Tag: short story

Writer’s Palette Writing Challenge: The Colors of An Echo by Lisanna Swallow

Lisanna Swallow is a twelve-year old writer who participated and completed the summer 2025 Writer’s Palette Writing Challenge. Her short story, ” The Colors of an Echo” tells the story of a young, weak pup named Echo with an incredible secret world who must protect his friends and family from constant threats.

Read Lisanna’s story below:

Original Cover Art drawn by Lisanna

Part One

Echo ran. He dropped the squirrel. His sister, Gwen, was ahead of him. Breathing was beginning to become hard, though this didn’t make much of a difference. Echo was the runt of his litter, but on top of that, he was blind and weak. The wolf pups ran fast, the fear of losing their lives fueling them. The fox snapped forward. A snap was the last sound Echo ever heard, a pain in his everything the last thing he felt, the choking smell of fox the last scent, and the sour, skin crawling taste of blood the last taste he ever tasted.

Echo woke up. Dark. He thought. But that was entirely new to him. He had never seen anything. He was entirely blind. Unable to sense light without feeling its warmth, unable to sense others unless hearing them or smelling them. But there was something in the distance, something that glowed. He stood. Light was illuminating where he was, allowing him to see for the first time but this light was different from the glowing in the distance, this light was something that felt meant to be. Then, he remembered, “Wolves are nocturnal, we see even in the darkest of nights.” His mother, Branch, had told him that when he couldn’t see. He didn’t know why he could see now but he guessed it had to do with the fox. He did not think he had survived the attack.

Echo had waited for a while now, nothing, truly nothing had happened. He decided to walk to the glow. He knew where he was now, well he didn’t really. He knew he was in a cave. The glow called to him, a silent song of a secret siren. There was no siren. In the place of it, there was a crystal, glowing bright and strong. There was more than one crystal, though. There were five crystals, lined in a row, each going deeper and deeper into the cave. Echo stepped closer to the crystal and then it glowed but in something he had never seen before, something called a color. Like all colors, he didn’t recognize it. He stepped closer, it glowed brighter. Finally, he touched it. It was a small tap with the tip of his nose but it was enough. His eyes snapped shut.

His eyes opened again and he was no longer in the cave. He was in a forest, a beautiful forest covered in the same color as the crystal. The same, nameless, beautiful, hopeful color. “Green.” Replied a voice. “This color is green.” Echo whipped around and saw a wolf behind him. A male with brown, mottled fur and a gray tip on his tail. “Wh- who are you?” Echo hoped he was safe, the wolf was lying on the ground, his glance charismatic and assuring. “You may have heard about me before. I am Moths.” Echo didn’t understand. “Uh- no, sorry. I’ve never heard of you.” The two wolves sat in an awkward silence for a moment. Moths gave him a sideways glance, “You mean- you haven’t learnt ‘The Rules of a Wolf’ yet?” Echo felt hot blood rush to his face, his blush showing through his fluffy, thin pup fur. “Well, then I guess this story won’t be a repeat to you.” Moths chuckled.

Moths sighed again. “Branch, oh Branch. You should have learnt better.” He stood up and stretched. He tapped his paw on a stone and the grass disappeared. The world was underneath him. Echo gasped, staring at the ground in awe. The world grew closer and closer to his home, gliding across their feet. Finally, they were in his den. “Mom!” Echo called to Branch. She did not reply. “They cannot hear us. We are ghosts, seen only sometimes. But now, we must be silent.” He gave a glance at Branch, love and pride reflecting in it. “Good luck, my friend.”

The forest was back now. Moths licked his paws awkwardly. “It- uh-would be best if you didn’t tell anyone about that. I… technically am not supposed to be the one showing you our ghost- powers.” He winked. “What are you supposed to be doing?” Echo mused. Moths chuckled, his charisma returning. “Showing you this.” The world changed again, this time it was a forest still. But it was unfamiliar, new. “What is this?”

“This is a story. A story of greed, a story of friendship, a story of challenges, but most of all, a story of foolishness. This story truly is magical. It will transform you and you will live through it.” Echo gaped at Moths. He had no idea what he meant. “This is where I leave you. I will see you soon.”

Echo stood, wondering what to do. He was in a pack that did not seem to be his. A leader stood atop a large stone. He was young and looked like he had only been leading for a moon or so, like he had only been an adult for a moon or so. But Echo knew who he was. “Moths! You’re back already!” Moths ignored him. “Moths?” No reply. Then, he saw a pup that looked terribly familiar.The pup was more adult than pup, much older than Echo, about the same age as Moths. A pup dark as the night. A pup with kind eyes and fierce paws. Branch. “Mom? Is that you?” Branch did not notice him. Nobody noticed him. Then, he realized. This was a story. His actions could not change anything. So he simply sat and watched.

A gray she-wolf stumbled into camp, carrying something huge. More wolves helped her drag it in and Echo realized it was food. It was a dead elk. It was huge and it made his mouth water. “Wow. What an amazing catch!” More wolves came in, dragging in an even bigger elk. Moths looked impressed. “Great catch! I’ll go hunting with you tomorrow!” He seemed sincere. The pack gathered to eat. They only ate one of the elk. Echo felt warm with joy. They’ll have plenty of saved food in the winter! Moths looked at the uneaten elk with disgust. “Throw it away!” The gray she-wolf looked astounded. “What about winter?” Moths looked at her, scoffing “Surely, Knight, if we had such a great catch today we’ll have great catches in the winter?” The gray she-wolf, Knight, stood, bewildered. “Prey travels for the winter. We must be prepared.” She looked at a white male who simply shrugged. She sighed and dragged the elk to the waste.

This same terrible, wasteful thing happened day after day. Prey became less and less plentiful until there was no more. Branch and Moths were now full adults, the age Echo knew him as. Branch dragged in the daily prey, a single squirrel. She sighed and set it down. She stretched and glanced at Moths. “We should hunt together.” He nodded solemnly. They walked out of camp together, Echo followed. There was no hunting. They did not try to track any food. They simply walked and talked. Branch glanced worriedly at Moths “It’s too late, isn’t it?” Moths nodded. “The prey has rotted.” Branch sighed. Echo could almost feel Moths’s guilt. They sat down. “What do you think’s going to happen?” Branch looked at Moths for a while. Moths shook his head. Branch stood. “Well, we might as well try to get all the prey we can.”

It was day. The pack was sleeping. A growl struck them, a pounce. Another pack had found out about their weakness, their starvation. Most of them had died already. Moths jumped forward and bit at an enemy wolf. “Run, Branch!” Branch didn’t. She jumped at an enemy wolf and bit a scar in their paw. The wolf whipped around and bit a chunk out of her ear. She jumped back and bumped into Moths, who had blood staining his fur, turning the wooden brown spots on his fur scarlet. He was guiding what was left of his pack away from camp, to safety. Branch followed him and her packmates. “Where are we going?” Moths shook his head. “Anywhere that’s safe.”

The pack was running now but the other pack was hot on their trail, nipping at their tails. “They won’t leave us alone. I’ll hold them off, run!” Branch stopped running. She braced herself to fight. Moths shoved her out of the way. “No! I’ll hold them back!” Then, Echo saw something he never thought he would see. Branch stood, salty water pouring out of her eyes. She was shaking in fear. “But I love you!” Moths shook his head, he was crying too. “I know, I’ll miss you, my dear.” Then he glanced back at the rest of the pack. “Follow Branch, she leads you now. Run! Run!” Echo shivered and stayed as the pack ran off. Branch stood, dazed and heartbroken. Then, she ran. Echo watched in fear as the enemy pack mauled Moths. The leader of the enemy pack, an all white male, his fur stained with red, spoke “Don’t follow them. We have their territory and their leader. We have what we came for.”

Echo collapsed in fear. He knew it was just a story, he knew it couldn’t hurt him but he fell anyway. When he fell, he closed his eyes. He opened them and for a second, he was back in the green forest with Moths. He blinked again and he was back in the crystal cave.

Part Two

The crystal cave was blurry at first. Everything was blurry at first. Am I becoming blind again? Echo shivered on the floor. He stood up and stretched. He knew he could not have been asleep for too long because vivid memories attacked him, making him bleed inside. Green forests stained with a color that was so vivid, he did not need another wolf to name it for him. Red. He blinked. He was not becoming blind, he was simply tired. The blurriness faded until he could see almost clearly in the dark, glowing cave.

The green crystal was still glowing, but this time, it was dim. He pressed his nose against it, expecting it to swallow him into another forest. Nothing happened, no forest, no wolf, no story. He looked up, deeper into the cave and realized that another crystal in the line of five was glowing. It was a color that Echo did not know. Strong and warning like red, but loud and warming like the sun. It was almost the color of Moths’s coat. He tapped it with a paw, a flick. Rays of the color sent him spinning into a forest.

The forest was cool, a light breeze lifting leaves off the ground. The trees were bare of leaves and smelt warm and soft. The crystal color and the colors of Moth’s coat painted the world. “It’s autumn in this forest. The color you are seeing is orange.” A she-wolf’s voice barked behind him. With thin, gray fur and a pastel pink nose, she looked like a female, adult version of him. “I am Knight.” Echo shuffled his paws. “Are you going to tell me a story, too?” Knight chuckled. “I wish.”

“I am sorry. This part of entering death is always the hardest. It is a part of changing, becoming truly dead. We shall go to your pack as ghosts, watch them mourn for you, and feel the crows pick at your body. This will take you here safely.”

Knight started walking. She kept quiet but Echo knew to follow her.

He wanted to ask a question but no words could express his confusion.

After walking for a while, the world faded away. The forest, this time, was somewhat familiar. This was his home. It was night. His whole pack was gathered in a hollow behind his den.

Branch was the first to howl, Gwen the next. Rust, his uncle and his close friend, howled. Then, his grandmother, Charcoal. Finally, everyone was howling, everyone but his father, Bingo. His father did not love him. Knight howled too, nudging him with her muzzled. He stuck his nose into the sky and let out a miserable, mourning howl. “ROWWWWLLlllllllllllll!

AAARRROOOoooooooooo!” A chorus of cries and sobs that pierced Echo’s ears continued on until the pack had no howl left in them. Bingo was the first wolf to crawl to his den to sleep. Others followed. Echo turned to Knight. “Are we done now?” She sat for a while and finally, shook her head. “We must watch the last of the mourning.”

Gwen turned to Branch. “It’s my fault, isn’t it?” She was staring at Echo’s body in terror. “Of course it’s not your fault!” Echo knew she could not hear him but he needed to say it anyways, for reasons unknown. “No, sweetie. Not at all. It was Echo’s idea. He’s here. You can’t see him or hear him. But close your eyes, feel him. He will not think it was your fault, dear.” Branch was correct. How are mothers so smart? He had once wondered to himself. Now the only thing he wondered was, Am I really dead?

Echo stepped toward his sister. He opened his mouth to speak but no words could express how he was feeling. More wolves appeared out of the bushes. Like Echo, they were not alive. But unlike the other wolves, Echo was not dead. These wolves howled too. Once the howling stopped, most of them left. “Hey, kid.” Barked a voice, making Echo jump and whip around. “Moths!” Moths chuckled. “I can’t stay but I’ll see you later.” Echo blinked and he was gone. Noticing that he was crying, he sat down. “This is all moving too fast. I don’t understand.” Knight was the only non-alive wolf that had stayed. “I know.”

Agony jerked Echo’s body. Pure pain made him scream. “HELP ME” Jerking and writhing, Knight’s sympathetic stare piercing his skin, he fell to

the ground. Crows picked at his body, red staining their beaks. Living wolves had made their way to their dens and dead ones to the stars. The only wolves left were Echo, Knight, and Echo’s bedraggled body, still a feast to the approaching crows. Knight licked Echo’s forehead gently to comfort him. “Do not worry, sweet pup. You will be alright.”

Moments passed. Crows continued to devour the pup’s body. There was not much left of it. “You have it both easy and hard. Your body is small so you suffer for less time, but your soul is young and you lack strong pain tolerance. Either way, I do not envy you. I am sorry. You should know, it is almost over.” Knight muttered over Echo, still thrashing and groaning. The crows were gone, The body was a skeleton, Yet Echo still felt pain. Knight nuzzled him up to his feet. He stood, shaking and panting. “Can we go now?” Knight shook her head. “I told you, we must watch the last of the mourning.” “But- but- it just finished. Didn’t it?”

Echo and Knight sat down in Branch’s den. His brother, Dark, was already asleep. Gwen and Branch still lay mournfully. “Mom?” Gwen asked. “Yes, Honey?” “Why did you name him Echo? Did you know he would be blind?”

“No, dear. Nobody could have known he would be blind,” “Oh. But then why did you name him that?”

“He looks a lot like an old friend I knew. Almost an echo of her. Pure gray fur, pink paws.”

“Who was this friend, Mom?”

“Her name was Knight. She was strong and clever. Knight was very supportive of me when Moths died.”

“Moths? You mean that foolish wolf from the story you told me yesterday?”

“Yes. He wasn’t that foolish, not once you get to know him. He was really amazing.”

“Amazing, huh?”

“Yes. The best wolf a she-wolf could ever ask for.” “What? I thought you liked Bingo!”

“I never liked your father. He’s simply the strongest male in the pack and I’m the strongest female.”

“You don’t seem strong.”

“Yes, I’m sick.”

“Oh. You don’t seem sick either.”

“Not physically. But emotionally.”

“Emotionally sick?”

“Yes.”

Part Three

“What is this?” Echo stood back. “This isn’t really happening. This is all a dream! Soon I will wake up and be home with my mother and sister. My sister that isn’t sad! My mother that isn’t sick!” Knight shook her head. “No, pup. This is all real.” Echo fell to the floor. “I know.” He closed his eyes. A flash of red shook him. A flash of blood. A flash of warning. “Something terrible is going to happen!” Echo stared at Knight. She looked him in his eyes, colorful and dead at the same time. Tilting her head up, the world paused. Echo looked at Knight. She was not only frozen, but red. Blinking again, the world went back to normal. “Come, pup. We must help the pack.” She tilted her head up once again and howled.

