1. What Happened After School




''Ugh. More homework.” I whispered to my best friend Grace. Our teacher Mr. Grumpy--that's what we like to call him. It's really Mr. Gumply--was passing out the assignment for the day. I got mine. THREE PAGES! Humph.
“That’s just what I was thinking. I mean, come on, we don’t need to use it for something important. And it, itself isn't important either, right?” She whispered back, looking annoyed and tiered.
“And what is so important that you girls are talking about? Surly it can wait, can’t it? Or is it so important that it has to interrupt my class time?!'' Mr. Grumpy was saying to us, and, apparently, we hadn't seen him
coming. ''Okay, now that we're being serious, if you two disrupt my class one more time, your both going to the principal's office! Do you hear me?!?'' He pointed his index finger at us sternly.
''Yes Mr. Grump--I mean, Mr. Gumply.'' Grace and I said at the same time.

--- --- ---

You guys need to know a little more about me before you get too caught up in the story, ’kay? Well, to start, my name is Raven Nite. I'm not much of a ‘people person’ . I’d rather just run up to my room and work on all my marshal art moves. My most favorite and most simple move is the kick-kick-punch combo. I could usually knock someone out with that. Heh heh.
I have long, silky, black hair that came down to my mid back, included with bangs that usually covered my emerald green eyes. And I usually just wore a plain white Tee with black sleeves and collar. And dark blue jeans that hugged my legs all the way down to my ankle. And, I wore black and
white high-tops with a spiked bracelet just to top it all off.

My friend, Grace Shi, on the other hand, wasn't really as bad as me, but she wasn't a lot better either. She was shy. She didn't hide then come out while fighting, like me, she would just hide and never come out. She was really pretty. She had a light brown pixie cut. And she had sky blue eyes that when she looks at you, and you look into her eyes, you just melted. For some reason, the light brown hair and the sky blue eyes always reminded me of a little puppy, begging for scraps.
Grace usually wore a plain T-Shirt (light purple, light yellow, light blue, light green, light orange, basically any light color). With light blue jeans, denim skirts, denim skorts, denim shorts (any length), and denim Capris. So, basically, anything light colored and denim, she would ware.

--- --- ---

Mr. Grumpy's math class was the
second-to-last class of the day. All that was left was Study Skills. That was a class for students to get their homework done before they all went home. It wasn't optional either. You had to do it. No one ever got it all done though that I had heard of.
Jake Samuels (a guy that just so happens to have a secret crush on me) was also in that class.
''Hello. R--R--Raven?'' He stuttered.
''Hey. What's up, Jake?'' I said.
''I was just wondering if you –um--
maybe wanted to go out with me on--er--Saturday?''
He caught me off guard for a second. ''Uh. Sure.''
He just smiled and walked off. That's why I said yes. That smile is just breath-taking, if ya know what I mean.

--- --- ---

After school, I started to walk home. Grace rode the bus home, so I was by myself.
I passed fences, and leaves being
blown by the wind. It was the start of Autumn now, so the breeze was a bit cooler. I had to walk about three or four blocks to get home. I lived in a tiny town in New York called Platzburgh.
When I turned the final corner to my house, something happened that changed my whole life forever. . . .

There was a handsome man about in his early twenties. I didn't get a good look at him, because right when I turned the corner and saw him, he rushed at me.
He grabbed me by my elbows that clung to my sides with fear, and carried me around the corner. He looked around as if looking to see if anyone was close enough to watch. Then, he put his head over my neck. I felt a warm wetness on my shoulder and then a piercing feeling. Like if someone had just took two long, sharp knives and stabbed me right on the edge of my neck. I couldn't scream for help 'cause I was frozen with not only fear, but shock.
Then I felt light-headed, my body went limp, then I passed out in his arms.

Notes from author: after you've read the first chapter, I'd greatly apprciate it if you would just comment, question, or point something out that doesn't quite make sense. I'd be glad to hear your thoughts about my rough draft because I do wish to publish it someday. Thank you! :)

2. I’m A what?



I woke up in my room. I was wondering where I was and what the HECK had happened to me. I didn’t fully recover until I saw three heads over my own. They looked nervous. It was my mother, Grace, and Jake. Grace and Jake must’ve found out when they got home and rushed over here. What good friends!
Then I remembered what had happened earlier. Someone BIT my neck!
I reached up to feel for wounds on my neck, but nothing was there.
“What’s wrong? Does your neck hurt, sweet pea?” My mother asked worriedly.
“I’m fine, Mom. Just feeling for the—for the . . .” I struggled to figure out if I should tell them what had really happened.
-They think I just passed out on the street for no freaking reason?- I thought to myself. –But, if I tell them, they’ll think I’m crazy. Poop.-
“For the what, honey?” My mother asked. I could tell that she was trying to sound as normal as possible, and failing.
“Oh, nothing. It’s not important. Just forget it.”
“Uh, yeah it is important, tell us!” She began to look frightened again.
“Mom, trust me. It’s not important at all.” I made a smile to show her not to worry anything about it. Even though it was the most important thing that’s ever happened in my life!
“Oh, fine. We’ll be down the stairs if you need us, ‘kay?” I nodded. “Get some sleep. You need it.” Mom smiled.
“Hey, Mom?”
“Yes dear?”
“Can I have something to drink? Something warm, please. My throat is really dry for some reason.”
“Sure. I’ll be right back with something.” Mother smiled again as she closed the door behind Grace and Jake.
-Why am I so thirsty?-
I heard footsteps coming up the stairs, through the hallway, and coming into my bedroom.
But it was too early for Mom to be coming in here with a glass. She had just walked out not five seconds ago. Huh. It’s probably Jake or Grace coming to visit. But, Mom had told them specifically not to come up.
The door opened and sure enough, it wasn’t Mom. But it wasn’t Grace or Jake either. It was a very handsome young man about my own age (17).
“Come on. We have to leave now.” The stranger said. I stayed, not knowing what to do or say. Then I saw his face, and knew he meant business. And that he was a friend, and could be trusted. I knew because I could see his aura--Cool, I got a new power! But how?—Then I saw his eyes. The color of blood. The deep and dark red of his eyes made me flinch, then come closer to him.
He knew what made me flinch, and he
looked hurt, but yet somehow used to the reaction.
“We have to leave, now! They’ll be here in only a couple of minutes!” He grabbed me by my wrist, pulled me out of my bed, and jumped out the window.
I didn’t know who ‘they’ were, but I
knew they weren’t good.
And if I knew what that boy was to me,
I would have kissed him right on the spot.

--- --- ---

We ran for a bit. We didn’t talk or even
make eye contact. He kept a good, firm grip
on my wrist, but that was it.
He finally stopped at an old broken
down building at the corner of Rosaline Ave.
and Birchbark Street.
“Do you have any drinks? My throat is
killing me.” I asked, desperate for something
warm and soothing.
“Oh, I know exactly what you need.” He said, grabbing a knife.
Now I didn’t feel so nice around him,
but his aura was still good and clear. And auras never lie.
He didn’t cut me, he cut himself on his wrist. His hand wrapped around the back of my head and he pushed me forward, making my face over the cut on his wrist. Blood was oozing from the cut.
“Drink” Is all he said.
When I refused, he pushed my head
against the cut, my mouth open wide. I
started to feel blood trickling into my mouth
slowly, but it didn’t taste bad, like I thought it
would. Actually, it tasted pretty good, not
like when you’re sucking blood and spitting
it out of a cut or scrape.
I took about two or three gulps and
leaned back.
“You feel any better? More stronger?”
He asked, looking more normal than he did
before. Of course, not including the eyes.
“Yeah, even better than before the
incident .” I replied. “Why did I just drink
your blood and you acted as if it were
nothing? Is it some sort of old ritual?”
“No. It’s pretty normal for me, and soon
will be for you.” He said with a somehow
serious and savage smile. He wasn’t joking.
“And why, may I ask you?”
“’Cause we’re vampires.” He said. And
this time he smiled, it showed fangs growing
and sharpening themselves.
And that was just what I was afraid
he’d say. :O

The characters seem a little cliche so far, which can be easily worked on. You have to be careful that they're original and not stock characters. More stronger is bad grammar, it should be just stronger or feeling stronger. I would suggest getting someone to check your grammar when you're done with it, to prevent things like that. Also, why does she automatically trust her new power, he has red eyes, she'd probably be a little wary or at least confused at her trust. Unless you establish she has a habit of going with the flow or something. What is she talking about in the beginning? It sounds like some sort of magic item, I'm very confused.
Whew, that's a lot. It's definitely workable though, so keep at it. This could be really good!

I am planning to bring the life into the characters once the story gets going a bit more. And sorry about my horrible grammer, this is my very first draft of my very first serious book. I hope that in some good practice, my writing will get better. And I am going to get my mother to check over my work once it is done. You see, I still live with my mother because I'm only twelve and still improving my writing. My main character truely trusts her new powers because she is like the goth, and she reads and studies those sorts of things, like witchcraft, mythical beings, and other sorts of powers. She is a bit frightened when she sees him, but she felt as if she knew him from somewhere, and she was truely curious about him, and decided to trust him, for the moment. And I'm sorry, you lost me. I don't know what you're talking about at the beginning. Hope that clears things a bit. :)

Here's the third chaper! :)---------------------------------------



3. Never Going Home


I let out a long and loud scream.
“Calm down. There’s lots out there.” The boy said, raising his hands, showing me to calm down.
I didn’t calm down. I screamed louder. Oh, my, gosh! There’s MORE out there?!? That’s just terrific!
“I said, calm down!” he suddenly got stern. “Now just sit down, and breathe slowly.”
I sat down, a look of astonishment still on my face.
After about three minutes of complete silence, I spoke.
“Huh. So, I’m a vampire. Well, we’re both vampires. And you’re telling me that there’s lots more of them?” I put my hands on my knees, finally starting to calm down. “So where are all the others? And, I never did ask you, what’s your name?”
“Well, there are about 2,681 vampires in Platzburgh. Not including all the others.” He said.
“Who are ‘the others’?”
“Not all who live in Platzburgh are humans or vampires, silly. There’s also about 978 werewolves, they’re pretty rare in New York. Then there’s about 1,958 witches, and about 1,534 shapeshifters. As for humans, there are about 807. I know, shocking, right?”
“So, most of the people I see on the street are night creatures?”
“Yep.”
“And why are there more vampires than the rest? And why are the werewolves so rare?”
“We had more people to start with, so we were the rulers of this part of the world. And that’s why we’re the only ones that get breeders (those are people that go out looking for female humans to turn, so that
we have that person and the child/children of that person they changed).
“And all creatures have their habitats, too. For vampires, it’s big cities where there’s lots of humans to feed on. For shapeshifters, it’s usually a jungle, but it depends on their true form. For werewolves, it’s out in the desert, which is why they’re so rare. Because the desert is like the exact opposite of big cities.”
“And what about the witches?”
“With witches, it doesn’t really matter.”
“And, what about your name?”
“Do I have to tell you?”
“Yes.” I said simply.
“Devin. Devin Vamprate. But, don’t tell anyone. If they ask, my name is Matthew. And don’t ask why, we don’t have time.” He looked over his shoulder, past the hills separating the country from the city. Then he looked back at me with a worried expression.
“We gotta go.”
“But . . .”
“NOW!”


--- --- ---

It had been hours since Devin and I had left the city. We were sitting in a nice, homey cave. It was on top of a mountain covered with trees.
We hadn’t talked at all since we’d left. We just sat, staring at each other.
Then I opened my mouth to speak, but Devin stopped me.
“Sh! They might have followed us here!” Devin’s voice was so stern but so graceful at the same time. It made my heart beat fast with fear, and something else I’d never felt before. I felt as if I’d been dead for so long, and was just brought back to life.
Devin slowly got up. He tip-toed over to the ledge of the cave entrance, peered his head over the side of the wall, and looked downward.
“Clear.” He said slowly. I wasn’t sure if he had spoken to me, or himself. I just sat quietly. “For now . . .”
“Now, may I ask some questions?” I asked slowly, hoping he wouldn’t yell.
“That was a question, wasn’t it?” he
smiled, making me feel strange again.
--Smarty-pants! — I thought.
“Sure. Anything you need to know.” He finally said.

