Stories

__**Stories**__ Hellooooooo peoples! This page is for some of our publish-worthy longer stories. They may take you longer to read, but they totally took a longer time to write. Please tell us what you think! Enjoy!


 * Midnight Sun** by Ali

Run! Run! Run!” Jamie shouted, a proud look on her sunburned face. Her team was in the lead: 3-0. The gravel-smothered vacant lot was filled with both noise and commotion as the girls-versus-boys game was nearing the end on that hot July afternoon. Nadi hesitated for a moment at second base as her mom’s far-too-familiar purple polka-dotted apron appeared on their stained wooden porch. Nadi and Will came sprinting across the field, getting a head start to impatient Mrs. Finly. “Dinner!” Mrs. Finly yelled as her shrill, high, voice pierced the muggy, summer air. Will and Nadi ran faster to their mother, leaving the chaotic baseball game just footsteps behind them.

One by one, the members of both teams left the energetic competition leaving only Todd, Mick, Jamie and Sarina left. They all were drenched in sweat and out of breath (well, all except for Sarina; she was happily minding her own business on an old, cool, stone wall on the side of the field). For what seemed like an afternoon game, ended up to be the start of something unbelievable to Sarina, even though she wasn’t playing baseball.

Sarina disliked baseball. She didn’t just dislike it; she hated more than Jujyfruits (or any other candy that sealed your mouth shut like hot glue). The only reason she was at the game was because she had to babysit her younger brother, Mick. Sarina was the oldest one at the game, and thought baseball was immature and un-ladylike -extremely likely for a germaholic much like herself. Mick and Sarina were only fourteen months apart, but Mick was much taller than she, and far too childish for her likings. Sarina didn’t really know anybody in her new house in southern Florida. Her family was from Kentucky and had no relatives whatsoever in their new homestead. She sat in the grass with her personalized stationary that had red stripes and a blue “S” on the front. She was writing to her grandparents back home. “Dearest Nana and Gramps…” She was writing to her Nana but her eyes were focused on the baseball game in the sweltering heat. “Baseball is stupid,” she muttered under her breath as she continued to write. This was her only opinion and continually told herself this- like a ritual.

Mick loved baseball. He loved it so much, he used it against Sarina. He tortured her every waking moment saying things like “THREE STRIKES ‘YER OUTTA’ HERE!” while she poured her cereal, and “Hey batta-batta-batta-SA-WING-batta!” when she was doing her homework.

CRACK! Mick’s bat hit the ball…hard. The ball made contact with the bat with such force that Sarina jumped out of her seat then sat down again. She was extremely embarrassed. Up, up, up, the ball sailed. Down, down, down, into a bush on the far end of the lot. That particular section was littered with cans and whatnot. At that moment, everybody realized that it wasn’t just any bush where their precious baseball had landed, but none other than Mr.Ogely untamed lawn.

Nobody dared to go near his house (but it wasn’t like anybody had seen him for twenty years). Sarina learned that very quickly. If she asked a question about him, people would pretend to ignore her and continue what they were doing. She took the hint.

Rumor has it: the house was haunted. Everyone stayed far, far, away from the trash-drenched property. Late at night you could hear distant screams, shattering of glass, and big claws scratching at the door. Yelling and whimpers came from inside the old house.

The house itself was creepy. The sea-foam green paint was chipping off of the exterior of the house, the disgusting shingles dropping off of the roof every so often. The moldy windows were cracked, broken, and near impossible to see through the brown and green goop. In the yard there was a ton of unnaturally tall grass- brown and withered. “Nothing goes in, nothing comes out,” as the elder people in town would say. “He’s a crazy hermit- he is! Prob’ly so pale he looks like he’s seen a ghost!”

“Would you get the baseball?” squeaked Sarina.

“What are you? SCARED?” Mick taunted. As usual, there was a challenge in his voice, mocking her.

“Scaredy-cat! Scaredy-cat!” everyone else chimed in. Each time the chant got louder, Mick’s smile got wider. If they kept it up, Sarina was sure his face would split in half. Tears stung in her eyes and she felt small and helpless, like the puppy next door to her that had to have a synthetic hind leg when it was born without one.

“Then you get it!” replied Sarina boldly, blinking the salty tears away. There was a deafening silence. Mick was slowly creeping away from the lot, speechless. Sarina was normally shy and quiet, doing what she was told. She never talked back. She was fuming; not catching the fact that Mick was still staring at her with wide eyes as he backed up towards the house- now aware of her bravery. He had a weird feeling inside- defeat. Mick had a sense of defeat.

Mick was always loud, so it was like a giant hand had slapped him in the face when the rare occasion of being outspoken had occurred (especially by Sarina). No one was willing to retrieve the ball from the thorny bushes multiple yards away. “Gotta’ run! Catch-up with you tomorrow!” Todd and Jamie cried out in unison, barely able to get the words out fast enough. Something moved inside the ancient house.

“RUN!” screamed Mick as he ran home as fast as his rotund, quaggley, legs would carry him. His remaining peers followed Mick immediately.

“That leaves me,” Sarina miserably grumbled to herself. She made a joke to herself and said, “Might as well go the whole nine yards”. She sarcastically laughed to herself, an evil laugh from the pit of her stomach.

She wasn’t a chicken and didn’t want others to think of her as one. She could hear the “bok-bok-boking” as the others teased her about something that they themselves wouldn’t do. They were all such hypocrites. Actually, she would seem braver for getting the baseball for Mick and the rest of them. She couldn’t go home, she wouldn’t. That would make her look dumb. Plus, it was the only baseball and it was important (well, not to her- but who knows what Mick would do if she didn’t. The thought of it made her skin crawl and the hairs on her neck stand on end. It was almost like that laugh she did a few minutes before), but because the closest sport’s store was ten miles away. Living in the middle of No-where-Ville had its ups and downs. This was defiantly a down.

She slowly approached the house, a determined smirk on her mouth. Each step was soft and quiet in the browning, itchy grass. Sarina didn’t know what lurked in the house, but she wasn’t in the mood to find out. It was bad enough that she was doing this in the first place. She took a deep breath. Ever so slowly, she knelt down in the grass, only her head and shoulders visible. Sarina stuck her hand under the bush ever so gently and… WOOF!

She abruptly stood up and brushed off her jeans as quickly as possible- before what was yet to come. Her eyes saw an old, crippled figure- but her brain saw an elderly, confused man. He limped towards her. He didn’t look menacing- but he also looked mad and confused, as if a fly was n his ear but he was just aggravated by the buzz. A large golden retriever bared its teeth and growled ferociously, protectively.

“What’s wrong, Munchkin, dearest?” the bent figure asked.

“Grrr! RUFF!” replied the dog. Munchkin licked the man’s hand daintily and sat down.

“Hello?” the old man asked. He sounded kind, but his voice was strong and powerful. “Speak!” he commanded, agitation and annoyance in his words. Sarina wasn’t sure if he was talking to her or the dog.

“Uh… Hi?” she began.

“Wha’? Who are you?” he questioned, a puzzled look on his wrinkled face. His expression was overcome with suspicion. Good thing Sarina was experienced a reading facial expression, so she was quick to speak.

