Rendezvous

I ran accross the pavement, the wind blowing in my face, so terrified. The only thing I could see was darkness, it was coming for me. I knew that I couldn’t stop, but there was no-where to go. I tried to run, but it was like trying to pull a door of it’s hinge. Impossible. Coming up behind me, I heard frantic footsteps. Is this the end? I questioned the darkness, but a voice replied.

“Why are you here?” it growled

I looked around me, I couldn’t see anyone

“Why are you here?” it asked again

I tried to move my mouth to speak, but no words came out.

“USELESS!” it screamed “but we shall meet again, Lena Ray”

Suddenly, I felt a sharp pain on my back, and fell to the floor. The last thing I saw was the sun coming up, as a thousand faces looked down at me, before I swam into unconciousness.

 

 

“Is she going to be okay?”

“Ma’am, I can ensure you, everything is under control”

I heard whispers of a conversation, and the constant beeping of what I guessed was a moniter. I peeled open my eyes. I was in a big white room, with several pieces of equiptment attached to me. I sat up, but as I did, the beeping got faster, and then the door opened, and a man with a white lab coat stepped in.

“Miss Rey, good to see that you are still alive” he chuckled, “but I must imform you that you have been asleep for quite some time” getting more serious, he walked and adjusted the monitor, as a woman walked in. She was short, and had grey hair tied back in a bun. When she noticed that I was awake, she ran over and hugged me.

“Lena, I am so glad that you are okay” she whispered in my ear “I’m okay grandma” I say “What happened?”

I contemplated telling her about the darkness, about the voice, about the searing pain in my back, but I decided not to.

“I was running, but it was dark, and there was a rock, I tripped and blacked out” I knew that it was a lame excuse, but it was all I had.

“Oh Lena” she said, stroking my black velvet hair

The doctor that was playing with the monitor, stopped and walked over to me and grandma.

“Miss Rey, you will be glad to know that you will be discharged from the hospital in 1 hour” he said “Thank you” I say, grinning “I’ll come and pick you up then” grandma said. She kissed my forehead and then left. Then, the phone rang, the doctor picked it up.

“Um, excuse my. Miss Ray, you have a visitor” “Okay then”

The doctor left, and then a boy walked in. He had short brown hair and very bright blue eyes. He sat down on the chair next to my bed.

“sorry to intrude” he said, “but you and I have alot to talk about”

“W-what do you mean?” I asked, propping myself up on my elbows

“How did this happen, and please don’t lie about it”

“You wouldn’t belive me if I told you”

“Try me” he challenged

I explained everything to him, it was as if I could tell him anything. After a few minutes of silence, I finally spoke up

“You don’t belive me, do you?” I ask “Of course I do” “What do you mean?” “Once you are discharged from the hospital, it will probably come for you again. All I can suggest, is that you come to meet me and the others, and we’ll explain it then” “Where?” “51 Cosgrove Drive”

Then, the doctor walked in

“I’m sorry, but visiting hours are over” he explained

The boy with no name stood up, and walked accross the room

“You never told me your real name” I say “Luke” he replied, and then he was gone.

A new beginning

 As I headed to 51 Cosgrove drive, the sunny town that I call home, turned grey and wet. I pulled up outside of the large looking house, and went to ring the doorbell. The woman who answered who answered the door had short blonde hair in a bob, and yellow eyes which were almost too bright to look at.

“Lena, we have been expecting you. My name is Louise” she said, “please come in”. She beckoned me to follow her, so I did, but what I saw was not the wattle and dawb cottage I had just seen. It looked somewhat bigger on the inside than it did on the out, with a grand staircase in the middle of what I think is a dining room.

“I’m betting you would like to go and meet the others. If you go up the stairs, turn right, right again, and then left, you’ll find a white door, go in there” she smiled, I followed her instructions. On the walls of the various corridors, were paintings of landscapes, they looked really old. Finally, after what felt like 10 miles, I reached the big white door. I opened it, and saw four people sat around a large wooden table. There were two girls and two boys. The first girl had shoulder length bright red hair, and green eyes. The second girl had blue hair with black highlights, it was very long, and blue eyes. The first boy had blonde hair and, wow, yellow eyes, and the last boy, obviously, was Luke.

When Luke noticed me, he stood up, and came over to greet me.

“Lena” he said, “I would like you to meet Saphire” he pointed to the first girl, “Avril” he pointed to the second girl, “Jacob” he pointed to the first boy, “and me” he laughed, and I laughed back.

I went to sit imbetween Luke and Saphire, and they handed me a photo. I recognised the brown book in the photo from somewhere. My bookshelf.

“This is the book that was on my book shelf” I say

“What!?” stammered Jacob, jaw wide open “It can’t be” whispered Avril

I turned to look at Luke, who was just as shocked as everyone else.

“What?” I ask, frustrated

“This book, it’s like the second most powerful thing in the universe” explains Luke

“Look, I don’t know why I dragged myself here. So if one of you doesn’t tell me whats going on, I might as well leave” I almost shouted

“She has a right to know” said Saphire

“Alright then, you asked for it. Back before the universe itself, before life had began. In fact, before anything was created, came the Darkness. Now, at your school, you were probably taught that God was the one that created the world, where people could be happy. Well, they were half way there. This is going to sound a little crazy, but the darkness created humanity. He was lonley, he needed to make himself happy, so he created the humans. But as the humans took control over their planet, the Darkness fell frustrated, it couldn’t bare to be around us, so it fled, and created another life form” interpereted Luke

“Like Aliens?” I ask

“No-one has ever seen them, they keep hidden among the darkness itself, almost like invisible warriors, to protect the darkness. When few humans were selected by the god of power, they were sworn to protect our world against these, no matter what, these few are called Light warriors, passed through generations, the blood of a light warrior reached us. We all have a gift, selected by the gods themselves, mainly to unravel our future. Saphire here, can go to your past, to find codes, addresses or phone numbers. Avril can influence someone to do anything, and they would do it, even if it was to jump of a cliff. Jacob can generate electricity from his hands, and I, can visit the future, but not for long.”

