Hi! Thanks for visiting my blog :) This is part seven (final part) of a little story I'm writing. For anyone who is new here, I would recommend you start at part one and work your way through. Happy reading!
I glance at the huge doors, wondering how to proceed. The guards watch the crowd, not threateningly, but surely alert. I try to think what Alex would do, but my mind comes up blank. Of course, it makes sense that he should gather the army of all those who can use magic - he at least knows something about how the magic works and the people who have it. Which left me going to see the king. Hence the dithering outside the doors.
I briefly go through what I know in my head. The royal family has little to do with the people, other than collecting taxes. The king takes audiences, but the outcomes are seldom helpful to the petitioners. If I want to get his attention, I may have to go for shock tactics.
I sigh, so not looking forward to this, wishing more than anything that Alex was here.
Just get it over with, I tell myself. I hold my head high and start striding towards the doors. The guards move to stop me, but I ignore them. It's still difficult, reaching for my magic, but in the few days we travelled together before splitting up, Alex taught me the basics.
The guards fly backwards, hitting the walls, probably knocked out, though I don't stay long enough to make sure.
At this, people scatter even as other guards come running. I take care of them as easily as I did the others. By the time I storm into the audience chamber - getting directions from terrified civilians on the way - the room is in an uproar.
"How dare you burst in - "
I cut off the king's angry bellow. "You do know that your kingdom is about to be swallowed by the sea and destroyed, don't you?" I yell.
That shuts everyone up. After all, no one is supposed to know about the Greni. The king shoes everyone out of the room, even the very reluctant guards.
"Come, girl, say what you have to say," he snaps, though his pallor belies his flippant tone.
"Surely you know," I say softly, walking towards him. "Were you planning to enjoy life until it was over, never breathing a word of it to your people? No, you must have some other plan. Going to live in the mountains?"
He flushes red. "Not everyone can be saved. Only a few will fit on the floating peaks. It is the only way to preserve the human race. If too many tried, they would sink."
I've never heard of the floating peaks, but the name gives me idea enough. So he is going to live on some levitating mountain while the rest of us die, is he?
"The Greni are prepared to negotiate," I say. "Allow them back onto this land - their land - and they may not kill us all."
He shakes his head dismissively. "The Greni are not bound by our laws. You would invite anarchy to our kingdom, girl."
I open my mouth in outrage. So he'd rather the whole kingdom die than sacrifice his precious power? Before I can get so much as one word out, though, something hard collides with my head. The pain shoots out from the spot, almost knocking me from my feet. My eyes meet the king's, and he is smiling in triumph. Even as my knees start to collapse, I reach once more for my magic, sending a lethal sword of fire shooting forwards... I don't see if it hits its mark. The fire, and everything else, is swallowed in the blackness that covers my vision.
The world shifts. Hazy light comes and retreats, never the same, never bright enough to see nor dark enough to sleep. I am vaguely aware that they must be drugging me to suppress my magic, but that knowledge isn't enough to help me break free.
I try futilely to push those around me away, to reject whatever potions they are shoving down my throat, but whatever they are giving me, it leaves no strength in my body. As the haze continues to shift, only one hope keeps me going: I am not alone. Alex will surely be here soon.
When the haze brightens, it doesn't seem to be anything different. I wait for it to get darker again. When it doesn't, I squint, wondering what new trick this is.
"Cara?"
I try to say something, but my mouth doesn't want to do my bidding. All that comes out is a faint sort of moan.
A pair of arms wraps around my shoulders, lifting me. "It's ok," Alex whispers. "We did it. It's going to be fine, Cara."
As he carries me away from the hard, cold stone on which I have been resting for as long as I can remember, my blurry vision takes in something I never expected to see. Greni - a whole group of them - standing near us, talking to the people who are all around.
"We won?" I whisper, my throat as dry as sand paper.
Alex leans down and kisses my forehead. "We won," he whispers.
Two months later
Alex swings our hands together as we walk through the garden. Though it has been a month since the negotiations ended and the Greni moved back onto the land with us, it's still strange to see them here. I wave at Renii, the Greni who now lives next door to us. We've become good friends even in the short time we've known each other.
We don't stop for conversation, though. Alex and I keep walking, towards our new home. Many people wanted Alex to take control of the army of magic users he raised and rule the kingdom. Many wanted me to - as the one who finally killed the mad king, some almost worshipped me.
Neither of us ever wanted to rule, though. Alex handed over the reins to Jonathan, by far the best person for the job, and the two of us went home. It wasn't long before Alex and I decided to move in together. My father wasn't pleased, but he'll get used to the idea in the end.
Just before we reach the threshold, Alex scoops me up in his arms. I giggle as I am lifted into the air. When he looks at me, his gaze is full of love and confidence. "We'll never have abandon our home again," he says, pushing the door open with his foot.
I lean up to kiss him as I am carried into my new home. "Never."
The End
Friday 6 December 2013
Monday 2 December 2013
Abandoned - part 6
Hi! Thanks for visiting my blog :) This is part six of a little story I'm writing. For anyone who is new here, I would recommend you start at part one and work your way through. Happy reading!
I glance at Alex and I can see he's thinking the same thing as me: surely they aren't trying to kill us? If they wanted to, there are much quicker and easier ways. Still, I can't help dragging my feet a little as the Greni lead us deeper into the sea. It's up to my waist, now.
"Um, you do realise we don't have gills, right?" I say, trying to control the tremor in my voice.
"We will sustain you until your souls are tested," the male Greni says - I still don't know his name. "If you pass, we will escort you safely back to the surface. If you fail... then you will die in our underwater cities, rising only to go to the next world."
"What exactly do we need to - " Alex's question is cut off as he inhales a mouthful of water; it's up to our necks now, and rising fast as we move forward. I expect him to start choking, but to my surprise, he doesn't. As my head, too, dips beneath the waves, the Greni's hand in mine seems to become warmer and stronger. I try to hold my breath for as long as I can, but eventually I can't do it any more.
The Greni wasn't lying, though; I find the water swishing in and out of my lungs evenly, though I can feel no gills on my neck. It's almost like being above ground, except colder. I clutch the Greni's hand tighter, terrified of being trapped down here when my ability to breathe underwater is taken away.
Alex glances at me through the dark water, looking scared but determined.
Time seems to move differently down here. The Greni swim, but Alex and I don't seem to need to do anything other than keep our hold on our guide. As we get deeper, it gets colder. I wonder if the Greni have ever had humans down here before; I wonder if they know that we need warmth to survive.
It seems to take forever, but finally we reach what appears to be our destination. The Greni don't lead us to the underwater buildings, though, but to a cave set a little off to the side. The two others with us drift off, leaving Alex and me with the male holding our hands. He glides into the cave, propelling himself with only his feet, pulling us along in his wake.
"Here you will be tested," he says, and I am surprised that he is still understandable underwater; when Alex tries to ask a question, all that comes out is bubbles. Somehow, though, the Greni seems to understand.
"You do not do anything; the sacred cave will do the testing. You only need to survive it."
Before either of us can make noises of alarm, everything goes black.
I can't feel anything, not the cold water, nor the Greni's hand on mine. I can't see a thing; though it was dark in the cave to start with, at least there were a few shadows and glimpses of light. Then I feel something... the closest I've ever felt was when I had a terrible headache - as though some raging beast was in my head trying to get out. I try to scream, but I can't seem to locate my body. Images flash before my mind's eye and some of them look familiar - like memories - but it is too fast to tell for sure. I'm not sure if it lasts for seconds or hours before I can't take it any more and I fade into unconsciousness.
I wake up wet and shivering and colder than I've ever been in my life. Turning my head to the side - with great effort - I see Alex lying next to me, looking almost blue with cold.
"Alex?" I force myself up onto one elbow and shake his shoulder. "Can you hear me?"
"Cara?" He is shaking as he sits up, but definitely alive.
"We passed, then," I say. "Unless this is death."
We glance around at the familiar beach and Alex shakes his head slightly. Though neither of us knows what death looks like, we are both pretty sure this isn't it. I try to force myself up further, but Alex isn't even moving, his eyes closed.
"Alex, we need to - "
I stop abruptly as the most wonderful feeling swoops through me: warmth. I am suddenly dry and cosy as though I've just climbed out of bed. I stare at Alex, who is grinning at me. "Magic can be useful, you know," he says.
"You'll have to teach me how to do that," I mutter, standing and giving him a hand up.
"I guess that means we're to find a way to get the king to negotiate with the Greni," Alex says, staring towards the sea. "It won't be easy..."
My mind flicks back to the conversation we had before entering the water. "We'll have to move fast; if we don't, they may get impatient and abandon the idea of negotiations altogether. We don't need the kingdom swallowed while we're still working."
Alex is looking at me with a strange expression.
"What?" I ask.
He doesn't answer.
"What?" I ask again. "Spit it out, Alex."
Someone needs to go to the king," he say slowly. "He needs to be told of the situation and given a change to negotiate. If he refuses, though... we'll need an army; an army of people who can use magic to force him to step down. We don't have time to do both things together. We're going to need to split up."
I stare at him as the facts sink in. Somehow, I can't quite get myself to breathe.
To be continued
I glance at Alex and I can see he's thinking the same thing as me: surely they aren't trying to kill us? If they wanted to, there are much quicker and easier ways. Still, I can't help dragging my feet a little as the Greni lead us deeper into the sea. It's up to my waist, now.
"Um, you do realise we don't have gills, right?" I say, trying to control the tremor in my voice.
"We will sustain you until your souls are tested," the male Greni says - I still don't know his name. "If you pass, we will escort you safely back to the surface. If you fail... then you will die in our underwater cities, rising only to go to the next world."
"What exactly do we need to - " Alex's question is cut off as he inhales a mouthful of water; it's up to our necks now, and rising fast as we move forward. I expect him to start choking, but to my surprise, he doesn't. As my head, too, dips beneath the waves, the Greni's hand in mine seems to become warmer and stronger. I try to hold my breath for as long as I can, but eventually I can't do it any more.
The Greni wasn't lying, though; I find the water swishing in and out of my lungs evenly, though I can feel no gills on my neck. It's almost like being above ground, except colder. I clutch the Greni's hand tighter, terrified of being trapped down here when my ability to breathe underwater is taken away.
Alex glances at me through the dark water, looking scared but determined.
Time seems to move differently down here. The Greni swim, but Alex and I don't seem to need to do anything other than keep our hold on our guide. As we get deeper, it gets colder. I wonder if the Greni have ever had humans down here before; I wonder if they know that we need warmth to survive.
It seems to take forever, but finally we reach what appears to be our destination. The Greni don't lead us to the underwater buildings, though, but to a cave set a little off to the side. The two others with us drift off, leaving Alex and me with the male holding our hands. He glides into the cave, propelling himself with only his feet, pulling us along in his wake.
"Here you will be tested," he says, and I am surprised that he is still understandable underwater; when Alex tries to ask a question, all that comes out is bubbles. Somehow, though, the Greni seems to understand.
"You do not do anything; the sacred cave will do the testing. You only need to survive it."
Before either of us can make noises of alarm, everything goes black.
I can't feel anything, not the cold water, nor the Greni's hand on mine. I can't see a thing; though it was dark in the cave to start with, at least there were a few shadows and glimpses of light. Then I feel something... the closest I've ever felt was when I had a terrible headache - as though some raging beast was in my head trying to get out. I try to scream, but I can't seem to locate my body. Images flash before my mind's eye and some of them look familiar - like memories - but it is too fast to tell for sure. I'm not sure if it lasts for seconds or hours before I can't take it any more and I fade into unconsciousness.
I wake up wet and shivering and colder than I've ever been in my life. Turning my head to the side - with great effort - I see Alex lying next to me, looking almost blue with cold.
"Alex?" I force myself up onto one elbow and shake his shoulder. "Can you hear me?"
"Cara?" He is shaking as he sits up, but definitely alive.
"We passed, then," I say. "Unless this is death."
We glance around at the familiar beach and Alex shakes his head slightly. Though neither of us knows what death looks like, we are both pretty sure this isn't it. I try to force myself up further, but Alex isn't even moving, his eyes closed.
"Alex, we need to - "
I stop abruptly as the most wonderful feeling swoops through me: warmth. I am suddenly dry and cosy as though I've just climbed out of bed. I stare at Alex, who is grinning at me. "Magic can be useful, you know," he says.
"You'll have to teach me how to do that," I mutter, standing and giving him a hand up.
"I guess that means we're to find a way to get the king to negotiate with the Greni," Alex says, staring towards the sea. "It won't be easy..."
My mind flicks back to the conversation we had before entering the water. "We'll have to move fast; if we don't, they may get impatient and abandon the idea of negotiations altogether. We don't need the kingdom swallowed while we're still working."
Alex is looking at me with a strange expression.
"What?" I ask.
He doesn't answer.
"What?" I ask again. "Spit it out, Alex."
Someone needs to go to the king," he say slowly. "He needs to be told of the situation and given a change to negotiate. If he refuses, though... we'll need an army; an army of people who can use magic to force him to step down. We don't have time to do both things together. We're going to need to split up."
I stare at him as the facts sink in. Somehow, I can't quite get myself to breathe.
To be continued
Thursday 28 November 2013
Abandoned - part 5
Hi! Thanks for visiting my blog :) This is part five of a little story I'm writing. For anyone who is new here, I would recommend you start at part one and work your way through. Happy reading!
Alex and I are resigned to another long day of lugging wood into the ocean, attempting to make the Greni curious enough to talk to us. We expect to spend the whole day dragging wood to the beach and limp home digging out splinters, just as we did last night.
We don't expect to find the Greni waiting for us.
Yet waiting they are. At first, I don't even realise who they are. I don't know exactly what I expected, but I guess I thought the Greni would look noticeably different to us. At first, I think it's just a bunch of normal people gathered around the ocean's edge. Then, as we get closer, I start to see small differences.
The most obvious one is how they are dressed - or rather, not dressed. Ropes of what appears to be seaweed cover all the essential places, but so scantily that I still find myself blushing and averting my eyes. Alex's hand is tight on my arm as he realises, but I resist his tug as he tries to pull me back. This is what we wanted, after all - to talk to them.
The Greni wait patiently as we carefully edge towards them. There are three of them, two men and a woman. As Alex and I get closer, I see that they have gills, though their human breathing systems seem to work fine, too, as they show no discomfort at being above the water's surface.
We stop a couple of feet from them. None of us speaks for a second. At least they're not killing us on sight. I take a deep breath and break the silence.
"We wanted to talk to you," I say, trying to sound brave, but not entirely managing to hide the tremor in my voice. Alex squeezes my hand, steady and strong beside me.
"We guessed as much," says the taller of the male Greni.
They aren't attacking us, but they don't look very open or pleased to be speaking to us, either.
"We want to negotiate a truce," I say in a rush. "We know that the seas are rising and we know that all humans will die when they do. We've come to ask... please... isn't there another way? A way for us to live in peace?"
All three of them exchange glances which I can't read properly. Disgust seems to be one emotion in all of them, though.
"You come to us, now, human, when you are on the verge of extinction," the same Greni says, his voice hard and cold. "It is generations too late to make amends. If your kind truly wanted peace, you would have sought us out decades ago."
"That's not true!" Alex says loudly, and the female Greni hisses slightly. "Hardly any humans know of our past, or even know that you exist. I only found out a few weeks ago. Most go their whole lives without even knowing."
"That may be true for you two," the Greni says. "It may even be true for most of your species. It changes nothing. You two children are not the ones who can restore our lands to us. It is your leaders who know the history, who suppress it, and who do everything they can to make sure we stay in the sea where we were banished eons ago."
"Enjoy your last few weeks, humans," the woman says. The three of them start to glide back into the sea.
"Wait!" I shout, panicking. This may be our only chance to save our whole species. "Please, give us a chance! We'll talk to the leaders - we'll even take on leadership ourselves if we must. Just say we can negotiate."
The Greni pause reluctantly. The one who has been talking to us turns. "You are children. You couldn't wrest control of your land from your leaders, even if you did want to help us."
"We have magic," I say, breathless.
"We can raise an army," Alex adds. "If we need to take control, we will."
The Greni are now all fully facing us. "You would do all this to help us?"
"If that's what it takes to survive."
They exchange glances.
"Then come," the other male says, holding out his hand, which I see is slightly webbed. "Come to and have your souls tested. We will see if you really have it in you."
I exchange a glance with Alex, but we both sense that this is not the time to question. He takes one webbed hand and I take another.
We allow ourselves to be lead deeper into the sea.
To be continued
Alex and I are resigned to another long day of lugging wood into the ocean, attempting to make the Greni curious enough to talk to us. We expect to spend the whole day dragging wood to the beach and limp home digging out splinters, just as we did last night.
We don't expect to find the Greni waiting for us.
Yet waiting they are. At first, I don't even realise who they are. I don't know exactly what I expected, but I guess I thought the Greni would look noticeably different to us. At first, I think it's just a bunch of normal people gathered around the ocean's edge. Then, as we get closer, I start to see small differences.
The most obvious one is how they are dressed - or rather, not dressed. Ropes of what appears to be seaweed cover all the essential places, but so scantily that I still find myself blushing and averting my eyes. Alex's hand is tight on my arm as he realises, but I resist his tug as he tries to pull me back. This is what we wanted, after all - to talk to them.
The Greni wait patiently as we carefully edge towards them. There are three of them, two men and a woman. As Alex and I get closer, I see that they have gills, though their human breathing systems seem to work fine, too, as they show no discomfort at being above the water's surface.
We stop a couple of feet from them. None of us speaks for a second. At least they're not killing us on sight. I take a deep breath and break the silence.
"We wanted to talk to you," I say, trying to sound brave, but not entirely managing to hide the tremor in my voice. Alex squeezes my hand, steady and strong beside me.
"We guessed as much," says the taller of the male Greni.
They aren't attacking us, but they don't look very open or pleased to be speaking to us, either.
"We want to negotiate a truce," I say in a rush. "We know that the seas are rising and we know that all humans will die when they do. We've come to ask... please... isn't there another way? A way for us to live in peace?"
All three of them exchange glances which I can't read properly. Disgust seems to be one emotion in all of them, though.
"You come to us, now, human, when you are on the verge of extinction," the same Greni says, his voice hard and cold. "It is generations too late to make amends. If your kind truly wanted peace, you would have sought us out decades ago."
"That's not true!" Alex says loudly, and the female Greni hisses slightly. "Hardly any humans know of our past, or even know that you exist. I only found out a few weeks ago. Most go their whole lives without even knowing."
"That may be true for you two," the Greni says. "It may even be true for most of your species. It changes nothing. You two children are not the ones who can restore our lands to us. It is your leaders who know the history, who suppress it, and who do everything they can to make sure we stay in the sea where we were banished eons ago."