A bark woke the living wolves. Not a bark of the living pack, not a bark of the dead pack. The bark of a white wolf. “This is our territory now!” Growled another white wolf. Echo recognized one of the white wolves. His all white fur, his ugly snarl. Moth’s killer! He was the leader of the other wolves. Echo knew that the other wolves would do anything to get territory. A black wolf shoved Moth’s killer out of the front. “Shut up, Snow! Quit acting like you’re still the leader of this pack!.” Snow lifted his paw and batted the black wolf on his head. “You must not like that paw.” The black wolf growled. He flipped Snow over and bit his paw, hard. Snow whimpered a screeching cry “You don’t have to be so mean, Ash!” Ash growled and Snow ran to the back of the group.

The wolves of Echo’s pack gathered in front of the white wolf pack. Branch growled and snarled at Snow. The first wolf to pounce was Ash. Aiming for Bingo’s neck, he jumped and landed hard on Bingo. When Bingo bit Ash’s ear in response, That signaled all of the wolves that this was a battle. Fur flew. Growls and howls of pain drowned out the sound of teeth snapping and blood splashing when it hit the grass. The dead wolves, Echo’s new pack, were fighting alongside the live ones. Echo noticed that the other pack had no ancestors fighting with them. A white wolf charged at Echo. He flinched. Nothing happened. Echo looked behind himself to find the same wolf that had jumped at him was now fighting Dark, Echo’s brother.

Knight nipped at Echo’s ear. “You fool! Live wolves cannot touch ghosts unless the ghost wants them to.” Though the words had hurt Echo, he realized Knight seemed to be in a hurry. He followed her and watched. Jumping into almost existence, she slashed a white wolf’s cheek open. The white wolf flipped around and bit her ear. Jumping back, Knight fell back into the ghost form, a scratch on her ear bleeding dramatically.

“You-You’re fighting!” Echo stared in horror at the battle. Maybe I can fight too! Branch was fighting Snow, goring his shoulder as he tried to flip around to bite her. Echo lunged forward and bit his paw where Ash had bitten it. He pulled hard with his jaws and stripped rough skin off of the large paw. Snow snapped at Echo and broke into the pup’s fur. Teeth clamped Echo’s back and cut down deep. Branch’s eyes lit up in anger and horror. She seemed to understand that Echo was a ghost. Echo didn’t know if ghosts could die but if they could, this would be the end for him. Red flashed in Echo’s eyes, red and black did too. When he opened them again, he was a ghost. Branch and Snow were fighting but Snow had almost won. He jumped at Branch’s neck. Echo jumped too. “I can save her!”

Crack! WHIMPPER! Fwoosh! “Oh, no, you don’t!” Snow’s jaws were clamped onto a limp, dark gray and black corpse. Branch was dead. Moths was holding onto Echo’s scruff. The tiny pup was held still. He was still a ghost. “You will die if you run into the jaws of an enemy like that.!” Growled Moths. “I’m already dead!” Echo bared his teeth at Moths. “Oh, pup. You cannot think like that. Even in death, wolves must survive. I cannot let you die.” “Then why did you let Branch die!? You loved her! YOU LOVED HER!!” pure fury crackled in Echo’s voice. “I know, Echo. But I couldn’t have saved her. You couldn’t have either. She made her choice. She was a dead wolf when she decided to save you. I love her. That is why I had to grab you. She died trying to save you. I don’t want her sacrifice to be extinguished because I couldn’t stop you. Please, forgive me.”

The enemy wolves were retreating. The pack had won. “We must return to death. You haven’t completed death yet. Come on.” Knight licked Echo on the forehead. Echo shook his head. “I need to stay.” Knight walked away, leaving Echo to think to himself. If I hadn’t attacked Snow, Branch would’ve won. It’s my fault Branch is dead. I killed her! “I can stay with you for a little while but once I say it’s time to leave, it’s time to leave. Being in the living world for a while is dangerous, even for a fully dead wolf.” She sat next to Echo and they watched.

Gwen wandered around the pack’s den area. Something smoky gray caught her eye. She ran up to the still bundle of fur and saw something terrible. “Branch!” She placed her paw on the corpse and shook it hard. No response. “Branch? Branch, NO! MOM! BRANCH!” Echo sat and watched. He cried. The salty water from his tears blended with Branch’s blood. Knight put her head on his. “There, there, pup. It’ll be alright.” Gwen cried too. Bingo walked past her body, glancing at it only for a second. Branch was the only wolf that died. Most wolves got hurt. Echo snarled at Bingo. His mate had just died and he didn’t care. Gwen was crying too. Rust, who was their uncle, comforted Gwen. “Come on, pup. Let’s go.”

Part Four

Echo lied on the floor. “You have one last step to be dead.” Knight lay next to him. Echo’s eyes were open but all he could see was black. It was similar to being blind again but when he was blind he saw no color. He looked up at Knight. He could see again but that brought no cheer to him. He closed his eyes again. Knight nudged him until he stood. “Come on.” Echo ignored her. She sighed and grabbed him by his collar. He was only a pup and she could take him anywhere without much trouble.

When Echo opened his eyes again he was somewhere else. Somewhere cold. The world was coated with white but the skies were black. Knight was with him but she was pacing, pacing almost like she was waiting for something. “Alright, Alright. I’m here.” A voice called from the black, dead forest. A black crow sounded in the distance. From out of the bushes came a black wolf. Echo noticed something strange about this wolf. Unlike the other ancestors, she was not an adult. She was not as young as Echo but she was only about a month older than him. “Took you long enough, Raven.” Knight teased. She turned and walked away.

Echo jumped up and ran to Knight. “Don’t leave me!” Knight turned and licked him on the head. “Trust Raven. You’ll be safe.” She kept walking. “No! Knight! Don’t leave me!!” She nipped him on his ear, not breaking skin but hurting Echo’s heart just the same. “Don’t follow me. I’ll see you later.” Her voice was stern and commanding. Echo collapsed back onto the floor. He closed his eyes. As Knight walked away, he cried. “Branch. I’m so sorry I killed you. I am a terrible wolf. Please, Please, Please help me!”

“Who’s Branch?” A curious voice asked, startling Echo. He looked up at Raven. “She’s my mom.” Echo muttered. “And… You killed her?” Raven looked bewildered.

“Basically.”

“How do you ‘Basically’ kill someone?”

“Well it’s complicated…”

“Then tell me! We have plenty of time!”

Echo explained how he killed Branch. Guilt burnt every part of his soul, tearing his heart into pieces. Raven only sat and listened. The pieces of his heart dissolved into his blood and sent him into agonizing fury. Fury at himself, fury at dying, But most of all, fury at leaving Gwen to mourn on her own. She had Charcoal, Rust, and Dark. She didn’t even really have Dark. He loathed her in ways a brother should never feel about his sister. “I’m so sorry that happened.” Raven put her paw on his. Echo jerked it back from her. “Oh! I’m so sorry!” She stood up and stretched. “Well, It’s time for a story, I guess. I mean- you told me one so I guess it’s only fair I tell you one. I don’t really want to but I have to.” Echo remembered what he was here for. “Oh, right.” She smiled at him but that fell into a quick frown. “I have to warn you, It is a sad story.” Echo’s face fell too. “Oh.” Raven nudged him. “Don’t worry. I’ll be with you for this one.”

Dark purple skies lit the snow into a blueish tint. The sunset was just ending and night air froze Echo’s lungs. The air melted back into the hot summer that Echo was used to. “Come on, the story’s over here!” Raven ran off and Echo ran to follow. She ran into a small rock cave. Echo’s old den. “What is this? Isn’t this supposed to be your story?” Raven shook her head. “Nope!”

A small gray pup with blank, blind eyes sat in the den, illuminated by moonlight. An adult dark gray and black wolf sat at the back of the den with a large black pup and a gray and brown one sleeping next to her. The dark gray adult was sleeping as well. The brown and gray pup stood up and stretched. She glanced at the small gray one. “Couldn’t sleep either?” She asked. “I heard him talking. He hates us doesn’t he, Gwen? He thinks we’re weak.” Gwen walked closer to the gray pup. “Well, yeah, Echo. Bingo hates us.” She licked Echo’s ear in an attempt to comfort both him and her. “I have a plan.” Echo’s blind eyes lit up. Gwen tilted her head. “What is it?” “Well, he thinks we’re weak, right?”

“Yeah.”

“And he thinks we’re too weak to hunt?”

“Yeah.”

“Well then let’s hunt!”

“Huh?”

“Yeah! Let’s sneak out and go catch something! It could just be something small like a mouse.”

“I mean…”

“Come on! We have to prove him wrong!” “Ok ok… I’ll go.”

“Alright, shush.” Echo crouched down and flicked his tail to show Gwen to do the same. She reluctantly dropped down to the floor. Silent like the dark night, they crept out of the den and into the lush forest. Catching the squirrel was easy. Echo sniffed it out and Gwen pounced on it. It writhed under her paws and her weight crushed its bones. “Uhh, now what?” Gwen gave a worried glance to her dove colored brother. “It looks really sad.” Echo mused. “Let’s put it out of its misery. We can’t eat it if it’s squirming around anyway.”

Echo dragged the squirrel through the brambles even though it was barely smaller than him. They were almost all the way back to the den. Cheerful and ready to eat their feast, they howled triumphantly. “Just wait till’ Bingo sees this!” A growl stopped them. Their warm bodies froze in an instant. Gwen whipped around to see what was behind them. A fox with fur the color of watery blood snapped at the pups. They ran, splitting up. Gwen quickly realized how they split. Also noticing how the fox chased her brother, she followed Echo in a pathetic attempt to help him. It was over before it started. Foxes were hardly a danger to wolves. Wolves were simply superior. But Echo was a blind runt and his spine snapped. His body went limp. “ECHO! NOOOOOOOOOO!!!”

Part Five

The story was over. Echo stood, panting. He wasn’t even himself. He had been watching himself. Raven sympathetically licked his ear. “Thank you.” Echo looked Raven in the eyes. She tilted her head. “Why?” Her tongue lolled out of her head when she did that and Echo couldn’t help laughing. She laughed too. “How could someone as kind as you die so young?” He wondered aloud. “I could say the same about you!” “Yes but you already know my story!”

“That’s true. I’ll tell you if you do three things for me!”

“Aww, what?”

“Trust me!”

“Fine”

“What’s the first thing?”

“First, Why did you thank me for showing you how your death really happened?”

“Well, I was born blind. I didn’t see what happened for myself. But that’s not all of it. My uncle, Rust, was also blind. He was so kind and understanding. It was almost like he could see. He saw something more than color though. He saw hearts and I look up to him. I hoped that because I was also blind that I could see like that too but I can’t. I can’t at all. I feel like being able to actually see what happened with the fox happened a lot. Looking at my eyes, seeing my fear, my stupidity. It really helps me see more. More than what eyes can see. I thought if I could see prey without eyes then Bingo would respect me like he respects Rust. I thought it was smart but it really was stupid. I’ll never be wise like Rust but I can learn from my mistakes.”

“Wow.”

“What do you mean, ‘wow’?”

“I mean that sounded pretty wise to me.” “You’re just saying that!”

“No, seriously. I mean, sure you’re not as wise as Rust but he’s old! You’re just a pup! There’s no way you’re gonna be as wise as him at your age!” “Yeah, OK. What’s the second thing to do?”

“Well you already have some friends here but you’re gonna need some friends your age here!”

“And?”

“What do you mean ‘and’? Do you wanna be my friend?” “Yeah! What’s the third?”

“Well, friend, I have a surprise for you!” “Wait, what about your story?”

“Seeing the surprise is the third. Besides, you’re gonna like this more than any silly old story!”

Raven led him out of the black forest into somewhere Echo had never been. The place was a sparkly blue forest. There was a pack of ancestors that all looked happy to see him. Knight and Moths were sharing a scrap of deer. Knight looked up to see Echo and flicked Moths so that he noticed too. “You’re finally dead!” Moths congratulated. “I’m not sure if it’s really a thing to celebrate…” Knight teased. “Well look, you’re cheered up too!” Knight mused. “I told you to trust Raven.” Raven chuckled at Knight’s comment. “Wow! This is amazing, Raven!” Echo’s paws fit perfectly into the grass. “It is but this isn’t the surprise.” Raven started walking out of the den and into the forest, Echo followed. “Then what is?” “This.” A figure came towards Echo out of the forest.

“MOM!” Echo ran to Branch and let her lick his face. “My son. I love you so much.” Knight and Moths stood and embraced Branch, too. “My love, I have missed you so.” “Branch!” “Knight!” More wolves came to greet Branch, many of them wolves Echo didn’t know. But Echo had seen how many of Branch’s friends and family that starved so he didn’t question it. Branch glanced at Raven and then glanced again. She squinted and stared at her for a second, as if trying to process new information. “Is that-Raven?” Knight looked solemn. “Yes, Branch.” Branch licked her friend’s head. “You are amazing. Just look at how much she’s grown!”

Once everyone calmed down, they went back to the den so that Branch and Echo could have their first dinner dead. Echo sat next to Raven. “So… How do you know Branch? And why were they sad?” Echo nudged her. “Well I suppose I did promise I would tell you my story…”

It was a cold winter evening. Stars painted the black sky. Branch paced in front of the den. Howls of Knight’s agony sounded from the den but Knight had told Branch not to come in the den. Branch had taken on the anxiety that a father wolf would have for his mate because Knight was her closest friend and these pups’ father was nowhere near the pack. Finally the pained screeches turned into words. “Branch! Branch, come in!” Branch ran in swiftly to find Knight curled around a single pup. Two lay lifeless on the floor behind her. “Knight, no.” Branch whimpered and howled a mournful howl with Knight but Knight still sounded pained. She fell to the floor. Branch stepped forward. “Knight, no. Stay with me, Knight.” Knight shook her head. “It’s over. Her name’s Raven. Take care of her, Branch. I just wish her father could be here to raise her.” Branch shook her head. “I can’t lose you!” Knight was already gone. Branch picked up Raven and comforted her but the pup was weak. She licked Raven to wake her but the pup had fallen into the same endless sleep as Knight. That night, Branch cursed the terrible wolf that was heartless enough to leave his mate and unborn pups. The evil wolf that was not dead but his heart was foul and rotted like death.

