Young Writers Society

((Ok, i'll try and help...))

Lyaro stayed slightly infront of Hunter, then, when she rounded a sharp hairpin, she was able to pull the piece of thread which opened a door from the circle tunnel.

She was able to now watch the girls in the tunnel. the tunnel which the door opened into, sloped upwards as if it would lead to the surface, but then dropped sharply down to her level. Then she could climb onto a shelf which joined the two, and keep an eye on them.

Hunter fell over. she checked him. Asleep. Perfect.

Soon, she heard voices nearing her shelf.

~SishBee~
x

Sharra

"My name is-" I stopped myself. I didn't know if I could trust these people. "I'm sorry, I didn't get your names."

The others looked at me suspiciously and I mentally kicked myself for that near slip up.

"I'm Trixie and this is Lily." The brunette said cautiously.

"Thieves?" I said in a conversational tone.

"Why do you ask?" Lily looked at me closely. Bingo. They weren't cops or anything.

"Just curious. I'm Sharra Lansing." For some reason my last name sounded like an important secret finally revealed after years of being kept.

"I've heard of you." Trixie said. "Your a noble-blood!"

"What are you doing here?" Lily asked.

"I snagged this." I held up the amulet. They eyed me approvingly. "And somehow ran into this place."

"Daddy's little princess isn't all she makes people believe." Lily said with a smirk. I smiled with mock achievement.

"How'd you manage it?" Trixie asked looking at the amulet.

"Stealth and running like heck!" I joked. They let out light giggles before I looked at where we were heading and noticed a steep dip. "Looks like we're heading farther in than out."

"I don't think we're heading anywhere, maybe circles, but no tunnel goes this far." Trixie said, "Why don't we walk, leave something here, and if we run into it we know if we are or not. If not then hey we got closer to the end, if so we know to stop walking and find another way out."

"Ok," Lily said nodding.

"Why not." Sharra said,

"Alright," Trixe pulled the candle off the floor and dripped the wax down the wall. "I'll run my hand on the wall so we can figure it out." She carefully set the rest of the candle on the ground incase someone took off the wax she would still know.

((Your out of the tunnel which goes in circles now, I opened a door and you are in a tunnel next to the one I am in... I am spying on you from a shelf which ajoins the two tunnels.))

~SishBee~
x

((OK, so they don't run into the candle wax ))

Hunter rolled over, trying to get back to sleep. Sleep was the second freedom that he was allowed, next to his night wanderings, and he didn't want to give that up.

Closing his eyes, he remembered where he was in a flash. The ground was so similar to the basement that he couldn't tell the difference. The memories were what brought him back.

He thought mostly about the man in the black mask and Lyaro, wondering how she had managed to bargain with him. Maybe it was because he was barely able to speak to him. HIs uncle often got frustrated with him, sometimes scaring the stutter right out of him.

The thought of meeting the man in the black mask made him shudder. Compromising with a slow stutter would never work.

And he was lying in the middle of the labyrinth of the man in the black mask.

Terrified, Hunter jumped to his feet, glancing around for some way out.

Lyaro heard Hunter wake up. He made a lot of noise as he stood up and ran down the tunnel. She rolled her eyes and crawled along about two metres of the shelf. Then she dropped down.

She had timed it perfectly, Hunter had just turned round the corner and she had landed right ontop of him.

He lay sprawled out on the floor. She knelt beside him, pinning him with one foot.

"Do you want to get us killed?" she hissed.

"N-n-no."

"He has traps everywhere. Fortunatly you ran just passed one. Over there." She pointed to a thin piece of wire which hung taught from the ceiling. "That would have split you in half!"

Hunter took a deep breath.

"Do you understand how much danger you are in? I know all the traps I set..." she stopped suddenly, realising her mistake.

"What? Y-you set the traps?"

"Um..."

"Your H-him aren't you?" His face lit up suddenly realising what had happened.

"Ok, so I'm the Midnight Man, you have been spying on me!"

He flinched, she may be a girl, but she had all the fury, strength and cunning of the Midnight Man.

~SishBee~
x

Hunter started to tremble again, deciding he would rather face his uncle than her. He had been comforted slightly when he had thought someone had been able to compromise with the man in the black mask, but that had been a lie. There wasnt' any compromising with her.

And when he realized that she might keep him here forever, and when he started to imagine the grisly things she might do to him, it scared some of his silence away.

