The Mask Meddler, a Fantasy story

Chapter One

Chapter one:

It was a normal morning, nothing unusual, at least for the most part. It was a chilly, Saturday morning, with the fluffy snowflakes falling in spirals round and round so fast, it was as if they formed a carousel moving at super speed. I put on my blinding white wool gloves to complete the set. With the layers I had on, I was a walking tank, blue and white. When I went down the last flight of carpeted stairs, I noticed my father was in his normal state reading the newspaper while sipping on joe. My mom, however, was more polite and asked if I wanted some hot cocoa. I politely declined and went on my way, waddling like a penguin.

It was a snow day and school was cancelled, and everyone was outside playing. The little ones were skipping across the white blanket as if they were frolicking in a daisy meadow. The older boys were crashing into each other's sleds, while the younger boys were up hill pelting snowballs at you, using so much speed it was as if a bullet pierced your heart. The girls were either inside drinking hot cocoa or making snow angels on the ground, marking their territory like dogs.

As I went over to a group of girls, shouts emerged. I ran toward them, struggling to see what had happened. Then a piercing shot rang through the valley, creating many panicked looks. All of a sudden metal spears pelted us, scarring our faces, bleaching the white blanket blood-red. What's happening? I thought. MAX! I glanced around in search of my brother. I ran out into the field, against the rush of scared people. It was impossible; it was like trying to yank an elephant out of a sinkhole.

I saw him out in the distance, crouching and sheltering his face. I run towards him, covering my nose from the awful stench of the fresh dead bodies, their odor rising like souls trying to get to heaven. Pushing the fretting people away, I finally reached him. I drag him up and run far away from the bullet massacre. A hand jerked me to the left and Max followed like helpless rag doll. The mysterious figure that pulled us brought us into a door which led to an alleyway, and then let go. As we fled further away from the slaughter, the shrieks and rounds of fire died into a faint whisper.

"This way", a voice emerged, barely a croak. The figure slunk down the alley. I hesitated, but then I stepped forward. As I walked down the silent alleyway, the shadows engulfed me in darkness. The only sound was the scream of water falling to its doom.

"Come closer", a voice said. I nudged forward an inch. The wind chilled me to the bone, freezing blood, stopping it dead cold. The hooded figure turned and then dissolved in the darkness.

2: Chapter Two

Chapter Two

Chapter two:

I stood there at first examining my brother like a detective to see if anything was scraped or wounded. Turns out, Max was. The bullet had cut through his three layer coat, leaving a jagged scar. I tugged his jacket off, and pushed the tree-bark brown wool sweater up. Blood gushed out of it like a fire hydrant bursting out tears. Pulling my coat off, I went in search for a sharp rock. I grabbed it and murdered my jacket sleeve, making stuffing explode everywhere. I took the detached cuff and cut it, creating a thick ribbon. Then, I directed my brother to the leaking pipe in order to wash his bloody arm. After it was cleansed, I noticed that the bullet only nicked his arm and had not gone through it. I smiled.

For a makeshift tourniquet, I tied the plump blue ribbon around his arm, 'till it was tight enough to staunch the flow of blood.

Then, we trudged forward, following the man's footsteps in the snow. "Where are we going?" Max said.

"I don't know."

"Will we be all right?"

"Don't worry, I'll protect you."

After a while, I stopped. "What is it?" Max asked.

"The snow...look." In the snow were little dents, each containing a small puddle of blood. He's bleeding.. I thought. He's hur- All of a sudden, a wave of shouting terminated my train of thought. I looked around for a sign of a house, any shelter. "IN HERE!" I urged my brother. We ran for the red, wooden, shack that had paint peeling off of it. "What's going-" Max began.

"SHHHHHHHHHHH!" I said. "They're here."

"HUT, HUT, HUT, HUT, HUT, HUT, HUT, HUT," their chanting filled the frosty air. I gripped him close to me, and felt his tiny heart racing rapidly. Stuck in a confined space surrounded by a million guns cocked ready, his presence was my only source of comfort. We sat together, watching the minutes crawl by. We listened to the sounds of homes being plundered and destroyed.

"This way," a strong and booming voice proclaimed. We heard them inching towards us and held our breath. Hearts pounding, breath shaking, we cowered in the shack, waiting for an inevitable death.

3: Chapter Three

Chapter Three

Chapter three:

They began to head towards us and I clutched Max so tightly that my knuckles turned snow white. Just as they opened the door, a voice yelled out. .I searched frantically for a peek hole and found one. I recognized the voice from the hooded figure that saved us. A soldier yelled, "UGH! You again?! Where are they!?" He fired a bullet at him. I held my breath and my eyes widened in fear as I watch the bullet whiz by. I closed my eyes just as the bullet was about to penetrate him. THWAK! It hit the brick wall behind him. I sighed in relief as he disappeared around a ledge. Seconds later, my relief turned into anxiety as the exasperated soldiers chased after him.

As the clatter of boots dissipated into the night, I let my body relax and loosen. I poked my head through the door and stepped out. Max and I then continued to find the bleeding, hooded figure that saved us both, but when we looked down at the snow, we saw that the footprints had been covered up by the thousand combat boot prints. We searched desperately for a clue, but came out empty-handed, so we went forward as we were originally walking.

After a few minutes, we heard a scream. We ran as fast as we could down the village, towards the noise. The further we ran, the louder the shrill sounded. I soon located it to someplace near a red and yellow brick house.

I crept to the side of the house, hugging the side and lurking in the shadows. My younger brother, Max, mimicked my exact actions. When I got to the corner of the side, I hesitated at first, then peeked. What I saw was horrifying and I'm sure Max could tell from my expression. It was a jaw-dropping, bloody, chaotic sight.