--- --- ---

Devin and I sat for what seemed like forever. I asked questions, then Devin would answer them.
I asked questions like:
1.“How is Vampara? And where exactly is it?”
2.“Are all vampires mean? Except for you, of course.”
3.“Why did that other vampire change me, then leave?”
4.“Did you used to be a human, too?”
And he answered like:
1.“Vampara is nice. Very formal. But, most of the people who live there aren’t very-uh-'expensivly dressed' at all. And nothing is as fancyl as the royal castle.”
2.“No, actually. Most are pretty nice, despite the king’s evil laws.”
3.“He probably didn’t mean to. He was most likely just feeding. ‘Cause, you know, accidents happen. You said he was around early twenties?” I nodded. “Maybe he was a Breeder, and meant to mate you. You look around the right age. So, he didn’t mean to leave, if that was the case. Thank your mom for that. You’d’ve had to do some inappropriate stuff
if it weren’t for her.”
4.“No. But I wish I were.” For some reason, he looked sad now.
Then I got to my last question:
5.“Do I ever get to go home now?” I got so serious, and the room was so quiet, it looked as if it almost hurt him to say it.
Devin’s lips quivered. “No. I’m so sorry.”
Sudden fury swept over my body like wind whipping my face. “What do you mean ‘no’?!? I never get to see them again? Not Grace? Not Jake? Not even Mom? How come? It’s all because of that STUPID man, isn’t it ?”
“No. you can’t interact with them anymore. But, you can watch over them. Tomorrow we go to your house, so you can leave a note to your mother. Mention me, to let her know you’re not alone. And don’t mention the vampire thing of it, it freaks most mortals out. You can say ‘disease’ or ‘depression’ . And you have to tell her not to go to the cops. I don’t want anyone to get hurt. –Er—physically, anyway. And finish it off with a loving ‘love you always, ------,” he stopped.
“Raven. Raven Nite.” I managed through silent but fierce tears.
“Love, Raven.” He finished.
“Fine. Tomorrow.” I silently cried harder—even though I didn’t know it was possible—and laid down on the cold rock floor of the cave, and fell asleep.

4. Captured





The next day, I found myself lying on the same cold floor that I had fell asleep on.
Devin was nowhere in sight.
Great! Now I am all alone with no one to help me, and no one to talk to.
Then, I heard a noise outside the cave.
Devin.
“Sleeping beauty has awakened!” he said sarcastically, clapping his hands together happily, and walking into the cave.
He smiled and I got my normal ‘strange feeling’ in the pit of my stomach again.
Then his charming smile disappeared and a sad face appeared over it. “Are you ready to go over to your house? And again, I am so sorry for this.” He looked at me sorrowfully. Then hung his head.
“Yeah. Let’s go.” I said through heavy tears.

--- --- ---


Dear Mom,
Don’t worry. I’m just fine. I am running away. I’ve been thinking about it ever since I passed out. I met a guy and we think we have a serious disease and shouldn’t be around anymore people. It spreads. Me and the boy thinks it’s called vampiris well, Speadentierism. Very rare. The disease isn’t harmful to the people that have it, but it can kill anyone near us.
Devin is the boy’s name. He will protect me as long as he’s at my side. And the disease actually makes us stronger than ever before. So you have no reason to worry about me. Don’t call the cops for a search party, ‘cause if you’re reading this now, we’re already out of country. Even if they find us, we’d outrun them in a flash.
I’ll miss you guys sooooo much! Say good-bye to Grace and Jake for me!

Love,
RAVEN NITE ^_^

--- --- ---

“I’m done.” I said as I put the piece of paper on the kitchen counter where I knew Mom would find it. I felt better having put a smiley face beside my name. And that I would always have Devin by my side.
Forever and always, I thought happily.
I was still crying on the inside, but to know that I could still just watch over them made me feel better.
I walked out of the house toward Devin. He was standing in the lawn waiting for me with a weak smile on his face.
“Let’s go.” Devin said to me, looking at me with his red, glistening eyes.
“Where?” I said in return, staring at him with my emerald green eyes.
“Oh. just to my secret hideout/ house.” Devin said, looking at me as if he expected me to already know where.
“Okay.” I said as we walked on into the sunset together.

--- --- ---

When we got to his home he showed me all around the yard first. There was a river near his house that, of course was called Blood Stream. And, it was the color of blood. It gave me something to think about for a bit, let me tell you that right now.
When we got into the house, I was amazed. There were so many windows in it that it made me think I was in heaven for a minute. Then I thought of something.
“Hey Devin?” no answer.
“Devin? Devin!” I called. Still no answer.
Then I heard something. “In here, Raven!” he called from the extra-bright kitchen. He walked more closer to the counter holding a glass filled with a red liquid of some kind. “I thought we could share it.”
“Is that--?” I asked, preparing to be grossed out.
“Blood, yes. Get used to it. You’ll need about one serving a day.” He said casually. Like it was a normal thing. Which, for him, it was.
I took the glass from his hand and took a sip. It wasn’t really bad at all. Actually, it was pretty good! It tasted like a delicious grape juice, mixed with something I’ve never had before, making it taste heavenly.
Just then, someone knocked on the door. Devin walked over to it, looking through the peep-hole.
“Oh, no!” he whispered, ducking down. “We have to leave! And quick!”
“Hey, Devin! It’s Malvie! I can see you, remember?” came a deep voice from behind the door.
“Oh, crap!” said Devin. “They can see us no matter what we do! Just run!”
Devin just waved a hand to show me to follow as he ran right through a window. It crashed and crackled as the glass hit the floor. I felt shards hit my head as I ran through it, too. (But, it didn’t even puncture or scratch the skin… huh.)
We ran right over the front porch and the steep stairs leading to the floor.
We hit the floor on our feet, exactly like a graceful cat. Devin hesitated, while I immediately thought of the stream near Devin’s house.
I pointed at it and he nodded. We automatically used our hyper-speed run to get to it.
We found a huge tree and sort of jumped/climbed up in it as far as we could get.
We held silent for at least thirty seconds when we heard voices coming from down below. We looked down, and sure enough, there were at least six men looking around at the bushes and up in smaller parts of some trees.
Lucky for us, the one they called Malvie had not looked up into our tree. At least not far enough up. Apparently he could see through any object except for a living being.
After about a whole hour of thorough searching for any signs of Devin and I, they left, making sure they didn’t miss anything.
I let them walk for five minutes and then held my hand up to Devin for a high-five of triumph. He stared at me as if I were an idiot.
“What? Something wrong?” I asked, looking at him carefully. Had he lost it?
“What are you doing?” he asked, still glancing at my hand then my face.
“It’s a high-five, dummy!” I explained, showing the motions. “I don’t get it. You know almost everything there is to know about the average teen, but you don’t know what a simple high-five is?”
“I’m sorry, I never learned that.” He said, finally slapping my hand, making a huge slapping sound. He was stronger than I had imagined. Ha. But so was I.
Then I heard heavy footsteps from behind a tree, and saw the men come running out. They had been there the whole time, waiting for us to come out into plain sight!
“Ah-Ha! They’re up there!” someone pointed up our tree.
“I told you so.” Said another.
“I was the one who told YOU.” Said a third one.
“Malvie should’ve saw them if he looked as hard as we did!” someone accused.
“We’ll talk about that later. Right now we gotta catch ‘em!” shouted Malvie, already starting to pull out a long gun. I’m no expert, but it looked like a shotgun. But they wouldn’t kill us, right? They had no reason to hurt me. Hopefully not Devin either.
I looked at Devin for help, but he was falling out of the tree, face white and eyes open in a shocking expression.
I heard a loud bang and a sharp pain in my arm, similar to the bite the vampire gave me.
Then I lost control of what I was doing, and fell of the tree, unconscious.

5. Devin’s Story






I began to regain feeling in my arms and legs. There was something very cold on my ankles. Now I could move. I opened my eyes first, only to close them again. There was a blazing light right above me and it stung. Slowly, I opened my eyes again to adjust them to the light.
I sat up the second I realized I was inside a strange room. There were barred walls all
around me.
Am I in a cell? I thought.
Then I remembered the heavy, cold things around my ankles. I looked at them. Chains!
I am in a cell!
Where’s Devin? The thought came out of nowhere, but then I thought about it and realized I didn’t know where he was!
“Oh, no!” I said as it all hit me.
Then I realized I was not alone. There was some one—something—in the cell next to me.
“Raven? Raven, is that you?” came Devin’s voice. You do not know how grateful I am for that voice…
“Yes, Devin, it’s me! Where the heck are we? What happened in that tree?” I felt my voice raising.
“Sh!” he whispered. “Do you want them to hear you?”
“Who’s ‘them’?”
“The people who captured us. The people that brought us here.”
“Why would they come after us? What did we do to them?”
“It’s not what ‘we’ did to them. It’s what I did to them. It’s a long story…”
“Tell me! Don’t you think I have a right to know who is chasing after us? Who could take our lives? And anyways, I’m curious. So spill it.”
“Fine, but don’t say I didn’t warn you.” He sighed.
“Okay. It all happened the day I was born.
“The exact date was November 7th, 1682. Mother and Father were running through a forest of Vampara. They were running from King Alexander Sinitor and his evil men.
“You see, King Alexander was—and still is--ruler of the vampire world. He lives in Vampara’s royal castle. The one we’re in this very second.
“King Alexander was evil in all ways possible. In human ways, and immortal. He would banish everything good and kill all who did so with a tip of his tooth and a swing of his fist.
“There is one immense law. Never, ever start a family with a mortal. If you brake this law, the death penalty for it is way worse than a beheading or a stake through the heart. He gathers his most strongest men and women, witches perform evil spells across that person. Shapeshifters feed off his or her flesh. Then, worst of all, he gets the vampires to finish him or her off. And nothing is more worse than having your own kind eating you alive.
“Mother had broken that law. And, with it, the second biggest law of them all. She was about to bring me into the world. Could you imagine running from the most evil and dangerous man, in the woods, in labor?
“Mother and Father ran to the closest friend they had. A place King Alexander would never think to look. And once they got inside, out I popped! Lucky that King Alexander was long gone.
“Mother had checked me for fangs, since Father was mortal, and, sure enough, I was a vampire!
“My first feed was their friend’s maid. She didn’t even seem to mind.
“The next morning they ran out of food, so everyone went out hunting. They left the maid with me to baby-sit.
“The moment they stepped outside, I heard noises of swords being drawn and the sound of blood splattering. The maid tried her best not to scream. She took me to the bedroom to hide.
“I guess King Alexander didn’t know I was already born. He left me and the maid behind. She took care of me and I’m very grateful to have her.
“Five years later she died of old age. I mourned for her. She had taught me well. How to hunt. How to sneak. How to fight. So, I guess I was in pretty good shape for a five-year-old. I survived.
“When I turned 14, I heard someone outside. I opened the door, and in came the 13-year-old princess. We talked, she went home. Then it became an ordinary thing for her to come and hang out. One day we kissed and fell head over heals for each other.
“I proposed and she ran to tell her daddy. I knew he would not be happy, but he did not know who I was, so I guessed I was safe. It took some time, but we convinced him.”
There were silent tears sprouting from his eyes now. “The day before the wedding, something happened. She had been murdered.
“King Alexander and Queen Mary-Lynn took me in as their own. They trained me to be bad.” Now, THAT I didn’t believe.
“Then people started stepping against the laws. The more people did it, the more were harshly killed.
“I finally realized how ridiculous all this was, and how Princess Zoe would not like the goings-on. I tried to convince King Alexander to stop. But I knew it was stupid. He banished me from Vampara like all four years he raised me meant nothing to him.
“So I left. I changed my hair, my clothes, my name, everything. I waited a couple years, and came back.
“I’ve been back for about six months now. I go by Matthew Tarrah. I came to Platzburgh ‘cause I heard someone say “help!” in my head. It turned out to be you.” He smiled lazily, looking relaxed from crying so much over this “Princess Zoe” chick.
“So… We’ve been running from King Alexander?”
“Yes. Now, how to get out of this joint…”

