Ready

“Wizard, are you ready?”

I was nervous, more nervous than I’d ever been. Master had trained me almost all my life, ever since I was orphaned. – I shuddered, I didn’t like to think about that.-  But now, it was time to put that training to the test.

“I am ready.” My opponent said, confidently. I wished I was that confident. He was tall and strong. He could’ve taken me down with only his strength. I was sure that this would end in  death, or something close to it. His Mentor was standing behind him, looking smug.

“Wizard, are you ready?” the refree looked at me.

Ready? I was hardly breathing! My eyes darted in all directions and I was sweating like mad. A thousand possibilities raced through my mind. I could be killed immediately, I could be punctured and bleed to death, the best-case scenario would’ve been that we both die, at this point.

Suddenly, I felt a hand on my shoulder. “You can do this,” Master whispered to me. “I know you can.”

“How can you be sure?” I whispered back.

“Because you’re my apprentice.” He smiled warmly at me.

I turned back to my opponent and gulped. “I am ready.” I squeaked.

“Positions!” The refree barked.

We both immediately assumed the Wizard’s Stance, which meant turning to the side with back and legs straight, head and foot turned to opponent and front arm straight out.

“On my mark,” the refree put one arm between us.

I studied my opponent, looking for a weak spot, as Master told me to do at this point. But he was too big and too strong, and everything that could’ve been weak was heavily padded. But, wait… There! He was holding his foot wrong. I could easily trip him.

“Good luck.” Master winked at me.

“FIGHT!”

 

Destiny Chp.2

Chapter two

The figures took them to what looked like an overgrown hedge, but was, on closer inspection, guarded by more masked and well-camoflagued figures. They were let in. Chance noticed that the masks the guards, and their captors, wore, were of owl faces.

The boys were led into what seemed like some sort of tribe. It was full of men, women, and children, lots of children. But, more importantly, they were all dressed in feathers and masks.

They were all dressed like owls.

There were large tents here and there that the people seemed to live in, the one the man was taking them to was a deep, rich shade of red.

“My queen,” the man said once they were inside. “We found these boys in the forest.”

“I see,” the queen had a deep, silky voice. “And did you bring back any food?”

The man gulped. “Er…”

“We didn’t, my queen.” Said a small woman Chance thought he had seen when he and Kevin were captured.

The man looked at her in horror. “Hmm,” the queen said, as if mildly disapointed. “Tyto?”

A young man clad in golden feathers appeared. “My queen?”

The queen pointed at the man, who was backing away and shaking his head vigorously.

Tyto nodded and brought out some sort of blade that had been hidden in his wing. A few of the owl-people that were with the man immediately grabbed him and foced him into a kneeling position with his hands behind his back and his head bent down.

Tyto positioned the blade over the man’s neck. Chance thought he saw a tear escape from the victim’s mask.

Chance realized what was about to happen and looked away. What he heard was an agonizing scream and then a thump. When he looked back, he saw the man’s body laying awkwardly, lots of blood…

And the man’s severed head.

Chance saw the look on Kevin’s face and could immediately tell that he had watched the whole thing.

The small woman smirked. “I never liked Strix, anyway.”

The queen chuckled, as if the thought amused her. “Away,” she said simply. All those alive bowed their heads and left the tent. What was either a short man or a teenager gathered up Strix’s body first. Tyto picked up the head and carried it another way.

The queen looked at Kevin and Chance. “Do you speak?” she asked, carelessly.

“Um,” Chance said. “Hi, I’m Chance. Th-this is Kevin.” He gestured with his head, for his hands were still tied behind his back.

The queen seemed to notice this. “Nyctea,” she called, sharply. A woman in white and black feathers arrived. “Untie them.” Ordered the queen.

Nyctea did so. “Anything else?” she had a surprisingly high voice.

“No.” The queen said. “Leave.”

“My queen,” Nyctea bowed and left.

The queen turned back to the boys. She was a long-legged woman with a round mask. She wore brown feathers with beautiful white spots.

“I am Queen Athene,” she stood up. She had very long legs. “And you will be my prisoners.”

