A Story Called...Um...Astrid

This story was originally written as an English Task that somehow expanded. Like most things I do. They are very short chapters though. Veeeeeeey short.
If anyone thinks this is worth continuing, I'll continue it.
And yay for my first post on this blog.

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Ch. 1

The sirens blared at a deafening level throughout the prison as Astrid strode through the corridors wearing nothing but the disgusting orange all the other prisoners had to wear. Panicky voices from the security guards clashed horribly against the rough jeers from the inmates as she passed them. Astrid was free from her high-security cell, the bars of which were destroyed, the brick walls in crumbling pieces and the now lifeless bodies of the three security men guarding the cell were slowly being consumed by the large cloud of dust she had left behind. Seven guards wearing bullet-proof vests came charging on to the scene, all holding a heavy looking machine gun each. Why bother - Astird thought to herself as she continued pacing forwards steadily - with the vests? Did it look as though she was carrying a weapon? Besides, the vests wouldn’t help them now. They were in her way, and for that they would need to pay the price. Four of the guards knelt onto one knee and in unison all seven of them opened fire on her. As the bullets bounced off her harmlessly after piercing the despicable clothing, Astrid smiled sweetly and continued walking toward the men.

The men standing staggered back, their guns slowly lowering from Astrid as she continued forwards and gasps of shock escaped their open mouths. The four guards kneeling attempted to scramble to their feet but ended up grovelling around on the floor after they had failed and stumbled over. And still, Astird continued her steady walk forwards, now nearing the guards as the other inmates, all of which were still imprisoned, cheered her on, amazed and delighted that one of their own had escaped a cell. They were wrong though; Astrid wasn’t one of them. She never was. She was her own and singular, independent and strong, powerful. Not a contributor to a petty jail club. She had thought that killing had become boring. She was, however, wrong. Astrid could see that now, after being locked up for so many years. She had heard the guards discussing her sometimes at night, wondering why she hadn’t aged the slightest bit in the fifty years she had been there. She had never told them. She had never spoken to anyone, or indeed spoken at all in the half of a century she had spent here. This rotting, disgusting castle was not going to be a place she remembered.

What should she say? Astrid was moments away from committing her first murder in fifty years. Fifty years too long. But surely there should be some kind of catch-phrase. Even a simple thing that could possibly be remembered. She continued to ponder over this as the guards attempted to scramble to their feet and their companions charged away from the scene. Three were now off the ground. One was slow. Too slow. Slow enough.

Her boot came crashing down on his leg and she felt it bend easily, weak and obeying. It cracked and played nicely against the scream of pain that reverberated throughout the corridor and echoed loudly. A terrible smirk played on Astrid’s face as she took three more steps forward, reaching the man’s head which was now lying back on the ground, eyes screwed up in unendurable agony. And then her boot came down once more, onto his forehead. In that instant, his eyes widened and she saw in them that he knew what would happen. His skull seemed to stretch for a moment, then it gave in, split into two and brains and blood went flying everywhere as his head practically exploded.

“Boom.” Astrid said with a dark smirk, and was gone.

Ch. 2

What happens when you murder millions of innocent people, get thrown in prison, escape, kill another person and vanish into thin air? You create panic. You create unease and fear and a satisfying sense of hopelessness in those left behind. Astrid loved that. You also have to go on the run if you aren’t willing to blow up millions of heads again one by one. Of course, she could simply make a fist and blow up three consecutive countries at once, but she hadn’t used her magic in decades. It may result in her accidentally changing how she used the ability and then blowing herself up along with the rest of the people. And that would be a bad thing. Not that she didn’t enjoy killing. In fact, she could fairly confidently say that her lust for murder has increased tenfold in the time she had been locked up. Why had she even let herself be carted off to that place in the first place? She couldn’t answer. Killing had gotten dull. Why? She couldn’t exactly answer that either. But it didn’t matter anymore. Astrid was back in business, as they say.

She stood on the steep, steep cliff facing the large ocean, the prison some hundred metres behind her, sirens still blaring at an annoying level. The waves crashed noisily below against the cliff face and, despite the incredibly long distance between her and the ocean below, small drops of water still managed to find their way into Astrid’s sight after being flung high into the air. The sounds of guards yelling something brought a smile to Astrid’s lips. They were still trying to locate her. That would never happen now though. She titled her head slightly and the prison easily came into her sight. There wasn’t a guard in sight, no one charging towards, her, no one trying to shoot her, not even someone on watch. Well then, they really wouldn’t ever find her.

Astrid stepped forwards and felt the ground fly from beneath her feet as she pummelled downwards, the ocean’s rough and unstable surface zooming closer and closer. And then a wave leaped out of nowhere at a gesture from Astrid, willing it toward her. It reared, high and coiling and curved her still falling body. And then it collided with the cliff like all the other waves sending tiny bits of water splashing in every direction.

Her body was covered, obscured from sight from anyone who may have suddenly rushed to the cliff and caught sight of her. Astrid’s eyes closed as another devilish smirk flickered across her face and she vanished once again.

Anyone watching would have thought she had been killed.

Make a Map, Tell a Story

So.. Posting my first story here. Anyway, it's called 'Make a Map, Tell a Story', because for school we had to, well, make a map and tell a story about it. But because it was for school, it's a little less violent, despite the fact that everyone dies in the end. Enough of my babbling. Here's the story.

Failure Island

“Failure Island?” Ivy asked skeptically. “Is that seriously the name of this place?”

            “Yes!” Chester exclaimed happily. Chester was someone who had called Ivy’s friend Anomaly to ask her to do something to help him, but Anomaly couldn’t go (due to having “important good-guy duties that murderers like Ivy wouldn’t understand”) so Ivy, who had been literally forced to go, went instead. Ivy had barely been with Chester for more than 60 seconds and she already thought she was going to go insane.