6. Tigreshe





“Do you have a bobby-pin or something small that I could use to unlock this cell?” Devin asked, examining his ankle-lock.
“Do I look like the kind of girl that walks around with a bobby-pin in my hair?” I asked, acting offended.
“No, sorry. Do you have a paperclip?”
“Nope. But I’ll have to think about the bobby-pin. Hold on…” I aid as a memory came into my mind.
I was walking in a school hallway, going to history class. I had my ear buds in and I was listening to You Found Me on my iPod.
*Crash!*
Oops, I dropped it. I looked down to see the thingy you hook your pants to had broken off the back.
Well, that was nice, you broke it!
I picked up the iPod and looked at the back part where the flap is supposed to be.
Oh, cool! I know how to fix it! I reached into my back pocket and pulled out a bobby-pin. Then I hooked it to the flap and the hole and it stayed on! “Yes!” I whispered to myself as I walked on down to history. I put the iPod in my pocket.
When I came out of my vision, I could see Devin, eager and determined, through the cold bars separating us.
Oh, I thought, oh I hope it’s still there!
I reached into my pocket and fumbled a little.
Nothing.
“Try the other one.” Devin said helpfully, still not losing any hope.
I reached into my other pocket, moved my hand a little, searching for something small, and metallic.
Nope. Nothing.
Devin saw my face and his expression changed from hope to depression.
Oh, wait!
Something small, attached to something plastic! My iPod! I tore off the iPod and pulled out the bobby-pin.
We grinned and giggled a bit. We were going to make it out alive!
Devin’s smile was so perfect. His skin was so pale, mysterious and deadly. His black hair was so gorgeous. And his bangs framed his face like a beautiful picture frame. There was no doubt. He was drop-dead-gorgeous!
His smile vanished and he looked puzzled. “Well…?”
“Well, what?” I said, forgetting all about the bobby-pin. He seemed to be staring at me to, but trying so hard to hide it.
“Well… are you gonna give it to me?” he said, pointing at the bobby-pin.
“Oh. Yeah. Sure.” I said, handing him the bobby-pin.
He grabbed it and got up to unlock the door. His chains held him back. “Heh. Oops, I forgot.” He bent down and unlocked the ankle chain.
“Oh…”
“Hey, Devin? What was that noise?” I asked, afraid to look in the cell on the other side of mine.
“It’s a vampire dungeon. You’re gonna hear noises, Raven.” He shrugged the question away.
“Oh…” it came again.
“Devin. I think you should check this out.” I said, but this time he already looked.
“What the--?” Devin said.
“Devin…is that you out there? Devin…?” the voice asked. I finally looked, but it was no use. The cell had no light to see in.
“Who’s there?” Devin said suspiciously, protective.
“Devin! It is you, Devin!” feet was scattering in the cell. The voice was female.
“Ti?” Devin asked quickly. His eyes popped out in surprise.
I saw hands hold the cell bars next to me, and then a young, abnormally beautiful girl’s face popped out between two bars. “Yeah, it’s me! I can’t believe it’s you, Devin!” she started jumping. “Yay!”
“Hold on. I’m getting us all out of this place!” he said, quickly picking the cell’s lock.
“Whoa, whoa, whoa. What just happened?” I asked Devin. And to the girl, “Who are you?”
“Oh, sorry. I didn’t properly introduce myself. I’m Tigreshe Stripe. What’s your name?” the girl said quietly.
“Uh… my name? Raven Nite.” I replied.
“Spooky! I love it! You know, you got some spunk in you!” Tigreshe giggled.
“Your name is beautiful. So are you. Man, do I wish I had a face like that!” I laughed. She had hair the color between bright red and orange. It was so long and silky-looking that I bet you it felt that way too. Her face was heart-shaped. Her eyes tilted up on the corners beautifully and they looked feline. They were the color of flaming yellow-gold, so bright they twinkled.
“Well, that’s very kind of you to say. But, you’re pretty beautiful yourself.” She blushed.
“You really think so?” I said, truly stricken.
“Yes.” She said simply

7. Lunch Time!




“Okay, that’s enough of the compliment fest.” Devin said, hurrying up. “We gotta go.”
He walked over to the door once more, finally putting the bobby-pin into the key hole. *Click!* the door screeched open and Devin clenched his teeth, probably thinking ”They’d be fools not to here that!”
But, as far as we know, they didn’t.
Devin crept over to my cell, unlocking it. He did the same for Tigreshe.
After we all had gathered around, I started to feel light-headed. My throat burned and itched. What’s wrong with me?
I started coughing violently. Tigreshe and Devin quickly turned around and looked at me. I slid down the wall behind me and sat on the ground, wondering if I was dieing.
Devin looked at Tigreshe pleadingly and she looked back at him doubtfully.
“Please, she’ll die. It’s either you, or death.” Devin said to Tigreshe. “Please!” he looked over at me as I started to choke.
Tigreshe finally nodded and Devin bit her wrist. Blood oozed out. Tigreshe bent down and held her wrist to my mouth. “Drink.” She said.
I sucked. Blood filled my mouth and I remembered something Devin had told me about blood. “As you drink blood, the person’s life energy is flowing from their bodies, to yours.” But I knew this wasn’t energy. This was power. A strange and evil thing, power is. But it tastes so good, so healthy.
Sometimes, as a human, I would wonder. Is power actually real? Is it just a myth? But now, I know it’s not a myth. I know that it is real. I know, it sounds corny, but it’s true!
Now the blood—the power—is being pulled away from me and I felt naked. Like my soul was ripped from me. I was knocked back into reality.
“Are you alright?” I heard Devin say.
“Yeah. I’m fine. What was in that stuff?” I turned to Tigreshe, remembering it was her I drank from. Not Devin.
She ignored me. “You do know what will happen to her now, don’t you, Devin? I mean, she isn’t herself anymore.”
“She wasn’t herself before, either. I think she’s been through enough now that nothing will surprise her. She was a tough one to begin with too.” he flashed that charming smile. Oh, how gorgeous… Get a hold of yourself, Raven!
Tigreshe just sighed.
“What’re you guys talking about? What’s gonna happen to me?” I asked, worried.
They still ignored me.
“Should we tell her?” Tigreshe asked.
“Heck no!”
“Tell me what?” I asked, getting angry with them for ignoring me.
“But we should tell her! She’ll FREAK when she finds out!”
“Ugh! I’m right here, you know!” now I was just plain ticked off!
“Fine. We’ll tell her. Happy?” Devin said, clearly angry at Tigreshe for arguing.
“But, can you wait till we escape?” he asked quietly.
“Yes.”
“Oh, my gosh, people ! We need to leave!” I yelled. But not to loud. Just so they couldn’t ignore me.
“I agree.” Said Devin. “Oh, and Raven?” I looked at him. “You still need to feed soon. You need blood energy. Tigreshe doesn’t have that. She has a different type of blood. Her blood has fooled your stomach right now, but eventually you will need the real thing. We all will snack before we leave.”
He turned toward Tigreshe. She turned her back, giving us privacy. “And, just for the future, don’t ever drink from a creature like Tigreshe. She and her people have strange powers that no fully developed vampire can stand. You’re not full yet, so you’ll be fine. But, no more, understand?” he whispered, frightening me a little with his words.
I nodded. What was Tigreshe? No offense, but what was so special about her? Her beauty, of course, but that wouldn’t have anything to do with her blood, would it?
“What is Tigre--” was all I had time to say before he pulled me up and pointed ahead.

--- --- ---

Three young men came running down a narrow hallway. They weren’t armed, but it didn’t matter anyway. They were way too boney and unskilled. I don’t know how I knew how they were skilled in a battle. I just knew.
“You take the one on the right,” Devin said to Tigreshe. He turned to me. “You, middle. I’ll take the one on the left.”
I looked over at Tigreshe, just out of a new habit, and noticed she looked way different.
She looked like an angry killer. Her eyebrows tilted forward, showing wrinkles. Her mouth turned in a frown, baring sharpened teeth. You’d think they’d belong to a shark or a piranha. Then she did something that surprised me so much, I almost fainted. She opened her mouth wide and roared so loud that it make me want to be deaf. It sounded like a lion, but had about the same volume as a t-rex’s roar.
I looked at her nails, making sure she didn’t have claws, but, sure enough, there they were! Long, curved, and not thin like nails would be, but think as metal.
I turned away. Now I looked at Devin. His face wasn’t nearly as horrifying as Tigreshe’s. It looked as if he was just really ticked off. He sorta looked like superman off of those comics. But, his muscles didn’t poof out, although we both know that Devin was way stronger than superman. And Devin didn’t have that dorky twirl in his hair like superman did.
Then he opened his mouth, showing his fangs growing and sharpening into a deadly point. Now I knew it was my turn to look scarily angry. (that was supposed to be a joke, people!)
I opened my mouth, feeling the pain as my canines grow longer and sharper. My gums ached. My mouth started to water as I thought of blood filling my mouth and running down my throat.
The footsteps got closer and closer.
We all were in position, ready for our kill.
As soon as I saw a foot, I ran. The others were at my sides. Good, I thought, I didn’t screw up.
I ran up to the man in the middle. I grabbed him and threw him against the wall. Then I grabbed his shoulders, he struggled, but I was much stronger than he was. I guess it helped that I was trained for this stuff as a human.
I lowered my head, but I didn’t bite. I whispered in his ear. “Sh… Be quiet… Relax…” he quit squirming and smiled. I bit his neck. Blood filled my mouth and I could feel the life draining out of his puny body. I felt stronger and more alive than I had ever felt in all my life! I could’ve let go, but I didn’t want to waste my new meal.
Finally, he went limp in my grasp, and I pulled myself away from his neck. He was so pale… he’s the bad-guy! Don’t feel sorry for him! He’s evil !
He was definitely dead. I had killed him. I looked over at Devin, and realized he was looking at me while wiping his mouth with his shirt sleeve.
Then, I slowly turned to Tigreshe. When I remembered her before our meals, I was surprised to see her look normal. But, when I looked at what she had done to her share of food… It was scary. There were little chunks of meat and flesh all over the place. But the scariest part was that right at her feet was a rib cage without any meat left on it at all.
“Kay, let’s get moving!” Devin said cheerfully. He was so kind. Oh, Raven, get over it!
Tigreshe rubbed her stomach.
“Tigreshe, I know you’re still hungry, but we got to get moving quick. We can get you something after we leave, kay?” Devin said to Tigreshe reassuringly.
She nodded and we followed him up the hallway that the three guards had come.

--- --- ---

There weren’t anymore guys up there that we knew of. That was lucky for them. Tigreshe was still hungry.
What had she done to her prey to make it look like that? I mean, come on! Who could have done something like that to a trained vampire? Well, it wasn’t very well trained, but I still don’t think Tigreshe could have done something that bad to a vampire! I shivered when I thought of how that rib cage had been stripped dry.
This is all just too confusing… I’ll just let it be for now. Till the time to know comes. But when will that time come?

