Young Writers Society

Margaret:
Up ahead, Jackie falls to the ground. Margaret increases her speed, trying to get to her. A figure appears beside Jackie. Then another. Margaret comes to an abrupt halt, staring as Jackie is surrounded by strange masked people.
Throwing a glance over her shoulder, she sees Schadel waving his scythe rather ineffectively against his assailants. A clang resounds around the clearing as one of the masked strangers falls to the ground, unconscious. Floating above the man are two pans. Just... floating pans.
This is too much for Margaret. She's just met a Grim Reaper, been hit by an invisible projectile, offered magic medicine, and saved by flying cookware. As unobtrusively as she can, Margaret slips off into the night.

Jackie ?


Jackie reached for her pocket knife, the men kicked it away,

Damn it, maybe I should pull out plan b? Hell no! but they'll bring me back to him! And if they don't listen to him . . . You're soooo screwed either way.

She silently grinned,

"Fine, fine you got me, just let me go!"

"No can do, boss promised a fine reward."

"Trust me, he's not going to pay you, he's probably going to shoot you down, he doesn't like wasting his money, trust me, I'm his daughter, I've seen it happen too many times. So are you going to trust me?"

They nodded and backed away, they signaled the other henchmen. They all stopped shooting, and nodded to each other,

"Move out!"

Jackie turned around, Margaret wasn't there . . .

Margaret:
Margaret had never been a very fast runner, and between the underbrush and her shoulder wound, she was moving at a snail's pace. After only a couple minutes on the move, she had to stop and rest against a tree.
She closed her eyes for a moment, trying to ignore the pain I'm her shoulder. When she opened them again, something lay on the ground before her. A cat.
It was white and fluffy, with a diamond-studded gold collar, just as Schadel had described. Despite the filth of the woods, the cat's fur was remarkably clean.
"So you do exist," she said to the cat. She had thought Schafel was just making things up. "Alright, well, come here." She picked up the cat and continued on her way at a walk.

Schadel:

Schadel has never been so happy to see his assistant. Claret floats before him in all her ghostly glory as she hits another one with her make-shift weapon."This is what I get for letting you go searching for Princess on your own. I don't even know how you managed to get in a situation like this while searching for a cat."
Schadel hits one of the goons with the side of his scythe. "I made some...er, friends, I guess? One of them, Jackie, has a murderer for a dad, so here we are now."
"You say that like it's the most normal thing in the world."
Suddenly, the men all disappear back in the depths of the forest from which they came. Schadel stares at their retreating figures.
He turns to the girls, only to see Jackie with a pocket knife at her feet. "Where's Margaret?" He questions.
However, Jackie merely gapes at the air next to him. Schadel suddenly realized that only he can see the ghost girl at his side, and how Jackie only sees two cooking pots.
This is going to take a bit of explaining.

Jackie ?


Jackie stood still as she searched with her eyes for Margaret, she looked at Schadel, she saw floating pots, Jackie slowly backed away,

"Okay, that's definitely a new one for me. Well, I had to save you guys, I didn't have it in my guts to let you guys die, but I mean, floating pots, and a lost girl ran off, now, that's TOO much for me to handle."

"DON'T MOVE SCHADEL!! YOU JUST STEPPED ON A FREAKING LAND MINE!!!! TRUST ME, I'VE BEEN IN MANY SITUATIONS LIKE THIS, JUST STAY CALM AND TRY NOT TO MOVE! I've learned to disable those."