            “If the place is called Failure Island, then why would anyone want to live here? That makes them sound like they’re all…” She stopped and started laughing. “Oh, I get it now.”

            “People believing that they’re failures is nothing to laugh at,” Chester said in a pouty voice. By the time he had finished that sentence his smile had already sprung back onto his face. “Which is where you come in!”

            Ivy gave him a glare. “Are you suggesting that I’m a failure of a person?”

            “Oh, no no no!” he said cheerfully. “I want your help to turn this into Success Island!”

            Ivy looked at him, but she could only hold her gaze a few seconds before she started laughing again.

            “What’s so funny?”

            “That idea,” Ivy responded, still grinning. “It’s really, really stupid.”

            “Stupid?” Chester practically shouted, his annoying cheeriness gone. “Stupid?”

            “That’s right,” Ivy said. Chester’s face went red, his anger flaring. Ivy waved a hand airily. “Go right ahead with your screaming. Just bear in mind that I may leave halfway through and you won’t even notice. You know, with the power of teleportation and all that.”

            “Well then,” he growled, “I won’t yell. But you should know that I am now against you.”

            “Meaning…?”

            “Meaning that I’m your enemy. You should fear me. I am superior to you, because I’m an adult and you are a child. I win.”

            “I have a few comments on that little statement. First, making me, Ivy Animosity, your enemy is a really bad decision. Second, you’re not scary at all. Third, you aren’t and never will be superior, because I’m the one with the magical powers and I’m smarter, and I really hate being called a child. And you automatically lose. Or, if you haven’t yet, you will. Bye now.”

And with that, Ivy teleported away, leaving Chester alone and furious.

            Ivy hadn’t teleported far; she was on the street, outside the building with Chester inside. She was in the Island’s capitol, Depression. Out here there were all different kinds of people, people who considered themselves failures, and they stood out against the grey and cloudy sky. There was a lady who was singing like a chicken, a guy who was muttering swears angrily at a wall that wasn’t showing any signs of irritation – on account of the fact that it was a wall - and kicking at it, a pair of idiotic-looking girls who were trying to give each other a high-five but couldn’t, and a wide variety of others. Ivy approached the two girls who couldn’t high-five each other.

            “Hello,” Ivy said to them. They didn’t seem to hear, or even notice her, and they continued on with their failed attempts at high-fives. She tilted her head to try and look at their faces. “Uh, hello?”

            The two girls managed to high-five each other for once and they suddenly disappeared. Ivy blinked; trying to make sure her imagination wasn’t playing tricks on her. Right when she started jumping to a conclusion the two girls reappeared, their smiles fading slightly.

            They finally turned to her. One of them had blue hair that stopped at her shoulders, and the other had green hair that stopped just above her waist. They were both wearing ridiculous pink dresses. Ivy shuddered. She hated pink. And they both had the idiot look in their eyes. Ivy couldn’t explain it any better than ‘the idiot look’, no matter how hard she tried.

            “Hi!” both girls exclaimed at once.

            “Hello for the billionth time,” Ivy said. “I’m Ivy. I was wondering if either of you know where I could find a map or something.”

            “I’m Glitter!” said the girl with the green hair.

            “And I’m Sparkle!” said the girl with the blue hair.

            “I can tell why you guys are here,” Ivy muttered. She raised her voice to a normal level. “So, do either of you have a map?”

            “No,” said Sparkle. She gazed at Ivy curiously. “What’s wrong with you?”

            “What do you mean?”

            “You’re wearing all black and you have black hair.”

“And your skin’s really pale and your eyes are purple-blue,” Glitter said.

            “They aren’t purple-blue. They’re indigo. And I have black hair and wear all black because I feel like it. Can I have a map now?”

            “Why are you pale? Are you a vampire?”

            Ivy sighed. “I’m not a vampire. Give me a map or…” Ivy did her best to think of something that might register as a threat to their idiotic minds, “I’ll… I’ll… I’ll die both of your hair black.”

            “You wouldn’t!” they both squealed in terror.

            “I bet I would. Tell me where a map is and I’ll walk away, leaving your freakish hair perfectly unharmed.”

            “I have one in my pocket!” Glitter exclaimed. She pulled a folded up map out of her pocket and handed it to Ivy. “Here you go!”

            “Uh… Thanks. I’m leaving now,” Ivy said and turned to walk away. She stopped because Chester and about 10 other people were blocking her path. Ivy sighed.

            “Is this really necessary?”

            “Yes,” Chester said with what he probably thought was a triumphant sneer. “Here’s my army. We’re going to give you a chance before we attack you. You can either join us or be attacked.”

            “Okay, see, I would help you except… Actually, no, I wouldn’t, because you’re all really annoying, and kindness is one of my allergies.”

            “You asked for it,” Chester snarled, and the 10 people lunged at her.

Ivy easily batted down the first hand to try to smack her, then grabbed the person’s arm and flipped them to the ground. The next person tried to trip her and she used her foot to sweep them off their feet. A third person tried to get to her, but tripped on his friends before he could even reach her. She heard four people behind her and whirled around, using her magic to fling blue light at them. They all flipped head over heels to the ground. Of the three remaining, one actually managed to trip her, but she grabbed two of their ankles and dragged them down to the ground. Ivy stood up and grinned at the last person. He ran away, without Ivy even having to do anything.

“You really are wimpy,” Ivy said to Chester. “I understand why you’re on Failure Island, that’s for sure.”

His lower lip quivered. “You are so hurtful.”

“I know. That’s the point in insulting people.”

“I’m not giving up!” Chester said, his confidence growing. “I’ll just do this on my own!”

Ivy rolled her eyes. “You aren’t only wimpy, but you’re annoying, too. You know what? I think I’ll blow the place up, just to irritate you.”

