Young Writers Society

I grinned. Finally, a chance to do something! "I'm sooo in." I said.

Thank God. Do you have any idea how much trouble those Magekillers have caused me? I had to live alone in the wilderness because of them! And they still haven't given up on the notion that I'm a psycho killer!


...

Well. Now I can fight back. I'm just curious to see who else will.

Yay! We're starting!

Leigh

As Cutter said the words, my heart started beating faster. Now, it whispered. Now you can avenge Windsor's death.

"I'm in," I said quietly but firmly. I might have just joined the mages' group, but I was loving it. Finally, I didn't need to be wary of anyone, whether they would turn out to be an enemy or not. Finally, I could avenge my mentor's death, and help justice prevail against the wicked Rossain government. Finally, I was part of a group that accepted me for who I was and didn't recoil in disgust when they found out that I could use magic.

I clicked my tongue softly, and a robin flew down out of the trees and perched on my outstretched hand, avoiding the curious stares of the others.

Carter and Liara were also new. They were good people once you got to know them, but I've always been naturally shy around others. Then there was the "old crowd". They're a tight-knit group that have stuck through thick and thin, and have already faced the Magekillers several times. Catherine was really nice, but Emmett seemed moody and quiet. Hardly a surprise, when his love had been snatched from him. And we still don't know where she is.

Cutter was, obviously, our leader. He was almost always cheerful, for some reason, but I could feel it rub off on the rest of us. We opened up and became more friendly. Thank goodness for that; we'll need all the mages we can get for the upcoming battle against the government.

The robin flew off and I sat back against a tree stump, looking around our circle and waiting for someone else to speak.

Cutter, Psychic,

I beam at my friends. I knew they'd back me up.

"Well, okay then," I smile, "Let's assess what we have right now. I should know all of your Mage-types, but, sadly, I don't. Would everyone mind telling? I'm Psychic, by the way."

I look around expectantly.

Emmett speaks up first, "I'm Psychic too, as you very well know."

Leigh

Everyone still seemed really tired and non-responsive, so I spoke up.

"I'm organic, as you could tell when I called the robin to me. And I'm guessing that since Liara was rubbing a fireball between her hands earlier this morning that she's elemental."

I sat back against the tree stump again, drawing my cloak tighter around me as I looked around the group again, waiting for someone else to speak.

Catherine

Everyone went around to say their powers.

"Elemental." Carter said. "And by the way, I'm in on your plan." Cutter smiled, then looked at me. He waited silently for an answer.

"I'm Elemental too, but you already knew that." I said.

"I know, but now everyone knows." Cutter said.

I looked at Emmett. He and I still hadn't given an answer to Cutter, and we knew he was waiting for it.

"So, are you guys in?" he asked us. Emmett and I exchanged looks.

I...I can't. I sent my message to him, and I was glad that he understood. He nodded to me, and I turned to tell Cutter.

"Cutter, I don't think it's right." I said.

"What do you mean?" he asked, surprised that I wasn't with him. "Look at where we are. This is all because of them!" he said harshly, his voice raising in anger.

"I know what they did to us wasn't right, but that doesn't mean we have to do it to them. We're above that."

"Well maybe you are, but I'm going to give them a taste of their own medicine."

"Cutter, do you hear yourself? You're being blinded by anger." I said softly. It was silent for a second. "I'm sorry." I said finally."

Cutter didn't say anything. He turned to Emmett to see what he would do.

Cutter,

I'm shocked. I was sure, after all we'd been through...Why doesn't she want...want to DO something about it all?

"Why?" I ask, bitterness evident, "It's not just personal, Cath. It's about helping others. Giving others the chance to live in a free world. I wish we could do it passively, I really do, but if we openly came out and passively protested, we'd be shot, instantly. You know that!"

My voice has risen, and everyone is staring at me.

"You're going to end up hurting innocent people, just like the Magekillers, Cutter," Catherine says, her voice trembling.

"No, I'm not!" I say fiercly, "That's the point! We're just going to target Magekiller headquarters. That's it. And don't even THINK of trying to tell me that they're innocent."

Leigh

Never before had I imagined that Cutter could get this angry. Suddenly, an unbidden image sprang to my mind: a tall, red-faced man yelling at me, while a woman with long, flowing blond hair stared down at me.

I shivered and turned my attention back to the others. Cutter was standing up now, heatedly pointing out to Catherine why she should help us go against the Magekillers.