* * *

The dungeon was about what you would expect, cold, dark, dusty, mysterious slime dripping from the ceiling… Et cetera, et cetera.

They were tossed into a cell by two men, big like Strix.

“My glasses!” Kevin cried. “They broke my glasses!”

“It’s too dark to see, anyway.” Chance muttered.

“I can see perfectly fine,” said a voice. “I don’t know why you can’t.”

“Who are you?” Chance asked.

“Who are you?” it was a girl’s voice.

“I asked first.”

“Who’s First?”

“First in what?”

“You said you asked First,” she giggled. “I don’t know a First.”

Chance was annoyed, now.

“I like you.” Chance heard the slap of bare feet on stone as the girl spoke. “Who is the other one?”

“Hey!” Kevin retorted. “I’m not ‘the other one.’”

“Then who are you?” her voice was suddenly right behind him.

Kevin jumped. “Um,”

“Well?”

“K-Kevin.” He regained his confidence. “My name is Kevin.”

“What a strange name…” And without a sound, “What about you?” she was right behind Chance. “Do you have a name?”

Chance’s skin crawled. “Chance,” he said, trying to sound brave. After all, the voice, although it sounded innocent, could have been be the voice of a monster.

“Why are you frightened, human?” it asked.

Waves of Fire (Inspired by Audiomachine’s song of the same name)

There’s a fire going, and I find myself staring into it. Memories rush through my brain, of flames, of pain, of death. Screams. Horrible screams.

“Mama?” I felt agonizing pain all the way down my arm. “MAMA!!”

I clutch my head in my hands, I don’t want to remember.

Smoldering coals collapsed on top of me. Burns. Burns all over. I heard sirens. Terrible scents filled me. I could hardly breathe.

Make it stop! I start to rock back and forth. They keep coming.

My mother’s face enters my mind. Why? Why did her beautiful face have to be acsociated with such pain?

Cuts. Cuts and burns. I felt someone pick me up out of this pile of coals. It hurt, but who am I to complain?

“Where’s Mama?” I heard myself whimper.

“Your mommy’s fine,” the man who held me said, but I knew she wasn’t.

Stop it, stop it. That was ten years ago. But the memories keep flooding back.

The man brought me out of the bonfire that used to be my house. I took in a huge breath of the cold, fresh, November air. My burnt arm hung limply at my side.

“What happened?” I remember my grandfather asking before I blacked out.

Then reality hits me in the face. I gasp for air. Everything is blurry and I’m dizzy with emotion. I sway a bit and then everything goes black.

Destiny: Chapter One

Chapter one

The dragon attacked.

The knight used the best weapon he had, but was still no match for the ferocious beast. The dragon used his fire breath, the knight’s armor was left charred. He was already half as strong as he was when he started.

“Help me!” He called weakly. Immediately he was aided by his friend, an elf who was also using his best weapon.

“Take THAT, beast!”

The dragon swatted the elf away as if it were a pesky fly, leaving the knight to attack it until the elf recovered.  As soon as he took one step towards the dragon, it hit him with its tail.

The elf limped back, bleeding from the leg, knowing that if the dragon attacked him with fire, he would be dead.

“For MythHaven!” The elf raised his dagger defiantly. But, unfourtunately, what he hoped would not happen did. The dragon attacked him with fire, leaving a well-cooked elf laying dead on the ground.

The knight had one last chance of winning, the health potion was given to him by a sorcerer long ago, he was told only to use it in an emergency. He quickly drained the bottle. He felt warmth, in his chest first, which then spread throughout his entire body. He was strong again.

He approached the ememy determinedly. “For the king!” He said.

He hit the dragon on the top of its head with his sword. The dragon simply shook it off and swiped at the knight with claws so sharp that they tore through his armor like a blade through paper.

He clutched his stomach. He was hurt, but still had the strength to move on.  He tore at the dragon, attacking its middle. It screeched in pain and then decided to eat the knight, armor and all. Once it was sure there were no other warriors come to attack it, the dragon curled up and went back to sleep.

* * *

“AAAAAUUUGH!” Groaned Chance in frustration. “I can NEVER beat that thing!” He threw the video game controller to the floor.