“What?” Chester asked. “You can’t blow everything up! You’ll kill everyone here!”

“I know. It’ll be really funny, trust me.”

Chester looked at her in horror.

“You know the problem now? The problem is that I have to deal with you. I mean, that’s an easy problem to resolve, but it’s just annoying, if you know what I mean. I’m going to be setting up bombs all along the island, so if you don’t mind, you can run away now.”

Chester stared at her a few more seconds,  then ran away. Ivy opened the map, and groaned when she realized that there was little hearts and smiley faces drawn on, most likely from Sparkle and Glitter. She started reading it.

The entire island was shaped like a giant ‘F’. The city names were hilarious for being in Failure Island: Depression, Doom, Misery, Shame, Hopelessness, Despair, Melancholia, Hobo Cave, and Wimptopia… There were tons of them. Not to mention some of the landmarks on the map: Loser Lake, Friendless Manor, The Evil Unicorn Farm, The Graveyard for Hopes and Dreams.

Ivy arched an eyebrow. If she was going to blow the entire Island up, she was probably going to have to go to Depression, Misery, Friendless Manor, The Evil Unicorn Farm, and Wimptopia, to spread out her bombs in order to blow up the entire island.

She teleported out of Failure Island, and to one of her favorite stores: the Weapon Supplies Store. The man at the counter sighed when she approached.

“Not you again,” he said. “You’re always here. If you’re looking for knives or swords or revolvers or pistols or anything, I’m afraid we’re all sold out. You took everything last week and we haven’t got any more yet.”

“Well,” Ivy said as she reached the counter, “you’re in luck, because I came for something different today. I need extremely powerful bombs.”

“Something different? That’s a shock. The fact that you want bombs? Not quite so shocking.” He pulled a huge box of dynamite from behind the counter. “Any particular reason?”

“I’m blowing up an island,” Ivy said. “You know, because it’ll be funny. I’ll be leaving now.”

“Are you actually going to pay for anything before you do?”

“Do I ever?”

“No,” he admitted.

“Then I won’t.” Ivy teleported back to Failure Island, carrying the box of explosives. She was in Depression, and she decided to the capitol building to place the explosives on.

The capitol building was painted a faded grey, and shaped like the island – meaning it was shaped like an ‘F’. Ivy knocked on the front door, then looked at the sign taped to it. The sign said, “No one works here because no one is successful.” Ivy sighed, then kicked the door down. She walked past the front desk, and over to the elevator.

She pushed a button then stepped inside. It took probably around 10 minutes for her to finally reach the top floor, and by the time she did she thought she was going to go insane for being stuck in a confined space that long. She stepped out, and placed her box on the floor so she could open it. She placed a fifth of the bombs in the center of the floor, along with a little cube that was programmed to set the bomb off when she pushed a button.

Satisfied, Ivy teleported out and headed off to Misery by taking a boat on the River of Tears; a river that was supposedly made out of the tears of the people in Failure Island. The river was full of garbage and junk, and there was so much that the water had turned a murky grey color that made Ivy nauseous when she looked at it. The instant she got off that boat, she was glad about it.

In Misery, there weren’t even any people on the streets. Ivy looked around cautiously. It was strangely quiet. She walked along the streets, glancing around at the poorly built houses and buildings. Ivy heard a moan from right behind her and she jumped, then spun around. The moan had come from an old lady who was looking at Ivy strangely.

“Excuse me,” Ivy said, “but could you tell me where the best place to set off a bomb would be?”

“Oh, of course,” the old lady said. “Turn down the road down there and there’s a perfect little fountain to set it off on.”

Ivy arched an eyebrow at how ridiculous it was that this lady had even told her. “Well, thank you, I’ll be going to place this bomb now.”

“Have fun!” the lady said as Ivy started walking away.

Ivy walked down the road and turned where the old lady had directed. She found the fountain and opened her box to take out another bomb. Once she had tied the bomb to it, she placed a small cube on it, the same way she did for Depression’s bomb. She checked that it was perfectly precise, then nodded to herself, and thought of where she needed to go next. Wimptopia was probably best.

Ivy left Misery by taking a ride on a  train – a very bumpy and rattle-filled ride, for that matter -  and was, an hour later, in Wimptopia.

In Wimptopia, everything was made of cushions. Literally, everything. The trees, the sidewalk, the grass, the houses… Everything. Ivy was wondering what was going on when she saw someone trip onto the cushions, and start crying. Ivy rolled her eyes. That explained the title of the city.

She wandered about the city, only finding cushions, and came to the center. There she found a cushion tree, taller than all the others. Ivy approached it and started climbing up, and quickly reached the top, because even easier than climbing a tree was climbing a tree made of cushions.

She repeated her process of attaching bombs by putting it in the middle of the tree and placing the small cube on it. After she had finished, she teleported back to Misery and took another bumpy train ride to get to Friendless Manor.

Friendless Manor was packed with people, but no one was friendly. That was probably why it was called Friendless Manor. Ivy walked up to someone, tried to ask something about where the center of the city was, but they just walked on like she didn’t exist. Ivy crossed her arms. She didn’t like being ignored. She decided to just wander off until she found it.

The city center was, like the rest of the city, packed with rude and grumpy people. The people were so rude and grumpy and caught up with their own thoughts that they didn’t even notice Ivy putting her fourth bomb in place, topped off with a little cube on the bench there.

Her trips were becoming shorter and shorter, and the sky was getting darker. Ivy didn’t want to have to continue this the next day, so she decided to just do everything as quickly as she possibly could. And that meant that she needed to get to The Evil Unicorn Farm and blow the island up.

Ivy stole someone’s car and, despite the fact that she was 13 and it was illegal for her to, she drove for 30 minutes to get to the Evil Unicorn Farm. Since everyone was a failure, no one could really drive, so Ivy zoomed through the streets without hitting anyone. Not that she would’ve minded.

