Young Writers Society

Schadel Kueper:

She was torn between caring for her wound and finding a hiding spot. She could hear voices outside the kitchen, and was surprised to realize there was three.

Frantically glancing around the room, she tried to find a place to hide. She could take care of her injury later. The main problem at the moment was the growing risk of discovery.

After a minute of searching, she found an empty closet (save for a few pots and pans, which she quickly moved to the table in the middle of the room). It was the type that wasn't part of the wall, and it looked incredibly creepy like the rest of the house. Schadel had no idea how someone could live in a place like this; it terrified her!

She quickly slipped into the closet and shut the door.

Joe Collins

"So," I said to break the silence. "Are we going to just stand here, or go inside and help that poor person?"
Before they could answer, the thick bushes behind started to shake violently as if someone was preparing to pounce us from there.
"Who's there?" Micka asked as he took a step back.
"Um...guys, there's a problem I can't use my powers..." I muttered as I tried to use my elemental powers. None of them worked.

The bushes gave another rustle and a figure stepped out of it, grasping a dagger in their hand. "Jeez, I'm sorry. I didn't know Joe was with you guys, I was doubting whether I should confront you people or not. But since Joe's with you fellas, I thought to jump out and say hi."

"Ann Flecher!" I uttered a cry as she took a few steps towards us. She was wearing her battle outfit along with her dagger and other deadly weapons. Her short brown hair was tangled and dirty. Her usually bright blue eyes looked tired out and she was pale and bruised. Her shield had huge holes in it and most of her battle outfit was ripped off revealing her orange T-shirt and black trousers underneath it.

Micka and Knightare exchanged confused looks as Ann approached us.
She glanced at me, and I thought she was going to give me quick hug or something but she simply punched me in the ribs, "Don't you dare disappear like that again and act all natural about it ever again!"

"What?" I puffed, trying to get over the pain. Ann always has to do that. Every time I do something stupid and surprisingly survive, she simply punches me. "What are...you talking about?"

Ann shook her head, "You vanished Joe, I thought the Amarok killed you!" The frown on her face disappeared. "I thought you were...dead..."

Trust me, Ann can be the toughest girl I know, but she really cares about other people, she just doesn't like to show it. "Um, I'm not dead Ann! At least I hope I'm not....also, meet my new friends!" I said glancing at the two confused people standing behind me.
Most people get surprised when Ann, who is my best friend punches me in the ribs as if I'm some kind of a villain. But I don't mind that, I'm pretty much used to it.

Knightare:

He glanced down at his hands. Interestingly enough, they had instinctively balled into fists before the human girl had stepped out of the bushes in front of the old house. He was relieved to realize not only had his memories and body been (somewhat) returned to normal, but the instincts he had gained over the course of a century had returned as well.

When he heard the girl (Ann Fletcher, if he had heard Joe right) tell Joe that she thought he had died, guilt hit him hard. His gaze dropped down to the ground. Nendros and Azerana would never bother to look for him; he had made sure of it when he faked his own suicide.

Introductions were quickly swapped, and the four hesitantly made their way to the kitchen.

A scream suddenly filled the house.

Before any of the four could make a dash for the kitchen, where the screams had come from, the kitchen doors burst open and the shadow being ran out of the room. It tripped over its own two feet in its rush to flee. Stumbling for a couple of seconds, it tumbled right into Knightare.

He gave a startled cry as the two of them fell to the floor.

His eyes widened in horror, and he struggled to break free. The shadow being's eyes, which were the color of polished silver, stared at the group assembled in clear horror as stood up.

Knightare rushed to his feet.

Ann Fletcher

A mixture of horror and confusion struck me as the weird shadow being fell down to the floor along with Knightare. My hand automatically reached for the dagger hidden inside a leather cover near my right trouser pocket.

Joe and Micka seemed just as shocked as I was.
Knightare managed to break free from the weird thing and get up within a few seconds.

I regained my wits. Without even a glimpse of fear, I stepped forward and held my dagger in front of the shadow thing, "Don't you even dare to attack us."

Honestly, I was feeling a bit shaky because I was unsure what this thing with weird eyes was, but as a defender, I always tend to protect my friends.

Before I could step any further, Joe grabbed my by my shoulder and tried to snatch away my dagger.
"Ann, don't scare her," He said, his gaze focusing on the surprised creature. "I think she's not going to attack us if we mean her no harm..."