“We need more people,” advised Kevin, pushing his glasses up on his nose. “That way it’ll be, y’know, easier to kill.”

“Kal could probably do it,” Chance said. “She’s good at video games.”

Kevin nodded.

There was a knock at the door. “Boys?” Mrs. Rowntree’s voice came from the other side. “Are you okay in there?”

“She must have heard you scream.” Kevin deduced.

“We’re fine, Mom!” Chance shouted back.

“Okay, just checking.” They heard her footsteps as she walked away.

“I think she’s gone.” Kevin said.

They again heard the sound of two women gabbling away downstairs.

“Yeah,” Kevin sat back down. “She’s gone.”

The sat there for a moment.

“Wanna play again?” Kevin grinned at his best friend.

Chance smiled. “Okay.”

And off they went. Hours went by. There was another knock at the door, and this time it was Mrs. Suzuki that poked her head in.

“Why don’t you two go outside?” she suggested, smiling. “It’s a beautiful day.”

“Sure, Mom.” Kevin said quite suddenly, as if keeping Chance from answering. “Be right there.”

Mrs. Suzuki smiled warmly and then closed the door.

“What was that about?” Chance asked.

“You don’t want to disagree with my mother.”

“Ah.”

Kevin got up. “Let’s go, then!”

They went in Chance’s backyard because it just so happened that it didn’t have a fence, and connected to a forest.

“Don’t go too far!” Mrs. Rowntree warned.

“Sure, Mom!” Chance called back.

They went right into the forest.

“So you really think Kal could beat it?” Kevin asked after a while of walking.

“I’ve seen her beat bosses twice as strong!”

“How do you know they were twice as stong?’

“Because she said they were twice as strong.”

“Why are you trusting Kal?’

Chance thought about this, and made a mental note to ask Kal if it was true.

“Ever notice how, when you’re really quiet, you realize stuff?” Kevin asked, changing the subject completely. “Like, I just realized that my feet hurt, or I just realized how long we’ve been walking, or I just realized that…”

He trailed off, looking around him. Somewhere, they heard an owl screech.
“We’re lost.” He squeaked.

“We’re not lost,” Chance objected.

“Then WHERE ARE WE?” demanded Kevin.

There was a pause. “I don’t know.” Chance admitted after a while.

Another owl called.

“Well, that’s just terrific!” Kevin said, angrily.

“Hey, it’s not MY fault,” Chance retorted. “YOU’RE the one who wanted to come out here!”

More owls.

“Oh-ho-ho-ho, we’re DEAD.” Kevin whined. “We’re gonna die in here, we’re dead.”
Chance rolled his eyes. Kevin was whimpering, “We’re dead, we’re dead,” over and over again.

Owls of all different kinds were calling now. You couldn’t leave it unnoticed.

Chance was starting to get suspicious. “You hear that?” he asked.

Kevin listened. An arrow whizzed by, just missing Chance’s ear.

“Wha-?” Chance started to ask, but got attacked by a human shape wearing a mask who bound his hands behind his back.

The man called into the trees, an owl call, and around thirty other figures showed themselves.

“Kevin?” Chance was obviously afraid.

“What?” Kevin said.

“We’re lost.”

Destiny: Prologue

Prologue

“Why is the sky red, Mother?” the girl asked, looking out her window with wide eyes.

The fae woman looked up from her book. Her eyes got as wide as the girl’s. “Oh, no!” She grabbed her daughter’s hand. “Get to the stables,” she told her. “you’ll be safe there.”

“Safe from what?” the girl asked innocently.

“Honor!” Her mother called, ignoring her question. “They’re coming!”
They heard thumping as the girl’s father ran down the wooden stairs. “How many of them?” he asked. His bearded face was twisted in alarm.

“It’s never less than fifty.” She answered.

Honor started pacing and running his fingers through his graying hair, as he always did when he was worried. Something started pounding on the door.

“What’s happening, Mother?” the little girl asked, panic in her voice.

“J-just go to the stables, dear.” Her mother said, trying to stay calm. “Everything will be all right.” but she was trying more to assure herself than her daughter.

“But-” the girl started, but was interrupted by more pounding on the door.

