a huge book from his desk that looked like it was filled with newspaper clippings and pictures. I frowned but Hunter flipped through it easily, showing me the school newspaper article.
I looked at the picture of Tabitha first. She was a very pretty girl, with long wavy brown hair, and green eyes. She was a model of perfection. The next picture showed a boy called Brad, someone who looked popular. He also had brown hair, but it was cut short, showing off his head.
The next picture showed a boy and a girl hugging tightly. Sasha’s finger pointed to the good-looking boy, with tanned skin and black hair, “He was Freddie,” her finger moved across the page to the girl with long shiny blonde hair, “And that was Erin. They were only this much,” Sasha held her thumb and pointer finger apart a few centimetres, “from getting together, but everyone knew they fancied each other.”
Hunter pointed to the next picture, “And that is Alyssa.” He breathed down my neck. I looked at the picture of the dark skinned seventeen year old. She had black hair and brown eyes, and very pretty. Actually, all the children missing were good-looking.
Hayley came over and pointed at a girl with red hair, that was cut randomly like an artists, “That is Cooper. She was the first one to go missing. She was playing hide-and-seek with Erin, and she either hid too well, or was found by the wrong person. And that,” she motioned to the last picture, “was Rachel.” The last picture horrified me. It showed a girl with bright green eyes and mousy hair. But the worst thing was her left cheek. It had a huge scar on it! It went from the top of her left eye, to her chin. It made her mouth and eye droop ever so slightly.
I realised that Hunter was staring at me, looking at my appalled face, so I quickly neutralised it. Hunter raised his eyebrows, “I don’t pity her disappearance. Her father assaulted her, that’s how she got the scar.” I didn’t say anything, instead staring at the pictures in front of me.
Seven kids, doing nothing wrong, but some creep comes up to them and kidnaps them all, except for one. What was so special about this girl Tabitha?
“By the way,” Hunter said disrupting my thought patterns, “I wanted to ask, where did you get all your scars?” He traced one finger along a scar that went from my right ear lobe to my nose. I flinched away from his finger, and he dropped it.
“Car crash.” I mumbled.
“Oh my god!” Sasha nearly screamed, “Are you okay? When did this happen? Were you driving?”
“Whoa! Whoa! I’m fine! It happened months ago. One minute I was in the car, my dad driving, and then I woke up in the hospital three months later,” I glanced at her, “I am only sixteen. I can’t drive yet! Well, I could if I wanted too, but after this, I think the bus is safer!”
Hunter frowned, “sixteen? You should be in year ten then. Why are you in a year eleven class?”
I shook my head, “My parents tell me that before the crash I was really smart, so they threw me up a year level. I guess only time will tell right?”
Hunter rolled his eyes, but Sasha grinned, “It’s good that you’re here! Much more fun than the year ten’s! They’d pick on you about everything. Urgh! They’re horrible!”
Hayley finally cracked a grin at us, “Only because you threw a ball at someone, and it hit them in the head!”
“Oh that! It was a light tap.”
“No it wasn’t, you threw it extremely hard and it was a rock hard basketball. And did you mean love tap?”
“Oh I have no clue!”
I laughed at the friendly banter going on, relieved I was away from home, and the stares everyone would give me, making sure I was okay.
Hunter stared at me as if I were nuts, but I realised I was happy for the first time I could remember.
The morning class finished quickly, as it was just all of us gossiping about people and their antics. Sasha kept us all busy, but Hunter seemed thoughtful and withdrawn from the classroom, and no prompting from Sasha got him talking.
As we moved to our next class, English, I found I was seated next to Hunter only, as Sasha sat next to the teacher because she talks too much. Hayley made her way over to sit next to another bunch of girls, so Hunter led me to the back of the room. He slammed his books down, “Prepare for boredom!”
I grinned. I had no idea what to suspect, but now, I know this wasn’t a loved class.
The teacher looked cruel. She had long black hair tightly in a bun, and she sadly completed the look with really bad glasses. She was wearing a female suit, and she meant business. We were writing four line long poems for the first half hour, and I had to ask Hunter what poems were.
He didn’t laugh as I expected him too. Instead, he was kind and gentle, and taught me what they were with a few of his own samples. I finally understood it, and wrote one. Unfortunately, we had to read these out to the class.
Sasha went first, as she was sitting next to the teacher,
“Shall we fly the skies, and watch the ice turn to bees?
From there where shall we go, when according to scientists:
Life has no meaning, but maybe I found mine,
To live, to feel, to want and to love that which is not mine anymore.”
We all knew her poem was about Alyssa, but obviously the teacher didn’t. She ranted on about how Sasha has no heartfelt meaning in her poem.