8. Tech. Plans






“Uh…Tigreshe? why do you keep staring at me then glancing at Devin? Sorry, but it’s starting to creep me out.” I said uneasily. She had been staring at me as we walked through the castle, and once in a while she would sigh, and glance at Devin.
“It’s just so amazing!” she said dreamily as Devin turned around to see what we were talking about.
“What’s so amazing? Jinx!” Devin and I said at the same time.
“That you’re so lucky to have Devin.” She still kept staring, but now was a bit confused.
“Uh…So do you. He’s the leader of us both.” I said, so confused. Devin made the ‘cut it out’ sign and I knew I had to know what she was talking about.
“That’s not what I’m talking about,” she didn’t even seem to notice the sign language. “He’s your twin!” she giggled.
“Oh, no…” Devin’s intake of breath said he knew what she meant. He walked out of the room, looking, for some reason, embarrassed.
“So he’s my long-lost brother?”
She giggled, amused at my joke. “No, silly. It means he’s, like, your soul mate.”
I froze. “Doesn’t ‘soul mate’ mean in love?”
“You don’t have to love the person, but it means you were literally born to be together. And anyways, I know he likes you. I can see it in his eyes. I can always see what people feel through their eyes. But you… you’re different… I can’t feel emotions through yours…”
Devin slowly walked back into the room and looked at me strangely. “I have no clue what she’s talking about…”
“Yes you do. Don’t you lie to me! What does she mean ‘I know he likes you.’?” I asked, for the first time talking to him like I was stronger than him.
“Nothing!” he said so strongly that it scared me for a moment. He stared at me angrily, turned around, and stomped lightly down the hallway.
For a moment I thought I saw his eyes flash about ten different colors… weird.
I looked at Tigreshe and she looked shocked at his behavior. We exchanged worried glances and shrugged it off, following him. Then Tigreshe and I saw his back. His spine popped out and looked as if there was a fat, wrinkly snake underneath his shirt. Then it curled back in. I’m not even going to think about it…
For some strange reason, his aura was different. It looked deep. It was dark red. The kind I had read to be an evil color. His normal aura would have been deep forest green. Said to be the color of a hunter, but a hunter known not to kill. And when he looked at me, he changed. His eyes would sparkle, and his aura would turn pink. Said to be the color of love…
But what does that book know? It was written by a human. Wait… didn’t Devin say that most all people on the streets weren’t humans? No, no. it had to have been a human.
First, because Devin wasn’t evil. Second, he didn’t love me! We are just friends. And lastly, how did I know that these colors are auras? how did I know that they weren’t just part of my imagination, just illusions?
I didn’t know what to believe. Anything could happen after all this, couldn’t it? I mean, come on! I turned into a freak’n vampire! There could be an invisible unicorn walking beside me right this instant for all I know!
You’re thinking about it way to much, Raven, I thought to myself. Take deep breaths and calm down.
I was wound up in my thoughts as I ran into something hard, making it jump.
“What are you doing?” it asked quietly. Then I realized who it was. “Just watch where you’re going.”
“Sorry, Tigreshe, I didn’t see you,” I said apologetically. She smiled. “Why did we stop?”
She nodded upwards at Devin. He was peeking around the corner, probably checking if the coast was clear.
I started to walk forward but Devin caught me with his arm stuck out strait. He didn’t even look back.
I ignored his arm and walked around. Then he looked back at me. He looked shocked and frustrated for being disobeyed, but he didn’t make a move.
I saw two guards. They were small and weak, but they were trained well. They weren’t vampires. Their auras were bright red, evil.
I ran at the smaller, bonier one first. He looked startled, but ready. He stuck out a fist.
Not a very good idea, buster! When I was close enough to him, I grabbed his strong but thin wrist and slammed him into the wall. It made spider-web design. He was unconscious.
The next one was a bit taller and bigger-muscled, but he was still weak. But when I turned to fight him, he was gone. Well, not gone-gone, but not a person anymore.
I stood for awhile, waiting for him to come out and fight like a man, but I never saw him till I heard hissing coming from the floor. I looked down.
Oh, god, he’s a shapeshifting cobra! I don’t think he’s friendly. Instead of a fight, I think of a way to trick him.
I look directly behind him, gasping and mouthing the words “Get back, or he’ll get you too!”.
The cobra turned his head long enough for me to grab his tail and swing the snake into the wall, onto the floor, then against the wall again. I dropped the cobra and he lay still. Not dead, but getting there. That was almost too much for the small-to-begin-with cobra.
I smiled.
I heard a squeal behind the doorway and remembered Devin and Tigreshe. “What’s wrong? You guys alright?” I asked worriedly.
Tigreshe walked out from their hiding place and Devin followed. Tigreshe jumped madly, clapping her hands. “How did you do that? You got to teach me that sometime, man! That was awesome!” she jumped.
Devin said nothing, but I could tell he impressed. He was smiling broadly and his eyes sparkled. I’m guessing it was just pure amazement.
“Oh, it’s nothing. I do that daily,” I said, purposely sounding casual. “That’s part of my normal routine.”
All the sudden, I had the urge to walk up to Devin and hold him tight. I had no clue why, but I felt the need to be held, be loved. Something was going wrong in my head, I thought. I ignored my instinct.
Instead, I walked down a new hallway I had just now noticed. I got about halfway down the hallway when I heard light and sneaky footsteps followed by a little heavier set of footsteps. I kept walking.
When we reached the end of the hallway, there were two doors. One was hard steel, labeled TECH, the other one was a rich, reddish, wood door labeled ROYAL BEDROOM.
“Okay, so who’s good at what? I’m okay at controlling minds, but not with techno junk.” Devin looked at Tigreshe and I.
“I’m good at sneak and attack, and I’m still starving.” Tigreshe moaned, rubbing her stomach.
“And I was going to major in tech. next year at collage.” I said. Strange coincidence, how we all got our own job to do here.
“’Kay, you all know what to do.” Devin whispered as he and Tigreshe turned at go into the royal bedroom. I turned to go into the tech. door.
I could here Devin whisper to Tigreshe: “All clear.”
I slowly opened the door. As soon as I did, I saw a camera with a blinking red light on the wall. Typical. I shoved a piece of gum in my mouth [I always kept some with me] and spit it up to the lens of the camera. Oh, my lung force increased big time since the incident.
I walked into the room and immediately saw a huge computer screen filling two thirds of the wall. It was a small room, but still, it was gigantic!
I walked over to it, curious. The keyboard didn’t look like a keyboard, but more like a control pad. The keyboard had so many bright flashing lights on it, it reminded me of a movie where the kid pushes the brightest red button and created way more trouble than he started with.
I was not going to be that person!
I thought about my research.
Usually the mouse was a pad or a control stick. I saw a stick with a button. That should be it!
Slowly, I grabbed it and moved the curser to a curious icon: Leader Shamans, it said.
As soon as I clicked it, files flooded the screen and piled on top of each other.
There were names and bolded words everywhere: Shaman Lawni—Terminated
Shaman Cait—Terminated
Shaman Andy—Success
Shaman Lane—Terminated
Shaman Sara—Success
What the--? What are they doing in this place? I thought.
Then a shock went through from my feet to my head. The lights flickered and then everything was black.

I know, this book is needing alot of work. It just makes no sense. But for some reason, I just can't figure the exact problem, other than the fact that I want to give up on it :'( , but I want to finally get one book done, printed, and in my hands, so I keep on it. But, if you can tell me the reason why I feel stupid writing this, tell me and maybe I can make it better...hopefully :| .

9. Antonio Blackpaw






“Raven? Raven…? Raven! Raven, wake up!” came Tigreshe’s voice from far away.
Cold. Why is it so cold out here? Out’! Out here! Hope rushed through me.
“Did we make it out? Or am I dead?” I sat up, my hand against my forehead. It hurt.
Tigreshe giggled. “No. you’re not dead. We made it out fine.”
“Why is it so cold? Where are we? Where’s Devin?”
“We’re in Alaska. It’s snowing, silly. We came to get Antonio. You’ve been sleeping for three days, we were starting to worry.” She smiled wearily.
“Sorry, one minute I was looking at this screen, the next minute I’m in Alaska. Wait…we’re in Alaska?”
“Yep!” she shrugged then smiled. “When you didn’t come out of the tech. door, we got worried, so we went looking for you and saw you had been shocked horribly into unconsciousness. I plopped you on my back and we headed to Alaska!” she giggled when she saw my surprised face.
“Where’s Devin?” I asked again.
“Oh yeah, he went to get Antonio. He said I had to stay here incase you woke up. It’s a good thing, too! You’d probably be wandering around without a clue where you were.” She smiled warmly.
“When’d he leave?”
“About two hours ago. He should be back with Antonio any minute now.”
“I’ve been meaning to ask you guys, what are you? I mean, you growl, you grow claws, your face changes shapes, and you tore that vampire into tiny chunks of flesh!”
“Oh, I’m so sorry! You must’ve been freaking out! I thought I told you, sorry. I’m a shapeshifter. I shapeshift into a tiger. Tigreshe means ‘tigress’.”
“Oh, that’s so awesome! That also makes tons of sense. And, who’s this Antonio guy you keep talking about?”
“He’s one of me and Devin’s old friends. We were all sort of a group. Devin was like the leader, then I, Antonio, and Izzi were like the followers. Devin never acted like the leader, but we all knew he was. He never treated us like we were less important in the group, and that’s why he was the leader!” she smiled again. Man, this girl smiled a lot.
“Were all of you guys creatures?” I asked. I know, she smiles, I ask a lot of questions. It’s just how it works. Heh!
“Yep! Devin was the vampire, I was the shapeshifting tiger, Antonio is the shapeshifting wolf, and Izzi is the powerful but goofy witch!” she smiled brightly.
“Antonio’s a wolf, and Izzi’s a witch.” I repeated softly.
“Yep! And you’re gonna meet them both!” she jumped up and clapped her hands lightly, smiling again.
“I’m gonna meet them?” I started to worry a bit. “What if they don’t like me? What if they don’t want to meet me?”
“Are you serious, Raven?” Tigreshe’s usually perky and happy face dropped and looked at if me as if saying ‘are you kidding me?’ her eyes stared at me bored-like. Then her face turned to apologetic or caring. “Of course they’re going to like you, Raven. Heck, they’ll love you!”
Then there were footsteps on the opposite side of the tree we were sitting by. Tigreshe and I looked.
Devin was walking beside a smaller dude wearing a dark green shirt with black denim jeans. He had black hair like Devin’s and mine. But it was combed forward messily with a slight spiked Mohawk about an inch tall only on the front half of his head. It’s hard to explain, but you get the picture.
As they got closer, I saw how the boy’s eyes were definitely Alaskan.
“Raven!” Devin ran to me as fast as he could. “Oh, Raven! I was so worried! I thought I had lost you for good! Oh, Raven…Raven.” He hugged me so hard and wept on my shoulder. Awkward…
“Uh, Devin? I’m fine. What are you so worried about?” I asked, trying not to sound embarrassed by his outburst.
He looked at my face, then turned around and saw Tigreshe and the boy staring at him, confused. He looked back at me. He was blushing and his cheeks were stained from his tears. He let go of me and wiped his face dry with his hand.
Devin cleared his throat. “Oh, um, uh, this is Antonio, Raven. Antonio Blackpaw. He is going to help us find Izzi.” He turned to Antonio. “This is Raven Nite. I helped her after she was attacked by another vampire.”
Antonio walked close to me and held out his hand to shake. “Nice to meet you, Raven.”
He was surprisingly handsome. I took his hand. “Nice to meet you, Antonio.”
I looked at Tigreshe. She was looking at Devin. She turned to me and mouthed the words ‘I told you so!’.
“You know, Tigreshe was just talking to me about you.” I said to Antonio, hoping she would get angry at me for making it sound as it did. I know, I was just born with the thirst for revenge.
She looked at me in alarm, then narrowed her eyes as if to say ‘well played’
“Oh, she was, was she?” Antonio said very lazily. He tried to look cool and lightly stroked his spiked hair. “You know, Ti, I’m still free.”
“Oh, just give it up already.” She rolled her golden eyes.
I giggled and said, “So, when am I gonna get to meet this Izzi chick?”
“Oh, we were going to go get her once I got Antonio. So as soon as Tigreshe and Antonio quit arguing about their date night, then we’ll be on our way.” Said Devin.
Tigreshe’s mouth dropped open. “We’re not dating!”
“That’s what she wants you to think.” Said Antonio playfully with a crooked smile.
Devin and I laughed.
“So where is Izzi?” I asked.
“In India.” Said Antonio simply.
My mouth dropped open. “In India?”
“Yep.” Said Tigreshe.
“You guys do know that’s like half way around the world, right?” I said.
“Now, your over exaggerating. It’s only a couple countries away. And, we have to get there soon.” That was Devin.
“Okay, If you say so.” I said unconvinced. “Oh, and did I mention Grace has a jet? We could use that to get there a lot quicker. How fast do they usually go? Like 500 miles per hour? So…I’d think we could get there in maybe a day or so?”
Everyone’s mouth dropped open.
“Your best friend has a jet and you didn’t tell us?!” Deven said in awe and a little bit of anger.
“Well, I never though about it being a big deal. Remember, she’s been my best bud forever and so I’m used to having a rich buddy.” I said, shrugging. “So do you want me to get it or what?”
“No, you’ll blow our cover. What’s a friend gonna think when her runaway friend turns back up with three other strangers, asking to borrow her jet? So no, we’ll just have to find another way.” Deven said stubbornly.
“But she’s cool! She can keep a secret. In fact, I’d trust her with my life.” I said even more stubbornly. “She would definitely keep quiet about us. And we don’t even have to tell her why! She trusts me.”
I made a puppy-pout at him.
At first, he held strong, but finally, when I kept starring at him, he gave up. “Oh, fine. You can go see her. But only for about five minutes, and if you don’t come out by then, we’re coming in to get you.”
Our group started to walk into the snow, heading out onto a long journey back to Platzburgh, New York.
All were confident about it all, but I just only hoped Grace would understand and keep her mouth shut.