The Evil Unicorn Farm was full of exactly what the average person could expect - evil unicorns. Ivy hadn’t even known that evil unicorns existed or why they would be here, but they did and they were, so she wasn’t questioning. She was, however, questioning how she would get the bomb in the middle of the room.

The unicorns, which varied in colors from pink to grey, were glaring at Ivy with glowing red eyes. At least, Ivy thought they were. It was kind of hard to tell, because they were unicorns. She took a step forward and she heard all the unicorns growl.

“Hey,” Ivy said as she hopped over the fence that prevented people from coming in, “I’m evil too. Chill out, unicorns.”

They all stopped growling, and started nodding in agreement about her being evil. They let her get to the center of the room, where she strapped the bomb down and placed the cube. She was about to leave so she could set it off, but thought of something better.

She teleported to Depression, where she found Chester freaking out and walking in circles. She grabbed him and teleported back to the Evil Unicorn Farm before he had time to protest. When they had reappeared, she tied him to a pole and left him there. Ivy held up the button to set off all the bombs, and gave Chester a grin. “Good bye, Failure Island. Oh wait, one more thing.” Ivy grabbed one of the unicorns, then teleported away.

For a few seconds, nothing happened.

And suddenly, with a giant explosion of light and fire, Failure Island was gone.

Just a little Story I worte, you might want to read it note for note

Be Happy! Don't worry, be happy now. Anyway, I have desided that i should put something here, so I will.
More stuff to come

Dan jumped of the bus, hit the ground with his palms, rolled in an attempt to slow himself down, and ended up sprawled on the middle of the road. The bus swerved and hit a shop. Dan pulled out his gun and aimed it at the bus, trying to stop his hand from trembling. And then finally, something climbed out of the broken windscreen. It used to be a person. But now it was just a dead thing, fuelled by the need to kill. Why couldn’t they just leave him alone? All he wanted was to be alone. He fired the handgun three times. Only one found its mark. The bullet buried itself in the things brain, but it didn’t need a brain. The thing stumbled forward.

God, he hated zombies

It stumbled towards him. The huge piece of glass in its leg slowed it down. Dan considered running. He might make it. The thing was big, but slow and stupid. But zombies weren’t known for giving up. They were known for tearing apart their victims. Dan made a decision. He ran... towards the zombie. He attempted a roundhouse kick, but instead of the thing falling, deafened, it grabbed his leg and pulled him over. If Dan had been a fighter, he could have kept his balance. But he wasn’t a fighter. He was a weakling, wanted dead for pathetic reasons.

“Please,” he whispered, as it leant over him. “Don’t.”

It grinned, a rotten grin. It was properly told to do that. After it was finished grinning, it reached down with both hands, and crushed Dan’s head. 

Fanfiction thingy!

Sparky looked through the window for the fiftieth time that hour.

‘Where are they?’ She muttered. Right as she said this as a blue orb appeared in the middle of the room. Sparky turned and smiled, launching herself at Ivy Animosity, who had teleported in.

‘Ivy! How are you?’ Sparky said. Ivy stepped backwards and laughed.

‘Great, has anyone else arrived yet?’

‘No.’ Sparky checked her watch. ‘You arrived ten minutes early and I’ve been looking through the window for half an hour.’

‘Why?’

‘Because I assumed that someone would arrive early. But I may have-‘ Sparky was interrupted by a knock at the door. Her face light up and she ran to the door. Sparky opened the door and grinned.

‘Flame!’

‘Hi Sparks. How are you?’ Flame Phoenix said, stepping inside. Sparky was about to answer when Flame leaned forward and kissed her. Sparky smiled.

‘Please don’t tell me I came here to see you two kissing.’ Ivy groaned. Flame scowled.

‘Hello Ivy. How have you been?’ He said frostily.

‘Just fine thanks.’ Ivy said, smiling sweetly. Flame stepped towards Ivy and Sparky held him back.

‘Play nice.’ They scowled at her. ‘Both of you.’ There was another knock at the door. Sparky opened the door again. Eve Azure smiled, showing off her pointed teeth.

‘Have I missed anything?’ She asked. Sparky shook her head.

‘We need to wait until everyone arrives. In the mean time, make yourself at home.’

‘I’ll do that.’ Eve said, still smiling. Eve wandered into the kitchen and Sparky returned to her living room, where Ivy was sitting on the couch inspecting her nails and Flame was sitting on the armchair opposite, staring at the fire. Sparky sat on Flame’s lap and kissed him quickly, and then faced Ivy.

‘Have you done anything interesting lately?’ Sparky asked. Ivy shook her head.

‘Nothing at all?’ Once again Ivy shook her head.

‘No, nothing has happened at all. Except that guy who tried to kill me yesterday.’

‘That guy who what?’ Sparky said. Ivy was about to respond when there was a crash from upstairs. Ivy smiled. Sparky scowled.

‘What did you do?’ Sparky asked, getting up. Still Ivy smiled.

‘There’s someone upstairs.’ Sparky scowled and sprinted up the stairs. She walked in and saw Hayley Skirmish picking bits of lamp up off the floor. She looked up and saw Ivy standing behind Sparky.

‘Would you stop thinking inside my head! You ruined my entrance!’ Hayley scowled.

‘Ivy, help Hayley pick up the glass. Don’t kill each other while I’m gone.’ There was a knock at the door. Sparky groaned and sprinted down the stairs. Flame was leaning against a doorway and opened his mouth to say something when Sparky opened the door.

‘Áine Douleurs! It’s been a while.’ Sparky exclaimed.

‘What took you so long? I waited for like five seconds before you opened the door!’ Áine said, laughing. Áine stopped laughing abruptly.

‘What’s that doing here?’ She said, pointing at Hayley.

