Young Writers Society

Archer Thomas, Knives, Outside Kingdom of Wealth

Even Archie surprised himself sometimes. Seriously? Taking a girl's hand? He shuddered just reflecting on it.
Now under the leadership of Pict warrior Etain, Archie was beginning to think that maybe he wasn't dead. Etain had said something about being asleep, hadn't she? Instinctively, Archie reached into his coat pocket. It wasn't any use thinking about this.
Instead, Archie focused on the brutal scene before him. Etain and Hope had asked whether he'd like to assist with their interrogation, but Archie declined, suddenly feeling sick at the mention of an interrogation. For some reason or another, he felt more sympathy for the guy than he ought to have.
"Uh, Archie?" Kanna said, "I meant to ask earlier when we met, but what's with your leg?"
"Huh?" He lifted a dark hand in surprise and scratched his head. "Oh, um... I don't actually know."
Kanna turned back to Etain and Hope, one of whom seemed to be enjoying herself very much. "Are you glad there might be another guy in our group?"
"I don't know," Archie replied, twiddling his thumbs. He needed something to do with his hands. Maybe if someone had a phone he could tinker with instead... Archie looked up again, trying to see past the fire and the questioning. "Say, is that a fire out there?"
The blonde looked past where Archie was pointing, straining her eyes. "I think you're right. Let's tell Etain."
He hoisted himself from the rock he'd been sitting on before glancing back at his ghostly leg and following Kanna.
Etain had just finished throttling their victim by the collar of his shirt when Kanna tapped her shoulder. Archie was quite glad that he wasn't the interrupting, because Etain looked positively garish when she turned towards Kanna.
"What is it?" Etain said, sounding peeved.
Even Kanna was intimidated, and she apologetically pointed outside. "There's another fire out there, so Archie and I will go look at it."
"W-w-wait," Archie stammered, "We're going to look at it?" He had the dying urge to fiddle with a Rubik's cube.
"Of course," Kanna said, like it was the most obvious thing in the world, "I want to see what's over there before I wake up. I'm already hearing my alarm clock."
Confused, Archie looked down at his leg again. Waking up... That sounded like something he'd rather not do. He tried to compose himself and forced himself to smile for Kanna. "Okay," he said, shoving both hands in his pockets.
But before he and Kanna even walked out the cave entrance, she disappeared loudly in a puff of smoke. "Oh crap! I've gotta get to school!" was the last thing Archie heard out of her mouth.
This wasn't an afterlife after all.

Dylan| Enochlophobia| Third zone

Running. I’m always running. It’s strange, because I wouldn’t run away from my fear. Then again, my fear shouldn’t be able to run after me. So I’m back to running, and right now, I think that’s a better idea than staying and fighting.
I round a corner of a shop and stop, trying to catch my breath. My legs tremble, wobbling like jelly, and my chest heaves from lack of air. My lungs feel like they’re about to implode.
“Here, kitty, kitty, kitty,” a taunting voice hisses from behind me.
The hairs on the back of my neck stand up, and my skin tingles, going cold. I shudder, but I can’t move. My body has decided it doesn’t want to go any further, and I slowly slide to the ground.
“Where are you?” Another voice drawls.
Another shiver runs up my spine, and I begin crawling down the alleyway. Finally, I find the strength to stand and continue running. I smash through a wall of blinding light, and fall into the worst place I could possibly end up: a crowd of people.
All eyes are suddenly on me; big black pools of nothingness, trained on my thin frame. I look up at the pale faces staring at me, whimpers and sobs escaping my lips. I can hear footsteps behind me, quiet and pattering like a person running stealthily in high-heals.
A wave of nausea washes over me, and then an almighty hiss crackles through the air as every single person standing before me seems to bend and twist until their backs are bent, and they’re snarling at me like angry dogs. Like werewolves. I scream, the sound travelling through the air like a sonic boom.
“Kill it! Kill it! Kill it!” A chorus of voices chant.
I jump up and run away from them all, only everywhere I go, more of the frightening humans stand, snarling, watching me with their black eyes. I continue to scream, running blindly, tears falling freely down my cheeks.
Something hard crashes into my gut, and I’m sent flying backwards. I wipe my eyes and find myself staring up at a large man with an evil glint in his eyes. Another scream rips through my vocal chords, and I jump to my feet. The man grabs me, dragging me toward the snarling mass of people behind me.
“No!” I wail. “Let me go! No!”
I’m flung through the air. This is where I die. This is where I’m torn to shreds, killed and eaten. This is why I’m afraid of crowds.
“No!” A voice screams. “Live!”
My eyes snap open, and I will myself to be brave. I’m never afraid. I’ve never been afraid of anything in my life, so why should I start now? Why should I feel fear from a large mass of people that look like demonic werewolves?
Again, the fear returns, but this time with a certainty that I’m going to live. Before I hit the crowd, I picture myself gone. Invisible. Just like Ezio from Assassin’s Creed when he’s walking through a group of people, totally unseen.
“Where is the little brat?” A voice snarls above me.
I look around to find myself in the middle of a crowd of people, all walking around, all normal looking. I’m back in London, where everything is how it was the very first day I arrived. There are three men that tower over all the others, looking around for me.
A smile plays across my lips, and I get up off the ground. I brush myself down, and walk away, letting my feet choose their own path, feeling so much more confident. As I walk, I realise I’m invisible to the people around me, for none of them cast even the slightest glance my way.
“I am invincible,” I murmur, and begin running to a place full of lights, curiosity piqued.