Margaret:
Margaret was beginning to feel bad that she had left Schadel and Jackie on their own. She didn't know who those people were, or if the two could defend themselves. Even the strange hovering tableware could have been malicious, though it had seemed to be helping earlier.
She especially owed Jackie. She had finally given in and swallowed the medicine Jackie had given her. True to the girl's word, the pain had ceased immediately, and the wound had closed entirely within an hour, leaving only a faint scar.
The cat had settled comfortably into Margaret's arms, its head nestled into the crook of her arm, its tail swinging gently with each of her steps. Margaret smiled down at it. At least now she had a companion, and something to make up for ditching Schadel if he ever caught up to her. And surely the cat would be helpful to have around. Could cats sense danger, or was that just dogs?
Margaret was so preoccupied admiring her fluffy new companion that she almost ran smack into a tree. Watch where you're going Marge!
She looked up, and something through the trees caught her eye. A movement. Margaret slowed her stride, then halted completely. Something wasn't right here. The cat seemed to sense it too. It opened its eyes and leaped gracefully onto the ground, raising its back in an arch and hissing toward the distant thing. Margaret began to back away.

Schadel:

"A LANDMINE?!!!!!!" Schadel yells. He stares down at his feet, and he can suddenly see a blinking red light. Now that he's focusing on the light he can hear a faint little beeping, one that's the omnious forbearer of impending doom. The landmine underneath him is not what he's used to, but obviously technology is more advanced in Gotham, wherever that is.
"Can Grim Reapers become ghosts?" Claret calmly asks. Schadel glares at the ghost girl next to him.
"Now's not the time!"
"I wonder if you'd get reincarnated..."
"Claret!"
"You'll be fine. Jacy-"
"Jackie."
"Jackie, then. What a weird name..." Claret coughs. "As I was saying, she can take care of the bomb."
"I'm working on it." Jackie suddenly says. Schadel realizes that she thought he was talking to her when he said her name earlier. It's hard for him to remember that he can only see Claret, especially when he's on the verge of death.

Jackie ?

Jackie works to disable the landmine. She finally disabled it, and almost fell to the ground in exhaustion.

"Good thing I have experience disabling stuff like this, in fact, I've had to go through worse."

Jackie hears footsteps in the bushes,

"Ok Schadel, I would recommend getting off the landmine, is there something behind me, cause I know there is . . ."

Then she felt something pierce her back, she fell to the ground crying. There was a bullet sticking out of her back . . .

Schadel:

Schadel stares at Jackie as blood begins to stain her back. One of those bullet things must have hit her, and there is nothing that Schadel can do. He feels as if he's reading one of those you choose mysteries. He can try to catch the person who attacked Jackie, or he can stay by her side.
Of course, he realizes, there is a third option. He can send Claret after the attacker. She can track them, return to Schadel, and then say where they are.
But when he turns, Claret isn't there.
"Damn it, Claret!" He yells. "Now isn't the time to go running off!" But Schadel's angry exclamation is met with a silence that is only broken by Jackie's sobs. He crouches next to Jackie.
She is not going to have her soul reaped by another Grim Reaper. She won't be come a ghost, or move on to the afterlife. Schadel doesn't know a thing about healing others with or without magic, but he has to try.
Schadel snaps his fingers, and he is in his usual human form-Average height, silver eyes, black clothes covered in silver runes, a black cloak with its hood pulled up, and bandages over his skin and the small scythe on his back.
She looks at him with worry in her eyes. "It's me. Schadel." He says gently. She seems to calm down after he speaks, but she's still in pain. "Do you still have any of that medicine you gave to Margaret?"

Jackie ?

"I think so."


She reaches into her pocket and pulls out another pill. She quickly swallows it. And gets up,

"Thank you."

She limped to a tree. She saw something in the bushes.


"I know you shot me, but don't you dare hurt my friends. I get your point. I ran off. But I won't let my father get me back."

"I would highly doubt that. You know Jackie Alisson Kiland, I always thought you were stubborn. But I could fix that in a snap."

He stepped out of the bushes, her eyes widened in fear.