‘Watch it Áine.’ Hayley said, her tone menacing. The pair scowled at each other for a moment.

‘Guys, you are here for a reason.’ Sparky said.

‘What is the reason Sparky? You never told us.’ Hayley said.

‘Wait until everyone’s arrived. There’s only two people left.’

‘Who?’ Áine asked. A figure stood in the open front doorway.

‘I believe that I am one of those people. Hello Sparky, Áine, Hayley, Ivy, Flame, Eve and Lynxia.’ She said. Eve poked her head into the front hall.

‘How did she know I was here? And Lynxia hasn’t even arrived yet!’ Eve said.

‘Guys, I would like to introduce you to my good friend, Echo Blood.’ Sparky said. Echo stepped forward and smiled. She had white hair with black streaks. A bundle of shadows grouped together and Lynxia Lost stepped into the hall.

‘Damn, she’s good.’ Lynxia smiled. ‘What have I missed?’ She asked.

‘Nothing. Sparky wouldn’t say a word till everyone got here.’ Áine said.

‘Then why don’t we get started? Into the living room!’ Sparky said, gesturing into the living room. They looked at her quizzically and sat down around the room. Sparky stood in the centre of the room and looked at each of them.

‘Introduction time! Raise your hand if you don’t recognise everyone here.’ Everyone raised their hands.

‘That’s a brilliant start. Okay, Áine, introduce yourself.’ Sparky said. Áine scowled. She thought for a moment.

‘My name is Áine Douleurs. I am an Elemental, I specialise in water manipulation and I’m annoyed at Sparky for making me go first.’ She scowled. Sparky nodded towards Echo.

‘Hi! I’m Echo Blood and my senses are enhanced. I’m a world renowned tracker and I’m glad to met you!’ Sparky nodded to Eve.

‘Hi! I’m Eve Azure, I like sharpening my teeth, I think this ‘introduce yourself’ thing is random, I can morph into your worst fear, but only the person I direct it at can see it!’ Sparky giggled at Eve’s hyperness and glanced at Flame.

‘I’m Flame Phoenix, an Elemental who’s magic power leans towards fire and I am glad to see some old friends in this room. Mainly Sparky.’ He smiled. Sparky grinned back. ‘God, this sounds like an Alcoholic’s Anonymous meeting. Hayley, you’re up.’

‘Hayley Skirmish. Adept. Thief. Defies gravity regularly by running up walls and flipping.’ Hayley said, raising her eyebrow at Sparky.

‘Ivy.’ Sparky said.

‘I’m Ivy Animosity. I kill people. Normally when I tell people my name I kill them. I do pretty much whatever the hell I feel like.’ Ivy’s indigo eyes glittered. Sparky nodded towards Lynxia.

‘My name is Lynxia Lost, I break bones and I’m a necromancer. I use a bow and arrow. If you get in my way you’ll end up kissing my quiver.’

‘Well, now that we’ve finished that, why are we here?’ Áine asked.

‘Ivy, please say what you told me a few minutes ago.’ Sparky thought what she wanted Ivy to say very clearly inside her head.

‘A guy tried to kill me the other day.’ She said, scowling.

‘Flame, has that happened to you?’ Sparky asked. Flame nodded.

‘Me too.’ Hayley said, growling slightly.

‘And none of you managed to kill said man?’ Sparky asked. The three of them shook their heads.

‘Lynxia, you too?’

‘Yes.’

‘And you are all bothered by this?’ They nodded. ‘I thought as much. Echo is here to find the man. Áine is here because if Ivy didn’t manage to kill this guy, then we’ll need back up. The man that tried to kill me three days ago is black, has long, black, oily hair, black eyes which makes me think he’s a vampire and doesn’t have a left ear. Does that match your descriptions?’ They all nodded. ‘Do you want to kill this guy?’ More nodding. ‘And his boss?’ There was a chorus of ‘Yeahs!’ in the room.

‘Then it’s settled. Let’s get this bad boy.’

They decided that everyone was too tired to even think about the problem that day, so Sparky got out all of her extra beds and everyone sorted themselves out. Sparky moved into the kitchen and groaned.

‘Do you guys mind if we get pizza?’ She yelled. No one minded so Sparky got everyone a pizza and half an hour later they sat in a circle talking. Eve picked a bit of chicken off her pizza and blanched at it.

‘This chicken is already dead.’ She said, frowning. Áine looked at her.

‘Of course it’s dead. It’s chicken.’

‘I like eating live chicken.’ Eve said. Áine leaned towards Sparky and whispered ‘Does she really eat live chickens?’

‘To the best of my knowledge, yes. Eat your pizza.’ Sparky took a bit of her pizza that had every kind of meat on it.

‘So how did he try to kill you guys?’ Echo asked quietly.

‘He handed me a briefcase and said “Please take care of this for five minutes! It’s important!” to me. I peeked in and saw it was a bomb. I threw it into the sky right as it blew up. I was lucky to survive. I saw him running away. I ran after that, because I looked like a terrorist.’ Sparky said.

‘He came up to me and because I didn’t know him, I read his thoughts. He was thinking about making sure I gripped his right hand because that was where the poison was. So I punched him in the face. When his head didn’t come off I was mildly surprised and he tried to hit me with the palm of his right hand. He wouldn’t stop, so I left.’ Ivy said.

‘Did any of you get attacked in the last twenty four hours?’ Echo asked. Flame nodded.

‘Where?’

‘My apartment. Ivy knows where that is. It happened about twelve hours ago.’

‘Great! We can go there first thing tomorrow.’ Echo said, smiling. Sparky checked her watch.

‘I have a feeling that it’s going to be a long day tomorrow, I say we should turn in.’ She said. They all agreed and went to bed. Ivy and Hayley were in the front hall in case they were ambushed, Eve, Lynxia and Áine were in the living room and Flame and Echo were on the floor of Sparky’s bedroom.