"Where are they?" I heard a man say. He grabbed the hooded figure, who was an old white haired man. He had thin gray streaks in his mop of white, wrinkles creased his forehead, the starry look in his eyes indicated his fear. "I SAID, WHERE ARE THEY?!"

"I don't know." The old man replied. It came out as a raspy retort. The soldier dropped the old man and gestured a signal. CRACK! A bullet whized at the old man and landed snugly right above his left kneecap. The soldier then kicked him, shot him in the chest, and then started to walk away.

I swiftly shoved Max into an air vent behind me and hid behind as well. Then, I clamped my hand over his mouth. After the soldier and his men went a good distance away from us, I scrambled up and sprinted to the old man. Squatting down at his level, I could see him in more detail. He was caked in blood and wounded at his abdomen, chest, right ankle, left arm, and neck. He rags surrounded him like a force field. "Are you okay? What do they mean by 'where are they?' Who are you? Why'd you help us and who are the soldiers working for?" I asked.

He gestured for me to come closer. In a croak, he replied, "I'm sorry, but honestly, I don't know who they're working for. My knowledge about all of this is limited. All I know is that the "they" that the soldiers want are you two."

"Okay, but who are you and why did you help us?"

"My name is Lawrence. I helped you because I received a message saying so. I don't know who it's from or who gave it to me. I woke up in that worn-out shack you were in, with the message taped to my forehead."

"Why do they want us?"

"They supposedly want you guys because you two have talent." He started to sway heavily, as his head bobbed side to side, then fell.

I pulled him up and gently slapped his face twice. "Lawrence? LAWRENCE? What do you mean by 'talent'?"

He opened his milky, brown baby eyes and said with all the strength he could muster, "Go to Emputhe Parkway and find my granddaughters, Sophia, Myra, and Ivy. Give them...give them this." He reached into his shirt and took out a necklace. Then he opened his mouth, "I must warn you about the…" He wavered side to side, then collapsed.

4: Chapter Four

Chapter Four

Chapter four:

“About what? Lawrence? Lawrence!”

Max took me away from him and said, “He’s gone, sis. He’s gone. Here’s the necklace. Now come on, lets go to Emputhe Parkway as he told us too.” As we walked down the cobblestone path, I examined the necklace he gave me while listening to the clickety clackety noise that echoed around me. The necklace had a steel trinket on it which was icy blue with an intricate carving of a snowflake. The strange thing was that when I held it, the metal was cold against my skin.

A few days later, we found Emputhe Parkway. Max and I asked around for directions to Myra and Sophia’s place, but sadly, we received nothing in return.

Because of our temporarily failure, we decided to rent a room in a hotel that we saw on the street. The next day, we were woken by an insistent, ear-splitting knock . “WHAT?” I yelled, startled and annoyed. Dragging myself out of bed, I answered the door.

A fancily dressed lady emerged. She was wearing a puffy white and baby-blue dress with black lace that showcased her tall, hourglass figure. She had really long hair, like Pocahontas. Standing next to her was another lady. Wearing a lovely white buttoned down shirt with black leggings and a fiery red necklace, she had high cheekbones and a heart-shaped face. She was just a smidgen shorter than the other one. They both were alluring, just drop-dead gorgeous. After seeing them, I felt so out of place and ugly with my bird-nest hair and polka dot pajamas.

“Hi! My name is Sophia,” the tall one chirped. “This is my sister, Myra.” She gestured to the white shirted one. “We heard you were looking for us. What for?”

“Oh. Umm...yeah. Uh, Lawrence wanted me to give you this.” I turned my back around and walked to the closet on the far right of the room. Opening the closet, I fished out the icy necklace and, and presented it to Sophia. She turned to her sister and whispered quietly something to Myra.

“Interesting.,” she said. “You must change your clothes and come with us at once.” Following her order, I turned for the door and left to get Max. “Wait.” I stopped. “What’s your name?” A small sweet voice asked behind me.

“Kate. Not Kathleen or Kaitlyn, just Kate.” Then I turned and went to get Max.

“Max.” I shook him. “Max!” I said a little louder than before. “MAX!!” He didn’t budge. UGHHHH!!! He’s such a heavy sleeper! I thought, exasperated. I gave up and went to change.

After I took a warm and relaxing shower, I got dressed. I wore a plain red shirt (that was two sizes too big) from a camp that I went to over the summer and black jeggings. After that, I went over to the door about to turn the knob when-MAX!!!!! How could I forget?? A flood of realization ran over me. I ran over to him and tugged the sheets off of him. He was in turtle mode, sleeping soundly like a newborn cat. “MAAAAXXX!!!!!!!!” He finally stirred and I felt terrible because he seemed so peaceful. But of course, I had to wake him up.

When he finally got dressed, we stepped over the door’s threshold. Out in the hallway, Sophia and Myra were waiting in deafening silence. “Okay, we’re ready.” I said.

“Awwww, who’s this little guy?” said Myra, in the same small voice as before.

“That’s my younger brother, Max. Say hi, Max.”

“HI!” Max said, eagerly, smiling at them.

“Come on, we better get going.” Sophia responded with a troubled look on her face.

While we were walking to the elevator, we heard a crash behind us. “What was that??” Max said. We all turned around only to find a figure standing behind us. She was gorgeous. She was wearing a plain black shirt with “AWESOME” written in red and blue jeans. She wore a black leather jacket and black combat boots to go with the outfit. Her long black hair was tied in a ponytail, and had shades holding back her bangs from covering her eyes.

“Ivy!” Myra complained, looking at the new woman with annoyance scattered across her face. “I told you NOT to approach them like that! Do you ever listen to me? EVER?”