"Enjoy your last few weeks, humans," the woman says. The three of them start to glide back into the sea.
"Wait!" I shout, panicking. This may be our only chance to save our whole species. "Please, give us a chance! We'll talk to the leaders - we'll even take on leadership ourselves if we must. Just say we can negotiate."
The Greni pause reluctantly. The one who has been talking to us turns. "You are children. You couldn't wrest control of your land from your leaders, even if you did want to help us."
"We have magic," I say, breathless.
"We can raise an army," Alex adds. "If we need to take control, we will."
The Greni are now all fully facing us. "You would do all this to help us?"
"If that's what it takes to survive."
They exchange glances.
"Then come," the other male says, holding out his hand, which I see is slightly webbed. "Come to and have your souls tested. We will see if you really have it in you."
I exchange a glance with Alex, but we both sense that this is not the time to question. He takes one webbed hand and I take another.
We allow ourselves to be lead deeper into the sea.
To be continued
Wednesday 20 November 2013
Abandoned - part 4
Hi! Thanks for visiting my blog :) This is part four of a little story I'm writing. For anyone who is new here, I would recommend you start at part one and work your way through. Happy reading!
"What happened to you?" I whisper, watching Alex's face in horror. The face that is usually so filled with hope and determination has fallen into lines of sadness and acceptance.
"What do you mean?"
"You know what I mean! The Alex I know would never go and hide in a cave, trying to postpone the inevitable while the rest of the kingdom perished - the Alex I know would be searching for a solution, not giving up!"
"It's not that simple, Cara," he says softly.
"Explain, then."
"Magic... the magic we have..." He hesitates, as though it is costing him a lot to say this. "Humans didn't used to have magic. Magic is in the land itself. When we forced the Greni from the land to the sea, we started to be able to use some of the magic of the land. The land doesn't appreciate being stolen, though, and remains loyal to the Greni. They now have the powers of the sea and land, while we have only a fraction of what the land offers them. We can use it to defend ourselves, but any attack on the Greni is impossible. Believe me, we've tried."
"What do you mean?"
"Our powers simply don't work against them."
"But - but there must be another way out! We can't just give up."
"For the past few weeks, all I've been doing is trying to think of a way out, but Cara, there isn't one. I don't agree that we should be punished for the crimes of our ancestors, but nature will not let this stand for much longer. The crimes of the human race are going to be washed away when the seas rise, and the Greni will have back what we took from them."
"The ancient wrongs must be righted," I say slowly.
"Yes." Alex's head is bowed in resignation, but my mind is buzzing.
"That's not the end," I say. "There is more than one way to right a wrong, and not all of them include death. What if we talked to the Greni? Maybe we could - I don't know - work something out."
Alex looks at me as though I have lost my mind. "Cara, we hunted and slaughtered their species! Do you really think they're going to want to talk to us?"
That brings me up short. He's right - they'll probably kill us on sight.
"Then we have to make them curious," I say. "Curious enough to at least talk to us."
"How are we going to do that?"
I glance up at Alex and see what I have been looking for - a spark in his eyes. His hope gives me an idea.
"Cara, this is the dumbest idea you've ever had."
"Well, if you have a better one, I'm all ears!"
Alex just shakes his head angrily, shifting the load on his shoulder. "How do you know they're even watching? Even if they are, they'll probably just drag us under the ocean as soon as we get close enough."
I ignore his pessimism, focusing on not getting splinters. It took a couple of hours to demolish just one of the abandoned houses in our town. Hopefully, we won't have to do many more before the Greni finally pay attention to us.
Alex and I walk down the beach, approaching the ocean cautiously. I don't see anything beneath the foam, but then, if there was, I'd likely only see it at the last moment. I dump the load of planks into the sea, pushing them just a little so that the waves carry them out. Alex follows suit, then takes my elbow and steers me quickly away.
We keep going like this, throwing all remains of human inhabitation into the sea to be washed away. Hardly anyone even knows about what we did to the Greni, let alone shows remorse for it, or tries to make up for it in even the smallest way. We're hoping that this intrigues them enough to talk to us, to let us explain.
The hours before darkness drag slowly. Finally, Alex and I are forced to concede defeat for the day and go gratefully to his house to sleep and rest our aching muscles.
"It'll take them a while to locate the source of all the wood," he says, rubbing his aching shoulders. He seems to have warmed to the plan over the day.
"You're right," I encourage, putting my hands on his stiff muscles and rubbing. "They'll find us sooner or later."
Alex shivers slightly, though it isn't cold. "And when they do..."
Neither of us says anything to this. When they do, we will be at their mercy.
To be continued
"What happened to you?" I whisper, watching Alex's face in horror. The face that is usually so filled with hope and determination has fallen into lines of sadness and acceptance.
"What do you mean?"
"You know what I mean! The Alex I know would never go and hide in a cave, trying to postpone the inevitable while the rest of the kingdom perished - the Alex I know would be searching for a solution, not giving up!"
"It's not that simple, Cara," he says softly.
"Explain, then."
"Magic... the magic we have..." He hesitates, as though it is costing him a lot to say this. "Humans didn't used to have magic. Magic is in the land itself. When we forced the Greni from the land to the sea, we started to be able to use some of the magic of the land. The land doesn't appreciate being stolen, though, and remains loyal to the Greni. They now have the powers of the sea and land, while we have only a fraction of what the land offers them. We can use it to defend ourselves, but any attack on the Greni is impossible. Believe me, we've tried."
"What do you mean?"
"Our powers simply don't work against them."
"But - but there must be another way out! We can't just give up."
"For the past few weeks, all I've been doing is trying to think of a way out, but Cara, there isn't one. I don't agree that we should be punished for the crimes of our ancestors, but nature will not let this stand for much longer. The crimes of the human race are going to be washed away when the seas rise, and the Greni will have back what we took from them."
"The ancient wrongs must be righted," I say slowly.
"Yes." Alex's head is bowed in resignation, but my mind is buzzing.
"That's not the end," I say. "There is more than one way to right a wrong, and not all of them include death. What if we talked to the Greni? Maybe we could - I don't know - work something out."
Alex looks at me as though I have lost my mind. "Cara, we hunted and slaughtered their species! Do you really think they're going to want to talk to us?"
That brings me up short. He's right - they'll probably kill us on sight.
"Then we have to make them curious," I say. "Curious enough to at least talk to us."
"How are we going to do that?"
I glance up at Alex and see what I have been looking for - a spark in his eyes. His hope gives me an idea.
"Cara, this is the dumbest idea you've ever had."
"Well, if you have a better one, I'm all ears!"
Alex just shakes his head angrily, shifting the load on his shoulder. "How do you know they're even watching? Even if they are, they'll probably just drag us under the ocean as soon as we get close enough."
I ignore his pessimism, focusing on not getting splinters. It took a couple of hours to demolish just one of the abandoned houses in our town. Hopefully, we won't have to do many more before the Greni finally pay attention to us.
Alex and I walk down the beach, approaching the ocean cautiously. I don't see anything beneath the foam, but then, if there was, I'd likely only see it at the last moment. I dump the load of planks into the sea, pushing them just a little so that the waves carry them out. Alex follows suit, then takes my elbow and steers me quickly away.
We keep going like this, throwing all remains of human inhabitation into the sea to be washed away. Hardly anyone even knows about what we did to the Greni, let alone shows remorse for it, or tries to make up for it in even the smallest way. We're hoping that this intrigues them enough to talk to us, to let us explain.
The hours before darkness drag slowly. Finally, Alex and I are forced to concede defeat for the day and go gratefully to his house to sleep and rest our aching muscles.
"It'll take them a while to locate the source of all the wood," he says, rubbing his aching shoulders. He seems to have warmed to the plan over the day.
"You're right," I encourage, putting my hands on his stiff muscles and rubbing. "They'll find us sooner or later."
Alex shivers slightly, though it isn't cold. "And when they do..."
Neither of us says anything to this. When they do, we will be at their mercy.
To be continued
Sunday 10 November 2013
Abandoned - part 3
Hi! Thanks for visiting my blog :) This is part three of a little story I'm writing. For anyone who is new here, I would recommend you start at part one and work your way through. Happy reading!
Exhausted by the stress of the past few weeks, I end up sleeping in until well past noon. When I wake up I know a moment of panic before the memories of last night come rushing back. Sure enough, Alex is lying beside me as though he never left.
His eyes are open and he's staring at me.
"Cut that out," I mutter, too happy to put much energy into the reprimand. "You know I don't like it when you watch me sleep."
"Not like you can tell," he teases.
I want to put on a stern look, but what comes out is a giddy smile; I am so happy that Alex is back, nothing can dampen my mood today.
Alex looks at me for a second more before sighing regretfully. "We should get going."
I ignore him and lean forward to give him a kiss. He responds eagerly, but after a few seconds, forces himself to pull back. "Cara, not now. I let you sleep - I knew you needed it, the state you were in - but we need to go now."
"Go where?"
"I haven't told you everything."
Something about his tone makes me shiver.
"You told me that we both have magic, what more can there be to tell?" I ask, finding it hard to imagine what news could be more shocking than that, to make Alex look so solemn.
"Remember I told you you'd need your magic to defend yourself? Well, that's not just defence against normal dangers in life. There's much more to it."
"Ok, then tell me," I say, still unable to summon up fear, or any feeling other than bubbly happiness.
"Not here," Alex says with a strangely closed off expression that I have never seen on his face before.
"Alex, the town is deserted," I point out. "No one is going to hear you."
"The wind could carry our words to them," he says softly. "The wind is their servant; we are not safe out in the open."
"What are you - ?"
"Please, Cara, come with me and I'll explain everything."
Though bemused, I get up to follow him. Alex leads me through the ghost town, towards the sheer mountains that our village is pressed up against. He is quiet - afraid, apparently, of the wind carrying our words away. Being new to this whole magic thing, I don't really feel qualified to tell him he's being paranoid, no matter how crazy it sounds.
We get to the mountains and begin to climb. Soon, we are too out of breath to talk except for brief instructions such as "don't put your feet there" and "careful, the rock is crumbling here". We climb for what seems like hours, but Alex shows no sign of stopping.
I am about to ask him if we can take a break at the next ledge we come across when he disappears.
Before I can panic, his hand reappears out of the rock, reaching for mine. I grab it and Alex helps pull me into a cave. It is less a cave than a small crevice in the rock, just big enough for two people to sit in. I sit close to him, feeling the stone leaching the heat out of my body.
"We'll be safe in here," he says.
"How do you know?"
"This place was protected by magic. I don't know when or how, but I could sense it the first time I found it. You'll be able to do the same, once you know how to use your magic properly."
I am already shivering slightly and Alex puts his arm around me. I lean my head against his shoulder while he talks.
"You know the seas are rising - everyone knows that. Every year, they rise and fall again. You know that once people move out of the towns near the sea, they never come back; it would only mean having to leave and rebuild the next year. There isn't enough space in the kingdom, though, so some always come.
"What not many people don't know is that this year it is different. The seas are rising, and they aren't going to fall again. Our whole town will be swallowed and the rest of the kingdom will follow."
"How do you know this?" I whisper, dread unfolding in my stomach. Alex wouldn't say anything like this unless he was sure.
"A man named Yaren told me. He died a couple of weeks later - killed by the enemy - but not before he told me everything and took my oath of silence. He taught me enough about magic that I've been able to continue learning on my own. He could sense when my magic was near to coming out - like I could with you - so he watched me until it happened, ready to act.
"What you need to know is that this wasn't always our kingdom. There are a people - the Greni, we call them - who used to live here. Then humans came and stole their land, forced them into the sea. For generations, the Greni have been building up their strength and now when they force the seas to rise, the patterns of nature will not be able to bring them back down. They Greni will have their land back and drown us all in the process.
"They are creatures of water, and air is their ally. Our best weapons are earth and fire - this cave, covered on all sides with earth and stone, is a safe place; that's probably why someone chose it to protect in the first place. Fire will help keep them away, but not indefinitely.
"Tomorrow, we'll leave. We'll go to the Runu Mountains - you know those are the highest in the kingdom. We'll find a cave near the top. The waters will reach there last. That should give us as much time as we're going to get."
"Wait, wait," I say, holding up my hands. "We can't just go running to the mountains. We need to plan! We need to drive these Greni back. How can we stop them?"
Alex looks at me, a deep sadness in his eyes. "There's no way to stop them, Cara. It may take months or years, but eventually, we are all doomed."
To be continued
Exhausted by the stress of the past few weeks, I end up sleeping in until well past noon. When I wake up I know a moment of panic before the memories of last night come rushing back. Sure enough, Alex is lying beside me as though he never left.
His eyes are open and he's staring at me.
"Cut that out," I mutter, too happy to put much energy into the reprimand. "You know I don't like it when you watch me sleep."
"Not like you can tell," he teases.
I want to put on a stern look, but what comes out is a giddy smile; I am so happy that Alex is back, nothing can dampen my mood today.
Alex looks at me for a second more before sighing regretfully. "We should get going."
I ignore him and lean forward to give him a kiss. He responds eagerly, but after a few seconds, forces himself to pull back. "Cara, not now. I let you sleep - I knew you needed it, the state you were in - but we need to go now."
"Go where?"
"I haven't told you everything."
Something about his tone makes me shiver.
"You told me that we both have magic, what more can there be to tell?" I ask, finding it hard to imagine what news could be more shocking than that, to make Alex look so solemn.
"Remember I told you you'd need your magic to defend yourself? Well, that's not just defence against normal dangers in life. There's much more to it."
"Ok, then tell me," I say, still unable to summon up fear, or any feeling other than bubbly happiness.
"Not here," Alex says with a strangely closed off expression that I have never seen on his face before.
"Alex, the town is deserted," I point out. "No one is going to hear you."
"The wind could carry our words to them," he says softly. "The wind is their servant; we are not safe out in the open."
"What are you - ?"
"Please, Cara, come with me and I'll explain everything."
Though bemused, I get up to follow him. Alex leads me through the ghost town, towards the sheer mountains that our village is pressed up against. He is quiet - afraid, apparently, of the wind carrying our words away. Being new to this whole magic thing, I don't really feel qualified to tell him he's being paranoid, no matter how crazy it sounds.
We get to the mountains and begin to climb. Soon, we are too out of breath to talk except for brief instructions such as "don't put your feet there" and "careful, the rock is crumbling here". We climb for what seems like hours, but Alex shows no sign of stopping.
I am about to ask him if we can take a break at the next ledge we come across when he disappears.
Before I can panic, his hand reappears out of the rock, reaching for mine. I grab it and Alex helps pull me into a cave. It is less a cave than a small crevice in the rock, just big enough for two people to sit in. I sit close to him, feeling the stone leaching the heat out of my body.
"We'll be safe in here," he says.
"How do you know?"
"This place was protected by magic. I don't know when or how, but I could sense it the first time I found it. You'll be able to do the same, once you know how to use your magic properly."
I am already shivering slightly and Alex puts his arm around me. I lean my head against his shoulder while he talks.
"You know the seas are rising - everyone knows that. Every year, they rise and fall again. You know that once people move out of the towns near the sea, they never come back; it would only mean having to leave and rebuild the next year. There isn't enough space in the kingdom, though, so some always come.
"What not many people don't know is that this year it is different. The seas are rising, and they aren't going to fall again. Our whole town will be swallowed and the rest of the kingdom will follow."
"How do you know this?" I whisper, dread unfolding in my stomach. Alex wouldn't say anything like this unless he was sure.
"A man named Yaren told me. He died a couple of weeks later - killed by the enemy - but not before he told me everything and took my oath of silence. He taught me enough about magic that I've been able to continue learning on my own. He could sense when my magic was near to coming out - like I could with you - so he watched me until it happened, ready to act.
"What you need to know is that this wasn't always our kingdom. There are a people - the Greni, we call them - who used to live here. Then humans came and stole their land, forced them into the sea. For generations, the Greni have been building up their strength and now when they force the seas to rise, the patterns of nature will not be able to bring them back down. They Greni will have their land back and drown us all in the process.
"They are creatures of water, and air is their ally. Our best weapons are earth and fire - this cave, covered on all sides with earth and stone, is a safe place; that's probably why someone chose it to protect in the first place. Fire will help keep them away, but not indefinitely.
"Tomorrow, we'll leave. We'll go to the Runu Mountains - you know those are the highest in the kingdom. We'll find a cave near the top. The waters will reach there last. That should give us as much time as we're going to get."
"Wait, wait," I say, holding up my hands. "We can't just go running to the mountains. We need to plan! We need to drive these Greni back. How can we stop them?"
Alex looks at me, a deep sadness in his eyes. "There's no way to stop them, Cara. It may take months or years, but eventually, we are all doomed."
To be continued
Wednesday 6 November 2013
Abandoned - part 2
Hi! Thanks for visiting my blog :) This is part two of a little story I'm writing. For anyone who is new here, I would recommend you start at part one and work your way through. Happy reading!
I sit in the water barrel for hours, too uncomfortable to fall asleep, too scared to move. I imagine I can hear voices. My father is surely searching the town, trying to force me to leave whether I want to or not. I can't let him take me. If he drags me away now, I'll never be able to come back, and any chance I have of finding Alex will be gone.
I wonder how long the village elders will allow him to search before forcing him to leave with them. After all, it's not safe here - that's why we're leaving. I'll just have to find Alex fast, then we can both get out of here before the seas rise and swallow our village whole.
Finally, when I can see through the small cracks in the barrel that darkness has fallen, I decide it's safe to get out. My muscles protest at being cramped in a tight ball for hours and I stretch as soon as I am out, trying to work some feeling back into my limbs.
"Right, let's go," I mutter to myself. Even as I make plans to search for Alex, though, I realise that it's stupid. It's dark. I'll never find him now. What I need is a good night's rest and a fresh start tomorrow.
I start to make my way home in the dark. My father packed up most of our possessions, but the bed will still be there, and with luck, a spare blanket.
I never make it home, though. Without any conscious direction from me, my feet take me along a different path, towards Alex's house. I let them. It's been weeks since I saw him, weeks since he mysteriously disappeared in the middle of the night. Maybe being in his house will make me feel closer to him and ease some of the terrible loneliness that has haunted me since he disappeared.
I let myself in with the key I've had for years, making my way to his room by feel in the dark. When I step inside, I immediately know something is wrong. I flatten myself against the wall, trying to see in the pitch darkness. The town is abandoned. There should be no one except me here. Then why do I sense so clearly that there is someone else in the room?
"Cara?"
I close my eyes, suppressing a groan. I was in that barrel too long. I'm exhausted and probably dehydrated, and now my mind is giving me exactly what I want to hear: Alex's voice.