The next morning at 2:15 Echo woke Sparky up.

‘I can hear helicopters.’ Echo said quietly. Sparky looked at her groggily.

‘What?’

‘I can hear helicopters and I can smell gunpowder. We need to go.’

‘Okay. Flame, get up.’ Sparky said, rolling out of her bed. She pulled up Flame who groaned.

‘No, it’s too early.’ He said. He opened his eyes and smiled at Sparky.

‘Not the worst thing to see first thing in the morning.’ He said, waking up slightly.

‘Thanks Flame, but we do need to get moving, help Echo and me wake up the others.’ Sparky smiled. The three of them went downstairs and woke the others up.

‘No! I will not open my eyes and stand up!’ Áine growled. Sparky rolled her eyes and shocked Áine lightly.

‘Ow! That hurt!’ Áine yelled. Echo covered her ears.

‘Shhh!’ Sparky said, covering Áine’s mouth. Eventually everyone was awake and up.

‘Where to?’ Ivy asked holding out here arm.

‘My apartment.’ Flame said, grabbing on to Ivy’s arm. Everyone else gripped her arm and Ivy teleported. They appeared in Flame’s apartment. Áine, Echo and Eve reeled back, dizzy.

‘Whoa! That’s so weird!’ Eve said. The three of them regained they’re balance as Flame checked around his apartment. When he was sure that it wasn’t bugged, he picked up his mail and started to go through it. He chucked three letters in the bin and walked up to Sparky. He tossed the remaining letters onto his couch and kissed Sparky. Ivy tapped Flame on the shoulder.

‘What!?’ He said.

‘None of us want to watch you kiss, remember?’ Ivy said.

‘She’s got a point. Echo, can you get anything?’ Sparky said. Echo was looking around the room, inspecting everything. She bent over and looking carefully at the carpet. She straightened and looked at the group. She smiled.

‘Got him.’

Everyone was preparing for the trip. They had to drive because if they teleported Echo would lose the scent. Flame pulled a jacket over his machete, which was in its’ sheath, strapped to his back. Echo was loading her Glock, and making sure that the silencer was on properly. Eve was sharpening her teeth and nails. Hayley was inspecting her Mark 23 and Lynxia was fiddling with her quiver. Áine was pulling her switchblade out of the strap around her ankle, opening it, stabbing at thin air, shutting it and flicking it back into the strap. Sparky pulled out her Makhaira and inspected it closely. Echo walked up to Hayley.

‘Could you use a silencer on your gun?’

‘Why?’ Hayley said, raising her eyebrow. Echo pointed at her ears.

‘Ah. Sure, but I don’t own a si-‘

‘Here, I have one.’ Echo held up a silencer and handed it to Hayley. When everyone was ready they piled into the minivan that they had hired and drove away. Flame was at the wheel and Echo was in the front passenger seat. She was looking forward intently, and giving Flame directions. The rest of them were in the back, making various facial expressions. Hayley was scowling because there hadn’t been enough room and was sitting on the ceiling. She was facing Sparky, and scowling at her very hard. Sparky was scowling back, not letting Hayley have another facial expression battle win. Eve was grinning at Áine, who was smiling in a slightly creeped-out fashion back at her. Ivy was frowning at everything, but that was nothing out of the ordinary. Lynxia was talking to Ivy quietly, trying to get her to smile. Finally Lynxia said something that caused a small explosion of laughter come from Ivy. Hayley raised an upside-down eyebrow at both of them, which subdued Lynxia, but only sent Ivy into further fits of laughter. Soon enough, Sparky was struggling not to laugh and Hayley was having a hard time maintaining her scowl. Eve was cackling for the fun of it, and Áine was looking frantically from one side to the other.

‘What did I miss!?’ She yelled.

‘Would you all be quiet! We’re almost there!’ Flame shouted. Everyone quieted down after that. They drove for three more minutes and stopped outside an old run-down warehouse. They stepped out of the minivan and stretched.

‘We should partner up.’ Hayley said, twisting her back. They looked around and shuffled into pairs. Áine was with Echo, Flame with Ivy, Eve with Shadow and Sparky with Hayley. They split up. Sparky hopped onto Hayley’s back and she ran up the wall of the warehouse. She landed on the roof.

‘Off.’ Hayley said. Sparky jumped off and smiled at Hayley.

‘Lets have a look around, shall we?’ Sparky said cheerfully. Hayley smiled.

‘I guess so.’ They walked around, Sparky holding her Makhaira, Hayley holding her Mark23. They walked across the roof of the warehouse silently. Sparky looked around as she was walking. There was no movement anywhere. She looked forward again and stopped. Hayley was standing stock-still.

‘Listen.’ She breathed. Sparky listened and stepped forward tentatively. She shrieked as her foot went through the glass she had stepped on. Sparky brought her arms up and she fell through the roof. She turned in mid-air and landed on her back, barely keeping her head from smashing into the concrete floor of the warehouse. Her Makhaira clattered to the ground next to her.

‘Sparky!’ Hayley yelled. ‘Are you okay?’ Sparky groaned. She opened her eyes and saw Hayley looking down at her through the glass.

‘What do you think?’ Sparky shouted back. She stood up, picked up her sword and looked around. There were shafts of light entering the warehouse at regular intervals. Other than that, there was no source of light in the building. Sparky walked with her hands out in front of her, trying to see. She hit a wall and ran her fingers along it until she hit an electrical box. She opened it and charged up the box. The lights flickered on and Sparky took another look at the inside of the warehouse.

* * *

Echo stood with her hands on her hips. Áine was watching her, doing her best not to make a sound. Áine shifted slightly on her feet.