“Oh, come on, sis!” she said, winking mischievously. “You know I never do!”

“Where were you anyways? Ugh...you know what? Nevermind. Come on, let’s do what granddad told us. Don’t let him die in vain.” Her tone trembled slightly.

“Finnnnneee,” Ivy whined and followed Myra into the elevator. She leaned back onto the walls of the metal structure. “Come on, you youngsters! Myra and Sophia aren’t the most patient people in the world, ya know?” She winked teasingly, and waved for us to come on the elevator.

On the way down, Ivy kept on asking Max and me about our lives, and constantly annoyed her two sisters. As we left the elevator and walked out of the building, we found a silver Highlander waiting for us to drive. We all piled in, and drove off.

5: Chapter Five

Chapter Five

Chapter five:

“Are we there yet? Are we there yet?” Max shot the questions at the girls impatiently, bouncing his knees insistently against the leather seat of the car.

“Be patient, Max.” I said.

“No need,” Ivy chuckled. “We’re here.” We looked outside the window to see where we have arrived. There is a huge mall with the words “BELK” written in bold, blue letters.

“Why are we at a mall?” I asked.

“To train, of course. DUH!” Ivy replied.

“She’s a newcomer; she doesn’t even know anything about this.” Sophia told Ivy. with an annoyed look on her face.

“Whatever, sis. Why do you always have to be so upright? Loosen up for ONCE will you?” Sophia sighed at her sister’s stupidity, and parked the car. Then we all got out. Then we went toward the mall, but instead of heading inside, we took a different route. Our group headed straight for a tree. It wasn’t any ordinary tree; it was the most grotesque, misshapen tree there was in the radius of one hundred miles. Sophia ducked under the branches and disappeared into the leaves. Then, it was Myra, then Ivy, and finally, us. Myra’s voice echoed back to go from oldest to youngest, which meant I had to enter first.

When I went through, the shadows made it almost impossible to see, and I was forced to take a moment to adjust to the darkness. Then, I realized where we were: a dark shaded area surrounded by the wall of the mall. Bricks lay everywhere.

Sophia led us straight to the end of the gap and drew out a brick. Suddenly, light shot out towards us. It was blinding and completely prevented me from seeing what lay behind the wall. I squinted with all my might, but I soon gave in and turned away.

“Woah,” Max commented. I turned anxiously to see what he saw. My first thought was fantasy. My second one was imagination. What I saw was black. But when I looked at the scene for a little while longer, I could see people. They were dressed in black and doing flips and cartwheels across the room.

“Come,” Ivy proclaimed, giving a teasing flourish, “This is our humble abode. It’s where we practice and learn.”

“MAGGIE! KATHLEEN!” Sophia shouted over the noise. Two youngsters about my age ran up to us.

“Hi, hi, hi, hi!” The shorter one shrieked, bouncing up and down.

“Hello,” sang the other. “My name is Kathleen. And this…,” she pointed to the bubbly one that seemed to burst like a volcano any minute, “is Maggie.”

“I’m Kate. And this is Max.” I said nudging my brother.

“Show them around and find out what group they will belong in. I’m going to go practice with my twin sister, Myra.” Sophia said, then turning to Ivy, “Ivy, go check on the security system. On while you’re keeping watch, go make me some food. I’m a bit hungry.”

“Ok,” the girls and Ivy answered together.

Soon, Ivy went on her way, and Maggie and Kathleen led us to a room in the back, away from all the chaos. Apparently the door was soundproof because none of the chaotic noise penetrated into the room.

“Please tell us about your adventures and how you wound up here and your background information.” Kathleen asked patiently.

“Don’t worry, we aren’t stalkers or anything, we just want to know you’re not a spy or something. Oh, by the way, this whole room is a lie detector. If you say the wrong thing, it WILL tase you, and if you keep saying lies, it will eventually kill you,” Maggie added, a bit too happily. “So please, just talk and don’t lie. It makes the process SO much longer if you pass out and, of course, we can’t get any information when you’re not breathing.”

“She’s right,” Kathleen added. “She’s not making anything up…yet, even if she sounds really harsh right now.”

“Okay, here I go.” I said. I took a deep breath, and began to tell my tale.

6: Chapter Six

Chapter Six

Chapter Six:

“Well, when I went out to play, shots rang out. The bullets tore down everything in their path. When they stopped, I went and found Max. Lawrence saved us, but he disappeared right after that. After all the commotion, we followed Lawrence’s bloody footprints until they disappeared. We hid in a shack because the soldiers were coming closer and closer to our location,” I explained.

“I see…then what happened?” Asked Kathleen.

“All of a sudden, Lawrence came out from behind the soldiers just as they were about to open the door to the shack. The soldiers chased him off and followed him all the way down to the backyard of a house,” Max answered.

“Wait, wait, wait. It sounds like Lawrence knew that you two were in the shack. Why else would he have appeared to the soldiers?” Maggie interrupted suspiciously.

“Fair point, but I don’t know,” Max replied.

“How did he even know you were in the shack? I mean you said that the footprints disappeared, so maybe he was watching you,” Kathleen added cautiously.

“That’s kind of creepy, but I guess it could explain why he presented himself to the soldiers… ” I said. I really hadn’t thought much about that situation until now.

“Anyways, keep going. You’re doing a wonderful job,” A mysterious voice behind me said. I didn’t even hear the door creak open. How stealthy is this person? I wondered. I turned around to see who it was.

I stared in disbelief. My jaw gaped open and my eyes popped out, popping out as big as grapes. I scanned the person up and down, again, and again. “How? But…no…no…no, no, no, no, no, no. This can’t be…,” I mumbled. I turned around to look at Maggie and Kathleen’s expressions. They were calm and collected, though Maggie looked slightly annoyed. I looked at Max’s eyes. They were just as startled as mine were.