“I’m Sarina, your neighbor, and have come to retrieve my friend’s baseball from under your shrubbery.” She held it up to prove it. “See?” She sounded shy, but was aiming for a more respectful Aura. His expression saddened.

He sighed: “Actually, I cant.” Sarina wondered if he had been hurt or insulted. Even this was challenging- she couldn’t read his expression. It was a mix of remorse, forgiveness, and admittance. He beckoned with his crooked, bony finger towards the house. She silently followed the stranger, wondering whom (or what) he wanted. Munchkin followed.

“I’m Albert Ogely. Just call me Al- for short,” he introduced himself as he walked into the house. Sarina gasped. It wasn’t the messiest, but it certainly wasn’t the neatest. Her mother would take one look at this place, grab a mop, and work ‘til it shined.

So you aren’t a crazy old geezer? She thought guiltily.

“Sit,” demanded Al. Again, he didn’t mean for it to sound harsh. She sat anyway (and very quickly- not to upset the man). “This room,” he began, “is my sanctuary.” He made a gesture to show he meant everywhere in that room.

And yes, by all of it, he meant the clutter, Sarina assumed. She was wondering why this man would invite her into his house, and then show her his “sanctuary”. She would soon find out.

She just began to put the pieces together. He lives here. She opened her mouth, and then closed it. Open, close, open, close. How embarrassing. He then pointed to a hall with trophies in floor-to-ceiling shelves, looking uncertain of the position of his hand.

“Come,” he said, breaking the awkward silence. One side of the hall was filled with various-colored books. It was almost like a mini-library. She wondered if they were in alphabetical order, like the public library back in Kentucky. Boy, how she missed Kentucky. They were all behind a clear, glass panel (that was obviously not clutter-covered like the rest of the space).

“These books are worth more than life itself to me,” he whispered.

Sarina could barely understand. It wasn’t the fact that he was whispering in that old-man-in-desperate-need-of-water kind of way but why were these books so special? He fumbled around in his pocket and took out a small, silver, key with little raised bumps on it. Then he opened both sides of the hall.

He carefully chose a maroon book with gold borders on the cover. Again, there were those little dots. Are they another language? She thought. The pages were brittle and delicate with small, raised, bumps on them. He ran his hand over the page wordlessly, while a small smile worked its way onto his face.

“I’m a champion reader,” he murmured, just loud enough for her to hear. “At least… I was.”

“How do you read DOTS?” Sarina questioned just a little too sarcastically.

Al didn’t seem offended one bit- he actually seemed relieved. “These dots are special,” he explained to her, “they are called Braille. I must use Braille for I am blind.” Sarina was glad he was blind so he couldn’t see the mixed expressions of horror and sympathy on her face. She finally understood. Everything fit together like a completed puzzle: the breaking glass, the blood curdling screams… Wow.

“Oh,” was her reply. Oh. She wished she could say more but for some reason, she couldn’t. Munchkin looked absentmindedly at the book in his master’s arms, as if it were an old friend. Munchkin was his Seeing Eye dog.

“A champion reader,” he muttered, his voice trailing off.

Later that night, Sarina stared up at her bedroom ceiling, insomnia approaching. Would she tell anybody about Mr.Ogely? No, she decided, it was her secret- and since she was the trustworthiest sibling out of the two- she decided to keep it that way. It must be hard being blind, she thought to herself. She repeated her encounter with Mr.Ogely over an over in her mind. She decided she would visit Al tomorrow, this time on purpose, every day this week.

“Yeah,” she said out loud, “I’ll be there.”

The next day, Sarina visited Al. She rang the doorbell three times before getting a muffled reply of: “Mcmn! Imndkttchn! Who’s there?”

“Hi! It’s me, Sarina!” she sang.

“Oh, come on in I’ll make us some tea. Which do you prefer: chai or green?” was the muffled reply.

Sarina liked both equally, but yelled out “CHAI, PLEASE!” anyway. She pushed open the torn screen door and walked into the living room to the kitchen. What a mess! There were cracked eggs and flour all over the counter and floor. The box of tea had Braille all over it and was a bland color. Go figure.

“Hey Al, do you need any help?” she offered.

“Nah, lets just sit down and wadda’ you kids say these days- chat?”

“Sure,” she replied with a grin. This made his old crinkled face break out into a matching smile. Munchkin led the two into the den and sat down. It almost seemed like Munchkin was smiling, too.

“When I was fifteen, I read five Braille novels in two days. My mother called me ‘champ’, my father… well my father left when I was very young. You would be surprised at how many books that you love are in Braille. The good classics like ‘Moby Dick’, ‘The Mysterious Case Of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde’, and ‘Around The World In 80 Days’.”

Sarina tried to picture Al when he was very little and an older man playing with a train set together. Al looked like he was trying to remember something important. He let out a long, heavy sigh.

“I think the tea is boiled by now,” he announced and stood up from his chair clumsily. He began to hum Sarina’s favorite song from when she was little- Midnight Sun. His voice was smooth and even, hitting all of the notes of the melody. When he hummed, it brought back memories of her home in Kentucky, sitting in the back porch blowing bubbles, the old rusty radio blaring this song- the classic version sung by Rhonda Macintyre and the Blue’s Boys. “Dancing on a ray of sun, all yonder home towards the meadows… Take me to the moon and back, I’ll still love you…” It was as if he could read her mind. She joined him for Chai tea, singing along the words of memories, nonchalance.

Every day after that was the same. Eventually, Sarina began to make the tea and Al would talk about his childhood. Sometimes, she would make cookies or lemon meringue pie. She did some landscaping and organized the house. The only thing she didn’t touch were the books, which seemed to be in order anyhow. She even found that old transistor radio, and even though it didn’t work, she kept it ornamentally on the granite mantel place in honor. The words of remembrance rushed to her head when she looked at it. She hummed along with Al- it was now their song. “Take me on a journey- to the Midnight Sun- and find a lost adventure… I’ll cry me a river, then build me a boat, only to get me back home…to get me back home… back home…” The echoing words were a happy memory and she could now share those memories with her friend, pal, and companion.

Sarina did anything for her special friend. Al seemed happier and less alone. Knowing this song seemed to have an affect on their bonding. They sang when they cooked, or when they were bored. There never really seemed to be an occasion to sing- they just did. Months- even years passed. Sarina’s daily visits happened until very recently.

All of her neighbors had grown up and a few had moved away. The remaining ones were not kept in touch with- even with this new technology like cell phones and computers. They were out of her budget and she didn’t want them. Obviously, she didn’t need them- for she had one friend, which was enough. Mr. Albert Ogely was 91 and Munchkin wasn’t a puppy anymore. She almost considered spending a little at the shops in town to get Munchkin a new tag that said “Munchkin- the survivor”. He was the oldest dog Sarina ever knew (considering the fact that she only had two dogs as a child, a very young child on a Kentucky ranch). Sarina was twelve when she started seeing Al.

Now she was twenty-two and lived in her parents’ house, her childhood house. She went over to make her daily visit to Mr. Ogley, bringing gingersnaps and peach tea (which Al had grown to be very fond of). Sarina now knew all of his likes, dislikes, hopes, and dreams. It was like she was his brain, plus his eyes. If he said,” Now tell me, I sure can hear that beautiful bird- what does it look like?”