I stared at the boy laying unconscious in front of me. I bent down and felt his wrist for a heart beat and thankfully it was there. I stood back up and looked around what was left of our group sighing. I knew me and Hope would be waking up soon so I was trying to figure out what to do with my self till then.

"Excuse me," I whispered to the eldest girl tapping her shoulder.

She whipped around to face me making me jump backwards in defense. "What?"

"I'm going to go into the city to get some supplies," I said rubbing my hand against one of my scars on my wrists.

"Okay, you can go on your own right?" She replied a serious look passing her face.

I nodded and looked down as my feet just before I turned towards the city that lay next to us. I started jogging towards it my feet moving faster and faster as I went. I ran into the city dodging through crowds until I ran into something invisible. I screamed as I fell down onto my butt. I popped back up onto my feet raising my hands in front of my face for protection. A boy shimmered out of his invisibility as he sat flat on his butt.

"Sorry," I whispered helping him up.

"That's ok," I mumbled his British ascent taking me by surprise.

I noticed him starting to panic as the crowd pushed forward and I grabbed for his hand and led him into one of the smaller shops. I lightly squeezed his hand as we dashed into the back room. I shut the door behind us as I sighed deeply.

I sat down next to him on the floor giving us about a foot of space between us. I looked over at him just staring at the wall across from us and said quietly, "I'm Grace, by the way."

"Dylan," he replied sticking his hand out for me to shake. I slowly reached out and took it shaking his warm hand.

I had been running for so long, it felt like my entire body was on fire. Everything was different, white space had slowly melted into forests and different areas all flashing by in what seemed like seconds but must of been hours of running. I ran until I entered a city, bright neon lights filled my retinas with purple and made me stumble slightly. I gasped as I stumbled into something and laid on my back, dazed, until the lights disappeared from my vision.

"What, the bloody hell, do you think you're doing, Traveler Boy!?"

I blinked, my vision now clear. "What?" I asked.

"Are you daft? Don't make me repeat myself!"

I turned around and scrambled back, shocked, I must of hit my head. In front of me, a talking blue zebra with a top hat and monocle with a British accent was scolding me. Not only that, but a whole crowd of oddities were starting to gather around me and the shouting zebra.

I didn't know what to do or say, so I just opened my mouth and to my horror orange flames started pouring from it, like a dragon. I watched as the almost neon orange flames illuminated the faces of the odd crowd as they oohed in awe. The zebra gentleman was not so pleased as his once blue striped face was now singed the color of charcoal.

"He's a powerful Traveler..." a lady with bright red hair and golden eyes sighed, like being a "powerful Traveler" was like being a celebrity. I didn't even know what a traveler was!

"He must belong to the Fire Kingdom," another man whispered.

People or whatever they were started helping me up until the entire city seemed to shake, the zebra did not seem happy with me.

"Are you bloody mother fuc..." The monocled zebra yelled, streaming British profanity from his mouth like he was a horny sailor on a dirty talking hotline.

Eventually some scary looking men in black suits took him away, for either disrupting public affairs or because they were simply tired of hearing him yell. I didn't know how the police or whatever they were worked around here.

After that scene, I looked around, the crowd had dispersed and I was left standing in multicolored neon lights. The entire city was over the top, like Lewis Carroll had designed it while on ecstasy and that city had a love child with Seattle. The Casino's were taller than any building that I had ever seen and the tallest one went up so high, I couldn't see the top.

After starting to walk around, I looked at myself and blinked in surprise, sky blue scales were just starting to melt back into my normally fair skin. I quickly bought a mirror from a Tiger vendor near me and was shocked to see what I found.

"What the hell..." my words trailed off.

I was looking at myself, but part of my face was still speckled with sky blue scales like they were freckles and as I opened my mouth, I noticed a pair of giant incisors that were only just starting to grow smaller. The rest of my body seemed normal though, but as I touched my knuckles, I noticed odd scars and a sharp pain ricocheted through my back. Touching the areas on my back lightly, I discovered two small lumps on my shoulder blades. I didn't know what to think of any of those things.

I was just starting to turn back around and go back towards the center of the city when I noticed the Tiger standing in front of me.

"Move it," I growled, my voice noticeably deeper than usual.

I tried, but to no avail to escape the path of the Tiger, who would suddenly appear in front of me, as if from nowhere whenever I tried to get around it.

"And I thought you salesman where bad in the real world," I said, my voice just starting to return to it's normal register.

My patience was growing thin and I started to notice small flames licking up the sides of my arms. Suddenly, I was free of his grasp as the tiger found a new customer to harass, a scrawny nervous looking kid. I wanted to talk to the kid, he was the only normal person I've seen around this city. Even I wasn't included in that category at the moment.