“Why are you telling me this?” I questioned

He sighed, and then looked me in the eye

“You’re one of us” he said, slowly

You are one of is, the words echoed around my head, like a non-stop roundabout.

“I-I think you have me comfused with someone else” I stuttered

“Sorry, but we don’t. You see, I visited your past” Saphire said

I glanced at Luke, who just nodded

“I’m going out for some fresh air” I say

“You can’t, it’s not safe” argued Luke, in a firm voice

“Why not?” I ask

“The book in the photo, did you say that you have it?”

“Yes”

“Many people are after that book. You also know the concept of day and light? Well, in that book are instructions, of how to make the darkness everlasting, but even the darkness itself doesn’t know how to do that. If the Darkness gets it’s hands on that book, our world will be a world of war. Therefore, we must protect the book with our lives”

“Comfusing, but true” Avril clarified

“So, you know those talents. What is mine?” I ask, intruged

“Thats where it gets even more complicated” explained Jacob, examining my shocked face

“You somehow have everything, there is no limit to your talents. Only, when another person with the same talent dies, you will no longer have that talent” Avril spoke clearly

“And you expect me to belive this!?” I actually shouted that time

“No” said Saphire. That calmed me down

“Okay” I said, trying to take control of my shaky breath, “but why come after me if the book is at my house, why not just break into my house?”

“The book isn’t at your house anymore” said Jacob

“And how would you know that?”

“The book, it’s no ordinary instruction manual, this book has been on earth ever since the begining, and it has a mind of its own, literally. It decides what it wants to look like. Basically, it’s a self defence system, it can disguise itself as any book that has ever been written, and move itself to any place in the world”

“So that explains why it wasn’t under my pillow this morning” I realise, suddenly feeling really stupid

There was a long silence, and then something snapped in my brain

"But how are we supposed to find it, it could be anywhere in the world"

"Every time it transports, it goes in a circle. But as it travels, the circle gets smaller" Said Luke

"Like a spiral" I say

"Exactly"

"But how do we find it?"

"We're going to visit you're past"

The book

Hearing someone talk about visiting my past gave me a warm feeling inside, not everyday does that happen.

"So how will this work?" I ask, a little nervous

"We can't just jump right in, first I need to ask you some questions, so that we can be as accurate as possible" said Saphire

"Okay then"

"Where was the last place that you saw the book?"

"In my room"

"Address?"

"19 Clover road"

"Sorry to be awkward, but, postcode?"

"Um, IL69 3AS"

"Thank you. Oh, one more thing. What place in your room?"

"Under my pillow"

"Okay, now I want you to hold out your hands and close your eyes"

 

I did as I was told, and then my hands started burning. I opened my eyes, I was sat outside of my house. How is this possible? I looked around, and then spotted Saphire walking toward me.

"Are you okay?" she asked, a worried look swept across her face

"I'm fine" I stood up to face her, she was alot taller than she looked when she was sat down, "Now what?"

"Well, we have 10 minutes, if we don't get out by then, we will be stuck in a time loop"

"What's a time loop?"

"A bit like when you put a song on repeat, but instead a moment of your life. It drives people insane, and there is no way out of it"

"Oh"

"So, dead simple, we go into your house, without being seen, get the book, get out"

"So simple" I said sarcastically

We walked over to my front door, I pushed it gently. Unlocked, as usual. I heard the faint snoring of Grandma, and me. I lead the way up the stairs, and into my room. Lying on my bed, I saw me, I look so peaceful when I sleep. I reached under my pillow, it's still there.

Truth, only the truth, Lies will hurt more, I heard the whispering, and started to feel dizzy, the room was spinning. Suddenly, I felt a hand grab my arm and drag me down the stairs.

The next thing I knew, I was sat back at the table.

"What happened, is she okay?" I heard the familiar soft voice of Luke

"It tried to contact her" whispered Saphire

"What!?"

"I know"

"Is she hurt?"

"I don't think so"

I felt a hand on my back, and then a whisper in my ear.

"I have something to show you" it was Luke's voice. I stood up, and he lead me down the 10 mile long corridor, down the grand staircase, and out of the back door. Before my eyes, I saw a great green hill, Before I even had time to heasitate, we walked all the way to the top.

By the time we got there, I saw what Luke was talking about. We went to sit down on the edge of the hill, as we looked out at the setting sun in the horizon. 

"Do you like it?" he asked

"It's beautiful" I reply

A few minutes passed, the darkness was near

"Do you know why I bought you here?"

I shrugged my shoulders

"This is called a place of darkness, yet it is so peaceful"

"Darkness as in the monster, or the shade of light?"

"There is no difference between the two"

"What do you mean?" I turned to face him

"They are both the same. The shade of light is the monster, but the monster is the shade of light, which is why we can't be out here for long"

That game me the shivers. All of the times I have gone out at night, the feeling that something has been watching my every move.

"I know the feeling" he said

"Can you read minds or something?"

"No, it's you're facial expression"

"Oh"

"Come on, we should get going"

We walked, side by side, back to the house, leaving the screeching darkness behind us.

 

When I awoke, I could smell sweet homey and salty bacon. I opened my eyes, I was in a large room with blue walls. One of the walls had a poster on it. LUKE'S BEDROOM. So if this was Luke's room, then where was he? My question was almost instantly answered by the sound of breathing, and it wasn't mine.

 

Morning

I looked down below the bed, and saw Luke. He was lying on an air bed mattress, and his hair was all scruffy.

"Good morning" he said

"Hello" I smiled down at him, and he smiled back, "This is your bed, you shouldn't be sleeping on the floor, I should"

"Nonsense, you needed good rest, you had a long day yesterday"

"Yes, but this is your room, in your house, in your-"

"Okay Okay I get it. I think Saphire has something planned to take your mind off of things"

"What is it?"

"We're going to the beach"

"I've always loved the beach"

"Me too"

"What about my Grandma! She will be so worried! She'll call the police!"