‘Shh. I need silence.’ Echo said. Áine rolled her eyes and waited. Echo started walking towards the forest that was behind the warehouse.

‘Are you sure that’s the right direction?’ Áine asked.

‘Positive.’ They walked briskly. The entered the forest and Echo stopped suddenly. They were quite a far way into the forest.

‘What is it?’ Áine hissed.

‘Can’t you hear that?’ Echo asked, looking back towards the warehouse. Áine gave Echo a look.

‘No. My ears aren’t super good, remember?’ She said. Áine listened anyway. Echo sprinted back they way they had come.

‘Where are you going!?’ Áine shouted. Echo didn’t even look back. Áine groaned and ran after her.

‘I heard,’ Echo said between breathes, ‘Sparky scream.’

‘Why am I not surprised?’

* * *

Flame and Ivy walked into the warehouse.

‘How did I get paired with you?’ Ivy asked. Flame scowled. Ivy scowled back. They made faces at each other for a few seconds and eventually tried to look for a light switch. Not finding one, they walked forwards into the warehouse, seeing by the fire in Flame’s hand. They walked along, looking around.

‘This is so boring.’ Ivy said.

‘Looking for clues is a necessity if you are a detective. Which I am.’

‘Well I’m an assassin. I kill things. This qualifies as boring.’

‘Yeah, I know…’ Flame said reluctantly. They walked around, looking for anything other than wall, floor or ceiling. Ivy was pulling out her knife so that she could see how far she could drive it into the ground when they heard a scream and a crash. They ran in the direction of the sound but the lights flickered on before they got there.

* * *

Eve and Lynxia walked around the warehouse. Nothing interesting was happening, so Lynxia turned to Eve and flinched.

‘Don’t do that!’ She growled. Eve laughed and returned to her normal appearance.

‘Do you have any live chickens?’ Eve asked.

‘No.’

‘Sure?’

‘Yes.’ Lynxia said. Her phone beeped.

Warehouse.

It was a text from Ivy. Lynxia grabbed Eve’s wrist and they shadow-walked into the warehouse. They stepped out of the bundle of shadows to see Sparky, Flame and Ivy standing together. Out of nowhere Hayley landed on the ground softly.

‘Sparky, are you okay?’ Flame asked. Sparky rolled her eyes and nodded. There was a bang from the other end of the warehouse. Everyone sprinted over to meet Áine and Echo making a whole in the wall.

‘Is everyone okay?’ Echo asked, checking Sparky especially.

‘For Pete’s sake yes!’ Sparky cried.

‘I’ve found them by the way.’ Echo said, stepping back out of the warehouse. They followed her. She walked into the forest and slowed down. Echo looked back at them.

‘Just in here.’ She whispered. They edged forward into an empty clearing. Echo stood straight and turned around.

‘I was sure this was the place.’ She stuck her nose in the air a sniffed. ‘It is here. Where are they?’ There was a flash as nine vampires landed on the ground, grabbing each of them. The ninth stood in front of them all.

‘Why hello there. I have been trying to kill you people for quite a while. But, now that I have all of you, I can return to the boss. I hope the ride isn’t to bad.’

‘Who are you?’ Sparky asked, fighting against the vampire who was holding her in place.

‘No one of consequence. Silence them.’ The lead vampire said. Each of the other vampires knocked out the sorcerers. Sparky’s knees buckled as she blacked out.

Sparky woke up. She attempted to wipe the hair of her face, but her hands were locked in magic binding cuffs. She flicked her hair back as best she could and looked around. A hand grabbed her from behind and held her up.

‘Have a nice sleep Sparky?’ It was the same vampire.

‘Who the hell are you?’

‘Name?’

‘Yes.’

‘Fine, my name is Angst.’

‘Angst?’

‘Yes Sparky, my name is Angst.’

‘That’s a bit depressing, isn’t it? But, all things considered, you are a vampire.’

‘Is there anything wrong with that, child?’ Angst asked, smiling. Sparky spat in his face. He punched her in the gut, making her fold.

‘Behave yourself. Or you’ll get much worse.’ Angst said. Sparky scowled. He shrugged and carried Sparky into the next room. Ivy, Flame and Hayley were hanging from the far wall, connected to the wall by magic binding cuffs.

‘Sparky, I can break these, should I?’ Ivy’s voice appeared in Sparky head. Sparky shook her head.

‘Time to meet the boss.’ Angst said. A woman walked into the room. Everyone except Angst turned their heads.

‘Hello. I am Eliza Scorn.’ She said. Her red hair was hanging over her shoulders. Sparky glanced at Flame. He was gazing at Scorn with his mouth hanging open.

‘Excuse me Angst, could I please slap Flame?’ Sparky said.

‘Why of course you can’t!’ Angst chuckled. Sparky frowned and nodded at Ivy, who ripped her cuffs apart, turned invisible and removed Sparky’s cuffs. Ivy then reappeared and punched Angst in the gut, making him fly to the other end of the room. Sparky slapped Flame, who immediately snapped out of it.

‘Oi!’

‘Flame, I always say that you’re allowed to stare at other girls. But you aren’t allowed to drool.’ She said, unlocking his cuffs. Ivy had already ripped Hayley’s off. They turned to face Eliza, but she was already gone. In her place were Angst and five other vampires.

‘Ivy, now would be a great time to do that killing people thing.’ Sparky said, backing up.

‘With pleasure.’ Ivy said, grinning. She stepped forward and the vampires literally laughed at her. She kept grinning as a ball of blue energy formed and flew into the chest of one of the vampires, throwing him off his feet. The ball of energy slammed him into the ground. It then flew up and hit another vampire in the back of the head. All this occurred within seven seconds, not giving enough time for the vampires to dodge. Angst roared and tried to tackle Ivy, but she teleported to the side. Angst landed on the ground in front of Hayley. Hayley shot him in the leg. Angst howled with pain and rolled over. He was now under Sparky, who put her boot on his head. She made electricity flow through her foot and into his skull. He howled and gripped his head. Sparky pulled her foot back and looked at Ivy again. Ivy had just swept a vampire off his feet with a low kick, followed by a punch to the head. The vampire’s head rocked backwards as he crumpled to the floor. Ivy turned and smiled.