But the coward ran away at the last moment and the Tiger was focused back on me. Last straw, Tiger Bastard. I thought. My entire arms suddenly burst into bright flames and I punched the upright anthropomorphized Tiger in the gut, flames engulfing it's body and it was sent flying like a reverse meteor towards a giant casino. It shattered a glass window half way up the building.

"Well that was unexpected," I said, shocked, my arms now only flickering with small, pleasantly warm flames.

The kid that dumped the Tiger on me was still walking away, I quickly jogged over and grabbed him by the shoulder.

“I’m sorry, I don’t have any money please let me go! Whatever I did, please forgive me, and no I’m not buying anything!”

“Shut up!” I said, suddenly irritated at the whiny sounding kid. “And did you have to dump that stuffed panda salesman on me? I don’t know who you are, but I sure don’t like it when other people dump their problems on me.” I must of looked and sounded more threatening than I thought judging by the reaction from the kid. I didn't mean to seem so harsh.

I spun the kid around to get a better look at him, he looked like he was going to pee his pants with his close cropped midnight black hair.

“Please don’t kill me,” the boy squeaked.

I let the boy go, a look of relief flooded his face. “I wouldn’t kill you,” I said gruffly, surprised he would even suggest that. “I just got mad that you forced me to deal with that freaky tiger.” I really didn't like that Tiger.

I noticed that my entire body turned back to normal as my temper subsided and I simply walked away, completely forgetting to ask the boy about anything.



After walking around and flirting with a couple of hot looking girls with unnaturally colored hair and eyes, I decided to go gamble a little. When in Rome... or whatever this place is. I thought as I entered a brightly lit mega casino that looked bigger than the entire city of Olympia.

To my horror though, it wasn't long before a couple of rough looking guys in suits confronted me as I was checking to see if there were any age restrictions on strip clubs in the casino. Hey, I'm a teenage guy and I didn't know if I was dreaming or dead, of course I was going to at least check.

"I swear, it's not what it looks like!" I said, backing up into the door to the club. "I mean, of course I'm old enough." Smooth.

The men just looked at me and my face was drained of color. Behind them stood the Tiger covered in glass, glitter and a couple of what looked like monopoly one dollar bills. I smirked, I must of hit him into a strip club.

I glanced towards the door, and suddenly the men started approaching me. Like hell I was going to jail in this city, I don't want to be a cell mate for some sort of horny freak that this city produces. So I ran, but not before taking one last peek in the first floor strip club.

There was something weird about running for your life from people in suits. Especially when those guys in suits were suddenly super fast and on closer inspection were probably Vampires. Vampires, just what this city needed. I thought. On top of that, I couldn't, for the life of me, activate my powers, of all times. Good thing I was fast.

I looked over my shoulder for one second to flip off one of the Vampire, cop, FBI agent whatever it was, when everything went black and I fell unconscious. I guess using my powers on top of running for my life really left me drained.



Waking up with a start I noticed a couple of people standing over me, for some reason I felt an instant despise for the one with white stripes in her hair, like she had done something to me that I didn't know about yet. I groaned as I felt pain spike up my entire body. I looked the girl right in the eyes.

"You bitch, what did you do to me when I was unconscious? Did you honestly think beating on an unconscious guy who you don't even know was going to help you get anywhere? Also, even if I did wake up for a second, which I think I did, do you think beating me until I fall unconscious again was the smartest thing, 'cause if you do, then you're stupider than I thought." I was mad.

I sat up and groaned. "The name's Peter, by the way, thanks for asking and before you start assaulting me again," I looked at the oddly dressed girl who looked like she stepped out of a cheesy 90's Celtic war film. "I don't know anymore about anything than you guys do, except maybe how to treat an injured person."

After my speech, I heard a girl start talking to me.

I opened my eyes wide, gasping loud and seeing that I am back in my own bedroom. I sat up in my bed, rubbing my forehead slowly. "What was that...?" Then I heard a knock on my door as the door opened up, showing a women around her thirties looking at me. "Kanna, you up?"

"Yes, grandma." My grandmother took me in after the death of my parents. She took care and raised me. She even helped me through my phobia and my nightmares. I am glad to have her as my grandmother.

I got up from my bed, stretching my arms out. "Well, it's time for school, sweetie. Breakfast is ready when you come down." My grandmother smiled sweetly as she closed the door gently, letting me get dressed for school.

Few minutes later

I walked downstairs wearing my frilly blue dress with a pair of blue boots. I was carrying my backpack on one of my shoulders as I saw my grandmother waiting for me down the steps as she does every morning before school.

I wonder... will I ever go back to that world? It seemed so real to me but at the same time, a dream. Archie, Etain, Hope, Grace... I hope you guys are okay. Maybe I should find a way to go back there somehow. So I can help...

"Well, I'm off, grandma." I smiled at her as I started walking to the front door, going off on another day of school.