A few more went, including Hayley, then it was Hunter’s turn,
“Think me like an angel,
Tell me your lies, and I shall help you,
Show me your sins, and I shall fix them,
Give me your heart, and I shall bury it.”
With that, Hunter sat down. I shivered despite the warm room. The teacher frowned, “That wasn’t a decent poem. Not all the lines were the same length, and nothing rhymed either, even though it doesn’t always have too. And honey, I doubt angels go around burying hearts.”
Hunter ignored her comments, so I stood up, delivering my piece of writing,
“I believed all to be true,
But now I know life is a dream,
Where I am a puppet on a string,
Without a way to scream?”
I looked and saw Hunter’s astonished face that was mixed with a touch of fear. The teacher’s mouth was hanging open slightly, but I only saw the window and my own pale face reflecting their. And I also saw where my face went wrong. My eyes. My eyes usually a pale blue had now turned a deep violet. Not that I was complaining. They were so deep, and my hair, normally a light frizzy brown, was now shiny, smooth and a deep black.
Hunter started clapping his hands, “Now that’s what you call a poetry reading!” I looked over at him, and his face was a neutral mask of curiosity and nothing more.
….Chapter 1
I woke up bright and early, ready for a new day. Well, very new in fact, as I was starting at a new school. I had been in an accident that year, and could remember nothing from my old life. Just what my parents told me. Their were pictures on every wall, and I could see my parents dismay when I told them that I couldn’t remember, so I started to lie, just throwing back the stories they had been telling me about each image and trip. The doctors told me that I had made a great improvement in remembering many memories, so now I’m was allowed to go to school.
The only problem is I don’t know what school exactly is. I’d read on the internet that school is a place for children to learn about English, Maths and Science, amongst other classes such as Art and Computer Technology. What ever that was!
“Janice! Hurry!” my mother yelled from downstairs. “We need to take pictures!”
I sighed, straightened my tie in the mirror, and then opened my door, which my sister had been leaning against. She toppled into my room, crumpling onto the ground.
“Seraphim, what are you doing?” I asked suspiciously.
“Nothing. Nothing at all. Oh! Would you look at that time, Wow! We must get going.” Seraphim hurried down the stairs, not wanting to admit she had been worried about me. “Janice!” she yelled up the stairs at me.
I shook my head and closed my door behind me with a soft thud. Strolling down the stairs was hard when I knew three pairs of eyes on me, my mum, my dad, and Seraphim my older sister.
Before being allowed to step out the front door, my mum went psycho with the camera, forcing Seraphim and I to endure a million pictures before being allowed to leave. Other than being in the car to go to the doctors, I had never gone anywhere on foot, except that one time we went to the park, but my mum and dad were really intense and wouldn’t let me go very far. But today, free!
I hurried out the front door with Seraphim who raised an eyebrow at me, “Suddenly excited, I see,” she turned to close the door behind her, so I ditched her and started walking down the street.
“Hey!” I heard Seraphim’s clomping shoes coming after me, “Not cool Janice.”
I grinned and swung my bag as I walked. I was in a great mood. That is, until I saw the school I had to attend. It was a huge hulking modern day building. Meaning it was ugly. Really ugly. And dirty, because of the toilet paper everywhere, and the mud balls stuck on the windows.
Seraphim laughed, “Not so eager now, eh?” she charged through the front doors, past random kids burning blades of grass, and away from a group of smoking teens. She beckoned to me on the top step.
I followed Seraphim into the school to get acquainted with the students and the teachers when the smell hit me. A musty sweaty smell that made me shudder deeply.
A teacher shook my hand and introduced himself as Mr. Browne. He took me to my new classroom and chattered annoyingly the whole way. When he opened the door, I felt an overwhelming need to run away and hide. A paper aeroplane hit me hard in the shoulder. I picked it up, and stared at it. It was so unsymmetrical! I hated it immediately.
Mr. Browne took it from my hands and walked into the classroom, holding his hand up for silence. Amazingly, the class co-operated. I would never have believed that the teacher could have gotten them silent.
“Children. This is your new classmate, Janice! I expect that you will welcome and respect her!” He walked to his desk, throwing the paper plane away as he did.
He motioned for me to join him, “Let’s see. You can sit next to Julie there.”
A young girl with short blonde hair shook her head angrily, “No way! You know I sit here with Annie.”
“Oh. Whoops. Then you can sit in between Hunter and Sasha there.” That was when he pointed to a dark gothic boy in the corner, and a cheeky looking blonde. He raised his eyebrows at me, but swept the dust off the chair next to him. I sat down, embarrassed at the class’ attentive gaze.
On my left sat the gothic boy, Hunter, who was staring at me critically, and on my right was the young blonde, Sasha, who had lovely blue eyes. She smiled at me as I sat down, and I instantly relaxed. The gothic boy had black hair, but light hazel brown eyes. I felt slightly uncomfortable, whereas the blonde looked like she was eager for conversation.
