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❈@~~This is a series of exercises in the course to prepare for the National Novel Writing Month (NaNoWriMo) event in November 2019.  The course is found https://www.nanowrimo.org/nano-prep-101.  My work will be in this color text.~~@❈

Session 1: Develop a Story Idea You’re Passionate About (That will take you all the way to 50,000 words)

2.Borrow a Character: Invent a history or future for someone. Maybe it’s a friend you lost touch with after college, a teacher you had, a family member you’ve heard stories about, or just someone you’ve seen in photos or on the bus. I’d like to write a novel starring my great-grandmother someday, inspired by the pictures I’ve seen of her (I’ve never really heard anything about her!).

Who is the person that intrigues you? What was their childhood like? What did they dream of? What was their greatest desire? What obstacles did they face? What was their greatest triumph?

My Mother.
From what she told me her childhood was chaotic. She went to 21 different schools in one school year. The family moved all over south Florida. She was a tomboy. She was one of those kids who was either in trouble or knew who pulled the prank which had just been completed.
She really never told me what she dreamed of being as a child. I know she was very happy as a mother and homemaker. I remember her canning food. I remember her selling Tupperware. I remember her organizing trips for us to go to museums and historical locations to learn about the history of the world around us. She took us to the zoo and taught us about nature. I remember her telling my Kindergarten teacher to teach me how to read because if I knew how to read I could do, learn, and be anything I wanted.
My Mother didn’t know it as she grew up she was dyslexic among some other issues which affected her learning abilities. She was ADD and had a mental illness which went undiagnosed and untreated till she was an adult in her 30s.
She raised two children and lived to see both married happily with children of their own. She got to see her great-granddaughter before she died.

Finally (since most novels aren’t someone’s entire life story), you have to find the story. What part of that imagined life has the most drama, the most ups and downs? A moment of adventure or possibility or danger, when things changed? Remember, you’re INVENTING this person, so feel free to go wild.

While a tomboy and rather mischievous child, the girl’s energy was eventually channeled into ice skating. Eventually, her energies were focused on speed skating as she tried to see if she could beat the boys in speed. She was 10 years old when she entered her first competition. By the time she was sixteen, she was a favorite for the ladies Olympic trails. It wasn’t surprising when she took first place for the team. This determination was to serve her well while she participated in the Olympics and after. However, this determination would be tested far more in ways she and no one else would ever know after a fatal car accident left her in a coma.

❈@~~This is a series of exercises in the course to prepare for the National Novel Writing Month (NaNoWriMo) event in November 2019.  The course is found https://www.nanowrimo.org/nano-prep-101.  My work will be in this color text.~~@❈

Session 1: Develop a Story Idea You’re Passionate About (That will take you all the way to 50,000 words)
Get started with: 4 Ways to Develop an Idea
1.Borrow a Plot: First, write a summary of 3 books or movies or stories you love. Include important characters, major plot turns, and setting.

Young man and his pregnant mother are forced into the deepness of a desert on an unfamiliar planet after the assassination of his father. They are taken in after proving themselves worthy by the planet’s native population of oppressed people. While cosmic political intrigue and plots get underway to deny him his proper place in the political structure as his father’s heir, he learns the native ways as well as strengthening the teachings of his mother, who becomes a religious leader among the natives while carrying his little sister, and falls in love with a native girl. It culminates in a showdown and duel in front of the intergalactic Emperor for justice for his father and his rightful title. Winning the duel, he takes his place replacing the current Emperor upon marrying his daughter in a political marriage.