Dylan| Enochlophobia| First zone

I continue running, dodging between people. I’m in a large city full of creatures I’ve never seen before, and I almost even ran into a tiger selling giant panda toys. But as I neared the edges of the city, I crashed into a girl, and I suddenly became visible to the world.
The girl yelped, and we both fell backwards onto our butts. I shook my head and the girl jumped up, ready to fight. Her blue eyes widened as she stared at me.
“Sorry,” she murmured, helping me to my feet.
I tried a weak smile, the pressure of being visible already getting to me. “That’s ok,” I tell her.
Someone shoves past us, and I begin to panic, trying to move away from the girl so I can disappear again. She notices this and grabs my hand, pulling me away down the street. I don’t even have time to yelp as we crash into a small shop. The girl leads me to a store room and closes the door behind her. I drop to the ground, and she sits down beside me.
I’m Grace, by the way,” she says, her American accent thick.
“Dylan,” I manage, holding out a hand. She takes it and shakes slowly. I find myself blushing, my skin heating up, and she smiles back.
“Do you know where we are?” Grace asks.
“Um … a store room?” I offer, confused as to why she’d ask such a silly question.
“No, I mean this place … the city and beyond it,” she gives me a half smile, half exasperated look.
“Oh … well, I know I’m dreaming, because of my nightmare,” I begin. “But I’m not sure what this place is called. I guess some kind of dream land, maybe.”
Grace nods and then stands up to turn the light on. The room lights up, showing a long row of shelves full of food. Her blue eyes light up, enhancing her features, and I blush, looking away.
“I need to get some food to take back to the group,” Grace tells me. “Do you want to help?”
I nod and stand up. Grace begins collecting bags of bread, boxes of food and cans of all kinds. I find a large blanket and lay it on the floor, putting all the necessary food needed to keep people alive. After the blanket has food piled up on it, I wrap the food up and tie the corner together.
“You’ll need water, too,” I offer, and Grace nods, darting back down to the end of the room.
I heft the blanket up and over my shoulder, and stagger back a few steps from the weight. Grace returns carrying a bag full of water bottles, her blue eyes dancing.
“Come on, let’s go!” She declares breathily, and we turn to leave …
Just as I hear the sound of a door opening and closing. I put a hand in front of Grace, and then picture myself unseen, along with the blanket over my shoulder. Beside me, Grace gasps, and I imagine her invisible too.
“Quickly, I don’t know how long I can hold it for,” I say, sweat breaking loose over my face.
She nods and we run from the storeroom, narrowly missing a fat man with ear lobes that hand beside his bellybutton. We race from the room and through the crowds until we reach the end of the city. I stop running and all at once we’re visible.
“Thanks!” Grace says, smiling at me.
“Don’t mention it,” I puff.
“Alright, this way,” Grace beams, and takes the lead.
We walk for a while, just chatting about the people we’d seen in the city, until we come to a cave mouth. There, Grace calls out a greeting, and a girl walks out, followed by two boys. They all give me strange looks, and then a woman with white streaks and blue lines over her face strolls out.
I take one look at the ferocious looking savage and drop the blanket, turn around, and run. I hear a growl and I fall to the ground with a scream.
“Etain, get off him!” Grace screams.
“Who are you? Why are you running?” The woman snarls.
“I’m sorry, I haven’t done anything wrong, I swear!” I scream.
“Etain, get off him,” Grace growls.
The woman gets off my back and I roll over, sitting up. Another boy around my age storms over and helps me up, giving the woman a glare.
“Don’t worry, she did that to me too,” he mutters.
“Everyone, this is Dylan,” Grace says, giving the woman a stern look.
I wave sheepishly at them and smile. I want to wake up now.

Archer Thomas, Knives, Outside Kingdom of Wealth

It wasn't until Kanna left that the group became this chaotic. Grace had run off somewhere, to get supplies probably, and Hope was complaining very loudly about not wanting to wake up.
And of course, there was the matter of their little 'guest'.
It was the tall guy from earlier, and based on how fiery he was at the moment, Archie guessed that the guy was not in the greatest mood. Hopefully that wasn't Archie's fault.
Their 'guest' called Etain something not nice before rambling about being unconscious and getting beat up, so Archie hid in a nice crevice where no one would notice him.
Under the point of Etain's sword, the guy introduced himself as Peter, and not very eloquently stated that he knew less than Archie's friends about this world. It was probably true.
"So, where are you from?" Hope asked. She probably wanted to know when he'd wake up and leave.
"Seattle." Oh, same time zone as Archie. So unless Hope lived in Hawaii, she wouldn't get to stick around after he woke up. But with that tan, it was always a possibility.
"Uh huh, and what's your crazy power?"
"I don't know, dragon powers?" Suddenly the marketplace scene made sense, and Archie wasn't quite as scared of Peter any more.
"Should we let him join us, Etain?" Hope asked.
"I suppose," Etain said, sheathing her sword, "But he'd better learn to control his temper." Archie sensed a leadership clash between the two, and decided that if worst came to worst, it might be better to wake up and face whatever happened before he got here.
Huffing loudly, Peter moved himself to sit on the rock ledge. He turned towards Archie's hiding place, a large crack in the corner of the cave. "I know you're in there, kid. I can smell it."
Archie squeaked and tried to push himself further into his hiding place, but he was saved from Peter's plausible wrath by Hope beckoning them both to come outside. "Grace is back!" she said excitedly, "Let's go say hi to her and the guy with her before I have to wake up."
Of course, Etain was not happy with the frightened fellow who accompanied Grace. The moment Archie stepped out, he felt air gush past him, courtesy of the Pict warrior attacking their new 'friend'.