“We saw you die,” Max murmured in shock. “I don’t believe this.”

Lawrence (or Lawrence 2.0) simply chuckled. “Yes, that is true, but here I am.” He said with a different voice than before. It was a high pitched voice that didn’t belong to him.

“Janette,” Maggie muttered under her breath, but she seemed lost in thought, her mind wandering off.

“Yes...Hey! No cheating!” Lawrence demanded, still in the high pitched voice of his. He said it in a harsh splitting tone that made the hair on the back of my neck stand up. “Stop reading my mind. GET OUT! NOW!” He shrieked, rather shrilly. “You know I hate it when you do that!”

“Sorry, Myra.” Maggie muttered, dropping her head down.

“Wait...hold on. Myra? What do you mean, Myra? That’s Lawrence. And what do you mean Janette? Who’s Janette? And WHAT about reading minds?!? What’s going on?!” I demanded. Everyone looked down and cowered as if they were kids put in time-out. “Lawrence” then suddenly turned pure white, and dissolved into thin air. In his place, Myra stood as if she was here the entire time.

“What. How?” Max said, dumfounded.

“The voice,” I said, “That high pitched, out of place voice. That was yours?”

“Yes, indeed.” She stood still, and Max and I stared at her as if she was a goddess.

Suddenly, anger burst from my mouth, and a flood of questions tore out. “Where’s Lawrence? Did you kill him? Isn’t he dead?”

“Lawrence died years ago. That Lawrence you were with, well, it was me.”

“That’s...that’s impossible! And even if it was, we saw you die with our own eyes and also, you voice was deeper.” Max argued frantically.

“That’s not true. I merely passed out from blood loss. Janette found me after you left and healed me. She healed everything, but my voice that was why my voice was high pitched a few seconds ago and was deep when you first meet me as Lawrence. I know this sounds weird and unreal, but please trust me. This is all true. It’s part of our life, and it’s part of your life now.” Myra strode over to the two young ones and sat in the middle. “We are here to help you build your power. You two are here because we need you. Without you two, we are going to die…the whole world will be corrupted in a mass of fiction.”

7: Chapter Seven

Chapter Seven

Chapter Seven:

“What do you mean ‘we’ have to save the world? I mean, if you guys have these so called ‘powers’, then how could we, mortals or non-powers, save the world?” I asked, scared and frustrated.

“You remember when I said you ‘guys’ have talent?” Myra asked.

“Yeah,” I replied.

“Powers were what I meant. Mine is shapeshifting, Maggie’s to read minds, which can be more than annoying at times, and she can also turn invisible. Kathleen can create peace between anyone and teleport anywhere.” Myra stated, as if it was the most natural idea in the world.

“Pffft...like that’s true.” Max scoffed. “For all we know, you guys are tricksters and are really good with technology.”

“We’re not lying,” Kathleen countered. “We can show you. Have you ever wondered why my eyes are always cerulean blue and my clothes are all in a shade of blue?”

“Now that I actually look and study you more carefully, well um...no.” Max replied sarcastically.

“Well, I’m an Oceanid or an ocean nymph. There’s a collection of people here. Myra is just a human, but Maggie’s a nymph, and Sophia was raised by unicorn and they gave her a gift of wings, so she can fly. Ivy is an elf.”

“Sophia can fly? HA! Doubt it.” Max retorted.

“Come,” Myra said, “I promise if you come to my house, you’ll believe.”

“Fine...whatever you like. But just saying, I’ll never believe YOUR puny lies.” Max sassed back, rolling his eyes.

Myra didn’t seemed bruised at all by the hurtful comments he threw at her, though Maggie looked slightly upset and Kathleen was a little bit hurt. Myra just naturally stepped out of her chair, and Kathleen and Maggie followed, as if Myra was a queen and they were her courtiers. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Kathleen’s hand over Myra’s, and I recalled how Myra had said that Kathleen could create peace. If that’s true, I thought, then that’s how she’s so unhumanly calm and peaceful. Kathleen might be transferring peaceful thoughts, or however she creates peace, to Myra, so she won’t strangle Max or something. Nah. I pushed the thought aside and continued to follow Myra to her house.

Once we got to the brick enclosure, she stopped. “What?” I asked confused. “This isn’t your house.”

“Correct,” she said, ”We are going to teleport there. Here, take my hand.” Everyone grabbed each other’s hands. “Kathleen, teleport us.”

“Ready?” Kathleen asked patiently. Everyone nodded.

Darkness swallowed us and wind rushed past us. A few seconds later, we were in an enormous mansion. Walls of white marble sparkled and loomed around us. An enormous chandelier hung above us, the diamonds sparkling in the golden light.

“Woah,” I said, “This place is HUGE.” I heard my words echo all around me, bouncing off the gigantic walls. As I glanced around the place, I spotted Sophia and Ivy, farther down the hallway.. I peered at them curiously as they come down the hall to us with food in their hands. Ivy then walked up to the other girls to give them their portion of the snack.

“Seriously sis? They just teleported us here and you're amazed by a house?! Ughh girls! All they ever care about is fashion. What’s wrong with you? Wooah, this place is soo cool!” Max exclaimed

“Hypocrite,” I muttered under my breath.

Sophia and Myra chose that exact time to approach us. “Nice to see you believe now, Max. What about you, Kate?” Sophia said.

“I don’t see why I couldn’t have just read their minds. We didn’t have to go through all this trouble.” Maggie muttered under her breath. “She believes.” Maggie said loudly so Sophia could hear.

“Good,” Sophia spoke as she moved quickly towards the edge of the door, “Come, follow me. If you think powers are cool, then you should be excited to know that you two also have powers.”