Echo stared at Raven. “I’m so sorry.” Raven tilted her head, “Don’t be. I don’t remember it.” Echo shook his head “It’s still terrible! Where are your siblings?” Raven shrugged. “They were never alive, I guess. You can’t die if you weren’t born.” Raven seemed hardly bothered by the story. “Anyways, I didn’t mean to make you sad! It’s so boring! The only thing that is happening is talking! Let’s go and actually play!” Echo nodded. “Yeah. In a second.” Raven ran off.

Echo finally understood. Being blind did not make him wise. It did not make him unwise either. There are different kinds of wisdom. For him, It would be wise to learn to hunt and play and howl like a regular wolf, despite his size. He needs to keep trying and learning and watching his living family. For Raven, though, It would be wise to not dwell on the past too much. It would be wise for her to be herself and not cry over something she couldn’t control. For Knight, It would be wise to remember what happened but still raise her pup and have fun. For her, she can always be

sad but it is wise to not give up. For Moths, it’s wise to learn from his mistakes and hope for forgiveness. He must still love and try to make up for his idiotiness in the past. There is a wise decision for every living thing ever. Being wise is not being smart. Being wise is seeing the inside of everything. Echo knew he was only a pup but he could make a difference and he would try. But for now, he was going to go play tag with Raven in the forest.

The End

Writing Challenge Winner: The Amazing Adventure of Amelia Smith by Lisanna Swallow

Lisanna Swallow is an eleven-year old writer who participated and completed the summer 2024 Hero’s Journey Writing Challenge. Her short story, The Amazing Adventure of Amelia Smith” features an incredible tale of dragons and slayers, betrayals, and triumphs.

Read Lisanna’s incredible short story below:

Part One

            Dragons, said to be horrible monsters that burn down villages at a time. Only the brave or people with death wishes face them. That’s when Amelia Smith came in. She fought dragons, saved people, and hung dragon heads on her wall as a trophy. Everyone  admired and loved her. She now lives in a castle-like cottage in the middle of a small village, her hometown. She lives with her one daughter. She sells dragon parts for a living. Everyone still admires her. Honestly, sometimes, I don’t understand it. I am Amelia Smith the third. Her one and only daughter. Welcome to my mind.

          Other people don’t understand it. They don’t see it happen. She doesn’t just slay the dragons, she murders them. One day, when I was younger, she let me meet one of the dragons. The dragon was a baby hydra. Mother had already killed its family. The hydra had many heads already. The hydra was sweet and joyful. She was also weary and shaky. Poor thing. That day, I bonded with the hydra. I named her Ginger. I tried to stop Mother from butchering her. Mother was not pleased. She forced me to watch it happen. 

          Most every dragon Mother brought into the butcher was kind. It filled my heart with terrible guilt and the horrible pang of sadness to let it happen. But there was nothing to do! Every try failed. This continued on and on. There was no stopping it. Another day, another dragon. Another try, another watching the butcher. It was a horrible punishment. Mother did not seem to care for the dragons she was murdering. It made me look at her another way. As if she wasn’t my mother, but a heartless butcher.

          “Today will be different.”, I whisper to myself as I get out of bed. I change my clothes and walk to the rusty kitchen. An egg lay on the table. Not a dragon egg, but a chicken egg. One purposed for eating or cooking. I see that the firepot was already lit. I crack the egg to eat for breakfast. The fire is slowly dying, the egg will take a while to cook. I sit in patience and loneliness. I remember the days Mother would eat with me. Back when we had Father. 

          After finishing my egg, I head out of the cottage doors. A raven, tall and proud, is perched on the barren roof. I click my tongue and stick my arm out. Sure enough, tied to his leg is a letter. It reads:

Amelia Smith III

A letter? For me? I untie the parchment from the raven and reward him with a scrap of meat before he flies home towards the rising sun. 

          I run back inside and sit on the dragon scale carpet in the main room. I maliciously tear open the envelope to reveal a parchment that reads:

 Amelia Smith III,

Somebody told me that you like dragons, That you don’t  want to hunt them. I respect that. I, too, am against dragon hunting. I know of a dragon that needs saving. A dragon that you can save. For I am far too old and fat to become a dragon hero. You, however, are young and spry. The dragon in speaking is a hydra. I believe your mother has butchered his sister. Enclosed in this document is a map. That will guide you to the hydra. The hydra is now in captivity. He is being tortured and will be butchered in a month. The journey will take time. I hope you make it to him before it is too late.

Caspian

Who is Caspian? Nevermind that! In the letter he mentioned a hydra! But also another one, one my mother butchered! I believe he is talking about Ginger. I pull the map from the document and read it. The journey is long, stretched wide and far. It will be a long and perilous journey. I plan my route.  The route is supposedly the quickest route but I have no horse to ride upon so I must go on foot. It also has many valleys, many forests. Spots on the map say in red, bold writing; “DRAGON SIGHTINGS HERE” The path I chose has many of those spots.

 It is only noon. I will not set out on my journey today. For today is a day for packing, planning, and preparing. I run to my room. Ready to pack my items. I grab a lightweight handbag. I also grab my bow and arrow satchel. I will need to hunt. I run to the kitchen and find something to contain  water. I run outside towards the well. I fill the canister with water and stuff it into my bag. I run back into my house and straight into the kitchen. I grab all the scraps of food as I can and put them into my bag. My bag is only a bit more than halfway full. I run into the barn and grab a rope and knife. In the barn, I see a compass, laying on the floor. I think for a minute and decide to grab it. My bag is finally full. I run to the room and stuff it under my bed along with the map, letter, and bow and arrow set.I eat dinner alone. My mother is too busy to bother. I go to bed and try to sleep well. The thought of running away is nagging at my brain. I can’t just leave her alone without a word! Can I? I will write a note. I know it doesn’t really make a difference but it helps me sleep. And that is all that matters now.

I awake. It is early. The sun hasn’t risen yet. I grab my quill and ink and begin to write the note:

Mother,

It is time I go on an adventure of my own. I will be back

                                Your daughter,

                                        Amelia

It has happened. I am off. I will become a hero. A dragon hero.

Part Two

      I sit down on the dusty, pathless floor. I have been traveling all morning. From the looks of the dim sun in the middle of the sky  it is around noon. I pull the dry map from the coarse leather bag on my back. The tree I am sitting by is big. It is so big that it is a landmark on my map. I am still very far from the spot circled in red ink. I move my eyes back to the silhouette of the tree and see in red ink “DRAGON SIGHTINGS HERE” right by it. A rustle in the nearly-dead bushes sends me aback in shock.

I grab my leather handbag and fling it above the lowest branch I tie it on and climb as high as a can. Quickly and quietly at the same time I grasp the highest branch I can and thrust myself up to it. There are more rustles in the bushes. The orange autumn leaves stop me from seeing the cause of the rustling. The forest is beautiful and calming. The chilly autumn breeze gives me a warm sense of home. I get a tight grip on my branch and duck down. A slick, green, snakelike figure with a long tail sits in the clearing. It has two teal goat like horns and two wings far too small to support its body. Its legs have huge claws pointing out and it has two mini horns between the large horns. It sniffs the air and turns its head around. What if it smells me? 

It lays down. It doesn’t see me. What a relief! I have let the thoughts go through too soon. The snapping of a branch fills my body with ice cold fear. My leather bag falls and almost hits the creature’s scaly tail. Its reflexes were swift and quick. Before I knew it it’s perched on the thin branch next to me. A dragon! I lose my footing and plummet forwards. As I fall back from the tree, my heart races with the sudden rush of adrenaline. The regret of climbing so high hits me hard. The dragon pounces forward. Its long claws grip into my coat and keep me from falling. The dragon is smaller than I thought. It’s about the size of a large lion. “Grab my wrist.” It speaks! I do as it says. Excited and scared at the same time. A talking dragon! It flings its wrist over its head and I land on its back. It jumps off of the branch and its wings seem to expand magically. The wingspan is about as long as a pitchfork. We landed and I jumped off of its back. “Thank you.” I say. The dragon bows its head and opens his mouth. “I am Mars. Peacemaker for the animals. Dragon of Shamrock woods. I help all problems and aid all that need it. What brings you here?” 

Its voice was male. He looked at me expectantly. “I am Amelia Smith the third. My mother is a butcher to dragons but I attempt to pass through the forest in peace. For dragons are my friends and a hydra on the other side has been sentenced to death. I will save him.” I grab my bag and see an arrow poking out of its satchel, the tip glistened dark red in fresh blood. I turn to Mars to see him lying on the ground, a sleek cut on his tail staining onto the dying tan grass. “My arrows! How could I be so careless?!” I think aloud. Mars stands up, his tail thrashing to the side, shiny red droplets falling to the grass, walking towards me.  I prepare myself for the fiery wrath of a dragon but instead he stops and sits beside me. 

“Do not blame yourself. The tree is to blame. It was the branch that had snapped. The fact that the bag stayed on shows that you tied a strong knot onto the tree. You are better than you think. For it was the tree that could not handle you. Why else would the branch have thrown you off?” Mars looks at me and blinks sympathetically. Suddenly, he jumps off of the floor and into the sky. He is gone. I am alone. I lie down and look at the map. Wind blows in my face and Mars is back. He has stuff in his jaws. He lands and sets it down. His tail is bleeding heavily. “There are healing herbs and honey not far down north.” Mars speaks. He wants me to grab them. I stand and walk into the forest. 

I spot the herbs quickly and set them all in a pile together. A buzzing bee hive drips honey. Though there is nowhere to catch it. I spot a spear like stone and grab it. I walk up to the hive. I gulp at the sight of so many bees. I whisper to myself. “I can do this.”  I dig the stone knife into the yellow hive. Bees swarm out, stinging me, they mostly get my hands and arms. It doesn’t hurt very bad but it sickens me with guilt at the thought of all of them dying to hurt me. I grab a leaf and use it to catch the warm, fresh honey oozing out of the damaged hive.

I return to the clearing to find Mars awaiting me. My coat is sewn up from the claw marks and the hole where the arrow broke through the satchel is mended. I give Mars his herbs. He silently fixes up a poultice. I look to the sky and realize the sun is setting. I grab my water canister and drink a few thirsty gulps. I get my bow and arrows ready. “I’m going to go hunting.”  I tell Mars.

I catch a deer. Mars’s wound has finally stopped bleeding. It is magically stitched up. Mars starts a fire and I cook the deer. As I eat it Mars talks. “I want to mentor you. Teach you the ways of the dragon. The forest. So when you save the hydra you will be ready. I want to come with you.” I reply  “Thank you Mars. You can come with me. We leave the forest tomorrow.” I rest along the tree tonight. Mars is curled in a ball in the clearing.  

Lisanna's original drawing of Mars
Lisanna’s Original Drawing of Mars

Part Three

I awake. Mars is curled in a ball in the clearing. I sit up. It is morning. I breathe in the fresh lake air. The warm summer sun is warming my entire body. I sit up and pick up a few ripe tomatoes from a vine. Then, a hydra runs into the lake and shouts. “Save me!” Its voice is a dying groan of many voices together. It falls to the floor. “Mars!” I shout his name. He doesn’t awake. I shake him yet his body lays limp. He is dead. An arrow soars past my head. I hear a scream and the entire world comes different and falls into cold darkness.  

          I awake with a jump, my mind pulling itself back into consciousness. “Just a dream.” I whisper to myself. The chilly autumn forest surrounds me, A warm sense of home fills my thoughts. Shamrock woods is much like the forest by my house. A rustle in the autumn thicket startles me. Mars sticks his head out of the bush and then he jumps swiftly onto the clearing. His eyes gleam with an unhidden sense of confidence. “Are you ready to set off?” He asks, spreading his wings magically, almost knocking down one of the ancient trees with the size of his scaly wings. I stand up and stretch. I throw the bag over my shoulders and sit on his back. His wings flap, gusting a wind that rustles every leaf within ten feet of the clearing. He jumps greatly and we are in the sky. We are off.

          After a while of flying, the clouds seem to thicken. Finally, it starts to drizzle. Next, it’s raining. The rain keeps getting heavier and heavier. “I can’t fly in this.” Mars honestly announces. We glide down until we reach ground. “We are still in Shamrock woods.” Mars’s news disappoints me. “When will we be out?” I ask. “After the Sphinx’s maze.” “The what?” “You will see.” I look around and see a landmark that I remember on the map, the landmark that shows the exit. “We will continue on foot.” I decide. Mars nods and we walk forward. 

          We continue on until the path is blocked by a tall thicket of cold, green thorns. The green was dark and eerie. I see a tree. Its leaves are a dying orange like all of the other trees in the forest. The tree is gnarled and there are birds nests in it. The bushes are the only green in the whole woods.  Mars mutters something in another language. The hedge opens like a door in front of me. I shudder. Mars nudges my back and I step forward. I keep walking and Mars enters the bushes too. It somewhat looks like a giant maze. The hedge door slams shut and Mars sits down. “We have entered the Sphinx’s maze.” His voice sounded solemn and the leaves beside me rustle. I attempt to jump backwards but Mars’s horns push me forward. He moves to the side and I stand next to him. A large creature appears out of the bushes. A sphinx! 

          “I am the sphinx of the Thornbush maze. Only one may pass.” The sphinx walked away to let us decide. Mars looks at me and I realize he knew that this would happen. “I have to leave you now. The time has come for us to part. I will see you again.” I open my mouth to say a remark but he launches himself up into the air. “Goodbye, Amelia. I hope we meet again.” I stare in disbelief. I have to make it through the bushes. I tell myself over and over again. Not for myself, but for the hydra, but for Mars, and for my mother. So that she can see that killing these magnificent creatures is wrong. 

          The cold voice of the sphinx breaks me from my thoughts. “Amelia, is it?” I turn to face her and give a quiet nod.  She grimaces and stares into my eyes. “Well, Amelia, You will have to complete a quick riddle before entering the maze. You will get three guesses.” “Let me know when you are ready to hear the riddle.” I prepare myself. “I’m ready.” I gulp. “I speak without a mouth and hear without ears. I have no body, but I come alive with wind. What am I?” The sphinxes voice rings. “Three guesses.” 

          “A shadow.” I answer. I try to make my voice confident to hide my fear. “No.” The word rings in my head. It doesn’t stop. It’s wailing cries. Then it’s clear to me! “A ghost!” This time, the confidence in my voice isn’t fake. “Wrong again” The sphinxes voice rasps. I look up to the sky in vain, half hoping that Mars would come back down. He doesn’t come to me but the answer does. The rain is the mouth, the sun is the ears. “A cloud.” This time I answer truthfully, my voice full of fear. Cold air filled my lungs as the sphinx opens her cursed mouth to speak. “Incorrect.” Her voice feels like ice stabbing into my heart. The bushes break open to reveal an exit and a gust of wind blows me back. 