I don't reply, but flop down onto the bed, knowing that sleep is the only thing that will set my head straight.
I bump into a warm body.
I yell in shock and a light flares up. In the split second it is there, I stare at the flame dancing on my palm, lighting up the room but not burning me. Then it goes out... but not before I see who it is I bumped into.
"Alex?" I gasp. I feel him leaning away and light fills the room as he turns up the lamp.
"Cara," he says, smiling broadly, reaching for me.
I fling myself into his arms, hugging him so tightly that my arms hurt.
"I'm sorry, I'm so sorry," he murmurs over and over again in my ear. He kisses my forehead and pulls me down on the bed next to him, holding me close.
"What happened?" I ask, staring avidly at him, afraid he will disappear again if I look away.
"I had to," he says sadly. "Magic can only be brought forth when you experience that which you fear most."
"What?" I say blankly. "What are you talking about?"
"Didn't you see how light appeared in your hands?" he asks gently. "You don't know how to control it yet, but you will. I knew you'd need your magic to defend yourself, but that was never going to happen while I was around. I had to leave, to force your magic to show itself."
"Magic?" I whisper. "I don't have magic..."
"Yes, you do. We both do."
"You too?"
"Yes," he says. "You remember when you fell and knocked your head?"
I nod. "I was asleep for days. The healer thought I may never wake up."
"She was almost right. You woke up because the magic awoke inside me and allowed me to heal you."
I don't say anything. It's way too much to take in.
"I know it's a lot," Alex says gently. "You'll be ok, though. I'll help you. You're not alone, Cara."
"I know," I say, snuggling into him. "Even when you were gone, I knew you'd never leave me."
"As I knew you'd never abandon me. We should get some sleep. Tomorrow, I'll explain everything."
"Ok," I mumble. Already, my eyes are drooping. After not having slept properly for weeks - since Alex disappeared - exhaustion overcomes me. I think I hear him whisper something in my ear, but I am already asleep.
To be continued
I sit in the water barrel for hours, too uncomfortable to fall asleep, too scared to move. I imagine I can hear voices. My father is surely searching the town, trying to force me to leave whether I want to or not. I can't let him take me. If he drags me away now, I'll never be able to come back, and any chance I have of finding Alex will be gone.
I wonder how long the village elders will allow him to search before forcing him to leave with them. After all, it's not safe here - that's why we're leaving. I'll just have to find Alex fast, then we can both get out of here before the seas rise and swallow our village whole.
Finally, when I can see through the small cracks in the barrel that darkness has fallen, I decide it's safe to get out. My muscles protest at being cramped in a tight ball for hours and I stretch as soon as I am out, trying to work some feeling back into my limbs.
"Right, let's go," I mutter to myself. Even as I make plans to search for Alex, though, I realise that it's stupid. It's dark. I'll never find him now. What I need is a good night's rest and a fresh start tomorrow.
I start to make my way home in the dark. My father packed up most of our possessions, but the bed will still be there, and with luck, a spare blanket.
I never make it home, though. Without any conscious direction from me, my feet take me along a different path, towards Alex's house. I let them. It's been weeks since I saw him, weeks since he mysteriously disappeared in the middle of the night. Maybe being in his house will make me feel closer to him and ease some of the terrible loneliness that has haunted me since he disappeared.
I let myself in with the key I've had for years, making my way to his room by feel in the dark. When I step inside, I immediately know something is wrong. I flatten myself against the wall, trying to see in the pitch darkness. The town is abandoned. There should be no one except me here. Then why do I sense so clearly that there is someone else in the room?
"Cara?"
I close my eyes, suppressing a groan. I was in that barrel too long. I'm exhausted and probably dehydrated, and now my mind is giving me exactly what I want to hear: Alex's voice.
I don't reply, but flop down onto the bed, knowing that sleep is the only thing that will set my head straight.
I bump into a warm body.
I yell in shock and a light flares up. In the split second it is there, I stare at the flame dancing on my palm, lighting up the room but not burning me. Then it goes out... but not before I see who it is I bumped into.
"Alex?" I gasp. I feel him leaning away and light fills the room as he turns up the lamp.
"Cara," he says, smiling broadly, reaching for me.
I fling myself into his arms, hugging him so tightly that my arms hurt.
"I'm sorry, I'm so sorry," he murmurs over and over again in my ear. He kisses my forehead and pulls me down on the bed next to him, holding me close.
"What happened?" I ask, staring avidly at him, afraid he will disappear again if I look away.
"I had to," he says sadly. "Magic can only be brought forth when you experience that which you fear most."
"What?" I say blankly. "What are you talking about?"
"Didn't you see how light appeared in your hands?" he asks gently. "You don't know how to control it yet, but you will. I knew you'd need your magic to defend yourself, but that was never going to happen while I was around. I had to leave, to force your magic to show itself."
"Magic?" I whisper. "I don't have magic..."
"Yes, you do. We both do."
"You too?"
"Yes," he says. "You remember when you fell and knocked your head?"
I nod. "I was asleep for days. The healer thought I may never wake up."
"She was almost right. You woke up because the magic awoke inside me and allowed me to heal you."
I don't say anything. It's way too much to take in.
"I know it's a lot," Alex says gently. "You'll be ok, though. I'll help you. You're not alone, Cara."
"I know," I say, snuggling into him. "Even when you were gone, I knew you'd never leave me."
"As I knew you'd never abandon me. We should get some sleep. Tomorrow, I'll explain everything."
"Ok," I mumble. Already, my eyes are drooping. After not having slept properly for weeks - since Alex disappeared - exhaustion overcomes me. I think I hear him whisper something in my ear, but I am already asleep.
To be continued
Saturday 2 November 2013
Abandoned - part 1
"It's time to go."
"I've changed my mind. I'm not going."
My father sighs exasperatedly. "Cara, we've been through this a million times. He's not coming back. He dropped off the face of the planet and left you here without so much as a note. You're never going to see him again."
I shake my head, trying to shake his words out. All of the logical reasons for leaving threaten once again to smother the overwhelming certainty I feel: Alex is not gone.
"I know it doesn't make any sense," I say. "Believe me, I know. All the evidence is in your favour, but... I know Alex wouldn't just leave me like that. He wouldn't."
"Well he did," my father says bluntly, but I barely hear him; the memory I have been over too many times to count wells up in my mind again. It happened only a few days before Alex left - less than three weeks ago - but if feels like forever.
I roll over on the bed so that I am facing him. "I was worried today," I say lightly, tracing his face with my hand. "When you were late; I thought something had happened."
Alex chuckles. "It'll take more than a broken down carriage to stop me from getting to you."
He must see from my face, though, that I am still upset.
He puts his hand under my chin and leans forward, kissing me ever so gently on the lips. "I'll never leave you, Cara. I love you, forever. I promise."
"I love you, too," I whisper. Alex wraps his arms around me, holding me close...
With a start, I come back to reality. My father's face is red and I can see him trying to suppress his irritation with difficulty. I suppose I can't blame him; I've been changing my mind on and off for the past three weeks.
"Look, Cara, we can discuss this on the way," he says, gesturing to the carriage.
I shake my head. "I can't go. Alex needs me."
"Cara, listen to yourself! We've been through this already, remember? You spent weeks looking for any evidence that Alex was kidnapped, or in some other way taken against his will, but there was none. There was no sign of a struggle, his things were packed... he's gone. He made the decision to go by himself and he never looked back. I know that you two were close, but now you just need to get over - "
I turn abruptly and stalk away. I can't listen to this, can't let him wear down my certainty yet again. This time, if I give in, there is no going back. The carriage is packed and we're ready to move to the other side of the kingdom. If I leave now, I really will never see Alex again.
He strides angrily after me. "Look, I know you have issues with this, Cara - it's been hard on both of us since your mother left like that. It's been difficult for me, too, bringing you up on my own..."
Though it is childish, I put both hands over my ears. I can't let him make me feel guilty; that will be the end, he will have won.
"You go!" I shout. "You may all have abandoned Alex, but I won't!"
"You can't stay here," my dad says in a voice of forced calm. "The seas are rising - soon this whole village will be swallowed. Why do you think we are moving?"
"I'm sorry, but I can't come with you," I say. "I love you, dad. I will try to find you again someday; Alex and I both will."
"Cara, I can't allow you to do this."
He reaches out to grab my arm. Though years of hard labour have given me strength enough, I am no match for my dad. I know that if he gets a hold of me, he'll force me to leave, even if he has to keep me tied up for the entire journey.
"No!" I shout, making to push him away. What happens next is over so fast I hardly see it happen. I don't touch my dad, but he flies back as though he has been hit by a rampaging buffalo. He hits the ground, hard, winded.
I stare at my own hands, appalled. What did I do?
Before he can get back to his feet, I turn and run, back into the abandoned town, back to the ghost city. Tears splash down my face, but I ignore them. All I need is to hide until they leave; then I will be free to find Alex... however I am going to do that.
A few minutes later, I find myself squashed into a broken water barrel behind Mrs Smith's yard, watching the colour of the sky through a crack in the wood, trying to judge how long I must wait. My dad will look for me, but he can't wait forever. The village elders will insist he leave and save himself, forcing him if they have to.
I close my eyes, trying to stop the stupid, stupid tears.
"I'll never abandon you, Alex," I whisper.
To be continued
"I've changed my mind. I'm not going."
My father sighs exasperatedly. "Cara, we've been through this a million times. He's not coming back. He dropped off the face of the planet and left you here without so much as a note. You're never going to see him again."
I shake my head, trying to shake his words out. All of the logical reasons for leaving threaten once again to smother the overwhelming certainty I feel: Alex is not gone.
"I know it doesn't make any sense," I say. "Believe me, I know. All the evidence is in your favour, but... I know Alex wouldn't just leave me like that. He wouldn't."
"Well he did," my father says bluntly, but I barely hear him; the memory I have been over too many times to count wells up in my mind again. It happened only a few days before Alex left - less than three weeks ago - but if feels like forever.
I roll over on the bed so that I am facing him. "I was worried today," I say lightly, tracing his face with my hand. "When you were late; I thought something had happened."
Alex chuckles. "It'll take more than a broken down carriage to stop me from getting to you."
He must see from my face, though, that I am still upset.
He puts his hand under my chin and leans forward, kissing me ever so gently on the lips. "I'll never leave you, Cara. I love you, forever. I promise."
"I love you, too," I whisper. Alex wraps his arms around me, holding me close...
With a start, I come back to reality. My father's face is red and I can see him trying to suppress his irritation with difficulty. I suppose I can't blame him; I've been changing my mind on and off for the past three weeks.
"Look, Cara, we can discuss this on the way," he says, gesturing to the carriage.
I shake my head. "I can't go. Alex needs me."
"Cara, listen to yourself! We've been through this already, remember? You spent weeks looking for any evidence that Alex was kidnapped, or in some other way taken against his will, but there was none. There was no sign of a struggle, his things were packed... he's gone. He made the decision to go by himself and he never looked back. I know that you two were close, but now you just need to get over - "
I turn abruptly and stalk away. I can't listen to this, can't let him wear down my certainty yet again. This time, if I give in, there is no going back. The carriage is packed and we're ready to move to the other side of the kingdom. If I leave now, I really will never see Alex again.
He strides angrily after me. "Look, I know you have issues with this, Cara - it's been hard on both of us since your mother left like that. It's been difficult for me, too, bringing you up on my own..."
Though it is childish, I put both hands over my ears. I can't let him make me feel guilty; that will be the end, he will have won.
"You go!" I shout. "You may all have abandoned Alex, but I won't!"
"You can't stay here," my dad says in a voice of forced calm. "The seas are rising - soon this whole village will be swallowed. Why do you think we are moving?"
"I'm sorry, but I can't come with you," I say. "I love you, dad. I will try to find you again someday; Alex and I both will."
"Cara, I can't allow you to do this."
He reaches out to grab my arm. Though years of hard labour have given me strength enough, I am no match for my dad. I know that if he gets a hold of me, he'll force me to leave, even if he has to keep me tied up for the entire journey.
"No!" I shout, making to push him away. What happens next is over so fast I hardly see it happen. I don't touch my dad, but he flies back as though he has been hit by a rampaging buffalo. He hits the ground, hard, winded.
I stare at my own hands, appalled. What did I do?
Before he can get back to his feet, I turn and run, back into the abandoned town, back to the ghost city. Tears splash down my face, but I ignore them. All I need is to hide until they leave; then I will be free to find Alex... however I am going to do that.
A few minutes later, I find myself squashed into a broken water barrel behind Mrs Smith's yard, watching the colour of the sky through a crack in the wood, trying to judge how long I must wait. My dad will look for me, but he can't wait forever. The village elders will insist he leave and save himself, forcing him if they have to.
I close my eyes, trying to stop the stupid, stupid tears.
"I'll never abandon you, Alex," I whisper.
To be continued
Tuesday 29 October 2013
Ghosts - part 7 - final part
Hi! Thanks for visiting my blog :) This is part seven (final part) of a little story I'm writing. For anyone who is new here, I would recommend you start at part one and work your way through. Happy reading!
It doesn't take long to get moving once I persuade Peter. Unfortunately, persuading him takes many hours, so by the time we are riding out, the sun is only a few hours away from setting.
"But what are you going to do?" he asks for the millionth time. "Yes, I'm sure we'll be able to find the joining place - from the map it doesn't look too hard to miss - but what are you going to do when we get there?"
"We need to find a way to join the world of the ghosts to the world of the dead," I say patiently. "Once they aren't trapped anymore, they won't need to force us to do anything, and we'll be safe from them."
"I know, Belle, but you have no idea how to join the worlds!"
"I'll make a plan," I say vaguely, glancing over my shoulder. I have the strangest feeling that someone is following us. Of course, this is just a feeling - we told no one we were going and made straight for the woods. We are totally hidden in the trees.
"You don't know what you're doing," Peter hisses.
"I've got to try, though. What else did you expect me to do?"
"I expected you to show a modicum of sense and let me handle this," Peter says angrily.
"Why did you agree to come, then?" I say, firing up. "Surely you want this to be over, too?"
"Not if it means you trying to do something so dangerous that nobody has even considered it before! You know why I agreed to come."
My insides squirm guiltily. Ok, telling Peter I was going whether or not he came with me may have been a bit low... but how else was I supposed to get him to agree? I can't let him live his whole life in bondage to the ghosts just so that I can be free...
Orisi is a week's journey away, and it is not a pleasant week. It would have been bad enough with Peter trying to persuade me to turn back at every waking moment, but the ghosts are not happy, either. They know where we are going, but don't seem to think we are a threat. Still, that doesn't stop them making Peter kill more and more people as we go. After one night of watching them torture him into agreeing yet again, I am offering to go myself if only they will stop hurting him. From then on, Peter goes without a word of protest, though I can see how much it costs him to do it.
Through the whole journey, I am jumpy, unable to shake the feeling that we are being followed. Peter and I stick to forests and uninhabited land as much as we can, not wanting trouble from anyone. At night, I sometimes think I can hear someone near our camp, but whenever I get up to look, there is no one there.
Finally, after a week of travelling, we are on the outskirts of Orisi - the joining lands, where the boundaries between the worlds are weakest. I sit by the fire, eating in silence, being glad of the silence while it lasts. Tomorrow, we'll enter the joining lands and find what we will.
Peter opens him mouth and I brace myself for yet more attempts to dissuade me from what I am going to try do.
"Belle?"
I glance up, cautiously straightening my body from its protective huddle.
"You really intend to do this, don't you?"
"Yes, Peter," I say wearily. Honestly, how many times will I have to tell him?
"I haven't been very supportive, have I?"
I laugh at this. "Not particularly."
"I'm sorry."
I shrug.
Peter gets up and comes to sit next to me. I automatically lean my head against his shoulder and sigh, realising just how much Peter's arguments have worn me down.
"We'll go in tomorrow and do whatever we can," I say. "Then we'll leave and go home. Everything will be fine."
"If only I could believe that."
I don't answer. I doubt I'll be able to convince Peter, seeing as I'm not fully convinced myself. I glance around, still trying to shake the feeling that there is someone watching, but as ever, no one is there.
Peter and I sit in silence, watching the flames of our campfire. Finally, he says that we should get some rest. For the first time, he pulls his bedroll over to mine, so that we are lying side by side.
"Belle, whatever happens tomorrow - "
"We'll be fine," I say quickly. "We'll be just fine, you'll see."
"But if - "
"Peter, don't. We are not going to say goodbye. We're both going to come out of this, you'll - "
Then I can't speak anymore because his lips are covering mine. I can't breathe or think or do anything but react. My head is spinning and Peter is the only real thing in the world as I clutch his shoulders. Finally, he breaks away.
"I love you," he says.
My heart seems to stop and for a second, I wonder if I imagined it. Surely, if you fantasize about something long enough, you will start imagining it happen in real life? But Peter is looking at me and I know I'm not imagining it.
"I love you too," I say softly.
He reaches his hand out of the bedroll to hold mine. I can feel his heart beating fast through his skin. Gradually, his pulse slows. It seems to take hours, but finally, we are both asleep.
When we wake, neither of us says anything about the previous night. I guess we're both saving it for if we're still alive this evening. Peter saddles the horses in silence, staring into the distance, to where we must go.
As we ride into Orisi, the land becomes drier, more like a desert than anything else. I don't know what we're looking for, but I can only hope we will know it when we find it.
For once, something goes right. We certainly know it when we find it. What looks like a great transparent wall rises up before us. Peter and I dismount and cautiously approach. The wall seems to be made of glass. I can see two separate sheets ahead of us, both spaced apart.
"Let me take a wild guess," I mutter. "This is the wall of the world of life. Behind is the wall for the ghosts' world, then the world of death."
"Well... I guess we should try to move them," Peter says hesitantly. I grimace. It can't possibly be that easy. Still, we've got to try. I slowly put my hand up against the wall and push. It doesn't give. Peter joins me, but no matter how many ways we try, there is just no way getting beyond that wall.
The sun falls and we are still trying. I am sitting on the ground, getting my breath back, when I hear a shrill laugh behind me. Spinning around, I see the pale, glowing form of the ghost who has been tormenting Peter.
"You see, you stupid humans? None but the dying can cross the walls between worlds, and even if you were, neither of you have the power to move the boundaries. It would take one who has been fighting us for years, and you, little children, are as weak as kittens against the forces of death."
My heart sinks. I should have known she would have stopped us if she really thought we were a threat.
"Maybe they are too weak, but I'm not."
"Michelle?"
"Mum?"
We gape at Peter's mother, who looks oddly impressive, silhouetted against the fading light. I suddenly realise why I kept feeling like someone was following us.
"Peter, stand back," she says warningly. "You two have done your part, putting the pieces together, finding out how to do it. I will go from here."