She would reply,” It’s darling- sir- all yellow and black!”

When she got there, he looked very weak and pale, with tears streaming down his sunken face. She dropped the groceries and ran to his side.

“It’s my time to go,” he admitted emotionally, “Take care of my house, Munchkin, and…this.” He paused and then pulled a small, metal object out of his pocket.

“Take this,” he repeated and handed Sarina the metal object with his shaky hand. “It was my first reading award. Keep it safe for me.” Sarina couldn’t help it. She broke out crying and hugged his brittle form and cried some more. Eventually, she put the medal into her pocket. Time passed so quickly and slowly at the same time. Her eyes were red, sore, and puffy from crying.

“Tea?” Mr. Ogely croaked.

“Yes, tea would be nice,” Sarina replied, wiping her swollen eyes with the edge of her J. Crew sweater. The only sound then was the hum of the rusted heater, and the chorus of two voices chiming “Midnight Sun”.

The next half-hour was a blur. They talked about when they were ‘young’ and how they first met. That day was forever plastered in both of their minds. This friendship started out with a baseball in a bush, and ended quicker than expected.

“Here,” he said as he groped around in his pocket and pulled out- yet another- metal object. This one was a chain with multiple silver keys on it.

“I want you to have the house. The key is for the house- the other -the bookshelf.”

“But I can’t read Braille.” This made Sarina’s heart hurt. She wasn’t sure if it was in a good or bad way.

“You’ll learn. Do it for me.”

“I will,” she choked out in between sobs, trying to sound brave. She pulled a tissue from her pocket. “I’ll try my best.”

Sarina’s vision blurred, but her voice quavered as she sang the last verse of the song: “Midnight Sun- only talking ‘bout getting home… Rest my eyes, for a while… I’ll getcha’ there, in heaven’s light, singing with the angels from above… And when I do-o then I’ll be with you-u and we’ll sing together- forever- my love…”

“…Under that Midnight Sun…” and those were the last words he ever spoke, holding that last note more beautiful than he had ever before, singing in harmony with the angels, his soul leaving the earth forever.

Sarina arranged his funeral. She was his only friend and everything went to her on his will, which was written in Braille. It was then when she realized that this was more than a good friendship, it was an eternal friendship. She had a connection to a man much older than her, their differences bringing them together.

The funeral was depressing, to say the least. She lifted a heavy paperback book out of a bag. It was called “Braille for Beginners”. Sarina had learned very quickly after his death, so she could read Mr. Ogely’s prized books. “Companions,” she mouthed after the men who spoke barely any English lowered his casket into his grave. “Goodbye,” she said as she took a Kleenex out of her pocket and wiped her eyes. Even now was too sad of a time to sing, so she thought long and hard about the meaning of the song- friendship.

The next few weeks were clouded with sadness, clinging to her like the reek of cigarettes in the city (for she had only been to the city twice, regretting each city-slush covered step and the snobby rich men and ladies in the horse and buggies), how you feel the grime and dirt in the taxis and the slush on the side if the streets, not getting the fact that her only friend was gone. The sadness slowly faded away, but it was the slightest bit noticeable. It still hung in the air like a smoke that wouldn’t go away. Every night she prayed for Al and visited his grave daily, it was barely visible under all of the flowers. “Tea?” she could hear him ask as she remembered that close memory. “Yes!” she would exclaim out loud, then burst into tears on the spot.

Not too long after Al’s death, Sarina wrote a letter to him:

//Al, I miss you. How’s heaven? Can you see me? I still remember the day this great friendship began. I was a young girl just retrieving my friend’s baseball. You invited me into your house and you made me a cup of Chai tea. You told me about your books and medals. I keep the one you gave me in my safe. No person I’ve ever met (which is a lot for your information) would ever amount to what you meant to me. Even though you couldn’t see me, you judged me by my character. Munchkin misses you. He is very old. I know no one lives forever, but if I could choose one person to live forever, it would be you. Wouldn’t that be fun? You could pursue your love of reading without aging—maybe. You are a true hero and just because we met by accident, you inspired me to be who I am today. To everybody I meet, I talk about you and I. It was a complete surprise when I saw my old friends and told them about us. They still have their doubts no matter how much I convince them that you aren’t mean. But I know you are good and I’ll be here. So, if you ever get a chance to peek through a cloud, give a wave. I’ll look for you, missing you every second.

Love, Accidental Baseball Girl//

Sarina smiled to herself as she folded up the letter and put it in her safe right next to the medal. She felt the sheet of misery being lifted and laughed out loud. “Yeah, I miss you too,” she laughed as she looked out the cracked window. And there was Albert Ogely in heaven, smiling and waving at her.

She smiled and waved back.

__Elementals__ Scott heard the voices of men and women all around the polished marble hallway. Where was he? Why was he here? He looked around him. It was an empty corridor, with no doors, yet he felt like people were moving all around him. There was a blinding light at the end of the hallway, but Scott couldn't see around, through, or behind it whatsoever. Suddenly, a red drift of smoke, lined with gold and yellow, reached its way toward him. It wrapped around him once, then vanished back into the light. Where it had wrapped around him, there were traces of red-orange and silver. Then, a tall, powerful figure came from the light. Her dark, flaming red hair was held up in a tight bun. She wore a red robe, with black combat boots underneath. On the robe was a jumble of badges, like his own Boy Scout ones, except they had broomsticks, couldrons and wands on them. A small, red scarlet macaw sat on her shoulder. It was only about three inches tall. The girl turned her ashen gray eyes onto Scott. There was an immense demeanor around the girl. Scott thought he could see a faint red glow, with gold and yellow, similar to the drift that had reached him earlier. The girl stared at him, and then breathed, "Interesting..." She turned her head at the small bird. "Red Wyng, go run off and tell Ma that our new...wizard has arrived. Tell her that he is a LavaRiser, and has silver in his aura." The small bird flew off toward the light. The girl turned toward him now. "Come, Scott." Then she pivoted sharply and continued down the hall. Scott did not ask how she knew his name, or what was going on. He simply followed.