          I awake. I recognize the tree I am rested by as the one that was near the maze. But now there is no maze. I have failed. The pathway forward will sacrifice another day of traveling. I will need to eat. I grab my hunting supplies and look around. There are no deer tracks. There is no sign of any good food. I hear a rustle. A rabbit! I aim my bow and shoot. The arrow hit the rabbit’s flank. The rabbit tries to run but I shoot again, this time hitting its neck. It struggles for a while until it finally dies. I grab my arrows out of the rabbit and put them back in my satchel. I start a fire to cook and eat the rabbit. I pack up my supplies and move onward. The hydra needs me. But am I even strong enough to save him if I can’t even answer a simple riddle?

Part Four

          After what seems like forever, I finally stand up. Even if I can’t save the dragon, I will need to journey back home. I look around. It has stopped raining. The sky is starting to clear. There is no sign of Mars. This is it. I’m finally alone. I never had any friends. I have only really made friends with dragons. Mother used to be my friend. But after Father died, she didn’t really care about anything. She was all I had left and I abandoned her to save the life of a dragon. Ginger was a close friend of mine but Mother had her butchered. Mars was probably the closest thing I had to a friend. But I had to leave him to save that dragon. This stupid dragon is the reason for the loss of my friends. And I want to choose not to save him. But if I did, that would be a disgrace to my friends. The reason I lost them was because of this dragon. So if I give up, I will lose them for nothing. I have to move on. No matter how much I don’t want to. I must move on. 

          I walk forward. I keep walking. This forest seems to go on forever. Until I see a sign in the distance. I run towards it, dodging the trees and boulders. I finally reach it. The sign! It reads “You are now exiting Shamrock woods.” I step onto a dying, windy prairie. A bright light flashes in front of me. A man appears. His face is pale and he wears black robes. The robes seem familiar. They seem like the robes that the witches and wizards wear in all of the stories that the elders in my village tell me. The robes are dark and have yellow constellations on them. “Hello, traveler!” His hand is as pale as his face. “You have traveled far and made it through Shamrock woods! Continue straightforwardly for a prize! For Shamrock is a huge forest and only the brave make it through!” His smile looked honest but something was off with this man. “Who are you?” I ask. “Why, I’m the wizard of the woods! I work together with the other spirits of Shamrock forest to make the place better. My name is Mercury!” His voice and smile seemed honest yet something was still completely wrong about this man. 

          “Forest spirits?” I wondered aloud. “Ah yes! Forest spirits! There are three of us! There’s me, Jupiter, and Mars! I suppose you have never heard of them.” Mars! “I know Mars! He helped me get through the forest!” Mercury’s face lit up in shock and excitement. “Really? Well that’s curious! It’s Jupiter who helps the travelers.” I have never heard of Jupiter before. I think for a second and then it hits me. “There are eight planets! Why are there only three of you?” Mercury smiled again and said “You are thinking well! There are actually nine spirits! Three to guide the forest, three to guide the prairie, and three to guide the beach!” I nodded at the information. “That’s it! Mars said that he met a girl named Amelia! He said that if I saw you then to give you this!” He holds out a small wooden box. I grab it but before I can open it there is a loud beeping sound. “Gotta go now!” Mercury disappears and the beeping stops. 

I walk forward and stop at a small boulder. I sit down beside it. On the box there is a small parchment. It reads “For Amelia.” I open the box and inside is another parchment. I pull it out and unfold it. 

Amelia,

I  saw you in your village and decided you were the one. You were the one to save all dragons. The hydra is real. The hydra represents millions of dragons on the beach, being trapped and tortured. You need to save them. Do you remember the note? The one from a man named Caspian. It was true. It was all true. All except, There is no Caspian. It was me.

-Mars

Inside the box there is a whistle. Tied to it is a note. “Use only in an emergency.” I move onward just through this prairie is the beach. I will save the dragons. I will save them all. 

After running for a while, I run out of breath. I try to slow down but I slip on a rock hidden in the tall grass. Right when I think I’m going to hit the ground, I don’t! I look to see a dragon where I should have landed. I get off of it. “Thank you.” The dragon nods. “I am Pluto, Dragon of the prairie.” It was a female. She is pink and has a yellow belly. She is a Long dragon, like the ones in Chinese folktales. “Why have you entered this sacred land?” her voice was calm. “On the other side of this there is a beach. In that beach there are people who torture dragons. I attempt to save the dragons.” Pluto looked at me with hope and respect. “Use this in an emergency.” she handed me a whistle and disappeared in a poof of dust.

I finally exit the prairie and reach a beach. There are no dragons in sight. I move along the beach until I reach water. There are footsteps, dragon footsteps. I follow the footsteps until I see a group of people far in front of me. I hear the screech of a dragon and see many dragons near the people. “Oh no!” I accidentally say aloud. A few people whipped around and  started charging for me. I grab both whistles and blow them. The whistles disappear and Mars and Pluto appear by my side. This is a battle we will win. 

Part Five

The three approaching men look startled at the fact that Mars and Pluto are beside me but they keep charging. “We’ll all take one!” The middle one decides. I charge for him. I pull out my bow and arrow, dip it in the poison compartment that I had installed as a child and aim steadily, still running towards him. I shoot, hitting him in the head. He falls to the ground, dead. The two other men lay on the ground near Pluto and Mars. I jump on Mars’s back and he flies. Pluto flies near us and we land where the dragon tortures hideout is. 

A splash comes  from the water and a huge, blue, and yellow dragon splashes onto the shore, crushing a few of the men. It is the size of a whale. “Hi! I’m Neptune!” The roar echoes all around the beach. I run to a cage of small dragons. A sharp rock lay beside me and I pick it up, its jagged edges pricking my fingers. I use it to destroy the lock on the cage and set the small dragons free. I run to the next cage. I destroy the lock and let the dragons free. A thump brings me to the ground. I turn and I realize that one of the men from the dragon torturers has pinned me down, his foot pushing hard on my stomach. I wrap my legs around his foot and push hard, shoving him off of me. I stand up.

I hear the crying yelp of a dragon and see that one of the torturers is using the jagged rock to stab it. I slide over and kick the torturer. I grab the rock and gently pick up the baby dragon. It looks up at me and bites at me. I hold on tight to the baby dragon. I set it far from the battle and run back. A sharp pain stabs into my arm as an arrow sinks in. The bristles on the back are purple to show that the arrow is poisoned. Gladly, it wasn’t killing poison like my poison of which I made myself. Pain surged through my entire arm and I yanked the arrow out, letting my arm bleed. Pull out one of my arrows and dip it in the poison. I get a sight of who shot me and shoot him right in the head. The instant poison does the rest for me, leaving him dead on the ground. 

I finally make it back to the battlefield and unlock more cages. All of the men guarding the fortress are either gone or dead. All of the dragons outside of the fortress were also freed. The only people outside are me, Mars, Pluto, and Neptune. Neptune turns himself into a human. And runs to us. “You can turn into a human?!?!” “All dragons can.” We enter the fortress. There are only ten men, each guarding one cage. Each cage has a dragon that is around the size of Mars in them. “Help us!” Almost all the dragon cages call in sorrow. Over and over again. Their wailing begging us. Pluto is the first to jump forward. She pins one down. She opens her mouth and burns the man to a crisp. She growls and stalks until all of the men are cowering in a corner. “Are we going to let this stupid dragon boss us?” One man shouts. The others cheer and grab their spears. “STAY THERE!”  I run to a cage breaking it open. The others do the same. I open the door and let out the dragons, glad that Pluto is distracting the men.

I run up the wooden stairs, Mars following me. I reach the door and slam it open. In the roofless room there is a great hydra. It had more than thirty heads, each crying their despair. He is blue and massive. A thousand strong ropes tie him down. Massive cuts are everywhere along his giant scaly body. Nobody is in the room. I run to the hydra. “You are going to be alright.” I assure him. I use the jagged rock to cut each rope, one by one. The hydra stands up, revealing tons of cuts and scars on his leg. One of his heads came down to face her. 

“Thank you. Thank you for saving all of those dragons. But I am too scarred to leave this place. They would kill me if I walked a step. Thank you for it all. You are a hero, Amelia. Go home. Tell your Mother you are safe. Tell her all that has happened. Tell her all that you can. Tell her to stop. After what you did, she will. Goodbye, Amelia. I wish I got to know you better.” I step back. “What do you mean by that?” He lays down. He closes his eyes. He is gone. “No! NO! You can’t be dead!” he doesn’t hear me. My eyes swell up in tears as I think about earlier. He was not a stupid hydra! He wasn’t the loss of my friends! He was the start of my friends. Mars comes towards me and sets his tail on my shoulder. 

Three Months Later

I awake. Mother is cooking breakfast. I get dressed and walk to the table. Mars is waiting at the table. Pluto and Neptune are in human form, talking about something. I sit next to Mars. “Good morning, Amelia.” “Good morning,” I reply. It has been two months since we moved to Shamrock woods. Mars, Pluto, and Neptune live with us now. Mother is no longer a dragon butcher and lives a much happier life hunting with her family. And best of all, I have 9 new friends. For Mercury, Venus, Earth, Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, and Neptune (The other forest spirits) Are my friends now! Ever since the battle, Mars, Pluto, And Neptune are my best friends. “Breakfast is served!” Mother said, placing five plates on the dining table. We all ate breakfast quickly and ran outside. We flew to the snowy beach. All of the dragon torturers’ stuff was cleaned up and our wounds were healed. I finally have friends! I finally have a family! I finally have a home! Every day, I give my respect to the hydra. I give thanks because he is the reason for my happy ending.

  The End 

Writing Challenge Winner: Misty by Bekah Abbot

Bekah Abbot is a fifteen-year old writer who participated and completed the summer 2024 Hero’s Journey Writing Challenge. Her short story, “Misty”, tells the magical tale of sisters, friends, and mysterious creatures.

Read Bekah’s epic short story below:

Original Artwork by Bekah Abbot
Original Artwork by Bekah Abbot

May stood on the deck of the Waterwing with her sister, sad, but not without hope. She wasn’t crying, but she felt as overcast as the sky overhead. Slowly it darkened, then it started raining. Mrs. Daya who was looking after them, came and shoveled them indoors. The rain quickly turned to a raging storm. May tried to calm her sister, but she didn’t feel calm either. The waters tossed and shook the Waterwing as she rolled along on into the mist.  

“Oh, May, why did father send us on this dreadful watercraft?”  

May couldn’t help but smile at her sister’s romantic speech.  

“He already told you, Misty. He didn’t think he should leave us at home alone.”  

Misty saw the sense in that, and decided that it was a good time to curl up gloomily and bemoan her fate. Secretly Misty had always wanted an adventure, but she didn’t think that drowning in the “briny blue” counted. Wave after wave came crashing down on the deck, but nothing but the moaning of the boards reached them, until the boat jerked suddenly. Water started coming in under the door. Misty and May jumped up in terror as the Waterwing was thrown against a big rock. Misty was knocked out of her senses. May tried to wake her from her delirium, but the sea swelled up for another attack. Darkness took over as the Waterwing was swallowed up into the depths.  

“What’s that down in the sand?” Nathaniel wondered as he rode down to the beach. 

As he got closer, he thought he could distinguish a human figure! He dismounted and ran toward it, to find a girl lying in the sand. Nathaniel panicked. What was he supposed to do? Was she even alive? Yes, she was still breathing, though slowly and painfully. He lifted her onto his horse and brought her to his dad’s clinic. His dad was a doctor, he would know what to do.  

“She’ll be fine,” His dad said after careful scrutiny, “but it’s a good thing you found her when you did, she couldn’t have lasted too long it that condition.”  

Nathaniel was relieved.  

“Who’s this?” Nathaniel’s sister Lilly asked, as she came in the clinic door. 

The situation being explained to her, she insisted on bringing her to their house and taking care of her until she woke. Their dad was pleased by this proposal, and helped to get her home.  

“Where am I?” May opened her eyes to find herself in a strange room. The curtains were open, and through the window May could see the sunrise. The bright sunlight poured into the room and lit it up like magic. Someone knocked on the door softly. 

“Hello? Are you awake yet?” it sounded like a girl’s voice. 

“Yes. Please come in!” 

The door opened, and in came a tall girl with thick brown hair. It seemed to May that she brought joy into the room with her. 

“I’m so glad to see that you’re feeling better! Oh, allow me to introduce myself. I’m Lilly Valor.” 

“It’s nice to meet you Lilly, I’m May Hawthorne. Only… where am I?… and why?” 

Lilly laughed   “Oh, fate brought you here. And by fate, of course, I mean my twin brother Nathaniel.” 

May was too confused for words. “Can you remember anything? Nathaniel said you were unconscious on the beach.” 

“Not very well, and what I do remember I can’t be sure is true.” 

“Well tell me what you can remember.” 

“I was on a boat,” May had to think long and hard about the rest, “It hit a big rock pillar, and people were flung overboard. That’s as much as I can remember.” 

“Do you know the name of the boat?” 

“I can’t remember.” 

They went on like this for a while, but May had lost most of her memories. After a while Nathaniel came up to the door. 

“Oh, hi Nathaniel!” Lilly said. “This is May. May, meet my brother Nathaniel.” 

May smiled through her pain. She really liked Lilly, and she thought that she would like Nathaniel too. Nathaniel was tall like his sister, in fact he looked a lot like her, except that his hair was red and his eyes blue.  

“I trust you’re feeling better?” 

“I guess I wouldn’t know. You can’t really tell how you’re feeling when you’re unconscious.” 

Nathaniel smiled. 

“Well, you do look better. You were in bad shape last night, but as long as you don’t give up your spirit, im sure you’ll be just fine!” 

Later that night, Lilly came into May’s room with a necklace that her younger brother Braden had found down on the beach.  

“Is this your locket?” Lilly asked her. “Braden found it not far from where you came ashore.” 

May took the locket and opened it. The picture inside was ruined. The water had made a big mess of it, but she could just make out herself and another younger girl. 