『••✎••』

Noble man remarries after his wife dies leaving him with a very young daughter to raise. His new wife has two daughters of her own from a previous marriage. Several years later, he leaves on business and dies while abroad. While his daughter is too young to inherit from him, she is left in the care of her step-mother. Her step-mother, keen on advancing her own daughters more than her step-daughter. She squanders the girl’s inheritance in deference to her own daughters comfort and extravagance. Years pass, the girl who doesn’t know of her true status is now a virtual slave in her own home when the Prince of the land returns from schooling abroad. His parents eager to have him wed throw a ball inviting all the eligible girls. While promising to allow the girl to go if certain conditions are met, the step-mother makes sure her own daughters are ready and the girl is not. The girl manages to go due to the assistance of a “magical being”. However, in fleeing the ball to meat the conditions of the magic, she looses her slipper. A hunt through the kingdom for her is conducted by the Prince looking for the girl he met and wished to marry. Eventually, he finds her and they are wed, despite the efforts to prevent it by the step-mother and sisters.

『••✎••』

An actor is injured in an accident. This ends the actor’s career and future. The actor makes a deal with the devil to get his life back. At the end of the time appointed in the deal, the actor is a successful and prosperous actor. He begs to keep his life as it is instead of losing his life and his soul. The Devil refuses his offers and pleas. The actor’s family finds him dead the next day of mysterious circumstances as the Devil has taken the actor’s soul to hell.

Then, choose one of the summaries and start changing around different parts – characters, setting, plot turns, adjectives, verbs, anything else you like! See where those changes take you, and keep writing when you get inspired.

Change around the elements of one or all of your summaries:

The actor is now a 21 year old female speed skater, who was an Olympic medalist and a successful Professional. She was in an accident…car accident not of her fault. As a result of the accident, she is paralyzed from the waist down and loses use of her left arm.

The media twists the story tainting the reputation of the young woman while she is in a coma after the accident. When she awakens, she struggles to come to grips with her injuries and recover. She is questioned by authorities investigating the accident. While the authorities clear her of all fault, the media damage is already done.

While struggling to overcome trauma, depression, and her injuries, she finds out how the media has smeared her. She finds out how much damage was done to her reputation. She feels the weight of the lies told about her and believed by many people in the public.

She finds some ancient books. One of them has a “chapter” on summoning a being which can restore things within one’s life for one for a price. After studying and considering all the consequences and possibilities of what would happen if she summons this being. She resists performing the summoning for many reasons, not the least of which is the unknown cost.

However, finally hitting rock bottom emotionally, she summons the being. She makes the agreement with it Gradually, she regains use of her left arm then her legs. She is vindicated in the media for the accident while court proceedings reveal her innocence.
As she works to put her life back together with the “miraculous recovery” she achieves.

In the end, the being comes to find the athlete for payment. Of course, the young woman tries to get out of the payment. In the end, the being gives her one way to get out of it. She has to make a choice.

⊱🌹 ⟿  I see this being expanded at some time in the future.  As usual if you created or know who created the graphics used, please let me know so I can credit you or them.  I hope you will enjoy it as it is.  ⟿ 🌹⊰

**** Trigger Warning: Claustrophobia Subject Matter ****

❈@~~ Rough Edit ~~@❈

♥ ─── ・ 。゚☆: *.☽ .* :☆゚. ─── ♥

Slowly I opened my eyes. There was nothing but blackness around me. I tried to remember what happened before I apparently fell asleep. At least, I believe I fell asleep. My mind is still not sure.

•| ⊱✿⊰ |•

I remembered feeling faint shortly after the ceremony. We got to the hotel’s Honeymoon suite after all of the celebrations. I was still in my gown as I sat on a plush chair while slipping off my shoes. I watched Ryan as he moved around the room fussing about making sure all our things have been moved into the room from our separate rooms of the night before.

I called him close to pull him down by his jacket into a kiss. He smiled as the kiss ended. I knew he just wanted us to be ready for the morning. He wanted nothing to interfere with what we had planned for our honeymoon. I let him go back to his accounting and preparations as I tried to overcome the feeling of drifting consciousness. I was still dizzy and faint even sitting down.

Ryan finally pulled off his jacket and tie. I remember him kneeling down in front of me and caressing my cheek. Ours had been a morning wedding. The reception had been a luncheon type, which left us with the afternoon and evening to enjoy alone as a newly married couple. I knew from what we had discussed between us in private, it would be different than other couples.