"I avvoided you. If I h-had found you, he would've had no more use for m-my night wanderings and kept me locked up, so I n-never really looked for you."

But then she probably didn't care. He glanced around for some way of escape, just in case she decided that she didn't like his story.

*Emi? TN? You guys haven't posted in a while...*

Lyaro almost Bound him. Then she thought better of it.

She smiled.

"Go." She waved two fingers in a circle and a door appeared to the outside world, where it was once again night.

Hunter looked confused.

"You may go, if you want. Or you could stay with me. I can protect you from your Uncle."

Hunter blinked at her.

"I will understand if you want to be free though. If not, then I have someone I want you to meet. You two will get on quite well I think."


((Your decision EM))
~SishBee~
x

((I really don't know what to post))

Sharra

We walked for a little ways, when a small glimmer of moonlight on one of the walls caught my eye. The small ray revealed a shelf just above us.

"Hey, guys." I said, tapping Trixie. "Look." I pointed and took a step back, seeing an opening in the wall on the next level.

"That's pretty high up." Lily said, reaching for the shelf. It had to be a good ten feet up. To high for any of us to jump to.

I felt a warm tingling in my calves and noticed small glimmers of light, like those at the crime scene, moving around my legs. The tingling was urging me to jump, but there was no way I could reach the shelf, but I was willing to try.

"Give me a lift." Trixie said. Lily positioned herself, and Trixie stepped into her hands. Lily lifted her up to the shelf and Trixie disappeared for a second. She poked her head back over the edge and reached down for the next person.

"Here, Lily." I said taking the same stance she had earlier. "You're next."

Lily nodded and stpped into my hands. I lifted her up to Trixie, she was fairly light, and watched as she, too, disappeared over the edge of the shelf.

"How are we going to get you up here, Sharra?" Trixie asked. The tingling in my legs got stronger as I looked around for some solution. I reached in my bag, and found my rope I usually had with me had fallen out when I ran from the Baron's house. My finger brushed the amulet and the tingling became a sudden warmness all over my legs.

"Try and grab my hand." Trixie's hand stretched towards me and I jumped for it. It took nearly no effort and I found myself on the shelf. The warmness in my legs disappeared and I fell to my knees. Trixie and Lily were staring at me.

((I think this might add something to the story...))

((That helps me a little))

Trixie looked at her surprised,

"How did you do that, that was incredible." Trixie gasped,

"I...I...I don't know how I did that," Sharra replied amazed

"Well lets get out of here, I'm getting tired of this place." Lily said, they slowly started walking down the shelf hoping to get out.

*yes! *hugs Emi and TN**

Hunter glanced out. It was as inviting as a banquet to a starving man, and he knew that around that corner would be a narrow, seldom-used canal he was familar with.

However, there was his uncle to worry about. If he was lucky, he wouldn't have to deal with him until morning.

But why deal with him at all?

There were voices behind them, and Hunter saw Lyaro glance back, lips pursed. "Hurry up."

If she was kind enough to give him a choice, especially if they were pressed for time, Hunter decided that he'd rather face her than his uncle.

He turned away from the inviting outdoors and whispered, "I'll...c-c-come with you."

"Good choice." Lyaro grabbed Hunter by the arm and pulled him back inside a small concealed opening.

They walked down a steep, thin tunnel, which gradually became so small they were crawling on their hands and knees.

Lyaro climbed up a chimmney chute which led upwards. About halfway up she stopped and pulled a chord.

Hunter, who had remained in the small tunnel suddenly dropped through the floor as the concealed trap door opened.

Lyaro dropped gracefully down and clicked the trapdoor back into place.

They were in another tunnel which had hundreds of turns and forks. Hunter was very good at remembering where he had been, but this was impossible.

Then, all of a sudden they were in a huge cavern. The floor was covered with rugs and blankets and there were several piles of glittering wonders piled high around the room.

"Boys! I have someone for you to meet!" Lyaro shouted as two figures appeared from behind one of the piles.

~SishBee~
x

Hunter glanced behind him, wondering about the footsteps and the friendly girls he had left behind. He felt bad simply leaving them, and now that he kenw about all the traps that the Midnight Man had laid out, he wished there was some way he could go back and warn him.

For now, he was a prisoner--by choice, yes, but a prisoner nonetheless--to Layro, and there wasn't much he could do for them. Perhaps they would find a way out themselves. Hopefully.

In the meantime, he turned his attention to the two figures that were in this prison with him.