Taken from the 100 themes thread. Thanks Seito and Psyrien!

I'm hoping by doing this I'll get some dern inspiration for my story already. Hopefully a few other people will feel inspired by this, too! Wish me luck!

(In true challenge spirit, I'm going to try and update every day I'm online)

100 Themes 01

1. Bite
2. Green Pen
3. First Flower
4. A Beautiful Day
5. Water
6. Jars
7. Buttons
8. Silence
9. Trash
10. Chain
11. Rain of blossoms
12. Chapstick/lip balm
13. Cards
14. Quiz
15. Fans
16. Fish
17. Smile
18. Chocolate
19. Scissors
20. Pillows
21. Jacket/Blanket
22. Glare
23. Jealousy
24. Misunderstood
25. Holiday
26. Bell
27. Dog
28. Bridge
29. Minute
30. Flying
31. Bird
32. Cloud
33. Umbrella
34. Snow
35. Singing
36. Square
37. Curtain
38. Popular
39. Rubbish
40. Jellyfish
41. Circle
42. Matches
43. Deception
44. Paper
45. Heart
46. Color
47. Moonlight
48. Death
49. Candle
50. 50%
51. Obsessive Compulsive
52. Technology Challenged
53. Lurk
54. Stalk
55. Doom
56. Butterfly
57. Check
58. Make up
59. I feel pretty
60. Clock
61. Midnight
62. Cocoa
63. Tinsel
64. Spiffy
65. Spilled Ink
66. Paw prints
67. Cute
68. Mess
69. I’m coming
70. Late
71. Missed
72. Spellcheck
73. Mail
74. Tied up
75. Nails
76. Small terror
77. Spider
78. Wine/champagne
79. Cross-dressing
80. Instruction Manual
81. Confetti
82. Glitter
83. Shiny objects
84. Rebirth
85. Marbles
86. Lamp post
87. Charcoal
88. Markers
89. Scribbling
90. Board games
91. Love
92. Sibling
93. Coffee
94. Sticky
95. Sweet
96. Sour
97. Hyper
98. Apathy & Empathy
99. Lost cell phone
100. Happily Ever After

10. Chain

"Do you hear that?"

Immediately Aaron fell quiet and stood just as still as Daniel. For a second the waif stood there, head tilted upwards, hands cupped around his ears in a faint hope to hear the sound better. It was familiar. A light jingling sound, slowly growing louder and louder. Eventually it was loud enough to be accompanied by a very, very light shuffling noise.

And then it hit him exactly what it was. His skin went dead white, and his expression froze with fear. "We're dead." He said, his voice quivering with fear for the first time since the young mage had met him.

"What is it?" Aaron asked, suddenly feeling as if the air were crowded with dread. Maybe it was Daniel, but he felt as if it were instinct. He suddenly didn't like this place. "Hey...what is it?"

"It's the chain. That's how you recognize it. No scum is stupid enough to put on chains, because they know how horrible it is. They know not to even pretend that it's nearby. You wouldn't understand. You've never seen it."

"But what is it?" There was a pause. "Why aren't we running?"

In all honesty he wouldn't have known how to answer that. He felt as if his feet were glued to the ground and all his joints were gone. Stiff as a dead man. He thought bitterly to himself, realizing just how accurate a metaphor that was. Soon he would be that dead man he compared himself to.

The shuffling kept on growing louder and louder, accompanied by the tinkling noise. It was drowned out in their minds by the powerful beat of their own hearts, but still it was obviously getting closer. It was so close the air felt thick with the stench of death.

Aaron began to move.

After only a few feet he turned around, looking at Daniel. "What are you waiting for? Come on!"

This was enough to snap him out of whatever spell he was under. As if some mysterous force took over, his body began to run. He had no control over the fact that he was running, it just happened. His legs moved like pistons, faster than he had ever gone before, and somehow Aaron managed to keep up. Fear pushed them faster and faster.

Soon the chains and shuffling began to fade. Turning his head out of curiosity, Aaron saw a twisted form - silohuetted so he couldn't see the detail - too tall to be a man, but definitely in the shape of a human. Even though there was no way to see its features, he knew its eyes burned into him with longing and hunger. Giving a shiver, he put on an extra burst of speed.

After over an hour of running purely on terror they finally took a rest. Panting, leaning against a pile of rubble, the would-be-mage decided to ask his question again.

"So...now are you going to tell me what it was?"

"Nope." Daniel looked smug as he spoke, a big grin on his face. He was still running off the adrenaline high.

"Smartass."

39. Rubbish

The man clasped his hands together, creating the pleasant jingle of his metal bracelets clacking together. When he pulled them apart there was a floating orb of white light, just barely bright enough to stare at without hurting your eyes. Pulling one hand away to adjust his thick-rimmed glasses, he shoved the hand with the light right in front of the young mage's face.

After blinking rapidly to grow used to the light, he looked up into those wrinkled brow eyes, full of years upon years of experience. The old man pulled his thin lips into a line, his fuzzy grey brows - like giant caterpillars, he thought - furrowing. After a second the elder pulled back and the light vanished. On his knees, with arms crossed, he gave the sort of patient, wise look only the aged could muster.

"What's your name, boy?" He asked. His voice was surprisingly youthful despite his appearance, full of the energy and curiosity of a much younger man, much like his eyes.

"Aaron."

There was a slight chuckle, and the old man shook his head, the remaining thin whisps of hair on his head blowing about in the tiny breeze made. "Rubbish. Absolute rubbish!"

"Sir?" There was a confusion in the air, and it was obvious that only the old man could solve it, just as so many other questions sure to be asked in the future.

"You're a mage, boy! What kind of name is Aaron for a mage? Didn't you graduate from the academy?"

Aaron shook his head.

"More rubbish! Half of what you know is reserved for graduates only! What's your real name? Varius? Ovid? Quintin?"

"Aaron, okay? Just Aaron." His eyes looked glazed over with thought as he stared at the floor, body now slumped. "And that's all I want to say about that. Can we move on to more important things?"

"I still call rubbish."

"Can you just stop saying that word?"

"When the world stops turning, m'boy. Until then, deal with it." This was accompanied by a toothy grin. Well, it would have been, but the teeth surviving were half-rotted, and they were few and far between.

Aaron rolled his eyes, but he could see out of the corner of his eye that Daniel was there with a big grin on his face, amused by the spectacle of the interrogation. Almost as soon as he had noticed his traveling companion, the old mage whirled around to face him.

"Right, your turn!"

The corners of Aaron's lips turned upward slightly. It wasn't a great payback, but it would do.