Ryan made some comment about how it seemed neither of us slept much the night before. “Perhaps we should take a nap after getting out of our formal wear,” he said as he smiled at me. “You have a long night and day tomorrow.”

I remember telling him I would need his help to get out of the gown. We had giggled as I’m sure I blushed. He worked on getting his shirt off as I tried to move myself out of the chair. I remember him coming out of the bathroom in his slacks and socks while I stood up. That was all I remembered.

•| ⊱✿⊰ |•

Had I fainted? If so, where was I now. I moved my hands down my front to find I was still in my gown. I ran my hand across my body as much as I could to see if I could tell what else I was dressed in. I even had the veil still on me.

Trying to sit up resulted in a smack against my head. That was when I realized I was in something. I moved my hands around to feel what was around me. There was a silk-like material around me like an elaborate bedding. The difference was the top, the part over my head and body. I wasn’t sure what this meant. I couldn’t understand. I tried to remember what Ryan had said.

The top over my body gave a little as I pushed on it. I pushed harder. It opened. I sat up to see I had been laying in a coffin in my wedding gown.

The room it was in was obviously a chapel of some kind. I could see some of it in the darkness. My eyes were adjusting to the darkness faster than I ever remember it doing before. It had no windows I could see. I moved the lower half of the lid so it was open too. I was able to tell the coffin was on some kind of a solid pedestal.

Perhaps this was some strange dream. I could just go through the dream to see what happens. It bothered me I was dreaming of being in a coffin in my wedding gown. Does that mean my young marriage is doomed? Ryan and I had plans for the future.

It took me several minutes to find a way to get out of the coffin without hurting myself or disturbing anything. The last thing I wanted was to turn the coffin over on me.

It was a nice coffin at least. One I would probably like, if I had to choose one for myself. I backed up to moved down the stairs before I turned. There was a bulletin on one of the pews. I picked it up. There on the cover was my name with my birthday and my wedding day listed as my death day. I sat on the pew before I fell to the ground from shock.

I woke up in a coffin in my wedding gown after having died on my wedding day, but I’m not dead. Am I? I didn’t feel dead. I checked for a heart beat and for breathing. I was breathing. My heart despite beating a bit too fast was beating. I seemed to be alive.

So why was I in the coffin. Why was the chapel apparently ready for my funeral? Had the funeral already happen? Or was it still to happen? Was this part of the process? Was this normal? I wasn’t sure. I couldn’t think straight.

I found myself reading the bulletin out loud. It made me sick to my stomach as I did. Everyone presumed I was dead. Somehow I knew I was not dreaming. I moved from the pew to stand. Turning to the closed doors of the chapel, I made my way to them. I was careful to hold my gown up so not to trip over it or rip it. When I got to the door, I found the main chapel doors were locked. I tried the other doors getting more and more panicked. They were locked too. There had to be another way out. I had to get out to find out what was going on. I wondered where Ryan was.

Just then, there was a sound behind me from where the coffin was. I turned to look through the darkness hoping the ambient light was enough for me to see what had made the sound. My eyes found the light was more than enough though it may have been too much. It was interesting to notice how much sharper my senses seemed to be becoming the longer I was awake. I wasn’t sure I wanted to see what I thought I saw.

Slowly, I moved closer as the shadow or dark mist figure seemed to rise out of the floor next to my coffin. I was still in the aisle between the pews. When it finished rising from the ground at the head of my coffin, I stopped. Even though I couldn’t see its face, I watched it turn to look at me. I wished I could run out of the chapel. It turned its body to face me completely.

I couldn’t move. I was frozen as I watched this shadow being, who had seemingly rose from the floor beside my coffin, walk towards me. I couldn’t even close my eyes as it reached me. Its hand raised to caress my cheek while solidifying into a gloved hand. While it continued to take a more solid form, it caressed my face. A familiar voice softly spoke “Now, our life together can really begin. No one will ever take you from me, not even death.”

I managed to look up as I recognized his voice. I know my voice was trembling as I said “Ryan?”