"What are you talking about?" Peter whispers.
Michelle doesn't reply, but takes a knife out of her belt. "I love you," she says.
Then she draws the knife in one swift motion and stabs herself in the stomach.
"NO!" Peter makes to run forward, but I grab him, using all my strength to hold him back.
"She'll do it anyway," I say, tears staining my voice. "You'll just die with her, Peter."
Michelle has fallen to the ground, but she pushes herself upright and staggers towards the solid barrier. The ghost is shouting something, looking scared, but I can barely hear her. My whole being is focused on Michelle, getting closer and closer to the barrier.
She walks through it as though it is merely mist. As soon as she is through, her shape seems to shimmer, but I can still see her. She staggers forwards, and when she reaches the barrier that holds the land of the ghosts, she puts both hands against it and pushes. Slowly, very slowly, it begins to move. As the barrier gets closer to the wall of death, the ghost beside us gets paler and paler, more and more transparent. I see Michelle give one last great push... then the barriers merge and she and the ghost are gone.
Even months later, no one likes to talk about it. The ghosts are gone, but the deeds that people were forced to perform under their command are all too real, and the memories too painful to speak of. Peter and I talk about it, though. Within a few weeks of his mother's death, I move into his house with him, ignoring my mother's squawks. After all, there is no reason to be afraid anymore, now that the ghosts are gone.
One day, one ordinary day when Peter and I are lounging on the couch together, he strokes my hair and says softly, "You were right."
"I was right?"
"You were right to go there. You never gave up on me, even when I had given up on myself." He kisses the top of my head. "Thank you."
"You're welcome," I whisper, leaning around to kiss him properly. "You're very welcome."
The End
It doesn't take long to get moving once I persuade Peter. Unfortunately, persuading him takes many hours, so by the time we are riding out, the sun is only a few hours away from setting.
"But what are you going to do?" he asks for the millionth time. "Yes, I'm sure we'll be able to find the joining place - from the map it doesn't look too hard to miss - but what are you going to do when we get there?"
"We need to find a way to join the world of the ghosts to the world of the dead," I say patiently. "Once they aren't trapped anymore, they won't need to force us to do anything, and we'll be safe from them."
"I know, Belle, but you have no idea how to join the worlds!"
"I'll make a plan," I say vaguely, glancing over my shoulder. I have the strangest feeling that someone is following us. Of course, this is just a feeling - we told no one we were going and made straight for the woods. We are totally hidden in the trees.
"You don't know what you're doing," Peter hisses.
"I've got to try, though. What else did you expect me to do?"
"I expected you to show a modicum of sense and let me handle this," Peter says angrily.
"Why did you agree to come, then?" I say, firing up. "Surely you want this to be over, too?"
"Not if it means you trying to do something so dangerous that nobody has even considered it before! You know why I agreed to come."
My insides squirm guiltily. Ok, telling Peter I was going whether or not he came with me may have been a bit low... but how else was I supposed to get him to agree? I can't let him live his whole life in bondage to the ghosts just so that I can be free...
Orisi is a week's journey away, and it is not a pleasant week. It would have been bad enough with Peter trying to persuade me to turn back at every waking moment, but the ghosts are not happy, either. They know where we are going, but don't seem to think we are a threat. Still, that doesn't stop them making Peter kill more and more people as we go. After one night of watching them torture him into agreeing yet again, I am offering to go myself if only they will stop hurting him. From then on, Peter goes without a word of protest, though I can see how much it costs him to do it.
Through the whole journey, I am jumpy, unable to shake the feeling that we are being followed. Peter and I stick to forests and uninhabited land as much as we can, not wanting trouble from anyone. At night, I sometimes think I can hear someone near our camp, but whenever I get up to look, there is no one there.
Finally, after a week of travelling, we are on the outskirts of Orisi - the joining lands, where the boundaries between the worlds are weakest. I sit by the fire, eating in silence, being glad of the silence while it lasts. Tomorrow, we'll enter the joining lands and find what we will.
Peter opens him mouth and I brace myself for yet more attempts to dissuade me from what I am going to try do.
"Belle?"
I glance up, cautiously straightening my body from its protective huddle.
"You really intend to do this, don't you?"
"Yes, Peter," I say wearily. Honestly, how many times will I have to tell him?
"I haven't been very supportive, have I?"
I laugh at this. "Not particularly."
"I'm sorry."
I shrug.
Peter gets up and comes to sit next to me. I automatically lean my head against his shoulder and sigh, realising just how much Peter's arguments have worn me down.
"We'll go in tomorrow and do whatever we can," I say. "Then we'll leave and go home. Everything will be fine."
"If only I could believe that."
I don't answer. I doubt I'll be able to convince Peter, seeing as I'm not fully convinced myself. I glance around, still trying to shake the feeling that there is someone watching, but as ever, no one is there.
Peter and I sit in silence, watching the flames of our campfire. Finally, he says that we should get some rest. For the first time, he pulls his bedroll over to mine, so that we are lying side by side.
"Belle, whatever happens tomorrow - "
"We'll be fine," I say quickly. "We'll be just fine, you'll see."
"But if - "
"Peter, don't. We are not going to say goodbye. We're both going to come out of this, you'll - "
Then I can't speak anymore because his lips are covering mine. I can't breathe or think or do anything but react. My head is spinning and Peter is the only real thing in the world as I clutch his shoulders. Finally, he breaks away.
"I love you," he says.
My heart seems to stop and for a second, I wonder if I imagined it. Surely, if you fantasize about something long enough, you will start imagining it happen in real life? But Peter is looking at me and I know I'm not imagining it.
"I love you too," I say softly.
He reaches his hand out of the bedroll to hold mine. I can feel his heart beating fast through his skin. Gradually, his pulse slows. It seems to take hours, but finally, we are both asleep.
When we wake, neither of us says anything about the previous night. I guess we're both saving it for if we're still alive this evening. Peter saddles the horses in silence, staring into the distance, to where we must go.
As we ride into Orisi, the land becomes drier, more like a desert than anything else. I don't know what we're looking for, but I can only hope we will know it when we find it.
For once, something goes right. We certainly know it when we find it. What looks like a great transparent wall rises up before us. Peter and I dismount and cautiously approach. The wall seems to be made of glass. I can see two separate sheets ahead of us, both spaced apart.
"Let me take a wild guess," I mutter. "This is the wall of the world of life. Behind is the wall for the ghosts' world, then the world of death."
"Well... I guess we should try to move them," Peter says hesitantly. I grimace. It can't possibly be that easy. Still, we've got to try. I slowly put my hand up against the wall and push. It doesn't give. Peter joins me, but no matter how many ways we try, there is just no way getting beyond that wall.
The sun falls and we are still trying. I am sitting on the ground, getting my breath back, when I hear a shrill laugh behind me. Spinning around, I see the pale, glowing form of the ghost who has been tormenting Peter.
"You see, you stupid humans? None but the dying can cross the walls between worlds, and even if you were, neither of you have the power to move the boundaries. It would take one who has been fighting us for years, and you, little children, are as weak as kittens against the forces of death."
My heart sinks. I should have known she would have stopped us if she really thought we were a threat.
"Maybe they are too weak, but I'm not."
"Michelle?"
"Mum?"
We gape at Peter's mother, who looks oddly impressive, silhouetted against the fading light. I suddenly realise why I kept feeling like someone was following us.
"Peter, stand back," she says warningly. "You two have done your part, putting the pieces together, finding out how to do it. I will go from here."
"What are you talking about?" Peter whispers.
Michelle doesn't reply, but takes a knife out of her belt. "I love you," she says.
Then she draws the knife in one swift motion and stabs herself in the stomach.
"NO!" Peter makes to run forward, but I grab him, using all my strength to hold him back.
"She'll do it anyway," I say, tears staining my voice. "You'll just die with her, Peter."
Michelle has fallen to the ground, but she pushes herself upright and staggers towards the solid barrier. The ghost is shouting something, looking scared, but I can barely hear her. My whole being is focused on Michelle, getting closer and closer to the barrier.
She walks through it as though it is merely mist. As soon as she is through, her shape seems to shimmer, but I can still see her. She staggers forwards, and when she reaches the barrier that holds the land of the ghosts, she puts both hands against it and pushes. Slowly, very slowly, it begins to move. As the barrier gets closer to the wall of death, the ghost beside us gets paler and paler, more and more transparent. I see Michelle give one last great push... then the barriers merge and she and the ghost are gone.
Even months later, no one likes to talk about it. The ghosts are gone, but the deeds that people were forced to perform under their command are all too real, and the memories too painful to speak of. Peter and I talk about it, though. Within a few weeks of his mother's death, I move into his house with him, ignoring my mother's squawks. After all, there is no reason to be afraid anymore, now that the ghosts are gone.
One day, one ordinary day when Peter and I are lounging on the couch together, he strokes my hair and says softly, "You were right."
"I was right?"
"You were right to go there. You never gave up on me, even when I had given up on myself." He kisses the top of my head. "Thank you."
"You're welcome," I whisper, leaning around to kiss him properly. "You're very welcome."
The End
Friday 25 October 2013
Ghosts - part 6
Hi! Thanks for visiting my blog :) This is part six of a little story I'm writing. For anyone who is new here, I would recommend you start at part one and work your way through. Happy reading!
I wake up confused, not sure what has happened. As I sit up in bed, Peter's arm falls off me. He mumbles in his sleep, his hand absently searching the mattress for me.
"Belle, breakfast!" my mum calls.
"Peter," I hiss in panic, shaking him. "Peter wake up!"
He comes awake instantly. "What's wrong? Is it the ghosts again?" He looks around the room, braced for a threat.
"It's my mum," I moan. "Quick, you have to leave - she'll kill me if she finds you here!"
Peter looks for a second as though he is about to laugh. I suppose he has reason. After everything we've been through, worrying about my mum's wrath may seem silly. He's never seen my mum's wrath, though.
"Move," I whisper, listening with all my might for the sound of my mum's footsteps coming up the stairs. Peter allows me to push him out of bed and towards the window. "I'll come see you later," I whisper. "Now go!"
I have a fleeting glimpse of him swinging himself onto the vines that cover the house and starting to climb down, before my door bursts open.
"Mum," I says, spinning around, my body covering the window. "Breakfast, you said?"
It takes me two hours to escape my mum. She may not know exactly what's going on, but she can tell that something is wrong, and it takes all of my persuasive talents to get her to let me out of the house. When she does, I go straight to the library. Peter has made it clear that he is resigned to the situation, but I am not. I will find a way to free both of us from the ghosts; him taking on my burden as well as his own is not an acceptable solution.
The town library isn't huge, but it's all I have to go on right now. I've gotten to know it quite well over the years, but I've never been in the section on death before. It feels slightly colder than the other sections, as though the chill of death hovers around the volumes.
I flick through different books, looking for one that can help me. They detail different rituals surrounding death and mourning, many of them in different languages. There are so many books that it takes me what feels like hours to find the one I am looking for. When I finally do, it is tiny, squashed in between two larger volumes. The title is in white on black leather: Ghosts.
Not wanting to sit at one of the public tables and be seen, I sink down right where I am with the book, my back resting against the nearest shelf. I start reading. Certain passages leap out at me as I sit perfectly still, only my eyes moving.
Ghosts are the souls of dead humans, ever trapped between worlds, unable to go on to the world after life, unable to go back to join the world they left behind. It is a fate that none would want...
It is unknown how ghosts first came about, nor how to tell which spirits will move on and which will become ghosts. They always originate from the joining place, but spread widely after that...
"Joining place," I mutter. I flick through the pages, looking for the phrase again.
The joining place is a place where the worlds intersect - death, life, and the world of ghosts. The boundaries between them are weakest, there, so most people avoid it. The joining place and the lands around it have been uninhabited for generations.
I put the book down, thinking. If I could get to the joining place, maybe I could somehow merge the worlds - the ghosts' world and the world of death. No longer trapped, they would have no desire to manipulate the world of life - nor the power to do so from the world of death, even if they wanted to.
I carefully replace the book on the shelf and go to another section I haven't been to often: maps.
It doesn't take long, this time. There are many maps of all the lands. I quickly locate my own land of Grenet, and look around at the little houses that represent settled land. In most places, the houses are squashed so close together there is hardly any space in between them. There is one land, though, which is completely empty of anything other than mountains and hills. I lean closer, trying to read the name.
"Orisi," I read aloud. Glancing at the sun, I see that I have been here half the day. Peter must be getting worried by now. I roll up the map and tuck it into my jacked, promising myself I will return it when I get back. I get up and jog out of the library, making straight for Peter's house."
"Peter," I whisper, tapping on his window.
It opens instantly. "Belle, I was getting worried! Where have you been?"
"That doesn't matter. What matters is where we're going to be. We're going on a journey."
To be continued
I wake up confused, not sure what has happened. As I sit up in bed, Peter's arm falls off me. He mumbles in his sleep, his hand absently searching the mattress for me.
"Belle, breakfast!" my mum calls.
"Peter," I hiss in panic, shaking him. "Peter wake up!"
He comes awake instantly. "What's wrong? Is it the ghosts again?" He looks around the room, braced for a threat.
"It's my mum," I moan. "Quick, you have to leave - she'll kill me if she finds you here!"
Peter looks for a second as though he is about to laugh. I suppose he has reason. After everything we've been through, worrying about my mum's wrath may seem silly. He's never seen my mum's wrath, though.
"Move," I whisper, listening with all my might for the sound of my mum's footsteps coming up the stairs. Peter allows me to push him out of bed and towards the window. "I'll come see you later," I whisper. "Now go!"
I have a fleeting glimpse of him swinging himself onto the vines that cover the house and starting to climb down, before my door bursts open.
"Mum," I says, spinning around, my body covering the window. "Breakfast, you said?"
It takes me two hours to escape my mum. She may not know exactly what's going on, but she can tell that something is wrong, and it takes all of my persuasive talents to get her to let me out of the house. When she does, I go straight to the library. Peter has made it clear that he is resigned to the situation, but I am not. I will find a way to free both of us from the ghosts; him taking on my burden as well as his own is not an acceptable solution.
The town library isn't huge, but it's all I have to go on right now. I've gotten to know it quite well over the years, but I've never been in the section on death before. It feels slightly colder than the other sections, as though the chill of death hovers around the volumes.
I flick through different books, looking for one that can help me. They detail different rituals surrounding death and mourning, many of them in different languages. There are so many books that it takes me what feels like hours to find the one I am looking for. When I finally do, it is tiny, squashed in between two larger volumes. The title is in white on black leather: Ghosts.
Not wanting to sit at one of the public tables and be seen, I sink down right where I am with the book, my back resting against the nearest shelf. I start reading. Certain passages leap out at me as I sit perfectly still, only my eyes moving.
Ghosts are the souls of dead humans, ever trapped between worlds, unable to go on to the world after life, unable to go back to join the world they left behind. It is a fate that none would want...
It is unknown how ghosts first came about, nor how to tell which spirits will move on and which will become ghosts. They always originate from the joining place, but spread widely after that...
"Joining place," I mutter. I flick through the pages, looking for the phrase again.
The joining place is a place where the worlds intersect - death, life, and the world of ghosts. The boundaries between them are weakest, there, so most people avoid it. The joining place and the lands around it have been uninhabited for generations.
I put the book down, thinking. If I could get to the joining place, maybe I could somehow merge the worlds - the ghosts' world and the world of death. No longer trapped, they would have no desire to manipulate the world of life - nor the power to do so from the world of death, even if they wanted to.
I carefully replace the book on the shelf and go to another section I haven't been to often: maps.
It doesn't take long, this time. There are many maps of all the lands. I quickly locate my own land of Grenet, and look around at the little houses that represent settled land. In most places, the houses are squashed so close together there is hardly any space in between them. There is one land, though, which is completely empty of anything other than mountains and hills. I lean closer, trying to read the name.
"Orisi," I read aloud. Glancing at the sun, I see that I have been here half the day. Peter must be getting worried by now. I roll up the map and tuck it into my jacked, promising myself I will return it when I get back. I get up and jog out of the library, making straight for Peter's house."
"Peter," I whisper, tapping on his window.
It opens instantly. "Belle, I was getting worried! Where have you been?"
"That doesn't matter. What matters is where we're going to be. We're going on a journey."
To be continued
Monday 21 October 2013
Ghosts - part 5
Hi! Thanks for visiting my blog :) This is part five of a little story I'm writing. For anyone who is new here, I would recommend you start at part one and work your way through. Happy reading!
"Well, well, so you've decided to cooperate after all," the ghost says, turning to Peter with a cruel little smile on her face.
"I'm not doing it for you," Peter says roughly. I try to catch his eye, but he is too busy staring intently at the ghost to notice.
"I'll go in her place," he repeats. "Tell me who it is, and I'll do it."
"If that is your wish," the ghost woman says. "But know that you only delay the inevitable. When she saw us last night, she was bound to us. She will have to serve eventually."
Peter chooses to ignore this. "Who is the target?"
"The old man who sells fish at the market."
A spasm of pain crosses Peter's face. "Why him? He's never done anyone any harm. What use could he be to you in the world of the dead?"
"Your job is not to question, but to do," she says silkily. I expect Peter to argue, but instead he simply leans down and picks up the knife. He turns to me and meets my gaze for the first time since he burst into the room. "Belle, stay here. I'll come to you afterwards."
I open my mouth, but no words come out. I try again, but Peter is already gone. He climbs nimbly out of the window and out onto the street. I turn back to the ghost, but she is gone, leaving me alone with my fear.
Peter seems to be gone forever. I don't move from the floor other than to curl myself into a small ball, waiting. Waiting for him to get back and fix this whole nightmare. It seems impossible that only two days ago everything was normal, the biggest thing we had to worry about being whether the winter would interfere with my birthday party.
When I feel hands on my back, I cringe and try to move away, not wanting the ghost touching me, even though I know very well that she can cause plenty of pain without touching me at all.
"It's ok, it's me," Peter's soft voice says in my ear.
I uncurl so fast that I think I pull a muscle in my neck, but I ignore it. I throw my arms around him, sobbing.
"I'm so sorry, Belle," he says, rubbing my back. "I should have been more careful. You never should have seen me last night; this is all my fault."
"You need to explain, now," I say firmly. "No more ignoring me for my own protection."
"No, that didn't exactly work as I had planned," he murmurs. "Come on, let's get you up."
He helps pull me to my feet. I am surprised at how shaky I am; Peter needs to help me into bed, as my legs are too wobbly to get there on my own. He tucks me in, and sits on the edge of the bed.
"I'm not sure how it started," he says, absentmindedly twirling my hair in his fingers. "All I know is that one day, I walked into my father's room and saw what you saw last night - the ghosts around him.