Grace | Asthenophobia | Third Zone



After Dylan was attacked I introduced him to the group shyly. I knew Dylan must feel super uncomfortable about this whole situation so I led him away from the group so we could unpack the supplies.

"I'm sorry about her, she did the same to Archie." I said grouping away the supplies to equally suit us.

Dylan shrugged and kept unpacking. Through out unpacking I caught Dylan starring at me and then blushing. It was weird, know one had ever looked at me like that.

I finished grouping off the products and each person came over to get their supplies when everything started to go blurry.

"Guys, I think I'm starting to wake up." I said my voice sounding far away.

I watched as Dylan's hand reached out for my translucent one, but I was already gone.



"Grace get your filthy ass down here!" My father yelled followed by the sound of breaking glass.

I sighed and ran down to the living room to meet my very drunk father. I stood directly in front of him waiting for a command when he raised a hand and slapped me hard across the cheek. I watched as he smiled to himself as I raised a hand to shield my burning cheek from another blow.

"Now go get me my drink." He said waving his empty bottle in my face.

I hurried into the kitchen searching through the cabinets for the beer, but there was none. I sighed and braced my self for the worse as I called. "Papa there isn't anymore."

Silence. Footsteps came closer to my crouched figure on the floor. I heard the sound of a belt buckle coming lose and then a hand on the hem of my shirt. My father pulled my shirt over my head leaving me just in my tank top. Then he hit me.

His belt hit my bare back over and over again till blood leaked over my neck and down onto the floor. Tears dripped down as I screamed in rhythm with each hit.

"Now stay," He growled placing his foot on the back of my neck and pushing me down onto the floor.

My head ached along with my back and I cured up and cried.

The back door slammed close and I was alone. Blood dripped from the back of my head as I finally passed out into my paradise.

Hope Kyler, Algophobia, Somewhere

I was scared. I didn't want to go back to the real world. Reality is to harsh compared to this. I looked around at the rest of the group. "I'll be back." I chocked out, fleeing from the cave. I ran, the wind whipping my face. After a long time, I paused and looked around. No one was around me. I turned in circles, crying out for the others. "Grace!" I screamed. No one answered.

I was alone. Alone and afraid. I never knew I was afraid of being alone, but this was loneliness. Tears started to fall down my cheeks. Images swirled in my head. Thoughts mixed together, I saw Etain with her sword, holding it out. I saw Shiloh laying in front of me, blood pooling around her. A sword, Shiloh. "No." I whispered. She wouldn't. Etain wouldn't kill her. But I didn't know Etain. All of them, they were working together. "Shiloh." I sobbed. "I'm so sorry!" Anger flashed through my eyes and coursed through my veins. "She will pay. She killed Shiloh." I said. As I got to my feet, the world spun dizzily. I'm going to wake up, I thought.
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Reality sucks. The moment I woke up, I wanted to go back to that world. I wanted to kill Etain, if I could.

The day passed in a blur. I don't remember anything but the graveyard. How could I forget it? The place where my best friend lay dead because Etain had murdered her. The detective had said it was a man, but I will prove him wrong. Now, I know the truth. And it isn't going to leave me. "I'll be back Etain. And that time, it won't be a happy meeting. I hope you weren't worried when I didn't show back up."