“Yes,” he said in answer while his form finished solidifying. “I know you must have many questions. I had hoped to get here before you woke. We have to go. I will tell you anything you wished to know once we get home.”

“Home? Am I not dead?”

He turned his head to look at the coffin. The open lids where I had climbed out suddenly snapped shut. “To them, you are. To me, you are not,” he said. He lifted me into his arms carefully. “I promise you will understand everything once we are home. For now, just trust me. This is the way it must be. It is easier for both of us, especially you.”

I nodded slowly as I moved my arms around his neck and shoulders to hold onto him. I wasn’t sure how he planned on us leaving, but he was the only person I trusted completely in the world. Even in this strangeness, I trusted him. Suddenly, the chapel dissolved around us. I closed my eyes as I held onto him tightly my head moving to rest against his chest.

“Open your eyes,” he said kissing my cheek. I obeyed. I was met with light coming through stained glass from the moon onto a marble staircase and floor. “Welcome home my love.”

“Ryan, this is our home?”

“Yes,” Ryan said “No fear can reach us here. We are safe forever. To answer your first question, you aren’t what many would think of being alive anymore, but you aren’t dead either. I had to present your death to our friends and your family so they would accept our departure here.”

“And here is?”

He smiled as he moved forward still holding me in his arms. “Home, in the mountains of what is now Romania. Didn’t you always dream of this?”

“Yes, but I never thought it would be possible.”

“Oh so much is possible. So much you don’t know of yet because you have forgotten. You will remember everything in the next two weeks. Trust me, we have all the time in the world to make memories now,” Ryan said as he spun me around. “Besides we are young forever and immortal. Nothing is beyond us.”

I blinked something entering my thoughts as I looked at him. “Ryan, we are…”

“Vampires? Yes, my love, we are.”

♥ ─── ・ 。゚☆: *.☽ .* :☆゚. ─── ♥

 

⊱🌹 ⟿  Art/Photo Credit:
Images are not mine. Credit to the original artists.  If you are the original artist, please let me know so I can give you credit. ⟿ 🌹⊰

⊱🌹 ⟿  Intellectual Property:
All written content, unless otherwise indicated, is my intellectual property and thus covered under copyright laws. Do not use or steal. ⟿ 🌹⊰

⊱🌹 ⟿  Hopefully this will post this time.  Sorry this is so long between posts.  I need to explain about the following piece.  In the challenge, we were limited to 1500 words.  This made me remove a lot of what I normally would have included.  I am apologizing now for the disjointednesss and awkwardness of the writing in this one.  Normally, even first drafts are better than this.  Future drafts will most likely be much more detailed and better flowing than this first draft.  However, I thought it would be interesting for you all and me to have a record of the changed which happen in this piece once the limit is removed.  I do see this being expanded at some time in the future.  As usual if you created or know who created the graphics used, please let me know so I can credit you or them.  I hope you will enjoy it as it is.  ⟿ 🌹⊰

Gaur

**** Trigger Warning: Blood, urine, violence, and mature subject matter involved. #WTW ****

@~~ Rough Edit ~~@

The three bodies pressed against the cold, marbled wall. It took another five minutes for the fourth body to join them. Soft whisper said “What took so long?”

“Trying to make sure we weren’t followed,” came the whispered answer.

Movement between the fourth and the first bodies was the next silent exchange. The first started sidestepping against the wall in the darkness. One by one each moved further down the way towards where they hoped would lead them out. They found an opening in the marble wall and moved through it disappearing into the wall before it closed behind the fourth body.

It was dark and silent between the walls. They had no idea how long they had to go from here. They couldn’t even see an outline of others as they moved. Their hands move up to join with hand of the figure in front of them. Each of them moved to close ranks before they moved forward faster.

Running would make too much noise, not counting the sound their heavy breathing would cause. They knew, if they were going to make it out, they had to go slowly. However, they were being chased. They knew what was chasing them. They had seen it made before they took this flight for freedom.