“Sweet!” Max whispered loudly to no one in particular. He rushed off eagerly wanting to know what he is capable of and turned around the corner.

I hurried after him, not wanting to get left behind and disappeared around the ledge.

8: Chapter Eight

Chapter Eight

Chapter Eight:

My first reaction was WHOA! My second one was EWWWW! Beat-up black punching bags hung from the ceiling like bats with their claws clutching to trees. A vibrant midnight blue mat was sprawled on the floor, covering the whole room. A lithe little girl about Max’s age was punching a bag furiously like it had stolen her lunch money.

In the corner, two people huddled close together. One of them was a girl, she was a little short and had luscious brown hair with bangs and was wearing a midnight black leather jacket that fit her perfectly. The other one was a guy. He was tall and nearly covered in emerald green; he had on a yellow, brown, and green vest, a shirt with the same pattern, emerald tights, and golden boots. He held the girl close, stroked her cheek gently and gave her a kiss. “Ah...AHEM,” the girl punching the bag coughed loudly. “We have guests.” The couple glanced up at us and walked towards us.

“Sorry, for that PG13 moment,” the brunette apologized, blushing slightly “My name is Emily, this is Loki, and her name,” she pointed to the punching girl, ”is Lauren.”

“Welcome to the training area of Sophia’s house, it’s where we spar and train, as you saw in the Belk hideout. In the backroom,” Lauren informed, leading us to a little doorway where we saw the back of a beaver(With spikes, I think. What?)who was quite adorable, “is where you practice your powers until you are able to control them perfectly.” She opened the door and the beaver’s head turned immediately.

“Hi, my name is Janette. I’ll be helping you with your powers…” The beaver began.

“But how…we don’t have any?” Max stated, devastated. “Wait a second…How are you even talking? This is a joke, right? Please tell me that it’s a joke.”

“Wait, you’re Janette, right?” I asked, making sure.

“Yes.”

“Maggie said your name when she read Myra’s mind. Why is that?”

“Oh, that’s because I healed her, but her voice hasn’t mended quite that well yet. That’s why her voice was out of place when she was ‘Lawrence’.” She responded. “And to answer your question, little guy. It may seem like it for now, but trust me, they will come eventually. I’m going to help you, so they will pop up faster. Also, no, this isn’t a joke and yes I’m a talking beaver with hedgehog spikes.” Suddenly she flinched, “Who was that?!” She asked startled. “Was that you?” She pointed to Max accusingly.

“What was me?” Max asked, innocently. “I didn’t say anything.”

“Yeah,” Lauren said confused, “No one said anything.”

“Oh well, it was probably just me. But I swear I heard someone say, ‘Ughhh, I wish my powers would come up now.’”

“Wait, I just heard something too. Did anyone hear someone say, ‘She’s so stupid that she’s hearing things.’” I asked hesitantly.

“Yeah…I did,” Janette replied, a little hurt.

“That’s odd, I didn’t hear anything.” Lauren said, looking rather bemused.

“Those comments we heard…they sound A LOT like Max.” As I said that, every head turned towards him. Hands sweating, he stammered in the smallest voice possible, “To be honest, I did think that…but, I swear I didn’t say anything. Sorry about the hurtful comment, Janette. Please don’t hurt me!”

“I don’t hurt, I heal, not fight.” Janette advised. “It’s alright. If I’m right, the reason why we heard you, without you speaking, is because of your power. I think you have telepathy, but I can’t be sure. Here, sit down and think of something and then think of all of us, and try to transmit the message.”

“Ok,” Max said, shakily. He walked in the room, grabbed a chair and plopped his butt down. Then, he stared at the desk. All of a sudden, his veins started popping out, and his face hardened; he looked serious and constipated at the same time. Out in the silence, a voice entered my mind, “DID IT WORK?” I jumped back startled and hit Emily, who was behind me. “Did it work?” Max asked. A chorus of “yes” and nods answered his uncertainty.

“Congratulations! You have the power to send mind messages!” Loki congratulated happily.

“Telepathy.” Emily said, sneaking the message with a cough.

“Oh, I meant telepathy, not ‘send mind messages.’”

“Cool...” Max murmured, not showing any hint of excitement, after jumping up and down, asking nonstop about getting powers.

“Well, it’s getting late. Why don’t you guys go to sleep, there are two beds in the guest room. Emily show them up there. Oh, and also bring them some clean clothes and blankets.” Sophia commanded.

We followed Emily up the stairs into the room. Then we sat down, took a hot, steaming shower, switched clothes and hopped in bed. I closed my eyes and drifted to sleep.

9: Chapter Nine

Chapter Nine

Chapter Nine:

I opened up my groggy eyes and blinked the crust out of them as light flashed down on my skin, burning it temporarily. I reluctantly dragged myself out of the bed and sulked down stairs. As I was about to step on the wooden floor, I was punched in the face by a “GOOD MORNING!!” from my brother as he jumped up and down invading my personal space. Not in the mood for my brother’s morning hyperness, I pushed him in the face to get him away from me, at least out of my arm’s length.

“What’s wrong? Why so glum? Haha. Glum is a funny word. Just listen, glum, glum, glum, glum, glum,” my brother says in my mind, invading with his thoughts.

“STOP IT!!!” I scream in my head. A sound, a lot like a penny twirling till it stops, filled my ear to the right. I turned my head to look, and I see my brother. He was frozen, his last cookie spinning on the snake bordered china plate, his hand was in mid-holding position, his mouth was gaping, and his baby brown eyes were eerily staring at me. “Max…”, I said concerned, inching toward him little by little. “Everything alright?”