Schadel Kueper:

She eyed the dagger nervously. "I'm not going to harm any of you," she said, raising both of her hands up above her head in what she hoped was the universal sign of peace. She was terrified of the consequences of them seeing what she really looked like; she doubted she could lie and come up with a suitable reason for her appearance without having to give away the truth.

She sighed. Of course there had been a spider in the closest. There was no way she could have remained inside of it after noting the presence of the thing she was incredibly afraid of.

"I'm not human, obviously," she quickly said. The faster she could finish this explanation, the better. She didn't think getting stabbed by the human girl's knife would be too good with current inability to heal from wounds like that. "My magic is frozen. I don't know why. If I could, I swear I would change my form to make it look human."

"What are you?" the girl slowly asked.

"I'm a grim reaper."

Golden eyes widened in what appeared to be horror at her explanation; the man with the blond hair and black highlights gave a startled cry. "The Grim Reaper?" His voice was barely above a whisper as he tried to back away from her, but he tripped and fell to the ground. "You're going to take my soul!"

"I'm a grim reaper," she hurriedly corrected. "And we don't go and take the souls of whoever we happen to run into! Better yet, some of us don't even reap souls." The corners of her eyes turned up - it was how she was able to show she was smiling despite not possessing an actual mouth. "I'm one of the ones that doesn't do that, unless there's a special situation. So, um, who are you guys? I'm Schadel H. Kueper. I was getting chased by some other grim reapers and I ended up here."

The others offered their names and explanations for their arrival, save for the man who had been so terrified of her. Even now, he still shook as she turned her gaze upon him. "What's your name?" she asked kindly. He froze and stared at with horror.

"I'm...I'm....I'm Nendros Glider!" His exclamation was met with looks of confusion from Micka and Joe; Schadel wondered why that was the case. "I ended up here while I was getting chased by a dragon!"

Joe Collins

Didn't I feel relieved when the shadow person...er grim reaper didn't run away this time.

I actually didn't feel that terrified of seeing a real grim reaper because Ann and I got chased away by Banshee a months back and before that we almost got killed by an Ammit. I basically live in a place where all mythical creatures are real.


Ann seemed to fully trust her now, she tucked her dagger back into the leather cover and let out a sigh, "You don't need to worry about looking fully human and all. Even though Joe and I look like humans, we're not humans at all." She paused and smiled, "I'm sorry for trying to attack you with my dagger, I'm a bit too defensive sometimes."

"Yeah right," I muttered, "It's a good thing I'm around to stop you from being a killing machine."
"Shut up dumb stick..." And muttered, looking annoyed by my statement. "Oh hey, you said that your magic is frozen right? She said focusing her gaze on Schadel.
Schadel nodded with agreement.

"Hey, I can't use my powers either." I cut in, remembering that I failed to use my elemental powers.

Mica remained silent. I wonder whether he has magical powers or whether he's completely human.

"Well, I can't use my special combat skills either, I mean the skills which use magic. I think there's something weird about this place." Ann said after a moment of silence. "All of us were in the middle of a battle or avoiding something harmful when we got here. Maybe this place actually saved us...what do you guys think?"
We exchanged glances.

A chill ran up my spine, the terrible idea that we all might've died and ended up here, invaded my mind again. But seeing an actual grim reaper right in front of me, thinned my fear. We really can't be dead. Think straight Joe, quit being a fool. I blamed myself.

Knightare, on the other hand, seemed terrified after meeting Schadel. And why didn't he reveal his real name? What was he hiding? I thought to save those questions for later and focus more on Ann's question. Maybe she's right.
"And one more thing Schadel, sorry for asking too many questions, but what actually happened to you in that kitchen...you looked terrified when you came running out of it," Ann added.
Jeez, Ann always wants to know everything

Schadel Kueper:

If she had been in a human form, her face would have been turning red in embarrassment. "There was a spider in the closet I was trying to hide in." Her gaze dropped to the ground. "I'm scared to death of them...And what you said about us all ending up here because we were running from something? That sounds possible to me."

