Young Writers Society

Melani and Estella are two shining figures and are quite literally a beacon of light, even in times of hardship. Meanwhile, Evaline and Artemis struggle to get along, but find that they have more in common in the dark than they thought. Together, the four gals must work together to bring down a sinister looming force of evil.

Mel knew deep in her gut that something was wrong. She stirred, breathing in the air that felt thinner, lighter, different. This wasn't home. Something was off. Or maybe she was dreaming... It was hard to tell.

She moaned, stirring in her sleep some more, then realizing she was awfully uncomfortable. She couldn't have been on her bed. With a jolt, Mel's eyes snapped open and she sat up straight, her hair flying around her head as she whipped her head around.

It was still a bit dark, but... she was in a bedroom. Just not her bedroom. Where was she?

Estella Fay groaned. It had been another night of tossing and turning and no rest.
“Artemis? You back already?”
She sat up, squinting in the dark.

"Artemis? Who's Artemis?" Mel said, the tiredness fully disappearing in her mind and instead letting a sea of calm wash over her until she figured out what was going on. "Who are you?"

She scrambled out of bed, twisting the knob on her gas lamp.
“How did you get here? Why are you in my room?”
Her wings caught the light, the yellow slightly shimmering.

With more light having entered the room, Mel could finally see who was talking. She had only just now stood up, but her eyes widened when her stare not at the person's face, but their wings.

"Who -- what --" she stammered, then pointed at them, more confused than anything. "How do you have wings?!"

Estella Fay shook her wings, rustling the feathers and making some metallic sound.
“Do you not know about the Alis?”
She laughed to herself, tugging on the ends of her braids.
“Doesn’t matter. What are you doing in my house? Are you here to rob us?”

"The what now?" Mel breathed out, then shook her head. "Wait. No. I'm not here to -- where am I, anyways?"

She glanced around, not at all recognizing this room.

“Alis. You know, the descendants of angels. You’re in London, by the way. I can’t tell you the street name.” Estella Fay sat down on the bed, reaching into her nightstand. She was careful to keep your back away from Mel.

Mel narrowed her eyes at the incredibly tall woman, not sure what to think of all this. Wings. London. Alis... she didn't even know how to make sense of all of it. This had to be a dream, right?

"I have no idea what that is," she said through a sigh, then brought her hand close in front of her face, slowly extending it out back and forth in front of her. If this were a dream, it was incredibly vivid.

“What are you doing?” Estella Fay put on gloves she had found in her drawer. “And how have you never hears of us? My governess said everything we do is highly monitored, always judged.”

-

Artemis caught one of the rats between her teeth and settled down. She would return soon, but she hated staying in that stuffy yellow room. So, if she lingered just a little bit, what was the worst that could happen?

"Hm?" Mel dropped her hand and squinted at the tall winged woman, convinced that this was still a bizarre dream, but decided to entertain the idea that it wasn't. It felt more exciting that way, even though this only raised more questions for her.

"Oh, uh... is it because of your, you know--" she pointed at her wings, "--angel-looking wings?"

--

Evaline woke with a jolt on the tall grass, feeling her heart beat hard and fast against her chest. She took several deep breaths, clutching her chest with every heave as a few loose strands of hairs fells across her face. The panic came at once like it did with every nightmare, but one look around, and the panic grew substantially.

Outside. She was outside. Why was she outside?

With wide eyes, Evaline frantically glanced around, shuffling to her feet as she bit back the panic, fear, and dread. She had to figure out where she was, how she got here, and who took her here. But her brain was on pure rapid-fire defensive mode, and with every small noise, she wanted to jump and run away.

"Who's there?!" she hissed at a nearby bush that rustled, taking a few silent steps back.

Estella Fay sighed. "Sort of. There are other reasons too, but none of them are well explained. I wish it made sense so that I could explain it to you. But, humans don't trust us, so they do everything in their power to make themselves safer."

She dramatically flung herself on the bed, crying out in pain almost immediately. She didn't move, seeming almost frozen in place. "So, uh... what's your name?'

--

Artemis rolled out of the bush. Her grey fur caught the moonlight, the patches of black cutting across her back and sides like a sharp shadow, with eyes glowing with a fiery white light. She was a Mexican wolf, distinctly out of place in the sprawling urban streets around her and the multi-story mansions surrounding them. She sat down on her hind legs, staring at Evaline with an almost predatory, unwavering gaze and waited.

Mel slowly stood up, feeling pretty small despite Estella sitting on the bed. She knew she should feel some sort of axiety with her situation, but she couldn't help but feel a bit curious. What exactly was going on, and what was Estella going on about? She wanted to know, even if this was some strange bizarre dream.

"Oh, uh..." She blinked, glancing around the room. It wasn't like sharing her name to a stranger was going to hurt anyone. "Melani. But you can call me Mel if you want. So, uh, where did you say we were at again? Do I know you? I didn't get black out drunk and followed you last night or anything, right?"

--

Evaline found herself face-to-face with a wolf, and she felt her blood run cold. Her heart skipped a beat as she met the wolf's glowing white eyes, and for a second, she was frozen, unable to move.

And then everything inside her was screaming to run.

Without wasting another beat, she turned her heels and sprinted down the street, not daring to look back or figure out her surroundings in case it would slow her down. She just had to make distance. Find safety. Somewhere.

“We’re in London. I don't remember the street name, as I said. I don't know you, but you might know my father. He’s in politics. You couldn't have followed me last night since I didn't leave my room.”

Estella Fay looked around, tapping her fingers together.

“Your clothes are strange. I’ve never seen anything like that.”

--

Artemis followed behind her, trying her best not to look threatening. She whined.