Uh, oh, the posting is catching up to me! I better start up on the next chapter before it's time to post it.

Well, I like it. It does sound a little choppy, but hey, you said it was only a rough draft, right?
I think it could work, if you work out the little problems here and there. I've seen worse stories than this. Don't feel like you need to give up on it! Keep it up, get some more feedback, and you'll do fine! All you need is some encouragement. I can't wait to see what happens next! :D

10. Grace




The next few days were long and tiring. All we did was walk, eat, sleep, and pee. And who could blame us? We needed to get from Alaska to New York! It was going to take time and energy! But finally, on our sixth night, we made it to Platzburgh.
“Okay, so Grace’s house is in the back of town, over on Kenneth Street. That would only be about seven blocks from here. That shouldn’t take too long.” I said, smiling. I was gonna get to see my buddy again!
They all started to walk down the street except me. “Uh, guys? It’s this way.” I pointed toward the opposite way down the highway.
“Um…We knew that! We were just testing you.” Antonio nodded matter-of-factly.
“Sure you were.” I said sarcastically, starting down the road. They followed closely.
In about twenty minutes, we had gotten to her house. We could have gone way faster, but we definitely didn’t want to attract attention to ourselves. Sure, it was night, but there were still some weirdoes out.
“Raven, you’re gonna have to go in her window by yourself. She knows you. So to see us, she might call her parents or something. Be as discreet as possible. We don’t want to freak her out.” Said Devin in his normally tough and steady way.
“’Kay. I’ll be…whatever you just said.” I had pretty much no clue why I had to hold back secrets from Grace. Oh, well.
I jumped up the side of her four-story home as silently as a fox. When I got to Grace’s bedroom window, I tapped it lightly with my long fingernails.
I looked inside the window and saw Grace lying in her bed, fast asleep. Typical.
I knocked a little louder on the glass, just enough for her to hear, but not to wake up her dad.
Movement.
Then I saw her face turned toward the window, eyes still closed. It still amazed me how much she looked like a puppy.
“Dang it, Grace, wake up already!” I whispered to myself.
I knocked again.
Her eyes flew open, staring at the window.
Her mouth dropped open as her eyes got even wider. She sat up abruptly in her bed.
“Let me in!” I mouthed to her through the glass.
She stood up and walked to the door, still a shocked expression on her face.
As soon as she opened the window, I jumped inside. “Hi!” I said
“What…um…uh…huh?” she stammered slowly, realizing that I was really there.
“I said, ‘hi’.” I repeated slowly for her, mockingly. I smiled to show I was kidding and not really mocking her.
“But, it can’t be! You’re gone! You ran away like ten days ago!” she panicked. Then she mumbled something like, “I must be dreaming…”
“Nope. I’m as real as night itself!” I giggled and she seemed to lighten a tad, but not much. “Okay, let’s cut to the chase. I need to borrow your jet for my buddies and I to fly to India, ‘kay?”
She just starred at me in disbelief.
“Please?” I pouted.
“Uh…what buddies? And why do you want to go to India?”
“Long story. And if you want to meet them, they’re right outside the window.” I know I was supposed to keep quiet about them, but I had no reason to doubt Grace.
Devin was going to kill me. I smiled.
Grace slowly inched to the window and peered outside. I walked over to it too, and waved to them down below.
“Wha—What? No, who?” she stuttered.
“My buddies I told you about. See, the dark-headed, tall one with a red shirt is Devin, the one I mentioned in my letter. Then the other dark-headed one in the green is Antonio, and the red-headed girl is Tigreshe, but we call her Ti.” I explained, watching the horror on her face darken.
“Ant—ant—Antonio?” she shivered.
“Yeah. Why, you know him?” I asked, curiosity building in me.
“Uh…Raven? He’s my brother.” She looked up at me with her big blue eyes. “Well, my half brother.”
My mouth dropped open. “Grace? There’s something I should tell you, but you gotta keep it a secret, ‘kay?”
“Okay…”
“Antonio is not what you think he is. He’s…different than everyone else. Well, all my friends are, even me.”
“You’re a shapeshifter?!”
“No. Wait, you knew?!”
“Of course I knew! I am too!” she clasped her mouth shut quickly, looking surprised. “Did I just say that…?” she mumbled.
“You’re a shapeshifter?” I asked, stricken.
“Yeah.” She grumbled under her breath.
“So what animal are you? Since you’re related to Antonio, you gotta be a wolf, right?”
“No. Antonio’s a wolf? Oh, well, no, I’m a, well technically, I’m a Spinone Italiano.” She stuttered. “Antonio’s a wolf?” she repeated.
“Yeah, he’s a black grey wolf I think. So you’re Italian?”
“Well, my mom’s a third Italian. She’s the one who got married to a full blood Alaskan after she had me. I’m two years older than Antonio. And if it’s not obvious, she’s the one with canine genes. So, when you said you and your friends are different, what are you? I mean, I’ve always known you’re a witch, but—“
“I’m not a witch, I’m a made vampire. That’s what happened when I fainted. I was attacked.”
“But…but…your mom! She’s…I thought she was a full witch. No, I know she’s a full witch!” she stumbled over her words.
“But…I’m a vampire!” I said, showing her my fangs. They didn’t hurt as much anymore.
Her jaw dropped open. “But…if you were attacked by a vampire…that means you’d be dead. Witch blood and vampire blood cannot mix. Unless…unless you were attacked by a poisoned breeder!”
I shrugged. “So, can we use your jet?”
“Sure, but it’ll be really tricky.”

11. New Powers





Grace, Ti, Antonio, Devin, and I were in the garage, looking at the new, shiny, blue, private jet. Boy, I hoped I could drive it. Probably not.
“Wow!” Antonio whispered in awe. “How’re we going to get it going without your parents waking up, Grace?”
“You mean my dad? You have my mom, remember, Antonio?” she said, a bit cruel sounding. “And, Dad’s a very heavy sleeper. Don’t worry about waking him up. But, you might still want to wait to start it up. It’s pretty noisy until you get it up in the sky.”
“So, we just push it out?” asked Tigreshe, looking a bit confused.
“I guess so. There’s not really any other way to get it out of the garage.” Said Grace.
“’Kay. On three. One…two…three!” said Devin as we all heaved it out of the garage. We got it out in a couple of seconds. I guess things go way quicker when your way stronger, huh?
We pushed it out for about three minutes until we were at least a mile away from the house.
Grace mumbled something.
“What?” I asked her.
“I’m coming with you.”
“No, Grace. We have to do this on our own.”
“Did you just say something?” Antonio asked me.
“I told Grace we had to go on our own.” When they looked at me puzzled-like, I explained. “She said she was coming, so I told her we had to go on our own. Didn’t you guys here her?”
They shook their heads. I turned to Grace for help. She was staring at me in amazement. “What?” Why were they all staring?!
“Raven…look at me and talk to me.” Commanded Grace.
I looked directly at her. “Hi, what’s up?” I said slowly, wondering what this had to do with a jet.
“You guys heard her that time, right?” She asked them. They nodded. “Okay, let’s try this one more time. Look at me, Raven. Clear all thoughts except for talking to me. Only me. Got it?”
I nodded, staring strait into her eyes. The only thing I could think of was her puppy-ness. “Hi, what’s up?” I repeated.
Her mouth dropped open and her eyes went big for the second time tonight. “Oh, my god, Raven! You spoke shapeshifter!”
“Huh? What the heck are you talking about, Grace? Guys…?” I looked at them, but only found they were amazed too.
“Raven? Exactly how much of Tigreshe’s blood did you drink?” asked Devin.
“Uh…I don’t know…like, three or four g—“
“You let her drink shapeshifter blood?! You could have killed her!” screamed Grace.
“Well, she was going to die without blood! And she isn’t is she? Besides, her blood was still mixing.”
“Yeah, but she’s a born witch!” Grace yelled.
“I…I…I didn’t know. Raven why didn’t you tell me?”
Devin looked at me pleadingly.
“I didn’t know! I had no idea about all this ‘creature’ stuff! But what do you guys mean with all the blood still mixing and the stuff that I can’t drink blood of others and all that junk?!”
“We’ll tell you later, but now, we have to figure out if you’re a vampire/witch/shapeshifter hybrid.” Devin said.
“Okay, Raven, first we’re going to test your shapeshifter-ness since we know you’re a vampire. It’s simple. Just do the same thing to me as you did to Grace. Me… Think only of me… Tigreshe… Me.” Tigreshe whispered and soon all I could think of was her.
“Hello, Tigreshe Stripe.” I said loudly.
“Well, she can definitely speak shapeshifter. But, is she one?” Tigreshe spoke softly, a bit scared.
“Only one way to find out.” Antonio spoke almost as softly as Ti.
“But how do we find out which animal she is? We have to know before she can try it.” Grace asked.
“Well, she took my blood, so she should at least be a cat. So, Raven, think of yourself as a cat, let yourself fell the shape of a cat. Just think—” Ti was cut off by my blue light.
I was shapeshifting. I don’t know how I knew it then, but just did. The feeling was wonderful. No pain at all. I could feel my bones sort of dissolve then reform into a different stance. And blue light surrounded me, making it so thick that I could not even see the others with my keen eyesight.
I felt my skin prickle. I looked down and saw hair, no, fur, sprouting out on my arms and legs, and probably everywhere.
Then I felt unusual weight on my butt. I looked back and saw I had a long, black, tail. My hands turned to paws and my nose got wet.
The blue mist faded away and I saw my friends
staring at me, mouths open wide. You know, now that I
said that, you could probably fit a fist into each of those
mouths. No, I’m not kidding!
“Whoa. I can’t believe it. I broke my promise! I swore
never to turn someone! Oh, Raven, I’m so sorry!” Ti
burst into tears.
“I love it though, Ti.” I whispered to her in cat
language. I slowly walked over to her, getting used to
my new paws. Then I rubbed up against her legs, the
way I knew cats did when they were happy. I felt a growl in my throat, and realized it was a purr.
I leaned even closer to her. “Now, the question is, how do I turn back?”
She smiled, wiping away her tears on her soft cheeks. “Just picture yourself turning back.”
“Wow, Raven. You sure have a beautiful shape as a panther.” Devin stared at me as I changed back into my human form.
“Why, thank you, Devin. Matches my hair, too.” I blushed at the compliment. He showed a crooked smile, realizing my embarrassment.
“You’re welcome, Raven. Now…did you say Grace said she was coming along?” Devin eyed Grace suspiciously.
“Yes. I don’t think it’s a very good idea, though.” I stared Grace down too.
“Me neither. Grace, I’m sorry to just barge in, take your jet, then leave, but we sort of have to.”
“But…I’m the only one that knows how to drive it.” She said pointedly.
“Well, first of all, you don’t drive it. You fly it. Second of all, I’ve flown tons of jets over the years.” Devin said triumphantly. “And anyways, with your jet, all you’d have to do is set the name of the place you want to go, then let auto drive take over.”
Grace crossed her arms, looking defeated. “Fine.” She never was big on fighting.
“Well then. I guess this is goodbye once again, buddy.” I sniffled, giving Grace a bear hug. She cried.
“See you.” she whispered.
Devin and I walked over to where Ti and Antonio were standing. We all waved to her.
Antonio was the first to board the jet, gawking at the sleek, black, modern interior and furniture.
Then Devin, then Ti.
When it was time for me to go in, I waved at Grace again and whispered “Goodbye, Grace.”
“Goodbye, Raven.” Grace wiped away a tear that streamed down her face.
I smiled and walked into the expensive private jet.
Devin started it up as if he had been born doing it.
As the jet started down the road, ready to lift off the ground, I thought. This was probably way harder on Grace then it was on me. I had a whole adventure ahead of me while Grace got to go back to mean high school with pretty much no friends.
And it was probably worse that she had lost me once, for more than a week, then I come back, asking for a jet to fly to India. Then ten minutes later, she watches as I leave, knowing I wasn’t coming back this time.