"From that moment, I was bound like him. All it takes is looking at them, though they can only be seen when they are with someone else who is forced to serve them. For me, it didn't really make a difference - they take families. When I was older, I would have been bound regardless. For you, it was an accident.
"Either way, whoever sees them is bound to do as they wish. What they wish is to have life for themselves - to take over the whole world of life. To do that, they need more ghosts to help them. They force us to kill people - to make them into ghosts - sowing the seeds of our own destruction."
"The old man..." I whisper. My eyes rake Peter's clothes, but I don't see a trace of blood.
Peter won't meet my eyes. "If I didn't kill him, you'd have had to. I didn't want you to have to carry that burden."
"You killed him?" I whisper.
Peter nods, still not meeting my eyes. "I resisted for years, but the pain... well, you felt a small taste of what they can do if you disobey them. I swear, Belle, I try as hard as I can not to. Every time they come to me, they have to torture me for hours before I will do it... but I always do in the end."
I tentatively reach my hand up to his face. "It's ok," I say softly. "We'll figure a way out of this. We will, Peter."
"I already have," he says in a grim voice. "You will not have to kill anyone, Belle, don't worry."
"The ghost seemed pretty insistent..."
"I'll do it for both of us," he says shortly. "I can perform your assignments as well as my own. This is my fault, and I won't let you suffer for it. You won't have to do anything - don't worry, the ghost won't bother you again."
"But then you'll still have to kill!" I say, horrified.
Peter just nods.
"No! No, we'll find another way," I insist. "There must be some way to break the hold they have on us. I'll find it, Peter."
He nods, but I can tell he doesn't believe me. I don't care. Whether he believes it or not, I will find a way to free both of us.
"I should go," he says, making to get up.
"No." I grab his arm, holding tightly. "Please, stay with me. I don't want to be alone."
Peter doesn't reply, but swings his legs up onto the bed so that he is lying beside me. Our faces are very close together and I remember what happened last night - how Peter kissed me before knocking me out and dragging me away from danger. Before that, I had thought I was the only one who felt differently about my best friend.
I look at him uncertainly. Maybe it was just a moment of desperation for him, something he regrets. Peter meets my eyes and there is something burning in his that I have seldom seen before. His arm gently brushes mine as he wraps it around me, pulling me closer. I automatically lean into him and our lips meet.
In that moment, I forget all about ghosts and killing and bonds. For the moment, it is just Peter and me.
To be continued
"Well, well, so you've decided to cooperate after all," the ghost says, turning to Peter with a cruel little smile on her face.
"I'm not doing it for you," Peter says roughly. I try to catch his eye, but he is too busy staring intently at the ghost to notice.
"I'll go in her place," he repeats. "Tell me who it is, and I'll do it."
"If that is your wish," the ghost woman says. "But know that you only delay the inevitable. When she saw us last night, she was bound to us. She will have to serve eventually."
Peter chooses to ignore this. "Who is the target?"
"The old man who sells fish at the market."
A spasm of pain crosses Peter's face. "Why him? He's never done anyone any harm. What use could he be to you in the world of the dead?"
"Your job is not to question, but to do," she says silkily. I expect Peter to argue, but instead he simply leans down and picks up the knife. He turns to me and meets my gaze for the first time since he burst into the room. "Belle, stay here. I'll come to you afterwards."
I open my mouth, but no words come out. I try again, but Peter is already gone. He climbs nimbly out of the window and out onto the street. I turn back to the ghost, but she is gone, leaving me alone with my fear.
Peter seems to be gone forever. I don't move from the floor other than to curl myself into a small ball, waiting. Waiting for him to get back and fix this whole nightmare. It seems impossible that only two days ago everything was normal, the biggest thing we had to worry about being whether the winter would interfere with my birthday party.
When I feel hands on my back, I cringe and try to move away, not wanting the ghost touching me, even though I know very well that she can cause plenty of pain without touching me at all.
"It's ok, it's me," Peter's soft voice says in my ear.
I uncurl so fast that I think I pull a muscle in my neck, but I ignore it. I throw my arms around him, sobbing.
"I'm so sorry, Belle," he says, rubbing my back. "I should have been more careful. You never should have seen me last night; this is all my fault."
"You need to explain, now," I say firmly. "No more ignoring me for my own protection."
"No, that didn't exactly work as I had planned," he murmurs. "Come on, let's get you up."
He helps pull me to my feet. I am surprised at how shaky I am; Peter needs to help me into bed, as my legs are too wobbly to get there on my own. He tucks me in, and sits on the edge of the bed.
"I'm not sure how it started," he says, absentmindedly twirling my hair in his fingers. "All I know is that one day, I walked into my father's room and saw what you saw last night - the ghosts around him.
"From that moment, I was bound like him. All it takes is looking at them, though they can only be seen when they are with someone else who is forced to serve them. For me, it didn't really make a difference - they take families. When I was older, I would have been bound regardless. For you, it was an accident.
"Either way, whoever sees them is bound to do as they wish. What they wish is to have life for themselves - to take over the whole world of life. To do that, they need more ghosts to help them. They force us to kill people - to make them into ghosts - sowing the seeds of our own destruction."
"The old man..." I whisper. My eyes rake Peter's clothes, but I don't see a trace of blood.
Peter won't meet my eyes. "If I didn't kill him, you'd have had to. I didn't want you to have to carry that burden."
"You killed him?" I whisper.
Peter nods, still not meeting my eyes. "I resisted for years, but the pain... well, you felt a small taste of what they can do if you disobey them. I swear, Belle, I try as hard as I can not to. Every time they come to me, they have to torture me for hours before I will do it... but I always do in the end."
I tentatively reach my hand up to his face. "It's ok," I say softly. "We'll figure a way out of this. We will, Peter."
"I already have," he says in a grim voice. "You will not have to kill anyone, Belle, don't worry."
"The ghost seemed pretty insistent..."
"I'll do it for both of us," he says shortly. "I can perform your assignments as well as my own. This is my fault, and I won't let you suffer for it. You won't have to do anything - don't worry, the ghost won't bother you again."
"But then you'll still have to kill!" I say, horrified.
Peter just nods.
"No! No, we'll find another way," I insist. "There must be some way to break the hold they have on us. I'll find it, Peter."
He nods, but I can tell he doesn't believe me. I don't care. Whether he believes it or not, I will find a way to free both of us.
"I should go," he says, making to get up.
"No." I grab his arm, holding tightly. "Please, stay with me. I don't want to be alone."
Peter doesn't reply, but swings his legs up onto the bed so that he is lying beside me. Our faces are very close together and I remember what happened last night - how Peter kissed me before knocking me out and dragging me away from danger. Before that, I had thought I was the only one who felt differently about my best friend.
I look at him uncertainly. Maybe it was just a moment of desperation for him, something he regrets. Peter meets my eyes and there is something burning in his that I have seldom seen before. His arm gently brushes mine as he wraps it around me, pulling me closer. I automatically lean into him and our lips meet.
In that moment, I forget all about ghosts and killing and bonds. For the moment, it is just Peter and me.
To be continued
Thursday 17 October 2013
Ghosts - part 4
Hi! Thanks for visiting my blog :) This is part four of a little story I'm writing. For anyone who is new here, I would recommend you start at part one and work your way through. Happy reading!
Even as I triple check that the door is securely bolted, I know it will do no good. After all, what door keeps out ghosts?
I can hear my mum moving around downstairs, but to my relief, she doesn't come up and make another attempt at trying to get me to tell her what happened. I sink onto my bed, my head in my hands. What I really need is to talk to Peter, but if he's so insistent on not seeing me that I can sit outside his house for a whole day without him coming out, I guess that isn't an option.
I pace around the room, trying to think. The ghost said I was hers now, that I'd have to perform small tasks for her. I have no idea what she meant, but I do know that I don't want anything to do with it. If only I hadn't gone to Peter's house last night... if only I hadn't seen the ghosts swirling around him... if only I hadn't started this whole nightmare...
Most unfortunately, I am still pacing when it happens. Had I been lying down, I could have tried to persuade myself that I was asleep and dreaming, but obviously that isn't going to work now. I don't get any sense of it. I just turn around and there she is, the same pale white shape.
"What do you want?" I gasp, flattening myself against the wall.
"I told you, Belle, all we want is a little help from the living in expanding our borders. When you saw us with Peter last night, you were bound as he is, for only one who has seen us can be bent to our will.
"Now, to work. You're new at this, so I only ask one thing for now. There is an old man who sells fish at the market. Do you know who he is?"
I find myself nodding dumbly.
"You'll need to kill him for us. That's all for tonight."
"That's all? I'm not going to KILL someone!" I yell.
"What did you think we'd want?" she asks, giving me a condescending look. "We're ghosts. We select the living to join us, to help us expand our world. Those who can help must be brought to us. We can't do it. You must."
"What would you want to expand your world? What's the point?"
"The point, my dear girl, is that we want what you have - the power to touch and move things, the power to speak and be heard by others, the power to eat, drink, breathe... all these things you take for granted, we would give anything for. With enough ghosts, we can overwhelm the world of the living and take them."
I goggle at her. "You tell me that and expect me to help you?"
"You will help me whether you like it or not. Here, take this," she says, holding out what looks like some kind of ceremonial knife. It is just as ghostly and transparent as her, but as soon as she drops it on the floor, the knife clunks down, becoming solid.
"You will need to kill him with this," she says. "Only if killed with one of our knives will be become a ghost and be able to help us - otherwise his spirit will escape."
I press myself into the corner, ready to fight, knowing that any form of fighting I've learned will probably be useless here. "I'm not doing it," I say. "I'm no murderer."
"That's what they all say at first," she says, smiling sadly. "You'll learn. You can scream, Belle; no one will hear you; when I am with you, you are lost to the world, in a bubble of silence."
I open my mouth to ask what she means, but then the pain hits me. It is pain unlike anything I have ever experienced before. I am screaming so loudly that my throat feels like it will tear. Every nerve in my body seems to be on fire. Then it stops.
I realise I am lying on the ground, panting.
"Are you ready to do it yet?" she asks, seemingly merely bored.
I glare up at her. "I will not kill for you."
The pain is back and I am screaming again, begging for it to stop, anything, just make it stop.
"I don't know how to kill," I gabble as soon as she takes the pain away again. "I'd do it if I could, but I don't know how; I'm sorry."
"All humans know how to kill; it is in your blood. Will you do it now?"
Knowing what it will bring, tears streak down my cheeks as I shake my head.
I brace for the pain to hit again, but before it can, my window bursts open. "Stop!"
For a second, I think I am hallucinating, driven out of my mind from the torture. When I turn and see him, though, I am sure that he's real. I would recognise Peter anywhere.
"Leave her alone!" he says to the ghost. "Leave her, and I'll take her place!"
To be continued
Even as I triple check that the door is securely bolted, I know it will do no good. After all, what door keeps out ghosts?
I can hear my mum moving around downstairs, but to my relief, she doesn't come up and make another attempt at trying to get me to tell her what happened. I sink onto my bed, my head in my hands. What I really need is to talk to Peter, but if he's so insistent on not seeing me that I can sit outside his house for a whole day without him coming out, I guess that isn't an option.
I pace around the room, trying to think. The ghost said I was hers now, that I'd have to perform small tasks for her. I have no idea what she meant, but I do know that I don't want anything to do with it. If only I hadn't gone to Peter's house last night... if only I hadn't seen the ghosts swirling around him... if only I hadn't started this whole nightmare...
Most unfortunately, I am still pacing when it happens. Had I been lying down, I could have tried to persuade myself that I was asleep and dreaming, but obviously that isn't going to work now. I don't get any sense of it. I just turn around and there she is, the same pale white shape.
"What do you want?" I gasp, flattening myself against the wall.
"I told you, Belle, all we want is a little help from the living in expanding our borders. When you saw us with Peter last night, you were bound as he is, for only one who has seen us can be bent to our will.
"Now, to work. You're new at this, so I only ask one thing for now. There is an old man who sells fish at the market. Do you know who he is?"
I find myself nodding dumbly.
"You'll need to kill him for us. That's all for tonight."
"That's all? I'm not going to KILL someone!" I yell.
"What did you think we'd want?" she asks, giving me a condescending look. "We're ghosts. We select the living to join us, to help us expand our world. Those who can help must be brought to us. We can't do it. You must."
"What would you want to expand your world? What's the point?"
"The point, my dear girl, is that we want what you have - the power to touch and move things, the power to speak and be heard by others, the power to eat, drink, breathe... all these things you take for granted, we would give anything for. With enough ghosts, we can overwhelm the world of the living and take them."
I goggle at her. "You tell me that and expect me to help you?"
"You will help me whether you like it or not. Here, take this," she says, holding out what looks like some kind of ceremonial knife. It is just as ghostly and transparent as her, but as soon as she drops it on the floor, the knife clunks down, becoming solid.
"You will need to kill him with this," she says. "Only if killed with one of our knives will be become a ghost and be able to help us - otherwise his spirit will escape."
I press myself into the corner, ready to fight, knowing that any form of fighting I've learned will probably be useless here. "I'm not doing it," I say. "I'm no murderer."
"That's what they all say at first," she says, smiling sadly. "You'll learn. You can scream, Belle; no one will hear you; when I am with you, you are lost to the world, in a bubble of silence."
I open my mouth to ask what she means, but then the pain hits me. It is pain unlike anything I have ever experienced before. I am screaming so loudly that my throat feels like it will tear. Every nerve in my body seems to be on fire. Then it stops.
I realise I am lying on the ground, panting.
"Are you ready to do it yet?" she asks, seemingly merely bored.
I glare up at her. "I will not kill for you."
The pain is back and I am screaming again, begging for it to stop, anything, just make it stop.
"I don't know how to kill," I gabble as soon as she takes the pain away again. "I'd do it if I could, but I don't know how; I'm sorry."
"All humans know how to kill; it is in your blood. Will you do it now?"
Knowing what it will bring, tears streak down my cheeks as I shake my head.
I brace for the pain to hit again, but before it can, my window bursts open. "Stop!"
For a second, I think I am hallucinating, driven out of my mind from the torture. When I turn and see him, though, I am sure that he's real. I would recognise Peter anywhere.
"Leave her alone!" he says to the ghost. "Leave her, and I'll take her place!"
To be continued
Monday 14 October 2013
One million words!
Last night when I was writing, I reached the milestone I have been eyeing for months - one million words!
I started writing on 3 September 2011, and on 14 October 2013, I became the proud author of one million words of fantasy! Almost four trilogies; I'm on book three of the fourth now.
Anyway, I just thought such an important marker shouldn't go unmentioned on my blog.
Look out for my first published novel, Equilibrium :)
I started writing on 3 September 2011, and on 14 October 2013, I became the proud author of one million words of fantasy! Almost four trilogies; I'm on book three of the fourth now.
Anyway, I just thought such an important marker shouldn't go unmentioned on my blog.
Look out for my first published novel, Equilibrium :)
Sunday 13 October 2013
Ghosts - part 3
Hi! Thanks for visiting my blog :) This is part three of a little story I'm writing. For anyone who is new here, I would recommend you start at part one and work your way through. Happy reading!
"Peter! Peter open this door!" I yell, banging my fist against the wood so hard that it rattles. "I know you're in there!" I shout. "You had better come out right now or - "
The door opens and I find myself face to face with Peter's mother.
"Michelle," I say. "Thank goodness you're here, I need to talk to Peter..."
"He can't talk to you," she says.
"Oh yes he can," I say, making to push past her.
Michelle puts herself in the doorway, blocking my path. "No, he can't, Belle. He told me what happened last night. Believe me, it's safer that you stay away from him."
I shake my head impatiently. "I don't know what he's going on about, but I need to talk to him, that's the only way we're going to sort this out."
Michelle closes the door in my face.
I am so shocked that I stand there for almost a minute before bringing movement back to my limbs. Michelle has always liked me. Whatever Peter said to her, it must have been very convincing.
"Right, we're going to do this the hard way, then" I mutter, walking around the other side of the house, remembering the scene from last night. I am half wondering by now if I didn't just imagine seeing the pale ghosts all around Peter, my scream as one of them looked at me. I remember Peter kissing me just before he knocked me out and dragged me to the woods. I don't know what he thinks he's keeping me safe from, but he's not going to get away with keeping me in the dark.
I make straight for the tree outside Peter's window, planning to climb up and jump in, as I have so many times before. When the tree comes into sight, I am brought up short. It has been chopped down so that only a stump is left.
Wondering just how far Peter will go to keep me away from him, I turn around, fuming, and go back to the front door. Peter can't stay inside forever. He'll have to come out sometime and when he does, I'll be waiting.
This strategy is easier said than done.
It is hours before there is any movement. In the early afternoon, Michelle comes out, locking the door behind her, pretending as though she can't see me sitting a few feet from her. A short while later, she comes back with some food from the market. I glare at her, but she doesn't meet my eyes. I am getting very hungry and thirsty - not to mention sore from sitting on the hard stone in front of the door - but I dare not leave in case Peter comes out when I am gone.
As evening creeps closer, my eyelids start to droop. I fight it, knowing that Peter could sneak out as soon as I am asleep. It is a losing battle, though. Everything is blurring...
In the dream, I am sitting on the edge of a well. There is no one else around, but I can hear voices from somewhere. The sun is just setting and as I glance towards it, I see a glowing white shape. I stiffen, watching.
The shape moves closer to me, it's bright blue eyes boring into mine.
"Belle. You are ours, now," it says. It is the shape of a woman, though no living woman I know looks like this, pale and transparent. I know what I am seeing: a ghost, just like I did at Peter's house last night.
I jump up and run around to the other side of the well. She just looks at me, seeming almost to pity my fear. "It won't be so bad," she says. "You will do small tasks for us. Only if you fight will it be unpleasant."
I turn and run, but something brings me to my knees. I clutch my head as pain cleaves through it.
All at once, I jerk awake, panting. A second later, I am sure I am still dreaming. The bright white figure is crouching next to me.
"Don't resist, Belle," she says softly. "It will hurt very much if you do."
Pain lances over all of my body, as though I am being cut with invisible knives. Screaming, I try to get up and run, but I can't move. Before I can do anything else, though, the ghost has disappeared and I am left alone in the night.
"Belle! There you are - what are you doing here? I TOLD you that you're not to see him."
Usually, in as deep trouble as I surely am in for being seen outside Peter's house, I would cringe at the sight of my mum. Now I fly into her arms.
"Let's go home," I say.
"What's wrong?" she asks, holding me at arm's length, examining my face.
I hesitate, but don't want to tell her about what just happened. All I want is to forget about it.
"Please can we just go?" I whisper.
She looks at me for a moment more before putting her arm around me. "Ok, Belle. Come on."
My mum leads me down the dark street back towards our house. As we go, I glance around me, searching for any trace of white.