...o0O0o... "Sit," the tall girl instructed. Scott found himself in a small, cozy room. After walking into the light, he found men and women all walking around in robes, all in different colors of the rainbow. Animals, some mythical creatures, were following some of them around. The humans were giving instructions, just like the girl had given to Red Wyng. They varied from, "Get me a de-caf water smoothie!" to "I want that ban on those new Hob-Goblin broomsticks ASAP! Do you hear me? ASAP!" In the distance, there seemed to be a sound of airplanes buzzing about. The girl led him to a closet door with no knob. She reached behind her right ear and pulled out a long, slender red wand that was glittery and smelled faintly of strawberries, mint and roses. Scott was sure it wasn't there before. She inserted it directly into the closet door. He jumped at the sight of it going through the door like it was butter. Then it opened and she took out a broomstick, that gave off an odor of pine. The girl had instructed him to sit down behind her and hold on or else risk throwing up or getting hit by "one of those new blasted Hob-Goblin broomsticks-what were they thinking?". So Scott obeyed. She kicked her legs and they flew off. Before he knew it, she was opening a door marked 3333 just like she had opened the closet. Inside, there was a red carpet, with an empty fireplace, red armchairs and books, books and books. There were doorways, but Scott couldn't see what was in them. "Sit," she said again. Scott sat. He was starting to notice a pattern. The mysterious girl stuck her wand behind her ear and it vanished. Then, she turned toward the fireplace and nonchalantly stuck out her hands. Immediately, a blazing fire was warming up the room. Then she took a seat herself. "You are confused. I will explain much to you. My name is Josephine FireCaller. You can call me Jo." Jo's voice had an unidentifiable accent--almost a mixture of Irish and British. "Your name is Scott LavaRiser. You belong in this world now. You shall train as a wizard under my guidance, along with my friends." As if on cue, a gust of wind blew through the room. When it cleared, there stood three girls: one standing in silver robes, one in blue and one in green. "These are my friends. Abbie WindRider," Jo gestured toward the girl in the silver. Abbie bowed. "Ruby WaterDancer," Ruby bowed too, in blue robes. The green-robed girl was identified as Natasha EarthGrower. "You can call me Nate," She said smiling. While Abbie, Ruby and Nat all seemed jovial, Jo remained solemn. "He is a LavaRiser," She said quietly. Their grins vanished. "What?" Ruby whispered. Jo left the question unanswered and turned to Scott again. "You will be trained by the four of us. There is much responsibility to be taken on. Magic is difficult to learn and complex. You have to believe and concentrate. That is why you became Scott LavaRiser. You were chosen for your strong will, out-of-the-box thinking and your belief in magic," Jo said. "Magic?" Scott spoke for the first time. Jo nodded. "That's not possible. You've made a mistake. I don't have a strong will. I can't think out of the box. And since when did I start believing in magic?" "Since now." That was it. Scott decided to make a break for it. He bolted to the door. In less than a second, though, Nate had blocked the door, her muscled arms stretched out across it, to prevent Scott from escaping through it. Ruby had come from behind him and pinned his arms against his back. Abby and Jo stood on either side of him, their wands pointed at his face. "I don't have a strong will. I can't think out of the box. Blah, blah, blah, blah, blah," Jo mimicked. "Listen, Scott. You don't know what you're up against. There hasn't been a LavaRiser in three millenniums. Mother Angel wouldn't have assigned this job to the four weakest witches in Monopoly, would she?" "We have to get everything set for you, of course," Abbie said warmly, as if pointing a wand into an escaping wizard was stuff she did everyday. Then again, maybe it was stuff she did everyday. "There's a dorm to be set up, robes to be fitted, a broomstick to find and of course, a wand!!" "No worries, I have everything ready. His dorm number will be 7348." Jo said and pulled her wand away from Scott's bulging eyeballs. She gave a little flick of it and red-orange robes appeared, along with a seventeen inch wand, that was red-orange. It smelled like oranges, tangerines and a little bit of smoke. "Abbie will take you to your dorm and tell you about some flying business and wands. She'll take you down to the Monopoly Training Arena, where I'll have a broomstick ready for you." Jo turned to Abbie. "Meet us at Court B. I have some arrangements with Ma." Jo pulled on a cloak, reminiscent of Little Red Riding Hood's, and stepped directly into the fireplace. And vanished. "OK, you're going to learn flying first, just like everybody does," Abbie reassured him on the way there. "We're going to find a broomstick for you. There are three types: Hob-Goblin, Whizzers and GroundCrawlers. Hob-Goblin ones are hard to control because they're big and bulky, but they come with defense mechanisms like cannons. They're usually used in battle," She listed. "Battle? Cannons? Defense mechanisms?" Scott asked. What was this place? "Yes, we'll tell you later," Abbie rushed. "Whizzers are used by the full-power Believers. They're tricky and go at lightning speed--literally! See, when you're training, you're at half-power, so everything you do isn't as powerful as it would be. Once you pass Training, you'll be full-power. Believers is just the name for all witches and wizards. Apprentices are usually the ones to use GroundCrawlers. They're slow, but their frames are just like Whizzers. Slender and can fit through nearly anything. Ground-Crawlers just don't go as fast." By now they had reached a door marked 7348. Scott took out his wand and tentatively stuck it into the door. To his amazement, it swung open. It was his new room! Everything was red-orange. It was exactly was his dream room was: flat-screen TV, mini-fridge and mini arcade! But where a fireplace should have been, there stood a small volcano "Don't worry, it won't erupt," Abbie said off-handedly. "Now I'm going to do something called Breezing. Almost all full-power WindRiders do this. Stand next to me and hold your breath." Scott went next to her and held his breath. Abbie swept her hands behind his back and forward. She closed her eyes and they were swept away. Jo stepped out of the fireplace and into Ma's office. It was small and decorated with a rustic feel, with earth tones, yellow, white and cream. Ma's aura always smelled like buttery popcorn. "I got your message, Josephine," Ma said, standing. "Yes, I'm to meet him at the Training Area soon," Jo replied. The two were the most powerful people in the Monopoly Training Center and a closeness between them had developed the moment Jo had set Ma's office on fire when Ma denied her a Whizzer as an apprentice. But she still wouldn't call Jo 'Jo'. "Your life will never be the same after today." Ma said quietly. "I'm aware," Jo simply stated. "Then your time here with me is finished for now," Mother Angel said. Jo nodded and stepped into the fire once more.