Abruptly, I also jumped to my feet. "I'm not saying that the Magekillers are innocent, Cutter," I began. "But think about it. What if the Magekillers hide out in civilians' homes? What if they force the civilians to form an enormous army and go against us? Or what if--heaven forbid that they be so cowardly, but--they use the civilians as shields? Even if we're only going for the Magekiller headquarters, they're bound to bring in 'reinforcements' before long."

I was going to say more, then realized that Cutter's the leader, and I just blurted out a lot of random thoughts that popped into my head as I was talking. I turned away, muttered, "Sorry," then sat back down, mentally smacking myself in the head.

Carter

It looked like Catherine was about to cry. I understood why. I knew it was hard for her to protest against her friend. They were so close to each other.

"I wasn't going to." Catherine said. Her voice was still calm. She sighed. "Look, you hate what they did to you, right?" she asked.

"YES! That's why I--"

"Well, do you really want to be like them? Do you really want to do what they did? They kill and they don't care." Her voice began to rise just a little, but it was still shaking. "You're going to be like them. Even if it's not the innocent. I don't want you to be a killer." She began to cry, and Cutter's face softened a little. "Do you really want to sink down to their level?"

There was silence for a moment, and I began to rethink joining in on Cutter's plan.

Cutter,

I realize that I'm quivering uncontrollably. I put my face in my hands.

"'S okay, Leigh, " I mutter, sitting down. Unbidden, I start crying.

"I just want to DO something to help," I say miserably, wiping my nose, "I can't just forget about...about...you know..."

Everyone nods. We've all lost loved ones to the Magekillers in the past.
I wipe my eyes on my sleeve.

"Well, if that's your guy's feeling about it, what should we do instead?"

Liara:

I reseated myself. "Well," I started. Everyone seemed a bit startled to hear me actually speak. I pulled my knees to my chest, suddenly feeling rather self-conscious. I swallowed and ran a hand through my hair, letting some water in to rinse through it a tad.

"For the last eight years, I've just sort of... wandered. Lived. I can't bear to take one more day of that, you know? So, we could just try and find out what's going on in Rossain. See if there's anything we can do about it without going against our morals. I'm an elemental, by the way."

I paused.

"I don't think I've ever said that much at one time before."

Catherine

"I don't think I've ever said that much at one time before." Liara said. I couldn't help but laugh at that.

"I guess that's all we can do." Cutter said.

"I'm good with that." I said. Everyone else nodded.

"Well then, it's settled. We'll go to Rossain to find stuff out." Cutter said. He started walking, and we all followed. I caught up to him to talk.

"Look, I'm sorry about what happened. I know you only meant well for us, and the people of Rossain." I said.

Cutter,

I try to smile. I'm conflicted about everything right now, and I can't put an order to anything.

"Don't apologize, Cath," I say, "I just got caught up in the heat of the moment, I guess."

She pats my arm, "That's fine. It happens to all of us, at one time or another. I just couldn't bear the thought of any more violence."

I nod. Really, neither could I. The thought of fighting sickened me, even though, sometimes, it had to be done. Absentmindedly, I levitate a stick and twirl it around. We walk in silence for another twenty minutes, before I decide that we're at a good point. I turn to the others.

"This should be a good teleportation spot. So hang on to the nearest Psychic, and let's get ourselves outta here."

Do you have any idea how I could bring Natalie in?

We could kind of teleport next to her without knowing she'd be there? Something like that.

Natalie

I tied the horse up by the stream to drink, and looked into the field. It really was beautiful. Technically, we were out of the limits of my parent's farm, but it didn't matter. I didn't really care to much about the rules, the ones my parents set for me anyway.

"Come on, Nellie, drink." I say, pointing to the water. The horse just whinnied. I shook my head in defeat.

Suddenly, there were a group of a few kids standing next to me.

"Oh, my....Mages....you....transport..."I stutter, mouth hanging open. This was not happening, it couldnt be.

"This isn't good." One commented.

"Wait, she looks kind of like Lorei. With the hair color, and eyes." A girl said. My eyes flickered to a boy who winced when the girl mentioned Lorei.

"Lorei, she's dead. Disappeared. She's my cousin. Mages!" I say, still not able to talk normally.

"Are you okay?" the first boy asked. I just stared at them.

"You, you aren't supposed to....they put blocks......transportation...." I still sounded like an idiot, trying to put two and two together. I couldn't believe I had a group of mages standing in front of me. I knew, though, from the time they first appeared, I would end up helping them.