To be continued
"Peter! Peter open this door!" I yell, banging my fist against the wood so hard that it rattles. "I know you're in there!" I shout. "You had better come out right now or - "
The door opens and I find myself face to face with Peter's mother.
"Michelle," I say. "Thank goodness you're here, I need to talk to Peter..."
"He can't talk to you," she says.
"Oh yes he can," I say, making to push past her.
Michelle puts herself in the doorway, blocking my path. "No, he can't, Belle. He told me what happened last night. Believe me, it's safer that you stay away from him."
I shake my head impatiently. "I don't know what he's going on about, but I need to talk to him, that's the only way we're going to sort this out."
Michelle closes the door in my face.
I am so shocked that I stand there for almost a minute before bringing movement back to my limbs. Michelle has always liked me. Whatever Peter said to her, it must have been very convincing.
"Right, we're going to do this the hard way, then" I mutter, walking around the other side of the house, remembering the scene from last night. I am half wondering by now if I didn't just imagine seeing the pale ghosts all around Peter, my scream as one of them looked at me. I remember Peter kissing me just before he knocked me out and dragged me to the woods. I don't know what he thinks he's keeping me safe from, but he's not going to get away with keeping me in the dark.
I make straight for the tree outside Peter's window, planning to climb up and jump in, as I have so many times before. When the tree comes into sight, I am brought up short. It has been chopped down so that only a stump is left.
Wondering just how far Peter will go to keep me away from him, I turn around, fuming, and go back to the front door. Peter can't stay inside forever. He'll have to come out sometime and when he does, I'll be waiting.
This strategy is easier said than done.
It is hours before there is any movement. In the early afternoon, Michelle comes out, locking the door behind her, pretending as though she can't see me sitting a few feet from her. A short while later, she comes back with some food from the market. I glare at her, but she doesn't meet my eyes. I am getting very hungry and thirsty - not to mention sore from sitting on the hard stone in front of the door - but I dare not leave in case Peter comes out when I am gone.
As evening creeps closer, my eyelids start to droop. I fight it, knowing that Peter could sneak out as soon as I am asleep. It is a losing battle, though. Everything is blurring...
In the dream, I am sitting on the edge of a well. There is no one else around, but I can hear voices from somewhere. The sun is just setting and as I glance towards it, I see a glowing white shape. I stiffen, watching.
The shape moves closer to me, it's bright blue eyes boring into mine.
"Belle. You are ours, now," it says. It is the shape of a woman, though no living woman I know looks like this, pale and transparent. I know what I am seeing: a ghost, just like I did at Peter's house last night.
I jump up and run around to the other side of the well. She just looks at me, seeming almost to pity my fear. "It won't be so bad," she says. "You will do small tasks for us. Only if you fight will it be unpleasant."
I turn and run, but something brings me to my knees. I clutch my head as pain cleaves through it.
All at once, I jerk awake, panting. A second later, I am sure I am still dreaming. The bright white figure is crouching next to me.
"Don't resist, Belle," she says softly. "It will hurt very much if you do."
Pain lances over all of my body, as though I am being cut with invisible knives. Screaming, I try to get up and run, but I can't move. Before I can do anything else, though, the ghost has disappeared and I am left alone in the night.
"Belle! There you are - what are you doing here? I TOLD you that you're not to see him."
Usually, in as deep trouble as I surely am in for being seen outside Peter's house, I would cringe at the sight of my mum. Now I fly into her arms.
"Let's go home," I say.
"What's wrong?" she asks, holding me at arm's length, examining my face.
I hesitate, but don't want to tell her about what just happened. All I want is to forget about it.
"Please can we just go?" I whisper.
She looks at me for a moment more before putting her arm around me. "Ok, Belle. Come on."
My mum leads me down the dark street back towards our house. As we go, I glance around me, searching for any trace of white.
To be continued
Wednesday 9 October 2013
Ghosts - part 2
Hi! Thanks for visiting my blog :) This is part two of a little story I'm writing. For anyone who is new here, I would recommend you start at part one and work your way through. Happy reading!
People who believe in ghosts coming back to the land after their bodies have died are considered crazy. I've never questioned that; not until this moment.
One of the white shapes surrounding Peter looks at me. Its eyes are a bright, piercing blue and as they meet mine, my head seems to split with pain, as though the ghost is looking into my soul rather than my eyes. I force myself to clamp my mouth shut, but it is too late. Peter has heard my scream.
When he turns to look at me, he goes paler than the ghosts. He yanks open the window and grabs my arm, pulling me inside from the tree branch I was perched on.
"Belle, what are you doing here!" he yells, sounding angry and afraid.
"I had a fight with my mum," I whisper, my voice shaking. "I wanted to see you."
Over his shoulder, the white shapes of the ghosts are fading, but my head is still aching.
Peter is shaking so hard that he has to sit down. His head falls into his hands and he is breathing fast.
I crouch down beside him. "Peter? What's going on?"
He looks up at me, and there are tears in his eyes. "I'm so sorry, Belle. I should have been more careful. It's all my fault..."
"What's all your fault? What just happened?"
But Peter doesn't even seem to hear me. He's mumbling and muttering under his breath like a madman. I can't make out the words, but the frenzied tone is all too clear.
"Peter?" I say hesitantly.
His head snaps up. "Yes," he says. "Yes, that's it. If they can't find you, they can't have you. That's it. If I can find a way to confuse them, separate us, they won't be able to follow you. You'll be safe..."
He doesn't seem to be talking to me, so I remain silent, waiting for him to explain what he is on about.
Finally, he looks up at me. "We can't see each other any more, Belle. They'll follow the link and find you. It's too dangerous. You can't come here again, ever."
It feels as though my heart has dropped out through my feet. Never see Peter again?
"Look, Peter, I don't know what's going on, but I'm scared and confused and I need my best friend right now," I say firmly. "Telling me I can never see you again is utterly ridiculous. You had better start explaining what's going on right now."
He looks torn, agonised in a way I have never seen Peter. He is always so sure of himself. Before I can say anything else, he is leaning forward and kissing me on the mouth. I freeze in shock. How many times have I imagined this? I never guessed the circumstances would be quite like this.
"I'm sorry," he whispers.
Then there is a sudden pain at the back of my head and everything goes black.
I wake up to a throbbing in my head. Groaning, I put my hand to the back of my skull to find a large bump under my hair. I push myself on my elbows and look around, frowning. I am lying on a mat of pine needles, seemingly in the middle of the forest just outside town. How did I get here?
Sitting up, I gasp as the memories come back to me. The ghosts. Peter kissing me. Peter knocking me out - for that must have been the blow to the back of my head. I can see him in my mind's eye, dragging me here, thinking he is protecting me from something, though I have no idea what.
I stagger to my feet. I need to get back to town, to talk to him, to find out what's going on. It takes me a second to get my bearings, but once I do, I realise I am actually very close. I have only been walking for a few minutes when the trees start to thin and I can see the first of the houses.
Whatever Peter is hiding from me, it ends now. I take a deep breath, and head for his house. Whether he wants to or not, he will give me answers.
To be continued
People who believe in ghosts coming back to the land after their bodies have died are considered crazy. I've never questioned that; not until this moment.
One of the white shapes surrounding Peter looks at me. Its eyes are a bright, piercing blue and as they meet mine, my head seems to split with pain, as though the ghost is looking into my soul rather than my eyes. I force myself to clamp my mouth shut, but it is too late. Peter has heard my scream.
When he turns to look at me, he goes paler than the ghosts. He yanks open the window and grabs my arm, pulling me inside from the tree branch I was perched on.
"Belle, what are you doing here!" he yells, sounding angry and afraid.
"I had a fight with my mum," I whisper, my voice shaking. "I wanted to see you."
Over his shoulder, the white shapes of the ghosts are fading, but my head is still aching.
Peter is shaking so hard that he has to sit down. His head falls into his hands and he is breathing fast.
I crouch down beside him. "Peter? What's going on?"
He looks up at me, and there are tears in his eyes. "I'm so sorry, Belle. I should have been more careful. It's all my fault..."
"What's all your fault? What just happened?"
But Peter doesn't even seem to hear me. He's mumbling and muttering under his breath like a madman. I can't make out the words, but the frenzied tone is all too clear.
"Peter?" I say hesitantly.
His head snaps up. "Yes," he says. "Yes, that's it. If they can't find you, they can't have you. That's it. If I can find a way to confuse them, separate us, they won't be able to follow you. You'll be safe..."
He doesn't seem to be talking to me, so I remain silent, waiting for him to explain what he is on about.
Finally, he looks up at me. "We can't see each other any more, Belle. They'll follow the link and find you. It's too dangerous. You can't come here again, ever."
It feels as though my heart has dropped out through my feet. Never see Peter again?
"Look, Peter, I don't know what's going on, but I'm scared and confused and I need my best friend right now," I say firmly. "Telling me I can never see you again is utterly ridiculous. You had better start explaining what's going on right now."
He looks torn, agonised in a way I have never seen Peter. He is always so sure of himself. Before I can say anything else, he is leaning forward and kissing me on the mouth. I freeze in shock. How many times have I imagined this? I never guessed the circumstances would be quite like this.
"I'm sorry," he whispers.
Then there is a sudden pain at the back of my head and everything goes black.
I wake up to a throbbing in my head. Groaning, I put my hand to the back of my skull to find a large bump under my hair. I push myself on my elbows and look around, frowning. I am lying on a mat of pine needles, seemingly in the middle of the forest just outside town. How did I get here?
Sitting up, I gasp as the memories come back to me. The ghosts. Peter kissing me. Peter knocking me out - for that must have been the blow to the back of my head. I can see him in my mind's eye, dragging me here, thinking he is protecting me from something, though I have no idea what.
I stagger to my feet. I need to get back to town, to talk to him, to find out what's going on. It takes me a second to get my bearings, but once I do, I realise I am actually very close. I have only been walking for a few minutes when the trees start to thin and I can see the first of the houses.
Whatever Peter is hiding from me, it ends now. I take a deep breath, and head for his house. Whether he wants to or not, he will give me answers.
To be continued
Saturday 5 October 2013
Ghosts - part 1
"If you don't do it, I'll - "
"What?" Peter says, grinning.
"I'll - be very angry with you!" I finish lamely.
He laughs and claps me on the back. "Relax, Belle, of course I'll do it."
I smile, feeling my shoulders relax. I have been promising Johnny for a week that Peter will take him hunting for his birthday. I probably should have told Peter about it sooner, but who would have guessed he'd be resistant?
"I'll do it... in return for payment," he continues.
"Payment?" I say blankly.
"I'll do it if you put in a good word with Harriet for me," he says.
I grimace. I have no idea why my mum doesn't like Peter - we've been friends for years, but she's never warmed to him.
"She'll kill me," I say warningly. She hates me even talking about Peter. She has no idea that I've been seeing him almost every day for as long as I can remember.
"Do you want your brother to go hunting?"
I sigh and nod. "Why do you care what she thinks, anyway?"
"She's your mother. I want her to approve of me."
I don't really understand, but I nod anyway. He's right in that there is no good reason for her to dislike him; it really isn't fair.
"Ok, why don't you come over to my house and we'll talk to her?"
Peter pales slightly. "Maybe you should do it yourself. I don't think my presence will help."
"Ok," I agree. "See you later."
"See you." His hand brushes my cheek as he walks off, leaving a warm trail across my face. I shiver slightly. I don't know how long I've been thinking about Peter differently for, but I haven't seen any sign that he feels the same. Not wanting to ruin our friendship, I haven't said anything.
When I get home, I take a deep breath and stride in. My mum is in the kitchen, as I knew she would be.
"Alright, mum, this thing with Peter has gone on long enough," I say firmly before I can lose my nerve. "He's been my best friend for years and has never done anything to deserve your suspicion. I'm not going to waste my time again asking you what it is you don't like about him, but I am telling you right now that I am not going to stay away from him. If you try to push him away, you'll push me away with him."
She gapes at me. "You don't understand," she says softly.
"Too right I don't! What has he ever done to you?"
"He will bring trouble down upon this family," she says.
"Where do you get that from?"
She just shakes her head. "You're not to see him, I've already told you that."
"Well, too bad, because I've been seeing him in secret for years and it's not going to stop now!"
I expected my mum to be angry. What I didn't expect was for the blood to drain from her face. For a second, she looks like she is going to fall over. Then the anger I was expecting comes. Her face goes bright red and she strides forward grabbing me by the arm.
She marches me up to my bedroom, slamming the door behind me. "You'll stay there until you've forgotten all about that boy!" she yells. "I will not let you be drawn into this, not my only daughter!"
I yell and bang on the locked door, but to no avail. Fuming, I pace until the sun has gone down. My mum opens the door briefly to push a tray of food in, but I am so mad that I throw it away before even considering whether I'm hungry or not.
Finally, the moon has risen and I know my mum is asleep. I open the window and climb down the thick creeper. Sneaking between houses, I make my way three streets up, to Peter's house. I am so upset that I don't notice anything until I am in the tree next to his window. A strange white light is coming from his room.
I crawl to the overhanging branch and tap on his window. The light is so bright compared to the night around that I squint, trying to see what he's doing in there. Slowly, my eyes adjust and I see Peter surrounded by shapes.
Then I scream.
To be continued
"What?" Peter says, grinning.
"I'll - be very angry with you!" I finish lamely.
He laughs and claps me on the back. "Relax, Belle, of course I'll do it."
I smile, feeling my shoulders relax. I have been promising Johnny for a week that Peter will take him hunting for his birthday. I probably should have told Peter about it sooner, but who would have guessed he'd be resistant?
"I'll do it... in return for payment," he continues.
"Payment?" I say blankly.
"I'll do it if you put in a good word with Harriet for me," he says.
I grimace. I have no idea why my mum doesn't like Peter - we've been friends for years, but she's never warmed to him.
"She'll kill me," I say warningly. She hates me even talking about Peter. She has no idea that I've been seeing him almost every day for as long as I can remember.
"Do you want your brother to go hunting?"
I sigh and nod. "Why do you care what she thinks, anyway?"
"She's your mother. I want her to approve of me."
I don't really understand, but I nod anyway. He's right in that there is no good reason for her to dislike him; it really isn't fair.
"Ok, why don't you come over to my house and we'll talk to her?"
Peter pales slightly. "Maybe you should do it yourself. I don't think my presence will help."
"Ok," I agree. "See you later."
"See you." His hand brushes my cheek as he walks off, leaving a warm trail across my face. I shiver slightly. I don't know how long I've been thinking about Peter differently for, but I haven't seen any sign that he feels the same. Not wanting to ruin our friendship, I haven't said anything.
When I get home, I take a deep breath and stride in. My mum is in the kitchen, as I knew she would be.
"Alright, mum, this thing with Peter has gone on long enough," I say firmly before I can lose my nerve. "He's been my best friend for years and has never done anything to deserve your suspicion. I'm not going to waste my time again asking you what it is you don't like about him, but I am telling you right now that I am not going to stay away from him. If you try to push him away, you'll push me away with him."
She gapes at me. "You don't understand," she says softly.
"Too right I don't! What has he ever done to you?"
"He will bring trouble down upon this family," she says.
"Where do you get that from?"
She just shakes her head. "You're not to see him, I've already told you that."
"Well, too bad, because I've been seeing him in secret for years and it's not going to stop now!"
I expected my mum to be angry. What I didn't expect was for the blood to drain from her face. For a second, she looks like she is going to fall over. Then the anger I was expecting comes. Her face goes bright red and she strides forward grabbing me by the arm.
She marches me up to my bedroom, slamming the door behind me. "You'll stay there until you've forgotten all about that boy!" she yells. "I will not let you be drawn into this, not my only daughter!"
I yell and bang on the locked door, but to no avail. Fuming, I pace until the sun has gone down. My mum opens the door briefly to push a tray of food in, but I am so mad that I throw it away before even considering whether I'm hungry or not.
Finally, the moon has risen and I know my mum is asleep. I open the window and climb down the thick creeper. Sneaking between houses, I make my way three streets up, to Peter's house. I am so upset that I don't notice anything until I am in the tree next to his window. A strange white light is coming from his room.
I crawl to the overhanging branch and tap on his window. The light is so bright compared to the night around that I squint, trying to see what he's doing in there. Slowly, my eyes adjust and I see Peter surrounded by shapes.
Then I scream.
To be continued
Friday 27 September 2013
Cursed - part 7 - final part
Hi! Thanks for visiting my blog :) This is part seven (final part) of a little story I'm writing. For anyone who is new here, I would recommend you start at part one and work your way through. Happy reading!
I have never seen anything so terrifying in my life. I stumble back, my heart lodged in my throat. The creator looks human, but he has a presence about him, something so powerful I have an almost overwhelming instinct is to flee, and the only thing that keeps me rooted to the spot is the thought of Josh, of what will happen to him if I fail.
"You came to find us." the creator says.
I nod. My throat seems to be stuck shut. Shadows dance over the creator's face, making him appear not fully present, as though he is half ghost. I take a deep breath and force myself to speak.
"My friend is cursed. I have come to ask you to heal him."
"We do not help humans," the creator says in a loud, grinding voice. "You forfeited any right to our help eons ago."
"We can't be blamed for what our ancestors did!" I say. "Please, I'm begging you. Josh needs your help."
The creator looks quizzically at me, seemingly thinking about it.
"Few would have the courage to find us," he says eventually. "For that, I will strike a bargain with you. Humans earned their curse - we will not take that away. However, we can give you a gift: a gift of power. If you accept it, you will have the power to shift the curse from one person to another. You could move your friend's curse to someone else."
"But... but then someone else would be cursed."
"And your friend would be saved. Careful, for while you will be able to shift the curse to others, this power will protect you - you will never be able to get the curse. If you are to shift it, it will have to be to someone other than you. This is all I will offer you. Take it or leave it."
I stare in horror. I thought I would do anything to save Josh... but what right do I have to condemn others to that fate, simply to save the man I love?
Tears splash down my cheeks as I teeter on the edge, knowing that what I decide will change my life forever. I can't live without Josh. I can't do it... Yet even as I think of saving him, I hear his voice in my head, whispering the words I know he would say if he were here. "Lara, don't do it. Let me go. Don't embrace evil just to save me. Please."
"No," I mumble, but the Josh in my head doesn't relent, and I can't bring myself to overrule him, for I know he is right. If I do this, I am as bad as the creators.
"No," I say loudly, before I can change my mind. "No, I can't do it."
Without waiting for a reply, I stumble out of the clearing, blinded by tears. My only wish now is to get to Josh, to spend what remaining time he has together. My body shakes with sobs as I push on. I was so sure I could save him, so sure the creators would help.