“Misty?” May whispered under her breath. “This is my sister!” 

“You have a sister?” 

“Yes, and she’s probably scared half to death by now! Lilly, I have to find her!” 

“You’re still too weak to go anywhere on your own. I’m coming with you.” 

“No need for you to go anywhere yet.” They turned to find Nathaniel at the door. “I’ll go talk to the police about it.” 

“Thank you, Nathaniel, but I must look for her.” May said. 

When Nathaniel got back May, Lilly, and Braden were ready to go.  

“The Police will search the city, and on the beaches,” Braden reasoned, “so the only other way to go is into the forest! Besides, what better place to seek adventure than Coalrose Forest? You know some say that the forest is home to all sorts of paranormal creatures!”  

“But we’re not looking for ‘adventure’ Braden, we’re looking for May’s sister.” 

“It’s pretty much the same thing though, right?” 

“Makes sense to me,” May said, “who votes we take Coalrose Forest?” 

The company agreed, and on they strode into the dark woodlands beyond. 

>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> 

Misty’s heart pounded in her chest as she stumbled through the dense foliage, the towering trees casting long shadows in the fading light. The island was vast and unfamiliar, each rustle of leaves and distant call of birds reminding her just how alone she was. She paused to catch her breath, her eyes scanning the surroundings for any sign of her sister. 

“May!” she called out, her voice trembling with a mix of fear and determination. “May, where are you?” 

The only response was the whisper of the wind through the trees. Misty wiped a tear from her cheek, refusing to let despair take hold. She had to find her sister. She had to be brave. 

The path ahead was treacherous, with roots and rocks threatening to trip her at every step. But Misty pressed on, her mind focused on one thing: finding May. She knew her sister would never give up on her, and she wouldn’t give up either. 

Suddenly, she heard a faint sound, almost like a whisper. She stopped, straining to listen. There it was again, a soft, distant cry. Her heart leapt with hope. 

“May!” she shouted, her voice stronger now. “I’m coming!” 

With renewed energy, Misty followed the sound, her steps quickening despite the obstacles. She wouldn’t stop until she found her sister, no matter what.  

“Misty?” She could hear her sister’s voice calling out to her! 

Misty stumbled along, blind with excitement. Could it really be May? She tripped, but got up and kept going.  

Misty’s relief at hearing her sister’s voice was short-lived. As she hurried through the underbrush, she suddenly found herself face-to-face with a creature out of a nightmare. A giant wolf, its fur as dark as midnight and eyes glowing with an eerie intelligence, stood blocking her path. 

“Well, well, what do we have here?” The wolf’s voice rumbled, deep and resonant, sending shivers down Misty’s spine. 

Misty froze, her heart pounding in her chest. She had heard stories of talking animals, but never had she imagined encountering one, especially not in such a dire situation. She took a step back, but the wolf moved forward, its massive paws silent on the forest floor. 

“Who… who are you?” Misty managed to stammer, her voice barely above a whisper. 

The wolf chuckled. “I am Aldebaran the cruel. And you, little one, seem to be lost.” 

Foxes, wolves, and wild cats emerged from the woods around her, slowly coming toward her. 

Before Misty could react, Aldebaran’s powerful jaws closed gently around her, lifting her off the ground. She wanted to scream, to struggle, but something in the wolf’s eyes told her that resistance was futile.  

“Chain her up with the others.” Were Aldebaran’s commands, as he effortlessly tossed her to a fox. The fox pulled and shoved Misty to his slave line, where he tethered her. Desperation was all that was left for the moment. Misty sank down against a tree and cried.  

“Don’t cry,” The boy in front of her held out his hand to help her up. “You’re Misty, right?” 

“How do you know my name?”  

“You look just like your sister, May. We were all looking for you until I got kidnapped. Of course, everyone else is still looking for you. They’ll find us soon though, I’m sure of it!” 

Aldebaran issued orders to his captains. “Onward! The girl’s sister is too close by for us to stop here.” 

The chain was pulled into action. Misty struggled to keep up. The manacles rubbed against Misty’s wrists, and the pain was too much for her. she started crying again.  

“Don’t give up hope, Misty.” Braden said. “You must have hope, and you must have endurance.” 

“Quiet, you rat!” a cat growled at him. “Do you know what happens to prisoner who misbehave?” 

Misty didn’t want to know. She walked on and tried to ignore the pain. Hope and endurance, she thought. She clung to the hope that May would find her, and endurance would be a lot easier with a friend to endure with her.  

“I know I heard Misty’s voice,” May said, “but why can’t we find her?” 

Nathaniel wasn’t listening. He was still in a state of shock from finding that Braden was missing.  

“I hope Braden and Misty are together somewhere.” Lilly said softly.  

“What was it that Braden said? Home to the paranormal?”  

All of them were freaked out now. Who knows what lives in the forest? What if Braden had been kidnapped? What if both of them had been kidnapped? May’s mind raced as she contemplated the situation, but then what was that??? 

“LOOK!” May screamed. She pointed to a huge dog print in the dirt.  

“There was a big dog here not long ago,” Lilly mused, “And it looks like it was dragging something with it.” 

The three of them looked at each other. None of them said anything, but they were thinking the same thoughts. Braden must have been taken by a massive dog. They followed the tracks, shouting to Misty and Braden, but there wasn’t any answer. The tracks were hard to see in some places, and following them was difficult.  

“haven’t we been here already?” Lilly asked. “it feels like we’ve been going in circles.” 

“No, look!” Nathaniel pointed to the path ahead. “The tracks are changing!” 

The wolf prints were lost beneath those of humans and smaller dogs. May crouched down, examining the faint footprints in the soft earth.  

“They must have gone this way,” she said, her voice filled with determination.  

“We need to hurry,” Nathaniel said, glancing around nervously. “The sun’s setting, and we don’t know what else is out here.” 

Lilly adjusted her backpack and pulled out a small flashlight. “Let’s stick together and keep our eyes open. Misty can’t be far.” 

As they pressed on, the forest seemed to close in around them, the sounds of the night growing louder. Every rustle and snap of a twig made their hearts race, but they didn’t waver. They had to find Misty and Braden. 

Suddenly, Lilly stopped, holding up her hand. “Listen,” she said. The others fell silent, straining to hear. There, faint but unmistakable, was the sound of a distant cry. 

“That’s her!” May exclaimed, her eyes wide with hope. “We have to move faster.” 

With renewed urgency, they quickened their pace, following the sound through the dense underbrush. The trail became more difficult to follow, but May’s determination never wavered.  

After what felt like an eternity, they emerged into a small clearing. There, in the center, stood a massive wolf, its eyes glowing in the dim light.  

>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> 

“What did you do with Braden and Misty?” May demanded of Aldebaran.  

“there’s nothing you can do to help them.” He growled. “They aren’t here anymore.” 

“Tell us where you’ve taken them.” Lilly tried. 

“I can’t go any further, so they were passed along to a griffin by the name of Ruby Eyes. She’s as tough as a hydra, and as smart as a sphinx so I wouldn’t even think about following if I were you.” 

“Can’t go any further?” May said under her breath to Lilly and Nathaniel. 

They looked up to see a cloud of smoke swallow the wolf. Their vision went out for a few seconds, and they coughed uncontrollably, but finally the smoke cleared. Aldebaran was gone without a trace. 

“I don’t get it.” May said. “Why did he act like that? Why didn’t he kill us? He even gave us a clue!” 

“I don’t think that he knew he was helping us,” Nathaniel said, “but he helped all the same. We just have to find where he couldn’t go.” 

“But we’re surrounded in trees, he could have gone anywhere!” May said. “There must be something we’re missing.” 

The trio looked around for anything that could help, scouring the clearing and the woods nearby, until Nathaniel found something. 

“Look!” he shouted to May and Lilly.  

“It’s just a log.” Lilly said.  

“No, look,” May said, “see how it has these ancient runes on it? I bet we could fit in it, but the wolf was much too big.” 

“I’m willing to try anything at this point, no matter how foolish it may be.” Nathaniel said. 

Its bark was etched with mysterious symbols, and as they crawled inside, the world around them blurred. Suddenly, they found themselves transformed into tiny mice, whiskers twitching and paws trembling. The new dimension was a place of wonder and danger. May, Lilly and Nathaniel scurried through the grass, their tiny paws sinking into the earth. The hollow log had transported them to a place unlike any they’d ever seen—a world where blades of grass towered like ancient oaks, and petals unfurled into delicate canopies above their heads. 

“We’re mice,” May whispered, her voice a mere squeak. “How is this even possible?” 

Nathaniel’s whiskers twitched as he surveyed their surroundings. “The log,” he said, “it’s a gateway. But why mice?” 

They had no answers, only questions. The forest hummed with secrets—the rustle of leaves, the distant chittering of unseen creatures. Their mission was clear: find Misty and Braden. 

As they ventured deeper, the flora grew stranger. Blades of grass whispered secrets, and dewdrops held reflections of distant constellations. May and Lilly marveled at a spiderweb spun between two towering ferns—it was a silver bridge leading to who knew where. 

“Look!” Nathaniel pointed. “Footprints!” 

Tiny tracks led toward a grove of luminescent mushrooms. May’s heart raced. “They’re here!” she said. “Our siblings!” 

They followed the tracks through the mushrooms, and into a jungle of grass blades. The markings were recent, but they never seemed to end. Just as they thought they would go on forever, the paw prints stopped.  

“What now?” Lilly asked.  

“I’ll tell you what now.” The voice was loud and cold, but they couldn’t see where it came from. “you’re going to have to deal with me now.” An albino ocelot emerged from the grasses, towering over them. She swished her tail mischievously. “I am Falcor Ruby Eyes, feared by all creatures. There is no hope for those who resist me.” 

“Ruby Eyes, as in the terrifying gryphon that the wolf warned us about?” Nathaniel asked. 

“I am a gryphon in your dimension, but we’re in mine now.”  

“But if you’re Ruby Eyes, then you must have Misty and Braden!” Lilly said. 

“My job’s not to learn the prisoners’ names, my job is to get rid of you three.”  

Ruby Eyes thought over her options for how to take care of them.  

“I could eat you, but I wouldn’t want to debase myself by eating a filthy human. . . I could lock you in your own dimension, but where’s the fun in that?” 

May and Lilly were starting to feel sick. Nathaniel held his sister’s paw tightly in his, trying his best to be brave. 

“Maybe I’ll just tie you up and leave you here to starve.” Falcor finally made up her mind.  

She knocked them to the ground with her tail, stunning them. The next thing they knew, they were chained to a big boulder overlooking the sea.  

Misty and Braden meanwhile were headed in a very different direction. They too had gone through the log gate, but Falcor Ruby Eyes faked the paw prints that May, Nathaniel, and Lilly had followed. Ruby Eye’s hoard of ferrets, weasels, and stoats were under strict orders not to let anyone know where they were headed. They rambled through the woods and down into a field.  

“We’re stopping here for the night.” Ruby Eyes announced. “Feed the prisoners and get them some water.” 

The vermin hurried off to do her bidding. Dinner consisted of a few leaves, and a little muddy water. It wasn’t much, but they were glad to get anything at all. Braden and Misty ate their leaves with fortitude, knowing that their siblings were out there looking for them. 

“Braden?” Misty asked quietly, so as not to get in trouble. 

“Yeah?”  

“What if May can’t find us? I know she’ll keep looking for us no matter what, but looking is no help if she doesn’t find us, right?” 

“Don’t worry Misty. She has Nathaniel and Lilly with her. If it makes you feel better, I think I have a good plan to get us out of here.” 

“A plan is still a plan, whether or not it’s a good one.” Misty said. “What are you thinking?” 

“If we can once get out of these manacles, we can go anywhere!” 

“But how can we get out?” 

Braden held up a small dagger he had taken from a stoat. 

“With this!” 

>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> 

“What are we going to do?” Lilly moaned. “We’ve been stuck here for hours!” Lilly was starting to cry. 

“Lilly, you’re seventeen. You don’t need to cry.” Nathaniel chided her. 

“You’re not helping, Nathaniel.” May said. “We need to think positively. Without positivity we can’t think straight.” 

“Positivity?” Lilly said. “Let’s see. We’re chained to a rock…” 

“Lilly!” May shouted. 

“I’m sorry, let’s try again. We weren’t eaten by an evil red eyed ocelot-griffin,” 

“That’s better I guess.”  

“STOP! LOOK!” Nathaniel said. “there’s a shrew coming towards us!” 

The little rodent weaved between the surroundings, slowly making it’s way to the rock. It looked like it was limping slightly. When it got to the boulder, it stopped and pulled a few tools out of a bag it carried at its waist. 

“Don’t worry,” He said, “I can get you out of here. Try to hold still.” 

I didn’t take long for the shrew to cut the chains. Lilly stretched her arms and her back, it felt so good to be free again. It was starting to get dark again, and May was tired from, well, everything.  

“Why don’t we go down to my house?” the shrew said. “We can all get some much needed sleep.” 

This sounded like a great idea to May, and Lilly and Nathaniel couldn’t think of anything better. 

“We can’t very well out smart an ocelot-griffin without any sleep.” Lilly said to Nathaniel. 

“Or on an empty stomach.” The shrew said. 

That settled it. The three of them followed the shrew a short way to his house; a small door set in a tree. As they arrived, the shrew’s wife and three daughters came out to meet them. For dinner the shrew’s wife made ‘shrew bread’, which was kind of like dinner rolls, and a soup made from potato, carrot, and mushroom. They only needed a bit of each. They hadn’t slept in a bed of any sort since leaving to find Misty, so that night was the best for all of them. They planned to set out again the next morning, but before they leaft, Mrs. shrew brought them some provisions. 

“I know you three haven’t had much to eat for the last few days,” she said, “so I packed you some food for the road.” 

Mr. shrew came out of the house now. 

“Hold on!” He ran toward them frantically. “I have something here that might help you!” He pulled out a ball of string from his pocket and handed it to Nathaniel. Nathaniel was pretty confused. “it’s a gate.” The shrew said.  

“Like the log we came through to get here?” Lilly asked. The shrew nodded. “But how does it work? It doesn’t have an opening like the log did.”  

“No two gates are the same. With this one you have to loop it around itself to create the opening.” 