"We sorted that out. We told her that there was a school trip"

"That's a lame excuse"

"She believed it"

"Wow"

"I think we should go downstairs, breakfast will be ready soon"

I got out of bed, still in my clothes that I was wearing yesterday

"I need more clothes" I say

"Avril picked some up for you" he pointed to the spotty rucksack in the corner of the room, "You can go into the bathroom to get dressed if you want" he pointed to another white door

I went into the bathroom, it was more like a spa. Massive shower, massaging bed, is it me or does this place have everything? I got dressed into my black bikini, and then on top I put on a white beach dress, then I brushed my hair out, and went back into Luke's room. He was wearing summer shorts, a short sleeved t-shirt and sandals.

"You look nice" he said, a grin on his face

"Thank you"

We walked out of the room, down a different corridor this time, and down the same grand staircase, until we reached the dining room, where eggs, bacon, honey, pancakes, sugar and nutella were all laid out ready to eat.

"Children, children" greeted Louise, "please, help yourself to breakfast, you'll need lots of energy for the beach! Oh, and I made you all a picnic!"

"Thank you" I say, "but you really don't have to do all of this"

"Actually, she does" said Luke

"Oi, enough picking on your mother"

"Sorry Mum"

"Eat your breakfast"

I put a bit of everything on my plate, and ate it all in two mouthfuls, 

"Wow, you were hungry" said Jacob, I didn't even know he was there

"Yeah, I guess I was"

I heard footsteps from upstairs, and then Saphire and Avril appeared. They were both wearing a blue sundress and wedged sandals.

"Lena!" shouted Saphire, "you look lovely! Where did you get that dress?!"

"I have no idea"

"Oh, okay then. Well, we better get going, did you know that the beach is our private beach, so it will be just us there!"

"Wow, you're lucky"

"Welcome to the family"

"What do you mean?"

"Just means welcome to our home, I guess"

"Okay"

Luke grabbed the picnic, I got the door, and we all headed to the beach, the sun rising ahead of us.

Sunshine

We had to walk about a mile to get there, but when we did get there, it was so amazing I thought I was going to pass out. The sand was golden yellow, as if no one had ever walked on it before. The sky was bright blue, not a single cloud in sight. The water was so clear it could be a mirror. This was the most amazing thing I had ever seen!

We chose a spot by the sea, and laid out the blanket, surf boards, body boards, buckets and spades.

"So, what do you want to do?" asked Luke

"Surfing!" cried Jacob

"Okay then, me and Jacob are going to go surfing"

"I've never been surfing" I say

"Come with us then, I'll teach you"

"Um, okay then, I'll meet you out there"

The boys ran off with their surf boards into the sea. I took off my sun dress, behind me I saw Luke looking at me, I smiled at him as I ran into the water to catch up.

"Nice bikini" he said

"Thanks"

"Before you learn to surf, you should learn how to body board"

"Why?"

"Because if you know how to body board, surfing will be a lot easier"

" 'Kay"

"So first, you hold out your board in front of you like this" he demonstrated

I did as he did, this was somewhat easier than paddling itself

"And then, you wait for a really big wave to come" we were waiting for the wave for about two minutes, and then one came up behind us

"And then, just as the wave goes in front of you, you jump" he jumped on top of the wave, and he went zooming back to the beach

I have never body boarded in my life, so how does he expect me to just learn it like that? There was no time to question myself, another wave was coming up behind me, I jumped, and I went flying to the place where Luke was sat.

"Wow, you're a quick learner" he said

"I suppose"

We did a few more rounds of Body boarding, until we were both tired enough that we could fall asleep in the sea. Until we collapsed with exhaustion, we grudgily made our way back to where Jacob, Avril and Saphire were laying, and declared that we needed food.

Louise had made a real effort with our picnic, she had packed sandwiches, crisps, pasta salad, potato salad, ice cream in a cool tub and lots of capri suns!

After a long and tiring day at the beach, we walked all the way back, when Lucas pulled me aside from everyone else

"Tomorrow, I have somewhere we can go"

"All of us?"

"Just you and me"

"Can't wait"

I didn't ask him where we were going, because part of me wanted it to be a surprise, all I knew, is that the day ahead would be full of surprises

Love at first sight

Luke woke me up early in the morning, and told me to get dressed, because we had to get there early. He went downstairs to make some food to go, whilst I got dressed into my flowery skirt and my green t-shirt. I quietly went down the stairs, being careful not to wake any of the others up. Luke wrote a note saying that they were in the town and would be back at the end of the day, and we were of. The first thing I didn't know, was that Luke could drive, second, where we were going.

"So where are you taking me?" I ask

"I'll tell you, but I'll sound very childish. I'm taking you to the park"

"I love the park"

"Really?" he asked, surprise in his voice

"Yeah, really. I used to go to the park every weekend"

"Cool, this park is the best one I have ever been to"

"Why?"

"You'll see"

For the rest of the way, we drove in silence, until we pulled up in a car park. Ahead of me, I could see a large green field, in it, was the park. No one was there, so it would just be me and Luke, awkward.

We walked over to the park, and almost immediately I went over to the big netted swing, and Luke followed after me.

"Would you like me to push you?"

"You can, but I'm warning you, I am heavy", he laughed at the truth

"You don't look that heavy, I can't imagine how many boyfriends you've had"

"None"

"Excuse me?"

"I've never had a boyfriend"

"Wow, what don't they see in you?"

"Popularity"

He stopped the swing and sat down next to me

"You don't need to be popular to be beautiful"

He looked into my green eyes, and then, surprisingly, pressed his lips against mine. He kissed me, and I kissed him back, as if I had known him forever. But then he pulled away, looked at me and smiled. I smiled back, and we resumed our moment of pleasure, the birds tweeting all around us.

 

After what felt like hours of kissing, I pulled back

"Is something wrong?" he asked, looking worried

"No, i-it's perfect" I say

"I'm glad"

"Guess what"

"What?"

"I think I love you"

"Wow, I think I love you too"

"Flattering"

We both laughed, and then he stood up.

"Do you want me to push you on the roundabout?"

"Oh my god, we are so childish" I say, following after him towards the roundabout.

 I stood on it, and I started spinning around and around, until I was so dizzy that I actually fell off. I heard Luke running over to me to see if I was alright, he held out his hands to me, and I took them. So we walked, hand in hand, back to the car, but that's when saw it.