I will never know how I found my way back to the tree where Jane and I confined Josh - not when I was lost in my own head, in a haze of despair and suffering.
I crawl inside, hoping Jane is asleep, not wanting to face explaining right now. The lamp is still on; Jane and Josh are sitting side by side, waiting for me.
I freeze. Josh shouldn't be down here - we locked him at the top for a reason; the curse makes him dangerous, whether he intends harm or not.
"It's ok, Lara," Josh says, seeing my puffy face.
"It's not ok!" I wail, flying into his arms. I don't care if he hurts me, I just want to feel his arms around me. He wraps me gently into his embrace, but I barely feel it. The second his skin touches mine, my vision fades, and I am back in the clearing. The creator is there, speaking.
"Our prophets told us of the day when a human would come and redeem their whole race - one who would choose good over power. That day, the curse would be lifted from all humanity forever. No longer will you have to live in fear, for your ancient crimes are finally forgiven."
The vision fades, and I find myself staring into Josh's eyes. "I'm fine, I'm safe," he says, stroking my face. "They lifted the curse from me."
I don't know what I say - a strange mixture of speaking, sobbing and laughing comes out of my mouth and I am kissing and hugging Josh, delirious with relief and happiness.
When I finally come back to myself, I see Jane over Josh's shoulder, beaming at me.
"I was wrong," she says. "There isn't anything you can't do, Lara."
I look back at Josh and see the rest of our lives together. And I find that I believe her.
The End
I have never seen anything so terrifying in my life. I stumble back, my heart lodged in my throat. The creator looks human, but he has a presence about him, something so powerful I have an almost overwhelming instinct is to flee, and the only thing that keeps me rooted to the spot is the thought of Josh, of what will happen to him if I fail.
"You came to find us." the creator says.
I nod. My throat seems to be stuck shut. Shadows dance over the creator's face, making him appear not fully present, as though he is half ghost. I take a deep breath and force myself to speak.
"My friend is cursed. I have come to ask you to heal him."
"We do not help humans," the creator says in a loud, grinding voice. "You forfeited any right to our help eons ago."
"We can't be blamed for what our ancestors did!" I say. "Please, I'm begging you. Josh needs your help."
The creator looks quizzically at me, seemingly thinking about it.
"Few would have the courage to find us," he says eventually. "For that, I will strike a bargain with you. Humans earned their curse - we will not take that away. However, we can give you a gift: a gift of power. If you accept it, you will have the power to shift the curse from one person to another. You could move your friend's curse to someone else."
"But... but then someone else would be cursed."
"And your friend would be saved. Careful, for while you will be able to shift the curse to others, this power will protect you - you will never be able to get the curse. If you are to shift it, it will have to be to someone other than you. This is all I will offer you. Take it or leave it."
I stare in horror. I thought I would do anything to save Josh... but what right do I have to condemn others to that fate, simply to save the man I love?
Tears splash down my cheeks as I teeter on the edge, knowing that what I decide will change my life forever. I can't live without Josh. I can't do it... Yet even as I think of saving him, I hear his voice in my head, whispering the words I know he would say if he were here. "Lara, don't do it. Let me go. Don't embrace evil just to save me. Please."
"No," I mumble, but the Josh in my head doesn't relent, and I can't bring myself to overrule him, for I know he is right. If I do this, I am as bad as the creators.
"No," I say loudly, before I can change my mind. "No, I can't do it."
Without waiting for a reply, I stumble out of the clearing, blinded by tears. My only wish now is to get to Josh, to spend what remaining time he has together. My body shakes with sobs as I push on. I was so sure I could save him, so sure the creators would help.
I will never know how I found my way back to the tree where Jane and I confined Josh - not when I was lost in my own head, in a haze of despair and suffering.
I crawl inside, hoping Jane is asleep, not wanting to face explaining right now. The lamp is still on; Jane and Josh are sitting side by side, waiting for me.
I freeze. Josh shouldn't be down here - we locked him at the top for a reason; the curse makes him dangerous, whether he intends harm or not.
"It's ok, Lara," Josh says, seeing my puffy face.
"It's not ok!" I wail, flying into his arms. I don't care if he hurts me, I just want to feel his arms around me. He wraps me gently into his embrace, but I barely feel it. The second his skin touches mine, my vision fades, and I am back in the clearing. The creator is there, speaking.
"Our prophets told us of the day when a human would come and redeem their whole race - one who would choose good over power. That day, the curse would be lifted from all humanity forever. No longer will you have to live in fear, for your ancient crimes are finally forgiven."
The vision fades, and I find myself staring into Josh's eyes. "I'm fine, I'm safe," he says, stroking my face. "They lifted the curse from me."
I don't know what I say - a strange mixture of speaking, sobbing and laughing comes out of my mouth and I am kissing and hugging Josh, delirious with relief and happiness.
When I finally come back to myself, I see Jane over Josh's shoulder, beaming at me.
"I was wrong," she says. "There isn't anything you can't do, Lara."
I look back at Josh and see the rest of our lives together. And I find that I believe her.
The End
Thursday 12 September 2013
Cursed - part 6
Hi! Thanks for visiting my blog :) This is part six of a little story I'm writing. For anyone who is new here, I would recommend you start at part one and work your way through. Happy reading!
I want to stay with Josh, but my presence is clearly not helping him. He presses himself against the wall, trying to stay as far away from me as possible. I force myself not to rub my aching neck, not wanting to make him feel worse.
I climb back down to the bottom level, locking the trapdoor securely behind me. Jane is looking worried - I don't blame her. I'm sure I must have cried out before, when Josh was attacking me without being able to help it.
"It's the curse," I say before she can ask. "It's getting worse. I need to find the creators."
"How are you going to find them?" she asks. "I know you think this is a good plan, but you have no idea how to find them, no idea if they really are in this forest, and no reason to think they will lift the curse!"
"I have to try," I say shortly. "I'm not going to find them sitting in this hollow tree. Stay here with Josh - keep the trapdoor closed. I'm going out. I'll come back when I find them."
"What if you don't find them?"
I close my eyes for a moment, not wanting to consider the answer to her question. "I will," I say. "I have to."
I crawl out of the small tunnel and emerge among the roots of the huge tree. Looking around, I see that Josh and I slept for the whole day before the curse woke him. Night has fallen, and any search parties looking for Josh will have a hard time finding me, one person alone in the dark.
With no idea where I am going, I just start walking. The creators are in this forest, somewhere; I know it.
As I pick my way carefully over roots and logs in the moonlight, I try to work out where they would be. The legends say that the creators became angry when humans betrayed them. The humans wanted more power and betrayed their own creators to get it.
Yet that doesn't hint at where they would be. They have isolated themselves in this huge forest, cursing certain humans as punishment and leaving us to our fate. Now, I need to change their minds.
I stumble into a clearing where the moonlight shines brightly. A faint breeze lifts my hair from my neck, making me shiver. "Is anyone there?" I call. I don't know if it's just that I'm alone at night, but I'm getting the feeling that someone is watching me.
"I've come to see the creators," I say to the air. "It's important."
There is no answer. I sit back on my heels, wondering where they could be. I reason that the creators made water, so they probably need it, too. I consult the mental map of the forest I have from the hours Josh and I have spent wandering here, and make for the nearest river.
I can hear the rushing of a waterfall ahead and hurry forward; I know this place.
It looks exactly as it did before, but ghostly in the pale light of the moon and stars. More strongly than ever, I feel as though there is someone watching me silently. I spin around, but there is no one there.
Why have you come to our sanctuary?
I turn my head this way and that, but I can't find the source of the voice. "I'm here because I need help," I say. "I came looking for you."
Well, you've found us.
I wait for the voice to say something more, but it doesn't. Instead, I see something that freezes my breath in my throat. The waterfall is rushing down the rock behind it... but there is something more than the rock behind the water. Something big and black is emerging, pushing its way out of nothing. The water parts and I stumble back as the creator makes its way towards me.
To be continued
I want to stay with Josh, but my presence is clearly not helping him. He presses himself against the wall, trying to stay as far away from me as possible. I force myself not to rub my aching neck, not wanting to make him feel worse.
I climb back down to the bottom level, locking the trapdoor securely behind me. Jane is looking worried - I don't blame her. I'm sure I must have cried out before, when Josh was attacking me without being able to help it.
"It's the curse," I say before she can ask. "It's getting worse. I need to find the creators."
"How are you going to find them?" she asks. "I know you think this is a good plan, but you have no idea how to find them, no idea if they really are in this forest, and no reason to think they will lift the curse!"
"I have to try," I say shortly. "I'm not going to find them sitting in this hollow tree. Stay here with Josh - keep the trapdoor closed. I'm going out. I'll come back when I find them."
"What if you don't find them?"
I close my eyes for a moment, not wanting to consider the answer to her question. "I will," I say. "I have to."
I crawl out of the small tunnel and emerge among the roots of the huge tree. Looking around, I see that Josh and I slept for the whole day before the curse woke him. Night has fallen, and any search parties looking for Josh will have a hard time finding me, one person alone in the dark.
With no idea where I am going, I just start walking. The creators are in this forest, somewhere; I know it.
As I pick my way carefully over roots and logs in the moonlight, I try to work out where they would be. The legends say that the creators became angry when humans betrayed them. The humans wanted more power and betrayed their own creators to get it.
Yet that doesn't hint at where they would be. They have isolated themselves in this huge forest, cursing certain humans as punishment and leaving us to our fate. Now, I need to change their minds.
I stumble into a clearing where the moonlight shines brightly. A faint breeze lifts my hair from my neck, making me shiver. "Is anyone there?" I call. I don't know if it's just that I'm alone at night, but I'm getting the feeling that someone is watching me.
"I've come to see the creators," I say to the air. "It's important."
There is no answer. I sit back on my heels, wondering where they could be. I reason that the creators made water, so they probably need it, too. I consult the mental map of the forest I have from the hours Josh and I have spent wandering here, and make for the nearest river.
I can hear the rushing of a waterfall ahead and hurry forward; I know this place.
It looks exactly as it did before, but ghostly in the pale light of the moon and stars. More strongly than ever, I feel as though there is someone watching me silently. I spin around, but there is no one there.
Why have you come to our sanctuary?
I turn my head this way and that, but I can't find the source of the voice. "I'm here because I need help," I say. "I came looking for you."
Well, you've found us.
I wait for the voice to say something more, but it doesn't. Instead, I see something that freezes my breath in my throat. The waterfall is rushing down the rock behind it... but there is something more than the rock behind the water. Something big and black is emerging, pushing its way out of nothing. The water parts and I stumble back as the creator makes its way towards me.
To be continued
Monday 9 September 2013
Cursed - part 5
Hi! Thanks for visiting my blog :) This is part five of a little story I'm writing. For anyone who is new here, I would recommend you start at part one and work your way through. Happy reading!
I push the bar underneath the trapdoor, holding it firmly in place. Above, Josh won't be able to get down here and sneak out while Jane and I sleep.
"Ok, that should be safe," I say, slumping against the wall of the hollowed tree.
"Are you sure?" Jane asks anxiously. "What if the curse makes him stronger and he breaks through?"
"We'll hear," I say. My eyes are already closing. It's been almost a full day since any of us slept. "The search parties won't come here for a while," I continue. "We'll be safe for now."
Jane seems to take my word for it, because she lies down without further comment and soon her breathing is deep and even. Despite how tired I am, I find myself lying awake, worrying. Josh has had the curse a few days. In most people, it takes no more than a week to become lethal. I need to get going on finding a cure, or it may be too late for all of us.
Finally I give up on sleep and light the lamp. The smoke circles up through small holes in the divisions between different layers of the tree. I take out some dried fruit to chew on and think. If my theory is correct, the creators dwell somewhere in this forest, and they are the only ones who can take the curse off Josh. The problem is that I have no idea where in the vast forest they could be, nor how to contact them.
"Lara?" Josh's voice carries easily down through the thin wooden barrier.
"I'm here," I call, bracing myself for another round of Josh berating me to let him go before hurts me without wanting to. I am surprised - as well as relieved - when he doesn't. I listen, but he is silent. Finally, I can't sit down here alone anymore. If ever I needed Josh, it's now.
I pull away the bar to the trapdoor and try to push it open, but it won't go up. "Josh?"
"Don't come up," he says. "I'm safer alone."
"I'm not leaving you all alone with the curse," I say. "Now get your butt off the trapdoor."
He hesitates, then sighs. He can't stay away from me any more than I can stay away from him. I quickly climb up, closing it behind me.
"Hey," I say, wrapping my arms around him. "It's going to be ok."
Josh hugs me silently and I turn his face up, kissing him softly.
He pulls away. "I could hurt you."
"No you won't. I know how the curse works," I say quickly, before he can protest, "but I also know you, Josh. You would never hurt me. Please, just trust me on this. Let me help you. I'm going to save you, I promise."
Finally, I see what I am looking for: a speck of doubt. "You really think you can beat it? No one has ever defeated the curse before."
"There's a first time for everything. Now lie down - we both need our rest. They'll be looking."
He reluctantly lets me ease him onto his back, stroking his hair. "We'll be fine," I murmur. Josh's arms wrap around me and I breathe in deeply. Finally, my body relaxes and I drift off into sleep.
I wake with a shock. A scream is locked in my throat, the pain everywhere. I have heard people describe what it is like to be struck by lightning; I imagine this is similar.
I twist around to see someone behind me. His hands are on either side of my neck, and the pain is emanating from those two points. I struggle, but he is too strong.
My breath is coming short and fast, and there are spots in my vision. I stare at the man. His eyes are locked with mine. Wait a moment... Josh, that's Josh. It's Josh as I've never seen him, though. The expression on his face is lethal and cruel; I have could never have imagined it on his face before seeing it. As it is, I barely recognise him. At once, I know what is happening: the curse. It's telling him to kill every living thing in sight, and giving him the power to do it.
"Josh," I choke out. "It's me."
His eyes flicker, but I am fast losing consciousness.
"Josh..."
The black spots expand before my eyes, but I can still hear his gasp of realisation as his hands fly off me. As my vision flickers back, I see him scrambling as far away from me as he can, his face set in horror. "Lara," he whispers. "I'm so sorry." He stares at his hands in shock.
"It's ok," I gasp, getting my breath back. "It's fine, I told you that you wouldn't hurt me."
He is shaking, and I make to go over to him, but Josh holds his hands up like a shield.
"Josh, listen to me," I say. "No one with the curse has been able to back off once moving in for the kill before. You just did. I told you that you're different."
He doesn't even seem to hear me. Lost in some private world of terror, he presses himself against the inside of the tree trunk, staying as far away from me as possible.
"Hey, are you two alright up there?" Jane calls, apparently having woken up."
"Fine," I say after a slight hesitation.
I look again at Josh, whose eyes are closed and face is twitching.
I wonder what I have gotten us into.
To be continued
I push the bar underneath the trapdoor, holding it firmly in place. Above, Josh won't be able to get down here and sneak out while Jane and I sleep.
"Ok, that should be safe," I say, slumping against the wall of the hollowed tree.
"Are you sure?" Jane asks anxiously. "What if the curse makes him stronger and he breaks through?"
"We'll hear," I say. My eyes are already closing. It's been almost a full day since any of us slept. "The search parties won't come here for a while," I continue. "We'll be safe for now."
Jane seems to take my word for it, because she lies down without further comment and soon her breathing is deep and even. Despite how tired I am, I find myself lying awake, worrying. Josh has had the curse a few days. In most people, it takes no more than a week to become lethal. I need to get going on finding a cure, or it may be too late for all of us.
Finally I give up on sleep and light the lamp. The smoke circles up through small holes in the divisions between different layers of the tree. I take out some dried fruit to chew on and think. If my theory is correct, the creators dwell somewhere in this forest, and they are the only ones who can take the curse off Josh. The problem is that I have no idea where in the vast forest they could be, nor how to contact them.
"Lara?" Josh's voice carries easily down through the thin wooden barrier.
"I'm here," I call, bracing myself for another round of Josh berating me to let him go before hurts me without wanting to. I am surprised - as well as relieved - when he doesn't. I listen, but he is silent. Finally, I can't sit down here alone anymore. If ever I needed Josh, it's now.
I pull away the bar to the trapdoor and try to push it open, but it won't go up. "Josh?"
"Don't come up," he says. "I'm safer alone."
"I'm not leaving you all alone with the curse," I say. "Now get your butt off the trapdoor."
He hesitates, then sighs. He can't stay away from me any more than I can stay away from him. I quickly climb up, closing it behind me.
"Hey," I say, wrapping my arms around him. "It's going to be ok."
Josh hugs me silently and I turn his face up, kissing him softly.
He pulls away. "I could hurt you."
"No you won't. I know how the curse works," I say quickly, before he can protest, "but I also know you, Josh. You would never hurt me. Please, just trust me on this. Let me help you. I'm going to save you, I promise."
Finally, I see what I am looking for: a speck of doubt. "You really think you can beat it? No one has ever defeated the curse before."
"There's a first time for everything. Now lie down - we both need our rest. They'll be looking."
He reluctantly lets me ease him onto his back, stroking his hair. "We'll be fine," I murmur. Josh's arms wrap around me and I breathe in deeply. Finally, my body relaxes and I drift off into sleep.
I wake with a shock. A scream is locked in my throat, the pain everywhere. I have heard people describe what it is like to be struck by lightning; I imagine this is similar.
I twist around to see someone behind me. His hands are on either side of my neck, and the pain is emanating from those two points. I struggle, but he is too strong.
My breath is coming short and fast, and there are spots in my vision. I stare at the man. His eyes are locked with mine. Wait a moment... Josh, that's Josh. It's Josh as I've never seen him, though. The expression on his face is lethal and cruel; I have could never have imagined it on his face before seeing it. As it is, I barely recognise him. At once, I know what is happening: the curse. It's telling him to kill every living thing in sight, and giving him the power to do it.
"Josh," I choke out. "It's me."
His eyes flicker, but I am fast losing consciousness.
"Josh..."
The black spots expand before my eyes, but I can still hear his gasp of realisation as his hands fly off me. As my vision flickers back, I see him scrambling as far away from me as he can, his face set in horror. "Lara," he whispers. "I'm so sorry." He stares at his hands in shock.
"It's ok," I gasp, getting my breath back. "It's fine, I told you that you wouldn't hurt me."
He is shaking, and I make to go over to him, but Josh holds his hands up like a shield.
"Josh, listen to me," I say. "No one with the curse has been able to back off once moving in for the kill before. You just did. I told you that you're different."
He doesn't even seem to hear me. Lost in some private world of terror, he presses himself against the inside of the tree trunk, staying as far away from me as possible.
"Hey, are you two alright up there?" Jane calls, apparently having woken up."
"Fine," I say after a slight hesitation.