Schadel:

Jackie stumbles back from the bushes, her eyes widening in pure terror. And Schadel just knows-he's not exactly sure how, but he's guessing on intuition-that the man causing her to be so scared is none other than her father.
The crazy murderer.
The one who sent all of the men armed with weapons into the woods in order to capture his daughter.
The one who doesn't seem to care for his daughter, seeing how he doesn't react to the sight of her blood stained back.
And he's also the one who looks like a demented clown with a terrible sense of style.
Jackie's father has white facepaint covering his face, and on his lips he has bright red lipstick. His hair is a greenish color, and his outfit is a green and purple suit. There's also his eyes. The pair of yellow eyes that stare at his daughter are cold, cruel, and calculating. Schadel really isn't seeing the insane part.
Yet.
Schadel takes a foolish step forward and clears his throat. "If you want to harm Jackie," he starts, "you'll have to get past me first."

Margaret
The cat is still hissing and spitting into the trees. Margaret can hear voices up ahead. Oddly enough, they sound like Schadel, Jackie, and... someone else. She creeps forward as silently as she can. Peeking through the trees, she catches a glimpse of Jackie.
Did she seriously just run off and then walk in a circle for an hour? Well, at least she found the cat.
The other two figures she doesn't recognize. The one with Shadel's voice is a boy wrapped with bandages and a silver-runed cloak. She figured since Schadel could change his form, that might be him. He is holding a scythe after all.
Margaret peeks at the other figure. She stiffens. The man is, if anything, more terrifying than the masked men they'd encountered earlier.
What to do here?
Schadel moves up beside Jackie. "If you want to harm Jackie, you'll have to get past me first.
Margaret has to do something. For lack of a better idea, she picks up a nearby stone and throws it at the man. She misses, but her actions spark the cat into motion. The little ball of white fluff leaps at the man.

Jackie ?


"Don't schadel!!"

Jackie picked up her pocket knife when she saw a rock hit The Joker. Then, next, a little white cat clawing at him. She was scared for the little cat. So she picked up courage and peeled the cat of him and hit straight in the face. He fell to the ground. He only laughed.

And slapped her as hard as he could. She fell to the ground, when he neared her.


"We are going home. Have I taught you not to fight? And these clothes. They bring shame into your family name-"

She laughed, then she held her pocket knife to his throat.

"I'll just send you to blackgate. Where you really should be."

She took the knife away, and punched him hard . . .

He suddenly stuck something in her mouth. Gas escaped. She coughed. She was too weak to take it out. She passed out. He turned to the two friends, and the cat . . .


CLIFF HANGER!!

Schadel:

As Jackie's limp body hits the ground, tendrils of some unknown gas escaping her mouth, Schadel realizes that he's helpless. He can't do anything to save her.
Sure, he has his scythe. But he knows that Jackie's father has some strange type of magic, magic that will knock Schadel out the minute he gets too close.
The murderer drags Jackie to her feet by pulling on her hair. She's still unconscious, and her father throws her over his shoulder.
What is Schadel supposed to do?! He doesn't want to lose Jackie, but what can the weakest Grim Reaper do to stop the cruel human before him? If only Claret was here!
Suddenly, the temperature drops. Plants start to curl. And then, skeletons rise from the ground around Schadel, skeletons reeking of an ancient and powerful magic. Black and purple tendrils curl around them, coming out of their eye sockets and mouths.
Margaret screams. She's staring at him with terror in her eyes. "I'm not the one doing this!" Schadel shouts over the howling wind. The cat's back arches, and a hiss escapes it at the sight of the undead warriors. "I'm not the Grim Reaper doing this-" Realization strikes Schadel.
At the edge of the clearing stands a man. His purple hair is in a low ponytail, and he is wearing a simple black suit with a white handkerchief in his suit's pocket. He has several skull earrings in his ears, and the handkerchief is embroidered with a purple skull. His dark blue eyes take in the sight before him-the terrified girl, startled cat, insane murderer, unconscious girl, and Schadel.
Claret didn't flee from the fight.
She went to get help.

Jackie ?


She was thrown to the ground. She opened her eyes, and saw weird creatures. She was very sore. She saw footsteps near her. She curled up into a ball, and hoped for the best.