Nathaniel accepted the gift gratefully. Now they were off again! They were soon on Ruby’s trail once more, and it was pretty easy going most of the way. After a while, May thought she could see the group of vermin on the horizon. Then she could smell them. As they approached, May noticed that neither Braden, Misty, or Ruby Eyes was there.  

“Let’s stay hidden and watch until they get back.” Lilly said. 

Misty’s tiny heart raced as she and Braden darted through the tangled underbrush, their paws barely making a sound. The moon hung low in the sky, casting eerie shadows on the forest floor. Behind them, the menacing figure of Ruby Eyes, the albino ocelot, loomed like a ghost. 

Ruby Eyes had been relentless in her pursuit. Her crimson eyes glowed with malice, and her sleek white fur seemed to blend seamlessly with the moonlight.  

Misty’s whiskers quivered as she glanced back.  They had managed to slip away once, but Ruby Eyes was relentless. Braden and Misty knew they couldn’t outrun her forever. 

“Keep going,” Braden urged, his voice barely audible. “We can’t let her catch us.” 

Misty nodded, her eyes wide with fear. They zigzagged through the forest, leaping over small sticks, and ducking beneath fallen leaves. The scent of damp earth and pine needles filled the air. But no matter how fast they ran, Ruby Eyes was always close behind. 

Suddenly, Misty stumbled, her tiny paw caught in a tangle of roots. Braden skidded to a halt, his eyes wide with panic. He rushed to Misty’s side, trying to help her up in time. Ruby Eyes emerged from the shadows, her fangs gleaming. 

“You thought you could escape me?” Ruby Eyes hissed, her voice like shards of ice. “Foolish humans.” 

Misty’s heart sank. She had hoped they could find safety, perhaps a hidden burrow where Ruby Eyes couldn’t reach them. But now they were trapped. 

The ferrets, weasels, and stoats closed in. Misty and Braden huddled together, their fur bristling. Ruby Eyes circled them, her tail flicking with anticipation. 

“Any last words?” Ruby Eyes taunted. 

But just as she lunged, a rustling sound echoed through the forest. A massive owl swooped down at Falcor; talons extended. 

“Enough, cat.” The owl’s voice boomed. “You know your orders are to bring them to Lord Rigel alive.” 

Ruby Eyes snarled, but the owl’s gaze held her in check.  

“Noserot, Foulclaw, re-chain the mice.” She snapped at a ferret and a stoat. Then she turned to the owl. “Stay out of this, Feather bag. I can handle a couple of ten-year-olds.” 

“Yes, but can you handle Lord Rigel?” They glared at each other for a second. “I didn’t think so.” 

“Let’s get out of here.” Ruby Eyes commanded indignantly.  

Misty and Braden were dragged all the way back to the slave line. By the time they got there they were both bruised and scratched painfully. The line was immediately pulled into action. 

“Look, they’re back!” Nathaniel said. “Let’s follow behind them.”  

Lilly pulled out the leftover shrew bread and some sunflower seeds to snack on.  

“We’ll need to be careful,” May said, “if we get caught, we’ll be a completely lost cause.” 

>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> 

Ruby Eyes and her crew of vermin were headed for her lair, an old (and mostly ruined) castle fortress. On arriving, the ocelot issued orders to the ferrets, stoats, and weasels, sending them here and there, wherever she wanted or needed them. None of them noticed May, Nathaniel, and Lilly watching their every move. 

“We need a good, solid plan before we do anything rash.” Nathaniel whispered.  

“We have got to work together.” May said. “This will be really hard even if we can find a weakness.” 

“But we’re mice,” Nathaniel said, “she’s six times taller than we are! Besides, I don’t think ocelot-griffins have any weaknesses.”  

“Don’t be silly, you guys.” Lilly put in. “the answer’s in her name!” 

“Which one? Falcor? Ruby Eyes?” Nathaniel asked. 

“Ruby Eyes! Don’t you see it?” they didn’t. “Why do they call her that? Because she has red eyes. Why does she have red eyes? Because she’s an albino!” 

“And…” May said. 

“An albino animal’s weakness is her eyes!” 

May and Nathaniel looked at her with admiration.  

“What?” Lilly asked. “Didn’t either of you pay attention in your zoology classes?”  

Braden and Misty were scared. Their chains were tied up to a post in what could hardly be called a castle courtyard. The cold was beginning to be unbearable.  

“Braden?” Misty asked. 

“Yeah?” 

“Do you still think that May and your brother and sister are looking for us?” 

“I don’t think, Misty, I know they are.” 

“But do you think they’ll find us?” 

Braden didn’t know what to say. He really wanted to think they would, but he hadn’t seen any of them in such a long time! Maybe they were completely lost! But he couldn’t say that to Misty.  

“I think… everything is going to be okay.” Braden said. “They won’t give up until they find us, and until then, at least we’re together.” 

Misty smiled. She was very glad to have a friend with her. She didn’t think she could have survived this without Braden.  

It was getting dark again. The days and nights in this dimension were off somehow, with some days longer, some shorter, the sun and moon were always discordant. Most of the vermin went inside the castle to get some sleep, but a few were stationed outside and on the walls. One weasel brought the prisoners some old, smelly blankets. ‘Tomorrow, we leave bright and early’ he had said. They were starting to wonder when this would ever end. Still, no one knew where they were going. Misty and Braden had overheard something about a ‘Lord Rigel’, but who that was was a mystery to them. Soon most of the posted guards were asleep, and Braden and Misty were not far behind.  

May, Lilly, and Nathaniel on the other hand were alert, looking for their chance to get back their siblings. The plan was simple, but it would be difficult. They still had the chain that Falcor used to tie them to the rock. That was the best that they had in the way of weapons. Nathaniel looked in a hole in the outer wall. 

“Ruby Eyes is standing right there!” he whispered, stifling a scream. 

“Looks like this will be harder than we thought.” May said. 

“It can still work.” Lilly said. 

With Falcor guarding Misty and Braden herself, May needed to rethink her plan. With Lilly and Nathaniel helping though, it didn’t take long. 

Misty and Braden were roused for their sleep by some movement in a cluster of ferns nearby. Misty started trembling.  

“Braden, what do you think that is?” 

She was getting really nervous. Then a stone came hurling out of the ferns and struck Ruby Eyes on the shoulder. She turned to see who was there. Lilly emerged from the foliage and rushed at Falcor. May and Nathaniel appeared on either side of the wildcat, Nathaniel with the chain, and May with the flashlight. Lilly sent pebbles and gravel flying in Falcor’s face. Ruby knew that they had found her weakness, but she couldn’t keep the blinding light and the gravel out of her eyes. All of a sudden, she couldn’t see a thing. The sharp pain of a heavy chain hurled at her fore paws. She tried to scream to alert the guards, but she had lost her voice entirely. The big ocelot fell unconscious to the ground. May rushed to her sister and hugged her like a bear. Nathaniel and Lilly cried when they saw Braden again. Nathaniel pulled the post that Misty and Braden were chained to out of the ground, freeing them. They still had to be quiet, so as not to wake the surrounding vermin. May and Lilly tied the string in a loop and held it up for Misty and Braden to go through. They knew better than to question it. Then Nathaniel went through, and finally May and Lilly ducked under, letting the gate close behind them. 

They found themselves back on the beach. May was relieved when she looked down to see actual human hands! Now they were back, they could shout, cry, scream, and talk, and joy filled the air as they celebrated being together again!  

A few days later, Mr. Hawthorne arrived on board a ship called Pearl Queen.  

“I heard that Waterwing was blown off course and landed here, so I came to look for you.” 

‘Somebody twisted the truth’ May thought, but she was glad to see him again.  

“Mom’s feeling better,” he said, “the doctor says she’ll be able to come home soon.” 

May smiled. Mrs. Hawthorne had been in the hospital far away for a long time. When they had sent for Dad, they were afraid something terrible had happened to her. That was why he sent Misty and May to stay at their aunt’s house (where they never arrived).  

May And Misty were going home the next day, which meant they had to say goodbye to the Valors.  

“You will write to us, won’t you?” Lilly asked May. 

“Of course.” She said. “And you’ll come and visit now and then?” 

“Yes, we’ll try.” Lilly answered. “Oh, I almost forgot!” She gave May the locket she had left in her room. 

May opened it. Lilly had put in a new picture of all of them together. May smiled and put it on. 

“I love it.” She said. 

The End

Writing Challenge Winner: The Villain, the Traitor, and the Daredevil by Isaac McKinnie

Isaac McKinnie is a twelve-year old writer who participated in the 2022 Seafarer’s Writing Challenge in which he wrote a 5,000 word original short story this summer. Isaac’s sci-fi thriller involves a young motorcyclist participating in a race that takes a drastic and traitorous detour.

Read the full story below!

Roads are dull. There is no other way to describe them. They are just slabs of concrete shaped to make a meaningless line. However, roads are even more mind-numbing when no one is using them. On these occasions it almost hurts to see a sight so boring. Luckily for the road next the small harbor in Winfred, Sasnak, this was hardly ever the case; and today was no exception.  If someone had been counting how many cars had passed through, they would have lost count in the first ten seconds.

Yet, in all the hustle and bustle of this road, one vehicle stood out. It was a motorcycle, a Hoss Boss to be exact. Its black body paint glistened like obsidian in the early afternoon sun. The beautiful Hoss Boss sped down the (still dull) road with the same amount of importance as King Arthur and his own steed would have. The driver was unfortunately neither wearing a helmet nor taking any safety precautions at all. You might say that he was not very smart. If you did, I would commend you for being smarter than him. However, he seemed to prefer riding without any safety measures. Dylan (for that was the name of the motorcycle rider) laughed as the salty sea wind blew back his black hair and lifted the smell of the ocean to his nostrils. After he finished admiring the view, he revved the engine and sped off. As he rode, he decided to take a route he had not taken yet before going to the meeting place. He sped and then took a random turn. This was what excited him about motorcycling the most: the constant adrenaline, the rush of fear when he took a sharp turn, and the idea that anything might happen. He wove his way around the roads until he finally found his way to the meeting place. There it was––an abandoned warehouse. Now, this warehouse might look like any other abandoned warehouse.  But if you went inside and walked through the abandoned warehouse you would find a tear in the wall. If you squeezed through that tear, you would see a small shed. It was there that Dylan met up with his friends.

Continue reading “Writing Challenge Winner: The Villain, the Traitor, and the Daredevil by Isaac McKinnie”

Writing Challenge Winner: The Worst But Somehow the Best Summer Ever by Amy Rogers

Amy Rogers is a twelve-year old writer who participated in the 2022 Seafarer’s Writing Challenge in which she wrote a 5,000 word original short story this summer. Amy’s contemporary story explores a young girl’s unexpected summer with her aunt which turns bloodier than expected.

Read the full story below!

Original artwork by Amy of her main character, Ana

I was happy with my life. No, I wasn’t just happy with my life, I loved it! I had indoor plumbing, electricity throughout the whole house, a comfortable smelling house [you know that nice scent when you come into a clean inviting house], and best of all I got to watch television and play video games! I didn’t have to worry about goats needing milked, and leaky roofs needing fixed, or even any chores at all. In short, I was a lazy, selfish, entitled princess who only cared about herself and nothing else.

But one day, a week before summer break, my father and stepmother told me something that changed my life forever…

Continue reading “Writing Challenge Winner: The Worst But Somehow the Best Summer Ever by Amy Rogers”

Writing Challenge Winner: Captain Howe by Layla Mendoza

Layla Mendoza is a twelve-year old writer who participated in the 2022 Seafarer’s Writing Challenge in which she wrote a 5,000 word original short story this summer. Layla’s nautical adventure tells the swashbuckling tale of Captain Howe and the spell that changes his life.

Read the full story below!

There really was no explanation as to how Captain Howe’s vessel had ended up in the Pacific Ocean. He could have sworn that they were going to stay in the Atlantic waters, but nooooooo, they just had to end up in the Pacific Ocean, and right by the Ring of Fire, too, if he had read his maps correctly. 

“Uh, Cap’n’?” 

“WHAT?” Captain Howe shouted, banging one pudgy fist down on the wooden table where he was sitting. Maps and books that had been on the edge of the table fell to the floor, and his Cartographer, the one who had spoken, slumped a bit lower in his seat. 

“Uh, um, just that, we- ah- seem to be getting fairly close to some active volcanoes that are part of the Ring of Fire, if I’m right about where we are on the map. We aren’t exactly headed directly towards a volcano, but we might pass by one. But,” he shrugged his shoulders, “If you don’t want to take precautions-” 

“No, no,” Captain Howe said gruffly. “Do take precautions. Try to alter our course so that we don’t have the chance of getting blown up by a volcano.” 

Continue reading “Writing Challenge Winner: Captain Howe by Layla Mendoza”

What’s Ashley Reading?: The House on Mango Street

The House on Mango Street by Sandra Cisneros

Version 1.0.0

First line: The boys and the girls live in separate worlds.

Summary: Told through vignettes, the reader is taken through the life of a young Latina girl in Chicago.

My Thoughts: This was like peeking into the a scrapbook or the memory of a young girl. We get little snippets of information about the people around her, the life on her street and her thoughts as things change over time. It was a sweet little book. I listened to the audio version which is read by the author and has introduction by her as well. Some of the stories gave me nostalgia for my childhood playing with neighborhood kids but even though it was similar it was also very different. This is a great choice for Big Read Wichita. It can open up many conversations and be incorporated into programs and learning experiences.

FYI: This is something that can be read in one sitting. Pick it up and join us at the library for our many events between February and May.

What’s Ashley Reading?: 1922

1922 by Stephen King

First line: TO WHOM IT MAY CONCERN: My name is Wilfred Leland James, and this is my confession.

Summary: In a short story by Stephen King we get a dark tale of murder on the Nebraska plains. Wilfred James lives on a farm in Nebraska with this wife and son. When his wife suggests that they sell the 100 acres she owns but it angers Wilfred. He does not want the land to be used as a pig farm. As his anger with her grows he starts to conceive of a plan to make his wife disappear.

My Thoughts: 1922 was the perfect start to my October TBR and Dia de los Muertos read-a-thon list. It was spooky and quick. I have driven many times through the farmland of Nebraska. The old farmhouses with acres of land as far as the eye can see. I could easily imagine Wilfred living on his farm, killing his wife and burying her in the well. And no one else around to even notice. Especially in 1922.