“Hi,” she said, looking extremely perked to be sitting next to me, “I’m Sasha, and this is Hayley.” She ushered towards a friend sitting in front her. She had short brown hair that would never sit down straight, even if God himself willed it.
“She’s a big Alice fan.” Sasha whispered to me.
“Twilight?” I murmured back, “Personally, I thought her book The Host had a much more convincing story line.”
Sasha giggled, “But that was about aliens!”
“Yes, and Twilight was about vampires.” I raised my eyebrows at her, “and I take it you’re not big on vampires?”
“Right on!” She said, while Hayley gave us both a death stare, “You’ll fit in here.” She said winking, “Janice. I’ve never heard of that name before, except in movies. Does it have a meaning I’d know?”
I smiled, “I’m not sure. I’ll have to ask my mum.”
Mr. Browne at the front of the class clapped his hands, and the room fell silent, “As you all know, seven students won’t be coming back to school.” The class turned into an uproar, gossiping about something that I didn’t understand.
I looked at Sasha, but she was glaring hard at Mr. Browne, “He doesn’t have the right to bring that up.” She was muttering.
“What’s going on?” I was absolutely confused, but Sasha said nothing.
The ranting from the class continued, and it was Hunter, the gothic boy sitting next to me who touched my elbow and told me.
“Seven kids, one destiny.” He grinned nefariously, “Seven teenagers went on a camping trip last week, and we have no idea what happened. One girl, Tabitha, survived the accident, but is now in a mental hospital.”
“What?” I frowned, “Why is she in a mental hospital?”
He smiled again, “She never speaks. She’s retracted from the world. But she draws pictures of what happened. And in one, she had a teenager they can’t identify scrawling the word ‘faeries’ on the trunk of the tree in what looks like blood. He’s surrounded by dead bodies, all with their necks snapped.”
My eyes widened in horror. It was horrible. “So,” I said, trying to grip the story in my mind, “This girl Tabitha survived, and the others died of a broken neck?”
Hunter leaned forwards toward me, “That’s the thing. In her drawings, the two males that were in the camping trip have their necks broken, but the girls are running wild. One hiding behind a tree. And when they found Tabitha, it was only her. There was no one else for miles. No blood splatters. No fight marks. Nothing. Only Tabitha. The cops can’t locate anybody else.” He gazed at me steadily, “And they’re not going too either.”
Sasha grabbed my arm, “Shut up, Hunter. God, you’re so pessimistic.”
Hunter grinned at her, “That’s me! The pessimist. But c’mon, there are no leads, and no evidence that those kids were kidnapped, or that they even survived! In the pictures they were dead!”
I looked at him, “But you said the drawings had the girls running wild!”
Hunter’s permanent smirk faltered for a moment, “Clever turkey,” He whispered, his face paling slightly.
“Exactly! So ha!” Sasha said.
I looked at her, “You seemed really close to this case when Mr. Browne said it in class. Did you know any of the people on it?”
Sasha stared at her pencil case, “Yes. I did. I was supposed to go on that trip, but I had a horse riding competition.” She twisted her pencil case in her hands, “I should’ve been there!” she looked close to crying.
“So these were your friends?” I asked, sadly.
Sasha looked up at me, “No. Not really. But my girlfriend Alyssa was on the trip, and she asked me to come. Now she’s gone.” A few tears escaped her eyes.
Hayley stood up from her seat and came around to Sasha, holding her tightly. Sasha didn’t cry any more, but wiped her tears from her face.
I looked over at Hunter and he smirked, shrugging his shoulders, “I have pictures of them if you want to see them?”
I nodded and he took out a huge book from his desk that looked like it was filled with newspaper clippings and pictures. I frowned but Hunter flipped through it easily, showing me the school newspaper article.
I looked at the picture of Tabitha first. She was a very pretty girl, with long wavy brown hair, and green eyes. She was a model of perfection. The next picture showed a boy called Brad, someone who looked popular. He also had brown hair, but it was cut short, showing off his head.
The next picture showed a boy and a girl hugging tightly. Sasha’s finger pointed to the good-looking boy, with tanned skin and black hair, “He was Freddie,” her finger moved across the page to the girl with long shiny blonde hair, “And that was Erin. They were only this much,” Sasha held her thumb and pointer finger apart a few centimetres, “from getting together, but everyone knew they fancied each other.”
Hunter pointed to the next picture, “And that is Alyssa.” He breathed down my neck. I looked at the picture of the dark skinned seventeen year old. She had black hair and brown eyes, and very pretty. Actually, all the children missing were good-looking.