Slowly, they moved forward the memory of the fifth of their party driving them forward. She had been the weakest. Her half-blood made her that way. No pure blood was ever as sickly as she had always been. They had only known her since they had all been brought here. Truthfully, they hadn’t known each other before they had been kidnapped.

• <<────≪•◦⚜◦•≫────>> •

The daily routine started shortly after they woke in the cells the first time. Each morning someone came in to take blood and urine samples before dawn broke. During the darkness after they had been left alone again, they started talking between themselves. First they learned their names: Ryllae, Adanell, Laredyra, Tanaren, and Talaedra. Then they learned a little about each other as they tried to determine why they had been kidnapped.

Each of them represented one of the ruling houses of elves. All of the were pure bloods, except Talaedra. They couldn’t figure out why she had been chosen. Surely there was a healthy, pure blood who would have been a better choice. The smallest and oldest among them, she was very sickly and had been taken while hunting healing herbs when taken. Perhaps, it was this sickness or just opportunity which had lead to her kidnapping.

Copyright Fantasy Flight Games – Middle Earth Enterprises

Several hours later, the sun beamed horizontally above them through slits allowing the light to beam across the ceiling. Several moments passed before a robed individual came in. It slid food trays in between the bars of their cells for them. They ate, then placed their trays just outside their individual cell. The robed person came back many hours later to pick up the emptied trays before replacing them. They would leave again. This routine repeated three times a day.

After the first day, they knew something was in the last meal which made them all sleep. When they woke to the demand for blood and urine, their trays from the last meal was gone. There was still time before the second meal when they started talking amongst themselves again.

After three days, Talaedra complained her food tasted funny. She couldn’t say exactly how funny, just that the food she was given didn’t taste like it had the days before. None of them liked the food. She said now it was almost impossible to eat.

“Try,” Ryllae said. Ryllae was the farthest away from Talaedra. “They aren’t going to fix you separate food. They barely feed us as it is.”

The others had agreed. Talaedra forced down the food. They all hoped she would keep it down since none of them wanted to smell vomit till the next feeding time. Talaedra had managed to keep the food down, but she made the same comment about the next two meals of the day.

“Here let me try some,” Tanaren said putting his hand out to take a sample of her third meal. She handed him some. He tasted it and gagged immediately. “That is horrible. You weren’t kidding. Don’t eat anymore of that.”

There was a look each of them passed through the five of them. Something was different in her food. She pushed her tray out of her cell without eating anymore. Each of them had passed food down to her so she at least had something to eat. They all had decided to keep them all strong, as strong as they could be, days earlier in case they found a way to escape.

All of them laid down as the drugged food put them to sleep. The next two days were the same. Talaedra’s food was different, so they each shared theirs with her. She was growing noticeably weaker.

The third morning, Talaedra’s arm was grabbed a second time after blood was taken. She cried out causing all of them to move to the side of their cells closest to her. She cried out again in the dim light of the moon. There wasn’t enough light for anyone other than Tanaren to see her fighting as two more needles were jabbed into her arm. They were removed after emptying whatever was in the syringe.

When she was released, she was pushed back from the front of the cell with enough force to put her on her back. She crawled to where she knew Tanaren was. He felt where the needles had left their deposits in her muscles. She whimpered as he relayed what had happened to the rest and tried to comfort her. In the relative darkness, they talked about escaping before anything more was done to any of them while Tanaren held her through the bars.

The sun had not risen yet so only the pale dawn light lit the cells when Talaedra pulled away from Tanaren abruptly. She was coughing as Tanaren called her to come back to him.

“No,” Talaedra started yelling, “No, get away from me. Please get away. Don’t let me touch you!”

Tanaren reluctantly moved back from her side of his cell to Laredyra’s side. They stared in the dim light towards Talaedra as she continued to scream. Her screams turned from words to screams of pain. The pain they heard in her voice shook them. Between them they tried to determine what was happening as her body twisted and contorted.

The doors slammed open as lights beaming across at the cells. There were the loud booming, explosions and fire shot across to Talaedra’s cell like an arrow. There was a thud as her screams stopped.