“Your, your voice,” he whispers shakily, “I heard you yell ‘STOP IT’ in my head. That’s not possible.”

Maggie turned around and said, “Of course it is,” obviously spying on us, “People with telepathy, have the power to receive thoughts that other people are sending to them.” Then, her eyes moved and she looked at me with those dark emerald eyes of hers, “You better get dressed; new clothes are on the table, and we are going to practice soon. Janette is going to try and find out what powers you have. She is also going to see if Max,” she glanced at him, “Has any more powers. If you want to clean up, there’s soap in the bathroom and a bright red toothbrush as well.”

Right after she ended her commands, I rushed upstairs, stripped down, and tugged on new clothes. It was a yellow tie-dye shirt and black running shorts. To my surprise, it fit perfectly. I quickly dashed down the stairs, eager to see what hidden powers lay secretly embedded in my soul.

When I reach the doorway, I spot that my brother, Maggie, Kathleen, and Emily were all waiting on me. I blushed from embarrassment and quickly put on the black Nike sneakers which were prepared for me. Then, we walked out the door and Kathleen teleported us straight to the belly of the little hideout in Belk.

Once we were there, we crossed the chaotic yellow gym filled with sweaty people dancing and entered a room in the back, encased in darkness. Behind me Emily turned on the lights and a beaver with spikes that were glistening in the light materialized.

“Well, we’ll leave you two here,” Emily said, “Max, why don’t you come with me? Let’s work on your power so you can control your it better and make you stronger. Then, we can switch and make Kate’s power or powers stronger and Janette will see if you have anymore.” Everyone exited immediately after she spoke and left me alone with a talking beaver who has deadly spikes and a iron like hard tail.

“Okay,” Janette began, “Let’s start basic, can you read my mind, or bend this metal pole?” I carefully walked over to the seat in front of her, stared at her forehead, and thought so hard that my veins started to pop out of my forehead. My neck tensed up and because I was pushing so hard, my body started to shudder uncontrollably.

“Okaay. I guess that’s not working. How about super strength?” Janette implied, obviously concerned about my veins popping out at least an inch too far. I grabbed the metal pole and strained with all my might, but it didn’t even budge. It didn’t even move just slightly, not even a dent. “Come on, try. Keep trying,” she urged.

I strained and strained and she kept encouraging me until I finally let go and demanded, “That’s it. You’ve been pushing me for five minutes now. Please stop encouraging me. I OBVIOUSLY can’t do this.” She opened her mouth then froze and closed it again. Then, she stared blankly at me amazement gleaming in her eyes. “What?” I said agitated and furious. She opened her mouth and tried to speak, but nothing came out. “Speak,” I commanded furiously.

“You…you can charm speak. You just willed me to do what you wanted.” She said in relief, probably glad she could talk again.

All of a sudden, I let go of my anger, and tiredness poured over my body me, through my veins. The wave caused me to buckle down and collapse onto the chilly marble floor.

10: Chapter Ten

Chapter Ten

Chapter Ten:

Light flooded my eyes when I opened them. As they adjusted to the lighting, I saw Ivy, with her pointy ears, Sophia, and Janette, still in her beaverness, hovering above me. Did Sophia have wings? Or was it just me? I thought. “Wait…wha…what happened?” I asked. I tried to sit up, but they forced me down and tied me there. I was helpless, lying on the ice cold floor while my head throbbed uncontrollably, making me wince every few seconds.

“You fainted, typical for a newbie. I would have expected nothing better. You also hit your head when you collapsed,” Ivy retorted, looking slightly annoyed at the question, and then sighed with a smirk growing on her face.

“Stop it Ivy, she’s new. Do you always have to tease the newcomers? I swear you do it on purpose no matter how many times I tell you not to,” turning to me, Sophia said, “I’m sorry about Ivy.” Then she whispered quietly at me to where Ivy couldn’t overhear us. “She’s actually nice and a funny person, but sometimes when she doesn't know you well, she can act a bit arrogant.”

Then, after whispering, she changed her voice quickly, and began stating something even worse than Ivy said to me. “You just over used your powers and fainted. It happens sometimes. You’ll be fine as long as you don’t use your power carelessly before you have absolute control, and you’re comfortable with your limits Just be glad that you didn’t burn your self, burst into flames, and die. ”

“Oh, so I can’t tease her, but you can go and scare her to death?” Ivy stated, her face radiating arrogance and pouting. All of the sudden, they were quarrelling and fighting until Janette finally spoke up and snapped, ”Stop it both of you, now help her up off the floor and onto the bed. She needs to rest.”

“Can’t you just heal her?” Ivy inquired, although her face betrayed she didn’t care.

“It’s not that simple. She’s famished. She needs food...now.” She practically shouted the last word. As if on command, my stomach growled loudly in the lingering silence. Ivy rushed out with a frightened the room, probably to get some food.

A warm sensation suddenly sprouted on my forehead and tingled in one spot. A dark shadow casted over my eyes, forming the vague shape of a tail. She’s healing me, I realized. The warm sensation stopped and a weight lifted off my forehead. I sat up automatically and was surprised that she didn’t force me down again. “Your parents must be worried sick about you two.” Janette murmured, looking glum.

“I was adopted by two parents and they died two years later, so we’re basically orphans now.” I said matter of factly, bereft of emotion whatsoever.

“Oh, I’m so sorry,” She muttered with sadness growing within her eyes.

“It’s fine, we get that question a lot of times. I lived so long without them that sometimes, I don’t even know who they really are.”

“Can I ask a question?”

“Yeah…?”

“Why do you have blue eyes while Max has brown ones?”