...o0O0o... When Scott let go of his breath, which he'd only been holding for a few seconds, he was in a large area, that looked like a gym. Except it was ten times bigger and was filled with broomsticks, Believers young and old and Elementals whizzing around. The drone of the broomsticks was what he had mistaken for airplanes before. "Monopoly is code-name for magic, so welcome to Monopoly Training Area, Court B!" Nate said. Now, changed from her green robes, she was in camouflage pants, a black tank top, revealing her dark African-American skin and wore tall black combat boots with spurs that Scott didn't want to be on the other end of. Abbie, having changed in the few seconds he was turned from her, was now dressed in a pair of silver leggings with a loose billowy shirt. Ruby was wearing dark jeans and a simple blue top that said ROCK THE WAVES. Jo was standing in a red dress, showing only the tip of her boots. On the dress, she wore a belt, holding many things, like a police officer's belt. She handed him a long, skinny broomstick. "This is a Whizzer," Jo said. "But-but, doesn't he have to use a GroundCrawler?" Abbie asked. Jo shook her head and Scott saw a frown form on Nate's face. "Don't worry, he'll get some history first," Jo said. "Sit down and make yourself comfortable. You have a lot to listen to before you learn." Scott sat down on the ground, next to Ruby. Immediately, he got dizzy and fell backwards. Ruby looked anxious and sat next to Abbie instead. Scott felt better and sat up again. "Don't sweat it, Rubes, he's okay," Jo assured the stricken girl. "What you just experienced, Scott is a clash of two Elementals. Ruby is a WaterDancer. You are a Branch. There are four Elementals: FireCaller, WaterDancer, WindRider and EarthGrower. You are branched from a FireCaller. Meaning, you are a LavaRiser. You can only control lava, whereas a FireCaller could control lava, wildfires, campfires--all that kind of stuff. Since FireCallers and WaterDancers are opposites, you got dizzy. Ruby didn't because she has learned to control herself over periods of time. The first thing you should know...where should I start? Well, we're--the four of us, I mean--we're immortal," Jo informed him. "Immortal? How? You're--you--how--but you only look twenty-three!" Scott sputtered. Upon this, the four Believers laughed heartily. "Of course we do, Scott! We chose to look twenty-three for the rest of our lives! We're really about two thousand years old," Abbie told him. "After you complete your training, you have a choice. Either you live here as Scott LavaRiser, with a Monopoly job or you live in the mortal world, as Scott something-or-another, keeping your powers secret from all mortals. This is not a bad job. It keeps us Believers here in the MonopolyWorld informed about Earth. However, if you stay here, you get immortality," Ruby jumped in. "Wait a minute. So we're not on Earth?" Scott asked. Ruby shook her head. "Then we're on a different planet?" Again, Ruby shook her head. "We are in a different //world//, nestled in between Earth and Mars." "Of course, we share part of our world with ShadowLurkers and Unmades." Jo said bitterly. "ShadowLurkers form in black holes, you know the ones in space. Every time you feel grief, sadness, anger, hatred, a tiny black particle is made in a black hole. When enough particles are made, a Shadow forms. They make you feel sad and weak when close enough. If one travels through you, you are left in a coma. Then, you wake for a short time and experience high fever. After that, your body numbs. Most people die at this stage. If you survive, you are left dizzy for a few days, but you'll be restored back to normal. "Believers are made from stars. They travel around space for a few minutes. The same goes for ShadowLurkers. When they are travelling, they might collide. If they do, this forms an Unmade. There are two types of Unmades: Fear and Terror. Fear instills fear into you, of course, but Terror takes it to a whole new level. If a Terror goes through you, you simply fall into a coma and when you wake, you are never happy again. Most people go mad and die." Jo told this whole story without a look of fear or terror on her face. "The four of us are Defenders. We defend MonopolyWorld from ShadowLurkers and Unmades." Jo held her head high. "You always say 'when I complete the training'. What do I have to do?" Scott asked. "You will learn how to fly, to brew a potion, to do spells to control your Elemental and to use your brains wisely. You see these badges?" Jo pointed to the badges also sewn onto her dress as well as her robes. "Every time you pass something, like flying, you get a badge. The last thing you have to do is go on a quest, which won't be easy, and you get your full powers. Oh, and Ma will have to grant them to you. Ma stands for Mother Angel. She supplies the magic in Monopoly Training Center and is sort of the unofficial ruler of MonopolyWorld," Nate picked up from there. "So, um, if we're all done, could I start flying?" Scott filled the silence with a question he'd been wanting to ask ever since he held his broomstick. Abbie laughed and nodded. Jo showed him how to get on and control his broomstick. According to Abbie, no one, not even tough Nate could control a Whizzer out of the four of them except for Jo. That day, he'd learned how to hover, brake and pass through Dimension Lines, which led him to different planets, worlds and dimensions. Jo told him that most learned that over a two-week course. "We'll assess you tomorrow," Ruby told him. "I'd like to see you hover better. It needs more balance. If you were to go on to the FlyWay, you'd be in trouble. Broomsticks would be tossing you everyhere!" "Uh...FlyWay?" Scott asked, looking confused. "You know what a highway is?" Nate asked him. Scott nodded. "FlyWay, highway, same difference." Scott nodded slowly. Nate grinned a boyish smile and hopped away with her friends. After a dinner of fried lava rocks, lava juice and a flaming ice cream sundae, Scott headed towards his room. "Wait!" Abbie called. He turned and saw her leading a pale-skinned, brunette girl with curly hair. "Scott, this is my niece, Loraine. You're both literally the same age. Born same time, same day, same year." Scott smiled. "Are you learning magic too?" he asked. "'Course I am. Why else would I be here? Schools don't take field trips here, 's'far as I'm concerned," She grinned. "I'm a WaterDancer. What're you?" "LavaRiser," Scott replied. "Oh," Loraine lost her grin. "Well, Loraine, I guess you can talk some other time. We really gotta go!" Abbie Breezed them away. It was his first day here and he still was in one piece. Well, that was something. Jo had told him that some people just fell over with shock on their first day.

...o0O0o...

 "So how'd it go with Loraine?" Ruby asked. Ruby, Nate, Jo and Abbie were talking in Jo's room over popcorn and chips. "Terrible. I completely blanked that they're opposite Elementals," Abbie sighed. "It's not your fault, Abs. You were just excited to have them meet. That's all," Nate assured her. "Maybe it's not all," Jo said. She had been sitting quietly the entire time, throwing around a spark. "You said that they were literally the same age, right? And how close were they when they were talking?" "I dunno, maybe two feet away from each other?" "And they weren't dizzy or anything like that?" Jo asked again. Abbie shook her head. "Remember the prophecy that we heard? Lava and water will meet/together they shall greet/the scariest one of all/one will break the wall/the other stand tall," Jo finished. "Lava and water will meet-- check, Loraine and Scott. Together they shall greet the scariest one of all--no check. One will break the wall--maybe that has to do with the barrier between MonopolyWorld and the ShadowLurkers' world. The other stand tall--so does that mean one will destroy MonopolyWorld and the other will save it?" "Jo, cool it, it could just be any LavaRiser and WaterDancer," Nate said. "Yeah, but they're literally the same age!" Jo argued. "Look, we're stressed enough here, guys. You do realize we have to train a LavaRiser?" Abbie brought them back to reality. "Abs is right. None of us have trained a LavaRiser before. And the only person I know who can train one is Mr. Grae." Nate threw her hands up in frustration and untied the laces on her combat boots. "Yeah, fat lot of help that'll do," Ruby said with as much frustration Nate had, "Old Mr. Grae lives really far away on some island. Why would an old guy like that choose to live so far away from civilization?" "He's not technically far from civilization," Abbie corrected, "He's just far away from //civilized// civilization." "That makes no sense," Nate said, shoving popcorn in her mouth. "There're technically a tribe of natives on that island. I'm not saying they're civilized, but it's a civilization," Abbie returned. "Oh my gosh, guys! Forget about Mr. Grae! He can't help us so we have to think for ourselves. We all know that Lava is a powerful Branch, especially since there hasn't been a LavaRiser in a thousand years," Jo said in her no-nonsense, can-do way. "So, if we can't find someone who can specially train Scott, then we can teach him the general stuff, which we're all good at--like flying, potion-brewing and handling magic. Then, we skip handling the Elemental part and focus on teaching him how to control his magic once he gets full powers. When he gets it, hopefully it will channel into his aura and the Lava will be controlled," Jo proposed. Abbie nodded. "Yeah, I like that idea. Plus, what an aura is, why his aura is so special and of course, the lesson plan. If we don't tell him, pretty soon he'll notice he's being trained differently and he'll get suspicious." Ruby shook her head. "We have a lot of work cut out for us." Unconsciously, their magic started to seep into their aura. Pretty soon, there was a small ring of fire around Jo, a pool of water around Ruby, gusts of wind whipping around Abbie and vines snaking up around Nate. Jo threw up her hands and said, "Oh, look at us! This kind of stuff hasn't happened in centuries!" The rest of them nodded. One by one, they started to succumb to sleep. Finally, Jo was left staring into the fire, having a flashback of one of her worst memories:

 It was January fifteenth, the day of Alex's seventh birthday. He and his mother Juliana, lived peacefully in a small house. Juliana had no job, but happily bought anything Alex wanted, but it wasn't love or even doting love that brought Juliana to such expensive demands. That day, however, she had denied him what he wanted most: a father. Seven years ago, Juliana found she was pregnant with Alex. However, his biological father had left her the day before without notice, food or money. Juliana lived in a home for single mothers until when Alex was three, she found her foolish pride and picked them up and out of the home straight into a modest house on the edge of a wood. Alex grew up spoiled but lacking a father. He never realized the huge gap until he saw fathers lift up their sons onto their shoulders and buy them hot dogs at baseball games and play catch with them. One day, he asked Juliana, "Mommy, where's my papa?" as innocently as a six year old could. Juliana grew flustered but then collected herself and said, "Why don't we get some ice cream, sugar?" And as six year olds do, Alex forgot about his question until January fifteenth. "How come my daddy doesn't come to my birthday party?" Alex asked. He was sitting around a giant chocolate cake, a mound of expensive presents and seven candles, lit up bright and high. What more could he ask for? A father, that's what he wanted. "Don't worry, Alex. Have some cake," Juliana said. Her hand shook as she picked up the knife to cut the still-lit cake. But Alex wouldn't have it. "WHERE'S MY DAD?" He roared. Alex was a FireCaller and a powerful one too. Most people discover their Elemental between the ages of ten and thirteen. Alex discovered at seven. The younger, the more powerful. The flames on the candle stood up as if with minds of their own. The seven of them chased his mother down into the foyer, out the front door, into the backyard, where she stood trapped against the wilderness. Poor Juliana was one hundred percent, completely mortal. She knew nothing about FireCallers, Unmades or magic itself. Then, they charged. Instead of dying, however, she was disintegrated into ashes. All that was left was a note from Alex's birth father. It read: Lava and water will meet/together they shall greet/the scariest one of all/one will break the wall/the other stand tall. On the piece of paper was the prophecy that Jo had recited to her friends that night. Of course, Juliana didn't know what it meant, but kept it anyways, as a reminder of Alex's father. Alex grew angry and drew up the fire in his aura, which was the rarest of them all, pure gold. He released it all. Then the fire spread through the small town. It burned down the wood behind them, singed the grass at his feet and left tall oak trees nothing more than ashes (to this day EarthGrowers still curse his name). Jo and Abbie had reached him just as he was growing weak from his use of magic. "Alex, stop the fire!" Abbie yelled over the roar of magic in her ears. WindRiders are the most peaceful and Zen Elementals. They are also extraordinary negotiators. Abbie tried tactics every minute. She begged, argued, fought, threatened, bribed and pleaded with him, but to no avail. Jo got angry and frustrated to and started to release her power too, but Abbie stopped her. "Jo, we can't make it worse!" Abbie shouted. Jo wanted desperately to Draw in the fire Alex was creating, but old laws forbid another Believer to control another's magic work while in the progress of working with it. Drawing in was when a Believer could take in something of their Elemental if the creator of it was not controlling it. So, if there was a wildfire let loose, with no one controlling it, Jo could have drawn it in and the fire would be gone. So Abbie tried Treading. Treading is when a Believer searches 'threads' of thought in another person's brain. If they can grab onto that thought long enough, they would hear the thought. More powerful Believers can shut down the 'threads' to others, making them hard to tide over. But Alex was young and confused. Abbie heard Alex's yells of rage about his father. So she did the only thing she could, whether it was true or not. "Alex, if you do this forever, you're going to destroy your father!" Abbie tried one last time. It hit his button. Alex stopped and crumpled to the ground. And then he disappeared. Search parties were sent out by Ma but all returned empty-handed. Jo pocketed the note that day and Ma locked it in the Forbidden Room. The Forbidden Room was like a giant safe, but more protected. You had to go through a giant maze first, then battle Elementals and Branches alike. At the center of the maze was the Forbidden Room. You could not go out the way you came. You had to pass different obstacles before you got out. No one has lived to tell the tale, although many thieves have tried to steal its goods. Only two people have the slightest hypothesis about what happened to Alex and his mother Juliana that day. Those two people are MA and Jo. They will reveal it to no one.

...o0O0o...

 Jo woke up groggily first with the morning sun streaming in through the windows. She almost always woke up first to the warm sun. Leaning towards Abbie, Jo rubbed her fingers together. A small spark rubbed against Abbie's robes. Since she was a powerful witch, she learned to control her powers. Meaning, she could switch to half-powers if need be, she could lit a fire on a house and when she drew it back in, the house would be perfectly fine or she could make sure her magic didn't seep into her aura. Abbie's robes didn't light on fire, but she woke up from the heat. "Hey, can you wake up the others? I'm going to wake up Scott," Jo whispered. "Yeah, good morning, and, yes, I got a wonderful sleep, thanks for asking," Abbie replied with a playful grin. "Sure, you go ahead. I'll get them awake. Need me to send a Breeze to help you?" "Nah, I'll walk. I got some thinking to do," Jo said distantly. She picked herself up and walked out the door. Pausing a moment, she took a deep breath and continued down the corridor. It had been seventeen years since Alex had let his magic loose. The prophecy still haunted her. Were Scott and Loraine the lava and ice described in the prophecy? Ma had given her no answers, only reminded her what difficult task lay ahead of her and fellow Defenders, guards of MonopolyWorld. Jo was rounding the corner when she heard a rumble. Jo's eyes flew wide. She'd witnessed many volcanoes erupt before and Scott's powers were Rising! On the day that you discover your powers or shortly after that, your powers will Rise, meaning they will go out of control and be stronger than a full-powered Believer for a few minutes on average. Jo rushed to the door. "Scott, Scott, let me in!" No answer. "Scott, I can help you. Come on!" Nothing. "Scott, you're going to destroy everything. Let me help you!" Silence. "Scott, stop it!" Jo yelled over and over again. Finally, she lost patience and burned down the door. Before her was something that could be described by many words: mayhem, bedlam, chaos, madness or even the explosion of Pompeii! Lava was pooling everywhere and covering, then disintegrating everything. Jo quickly surrounded herself with a force field. She took out her wand, in case of any big magic and her favorite mortal fighting tool: a dagger. Jo could work some WindRider magic, a little bit of EarthGrower and none of WaterDancer. So she willed up a slight Breeze to carry herself over to Scott, on the other side of the room. "JO, HELP ME!!" Scott was standing up on the windowsill and the lava was climbing up the wall. "SCOTT, YOU'RE A LAVARISER! DON'T FIGHT AGAINST WHAT YOU HAVE; FIGHT WITH WHAT YOU HAVE!" The Breeze was slow and the lava was covering the tips of his Adidas sneakers when Jo got there. "Scott, I know we haven't taught you this, but concentrate on the lava. Hold out your palms facing toward the lava and push away. Imagine in your mind the lava flowing away and disappearing." Scott obeyed. It took effort, but it was a great accomplishment nonetheless. "Scott, I just want to congratulate you. Most apprentices can't control their Rising. You did a wonderful job in a short amount of time and a lot of pressure. You want breakfast?" Jo congratulated Scott in front of the Whack-a-Mole game. Scott nodded eagerly at the prospect of breakfast. "Good. We can tell Nate, Abbie and Rubes what happened! You feel any different?" Jo grinned. Scott nodded. "Yeah, I feel stronger, like someone just turned on a light inside me!" Jo laughed. "Wait until you get your full powers!"