The little girl

She was stood over by the swing set, crying. I stopped, dead in the middle of the car park

"Lena, what's wrong?"

"That girl, she's crying"

I let go of Luke's hand and ran over to the girl, she looked about 8, she was wearing a white dress and holding a rag doll

"Excuse me, are you okay?"

She looked up at me, her eyes were blood shot and blood was coming out of her mouth

"I only want you to know the truth" she said

I backed away slightly, but she followed me

"I only want you to know the truth"

I ran, she was right behind me. I slammed into Luke, who just looked at me like I was crazy

"Get in the car!" I screamed

"Lena, what is it, there's nothing-"

"Now! Go!"

he got in the car, and started up the engine, I got in after him and slammed the door, and we drove off.

"What was that about?" he asked

"Did you not see that little girl?"

"What little girl?"

"She had a white dress, and a rag doll, but then when she looked up at me, she had bloodshot eyes, and blood around her mouth, and she was saying things..."

"What things" he said in a very firm voice

"I only want you to know the truth"

His face grew dark and serious

"What is it?" 

"It's getting braver"

"What is? Luke, please tell me"

"You know we were saying that the book can disguise itself as any book ever written?"

"Yeah"

"Well, the darkness can do the same, but with people"

"So you're telling me that that little girl was the darkness?

"In theory, yes"

"But why did you say it it getting braver?"

"Because the sunlight hurts it, but it came out in the sunlight, it's getting stronger"

"Bad, right?"

"Yep"

"So we have to be extra careful?"

"Yeah"

We sat in silence for a few minutes, I almost forgot

"About us...you know"

Suddenly, out of no where, he pulled over beside the hill that we walked up the other night

"Come with me, I have something to tell you"

We walked up the hill, again. It was kind of De-ja-vu because it was only a couple of nights ago we came up here at the exact same time. When we got to the top, we went to sit where we sat last time, and then I turned to look at Luke

"So, what were you going to say?"

"You might think I sound like some crazed person when I say this" he explained, "but ever since I saw you, ever since I met you...I...well...I suppose"

"You what?"

"I fell in love"

A tear fell down my cheek, and he wiped it away with is thumb

"I get it if you want to start slow, or if you don't want to start at all, I just thought you might want to know"

I didn't know what to say, so instead I leaned over, and kissed him on the lips, just gently, and then pulled away

"Me too" I say, "but we should still take it slow" I gave him a friendly smile, and then we walked away from the setting sun, back to the chaos.

 

When we got in, we didn't bother to explain where we were, or why we were holding hands, we just slipped away into Lucas' room.

"I'm so tired" I complain

"Me too"

"Give me a moment, to put my pajamas's on" I walk into the bathroom and put on my sponge bob pajama's, and when I walked back into the room, I found Luke asleep on the bed, still in his jeans and t-shirt. I curled up next to him, my head laid on his chest. I could hear the thumping of his heart, as I fell into a dreamless sleep. 

 

The wait

I was lying on the grass in a meadow, I could hear the birds chirping around me. I could smell sweet apples. I looked beside me, and I saw Luke.

"Luke" I said, so happy to see him there

"I only want you to know the truth" he said, in a little girls voice

No,no,no,no...

I awoke with a jolt, I could feel my head moving up and down. I sat up, Luke was still asleep, but then he woke up at the sound of my sitting up.

"Are you okay?" he asked

"Just a bad dream"

"You wanna tell me about it?" he put his arm around me

"It  started of so well. You and me were lying in a meadow"

"That doesn't sound too bad" he said, kissing my neck

"But then you spoke, you said what the little girls said, in the exact same voice"

He looked me in the eye

"I'm not her"

"I know" I kissed him quickly, and then went in the bathroom to change into my denim shorts and my I LOVE LIFE t-shirt, and came back out. Luke was still there, but he was wearing jeans and a t-shirt. I've never really seen him like this before, I've never realized how beautiful he really is.

"Ready?" he asked

"For what?"

"To face my family, to tell them that we are officially a couple"

"So scary, how bad can they be"

"Oh you'll see"

"What are we doing today?"

"I thought I'd take you into the local town, and we could do the average boyfriend and girlfriend stuff"

"And what would that be?" a smirk emerged on my face

"Going for coffee, me being dragged around all of the girly shops"

"Lucky you"

We made our way downstairs, hand in hand, to give them a hint. The first person to realise was Saphire

"Oh my gosh! What happened overnight?"

"Um-" before I could say anything, Luke spoke

"Me and Lena have become very close friends"

"Oh wow, Lena, are you pregnant!?"

"NO!" I said, smiling at her seriousness, "We're just dating!"

"Oh"

Whilst Saphire was getting everyone else, I whispered in Luke's ear

"I see what you mean"

"It's about to get alot worse"

Just then, Louise walked in, and she almost dropped the stack of plates she was carrying

"I don't know what went on between you last night, but it obviously doesn't concern me" she said, "now come and eat your breakfast"

"Actually, I was going to take Lena out to that really nice cafe"

"Alright then, but don't you go blowing all of your money on breakfast"

I saw the grin on Luke's face as we headed out to the car

"It wasn't as bad as I expected" I said, relived 

"It could have been alot worse"

We were driving for 15 minutes, until we finally reached a little town, I didn't get a chance to read the signpost, but this town looked friendly. 

We entered a tiny cafe (only big enough to fit about 5 people!), on the counter I saw an array of cakes, biscuits and pastries. We sat down and I picked up a menu.

Full English

Farmhouse

Eggs Benedict

Fried egg on toast

fried egg, hash browns and toast

any cake

There was so much to choose from, I didn't want Luke paying for all of this

"Have you decided what meal you would like today?" asked the waitor

"Um, can I please have a slice of that Victoria sponge" I asked, pointing to the massive cake

"And can I have the Full English, please?"

"Certainly" 

The waiter walked away, and Luke grinned at me

"So healthy, cake for breakfast"

"What can I say, a girl needs to eat"

"Yes she does"

The waiter came over and bought us our food. My cake tasted so good I contemplated asking for another one, but this was one of the rules of a date, never look too greedy.