Etain| Uselessness in battle/Romans| Second zone

Etain wasn’t sure about the two new additions to her group. The first boy, the one she’d tried to interrogate, had said nasty things to her. But she shrugged the words off, taking an instant disliking to the kid. The second one, the one with the Celtic accent, was too much of a wuss to be a warrior in training.
When Hope asked if the first boy could stay, Etain was sceptical, but decided he could. For a little while, she supposed. But the second boy, the one with the Celtic accent, would have to prove himself.
She was about to question the boy, but then Grace disappeared. Etain was confused, until she remembered that this isn’t the real world, and these people were waking up. Which reminded her: it’s her turn to keep watch.
Etain walked over to Archie, who instantly gave her a frightened look. “I have to go now,” she told him.
“Go where?” Archie asked.
She gave him an angry look. “I have to wake up. I leave you in charge. Keep an eye on the Celtic boy, ok?” She commanded.
“What Celtic boy?” Archie was seriously confused.
“The one that calls himself Dylan,” Etain was almost at her wit’s end. The era difference was beginning to irritate her. Though she was confused as to how these people were from a different time. Unless … no, that couldn’t be true. Etain shook her head and walked away, her form shimmering and then disappearing.
***
“Etain, wake up!” A voice penetrates my sleep.
I groan and sit up, glaring at the man standing over me. “What?” I snap.
He baulks at my tone. “It’s time to move,” he says. “We’ve spotted some Roman soldiers moving our way.”
I roll over and leap to my feet, grabbing my spear. Holding the all-too familiar weapon in my hand reminds me of the one I lost in my nightmare. The Roman sword had been so much easier to use. But then again, that was just a dream.
“Alright everyone, let’s move out,” I yell, and everyone moves to their horses.
Leading a large contingent of cavalry is hard to manoeuvre through thick forest, but because I know the terrain well, and most of my soldiers are skilled with riding through these forests, it isn’t as hard as it should be. The only difficulty is getting them to stop, and not charge after every damned Roman soldier we come across.
I mount my white stallion, Galzar, and we ride out. The day is long and cold, with nothing eventful happening save the death of a Roman scout by my spear. His horse we unsaddle and leave for the wilds to do as she wills with it.
As the sun begins to set, a feeling of dread washes through me, but it has nothing to do with this world. I frown in consternation the rest of the evening until we stop.
“Etain, what’s the matter?” My second in command, Castantin, asks.
I shake my head to clear it. “Nothing, Castantin. I have been having dreams that … are troubling,” I admit.
“It is so. These Romans have cursed out lands with their Godly views,” Castantin growls.
I nod absent-mindedly. I could agree, but I don’t think it’s that. I know everyone else has been having similar nightmares to mine, but I doubt any one of these men would admit that they’re afraid.
Am I afraid? At time, yes. Those times early in the mornings, when all is quiet, and I’ve woken from a nightmare. But I mustn’t fear the Romans, otherwise they will make me weak. I am a woman leading men: I am to be stronger than all of them to prove my worth to the great Warrior Kings before me.
“We will rest here,” I declare.
Castantin sends the message down the ranks, and I dismount Galzar. He sniffles at my shoulder, and I stroke his nose affectionately. It’s the closest I’ve gotten to showing how much I love my horse.
“In my dreams, you speak to me,” I tell him, gazing into his gorgeous brown eyes. “And you say the strangest of things.”
Galzar merely snorts and nudges my palm with his hand. I smile and reach my hand into my pocket, pulling out a handful of grass seeds, Galzar’s favourite. I hold them out and watch my soldiers begin lying down, while Galzar nibbles at my hand.
“Tonight, I shall discover what this strange world is,” I silently vow. Galzar nickers in response, and I smile at him. “And you’re coming, boy.”

Archer Thomas, Knives, Outside Kingdom of Wealth

To say Archie felt nervous was an understatement. He was the youngest in the group, obviously a wimp, and yet Etain expected him to 'be in charge.' Ha ha. No. Archie waited patiently for the new person, Dylan, to work out food situations, though Archie figured it really wasn't necessary, and tried to make pleasant conversation with Peter.
"So, you're from Seattle? Is it always rainy there?" Archie already knew that one; he'd flown through Seattle often enough to see it sunny.
"Not always," Peter said gruffly.
"I'm sorry about the tiger incident."
"Don't worry about it. Where are you from?"
"Eastern Washington, but not like, D.C. or anything, and not Spokane either. I hate it when people talk about Washington being rainy, because the east side is a biological desert." Archie was about to go on to explain that biological deserts get less than ten inches of precipitation annually, but he noticed a flame flicker up Peter's arm and shut up. Upsetting dragon-man was low on his to-do list. Instead, he walked towards Dylan and offered help to the muttering 'Celtic.'
"Um, you're Dylan, right? You sound British. Based on the time conversions it's what, two in the afternoon where you are?"
Dylan continued muttering about people disappearing and messing with the distribution.
"Can I help you with that?" Archie asked, crouching, "Oh, and if you're worried about getting things exact by number of packages, don't bother because none of these are divisible by three. Just use the total and guestimate on the weights."
Suddenly, Peter stood behind them, a disapproving heat radiating from his body. "I don't think he wants your help. And by the way, there's something over there." He pointed, and Archie followed with his eyes before nearly peeing in his pants.
Whatever it was, it wasn't pretty. Six legs of an unknown, iridescent material, paired with huge, broken-mirror eyes and fuzzy digits sticking out of what looked to be its head. Ah. Fun.
"Is that a giant beetle?" Archie asked, trembling.
"Yeah," Peter said confidently, "I don't know why it's there, but okay." He cracked his knuckles and burst into flames, making Archie freak out more and forget his scientific explanation. It must have sensed their numbers dwindling, or it had only smelled them a while ago and had too large a territory to cross it efficiently.
Dylan gasped behind him, one hand over his right ear. "Ow! Peter, whatever you're doing to my stud, stop it!"
Not even bothering to look back, Peter yelled that he had nothing to do with anyone's piercings.
"Oh? Then why is that my ear felt like it might rip off the moment you caught on fire?"
"I don't know! Just let me burn this giant bug and then we can solve your dumb earring mystery." Peter opened his mouth and screamed at the beetle, white-hot flames soaring from his face. Scales already began creeping up his neck and lining his face, and Peter's hands turned completely reptilian, with wicked claws in place of fingernails. And if Archie wasn't mistaken, he was also growing wings. Wonderful. More reason not to anger him.
Dylan stopped arguing, much to Archie's relief, and sighed. "I'm surprised I even got that angry," he muttered. And naturally, the moment Archie calmed down, Dylan's stud stopped reacting.
Deciding to sit out on the fight, Archie took a seat by Dylan and apologized for his earring.
"You did that?" Dylan said, gaping at Archie like he'd turned into a frog.
"On accident. Peter and that giant beetle, and you know, I panicked and influenced the only metal around."
Fingering his ear, Dylan watched Peter crush the beetle's exoskeleton into pieces. He smiled. "I think we can all get along, agreed?" He held out a hand.
"Yeah," Archie replied, shaking it. Of course, the moment was ruined by beetle guts splattering on them, still warm from Peter's fire, but Peter laughed at them, and soon the entire trio of boys was deep in incessant laughter.
Archie was very glad to have made such good friends here. Because maybe, just maybe, they could help him face the real world again.