 "Hey, there she is!" Nate stood up, wearing her green robes today. Nate stood up in the cafeteria-like room. She climbed on top of the bench. "Yo, Jo, where've you been?" Abbie tugged on the hem of the robes. "Nate, sit down, people are staring. I'll send a Breeze." Abbie said. Jo and Scott were tugged towards the blue table. "Where in the vines have you been?" Nate interrogated. "Whoa, calm down Nate. Scott just was having his Rising when I got there," Jo said, holding up her hands as if to protect herself. Nate's attention immediately turned to Scott. "Was there lava everywhere?" She asked. Scott nodded, timidly. "So," Abbie said, "what do you think of Loraine?" She stared down at her pancakes. "I don't know. I didn't really get to talk to her. Apparently, you really had to go," Scott said, looking around for a kitchen. Abbie giggled. "Come sit down, Scott. Jo will show you how to order." Jo took a seat next to Ruby. She picked up a menu. After reading it, she yelled at the windows, "YO, I'LL HAVE SOME FRENCH TOAST, SCRAMBLED EGGS AND SPARK JUICE!!" Scott whipped his head around, thinking, //Oh my God, I don't know this person. Nope, not at all//. But no one was staring. Everyone just continued on with their breakfast, trading food and throwing wrappers at each other. Then, three small fairies flew in from the window. They were all clad in skirts made of leaves, pine needle wreaths, leaf slippers and tank tops made of woven grass. One was holding up a plate of French toast, the other with some eggs and the last juggling a glass of orange juice. Jo took her food. "Thank you," Jo said, with a kind smile. Scott stared. Ruby handed him a menu. "You want food?"

...o0O0o...

 "HIGHER, HIGHER!" Jo called out to Scott. He was preparing for his assessment that Abbie, Nate and Ruby were giving. Jo was only allowed to help prepare Scott. He was trying to get as high as the roof to do a three-sixty twist flip for ShadowLurker defense. But it wasn't working. Every time he got to one-eighty degrees, he lost altitude. Out of the corner of Scott's eye, he saw a flash of curly brown hair. "Hey, Scott!" Loraine shouted. He was already two-seventy degrees into his twist flip, but Loraine's call startled him. "Don't lose altitude, Scott! In real battle, no one's going to pause for you when you mess up!" Jo called. "And no one's going to make time for small talk, either!" she said as she saw Loraine heading towards Scott. "Right," Scott muttered to himself. He urged his Whizzer up higher in the air, then prepared for a three-sixty. "HEY!" Loraine called right as he was about to flip. He still executed it perfectly. When he looked back at Jo, he saw Loraine and Jo grinning enough to shame the Chesire Cat. They had been in on the distraction together all along. Scott flew back down to Jo and Loraine. "Hey, Loraine, thanks for helping, but we got some intense work to do. Shouldn't you be training?" Jo said. Loraine nodded and smiled shyly at Scott before flying away. "OK," Jo said while rubbing her fingerless black gloved hands together. "I need you to travel through the Court B Dimension Line to Neptune, where I'll meet you. Then find a Dimension Line and come back here, okay?" Scott nodded. Then, wiping the sweat off his face, he headed toward the blue shimmering line and shouted, "NEPTUNE!" as he passed it. He emerged onto a blue planet with purple fog surrounding it. Looking around, Scott saw a faint red-orange and yellow glow coming off of somewhere. A zipping sound and Jo appeared next to him. Scott saw a red and gold light outlining her body. "Wha-wha?" he stammered, pointing at the light. Jo looked and said, "Oh, that's my aura. And that red-orange and yellow thing you see is your aura." "What's an aura?" He asked. "An aura, well, how do you explain it? It's sort of like your outer magic reserve. Your real magic reserve is inside of you, safely tucked away in your soul. The aura just channels it. For example, if you're angry, the magic in your soul will take the anger from your soul and it's up to you to leak it safely into your aura. Then, you can use it to perform different magic. The color and design of your aura is unique, though. The colors relate to your Elemental power. Like you're a LavaRiser, so the color of your aura has red-orange in it. I'm a FireCaller, so the color in my aura is pure red. However, if you have bronze, silver or gold infused in your aura, you're a particularly strong Believer." Jo explained. Scott cocked his head and said, "Well, how come I've never seen it?" Jo nodded, understanding, "Neptune, Jupiter and Pluto are all planets where it's easiest to see someone's aura. There is a spell to let you see other people's aura. However, most people only perform it in dire need because your aura possesses a bit of you, so it's almost like invading not only someone's mind, but their body, soul and--if you will--inner sanctuary. Come on, Abbie, Rubes and Nate are ready to assess you by now. Find the Dimension Line." Jo said. Scott found it in less than three seconds and they traveled back to the Monopoly Training Area, Court B.

...o0O0o...

 Scott had passed his flying assessment and now wore a badge with a broomstick on his red-orange robes. Abbie, Ruby and Nate had decided to grab a bite at the Space Snack Bar. Scott decided to head there too, after being told that he was being trained differently. Embarrassed, he ducked into the men's bathroom. However, in his fluster, he accidentally opened the door to the women's bathroom. Even more embarrassed, he slipped out, but froze when he heard Abbie's voice. "Poor girl, that Jo. How do you think she feels having to go through all that?" Abbie said. Scott leaned against the wall, listening through the door. "I know. All that worry. You'd think that she feel good, knowing that she's protecting herself and others, but it just gets her up in a twist even more!" Nate contributed to the conversation. "The thing that really gets me is that she's the one who insists that she does it every time! Do you think Jo will ever get to start a family?" Ruby asked. "I don't think so, not with a past like that." "What about Scott?" "What about him?" "I mean, she just had to tell him that-" "Hush, Rubes! She didn't even tell him yet!" "What? I thought she did!" "Jo isn't blind, Abbie, she wouldn't tell him that--that horrible news right after working him so hard. If I were Scott, I'd pass out right there and then." Nate scolded. "You're right. Do you think we should go check on Jo?" Ruby sighed. "Yeah, let's get her some spark juice-" "-and some food for Red Wyng and Cinder Fyre- "-and a Special Red!" Nate cut in after Ruby. The trio laughed and made their way to the door. Worried, Scott ducked into the shadows. Abbie, Ruby and Nate were all laughing too much to notice the figure hyperventilating a mere three paces away from them.

...o0O0o...