• <<────≪•◦⚜◦•≫────>> •

Now, they were running from the creature they had seen dragged from her cell. Each of them knew what had been done to her was going to be done to them if they were recaptured. They weren’t going to let it happen. They had failed her, but they would not fail each other.

They stopped as Adanell stopped moving forward. Silently, they waited to hear the opening of what they hoped was the wall to let them outside. Ryllae felt Adanell’s hand leave hers just before the light of the waning moon hit her eyes. Adanell helped her out then did the same for Laredyra. Finally, he took Tanaren’s hand to help him down and out. They pressed against the outside wall after Tanaren closed the wall.

Staying still only until the moon disappeared behind dark cloud cover, they linked hands again to run into the forest only a few annas from the building they had escaped from. It would take their combined effort to make it to the forest in the few moments the moon would be covered. As the light disappeared, they sprinted across the open yard to the forest trying to make it in the few moments of darkness.

They heard it behind them. It was literally just inside the wall as they made it to the forest. If there was any of Talaedra left in the creature’s mind, it would know of the paths through the trees on land and in the trees. However, she was a half-blood. She wouldn’t know the underground pathways to which they ran unless her father was the elf kin. They would have to take their chances through the underground to get safely to the city.

Reaching the ground entrance, they hurried down into the darkness before Tanaren closed the path behind them. They paused hearing her sniffing and clawing at the ground to find the entrance. They took off through the tunnel. They had escaped the creature she was now…Gaur.

⊱🌹 ⟿  Note: Representations of the characters are not exactly what I see in my mind.  They are the closest representations I was able to find which is why some are obviously different from others of the same character. ⟿ 🌹⊰

The Accuser

♥ ─── ・ 。゚☆: *.☽ .* :☆゚. ─── ♥

None of her family had heard her slip out of their home. She wandered past the other houses in the shadows. She followed the scent of burning pine from the town into the woods. Kara slipped deeper into the woods. It was getting darker the deeper she went.

This was against what she had always been told “Don’t go into the woods.” However, if that was were evil dwelled wasn’t it there they should go to find it. Shouldn’t they root out the evil instead of hiding from it? Wasn’t that what they were taught in church?

She followed the smell till she finally saw the light from the fire it came from. She crept forward quietly from tree to tree until she could stay hidden behind the trees yet still see into the darkened clearing where the fire was burning. Here she knelt to see who was around the fire. There around the fire were the wise women of the town sitting on logs around the fire.

They were talking as they passed around a thick book. She couldn’t hear their words. She couldn’t tell what book they were passing around. She tried to see and hear, but from where she was there was no chance of it. Still crouched, she started moving from tree to tree to get closer moved her around the group and their fire. As she changed angles, she was able to see there were actually two books. Two books which these women were reading from and apparently discussing. Surely this was forbidden.

Was this right? Were they allowed to have books other than the Holy Book? Wasn’t it only allowed to discuss the Holy Book? Even if one book was the Holy Book, where was the male to lead the discussion with experience? What was the other book?

It wasn’t a surprise they knew how to read to her. They were wise women. They were the oldest ones in the town. They were taught in the old ways in everything especially for healing and care of the people. Next to the churchmen, they were the most educated and most important members of the town. Kara’s parents had been talked to by the oldest of these women about starting to train Kara in a few years. There were several factors which would play into her eligibility. However, talks had already started about her apprenticeship.

Kara wasn’t sure what the books were, but she knew women gathering in such circumstances was forbidden unless a male was there to keep the women from going astray in their discussion. Were they allowed to? If they were, why were they doing it so late at night? If that wasn’t a problem either, what was the cause? Was she going to be expected to do so as well? Was this not against the church? Yet, here were the revered and wisest of the women in the town discussing two thick books without male guidance.

Kara believed this was heresy. Is that not what the church would say? It had to be stopped right? That was what she had been taught. Still, she was just a child. Would the adults believe her? If they did, would they see something wrong or would they allow this to continue? Was there something she could say to make them believe her? To make them punish them for disobedience, heresy, and blasphemy?