12. Do You Love Me?





I had to pee. Bad.
Devin had put the jet to auto pilot, so everyone should be asleep.
I got up very quietly.
Being Grace’s friend since birth, I had been inside the jet hundreds of times. We had actually slept inside it a couple of times.
I walked toward the gigantic bathroom.
I walked inside, went number one, and left. I don’t want to gross you prissies out too much. (Except for you goths out there who are actually reading this because they want to)
As I walked by the small kitchen, I noticed a light. A laptop light.
Devin.
“What are you doing up so late?” I asked, scratching my butt.
“Doing some research on India. What’s your excuse?”
“Had to take a pee.”
“Ah! The great mission of the toilet!” he grinned. I giggled.
“I’ve been meaning to talk to you, Devin.” I got serious.
“What about?” he looked at me as I sat down next to him.
“You remember when you got all worried about me when I regained consciousness? And when you got all worried I’d die of thirst when you didn’t even know me yet? And what was all that ‘twin’ stuff Ti kept telling me about?”
His face dropped. “I…I…I…”
“Wait. I’m not done yet.” I gulped slowly, not ready to ask the question I had rehearsed over and over in my head. Then I looked up into his red eyes. “Do you love me?”
Right then, out of nowhere, he wrapped his arms around me and pushed my lips against his.
Fireworks exploded around our heads. I felt myself pulling him closer, feeling his warmth and love.
We pulled apart after what felt like an eternity, but what was really just about five seconds.
I gasped for breath and looked up into his eyes.
“Yes. I’ve loved you ever since the day I first saw you, laying in your bed, with a wet rag to your forehead.” His eyes twinkled and his face beamed brightly. “But do you love me?”
“Oh, yes, Devin! Oh, god, yes!” I giggled and pulled him down for another kiss.

13. Tell Me!







The next morning seemed dull compared to last night. It was as dull as my life before all the vampire junk. And trust me, that was beyond just dull.
My heart pounded every time Devin walked by.
So the day was pretty much a normal day till Ti walked up.
“What did you do last night?” she demanded. “I woke up and saw your bunk was empty, and now Devin’s all giggly and you keep staring at him! Did you give him drugs or something?”
“No, no. Nothing happened.”
“Don’t you dare try to lie to me.”
“Fine. I’ll tell you.”
I looked around to make sure the boys weren’t listening.
“Well…?”
“Me and Devin—”
“Uh, huh…!”
“We made out last night.”
Her jaw dropped. “I’ve never seen him flirt, let alone kiss !”
I smiled. “I know.”
“What was it like? Did you kiss him or did he kiss you?”
“He kissed me and sparks flew.”
“Wow. He must really love you.”
“Yeah…He even said ‘since the first time I saw you’.”
“Wow.”
“Then he asked me if I loved him.”
“What’d you say?”
“Yes, duh!”
Ti sighed a dreamy sigh and smiled.
“What up? You and wolf boy get to smooch’n too?”
“What? Ew, no!”
“You guys would go great together, though.”
“Everybody says that.”
“It’s true! Just think…red and black, sweet and cool, beautiful and hot, cat and dog.”
“Well, when you put it that way…no.”
“Oh, c’mon! he even likes you!” I wined.
“Here. Let me tell you a secret.”
“Okay.”
“I’m playing hard-to-get.”
“Oh, you go girl! I like your style!” I grinned wickedly.
Antonio walked in with a grin. “Gimme a kiss, Ti baby!”
Ti jumped. “What all did you just hear?” she asked worriedly.
“Nothin. What, you girls talking ‘bout my coolness?”
“No, I was just curious.” She breathed a sigh of relief.
Ti, Antonio, and I walked into the kitchen where Devin stood at the counter, setting out plates with a rare steak on each.
“Yo, dude! Where the heck did you find these babies?” Antonio asked with a huge grin, sitting down and started to scarf it down.
“I found them in the fridge.”
“Cool!” Ti exclaimed.
Devin and I caught each other’s gaze. I gave him a wicked crooked smile and he laughed.

Yeah, I know, the chapters are getting shorter and shorter, but...Well, I don't know what to say. Just...deal with it, I guess. lol :)

i luv the book.....it is soooooo GOOOOOD..........it does look a lil choppy cuz.....so ya.....that is just a comment...... :)

Thanks, Tater. You know, no one will understand you when you say "cuz" like that. They'll think you mean "because" when it makes no sense, lol. [I'd say cousin next time. or cuzie...idk] :P

14. The Crash








“I’m still thirsty.” I wined to Devin.
“We got some pop, milk, water, almost anything.” He said, scanning the refrigerator’s inventory.
“No, Devin. I’m thirsty.”
“Oh. Well, we don’t have any blood. That drink from last night will keep ya till we get to India.”
“Um…I wouldn’t really call that a drink. It was nice, it wasn’t dry, but…it’s not a drink.” I said, confused. Was he referring to our kiss?
“Huh? Oh, um…not that.” His face turned beat red. “Didn’t you get a glass last night?”
I laughed. “No, Devin, I didn’t. Did you?”
“As a matter of fact, I did. I could have sworn you had gotten a glass of blood.”
“Well, I didn’t, and I’m thirsty.”
“Sorry, Raven. We’re out. You’ll have to wait till we get to India.”
I groaned as my throat turned a bit dry. Grace was a shapeshifter, so she’d have just meat, not blood.
Just then, I heard a loud pop. Then moaning and creaking like rusting metal. Devin gasped and red lights flashed brightly all over the jet.
Tigreshe and Antonio came running into the kitchen. “What’s going on?” they said in unison.
“We’re falling!” Devin yelled over the sound of the wind below us.
“What?!” I screamed.
“The jet probably ran out of gas!” he yelled.
Just then, a huge jolt knocked us to the ground. The wind stopped, the air was silent. The red lights stopped.
I sat up after about five minutes, groaning. “What happened?” I held my throbbing head and felt blood run onto my hand. “Ouch.”
“I don’t know…What did happen?” Ti looked at Devin.
“We ran out of gas and probably crashed to the ground.” His left eye was bright purple. It slowly turned back to its normal color. He looked at me and scooted closer, seeing my bloody forehead. His hand gently wiped some blood away. “It healed.”
I smiled.
Antonio got up and limped to the jarred open door. He poked his head outside. “Uh, dudes…? We didn’t land yet.”
“What do you mean?” Ti looked over at him, her elbows scraped and bleeding.
“We crashed into a tree. Man, and a huge one too!”
“Oh, great. You guys can climb trees, right?” Devin looked at Ti and Antonio. They nodded. When he looked at me, his eyes were surprised.
Just then, I realized I had been licking the blood off of my hand. “Oh, uh…Yeah, I can.” I wiped my hand on my jeans.
Devin nodded as if he understood. Well, he probably did.
“Wait…Antonio, are you limping?” Ti asked worriedly.
Antonio winced and shook his head. “I’m fine, Ti baby.”
“No, you’re not fine. Let me see your leg.” She waved him over.
“Whoa, you go’n a little too fast. Let’s start by a kiss.” He puckered up and tried to look cool. But, he limped over to her all the same.
“Shut up, this is no time for jokes.” She pulled up his jeans and found an open wound about three inches wide and maybe about an inch or so deep. She gasped.
“Antonio! Are you okay?” she asked, extremely worried.
“I’m fine. Let’s get go’n. Ouch! Don’t touch!” he flinched then glared angrily at Tigreshe for touching it.
“I’m going to need to wrap it to stop the bleeding.” She got up and ran to the bathroom for the first aid kit. She returned with a long white cloth. “There was no first aid kit!”
“Quickly, please. I’m thirsty and I can’t hold much longer…” I mumbled, looking away.
Devin sat calmly, studying Antonio’s wound. I guess the older they are, the more control they have. Plus, he’d already drank!
“Yeah, hurry. I don’t want no hot chicks suck’n on my knee.” He said sarcastically. But then, he remembered what I was. “But, seriously, hurry up please.” He gulped.
Ti laughed.
“Man, Devin, I am getting really thirsty.” I mumbled, softly stroking my aching throat.
“We’ll find Izzi soon.” He whispered, tenderly laying a hand on my shoulder.