 //Rat-a-tat-tat-tat.// Scott knocked on the door marked 3333. A few minutes of silence and then the door opened by itself revealing Jo nestled in an armchair looking tired, then surprised at seeing her apprentice in the doorway at midnight. Scott, however, looked anxious. "Hey, what do you need, Scott?" she asked, standing up. "Can I come in?" he asked. "I'm sure you //can come // in, but I don't know if you //may// come in." she grinned teasingly. "May I come in?" "Sure." Scott came in, shut the door and sat down on the carpet. "Listen, I heard Abbie, Ruby and Nate talking about you. They sounded scared for you and said something about you never starting a family." Scott told her. Jo's grin vanished and she stared into her cup of hot spark juice. She sighed. "Well, you deserve to know. I have a dark past. I come from Conscevra," she began. She pronounced Conscevra like Con-SHE-vrrra. The British-Irish accent Scott had detected earlier now had become stronger. "It is not on earth. Instead, it's floating along somewhere under the watch of no one. Everyone in Conscevra is female. We are an evil, evil group of people." "How do you survive if everyone is female?" Scott asked. Jo became silent again and looked away. "Right after a Conscevrian dies, they travel to the mortal world and kill a pregnant woman. The woman travels to Conscevra, gives birth and lives there until they die, repeating the cycle. To think that I was the result of a murder!" Jo screamed. After controlling herself, she continued, "I escaped when I was twelve, changed my Conscevrian name to Josephine FireCaller and Mother Angel kindly took me in. Some people were afraid of me, some people cursed me, threw rocks at me and fed me poison. Ma watched over me like, for lack of a better word, an angel. I am afraid to become pregnant for fear that I will be murdered and brought back to my homeland. I fear for those who are pregnant around me. I am not well until every mother-to-be I know has given birth here, not in Conscevra. Even the evilest, lowest scum do not deserve that dark and rank place." Jo shook her head. "Hey, Jo, what was your Conscevrian name?" Scott asked, but Jo shook her head. "I cannot tell you, for it is a reminder of the evil place I lived in, the evil group of people we are." "Jo, //they// might be evil," Scott said quietly, looking her in the eye, "but you're not //them//, you're the last person I would think of as evil." Jo looked up. "Thank you," she whispered. "And one last thing: what's the bad thing that you can't tell me about?" "I cannot tell you, for it is painful to me. I feel utterly helpless when I bring news like this, for I never know what it is like to grieve for a loved one. Everyone I love is either immortal or close to immortal." "What is it, Jo?" Scott pressed harder. Jo shook her head, and only stared harder into the fire until it went out and left the pair in utter darkness.

<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS',Helvetica,sans-serif;">...o0O0o...

<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS',Helvetica,sans-serif;"> "Awaken, awaken. Everyone, awaken!" Voices rang through the halls. Scott jolted awake, still sitting on Jo's rug. He looked wildly around, trying to order his brain. Last night, Jo had told him about Conscevra. He asked about the bad thing. She hadn't told him. She had extinguished the fire. He must have fallen asleep around then. But then where was the tall redhead? The door burst open. Scott jumped up, and reached for his wand, which he sheepishly remembered to have been left on his bedside table. However, it was only Ruby that was in the doorway, with shouts, screams, and sobs as background noise. "Hurry, LavaRiser, hurry!" She breathed. Scott took a good look at her. Ruby's hair was matted and tangled, but everything else looked to be in order on her, robes, badges, and a belt similar to the one Jo had worn. "My wand, it--I--" Scott started. "Do not worry, LavaRiser, I have everything. Just come!" Ruby sounded desperate, speaking in a voice he had never heard before. It was shrill, almost a shriek. She grabbed his hand and practically dragged him down the hall. Explaining faster than a racecar engine, "ShadowLurkers have penetrated the walls of Monopoly Training Center. How, we do not know yet. We presume they want you, Scott. We are taking you to the library. Underneath it is The Forbidden Room. There are Defenders at the ready. You will be safe, but I must leave you after I see that you are in good care." "Ruby--who's we?" "Me, Jo, Abbie and Nate. We are head of the Defender department. Abbie is rousing and rounding up all creatures fit to battle and trying to fit in last-minute training with the ones we have on hand. Nate is hurrying people to safety. Jo is recruiting all of the army and militia she can. I am checking all lock-down and making sure everyone is safely evacuated to the library. We are all busy. As of now, you have exactly one minute to tell me anything you need." Scott stared into the blackness up ahead. It was then he realized nothing in Monopoly Training Center was never completely black or dark. Even in Jo's room last night, he was sure that, on the windowsill, there was a faint ball of light. "Why is there never black here?" he asked Ruby. Her lips tightened, her eyes hardened and her muscles grew tense. "That, LavaRiser, is a question being answered right now."

<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS',Helvetica,sans-serif;">...o0O0o...

<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS',Helvetica,sans-serif;"> Indeed, Ruby was right. It was a question being answered right then. Scott was practically catapulted into the library as Ruby pushed him inside, tossing him his belongings, and left only with a breathless, "May the flames go with you, LavaRiser." before she sped off into the new darkness that intrigued Scott so. He looked around, observing what he could--which was basically nothing in the black. Then something grabbed his arm. Scott screamed and reached for his wand, which he realized was already in his hand, and dropped it immediately after growing numb in his arm. The pain he felt was indescribable. He remembered standing in the hallway at his school and being shoved around after math class, which always brought anxiety. He remembered when his mother had left him that one day, and never came back. He remembered Jo's face that night before the fire...

<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS',Helvetica,sans-serif;"> "Get your hands off of him, you dirty ShadowLurker!" A familiar voice screamed. Whatever was latching onto Scott's arm, hissed with impatience and fury at being discovered. The ShadowLurker, apparently that was what was on his arm, rasped out, "You will not have him, Josephine." "Oh, no, //you// will not have him." The ShadowLurker hissed again and began running, at surprising speed. Scott dared to look, and almost choked on his own saliva when he found that the fearsome ShadowLurker that Jo was so wrought over protecting him about was nothing but a wisp of black smoky air wrapped around his numbed arm. He turned toward Jo and tried to yell, but what came out was only a hoarse, "Help." But Jo's eyesight must have been enhanced by magic because she saw through the darkness and read Scott's mouth. As a blur on a Whizzer, she sped toward the black wisp, fiery hair streaming behind her, making her look like a firecracker. Scott thought he had seen Jo's fighting side when he'd attempted to escape, but this made that moment in time look like a picnic in Central Park. Jo's eyes narrowed into gray slits, her black fingerless gloves clutched a wand and a dagger in each; so skilled was she in flying she needed no hands. She leaned forward and threw the dagger at Scott. Well, it was technically exactly a baker's dozen of exactly the same daggers all with exactly the same sharpened points. Why him? //Why me?,// thought Scott. Then, Scott swore that if he blinked, he would have missed it. The daggers--every last one of them--missed him by at least an inch. They moved as a pack, toward the ShadowLurker. //It's air, though,// Scott pondered. Then the daggers melted into hot pools of iron, trickling toward the ShadowLurker. When the monster realized this, though, it was too late. The iron reached it and disintegrated the gruesome creature in less than two seconds.