But then his wife begins to haunt him with her decaying body and the rats that are slowly eating away at her. Rats are terrifying on their own but imagining them eating a human body is a nightmare come to life. King does a great job bringing the eeriness to the story without out making it outlandish. The visions, smells and memories just add to the suspense.

Then mixed in with the terror that Wilfred is experiencing is the guilt and changes happening to his son. I was surprised with the way his story changed from the beginning till the end. It was heartbreaking to see but it definitely added another level to this short story.

FYI: This is originally part of Full Dark, No Stars, a collection of King’s short stories. It has also been made into a Netflix movie which I plan to watch real soon!

What’s Ashley Reading?: Rizzio

Rizzio by Denise Mina

First line: Lord Ruthven wanted him killed during this tennis match but Darnley said no.

Summary: On the night of March 9, 1566, the personal secretary of Mary, Queen of Scots was murdered by assassins in the Queen’s apartments at Holyrood Palace. David Rizzio was dragged out and stabbed fifty six times while the pregnant queen was restrained by her husband, Lord Darnley.

My Thoughts: I remember the first time I learned about David Rizzio. It was a in a book by Jane Yolen, The Queen’s Own Fool, that I stumbled upon in a book sale. It seems like such a fantastical story but it is actually history. Mina’s book is a quick story about these events, the people involved and the reasons behind them.

Even though I liked the story I found the writing style strange. I didn’t feel like it flowed well. This was my first book by Denise Mina, so maybe this is her normal style but it’s not one that I found appealing.

Mary had such a tragic life. But I think that is why so many people, including myself, find her interesting. She was a woman with power in an age when many women had no power. And she is constantly being compared to her cousin, Queen Elizabeth I. If you have never heard about this event in Mary’s life or need a short book (118 pages) to complete your reading challenge then I would recommend picking this one up!

FYI: Very bloody. He was stabbed 56 times!

Writing Challenge Winner: Red Strings by Olivia Kasych

Olivia is a 15 year old writer who has participated in many of the library’s writing challenges, including last summer’s Voyager Writing Challenge and this spring’s Bad Guy Writing Challenge. Red Strings is the sequel to Olivia’s first short story, Neutral Zone, and dives deeper into the motivations of the tormented villain, Vic!

Read Olivia’s first story here:

Check out her sequel below!

“What makes you think I was gonna kill him?”

Vick can admit that he is not the best person, but he certainly is not stupid. He knew the oblivious, helpless person he and Terrace quite literally stumbled upon was not to be killed. He may want the end of the AWs, Alternate Worlds, but he is not that evil.

“You brought us here anyway,” Vick accused. The first AW was not his ideal battle terrain, mostly because anything multiverse travelers, like himself, killed there killed its counterpart everywhere else.

“No I didn’t! You did!” Terrace yelled back up at Vick. Vick smirked. Even if he was not suspended on a swing, he was still taller than the short creator.

“I don’t recall ever thinking to put myself at a disadvantage.” Vick was not happy. He lowered himself to the ground. He stared directly into Terrace’s ever changing eyes.

“It’s not like you don’t make mistakes,” Terrace said. “We’re both human, Vick.”

“Human, huh?” Vick spat at him. The red markings wrapped around his arms glowed with a fiery intensity. Vick scowled at Terrace. He felt his familiar red strings flow down from the marks to his hands. He shot them toward part of the back porch. The strings wrapped themselves around the poor porch and paused. He shot Terrace a crazed grin. “What part of me is human?”

He gripped his hand into a fist. He swung his arm at Terrace as if he was throwing a shot-put. The strings strained and yanked the porch out of the ground. In a blur of wood, the porch was on a direct course toward Terrace. It landed with a huge ​Crash!​and…

missed Terrace. Vick knew that would happen, but was not in the mood. Terrace had teleported over to the fence gate.

“Missed me!” Terrace teased. Vick was fuming. He angrily directed his strings toward the nearest fence post, tore it out of the ground, and threw it at Terrace. He could not care less if he killed anyone else, he just wanted to wipe off Terrace’s smug grin.

He retreated his strings. Though he really wanted to make sure Terrace was at least scared, he did not want to stick around longer. ​Let Terrace take care of his own business​he thought, teleporting away from the destroyed yard.

Now, one may expect Vick to have some sort of huge base where he would monitor the whole multiverse. That is not the case. Because of the stereotypical villain, Vick’s “base” is in a small cabin in AW 27, another “magic filled” AW.

Vick’s teleportation destination landed him in the kitchen of said cabin. He took a peek in the fridge for anything that looked edible. Believe it or not, destroying useless worlds worked up an appetite. Vick took the leftover pancakes from breakfast and closed the fridge.

“Back already?” Vick heard someone say from the living room.

“Not like you’ve been anywhere,” Vick grumbled. “Dumb creator teleported the both of us to the original. I gave him a bit of a job to fix.” Vick heard laughter. He made his way to the living room and found the new(ish) recruit, dressed in all black, playing with a knife.

“The original’s found out, huh?” Blood laughed.

“Yep. Scared the kid out of his skin. You should have seen it, turned him white on the spot.” Vick started gnawing on one of the pancakes.

“My turn?” Blood asked excitedly, his eyes flashing red as if to seal his intentions.

“Go aheath,” Vick said, half a pancake dangling out of his mouth. “Whehe’s Lethon?”

“Lendon’s probably in his room,” Blood answered. “Later!” Blood teleported out of the room.

Vick finished his pancakes and sighed. Blood joined them —that is, the team— about two years ago. Vick never thought about time because it did not mean much for a multiverse traveler like himself. It changes too much from AW to AW that Vick just stopped caring.

Vick never asked Blood why he joined the team, but Blood always seemed to know where Terrace and Cerulean were. Vick just went with it. He was sure Lendon knew —he was the head of the team and he knew just about everything about each of them.

Lendon was originally from AW 17, which also had magic. Vick does not know much about his origin either, but does know Lendon is pretty powerful. Vick has seen him

level a city in seconds. He has also fought Terrace and Cerulean to a stalemate, which Vick has yet to do. Vick is not patient enough for it.

“Yo, Vick!” yelled someone. Vick snapped himself out of his thoughts and looked up. He saw another member of the team. He wore a blood red sweater and black jeans. He stared at Vick with his cyan eyes burning through his shaggy black hair.

“What do you want, Dultin?” Vick grumbled.

Dultin took playful offense as he flopped on the couch next to Vick. “Why do you always assume I want something whenever I talk to you?”

“Because you do.” The day before, Dultin asked Vick to help him find one of his guns. Dultin claimed it was his “favorite” and “couldn’t live without it.” They almost got caught by the police in five different AWs and Vick came home sore.

Dultin came from AW 30. His father was a police officer and taught Dultin everything about guns. Dultin said it was his “calling” whenever he told the story. He claimed he brought a gun to “show and tell” in Kindergarten and accidentally shot and killed one of his classmates. Vick was wary about the credibility of the story, but did not put it past him to do so.

“Okay, you got me,” Dultin said, raising his hands up as if he was getting arrested. “I only want to know where Blood is.” Vick forgot that Blood and Dultin had bonded over the past two years.

“Fine.” Vick closed his eyes and searched the entire multiverse for Blood. Luckily, he had a good idea about where he was. “Upmost. AW 10.” Dultin was stood up to leave. Vick grabbed his arm. “Let him be for a bit. He’s playing with the original.”