“Well, .from what I know, the parents I had found me in a dark, dimly lit alleyway, surrounded by pure white foxes. Some were standing on top of garbage cans, others were eating the trash around them as if they had not eaten for days. I was in the middle just sitting on a purple cloth while there while a few of them licked me clean. Max was my ‘parents’ actual child; I was adopted.”

“Wait… pure white foxes?”

“Yeah, weird right? I mean it almost sounds like I’m their actual child, but that’s not possible.”

“Have you ever heard of chinese foxes?”

“Yeah…kind of, they sound pretty cool. I want one, but they don’t exist.”

“What if I told you that you are wrong?”

“They’re real?”

“Seriously. You are talking to a talking beaver that can heal, surrounded by mystical creatures with magical powers all around you. You’ve witnessed Kathleen’s power in action, you just saw Sophia’s wings, and you’re telling me that you don’t believe in a chinese fox?”

“Well,” I started. “Fine. What if they are real? What are you trying to say to me anyways?”

“I’m saying,” Janette said, “that you might be a chinese fox. The way those foxes were treating you, the fact that you have blue eyes and you’re asian, no offense, the point that you were found in a dim lit alleyway surrounded by them, all proves that you are a chinese fox.”

“What do you mean? How does that prove anything?”

“Chinese foxes are born in dark and shadowy places, usually at graveyards, they’re born as humans, and according to the way they treated you, I’d say that you’re probably like family to them or actually blood family.”

“Okay… but even if I am one. How will you tell?”

“Well… they can shapeshift. Try that.” I strained as hard as I could and it reminded me of Max’s constipated face. I bursted out laughing.

“What?” Janette asked, curiously.

“Oh, nothing.” I replied catching my breath. “I’ll try again.” I pursed my lips tightly and concentrated real hard until Janette grew to my height.

My eyesight suddenly sharpened and my sense of smell caught a billion scents and the names all popped up and ended up jumbled in my mind, scattered puzzle pieces. I lost my footing and started to shake, then I fell on top of the plush mattress I was sitting on. I pulled myself together and tried to stand, but every single time I failed and landed on four feet. Actually four paws. Why did I have paws? I wondered. I looked down at them and stared in shock at the white furry padded paws. I turned cautiously and saw what I feared, a bushy white tail attached to my buttocks. I moved it and waved around slightly.

“I knew it!” A voice sounded to my right, and I hopped up in alarm.

“AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!” A scream shrieked, violently cutting the air. “Why is there a dirty fox on my new mattress?” A hand quickly lifted me up into the open air and I squirm and wriggle around wildly trying to set free from the strong hands, “I’m taking this wild creature where it belongs, out in the streets or at least on a reserve.” I opened up my mouth to speak and to my surprise, only a yelp emerged from my new snout. No! No! I panicked in my mind. I tried once more to speak, but only a whimper escaped from the corners of my mouth.

The person scooped me up, walked near the door, and started to turn the knob. “No! Stop it! That’s Kate!!!”

“This? Kate? Yeah, right,” the person scoffed and started to turn the knob again.

“Stop it Maggie!! I’m not lying!” Janette pleaded, with a worried look in her eye. Maggie ignored her and continued to turn the knob seemingly in slow motion. Anguish washed over me and adrenaline powered my actions. I opened my mouth wide open and sank my razor sharp fangs into the tender wrist.

The blood gushed out in two neat little holes and a few drops dripped into my mouth. Surprisingly, it actually tasted good, like warm, freshly baked brownies straight from the oven. Just as she was about to drop me from my uncalled attack, my reflexes kicked into action, and I positioned myself to fall on all four paws on the ground.

A rapid fire spread through my veins in my padded paws and swam through scarlet blood, straight to my heart. I hastily ran to Janette and hopped onto the mattress thinking that she could help soothe my aching pain. I closed my eyes once again and strained, eagerly waiting to go back to my human form. I opened my eyes, and everything was back to normal. Janette was short again, and there were no more tails or paws, at least none that were mine. I immediately rushed over to Maggie, who stood frozen at the door frame, apologies pouring out of my mouth over and over. As I got closer, I realized that her blood was golden. Why was that? Was it even blood? I wondered.

The white fur on her ice blue coat was stained yellow and her pale-ish skin was caked with dried blood. Her silver white hair was dripping the flaxen blood every few seconds and her fluffy grey-blue boots were standing in a miniature pool of gold.

“Oh my gosh…I’m soooo sorry! Can I help you with anything??” I whispered, scared that she would lash out at me for the mess I made.

“It’s okay. Snow nymphs, like me, are immortal and it only feels like a little tickle. We also heal very fast.” Maggie murmured, still seeming in shock. Her regal emerald eyes tried to remain calm. Her snow white hair still reached her waist, held back now by a jade pin although a couple strands were colored daffodil from her wound.

Small bright spots of blood decorated her navy blue leggings and sweater. However, the bite marks seemed to close up and heal right in front of my eyes.

On her pale white skin, little microscopic dots started to fill up the gap. The waterfall of blood slimmed down until it became a thin strand of hair and then closed up as if it was never there.

“Wooah that’s fascinating, but why is your blood golden?” I asked her curious, though a bit cautiously.

“Oh, it’s because she’s royal,” Kathleen said, coming from the doorway. Almost appearing out of thin air, she carefully stepped over the golden puddle. “She hates it when I tell people that, but it’s true. I’ve known her for a long time.”

Maggie cut her off; her eyes almost seemed to glow bright green with annoyance. “I. AM. NOT. ROYAL,” she stated with an edgy voice. Turning innocently to me, she said in a sweet voice, “Sorry ‘bout that. The reason why my blood is golden, is because I’m a snow nymph and nymphs are immortal.”

“STOP LYING!” Kathleen countered glaring back.