Knightare:

Maybe it's a good thing that I'm stuck in this form... He sneaked a glance in Schadel's direction; the grim reaper turned to stare at him with a curious look to her eyes. He hoped that his fear wasn't so obvious. The special situations that she had mentioned certainly had to be when someone escaped death. And he had done exactly that, though it had been his sister who had turned him into a moving suit of armor before his wounds could have killed him.

If only he could have told her that his memories had returned. If only he had told Nendros that he wasn't who he thought he was before his form had changed to become its true one. If only he wasn't such a coward and had chosen to fake his own suicide rather than face the person who had been one of his first friends.

Now that he was stuck here with seemingly no way of returning to his home, and the possibility of his death was very high if his true identity was revealed, he realized that there was so many things he should have done differently. The regrets in his heart would haunt him for eternity, and it was all his fault.

Tears started to form in the corners of his eyes.

Alarmed, Schadel asked, "What's wrong?!"

He frantically wiped them away. "Nothing," was his reply, but his voice shook as he spoke. "This-this is all just a lot to take, you know? I was getting chased by a dragon, which only go after princesses and the occasional prince. Then I wind up here and meet a grim reaper and two teenagers who claim they aren't human." As an afterthought, he added, "The world is supposed to be simpler than this. I wasn't prepared for such a sudden and dramatic change."

Ann Fletcher

I felt really sorry for poor Knightare, "Um, yeah...I think that's fair. But trust me, the world will never be simpler...there's always a twist in everything."

I folded my arms in front of my chest and let out a low sigh, "I know you're confused and all, but we have to act tough in instances like this. However, Joe and I have special powers, that's the only thing that makes us different from normal people, so you don't have to worry about that."

"Yeah," Joe added with a smile, "We're really friendly and nice!"
I rolled my eyes at his statement,"Um, yeah...anyway, what are we going to do now? I mean we can't just stay in here forever now can we?"

Knightare still seemed pretty frightened, and I understood that he wasn't scared of us...he seemed to eye Schadel nervously every now and then.

What was his problem, why would he be afraid of the grim reaper, if she doesn't mean any harm, unless...

A loud crash coming from the kitchen made us jump with surprise.
"What was that?" a startled cry escaped my mouth.

James

Gasp.

James woke up in a panic and in a cold sweat, beads dripping down his forehead as his heart rate dramatically increased. He sat up quickly, one hand rushing to his throbbing head and the other to hold himself up. His eyes, however, went to his leg, which was badly bleeding before he passed out - or rather, got knocked out by his sudden crash to the ground. Now, the bleeding seemed to have subsided, but the cut itself looked gnarly as ever. He mumbled a few half-hearted curse words under his breath as he looked around himself, and as soon as he looked around to view his surroundings, his heart stopped completely.

Where am I.

A different kind of panic began to overtake him as he took in the unfamiliar details of the plant life. Yes, it was similar, but undoubtedly, it wasn't the same. Something just felt off.

But then he caught a glance of something in the corner of his eye. A house. A... very familiar house. It almost looked like home.

He scraped some mud off the ground and rubbed it into the gaping cut in his leg, if only to keep it from bleeding again once he started moving. He picked up his leg and shakily got to his feet, and began to slowly hobble over to the house.

He was desperate.

He needed help.

So he knocked on the door, leaning on the doorframe wearily.

"Is anybody home?"

The door fell open easily as he knocked.

"I'm here," said a woman, who was standing by the fire.

She seemed tall, but only because she was so thin. Her skin and hair were so white they reflected the glass blue from the dress she wore, and she nearly glowed in the firelight. She smiled, pleased by the look of shock on her guest's face.

"No time to gawk," she said, drawing near, and taking his arm in hers leading him to place to sit. He followed without question, as though under some sort of spell.

"Your wounded," she said softly, with a tinge of regret. "I'm sorry."
She picked up the leg and rested it across her knee. Then she saw the mud and wrinkled her nose in displeasure.
"It is fateful for you that germs don't make it here," she said with a sniff, "I will have to cause you more pain if I am to properly heal this." She looked up at him, as though waiting for his permission to continue.

He felt his head clear a little, before he opened his mouth to speak.

James

"That's fine." He said quietly, instead of what first came to his mind, which was that he was accustomed to pain. But he was already in a pitiful state, and he wasn't looking for more pity than he already garnered.