“LET US IN!” said a goblin’s gruff voice on the other side. “LET US IN OR WE’LL BURN THE WHOLE PLACE DOWN!”

“The stables, foolish child, the stables!” Honor hissed. The girl was startled, her father never used that tone of voice on her. Her mother, maybe, but never her father!

But she did as she was told and ran out the back door and to the stables. She found the sky to be redder than before, and the grass black and smoldering in places. The horses and dragons were in a panic, but she managed to calm them down.

When she looked outside, she saw fairies zipping about in all directions, and pixies running around on stubby legs. They were all being chased by terrible phantoms and beasts. One elf tripped, a shadow encased her and she disappeared.

As she looked on, she saw her best friend, unconscious, being dragged away by two hairy goblins.

“No!” the girl cried. She half-climbed, half-jumped over the fence, despite what her parents told her, to help her friend.

Her father caught her. “Destiny!” he scolded. “What are you doing?  Get back in the-”

There was a bright flash of light. The girl shielded her eyes. When she opened them, she was in a dark forest of strange trees. There was a painful sting in her right eye.

“H-hello?” she tested. “Mother? Father? Where are you? Hello? Hello?” but she knew it was no use.

She was alone.

Fanfic sneak peek

Ferb was the first to walk towards the portal, eyebrows scrunched. Once he got close, an ugly, scabby hand with long, dirty fingernails reached out and grabbed him. Ferb yelped as it pulled him in, sharply. The portal closed.
“FERB!” Phineas screamed. “FEEERRRRRRB!”  He ran to where his brother had vanished. Isabella covered her mouth in shock.
Phineas was waving his arms around frantically, feeling for what caused Ferb to disappear. Then he sat down, hopeless.

Hehehehehehe…

Forever

“No, no, no, no, NO!” I was yelling now. “You can’t leave!”
“Ferb,” he said my name, weakly. It was all wrong. He was supposed to be the strong one. He was the confident, pointy kid that everyone loved, that I loved. He was growing weaker and weaker. Tears sprung to my eyes.
“I can’t lose you!”
“Yes, you can.” he said, weaker still. “You are.”
“B-but-”
“Ferb, listen to me.” he urged me. “I’ve had a great life, we built a rollercoaster, travelled all the way around the world, we were one-hit wonders, remember that?” He chuckled. “Heck, we even travelled in time, for cryin out loud!” he paused to take a deep, ragged breath. “But, I just gotta say, this has been the best day ever. Thank you, Ferb. Goodbye.”
“But you’re too young to die!”
“Yes.” he said. “Yes, I am.” and then his eyes closed, his heartbeat stopped, and he was gone.
Forever.

The Magic Hat

Once upon a time, not too long ago, there was a boy. That boy’s name was Egbert. Egbert didn’t like his name much, so he just went by Eg. Now, that sounded weird as well, but it was the best name he could think of.

While Eg was out for a walk, he found an old hat laying on the ground. Usually he wouldn’t pay attention to this kind of thing, but he seemed to be drawn to the hat. It was a very nice hat, he thought. He felt himself reaching towards the hat until he was holding it. Then he put it on his head. He kept walking, then realized he was wearing a hat. Where did this hat come from? Eg thought. He didn’t remember putting the hat on, for it was a a magic hat.

The magic hat allowed Eg to see into the future, read people’s thoughts, and other various mystical qualities. Once he figured this out, Eg never took the hat off again.

The end.

The Sandwich

The monster was eating a peanut butter and caribou sandwich when it happened.

What happened, you ask? I’ll tell you. This is what happened:

So there was the monster, happily eating his peanut butter and caribou sandwich, when, quite suddenly, a THING jumped out from behind the bushes! The monster hadn’t seen anything like it. It was quite small, only five feet tall, had NO fur, NO claws, NO horns, not even a nice pair of wings! The monster widened its eyes in horror at the creature.

“Who are you?” he asked, dropping his sandwich.

The creature spoke in a high-pitched, jabbering language in which the monster could not understand. Before the monster could say anything else, the thing screeched and sprinted away.

The monster stared after it. Then he shrugged, picked up his sandwich and dusted it off, and pretended nothing happened.

The end.