"You know  you can have another slice" said Luke

"Mind Reader" I say, laughing, "I should really pay you back"

"Nope"

"Why not?"

"Because you still have shopping to do"

"Oh my god, you are so not taking me shopping"

"I so am"

"Oh god"

Suddenly I heard a phone ring, it was Luke's. He dug his mobile out of his pocket and answered. I faintly heard the voice on the other end

"Get out of there. NOW!"

Ruined

"Come on, we have to go, now"

Before we managed to get to the door, the waiter came up behind us

"I only want you to know the truth" he said

Luke grabbed my hand and pulled he out of the cafe. We ran all the way back to the car, and started driving away.

"So much for our date" I say, a little disappointed

"I know, we can always do something else"

"Like what?"

"I don't know. Hang on, let me call Saphire again"

"No, you're driving, let me do it"

"Okay" he handed me a small black phone. I flipped the lid up and found the contact that said Saphire, and pressed the call button

"Hello?"

"Saphire, it's Lena"

"Oh hi Lena"

"Do you have any news?"

"Yes actually"

"What?"

"You'll have to wait and see"

She pressed the hang up button

"What did she say?" asked Luke

"Not much, she said we'll have to wait"

"Alot of detail there" he said, sarcastically 

"I know"

We drove the rest of the way in silence, until we reached the house

"Are you ready for this? Because whatever they found out can't be good"

"Yeah, I'm ready"

We headed out of the car, and into the house, where everyone was stood there, looking at us like we'd just blown up a planet

"We have some bad news"

 

Lies

I started to wonder if I had done something wrong, because they just stared at me, no one explained, but they all stared.

"Lena" said Louise, finally, someone who spoke, "we need to talk"

"Why, have I done something wrong?" I asked, now a little bit scared

"No, but your parents did"

"What are you talking about, my parents are dead" now I was getting frustrated

"Come and sit down" Aril led me and the others into a huge living room, there were so nany sofas and a big fireplace built in on the wall, we all sat down.

"Now, this may come very shocking to you" explained Saphire, "but we think that maybe your parents are still alive"

"What!? That's crazy! My parents died in a car crash when I was twelve!"

"Well, yes, but your parents weren't the ones that died, another couple was"

"That's insane, I saw their bodies, I went to their funeral!!"

"No, you went to Mr and Mrs Tresgrande's funeral"

Tears were streaming down my face, I couldn't bare to hear this anymore. I ran out of the room, up the grand staircase, through the massive corridor, until I reached the only place I wanted to be right now, Luke's room. I slammed the door and then threw myself on the bed, crying until all of my tears had run out. Suddenly, I heard a sound, and the door opened, standing in the doorway was Luke, I turned away from him, but he made me face him.

"I know what they're saying may sound unbelievable, but you have to believe them"

"How can I believe them when I saw my parents' bodies!?" I sobbed

He pulled me into a hug, and we lay there, my crying on his shoulder, I could never stop crying.

 

I could hear the others downstairs arguing, and could faintly make out their words

"She should already know"

"Why didn't Emily tell her?"

"Keep quiet"

"She's only upstairs, she'll hear us"

I heard footsteps thumping up the stairs, and then the door creaked open. Saphire stood next to me, a worried look on her face.

"Come with me" she said

I carefully stood up, being extra careful not to wake Luke. Saphire led me down a completely different corridor. The walls were painted white, the floor was white. Everything was white.

"What's this?" I ask, eager

"Just a corridor" she said in a flat tone

"Well then why is it all painted white?"

Saphire stopped dead in the middle of the corridor, and turned on her heel to face me.

"This corridor is the exact same one that you walked down yesterday, and the day before, and the day before. Let's just say that the house has a mind of it's own, and it likes to redecorate on a fairly regular basis"

"Like the book?"

She took a deep breath, "Yes"

We kept walking until we got to a brown door, the only thing that wasn't white! Saphire took out a bundle of keys from her pocket, found the right one, and unlocked it.

What I saw in front of me was unlike anything I had ever seen before. I was standing in a gigantic library, I looked around me, there were books as far as the eye could see!

"This library is the largest in the world" Saphire said

"How?"

"Well, for one, this library is never ending, literally. You have to be careful that you don't get lost, which is why we have this" she walked me over to some electronic device.

"In this, you can type in any book in the world, it will find it, and drop it in there" she pointed to a black basket.

"Why did you bring me here?" I ask

"Because there's a book that I want you to read" she typed in a book, seconds later, it dropped into the black basket, I picked it up.

"Go back to Luke's room, read it there"

I did as she said. I opened the front cover, and nearly screamed

WRITTEN BY

CASSIA RAY AND LIAM RAY

WRITTEN IN 2010

That's not possible, my parents died in 2002. What if...

Found

What if my parents are still alive? What if they are out there somewhere, trying to find me? Are they thinking about me? Where are they? I had a million questions flooding through my head, I had to ask someone, had to tell someone. I didn't want to wake Luke up, I guess I'll just have to wait until morning. I went to go and lie back down, but then Luke sat up in his bed.

"Lena? What are you doing up?" he said, drowsily 

"I, I got some really great news!!!!!" I yelled

"What?"

"Saphire gave me this book, and in the front cover it says" I handed him the book, and he smiled as he read it

"That's incredible, you're parents may really be alive!"

"I know!"

I glanced at the digital clock by Luke's bed, it said 8:02, wow, I didn't know it was that late. When Saphire came in my room, I swear it was three in the morning!

I heard a clatter in the kitchen, and decided to go down. Louise was running around frantically with a wooden spoon and a bowl in her hands

"Louise, would you like some help?" I ask politely 

"No I'm okay dear. Oh, I want you to know that you won't be the only guest around the house by this afternoon"

"Why?"

"One of our relatives, her name is Tarragon, bless her, she's as sweet as pie"

"Okay. You know, I don't mind if I go back"

"No no no, it's not safe"

"Well, okay then"

"Did Saphire tell you?" she asked, "about your parents?"

"Yeah, but how will we find them?"

"I have the answer to that"

She walked away, I followed her. We went into the living room, and she pulled out a really big map, the map had loads of pin points on it, and it was in the shape of a spiral.