Grace | Asthenphobia | Outside the Kingdom of Wealth


I sat up as soon as my eyes opened to see Dylan, Archie, and Peter crushing bugs. I breathed heavily running my hands over my new scars. The three boys eyes rested on my frantic panic and I just sat there.

"Grace, what happened?" Dylan asked.

"Just please, don't ever let me wake up again." I said my voice coming out shakier than I expected it to be.

Dylan nodded his eyes looking across my half bare back. I instantly felt insecure and wrapped my arms around my self trying to conceal as much as my body as I could. Peter took notice and took of his sweatshirt and handed it to me. I smiled gratefully at him and slipped on the jacket, although it was way to big on me, I felt a million times better with it covering my scars.

"Hey, you can tell us what happened." Peter says smiling at me.

I shook my head and looked down at my lap before whispering, "No, I really can't."

I noticed my untied shoelaces and retightened them before tying them back up. I straightened my boot and stood. I let out a breath and looked down at the starring boys.

"Just don't let me wake up." I said turning away from them and looking out across the landscape.

I tied my hair that was currently laying in deep curls down my back into a ponytail. I bounced on the balls of my feet before feeling a hand on my shoulder. I instantly whipped around my hands in front of my face for protection to find Dylan.

"Grace, it's okay," Dylan said softly taking my hands and moving them away from my face.

I stared at him silently him as he held onto my hand and looked away instantly embarrassed from my outbreak.

"You can tell me what happened." He said moving in front of me so I faced him.

I sighed and took his hand and led him away from the two other boys.

"My dad hits me," I whispered to him a giant weight lifting off my chest.

Dylan nodded and let go of my hand. I right had into my pocket and lifted my left on to my face. I moved back a piece of hair I always left hang on my cheek to reveal a long scar that stretched across my cheek to my chin. Dylan nodded and I let my hair fall back down to cover my cheek. I smiled at him weakly and started to walk back to the small group.

Hope Kyler, Algophobia, Somewhere

I opened my eyes to find myself lying in the same field I had vanished from the day before. I looked around. I had no idea where the cave was at, so I took a guess and headed East. On the way, I thought of they what I would say to Etain. Hmmm, I needed some kind of weapon. I came upon a large staff like stick that I supposed would have to make do. I snatched it up, tested it out, and continued towards the cave.

Time passed, and finally I saw the cave in the distance. I smiled, and kept walking slowly and deliberately towards my destination. Once I arrived, I walked in to see several newcomers. Surprised, I glanced around then called, "Where's Etain?" They all looked at me and Grace replied. "She woke up."
"Oh." I said, dissapointed. Poof. Etain was back. "Hope." She said, awknowledging my presence. "Etain." I said stiffly. "We need to talk." I turned on my heel and raced out of the cave, eager to get this confrontation over with. Curiously, she followed until we were quite a way away from the cave. "Why'd you do it?" I asked simply. "Do what?" She looked at me confused. "Why did you kill Shiloh?"
"Shiloh?"
"Yes! Shiloh! Why did you kill her?!?" I pressed. "Hope, I don't even know who Shiloh is."
"Is that what you do after you murder people? Forget about them? Or did you not even know who she was?" I asked her, my voice shaking slightly. "Hope, who is Shiloh?" Etain asked me. "You didn't know?" I asked. "You just killed her. Hmmm, well, at least I know your name." I spat out. I saw a confused look flicker across her face before I swung my staff at her head.
---------------------------------------------------
A chuckle ripped from his throat. He watched as Hope attacked Etain, watched as Etain slowly realized she was being attacked. Laughed at the confusion he was causing. "All of it is going according to plan. Little Hopey will never know. And then, I can finally get revenge." He smiled, and it was pure evil.

An awkward silence fell through the group when Etain and Hope left the cave, the tension between them had filled the room. Dylan and Grace were sitting next to each other, their knees touching slightly. How cute, I thought with a smirk. Archer was sitting next to me, fiddling his thumbs, and then there's us.

I had no idea why the kid was so nervous around me, maybe it's the fact I didn't crack enough jokes. "You know Archer, with Dylan and Grace sitting there cuddling, I think the least you could do is put your arm around me."

"W-what?" Archer asked, his face now red, it looked like his brain was malfunctioning.

I looked over at the two love birds and their faces were beet red also, looking at the ground. Wow, tough crowd.

"Geez, I was just joking Archer, loosen up," I laughed, getting a small chuckle from Dylan, at least he seemed a little more easy going than Mr. Twiddle-my-thumbs.

I let another awkward silence slip through the cave before trying something else, it was clear that Etain and Hope's scene in the cave had left a bad aftertaste. I got up to go check out what happened before the awkwardness killed me, I didn't like awkward silences. I grabbed Archer's arm as I got up, he looked up at me, fearfully.