Dultin seemed to understand and sat back down.

~~~~~~~~~

Blood did not come back in the next hours.

Vick started assuming the worst. He could barely think, mostly because Dultin was constantly assembling and taking apart one of his handguns. Vick grew tired of the constant clinking of metal. He stood up.

“Fine!” he groaned. “We’ll look for him. Get your things. I have a trap.”

Dultin shot up, giddy to leave. “You think it’ll work? It’s about 11 pm original time.”

“It definitely will. Terrace wouldn’t miss.” Vick opened a portal. “Come on.” Dultin hopped into the portal as Vick followed, sealing the portal after entering the location.

They ended up in a field surrounded by forest. The clearing was almost miraculous.

Occasional dandelions popped up every once and awhile. It was about noon in that AW.

“You’ve never seen me destroy an entire world, have you?” Vick asked Dultin. Dultin shook his head no. “Well, today’s your lucky day.” Vick’s markings glowed blood red. Vick knelt on the ground and put both hands on the grassy field. He again felt his strings flow into his hands, but this time they slipped out and into the ground like worms. Vick got up. “The trap’s set.”

“What did you do?” Dultin asked with genuine curiosity.

“Each world has a ‘soul,’ so to speak,” Vick explained. “My strings can locate and destroy that ‘soul,’ leaving the world to rot and disappear. The process takes about 10 to 15 minutes. Quick and efficient. The only flaw is that Terrace can sense when my strings are close to the ‘soul’ and can get rid of them the same way I distribute them. That is our opening.”

“Which world is this, anyway?” Dultin asked, loading a pistol with one of his homemade bullets.

“AW 2,102,” Vick replied. He rolled his eyes. “There’s too much of the same trash.”

“Darn right.” Dultin laughed.

The pair of delinquents were treated to a bright flash of light. When the light diminished, Vick saw four silhouettes. Two obviously belonged to Terrace and Cerulean. The third was the original, Vick figured. Vick could not figure out who the fourth was. He seemed to be part of Cerulean’s shadow, dressed in all black as he was.

Then he caught sight of his face. Vick stared at him, a spike of disbelief shooting through his insides. He wondered what happened in the last few hours that caused this.

Dultin started laughing. The laugh turned dry, shooting imaginary daggers into their adversaries. “Yes, Vick, the trap worked,” he said. He directed his now loaded gun at the “shadow.” “Alas, it worked too well. We caught a ghost, and now it’s time to dispose of him.”

Dultin’s smile turned toxic. “Goodbye Blood.” Dultin loaded and fired his pistol in half a second, aiming it directly at Blood. There was no time for Blood to dodge. ​Better off without him​Vick thought.

A mind-numbing screech of metal was heard. Blood had decided to deflect the bullet, using a knife to cut the bullet before it hit him. The two pieces of the bullet fell harmlessly on either side of him. Sadly, the pieces did not hit anyone else.

Vick did not waste time. Arms glowing, he sent his strings toward Terrace and Cerulean. They wrapped around their necks, daring to choke them to death. Vick pulled and their eyes grew wide with fear. They started choking and clawed at the strings to try to get air.

They were cut free soon after. Vick glared at Blood, who had freed them. Vick redirected his attention to Terrace. The short creator had eyed him and was holding his paintbrushes. “You got the other three?” Vick half asked Dultin.

“Can’t wait to kill that traitor,” Dultin hissed.

“Just don’t kill Derick.” Dultin scoffed. Vick could not worry about that. He had to keep Terrace from saving the AW. And he had a great idea. In the long time that he and Terrace have been fighting, he knew he put others as more important than himself. That was his flaw. Vick wondered if Terrace would ever learn after being exploited so much.

Vick’s strings shot toward Derick. The “poor kid” did not know what hit him. Vick pinned Derick’s arms to his sides and suspended him in the air. Vick shot Dultin a look. Dultin smiled, pointed another one of his “special” guns at Derick, and fired.

Terrace looked terrified. He froze and looked up at Derick in disbelief. Cerulean displayed similar emotions —even crying, to Vick’s delight. Blood just stared at Dultin. The gaze held back a hurricane of emotions, ready to be unleashed.

Vick watched as Blood almost doubled over, clutching his side as if he had taken the bullet. Vick smirked. “Dultin, what was in the bullet?” he asked playfully, getting everyone’s attention.

“Well!” Dultin responded excitedly. “That was one of my special concoctions! It locates magical bonds in the recipient and exploits the connection!” Dultin stared at Blood. “I wanted to use it on Cerulean, but you —you lying traitor— deserved it more.”

Derick started coughing. He was struggling to get out of the strings, but to no avail. Vick only tightened his bindings. Derick was staring at the ground in fear. “C-Cerulean? Why’s the ground red?” Cerulean and Terrace gave him a terrified look.

Vick smirked. “Looks like someone forgot why they were here. Forgetful creator,” he teased Terrace while shaking his head. Vick turned his attention to Derick and shot him a crazed smile. “That’s what a world looks like before it’s destroyed. Terrace was being slow, as always.” He nodded at Dultin. “Hope you all enjoyed your little late night expedition. I sure did.”

“Burn…in…hell,” Blood said, still holding his side in pain. “You know…you didn’t.”

Dultin’s instinctual course of action was to shoot Blood with another one of the special bullets. The bullet passed through Blood’s head without spilling any blood. Derick let out a strained yelp in pain. Vick dropped the now passed out kid from his strings. Terrace ran to catch the kid in time and, unfortunately, did. Vick almost signaled Dultin to leave when Cerulean also dropped. This shocked Vick. Any new connections like that shine like a beacon to Vick. ​That connection is nowhere near new​he realized.

He motioned at Dultin that it was time to leave. They both teleported out of there, just as the ground started collapsing. They arrived back at their base and just… stood in the living room.

“That traitor!” Dultin yelled, kicking over the living room couch. “I swear, I’m going to kill him after ghosting us like that!”

Vick was also mad. Blood was the last person he saw deserting and flipping sides. Honestly, he thought that if Dultin ever had therapy, he would be first. Dultin did what he did because he thought it was fun. Vick always saw that as a poor reason, so he always thought Dultin would desert.

He, Lendon, and Blood all had solid reasons, he assumed. As already mentioned, he did not know much about either of the two, but he pieced together that Blood has something against Cerulean. Vick did not know what, but after what happened with the bullets, he knew it was deep.

Lendon was still a mystery. Vick had no idea of how he even got so powerful in the first place. He just remembers when Lendon recruited him to his team. Vick could feel his power. It emanated from him like a radio signal that Vick could pick up and listen to. He remembered feeling uneasy as his fierce orange eyes stared into him as he spoke.

Vick was snapped back into reality as Dultin toppled the couch again. He was still angry about Blood. Dultin stormed off to his room. Vick figured he should go to his room also. He thought about telling Lendon, but Vick had a feeling he already knew.

Vick went up the staircase in the back of the room toward his room. It was the first door on the right. He opened the door to his bland room. He never bothered to decorate. He didn’t like clutter, and didn’t see any reason in doing so. He wasn’t in his room much anyway.

He was, however, exhausted. He plopped on his bed and went out like a light.

He was in a white and black area. He didn’t bother looking around. He knew where he was. The landscape swirled with the white and black colors, but nothing else could be seen. He also knew that. He did not know why he tried every time. Where was he? Well, he was home. His AW.

There was nothing. Vick did not know what happened, but what was supposed to be an actually livable space with other people only turned out to be him. He could not count the number of times he had false hopes about someone being out there and disappointed when there was not. Sometimes, the area would play tricks on him and the blackness would shape like a person and then disappear.

He always dreams of being here. He cannot remember ever having a “good” dream. He always looked at the other AWs in disgust. They had so much when he had nothing. That is why he is so numb.

He simply does not care.

He did not always have the marks, either. They were blood. When he was stuck there, he would often think and dream about death. That was the only way out he saw. He would constantly dream of killing himself and the like. One time, his dream did not go away and he found the markings on his arms. The strings were painful at first, it was like shaping his own blood, but he grew numb to it.

Leaving was a complete accident. Vick remembered wishing to be somewhere better and he was instantly in a forest. He instantly knew he was not home. He heard birds and excited shouts. He followed them to a campsite with about five tents. Kids were running about as parents watched loosely while conversing with each other.

Vick was mad. He did not know that was out there. Why did he not get any of that? Why did he have to live in that nightmarish landscape while they had everything? His markings glowed blood red

Vick stared up at his ceiling. That was the first world he destroyed. It was the 3,979th AW. He never regretted destroying it. He knew it had only been an hour. He could never sleep for long and hunger was never a concern for him. He could go a very long time without eating and be fine. Eating was more of a “hobby” to him, so to speak. He did not care if it was abnormal. Nothing about him was normal anyway.

He really only joined because he was tired of his place and he thought it would be interesting. He doesn’t mind working for Lendon but made sure to tell Lendon that it would be no deal if he could not do as he pleased at times. Lendon agreed to it and welcomed him aboard. Vick made a point to destroy the world they were in before following Lendon. That was AW 1,249.

Terrace was an almost immediate acquaintance after he left his AW, but before Lendon (which was almost one and a half years after he started). Terrace was very confusing to him. He did not try to kill Vick, but also reversed the destruction of the AW. Confusion turned to anger and Vick decked Terrace before teleporting away. He hit a few other AWs before going back to his home.

Vick was not patient. He was, however, very easily distracted by his thoughts. A few days could go by and he would not have noticed unless something happened to or near him. He called this one of his “trances.” He blamed it on his sociopathic behavior. He luckily never did this during a fight. Plus, he never liked patience. He saw it as useless and wasteful. If he wanted to wait around, he would not have left.

Terrace also lacked patience, in his eyes. Their fights never lasted long and he could tell by the way Terrace used his attacks. Surprisingly, Vick found that attacks say a lot about a person. Vick deduced that Terrace was an outgoing person and would never kill anyone.

Someone was saying his name. He got off his bed and sauntered down the stairs to the living room. “Look who decided to show up!” Dultin smirked. Vick saw both Dultin and Lendon looking at him. Lendon looked like he had a plan. He was wearing his normal green shirt, grey pants, brown boots, and orange gloves. His aura hung around him like a magnetic field.

Vick took his seat on the fixed couch. “What’s the plan?” he asked.

“Thanks to Dultin’s… experiment,” Lendon started. “We know three of our four adversaries have a magic bond of varying magnitude. Any magic bonds strengthen both/all participants, thus decreasing our chances of defeating them. If we single out the one without any magic ties to the others, we should be able to lure the rest into any trap we may set. For instance, if we kept Terrace locked up here, we could count on the other three coming to us. But, we would have to keep Derick out of it.”

“Why though?” Dultin asked. “He’s weak and inexperienced.” He pointed a finger gun at Vick’s head. “Just one well placed shot and—” He jerked his hand back in recoil as if he shot Vick. “Well, no more problem.”

“Dultin, he’s the original!” Vick hissed. “We can’t kill him.”

“We don’t know what he may be capable of,” Lendon continued. “I intend on finding out one way or another. After we successfully capture Terrace, we will be able to ‘take out’ Derick. I’m thinking of the Prison. Thoughts?”

The Prison was an abandoned military base near their cabin. Each holding cell had soundproof walls and security cameras. It was easy to monitor and there was no way to know if anyone else was in there with you. Vick saw it as perfect. He nodded his head in approval.

“Finally!” Dultin said.

“Very well,” Lendon said, looking between the two killers. “The plan will start as soon as possible. Places, everyone.”

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Vick was out again. He had the task of luring out Terrace, which would be very easy.

Another AW, another seed planted. Vick waited.

Terrace came alone. ​Perfect​Vick thought. Terrace did not have time to react when Vick strangled him enough to make him pass out. Vick dropped Terrace off in one of the cells in the Prison.

Not even a second later, Dultin came back with a passed out Derick. Dultin paraded him around down to his cell like a hunter carrying a deer he killed home. Vick thought for a second that Derick was dead, but they were all still there so it was not the case. ​Now, we wait, ​Vick thought. And wait they did. An almost 40 minutes.

Cerulean and Blood turned up near their base— glorified house. Vick could feel them coming in the Prison’s direction. He told Dultin to get ready. “This is exciting!” Dultin replied, playing with a switch in the control room of the Prison. The two entered the complex. Dultin and Vick watched them through the various security cameras placed in the maze-like hallways.

The moment came. “Now!” Vick shouted at Dultin. Dultin slammed the switch down and a sliding steel door slid between the two. The now separated pair tried to open/destroy the door, but nothing happened. They continued on their separate ways. Vick radioed Lendon: “He’s all yours.”

Lendon was waiting for Cerulean. He did not give any details on what he would do, so Vick and Dultin watched the security tapes intriguingly. Cerulean walked back the way he came. He took a left near the entrance and stopped at another crossroad. He took another left and a right at another crossroad. All along the walls are doors leading to cell after cell after cell. “Close the left door,” Vick told Dultin. At the upcoming intersection, the left door closed. Cerulean’s only options were right or backtrack. Cerulean took the right.

That was where Lendon was. Cerulean stopped and started backing away from him. Dultin was about to close the door behind him, but Lendon made a magical barrier, blocking Cerulean’s escape. Vick heard Dultin snicker. To be honest, Cerulean’s terrified face was hilarious, but Vick shut him up.

“Poor Cerulean,” Lendon sneered. “A weak shell of a human that wanted too much. Now look where that got you. Your so-called ‘friends’ are gone and it’s all your fault.”

“No, no!” Cerulean said, still deathly afraid. “I couldn’t have known!”

“Maybe,” Lendon smiled. “But, think about it. If you didn’t split yourself, maybe you could’ve found them and left by now. That’s not done by now because you’re weak and pathetic.”

“No… no!” Cerulean shook his head. Cerulean was frozen still by an orange glow around him. “That’s not true!”

“Oh, quit lying to yourself. It’s tiring, really.” Lendon walked toward Cerulean. Cerulean tried moving away, but the orange magic held him in place. Lendon tilted Cerulean’s head toward him so they made eye contact.

“No!” Cerulean tried looking away, but couldn’t. A blinding orange light filled the security camera. After blinking away the after effects, Vick saw only Cerulean in the corridor. He walked over to the dropped radio and radioed the duo in the control center. “Open the doors,” he said. He stared directly at the security camera.

They saw his eyes and immediately opened the doors. His eyes glowed the same orange as Lendon’s. ​Well, he can possess people now ​Vick thought. He cracked a smile. “He’s certainly full of surprises,” Vick said aloud.

“You bet!” Dultin said. “This just got better!”

“It sure did,” Vick said as they continually stared at the cameras. ​One more to go​he kept to himself.

Lendon was approaching Blood. Blood must have sensed him because he said: “What do you want, Lendon?”

“Blood!” Lendon said as Cerulean. “I found the switches to the doors and opened them. We should continue looking together.”

“I’m not a naive fool, Lendon!” Blood continued without turning around. “Leave me alone! I’m not going to be part of your team anymore!”

Lendon laughed. “That’s crazy Blood!” Cerulean’s voice said. “Why would I want you back? You obviously can’t be trusted.” Blood finally turned around.

“Cerulean?!” Blood shouted in surprise. Lendon stared at Blood.

“It would be easier to kill you now!” Cerulean’s voice took a dark turn as Lendon lunged for Blood’s throat. Blood sidestepped Lendon. He threw a knife in his direction. Lendon latched onto it with magic and used its momentum to fling it back at Blood. The knife destroyed the door behind Blood.

“No way!” Dultin yelled.

“What?” Vick asked.

“That’s where I put Derick! How did he know?!”

Cerulean did not convey any emotional reaction. Blood helped Derick out of the wreckage. “ ‘Really accurate hunches’, huh?” Derick teased.

“Hey, I got you out, didn’t I?” Blood responded. Blood shoved Derick behind himself. “Go find Terrace. I’ll deal with Lendon.”

“Who’s—?” Derick began to ask before he started glowing orange. He was struggling against the translucent bindings.

Lendon smirked. “You’re not going anywhere,” Cerulean’s voice said.

“Let him go, Lendon!” Blood threatened.

“Sure.” Lendon threw Derick against a wall. The wall was damaged on impact and debris went everywhere. Blood tried to protect himself from the blast, but Vick could see clear cuts in his sweats.

Derick was not unscathed. He had a huge cut on his cheek and Vick bet that he had popped his arm out of socket. He had many other minor cuts everywhere. He struggled to get up, using the wall as some sort of crutch. He looked at Lendon. “Why?” he asked. “Why Cerulean?”

“Cerulean’s not here,” Lendon smirked. Blood walked up behind Lendon and tried to hit him with the blunt end of his knife. Lendon froze him and sent him flying into one of the

other cells. “You’re very annoying, Blood.” He sighed. “It’s not like you’ll actually try to kill me. Though you might’ve wanted to kill him, you can’t kill Cerulean.”

The dust cleared and Blood was staring Lendon down. “… heh heh…” he laughed. “Who said I was trying to kill you?” Blood looked like he would drop down any moment. He threateningly raised a glowing red knife at Lendon. “By now, Derick’s been looking for Terrace. You really are unobservant idiots.” He eyed the security camera on the wall, which was directly at Vick and Dultin.

Vick was mad. He did not like that he was that easily distracted. “Where is he?” he wondered aloud while searching the cameras.

“There he is!” Dultin pointed at one of the screens. Derick was walking quickly; it seemed as if he already knew where Terrace was. Vick realized he was heading in the right direction.

“I’ll go stop him,” Vick told Dultin. “Keep watching Lendon, just in case something goes wrong.” Dultin puffed up in resistance, but did not make any moves to challenge Vick.

Vick teleported to where Derick was last seen. He did not want to accidentally hit Terrace’s cell while he tried to stop Derick, so he concocted a plan. His arms glowed red as he pursues Derick, who was getting dangerously close to the cell. He shot his arm forward, his strings lashing out toward their target. They grabbed onto Derick, promptly stopping his progress and incapacitating him.

Derick let out a surprised shout as he was yanked backward. Vick’s strings pulled him back like a fishing rod being reeled in. Vick grabbed Derick and teleported the both of them to the one place that Vick knew would do nicely.

The landscape swirled around their arrival. Nothing made a sound. The endlessness was welcoming Vick home. “Home sweet home,” he said.

“Where—?” Derick tried asking before a tight squeeze from his bindings shut him up. He seemed to be shaking from pain. Vick has almost forgotten about his injury earlier.

Vick laughed. “You’re lucky,” he said. “You’re the first to see this place. There is nothing here. This AW has no number anymore. Such a fitting place for someone like me.” Vick’s strings let go of Derick. ​It’s not like he can do anything​he figured.

Derick hit the floor immediately. He used his right arm to help himself up as his left hung limp. He managed to get himself into a sitting position. “This… is where you’re from?” he asked. Vick shrugged, not interested in the slightest. “Do you have any family? Friends?”

“What part of ‘there is nothing here’ do you not understand?” Vick snapped. His markings glowed in his anger.

Derick flinched at the retribution. “So, you’re really alone here? That’s—”

“I don’t want your pity. I don’t care anymore.”

Derick looked a bit annoyed at Vick’s interruption, but thought a bit before talking again. “It hurts, doesn’t it? Being alone like this?”

“What did I say about pity?” Vick spat daggers. “And what would you know?”

“Nothing,” Derick shrugged. “I’ve never been secluded like this. As for my knowledge, only you have. Only you can find a way to deal with it.”

“It doesn’t affect me anymore.”

Derick laughed. “That’s like saying history is nonessential. Vick, being numb is not coping. It’s blatant ignorance. You can’t say you’ve moved on without, well, ‘moving on.’ It’s obvious you haven’t.”

Vick laughed. The longer it went on, the crazier it was. “That’s what Terrace has been saying all this time. I don’t need two of him.” Vick’s strings reattached themselves around Derick and lifted him into the air. Vick opened a portal back to the Prison underneath him. He slammed Derick down through it and jumped in after. Vick’s strings receded.

Derick hit the floor with the satisfying sound of bones breaking. Derick shakingly stood up and trudged over to one of the cells. Vick was about to follow when he saw Lendon, the real him, get flung into the cell Derick passed. The door cracked open and, well, curse their luck, Terrace jumped out of the cell. He caught notice of Derick and immediately generated his paintbrushes and painted him into some state of health. Derick looked surprised, but didn’t say anything.

Blood walked toward them with a limp. He had with him a non possessed Cerulean looking emotionally unstable. Blood devil stared at Lendon. “Don’t you dare mess with Cerulean like that again!” Lendon only hissed his denial.

Terrace looked between Vick and Lendon. “Your plan didn’t work,” he said. “Good job! Bravo!” he teased.

“Terrace,” Cerulean rolled his eyes. Terrace shrugged and teleported out of the Prison.

Cerulean and Derick followed, leaving Blood alone.

Blood stared at an overhead security camera. “You’re so lazy, Dultin,” he said shaking his head. He left promptly.

Vick sighed. He knew they lost. He caught Lendon’s smile.

Vick knew it was not over yet. Not as long as they three were there would it ever be over. Vick also smiled. He would be seeing them soon.

VERY soon.