15. Hunting


We all climbed out of the huge tree, Devin carrying a complaining Antonio.
“I can walk, guys! Put me down! Do you know what it’s like to be the coolest guy being carried over the shoulder of another dude? I didn’t think so! This is so retarded! Why don’t you guys just let me walk!” he just rambled on and on. Then finally, I talked back.
“Oh yeah? Do you know what it’s like to be a shapeshifting vampire freak who isn’t even sure if she could be a full-blooded born witch? Do you know what it’s like to grow up having only two friends who are nothing like you? Do you know how absolutely awful it is to have to stare into a too-self-confident shapeshifter who keeps rambling about all his stupid little unimportant problems when he doesn’t even have to walk like the rest of us?! Well, do you?!”
I could hear Ti struggling to hold back her laughter. I could barely keep it in myself. Devin didn’t even try to hold it in. He burst out laughing. It was nice to see him happy.
I walked up next to him. "Devin, I'm really thirsty. Can't I just go out hunting or something?" My throat burned and itched and I was feeling the urge to cough.
"Raven, I would let you, but you don't even know how to hunt. We haven't even taught you how to attack. Or how to take just a little bit. I'm sorry, but I can't just let you go off and hunt around by yourself. Maybe we could find a donor in the city." He said hopefully.
I put my hand to my throat and started to cough wildly. I couldn't control it any longer. I stepped out and started to run into the forest when I felt a hand on my shoulder.
"I didn't realize it was that bad. Go, now! But be extra careful and meet us up the path about a mile up when you're done, 'kay?"
I nodded and ran off into the trees, trying to find a large animal.
Maybe I could run faster on four legs, I thought to myself as I turned. Once the blue mist finally cleared, I was off once again, sleek and dangerous, black and blood-thirsty. Ha! 'Blood-thirsty' ... Get it?
Then I spotted them. Two dear, a mother and her baby. I hid behind a tree and quickly turned back into a vampire. I decided I would go for the mother. She was larger, which meant she would have more blood, making it a less chance that I drain them dry.
I stepped out from behind the tree and quickly grabbed her while the little one ran behind a bush. I bit her neck and started to suck. The animal blood wasn't as good as Tigreshe's or Devin's blood, but it still was delicious. I kept drinking until I realized I wasn't getting any more blood out.
I got up, and only then did I realize I didn't grab the mother, but the baby. The poor, defenseless baby dear. I was planning on the mother having twice the amount the baby had, so I had thought I was okay. I tried giving it some of my blood, but it didn't work. It was too late.
I felt bad, but I wasn't the one to cry over spilled milk. I got up, wiped my mouth clean, and headed on my way out of the forest. Poor dear...
As I walked out of the forest, I sang a little song I had found in one of my mom's creepy books. "Earth and fire, come together. Burn the trees, but not the feather." And as soon as I had said that, a small leaf on a tree right in front of me burst into miniature flames. I gasped and stepped back. As the fire burnt the stem of the leaf, it fluttered to the ground where I stomped the flames out.
I ran to the place Devin said to meet him, and there they all were, waiting for me.
"I'm a witch! I'm a witch! Oh, Devin, I'm a witch." I jumped up and kissed him, right then and there. I could feel that he loved it, but he pushed me away. I looked at him oddly as he blushed and looked over to the side.
I looked over and realized Antonio was sitting on a rock right next to Tigreshe. They stared, especially Antonio.
I felt my cheeks turn beat red and I smiled weakly.
“Guys! Did something happen on the jet that you didn’t tell us?” Antonio said, surprised but happy. He patted Devin on the back. “I knew you had it in ya. I’m proud of ya, dude.” He grinned.
“Uh…You mean, ‘Did something happen on the jet that they didn’t tell you.’” Ti said sheepishly.
“What, they told you, but not me? Dude, that is so not awesome.”
“Yeah, Raven. You told Tigreshe?” Devin looked at me skeptically.
“No, yes, maybe…maybe it slipped out some time or another.”
“Oh, well. Everyone knows now, and everyone accepts it.” Then he eyed Antonio. “That means no more flirting with Raven, got it, Antonio?”
Antonio nodded. “Agreed.”
“Good. Now, what was with all this ‘I’m a witch!’ stuff?” he looked at me.
“Well…first of all, I know I’m a witch, and I’m pretty dang sure it’s from Mom.” I said.
“How do you know for sure?” Ti asked eagerly.
“Well, after I fed, I started singing something I found out of one of my mom’s hidden books. I was so used to weird stuff I didn’t even find it strange. Well, I sang my favorite spell, although I thought it was only a poem.”
“What is it?”
“Here, let me show you what it did.” I grabbed a large leaf off of the ground and held it out away from my face. “Earth and fire, come together. Burn the leaf, but not the feather.” I sang softly. Suddenly, the leaf burst into flames.
“Whoa! Dude, that’s wicked awesome!” cried Antonio, amazed.
“That is pretty cool, Raven.” Ti chuckled.
“Wow. Doesn’t that burn, Raven?” Devin asked.
“Not at all. I think ‘burn the leaf, but not the feather’ means to burn the forest or tree or whatever, but not the birds or creatures. Or maybe it doesn’t burn the birds, or the witch that cast the spell, I don’t know.”
“Only one way to find out.” Devin reached into the flame and quickly pulled it out and licked his palm. It was red, but slowly turned back. “Ouch.”
“So, it’s only the one that casts the spell, huh? Cool.” I laughed. “I’m gonna have fun with this!” I grinned wickedly.

16. Our Arrival



In about two hours, it was dark out and the stars shined brightly in the sky.
I searched my brain for some other spell I might have read in my mom’s books. Nothing. Absolutely nothing. Ugh!
Then it hit me. If it was Mom’s books, then she must be a witch! I know, you’re thinking ‘Duh! You haven’t figured that out yet?’ but I hadn’t really thought about that part.
So she’s been lying to me all these years…Oh, I’m gonna get her!
“Hey, are those lights?” Ti pointed to some bright lights in the distance.
“I think they are.” I noticed all the lights were in a line. And they looked big.
“I think we’re almost there!” Devin smiled.
“So…What exactly is the town we’re seeing? Is it where Izzi is supposed to be?” I asked excitedly.
“Well, Izzi is supposed to be in New Delhi, the capital. Pretty big city, man. It’s gonna be hard to find her in all this mess.”
“Oh. Hey, what’s that?” Even with my keen eyesight, I couldn’t figure out what the little brownish thing next to the lights were. I mean, we were about ten miles away anyway! Gimme a break, will ya?
“I don’t know, let’s get closer.” he said as he followed my gaze.
We ran until we got close enough that a tiny human could read it easily. If they could read Hindi, of course.
“What the heck does it say, dude?” asked Antonio.
“It says ‘Welcome To New Delhi’ in Hindi and English. Convenient, huh?”
“Totally. But, I’m getting kind of tired.” Ti yawned.
“Eh, I’m not.” Antonio rubbed his eyes quickly. “But maybe we should go get a hotel room for Ti Baby.”
Ti smiled at him. “Dork.” She elbowed him gently and he smiled an actually nice smile back at her.
“I agree. Go find a hotel, guys. I’ll catch up to ya later.” Devin waved and ran off toward the city, leaving us behind.
“Well…That was weird.” Antonio said after a minute.
“Oh, he’s probably just excited to see Izzi.” Said Ti.
“Yeah.” I said.
“I would’ve thought you’d be upset.” Antonio shrugged.
“Why would I be upset?” I asked as we started walking.
“Well…Devin and Izzi. Duh.”
“Huh?” I asked, feeling stupid.
“He didn’t tell you?”
“Tell me what?” Spit it out, man!
“About him and Izzi dating…” he said slowly.
“He did what?!”
“Antonio…” whispered Tigreshe.
“No. Tell me, Antonio.” I growled.
“Well…Devin and izzi went out for, like, two weeks about four years ago.”
“Oh. That’s not as bad as I thought.” I let out my breath.
There was silence as we walked into the big city. When we finally got there, I spoke.
“’Kay guys, I guess we’re gonna go find a hotel.”
They both nodded.

Man, now I'm gonna have to wait till I get the next chapters done to post the next one.

I... Don't think I'm going to continue this story, for many reasons: 1) I am really dissapointed with it, for one. It just doesn't seem very interesting when I reread it... :( 2) Well, not a lot of other people like it either. 3) My Dad deleted EVERYTHING on my old computer on accident, so now about HALF of my story is lost! 4) I'm too lazy to continue with these characters. They seem too boring. 5) And then there's the fact that I've started a different story that I like MUCH better.

So I have decided to end this story. But instead of deleting/locking this thread, I have decided to just start my new story on here. So... here! Lolz :)
Theses chapters are pretty small, and I have not checked for grammer yet, so please excuse those factors. :)



1.

I walked up the small steps onto the little stage wher the three Elder Witches stood waiting.

I bowed to them gracefully, and they raised a hand to me. I nodded and turned to the crowed.

"We come together today in celebration of our beloved friend and sister, Tiria Enderethial," One of the Elder Witches announced.

"Today, after 103 of practice, trial, and error, Tiria has fianlly caught, trained, and befriended her familiar," another chimed in.

"Yes. Tiria, you may now reveal your familiar," one informed me.

"Nimdre," I called her, and the Blue Wolf jumped onto the stage.

She bowed to the Elder Witches, as well as the crowd. "Good evening," she greeted.

"Please, introsuce us," the first Elder Witch asked kindly.

"Ladies, gentlemen, this is Nimdre. She is a fine, rare, Blue Wolf. One of the last of her kind," I explained.

"Hello. I am of a rare species, but Tiria here is the finest elven witch I have ever met." Nimdre smiled up at me.

"You are too kind."

"Now, we will begin the ritual," the secong Elder Witch said, pulling out a small needle.

Candles were placed around us in a cirsle and were lit.

"Elorendate enekorro makene! Sharletu kaleme te ushki rata!" an Elder Witch chanted in the old Elven language. She pinched the palm of my hand and then Nimdre's paw.

She muttered the chant again, placing my wound against Nimdre's.

"There," she said, releasing our hands.

"Thank you," I said, and shook each Elder Witches' hand.

Nimdre and I walked slowly off of the stage, Nimdre's tail wagging.

"Well. That was dramatic," she said quietly.

"I know, right?" I ruffled the blue fur on her head.
---

And there you have it. The first chapter of the first book, Elves, in the series called Elves vs. Humans.

Oh my gawd, I can't decide on a freaking story! Well, I stared a new one... lolz. Hopefully, this one will stick...?

PROLOGUE



I AM A VAMPIRE. I HAVE BEEN FOR 8157 years now. Here, let me introduce myself. I am Zelda, which means “female warrior” in German. Yes, I am very old indeed. And, of course, I am German. Many people believe that the Germans only came to be in about 1000 B.C., but my clan (or whatever you want to call it) was there for many years before that.
Our tribe was very hidden, and was wiped out many years before any other Germans found the place. Our warriors fought an impossible war that lead to all of our deaths—except for a few lives. We did not know what had kept us alive, or what curse we had been placed under. All we knew was that we had to drink. Human blood.
We also did not know that the foreigners were, indeed, vampires. We had no clue that they would defeat us. We were the best army force there was—or at least we knew—and frankly, our military general was getting a bit cocky.
I was a warrior also. One of the best, Adelbaro, our chief, used to say. I could
throw a dagger farther than any man could. And my arrow was always on target. I only found out later that all this was because I was a witch—before the invasion of vampires.
Funny how things turn out, isn’t it? Sometimes I wonder if it was fate that gave me these powers. Maybe I am supposed to do something wonderful and great. So far, not looking too well.
The year is 2028. There are so many things I have learned over the years. The things these humans accomplish still amazes me today. Although vampires have stronger, faster, and better reflexes, the humans progress more than any vampire could expect them to.
But other times, I feel almost sorry for the puny things. They are completely helpless at times. They see in blurs and hear in muffles. They can’t truly appreciate the art in themselves. It’s so very sad.
But… I hate to say it, but it’s not exactly my problem anymore. Hasn’t been for years. I travel on my own, think on my own, read on my own, I do everything by myself, and it is tranquilizing. I feel at peace.
But today… today is the day I started to show signs. Signs of my witch power.
After so many years of ignorance, it comes back to me. The power, the magic, the possibilities. And today is also the day I met Tara.