I look again at Josh, whose eyes are closed and face is twitching.
I wonder what I have gotten us into.
To be continued
Friday 6 September 2013
Cursed - part 4
Hi! Thanks for visiting my blog :) This is part four of a little story I'm writing. For anyone who is new here, I would recommend you start at part one and work your way through. Happy reading!
My eyes are drooping in exhaustion, but we don't dare slow yet. When Harrod wakes up and discovers Josh is missing, he'll send people looking at once. We need to be far away from here when that happens.
"Lara?"
I shake myself, realising that my eyes had closed. "You ok?" I ask, glancing over at Jane.
"We'll need to stop sometime," she points out. It is hard to hear over the galloping of the horses and I lean closer to her.
"I know. There's a place where Josh and I used to go - it's far away, but well hidden. We can rest there."
Jane looks like she wants to ask what place, but she is too out of breath. I glance back to see Josh bouncing along on his horse behind mine. He can't balance properly, tied as he is, but the ropes Jane and I wound around him hold him on the saddle, if not comfortably.
Dawn is just lighting the sky. We had better be under cover by the time the sun is up, or we'll be visible to anyone who cares to look. I peer around, trying to remember the place. Josh and I haven't been there in years - it's too far away to make an easy day trip. The forest is on our left, but we ride alone the flat ridge, sacrificing the increased visibility for increased speed.
As we ride, I see the correct signs. The forest of Grelan looms bigger and bigger in my vision. Nearer to home, the trees are normal sized. Now, they seem to touch the sky - we can't even see the top branches. One tree looks as wide around as a house. Most people won't come near this place - they say it's unnatural. Unnatural it may be, but Josh and I never agreed that unnatural is dangerous. We explored thoroughly in our youth, and it is serving us well now.
I slow as we reach the place and Jane follows suit. "Are you sure about this?" she asks in a hushed voice as I lead us into the trees.
"We need a place to hide," I point out.
She looks around and shivers. I hear a muffled noise behind us and see that Josh is trying to say something through his gag. I let his horse catch up with mine, pulling in the lead as it comes. No one will hear yelling him now. I gently remove the gag and brace myself.
"Let me go, Lara," he says at once. "I'll just hurt you as the curse progresses."
"Not a chance," I say, rolling my eyes. "Did you really think I'd just sit by and watch you die?"
"I could kill you!" he says angrily.
"Not if I break the curse."
His eyes almost bug out of his head. "There is no way to break the curse! You know that - everyone knows that."
I gesture around at the forest of Grelan. "Do you remember the stories we heard about this place? They say that this is where the world began. Your parents told you the legends, too. They say the creators made the world and humans with it. They became angry when the humans betrayed them, though, wanting more power. That's why no one comes here."
"I know that," Josh says. "That doesn't have anything to do with this."
"What if it does, though?" I ask. "What if they cursed us? It makes sense. We don't know where the curse came from. It might have been the creators. If they cast it, they can undo it. We just need to find them."
"All of that is speculation," Josh says. "This isn't a game, you could die here. You've had this theory, what, a couple of hours? I know you would have told me if you'd thought of it sooner. You're so desperate to save me that you've been thinking up wild solutions the whole time we've been riding, haven't you?"
"Sometimes in times of great need, people see with more clarity than ever before."
"I don't care!" Josh yells, angry now. "This is your life we're talking about, Lara!"
"Yes, it is my life!" I shout, suddenly equally angry. "Did you ever consider what would happen to me if you died, Josh? Did you? I'm doing this to save my own life as much as yours! Remember before you found me? It was a miracle I lived that long."
He opens his mouth angrily to reply, but Jane, who has until now remained silent, breaks in. "She's right, Josh. I've been her best friend for our whole lives, but even I couldn't get through to her. We thought she was going crazy, retreating into some distant world of her own, but you pulled her back. I watched my best friend come alive again because of you, and I'm not going to watch her go back there."
Josh takes a deep breath, marshalling his next argument.
"I don't want to hear it," I snap. "We're saving you and that's all there is to it."
Of course, he keeps trying to dissuade me, but I shut his voice out, looking carefully. "There it is," I murmur after a while. The sun has risen now, but we still have some time. People will be reluctant to come here - they'll only do it when there's no other choice. Josh and I never told anyone else about our secret place. We'll be safe - from others, at least.
"It's here," I say to Jane. "We'll have to set the horses loose - take all your stuff."
I approach Josh warily, worried he'll somehow escape when I untie him. Instead, I decide to wait until Jane and I can both get him inside. I tell her to hold his horse while I kneel down, searching for the entrance.
The great tree has gnarled roots sticking up as much as three feet into the air. Finally, I find it - the small cavern beneath two roots, just big enough for someone to climb into.
"We'll just find you if you run," I say warily to Josh. All I want is to sleep, but we need to secure him first.
Jane and I loosen the ropes from the horse, but keep him securely tied up. "Go," I say, gesturing to the hole. Josh looks at me, but seems to decide that cooperating for now will be best. He gets onto his knees and crawls out of sight. Jane and push our supplies before us, following him.
We crawl through the earthy tunnel into darkness. I can tell when we're there. There is suddenly space all around us. Light flares up to the left as Josh lights the lamp we'd left here the last time we visited.
"What is this place?" Jane whispers in awe, straightening up.
"Somewhere where we'll be safe," I say. I glance around. Josh and I never worked out how a whole tree became hollow, but we've used it as a secret hideout for years. Now, it is our only hope to save him.
"Settle down," I say to the two of them. "The others will be looking soon. We're in for a long day."
To be continued
My eyes are drooping in exhaustion, but we don't dare slow yet. When Harrod wakes up and discovers Josh is missing, he'll send people looking at once. We need to be far away from here when that happens.
"Lara?"
I shake myself, realising that my eyes had closed. "You ok?" I ask, glancing over at Jane.
"We'll need to stop sometime," she points out. It is hard to hear over the galloping of the horses and I lean closer to her.
"I know. There's a place where Josh and I used to go - it's far away, but well hidden. We can rest there."
Jane looks like she wants to ask what place, but she is too out of breath. I glance back to see Josh bouncing along on his horse behind mine. He can't balance properly, tied as he is, but the ropes Jane and I wound around him hold him on the saddle, if not comfortably.
Dawn is just lighting the sky. We had better be under cover by the time the sun is up, or we'll be visible to anyone who cares to look. I peer around, trying to remember the place. Josh and I haven't been there in years - it's too far away to make an easy day trip. The forest is on our left, but we ride alone the flat ridge, sacrificing the increased visibility for increased speed.
As we ride, I see the correct signs. The forest of Grelan looms bigger and bigger in my vision. Nearer to home, the trees are normal sized. Now, they seem to touch the sky - we can't even see the top branches. One tree looks as wide around as a house. Most people won't come near this place - they say it's unnatural. Unnatural it may be, but Josh and I never agreed that unnatural is dangerous. We explored thoroughly in our youth, and it is serving us well now.
I slow as we reach the place and Jane follows suit. "Are you sure about this?" she asks in a hushed voice as I lead us into the trees.
"We need a place to hide," I point out.
She looks around and shivers. I hear a muffled noise behind us and see that Josh is trying to say something through his gag. I let his horse catch up with mine, pulling in the lead as it comes. No one will hear yelling him now. I gently remove the gag and brace myself.
"Let me go, Lara," he says at once. "I'll just hurt you as the curse progresses."
"Not a chance," I say, rolling my eyes. "Did you really think I'd just sit by and watch you die?"
"I could kill you!" he says angrily.
"Not if I break the curse."
His eyes almost bug out of his head. "There is no way to break the curse! You know that - everyone knows that."
I gesture around at the forest of Grelan. "Do you remember the stories we heard about this place? They say that this is where the world began. Your parents told you the legends, too. They say the creators made the world and humans with it. They became angry when the humans betrayed them, though, wanting more power. That's why no one comes here."
"I know that," Josh says. "That doesn't have anything to do with this."
"What if it does, though?" I ask. "What if they cursed us? It makes sense. We don't know where the curse came from. It might have been the creators. If they cast it, they can undo it. We just need to find them."
"All of that is speculation," Josh says. "This isn't a game, you could die here. You've had this theory, what, a couple of hours? I know you would have told me if you'd thought of it sooner. You're so desperate to save me that you've been thinking up wild solutions the whole time we've been riding, haven't you?"
"Sometimes in times of great need, people see with more clarity than ever before."
"I don't care!" Josh yells, angry now. "This is your life we're talking about, Lara!"
"Yes, it is my life!" I shout, suddenly equally angry. "Did you ever consider what would happen to me if you died, Josh? Did you? I'm doing this to save my own life as much as yours! Remember before you found me? It was a miracle I lived that long."
He opens his mouth angrily to reply, but Jane, who has until now remained silent, breaks in. "She's right, Josh. I've been her best friend for our whole lives, but even I couldn't get through to her. We thought she was going crazy, retreating into some distant world of her own, but you pulled her back. I watched my best friend come alive again because of you, and I'm not going to watch her go back there."
Josh takes a deep breath, marshalling his next argument.
"I don't want to hear it," I snap. "We're saving you and that's all there is to it."
Of course, he keeps trying to dissuade me, but I shut his voice out, looking carefully. "There it is," I murmur after a while. The sun has risen now, but we still have some time. People will be reluctant to come here - they'll only do it when there's no other choice. Josh and I never told anyone else about our secret place. We'll be safe - from others, at least.
"It's here," I say to Jane. "We'll have to set the horses loose - take all your stuff."
I approach Josh warily, worried he'll somehow escape when I untie him. Instead, I decide to wait until Jane and I can both get him inside. I tell her to hold his horse while I kneel down, searching for the entrance.
The great tree has gnarled roots sticking up as much as three feet into the air. Finally, I find it - the small cavern beneath two roots, just big enough for someone to climb into.
"We'll just find you if you run," I say warily to Josh. All I want is to sleep, but we need to secure him first.
Jane and I loosen the ropes from the horse, but keep him securely tied up. "Go," I say, gesturing to the hole. Josh looks at me, but seems to decide that cooperating for now will be best. He gets onto his knees and crawls out of sight. Jane and push our supplies before us, following him.
We crawl through the earthy tunnel into darkness. I can tell when we're there. There is suddenly space all around us. Light flares up to the left as Josh lights the lamp we'd left here the last time we visited.
"What is this place?" Jane whispers in awe, straightening up.
"Somewhere where we'll be safe," I say. I glance around. Josh and I never worked out how a whole tree became hollow, but we've used it as a secret hideout for years. Now, it is our only hope to save him.
"Settle down," I say to the two of them. "The others will be looking soon. We're in for a long day."
To be continued
Tuesday 3 September 2013
2 year writing anniversary!
Exactly two years ago today, I sat down at my computer. I didn't know what I was doing. I just wrote the words 'chapter 1' and started. The words flew from my fingers and didn't stop. They still haven't stopped.
Within a few months of that day, I had a book.
Some time after that, I had a trilogy.
Maybe six months after I finished my first book, I started sending it to publishers. The rejections were stinging and frequent, but over time, I learned to deal with them, because I had a much bigger goal in mind.
2 years and about 80 rejections later, I am here. The third book I wrote was published just last month.
I don't know exactly what made me sit down on that fateful day and start writing, but I do know that I have never looked back. If I try to think of a life without writing... well, it's about as easy as imagining a life without breathing.
Today, I celebrate that first decision, as well as every one that has come after it. I have regrets in life, as everyone does, but this is not one of them. In writing, I have found my world, the place where I truly belong.
Within a few months of that day, I had a book.
Some time after that, I had a trilogy.
Maybe six months after I finished my first book, I started sending it to publishers. The rejections were stinging and frequent, but over time, I learned to deal with them, because I had a much bigger goal in mind.
2 years and about 80 rejections later, I am here. The third book I wrote was published just last month.
I don't know exactly what made me sit down on that fateful day and start writing, but I do know that I have never looked back. If I try to think of a life without writing... well, it's about as easy as imagining a life without breathing.
Today, I celebrate that first decision, as well as every one that has come after it. I have regrets in life, as everyone does, but this is not one of them. In writing, I have found my world, the place where I truly belong.
Cursed - part 3
Hi! Thanks for visiting my blog :) This is part three of a little story I'm writing. For anyone who is new here, I would recommend you start at part one and work your way through. Happy reading!
"Are you sure he's asleep?" I ask for the third time.
"Just go and check yourself if you don't believe me," Jane hisses.
I shake my head, staring anxiously at the dark house. Jane went to check because she has a lighter tread than me - she has the slightly spooky ability to move completely silently when she wants to.
"If he's not, and this goes wrong..." I trail off, letting her fill in the blanks.
"I'm sure," Jane says. I take one long look at her, then nod.
"Ok, let's go. Do you have it?"
"Right here," she says, patting her bag. I don't know where she got the rare ingredients that fill the bottle she is now touching, but within a few minutes of me telling her the plan, she was back with them. "We just need to empty it over his face," she says. "It'll change to mist and once he breathes it in, he'll sleep for hours."
I nod. "You ready?"
"Ready."
Together we go through the motions of the hastily made plan. Jane wanted to go up by herself, as there is less chance of her getting caught, but I put my foot down there. This is my mission; the risk should be mine, too.
We creep up the stairs and into Josh's bedroom. Janet quietly passes me the key she stole from his father's room. I get ready to unlock the chains around his wrists, but first Jane needs to knock him out - if he realises what we are doing, he will no doubt start yelling. Once Harrod gets his hands on us, we'll have no chance of getting Josh out of here.
It is too dark to see clearly in here, so Jane taps me once on the shoulder before creeping right up by Josh's bedside. In one quick motion, she unstoppers the bottle and empties it over his face, jumping back.
I can't see anything, but Josh continues to breathe deeply and I get a faint whiff of something sweet floating across the room. Without waiting to be told, I rush forward and unlock the shackles that bind him to the bed. Together, Jane and I grab him and start carrying him down the stairs.
With me holding Josh's feet and Jane his arms, we run to the horses. We have ropes to tie him down - we can't expect him to stay on unconscious, not at the gallop which we will have to ride at, at least until we escape.
So far, everything has gone to plan. My heart is beating at a frantic rate. If we can just get away, we have a chance to try to save Josh before the curse takes him - but we first need to hide him from those who would have him killed. Including himself. Not sure how we'll manage that.
We are tying Josh to the horse when something unexpected and unplanned for happens.
Josh starts to wake up.
"I thought he'd sleep for hours!" I whisper in panic.
"So did I!"
Jane and I stare in horror. It must be the curse, working the drug out of his system faster than we thought it would.
"Hurry," I say. "Get a gag. I'll tie him."
I lash Josh to his horse as fast as I can, but he is quickly becoming aware.
"Lara?" he mumbles groggily.
"Don't speak now," I say. "Don't worry, everything is going to be fine."
He starts to struggle. "What are you doing?"
"I'm saving you," I say shortly.
"You can't! There is no cure for the curse, you know that! I'll hurt you, Lara, I won't be able to help myself; no one with the curse can."
"You won't hurt me," I say, trying to buy time until he is tied.
"No, can't do this, you can't put your life at risk for me! Lara, I -"
His words are cut off as Jane stuffs a piece of material into his mouth - just in time, too. Someone would have heard him in seconds if his voice kept getting louder.
Josh is frantically shaking his head at me, but I ignore him. There is no way I am going to let him die - he should know that by now.
Jane and I mount up and I grab the lead that is attached to Josh's horse. He struggles, but he is tied too securely. Together, we gallop off into the night.
To be continued
"Are you sure he's asleep?" I ask for the third time.
"Just go and check yourself if you don't believe me," Jane hisses.
I shake my head, staring anxiously at the dark house. Jane went to check because she has a lighter tread than me - she has the slightly spooky ability to move completely silently when she wants to.
"If he's not, and this goes wrong..." I trail off, letting her fill in the blanks.
"I'm sure," Jane says. I take one long look at her, then nod.
"Ok, let's go. Do you have it?"
"Right here," she says, patting her bag. I don't know where she got the rare ingredients that fill the bottle she is now touching, but within a few minutes of me telling her the plan, she was back with them. "We just need to empty it over his face," she says. "It'll change to mist and once he breathes it in, he'll sleep for hours."
I nod. "You ready?"
"Ready."
Together we go through the motions of the hastily made plan. Jane wanted to go up by herself, as there is less chance of her getting caught, but I put my foot down there. This is my mission; the risk should be mine, too.
We creep up the stairs and into Josh's bedroom. Janet quietly passes me the key she stole from his father's room. I get ready to unlock the chains around his wrists, but first Jane needs to knock him out - if he realises what we are doing, he will no doubt start yelling. Once Harrod gets his hands on us, we'll have no chance of getting Josh out of here.
It is too dark to see clearly in here, so Jane taps me once on the shoulder before creeping right up by Josh's bedside. In one quick motion, she unstoppers the bottle and empties it over his face, jumping back.
I can't see anything, but Josh continues to breathe deeply and I get a faint whiff of something sweet floating across the room. Without waiting to be told, I rush forward and unlock the shackles that bind him to the bed. Together, Jane and I grab him and start carrying him down the stairs.
With me holding Josh's feet and Jane his arms, we run to the horses. We have ropes to tie him down - we can't expect him to stay on unconscious, not at the gallop which we will have to ride at, at least until we escape.
So far, everything has gone to plan. My heart is beating at a frantic rate. If we can just get away, we have a chance to try to save Josh before the curse takes him - but we first need to hide him from those who would have him killed. Including himself. Not sure how we'll manage that.
We are tying Josh to the horse when something unexpected and unplanned for happens.
Josh starts to wake up.
"I thought he'd sleep for hours!" I whisper in panic.
"So did I!"
Jane and I stare in horror. It must be the curse, working the drug out of his system faster than we thought it would.
"Hurry," I say. "Get a gag. I'll tie him."
I lash Josh to his horse as fast as I can, but he is quickly becoming aware.
"Lara?" he mumbles groggily.
"Don't speak now," I say. "Don't worry, everything is going to be fine."
He starts to struggle. "What are you doing?"
"I'm saving you," I say shortly.
"You can't! There is no cure for the curse, you know that! I'll hurt you, Lara, I won't be able to help myself; no one with the curse can."
"You won't hurt me," I say, trying to buy time until he is tied.
"No, can't do this, you can't put your life at risk for me! Lara, I -"
His words are cut off as Jane stuffs a piece of material into his mouth - just in time, too. Someone would have heard him in seconds if his voice kept getting louder.
Josh is frantically shaking his head at me, but I ignore him. There is no way I am going to let him die - he should know that by now.
Jane and I mount up and I grab the lead that is attached to Josh's horse. He struggles, but he is tied too securely. Together, we gallop off into the night.
To be continued
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