"These are all of the locations of the book. Now, we believe that your parents are in the center of the spiral"

"And where is that?"

"Well, let's put it this way. We're going to Mexico"

Slipping through my fingers

Mexico? Is that where my parents are? I suddenly felt a rush of joy sweep over me. I sprinted up the stairs and back into Luke's room.

"WE'RE GOING TO MEXICO!" I screamed

"I know!"

I ran over and flung myself into his arms. Maybe I am dreaming after all, but if this was a dream, that meant that my parents weren't alive, that I hadn't fallen in love with Luke, that I hadn't seen that little girl. What? Life was more confusing than it seemed, how was I to know the difference between real life and a dream? I pinched myself, mope, I was still standing by the bed. Maybe this is real life, well, I'll just have to get over it.

"Lena, are you okay?" asks Luke. I could barely see his face, no light came through the window.

"Somethings wrong" I say

"What?" his voice suddenly alert

"Look at the window" he looked, and his face grew firm. The window was open, it was 9:00 am, yet no light came through. He jumped out of bed in a rush, and hurried downstairs, I followed after him.

We went into the kitchen, where Jacob, Avril, Saphire and Louise were sat, smiling and laughing at each other. As they saw our serious faces, and their smiles faded.

"What is it?" asked Louise, sounding frightened

"Look outside" I said

She looked out of the window, in fact, they all did

"It's getting stronger" said Jacob

"Please don't go outside today" pleaded Louise

"But we were going to go to Mexico!" I shouted

"Well we can't, it's too dangerous"

"But what if my parents are there" I whimpered

I heard Avril whisper something into Louise's ear

"We'll go next week" she said, "I'll go book the tickets now"

She walked of, and out of sight, leaving the rest of us alone.

"So" I say awkwardly

"Who wants to hear a story!?" asked Avril enthusiastically, breaking the awkwardness

"Okay then"

"Once upon a time, there was a little girl, A.K.A me..."

Avril gave us a long and droning story about something Jacob had done to her when they were five, but me and Luke just sat there, I think we were thinking the same thing. How do we get out of here without being noticed?

"I need to go to the toilet" I say, as excuses go, it's not bad.

"Me too" said Luke. We both walked out of the room, and into Luke's bedroom.

"Nice one" he complemented

"Anything to get out of there" I laugh

"Yeah, I suppose"

He came to sit next to me on the bed. He put his hand on my cheek, and then kissed me, his lips were intense on mine, I smiled and then pulled away

"Happy?" I ask

"More than happy"

I laughed and went over to his desk where I had left the book that Saphire gave to me. I handed it to Luke and he flicked through it.

"Do you know what it's about?" he asked

"nope"

I sat down next to him and saw the many diagrams and drawings

"What are they?" I ask

"No idea"

He gave the book back to me, there was a drawing on the page that was open. It was dark, and had writing beside it. The writing was in Spanish, good thing I took Spanish when I was at secondary school.

"This is in Spanish" I say, "It says, 'The darkness, a living nightmare,  disguises itself as a human being, but especially fairy tale characters...'"

"Creepy"

Suddenly, the door bell rang. I went downstairs to look out of the window. A little girl and a little boy stood on the doorstep. The boy was carrying a hand full of breadcrumbs. Hansel and Gretttel.

"No! Don't open the door!" I shouted. Too late.

Taken

Louise flung the door open, a huge smile on her face

"Can I help you both?" she asked in a sweet voice

"We only want you to know the truth" they said, completely in sync

She slammed the door in their faces, looking absolutely petrified

"Go lock all of the windows and doors" she managed to say

We did as she asked. Me and Luke did the top floor, and the rest of them did the bottom.

"So" I say to Luke, who is walking beside me

"So what?" he asked

"I was just thinking of something to say" 

"It's not that awkward, is it? Being here with me?" he asked

"No, but the silence was"

"Nothing to be afraid of"

I had to laugh at that. How could there be nothing to be afraid of? Two fairy tale characters show up at the door disguised as some invisible monster, yeah, not scary at all.

"What are you thinking?" there was curiousness in his voice

"How you said there is nothing to be afraid of, when there is this invisible monster and fairy tale characters"

We walked along for a bit. I could hear the faint tap of the rain and wind on the windows. I counted between every strike of lightning and every rumble of thunder.

"The storm is two miles away" I say. I have never been very fond of storms, ever since that stormy day at pree-school.

"Don't worry" he put an arm around me, "the house is designed to keep many things out, I'm sure it won't mind a bit of lightning"

"Possibly not"

Without any warning, he pulled me into a room that I had never been into before. The walls were painted a navy blue, and in the middle of the room was a large oak double bed, with two china lamps beside it.

"Why are we here?"

"This is our room now" he said proudly

"W-what do you mean?"

"Well, it's our room, to do whatever we want" there was a grin on his face. I lied down on the bed, the mattress sinking below me. Luke lied down with me. All was peaceful.

The door burst open, my eyes flung open. I could faintly see two figures, they walked over to me and grabbed me, dragging me along. I could faintly hear the shouts of Luke's voice, and then it all went black.

Luke's P.O.V

My eyes snapped open when I heard the familiar shout of Lena. I scrambled up out of the bed, I saw a trail of blood leading out of the room. I ran out, Lena was no where to be seen.

"Lena!" I shouted, there was no reply

"Lena!" I tried again. I searched every room of the house, she wasn't there.

I sunk to the ground. She was gone.

Tortured

My throat was dry and sore, like sandpaper. I took in my surroundings. Grey walls everywhere, no daylight, no space to move around. How far away are the walls? I stretched out my arms, I could touch the walls around me. Is this hell? I asked myself. No, because I am obviously still alive. My jeans were torn up, and I could vaguely make out the redness of blood trickling down my arm. I felt the wound, it could have been worse. There was nothing to be heard apart from the distant clanging of metal on metal. I tried to remember the last thing I had seen. I was in the room with Luke, asleep, but then I was being dragged away, by two figures.