If he'd known he was going to get such immediate care, he probably wouldn't have slapped mud in the wound. It seemed his quick thinking was too focused on the temporal than what would happen in the long run. However, such thoughts were only dancing in the very back of his mind, because the current setting was far too dream-like and unexpected to be ignored.

The fireplace at the end of the room illuminated the house with a warm, welcoming glow, and the house itself appeared very homey and cozy. But the real mystery was the woman who so quickly rushed to his aid without question. She was so light, and simultaneously appearing fragile but strong. He hardly said this about anyone, but she was... enchanting.

"Who are you?" Was all he could offer at the moment. He had so many questions.

She smiled, and stood, resting his injured leg on a nearby stool, then walked toward a small cabinet to the left of the fire, answering him as she went.

"I am the owner of this house. My name is Ainismeira."

She opened the cabinet then pulled out a glass vial and a crystal bowl. She set the bowl on a table and filled it with water from a nearby pitcher, then dropped a few drops from the vial into it before carrying it over and kneeling beside him.

She pulled a satin like cloth from her sleeve, dipped it into the water and gently as she could began to clear away the mud. It hurt, she couldn't change that, a wound was a wound, especially a wound packed with mud, but he seemed to handle pain well. If nothing else the tonic she had used would bring a little comfort and heal the would quickly.

The more mud she cleared, the more she realized how deep the gash had been. It pained her to look at it,

"If only I had acted sooner," She thought, then panicked a moment, wondering if she had said so out loud. If she had, he didn't seem to have noticed. She focused again on the wound, which was finally cleaned. Such a nasty injury, deep and ragged.

All that was left was the binding. She tore a strip from her dress and packed the wound, then tore another and wrapped it tightly and neatly.

He seemed troubled that she had torn her dress but he needn't have worried, it would replenish itself the same as cut hair.

"Well, that's all I can do for now." she said, patting the wound gently, "It won't get infected, but should be changed and re-wrapped everyday."

She turned to leave, then stopped in thought, before saying,

"I would rather you didn't tell the others you saw me, unless you absolutely have to. They are that way," she pointed in the direction they had all run off in. "Don't worry, none of them should do you any harm. Try and reassure them that all is well, they are not dead, and they are hear for a reason."

She smiled a gracious smile, then vanished into thin air.

James

James observed silently as the woman dressed his wound. Ainismeira. He would have to remember that name, so he could find her later and repay her for her kindness. But then she vanished - and left him more confused than ever with her parting words.

"...Thank you." He finally said, but at this point she was gone.

So she's a magic user. She had to be. There was no other explanation for the sudden disappearance he just witnessed, and he'd seen many things that were beyond his ability to explain, so this too, would have to be one of those things.

With brows furrowed, he sat for a moment trying to understand everything she'd just told him and what it meant.

What did she mean 'if she only acted sooner?' It was silly on her part to think that she could have somehow prevented him from getting his leg slashed with an axe if she wasn't present when it happened. That, and he didn't know her at all - nor did he know where he was, which was also something of concern. He had to assume that at some point he'd blacked out, or forgotten what happened after a certain amount of blood loss and a great amount of adrenaline. That would explain him ending up on an unfamiliar forest floor, if he'd simply ran. Hitting his head on the way down could also explain any temporary or permanent loss of memory as well... that and trauma could do that to you.

He could respect her wish for him to not tell anyone that she was there. If he were in her position he would've said the same. He was sure her reasons were different than his own, but all the same, he had no inherent need to tell others about her being there. And - speaking of others, apparently he wasn't the only one there? She said they wouldn't harm him... but apparently they needed reassurance?

His head buzzed with confusion. What had he stumbled into this time?

He fussed with his pant leg and rolled it down, covering the bandaging but failing to conceal the fact that his leg was injured. There was still the hole in his pants (and blood stain that he knew he wouldn't be able to get out) that would probably make people wary of him. Or concerned. It tended to be one or the other.

Giving another quick look around the room, he pushed himself off the chair and made himself walk in the direction that Ainismeira had indicated. He wasn't sure if she had just given him information about the group of people or a task. At the moment, he preferred the latter, since it meant he'd have something to distract from the pain, and it meant he'd be moving forward.

He passed through a kitchen, and... there was no one there. All that moving for nothing, it seemed. Maybe he'd heard incorrectly? Shaking his head, he leaned on the kitchen counter trying to clear his head.