Hayley came over and pointed at a girl with red hair, that was cut randomly like an artists, “That is Cooper. She was the first one to go missing. She was playing hide-and-seek with Erin, and she either hid too well, or was found by the wrong person. And that,” she motioned to the last picture, “was Rachel.” The last picture horrified me. It showed a girl with bright green eyes and mousy hair. But the worst thing was her left cheek. It had a huge scar on it! It went from the top of her left eye, to her chin. It made her mouth and eye droop ever so slightly.
I realised that Hunter was staring at me, looking at my appalled face, so I quickly neutralised it. Hunter raised his eyebrows, “I don’t pity her disappearance. Her father assaulted her, that’s how she got the scar.” I didn’t say anything, instead staring at the pictures in front of me.
Seven kids, doing nothing wrong, but some creep comes up to them and kidnaps them all, except for one. What was so special about this girl Tabitha?
“By the way,” Hunter said disrupting my thought patterns, “I wanted to ask, where did you get all your scars?” He traced one finger along a scar that went from my right ear lobe to my nose. I flinched away from his finger, and he dropped it.
“Car crash.” I mumbled.
“Oh my god!” Sasha nearly screamed, “Are you okay? When did this happen? Were you driving?”
“Whoa! Whoa! I’m fine! It happened months ago. One minute I was in the car, my dad driving, and then I woke up in the hospital three months later,” I glanced at her, “I am only sixteen. I can’t drive yet! Well, I could if I wanted too, but after this, I think the bus is safer!”
Hunter frowned, “sixteen? You should be in year ten then. Why are you in a year eleven class?”
I shook my head, “My parents tell me that before the crash I was really smart, so they threw me up a year level. I guess only time will tell right?”
Hunter rolled his eyes, but Sasha grinned, “It’s good that you’re here! Much more fun than the year ten’s! They’d pick on you about everything. Urgh! They’re horrible!”
Hayley finally cracked a grin at us, “Only because you threw a ball at someone, and it hit them in the head!”
“Oh that! It was a light tap.”
“No it wasn’t, you threw it extremely hard and it was a rock hard basketball. And did you mean love tap?”
“Oh I have no clue!”
I laughed at the friendly banter going on, relieved I was away from home, and the stares everyone would give me, making sure I was okay.
Hunter stared at me as if I were nuts, but I realised I was happy for the first time I could remember.
The morning class finished quickly, as it was just all of us gossiping about people and their antics. Sasha kept us all busy, but Hunter seemed thoughtful and withdrawn from the classroom, and no prompting from Sasha got him talking.
As we moved to our next class, English, I found I was seated next to Hunter only, as Sasha sat next to the teacher because she talks too much. Hayley made her way over to sit next to another bunch of girls, so Hunter led me to the back of the room. He slammed his books down, “Prepare for boredom!”
I grinned. I had no idea what to suspect, but now, I know this wasn’t a loved class.
The teacher looked cruel. She had long black hair tightly in a bun, and she sadly completed the look with really bad glasses. She was wearing a female suit, and she meant business. We were writing four line long poems for the first half hour, and I had to ask Hunter what poems were.
He didn’t laugh as I expected him too. Instead, he was kind and gentle, and taught me what they were with a few of his own samples. I finally understood it, and wrote one. Unfortunately, we had to read these out to the class.
Sasha went first, as she was sitting next to the teacher,
“Shall we fly the skies, and watch the ice turn to bees?
From there where shall we go, when according to scientists:
Life has no meaning, but maybe I found mine,
To live, to feel, to want and to love that which is not mine anymore.”
We all knew her poem was about Alyssa, but obviously the teacher didn’t. She ranted on about how Sasha has no heartfelt meaning in her poem.
A few more went, including Hayley, then it was Hunter’s turn,
“Think me like an angel,
Tell me your lies, and I shall help you,
Show me your sins, and I shall fix them,
Give me your heart, and I shall bury it.”
With that, Hunter sat down. I shivered despite the warm room. The teacher frowned, “That wasn’t a decent poem. Not all the lines were the same length, and nothing rhymed either, even though it doesn’t always have too. And honey, I doubt angels go around burying hearts.”
Hunter ignored her comments, so I stood up, delivering my piece of writing,
“I believed all to be true,
But now I know life is a dream,
Where I am a puppet on a string,
Without a way to scream?”
I looked and saw Hunter’s astonished face that was mixed with a touch of fear. The teacher’s mouth was hanging open slightly, but I only saw the window and my own pale face reflecting their. And I also saw where my face went wrong. My eyes. My eyes usually a pale blue had now turned a deep violet. Not that I was complaining. They were so deep, and my hair, normally a light frizzy brown, was now shiny, smooth and a deep black.
Hunter started clapping his hands, “Now that’s what you call a poetry reading!” I looked over at him, and his face was a neutral mask of curiosity and nothing more.
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