"Is anyone there?" I tried to take control of my shaky breath

Suddenly, a bright light came pouring into my eyes. I struggled to see, but then my vision came back into focus. Standing above me, was a girl no older than my age, she had brown curly hair and wore a red overall. Red riding hood.

"Good to see that you're awake" she said, a mocking tone in her voice

"Where a-am I-I?"

"You don't need to know. All that matters is what I need to know"

 "What?"

"Where is the book?"

I kept my lips pressed together

"Now, you can either tell me where the book is, and I will let you go running back to your little boyfriend, or, I can force it out of you"

"Never"

"You useless freak" she spat. She walked away, and then a few seconds later came back with a knife.

"Have you ever heard of plastic surgery?" she asked

I tried to scream, but it was muffled by her hand

"I'm sure you'll love your new look" she smirked as she drove the knife into my cheek.

 

Six weeks later - Luke's P.O.V

I sat at the wooden table, as I have been for the past six weeks, waiting for any news on Lena. None had come. I shouldn't have been so careless, I thought to myself, I shouldn't have left the door unlocked. Will I ever see her again? Were my last words to her, 'I will keep you safe'? I couldn't bare the thought of he being dead, or even worse. There was a knock at the door.

"Come in" I say

Saphire walked in and sat on the chair opposite me.

"Any news?" the slightest of hope rose in my voice

"I'm sorry"

"Well then how will we find her!?"

"I don't know"

I felt my eyes well up with tears, No, I mustn't cry, we will get her back. What would be the point in killing her straight away, if she was the one that had the book? She is still out there somewhere, I just know it, she is alot stronger than she thinks.

"Do you think that she is still alive?" I ask

"I have hope, but after six weeks, I honestly do not know"

"There must be some lead, something to work on"

"We've tried-"

"Have you tried her addresses, postcodes, anything!"

"Most things, apart from-"

"What?"

"Her postcode"

"So we still have a chance!" I jumped out of my seat in joy

"Maybe, but. Luke, it's just a postcode"

"That's what we thought when Tarragon went missing, but we used her mobile number to find a date and and a time, and then her address"

"For your sake, I hope we find her soon"

We went into the dining room, where the big map was laid out across the table, with a thousand notes, annotations and writing all over it.

"What's this?" I ask

"All of our attempts to find Lena"

"You really have been trying"

"Yeah"

She handed me a notepad and a pen

"What was her postcode?"

"Um" she searched through the notepad, "here, IL69 3AS"

I tried unscrambling the letters over and over, none of it made any sense, there was only one combination i hadn't tried. I wrote it down, success!

693 SAIL

Again

This has now been happening for six weeks straight, the same routine every day, lying here, in a damp dark agony chamber, waiting for somebody, anybody, to come. They never do. The food it gives is, well, I think it's cat food, but I can't be sure. Everyday it looks different, asks me where the book is. Of course, I don't answer, so I get tortured. The saying, "there are worse things than death", I never used to believe that, now I know it's true.

What if they have given up on me, simply just let me go. After all, who would put their own life at risk for someone that they just met?

The light poured into me eyes again, today it looked like Grandma. It still won't convince me, I made a promise to Avril, and I wasn't going to break it now.

"So", it said, "have you thought about your answer?"

I kept still, I find that's the best thing to do. She slapped me, hard.

"I will come back in 1 hour"

She went away, slamming the door behind her.

Would you do anything - Luke's P.O.V

Sail 693, that has to mean something.

"What does it mean?" I ask

"I don't know, I'll go and get my laptop" 

A few seconds later she came running back with her purple laptop and opened up BING. She then typed into google maps 'Sail 693', it came up with a location.

"Yes! That's it!" I yelled with excitement

"Slow down, it might just be a coincidence"

"Yeah, but it's worth a try"

"Fine" she stood up, ready to go

"Wait"

"What?"

"Where are we headed?"

"Down by the quay, there should be a row of boats, the is one with the number 693 written on it, that's the one"

"Okay"

We almost ran the whole way there, the problem was, we couldn't take the car, because there wasn't any parking down there. So we had to walk, but after 10 minutes or so, we were there. In front of us was a massive ferry with the number 693 printed on the side of it.

"Well, this is our boat"

Nearly dead

Dead? Not quite. Alive? I'm not so sure. It's about time that I just gave up on them, maybe they made it all up, maybe they worked for the Darkness, and this was a plan all along. I always imagined what my first kiss would be like, and now I know, not all boys you can trust, but how was I to know they were working for the darkness? I wonder what I would say to him if I ever saw him again, I thought it over in my head.

Luke, did you really lie to me? Are you really evil? Did you ever even love me? 

If I was ever to write a book called 'A thousand things to do when you are kidnapped' then that would be number one. The sound of metal on metal has become familiar to me, but I have never known what it really is, and that is what made me curious. Much as I would like to know what is going on in the outside world right now, I know that if I ask, I have about 50 percent chances of living through this, and that's not enough.

Abruptly I heard a different sound, the sound of flesh on wood, and alot of shouting, but should I take the risk of shouting myself? The answer was obvious.

"Help!" I shouted, as loud as I can, which was hard as my throat was dying

I heard that metal on metal sound coming from outside my little cell, and then the door flung open, and (hopefully) for the last time, light flooded into my eyes.

"Lena?" I heard a voice, I knew it from somewhere

"Open your eyes" the voice said, I opened my eyes, and me jaw dropped.

"Luke" I said

"Yeah"

He pulled me into his embracing arms, now this hell was over, or maybe not quite.

"What happened to-"

"We took care of it, for now, which is why we have to get out of here, now"

 He helped me out of the cage, and put an arm around me. It's been so long since I've stood up that actually it feels so wrong. I looked around me to see where I was being kept prisoner, it was large, and kind of fancy, with tea cups and tables.

"Where are we?" I ask

"On a Ferry"

"Oh"

I hobbled along next to Luke, trying to keep up as best as I could. But then he stopped in the middle of the doorway up ahead.

"Luke, what's-"

But what I saw almost made me faint. A woman stood in front of us, short black hair and very green eyes, she opened her mouth to speak

"Hello dear"

Alive for now

I dreaded the words before they were even said.