"Come on Archer, lets go see how the cat fights progressing, if we're lucky maybe some clothing is ripping off," I laughed, smiling at him.

He chucked as we left the cave, but before I left, I threw a wink in Dylan's direction. "Don't get too frisky there Mr. Knee-touch, we'll only be gone for around ten minutes."

This caused Dylan to grow beet red and Archer to start laughing, mission equals accomplished.

I looked around, we were on the outskirts of the giant city, I could still see a faint glow of neon in the distance. Giant trees surrounded us and it didn't take long for us to locate Etain and Hope. I laid back on a tree, I could tell Archer didn't want them to fight as Hope swung her staff at Etain's head. I cringed, truthfully I didn't want them to fight either, but I was going to let Archer grow a pair and stop them if he wanted to.

Etain| Uselessness in battle/Romans| First zone

Hope swung the staff at Etain’s head, a staff that looked all to familiar to her. Etain ducked and pulled out the Roman blade, still confused by what was going on.
“Hope, I didn’t kill this Shiloh you keep talking about!” She tried again. “I have no idea who she is, I really don’t!”
“I bet you enjoyed killing her!” Hope’s eyes had clouded over then, her voice dripping with malice. “I bet you did, because you’re a savage and a killer! I hate you, Etain! I hate you!”
Rage filled Etain then. She’d never known such anger before, not even in battle, fighting the Romans she’s hated more than anything. This burning rage unsettled her. It amazed her that she could get so angry from being insulted by this whelp of a girl.
“I’ll kill you!” Hope repeated, eyes blazing.
Etain dropped into a fighting crouch. “Come on then,” she taunted. “Come and get me.”
Hope leapt Hope leapt forward, and Etain swung to the side. Her temper was boiling, out of control. She tried hard to reel it in so she wasn't fighting with blind rage. Juggling that and trying to keep her head on her shoulders was quite difficult.
"Stop it!" Someone screamed behind them. "Stop now!"
Etain dodged another thrust and leapt onto Hope. She dragged the girl to the ground using her body weight, and wrestled the spear from the girl's hands. Etain's age gave her an unfair advantage, as well as her physiques. But Hope was angered by the death of her friend, and that anger empowered her.
Using her knees, she pinned Hope's arms to the ground, the spear resting by the girl's head. She held the Roman blade to Hope's neck, her grey eyes boring into Hope’s.
“I didn’t kill your friend,” Etain snarled, her voice deep with anger. “But if you keep going, I will kill you!”
Hope’s feet connected with the back of Etain’s head, and the Pict warrior only just managed not to cut the idiot’s head off. She growled, and Hope got a punch to her face. Again, the spear was in her hand, and Etain had enough time to jump to the side so as not be impaled.
“You fool, you nearly lost your head!” Etain roared.
“Yeah, well screw you!” Hope retorted.
Etain threw her blade away, determined to settle this with her fists. She jumps back a few paces, bouncing from foot to foot, beaconing Hope over with her hands tauntingly. Hope’s eyes blazed, and Etain smiled.
“Come on then, little girl. Let’s see what you’re really made of,” Etain jeered.
Hope screamed something incoherent and probably nasty, jumping forward. Again the spear was thrust forward, but Etain was ready. This is what she’d been trained to do, fight bare handed against an armed person, disarm them, and kill them. Etain was going to do exactly that … minus killing Hope.
As the spear flew past Etain’s nose, she grabbed it and pulled, hard. Hope came flying past Etain next, and the spear flew from her hands, impaling a tree. Etain heard a yelp and got a glimpse of two people leaping from the tree.
Turning her attention back to the fight, Etain wrapped one arm around Hope’s stomach, and her other hand grabbed the girl’s arms. She spun around and threw the girl to the ground.
Hope wasn’t quite finished though. She jumped to her feet, wincing at a bruise that would be on her back, and jumped at Etain. She hurled punch after punch at Etain’s face, chest and stomach. Etain blocked each punch, as well as threw in a couple of her own, every now and then hitting Hope.
Finally, her anger almost totally out of control, Etain grabbed both of Hope’s wrists with her let hand, and stomped onto her feet with both of hers. She held her finger in Hope’s face, grey eyes blazing.
“Are you finished?” She demanded. “I didn’t kill your friend. This is a land of impossibilities. Anything can happen here. How do you know for sure it was me who killed your friend?”
Something flickered in Hope’s eyes. Reason maybe? Etain couldn’t guess. The girl hung her head in shame. She began to cry, sobs wracking through her body, tears rolling down her tanned cheeks.
Etain surprised even herself by bundling the girl into a hug, holding her as she cried. From the tree where the spear was, Etain heard clapping, and Archie and the other boy, the one Etain despised almost as much as the Celtic one, walked out. The boy was clapping, a wide smile on his face. Once again, anger rose in Etain.
“That was an amazing finale!” He yells, chuckling. “Shame you still have clothes on though, I was hoping it would get more exciting!”
Etain let go of Hope and ran at the boy. There was surprise in his eyes before he realised what was happening. Etain had him against the tree, her grey eyes blazing with fire, her hand around his throat.
“I don’t like you,” she said, voice low. “Don’t make me hate you.”