‘That was fun!’

* * *

Eve, Echo, Lynxia and Áine were sitting in the cell.

‘This feels so weird.’ Echo said. The others looked at her.

‘It feels weird for all of us.’ Lynxia said, looking at her bracelet.

‘Yes, but it literally feels weird. I’m having trouble adjusting, it feels like everything is being dampened.’ Echo said, rubbing her fingers against the ground. Eve was inspecting the bars of the cage.

‘I hate this.’ Áine said. Echo, Lynxia and Áine grumbled for a while until Eve screamed.

‘I can’t take this!’ She yelled. She gripped one of the bars of the cell with her teeth and ripped it off. There was a moment of silence. Then Áine spoke up.

‘Well don’t just stand there, do it again!’ Eve nodded and did it again. Thirty seconds later the four of them were walking around the complex, looking for a way out. They turned a corner and everyone but Echo crashed into Eliza Scorn. Eliza stepped backwards, to avoid falling over. Lynxia got up and glared at Scorn.

‘Hello Eliza. Have you had work done?’ She said frostily.

‘No Lynxia. Have you developed a sharp tongue while I wasn’t paying attention?’

‘Probably.’ Lynxia shrugged.

‘I must admit how unhappy I am to see you again. Very.’ Eliza said, staring daggers at Lynxia. Eve and Áine sat on the ground, watching the silent fight happening. Echo backed into the wall as Sparky, Flame, Ivy and Hayley sprinted around the corner. Áine and Eve tripped them up and Eliza and Lynxia were brought to the floor.

‘Sometimes, magic is very handy.’ Echo said, helping her friends up. They were all standing, including Scorn, when Echo’s eyes widened.

‘Run!’ She yelled. Everyone ran from the spot.

‘What’s the matter Echo?’ Hayley asked.

‘Vampires. I can smell vampires and it’s night time. No, not that way!’ They doubled back.

‘What was down that way?’ Lynxia called.

‘Zombies.’ Echo stopped.

‘What is it now?’ Sparky cried.

‘Well Eliza, you seem to have this place guarded quite nicely. Guys, should we fight the Hollow Men, the fully-fledged vampires or the zombies?’

‘I don’t think I’ll fight any of them. I’m going.’ Eliza said, opening a hidden doorway and backing through it. ‘I hope you had fun being alive.’ She smiled.

‘This is just fantastic, isn’t it?’ Áine said, banging on the wall that Scorn had just left through.

‘Hollow Men.’ Hayley said. Sparky had been standing very still thinking until Hayley said that.

‘None of them.’ Sparky mumbled.

‘What?’ Eve asked.

‘None of them. We don’t have any weapons to fight them with.’ Sparky said. Everyone paused. They then searched for their various weapons.

‘The lack of weaponry may complicate things slightly.’ Flame said.

‘I have a weapon.’ Lynxia said, pointing at her bracelet. Shadows coiled around her wrist. Sparky nodded and turned to Echo.

‘Can you tell where the weapons are?’ Sparky asked.

‘That is a good question! Of course I can!’ Echo smiled.

‘Which way is the safest to go?’ Ivy asked. Echo thought for a moment and started walking back the way they had come.

‘The zombies are slow and the vampires have gone to a different part of the building. I think the weapons are near the holding cells.’ They walked back and Echo stopped outside a door.

‘In there, I’m sure of it.’

‘Great, but how do we-‘ Hayley began. Ivy kicked the door down.

‘That should do it.’ Eve grinned. Ivy walked in and looked around.

‘This looks right.’ She said. The others entered the room and grinned. Echo reached for her Glock. Hayley gripped her Mark23 and trained it on a spot of the wall. Flame slid his Machete back into its strap. Áine grabbed her switchblade, opened it, shut it and smiled. Lynxia put her quiver over her shoulder and gripped her bow. Sparky picked up her Makhaira and walked back out the door.

‘I think it’s time we go slaughter something, don’t you think?’

‘Sparky, you know that I don’t like killing things.’ Echo said.

‘Yeah, I know. But Ivy does, and Hayley and Flame and Lynxia and Eve and Áine and I do.’

‘Do I have to participate?’

‘Of course not.’

‘Okay then!’ Echo smiled. The eight of them walked around until Echo stopped them.

‘There are Hollow Men up ahead. I’m staying here.’

‘Fine, just don’t run off, or get kidnapped or anything.’ Hayley said, scowling. The seven fighters turned the corner. There was a flash and all of the Hollow Men disintegrated.

‘Uh…’ Eve said. ‘What happened?’

‘I don’t know…’ Sparky said, putting her Makhaira away. A net landed on them.

‘What the hell!?’ Flame yelled. A canister landed on the ground in front of them, with gas coming out. They thrashed until the sleeping gas knocked them out.

* * *

Echo watched them walk around the corner and heard the sound of dust hitting the ground. She was about to warn them when she heard someone standing right behind her. Echo turned to see Angst.

‘Uh, hello!’ Echo said.

‘Why hello there Echo. I heard you don’t like fighting.’

‘You heard right.’

‘So, if you don’t like fighting, how would you react if I did this?’ Angst asked. Echo looked at him quizzically, then in a flash, Angst’s hand was around her throat, squeezing. Echo’s vision began to cloud as she reached into her jacket, pulled out her Glock and shot Angst in the leg. He released her a growled.

‘I’ve been shot in the same spot twice today! Not cool!’