1



I SAT INSIDE THE LIBRARY, THE ONLY place I feel truly at peace. The troubling thoughts of last night still haunted my head. I hated letting my victims go untouched. My senses felt that I needed to leave him be. The tastiest one I’ve seen in years, and of course he has a strong will.
You see, I have to force people to forget me when I feed. My powers allow me to erase any thoughts. So… Well, it’s either that, or I kill them. And I never kill innocents. Well, at least not on purpose.
I was reading the old book The Vampire Diaries, which surprisingly, was still in good shape. And it was pretty accurate about vampires, considering it was written by a human.
The library was closed, therefore was a very quiet place to hide now. But soon, I heard a small sound coming from one of the aisles of bookshelves farther behind me. I didn’t dare turn around.
No, I stayed put and cast out my senses so I could see or hear anything that moved. Nothing could escape me when I was on my guard.
Then I heard another breath, much quieter that any human could have made it sound. No, this other being was indeed a newly made vampire. I stood up.
“Come out, come out, wherever you are!” I shouted to it, not really thinking this person could be any harm to me. I was, by fact, the oldest and most experienced vampire in the entire world.
Everything was still. No more movement or sounds of breathing. Fear churned inside my stomach and I barely recognized it. I had not known fear since I had been at the hands of the vampire that turned me, and he was long dead, as are his companions.
Then the thing stood in front of me and I knew the instant I saw it, it was no where near a vampire. No, it was something much, much worse.
Its upper jaw stuck out unnaturally, its teeth jutting out in bloody spikes. It had about twenty eyes, all round and big. Its horns stuck out if its head like two pitchforks had been stuffed into his scalp.
Then it screeched the most horrifying screech known to man, and jumped at me.
I fought it, my body much stronger than any other creature out there. I was doing superb at defeating it, but, when I had nearly killed the monstrous beast, he lunged at my ankle and bit it hard.
Poison churned in my veins, sickening me more and more every time I tried to fight back. My vision was blurring and I felt myself trying to go to sleep.
I took what I thought to be my last breath, and whispered, “Not now…”
Then it lay limp on my sick body. It was dead, but how?
Even through my fading hearing, I could tell there were footsteps coming near me. Light and quick.
I heard a sloshing sound and a grunt and the beast was off of me.
There stood a surprisingly pretty girl with long, orange hair and brown eyes so dark they looked black. She smiled at me.
“You are a vampire,” she said, still smiling.
“Um…” I didn’t know what to say. How did she know about me?
“Oh, it’s fine. I’m a Hunter.”
“Well, than yes.”
“That there,” she said, pointing to the dead creature. “is a Reyanor. Spits poison at its victim. Seems like you didn’t give it a chance until you had almost killed it. Good job.” She held out her hand for me to shake.
I took it suspiciously. “Thanks?”
“Oh, don’t worry. I don’t kill vampires. Part of my clan’s promise.”
“Your clan’s promise? Are you a Tenel?”
“Of course. See?” She held out her hand and pulled up her sleeve. A long snake with large fangs hung on her arm.
“Awesome. What’s your name?”
“Tara. Yours?”
“Zelda.”
“Hmm… I’ve heard about a Zelda before. How old are you?” she asked suspiciously.
“8158 next week.” I smiled at the expression on her face.
“You’re Zelda! The Zelda! Wow! Nice to meet you, ma’am.”
“I take it you know of me?” I laughed.
“Of course. I’ve heard legends about you.” She smiled.
“Like what?” I smirked.
“Like how you killed that dragon with your bare hands, and how you wiped out all of the Raptor species before others found out that they had not been extinct, and how you helped to win the battle at your tribe.”
I was stung. “We did not win,” I spat.
She looked appalled. “I’m sorry. I-I didn’t mean to hurt you.”
I huffed. “You better not have. I’m leaving. I suppose I should thank you for helping me… but I’m going.” And I walked out of the library briskly, in perfect health.

Ummm.... better? Worse? I can't seem to decide and I was hoping maybe you guys could help me? I think of a story, think it's better than the last idea, type about three chapters, then I decide on a new idea that I think is better. Hopefully.... I can go ahead and finish one this time instead of thinking of yet ANOTHER idea for a story. :/

---GOD I AM HORRIBLE AT THIS! But I know, I will try as hard as I can to keep up with this story, I promise! I know I've said this before, but I really think this one is going to be much better than the others. Trust me.
---And I'm not exactly sure what this is. It's sort of a fanfic, but then again, it's not. I have decided to put this story in this forum, becaus I do not want to start another fanfic thread (sense I am still writing my current fanfic), and this is sort of half and half.
---Please, give me some advise or critique, I would like to know your opinions of this. And if it is against the rules for some reason, tell me.
---I am going to be sending this into Self Publishing and Book Printing Solutions - Books, EBooks, Photo books and Calendars at Lulu.com for printing purposes, but only because I want it to look professional. <-- Sorry, there's a big link I didn't intend to be there.

And since this is a half-in-half story, I still need to put a disclaimer. Here is the original that I will put into the book:

"My reasoning for writing this book is to satisfy my conscience. I had this idea about three months ago, and I could not quit thinking about how much I wanted to write this on paper, and how much I wanted a fully, professionally, published book that I had written. And so here we are, with the fully published book.
No, I have no intention of selling this book or its copies for money. I know Dragon Age is copyrighted, and I do not want to get in any legal trouble. I am simply writing this for the sole purpose of having fun. So technically, this could be counted as a FanFic, not an actual book. I am only sending it to LuLu.com, not a real publisher. I only want it to look professional.
I hope you have fun reading it!"

---Again, if I am doing something against the rules, please inform me. Enjoy!
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Chapter 1 - My Life

The first real excitement I had had in twelve years was when I first played a game called Dragon Age: Origins. My father had gotten it for Christmas in the year 2009. It is 2010 now, and I will officially be seventeen in about two weeks (August 28th). (Don’t tell Bioware I’m underage, okay?) I have played exactly 14 playthroughs now, and I intend to keep going. Right at the moment though, of course, I am writing this and listening to 30 Seconds to Mars, which, coincidently, sings the trailer song to the game.
Of course, people at school were going to make fun of me for being a “Dragon Age fanatic”. I will admit, I am a little obsessed, but isn’t that normal for someone who plays Dragon Age: Origins for the first time? Granted, I’m no longer a “first-time-player”, but it still seems new to me every time I play it, because there are so many possibilities, they are (almost) literally endless!
And everyone knows that if you don’t play it, you won’t know the true talent of the people who put all this effort into the little bundle of fun! (God, that sounded so girlish.) What I mean to say, is that the people who haven’t even seen the cover of the game shouldn’t claim that “It is so stupid”. And I know perfectly why they claim it is stupid. Because I like it. They’ve always done that for as long as I could remember. I was the outcast, and if you liked something I liked, then you were un-cool. The only people who didn’t care if I was an outcast were the other outcasts.
But I’m not here to talk to you about how ugly and miserable my life is. I’m here to tell you about the thing that changed my life forever.

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Chapter 2 - Sucked In

It first started on Wednesday July 14, 2010. It was a normal day with the stupid kids, boring teachers, and gross food. I still can’t believe how the other students eat that crap.
But I’m getting off the subject again. You’ll notice me doing that often. Sorry.
After school I walked home my normal way, through all the back ways and streets. I passed by some of the seniors on my way home, including my cousin, Taylor. She was with her friends (that I was not particularly fond of), so I decided to let her enjoy her time with them.
So as usual my trip home was not the most exciting. When I got home, I was hoping Mom wouldn’t notice I came home. ‘Cause usually when that happens, she’ll either 1) Give me a huge chore. 2) Ask in the happiest voice ever, “So how was school today?” (Which I would answer, “Boring,” glumly and she would get in a bad mood and get me my chore anyway) 3) Yell at me for leaving something out or not doing something I was (apparently) supposed to do. (Even though no one told me.)
But she was gone. Somewhere at her job, I guessed, and went on with my homework.
After I got done with my homework, I grabbed my V8 and headed to my room to start up my game.
I loaded my oldest, unfinished game. She was an elf mage (Dalish, yes, I used the MOD.) named Larika. I had finished all of the big places, and I was heading back to Redcliffe after getting the mages’ help to go into the Fade to kill Connor’s demon.
I ended back at camp where the Shrieks ambush us. I fought them, and the strangest thing happened. Larika disappeared.
This had never happened before. Ever. At first, I thought my vision was blurring, but then I noticed how everything was loosing color and the room melted away. For only a second, I saw nothing. Just blackness. Then I was outside, in the night, in the forest.
I heard the crackling of a fire. I tried to sit up, but my head begged me to lie back down. I did, and fell asleep.

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Chapter 3 - Realization

I awoke to four heads looking at me from above. They looked so familiar. I couldn’t place where I had seen them before. I then realized I was still in the dark forest clearing. I jumped up quickly, panicking.
There was an old woman, white hair pulled back into a ponytail. She was probably about sixty. There was also a blond handsome man that looked to be about in his late twenties. There was a redhead that was maybe in her early thirties. And there was also a funny looking dog, but his eyes showed great understanding and intelligence. He was afraid for me.
“What is the matter, child?” The old woman asked. She looked at me oddly. The blond one helped steady me. I was shaking terribly.
“Who… Who are you?” I asked quietly, my sight still a bit blurred.
“Who are we, Larika? You know us!” The redhead said urgently.
“L - Larika? My name Baleigh.”
The blond shook his head slowly. “You passed out after the attack. Remember the Shrieks? The ambush?”
My eyesight came fully back and I could see the people clearly. I screamed.
The blond held onto me tightly. “What’s wrong? Shh, tell us what’s bothering you!”
“You’re real! God. Oh god, oh god, oh god!” I screamed again, looking stupid.
“’Tis been three hours, is she conscious yet?” A dark haired woman came closer. Her eyes burned with a bright yellow, making her frightening.
“You’re all real! Alistair, Wynne, Leliana, Morrigan, you’re all real!” I looked down at myself. “What am I wearing?!”
A loud rumble came from the ground, and I thought there was an earthquake… until I saw Shale coming closer. “What is all this noise? Is there a bird ambush now too? Can I squish them?” she looked down at me. “Oh. It’s just you.”
For the first time since I had gotten there, I smiled faintly. I loved all the humor in this game.
“She’s obviously delirious. Shall I conjure a spell to knock some sense into her?” Morrigan smiled devilishly.
I looked at her quickly. “That will not be necessary! I’m just under shock, that’s all. I just can’t believe you’re all real.”
“Of course we’re real. Why would you think otherwise?” Alistair asked.
“Because you’re NPCs, digital, game people… just not real.” I looked around. Sten was over by the campfire with Oghren and Zevran, who, by the looks of it, did not care much if I lived or not. “But… I’m in the camp area. How is this possible? I’m dreaming. That’s it. I’m just having a weird dream.”
“Larika, I think you may have hit your head when you fell down. May I have a look at it?” Wynne came closer.
“You all really think I’m Larika? Well, I’m not. I’m Baleigh Riddle.”
“You look like Larika Mahariel to me.” Zevran said, walking over to see what all the commotion was about.
“I’m not. And if you really must know, I’m from a different universe… sort of.”
“A different universe? Like somewhere beyond were we can see?” Leliana asked.
“Yes. You cannot see it. And this might be hard to understand, but Larika is not a real person. She’s me… in a manner of speaking.”
“You were controlling her?” Zevran asked.
“I wouldn’t say that. I am her, yet not really her. I am the real her, while this body is not mine. She is to be in her early twenties, yes?” I tried to explain some.
“Yes. I would know.” Zevran gave me a wink.
“Not now, Zevran.” I rolled my eyes. “So she is in her early twenties, but I am only almost seventeen.” I looked at them all, getting a great idea. “And I have been many others before her. Different Grey Wardens. But not before this time. I have stopped this very Blight over a dozen times.”
Oghren looked at me. “We could use this to our advantage. She knows how to stop the Blight.”
“Yes. I know exactly how, when and where something or someone will pop up. I know what the archdemon will do, and I know how to stop it. I know what things we have to do to go through with all this.”
Sten came over. “How do we know you are not Larika playing a prank on us? Or if you can really tell us anything? Maybe this is some sort of magic trick to get us all killed.”
“I agree. How do we know?” Morrigan said in a suspicious tone.
“You’ll just have to trust me.”
“That’s not good enough.” Morrigan said.
“You’ll have to prove it.” Sten suggested.
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So there you have it! The three chapters are all I have completed so far, but I will have more coming. Enjoy! :)