“I AM NOT LYING!” Maggie screeched, still trying to control herself though barely succeeding.

“Don’t LIE in FRONT. OF. KATE!” Kathleen fumed, voice edged with anger. Then, she turned to me and said, “Please, excuse Maggie and I,” glaring at her, “but I’m not like this most of the time, especially to newcomers. I only get mad at people I’ve known for quite some time, like, well, I don’t know…MAGGIE?”

“I. AM. NOT. LYING,” Maggie screeched, causing my ears to ring even after she stopped.

“Okay, Maggie. You can stop yelling, but you are royal,” Kathleen calmly stated, gaining her composure.

“Ugh, fine. Whatever. But I’m not royal. Whoever says so can be Silv’s breakfast.” As she stated ‘Silv’, she gestured a thumb back behind her.

I looked back at Maggie and there was no one there. Who in the world was she gesturing to? Is she crazy? Are they both crazy? What in the world is going on?

“Maggie, stop it! Why are you so annoying sometimes? Mind reading and turning invisible…stop it!” Kathleen voice grew louder and louder, evidently annoyed. She turned to me and said, “Sorry, once you get to know us better, we are not THAT annoying. Well, maybe Maggie is, but I’m sure we will get along just fine.” As I stare blankly at the two quarreling about, my head started to hurt and grow. It grew into a pounding headache and I just couldn’t take it anymore.

“STOP IT, BOTH OF YOU!” I commanded, “You’re giving me a giant headache. Do you two always fight like this?” Both of the two nymphs stopped dead in their tracks and stared at me, wide-eyed like deer caught in headlights. Wow, that charmspeak comes in handy.

“Sadly...yes.” Janette butted in, answering my question. “And Maggie,” she looked at her, “You ARE royal. We already did a blood test to confirm it. All of Kathleen and Sophia's speculations are correct.”

“HA! I told you so!” Kathleen exclaimed her eyes gleamed bright, triumphing in her accomplishment.

“I know,” Maggie murmured, talking to the ground. “It’s just that I don't want anyone treating me differently for that.”

“YOU’RE ROYAL! OMG, OMG, I KNEW IT!!!!!!! THE WAY YOU WALK, SPEAK, AND EVERYTHING POINTS TO IT. What's your lineage?” I asked eagerly

“She’s related to Boreas, you know, the god of North Wind and Winter.”

“OH! That’s so cool!”

“Well, anyways, did she unleash any powers?” Maggie asked, eager to change the subject.

“Yeah, the charmspeak that she just used on you.”

“Nice, but don’t use it on me again. I can see that you discovered her true bloodline as well. That’s good, Kathleen will report that to Sophia immediately. In the meantime, why don’t you go and train your powers with Emily and Ivy? Max can take your spot, and we’ll see what other powers he has as well as his bloodline.”

“That sounds nice. Let’s switch.” Janette agreed.

“Come Kate,” Maggie said, “I’ll direct you to Emily and Ivy.” I quickly went over to Maggie, and trailed behind her as she directed me to them.

We passed through the enormous chaotic main gym floor and she escorted me through a hallway to a room on the first left.

“Is it time?” Emily asked.

“Yeah,” Maggie answered briskly. She dropped me off with Emily and Ivy while Max crept out silently, trailing right behind her. As they were just about to disappear around the corner, I caught Max rubbing his fist furiously.

“Okay, where do we start?” Lauren’s voice came from behind me. I jumped up in fright and the backs of my hair stood up like someone who had been electrocuted. “How about strength first? Put on these gloves.” She ordered, throwing red and black boxing gloves at me.

The room I entered was similar to the room where I found Lauren in Sophia’s house. The punching bags were the exact same, but in the back, left-hand corner was a rack full of staffs hanging off of it.

I put the gloves on and approached the hanging bag. I nudged it hesitantly. “Uh…won’t this hurt?”

“It won’t hurt.” Ivy assured me.

I nudged it once more. “Are you sure?”

“Yes,” Ivy said, impatiently. Still unsure, I punched it. OWWWW!!! I screeched in my mind. Tears whelmed up and poured out of my eyes. I bit my lip and rubbed my throbbing hand softly. “Come on, kid! My grandma punches harder than that!” Ivy yelled, suddenly charging towards me.

“What’s gotten into you?” Lauren gritted out, straining to pull her back. “Ever since we got back from the enemy’s base last time, you’ve been acting all crazy and not like you at all. Emily, help me pin her down on the floor. Hurry!” Emily rushed over to help her while I stared in shock. Enemy? What’s going on? I thought.

Once they got pinned her to the ground, Emily rushed out the room and came back with a rope and a chair. She plopped the chair down and tied back the frantic, struggling Ivy. Her eyes started to glowing, as if something has taken over her, and I could sense something horrible coming out of her.

“Confuse her,” Lauren ordered. Emily lifted her arms and 8 seconds later, Ivy’s eyes rolled to the back of her head, and her eyelids closed shut. A thin strand of blood started to pour from the corner of her mouth.

“What is this?” Lauren said, with a frightened look on her face. “This…was not supposed to happen.”

11: Chapter 11

Chapter 11

Chapter Eleven:

My eyesight suddenly sharpened and my sense of smell caught a billion scents and the names all popped up and ended up jumbled in my mind, scattered puzzle pieces. I looked towards Janette and was surprised that she was the same height. I lost my footing and started to shake, then I fell on top of the plush mattress I was sitting on. I pulled myself together and tried to stand, but every single time I failed and landed on four feet. Actually four paws. Why did I have paws? I wondered. I looked down at them and stared in shock at the white furry padded paws. I turned cautiously and saw what I feared, a bushy white tail attached to my buttocks. I moved it and waved around slightly.