Young Writers Society

Kai decided to jump up, shaking the bottle around to find it empty. He smashed it onto the floor, breaking the bottle and splattering the glass around the floor.

"What are you doing!" screamed The Angry Libarian, "Now I have to spend my own time cleaning up the mess you have made!"

"Good for you" replied Kai clearly not caring. "Can I go with you guys?"

"Fine" muttered the group all at the same time.

Kai then decided to shout "Let's go then!"

"Shush!" shouted the Librarian.

Kai then repeated himself but this time he whispered. He walked out of the door, the others following him. They all wondered where they would go next...

"We were kicked out of a library," Maahes slowly said, trying to come to terms with the reality of their situation. His nonexistent heart was heavy as he glanced back at the building he had just been forced out of. His past was not free from crime. But this was perhaps one of the more terrible offenses he had committed! The former librarian in him reeled at the thought of how they had both disrespected the library and its staff.

He stared dismally back at the building. "Do you think they'll let me back in there if it's just to apologize? I know I didn't do anything, but I should have said something when we were back in there! I must seem so rude..."

Kixig shrugged. "If you said something, they probably would've gotten more angry, since we weren't supposed to be talking much anyway."

His shoulders slumped. "I guess...I just feel really guilty about not apologizing to them-" He suddenly fell silent, staring with wide eyes at the other door that led out of the library. A hooded figure ducked out through it. While they kept they kept their head down to obscure their facial features, the cloak that was meant to conceal them betrayed their identity.

He had seen her wearing it around her shoulders.

There was the same cut on the very end of it, and some places had been burned. It was impossible to deny that they were the same one. "That's her!" he eagerly whispered to Kixig and Rin. "That's the woman from my village!"

"Are we going after her?" Tasha asks. It seems logical to stick around the otherworlders like herself.

He nodded. "Yeah. I mean, if you want to. I need to talk to her."

Kixig nodded. "Then let's go!"

Giving the group a grateful smile, he suddenly dashed over to the woman. The sound of his footsteps alerted her to the fact that her disguise had been comprised. Turning around, she briefly stared at him with wide blue eyes. And then she was off, running through the unfamiliar streets in an attempt to escape them.

Whoever the woman was, she was good; she had already traveled down a couple of blocks, and kept a steady lead over Maahes. Kellach put aside all his embarrassment, fear, and frustration over Killian's story and being kicked out of the library. Chasing someone? That was straightforward, that didn't require much thinking. Hence, it was more of his territory.

He ran down a side street, looking around for the hooded figure. The few people around scattered out of his way. Admittedly, the town was big enough to have numerous roads, and the woman could just as easily enter any building in the area. Kellach knew that the odds of actually finding her, much less blocking her, were slim, but he felt that it'd at least be an interesting way to pass the time.

Naturally, when he turned a bend onto another street, she ran into him, knocking him onto the ground. The hooded figure nearly tripped, but quickly recovered and vanished in a narrow street. Kellach, picking himself off the ground, pointed to where she'd gone as Maahes and the others passed. Then he rose and followed.

Such a strange cast of characters was unusual for even the Goa'uld. Even when they came from different cultures, there was some sort of uniformity found in the quality of their outfits. This group lacked even that. Only the man with the scarlet hair seemed to posses the riches befitting a Goa'uld. Were the others mercenaries he had hired, or even his worshipers? It wouldn't be the first time that she had met people like that. They always disgusted her, but there was nothing she could do about it.

"Ciannet!" a voice called out as she turned down the next street. It belonged to the Goa'uld with the scarlet hair.

Hearing her name leave his lips terrified her, especially when she noticed how boldly he had announced it. She faltered. His voice didn't sound like a Goa'uld's, though the parasite could have just been using the voice of his host. But was even more startling and confusing was the familiarity of the voice. How could she have recognized the voice of a man she was sure she had never met?

He and his group were bridging the distance between her and them. It was only a matter of time before they caught up. She ducked into an another alleyway in an attempt to lose them, only to notice a horrible thing - it was a dead end.

Kellach wiped away the dirt from his eyes as he stumbled his way to the alley where everyone else had gathered. He swore under his breath; in this form, he didn't care much for being clean, but he didn't want to go back to his own world looking like a mess (or, any more so than usual).

He pushed his way to the front of the group; nobody seemed to pay attention to him, as they all chose to focus on the alley. Kellach did the same. The alleyway was narrow - about wide enough for two people to stand side-by-side - and the hooded figure appeared to be somewhere at the back of it. After all, his eyes caught a shadow darker than those cast by the surrounding buildings.

"What is your problem?" Kellach called into the alley before anyone else could speak. He pointed to Maahes. "He just wants to talk to you!"

Kellach sincerely hoped the hooded figure wasn't armed or dangerous, but, given his luck, he suspected otherwise. He reached for the daggers in his pockets, hoping he wouldn't have to use them.

Her hand lingered over the dagger that was hidden in its sheath underneath her cloak. What was this man going on about? A Goa'uld wouldn't just want to talk! That evil being would capture her just like Kek had, and she doubted her escape would be as easy. She didn't understand why they were trying to trick her when she was clearly outnumbered, but that had to be the only answer.

"It's alright - she's just scared of what I'll do to her," the Goa'uld said in his frustratingly familiar voice. He took a hesitant step forward and gave her a warm smile. It had to be a trick, but such a kind little gesture made her feel less tense.

"You don't have to be afraid," he promised. The gentle tone, paired with the genuine look on his face, almost made her let her guard down. It was only now that she recalled hearing of a Goa'uld in league with Kek that sported the same abnormal scarlet hair. Was he going to turn her over to the person she had just barely managed to escape?

She jerked the iron dagger out of its sheath and threw it him. It should have hit him where his heart was, but he grabbed onto it before its tip could penetrate his skin. "You've improved, Annie," he said. He walked over to her and held it out. "But you still have awhile until you can beat your teacher."

"M-Maahes?" she managed to get out.

He nodded.

Wow. She was fast. Kellach figured he probably could've ducked out of the way fast enough to avoid any serious injury if someone had thrown a dagger at him with that speed. But Maahes grabbing the dagger without flinching? That was extraordinary. Kellach made a mental note to not cross either of them.

Now came the frustrating part. He didn't much like talking to other people. They always seemed to have answers that caught what he didn't notice. Answers like those always defused his efforts at conversation and made him feel stupid. Still, he didn't feel there was much he was missing context-wise, and it was probably going to be an interesting story - he liked those. "Teacher?" he said, looking between Maahes and the hooded figure (Annie?). "What's the story behind that?"

Tasha watches from a roof overlooking the alley, her eyes a deep umber as she listens. Teacher? Now this was getting interesting.