"Lena, honey, it's me. Mum" the woman said

I couldn't take it any more, I let go of Luke's hand and limped over to her.

"M-mum-m?"

"Yes"

I hugged her, the way I had done when I was twelve, tears ran down my face as all of the memories came back.

"But, but how, why, wh-"

"I'll explain later, but we need to go before it wakes up"

We found the exit to the ferry and before we knew it, we were by the quay.

"Shoot, we don't have a car" Luke said

"Don't worry, I have one" Mum sounded alert and frightened

We walked over to her car, and I was lifted into the back seat, with Luke and Saphire sat next to me.

"You're going to be okay now" Saphire reassured me

I nodded, in spite of everything that has happened, I didn't feel that hurt or scared.

"How did you find me?" I ask

"Your postcode, it was a number and a word, and we followed it, and it led us to you"

"Clever" I teased

We were driving towards the house, and then the car bolted around and headed in the other direction.

"Mum, where are you going?" I demand

"It's not safe there anymore"

"Why not?"

"Because it's there"

That made me silent. And everyone else. Was life always this difficult? I have just been abducted by a fairy tale character, and now I am stuck in a car with my presumed dead mother and have absolutely no clue where we are going!! I just remembered, my Grandma.

"My Grandma!" I shouted

"What about her?" asked Luke

"Well, she'll be so worried!"

"Not, necessarily"

"Why not"

He sighed, "Let me explain"

Finally

What he told me was beyond belief, my own Grandma, a part of this! Apparently she was the one that told Mum and Dad to go away, for my own protection, and then - the next part made me want to jump out of the car - he told me that my parents were light warriors 

 too, which is extreemley hard to take in, but there is one question that was still floating in my mind.

"Mum" I ask, "Where is Dad?"

She didn't reply at first, and then she took a shaky breath

"Dead"

"No, no no no, you said that-"

"I didn't say anything"

"But Luke did" I looked at him, and his expression was hurt and upset, I touched his arm.

"Sorry" I say

"No, I am, I didn't know-"

"That my Dad's dead, yeah, I know"

My future will be quite messed up now. Torn apart by love, reunited by family...

Remembering - Cassia's P.O.V

FLASHBACK:

I walked through the door of our large apartment, the smell of fried chicken and potatoes hit me like a brick wall. I went into the kitchen, where Liam was stood, cooking dinner.

"Hello, your back early" he said

"Yes, they let me leave earlier than expected"

"I can imagine"

"Where's Lena?"

"I put her to bed a few minutes ago"

"I'll go and say goodnight"

I walked to the pink door with the name plate 'Lena' on it, and pushed the door open. Lying on the purple bed was Lena, five years old, a spitting image of me. When she saw me walk in, she sat up in her bed.

"Mummy!" she cried, so happy to see me

"Yes I am here" I went over to hug her, when I saw the book in her hands

"What's that your reading?" I asked

"I don't know what it's called" she handed me the book, and I looked on the front cover. No. That can't be right.

"Sweetie" I said, suddenly panicking, "I think it's time you go to sleep"

"But Mummy it's only six"

"Go to bed dear" I kissed her head and then frantically walked out of the room and back to Liam.

"Did you know she had this!?" I was angry, but then when I showed him the book, his face went straight.

"No"

I looked down at the front cover of the book again.

DEATH BY LIFE

Mum?

"Mum? Mum?" I ask, suddenly worried

She snapped out of her trance

"Yes?"

"What were you doing"

"Remembering"

"Remembering what?"

"When you were little, I had come back from work, and you Father had put you to bed. So, I went to go and check on you, and you were reading a book. And the book, it said, DEATH BY LIFE"

"So I had that when I was little, and you didn't bother to keep it safe!?"

"It is safe"

"And how would you know that" my cheeks flushed red

"Because I have it" everyone gasped as she said it, is it true? Does my Mother, who abandoned me and Grandma, have the book?

"Where it it?"

"You have it"

"W-"

"The book I gave you" Saphie realised, "the DEATH BY LIFE can disguise itself as any book"

I reached into my pocket and brought out the book, there it was, right in front of me, the book that brought me into this mess in the first place. Mum stopped the car and smiled.

"I only want you to know the Truth" 

 

The fight

"Get out now!" shouted Luke

We scrambled in the car and started to run, but it was fast, and it was catching up.

"We...I...I have...to...stop" I panted

"We can't" said Luke

I clenched my stomach and then fell to the floor.

"Lena!" Luke pulled me up

"No, I can't run" I say, but it was too late, she was a meter behind us.

"Stay here" he said, and he went over to it. 

"Let me make this very simple" it said, "you can give me the book, or this world can perish"

Luke punched it so hard that it fell to the ground like me.

"Clever little boy, you don't know what you've just thrown yourself into" it stood up and send him flying over to the car.

"LUKE!" I scream, but it was no use, she came limping over to me

"Now, let me ask you. Will you give me the book?"

"Never"

She was about to punch me, but I squeezed my eyes shut, I didn't feel a thing, but instead I heard a peircing scream that echoed across the whole road. I opened my eyes and it was gone, nothing there, only a pile of dust lay in front of me.

"Saphire?" I whisper

I looked around and saw a limp body lying on the floor. I ran over to it, Saphire lay there, eyes open. I shook her, but she didn't say anything, but she had her mobile in her hand. I snatched it away from her and dialed 999.

The Truth

I woke up to the sound of beeping, wow, de-ja-vu. I opened my eyes, is this the same hospital room as before? Yes, the same man in the white lab coat stepped in, is it me or does he look alot older?

"Luke? Where's Luke?" I ask

"Your boyfriends alive, and so is that other girl, it's you we need to worry about" 

"Why?" I was suddenly scared, "Listen, I just want to see Luke"

"I'm afraid you can't, he is quite seriously injured"

"Well then what's wrong with me?"

He took a long sigh and stood there, I was about to protest, but then he said it.

"Miss Rey, I congratulate you on your pregnancy"

My eyes widened, and millions of questions came shooting at me. There was only one I was sure that I knew.

I already know how this story is going to end...

Impressum

Tag der Veröffentlichung: 27.05.2013

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