Kara got close enough so she could hear part of their conversation. She strained her ears listening. She heard parts of the words. They didn’t make much sense. She wasn’t even sure they were full words. It sounded a lot like gibberish to her. Perhaps she was only hearing parts of words. It could be. They weren’t exactly being loud or soft. She continued trying to get closer from behind the trees.

Snap, she heard it as her foot broke the twig. She looked at the women hoping they hadn’t heard it. Yet, she knew from the loudness they had to. She moved to another tree as quickly and quietly as she could. If they tried to go to the one where the twig was, she hoped they wouldn’t see or hear her.

One of them got up after some quiet discussion. She moved her hands in front of her to make her sleeves got away from her hands while she picked up a light log from the fire. Using it as a torch, she searched for me where Kara had broken the twig. Kara froze as still as she could. Ursula Wessex was so close with the torch Kara could feel the heat of the fire above her.

Several moments passed before Mother Ursula, as she was called in the town, turned to go back to the others. The words she spoke gave Kara her charge against these women. She would stop them. She would be the girl that routed out evil from their town. She would be a hero if she stayed to the cause of the church.

The next morning, she made her way back to the town. The women had left hours before her. She had let herself sleep close to their clearing in the woods. When she emerged from the woods, she looked much worse for the wear. There were two townsmen who saw her and raised the alarm she had been found. They took her directly to the church for blessings of finding the “lost child.”

The churchmen circled around her before they started asking her what happen. She said she wasn’t sure but she felt a pull to the woods against all she had been taught. She couldn’t stop herself it was like something was pulling her deeper and deeper. She stopped in a clearing were others from the town were gathered around the fire. They had two books. They were passing them around as they read and discussed them.

They greeted her asking her to come forward to them. Then they offered her a knife. They wanted her to write her name in blood in the one book to seal her service to the craft. Kara said she refused. She said they flew upon her angrily trying to get her to sign the book. They said she had to do it of her own freewill to give over her life and soul to her new position.

Kara said she refused again. That was when they started to hurt her with their words. She lost conciseness after hours of this torture by words. When she woke, they were gone. She made her way back to the town through the woods.

They asked the name of these people who attacked her spiritually. Carefully, Kara named each woman ending with the most powerful and revered of the wise women, Ursula Wessex. Then came the call against them. The women were ceased and brought before her to identify. Kara appeared scared and frightened of them as she identified each of the innocent, wise women of being a witch, ending with her aunt, Mother Ursula.

**** Trigger warning: Mature suggestive and violent themes. *****

@~~ CAC Lesson 1: Conveying emotions. This is an excerpt from a much larger piece I will be posting in a few days involving the same characters as well as others. ~~@

Food was brought to the table. I watched as it was placed before us then our glasses were filled with an appropriate wine. I looked at Steve as I said “I’m still not sure why we are even here?”

“Well, we have three classes together and share a common major. I thought we might have other things in common,” he said as he smiled. The smile wasn’t all the way up to his eyes. It was the first time I doubted what he was saying. “I enjoy your company and hope you enjoy mine. After all, I think we have been getting to know each other. What I’ve learned, I want to spend even more time with you.”

For two weeks we’ve been dating. He was kind and attentive. He didn’t push me for information or act like he knew anything about my past or family. I hoped he didn’t. I had no reason to doubt anything he was saying. I thought he was genuine. Yet, as he took the first bite of his food. I had a touch of fear something was wrong.

I pushed the thoughts back. I had no real indication he was false. It was just a feeling. Perhaps it was just my paranoia coming out because things had been going so well. I started eating my food. With each bite, I felt my stomach tightening. It was harder and harder to eat as took slight glanced towards him.

“So, what do you plan to do after graduation?” Steve said as he took a drink of the wine.

“I don’t know yet. It’s two years away. I have time to decide. What about you?”

“I’m thinking of getting my Masters,” he said though he didn’t look at me when he said it. His eyes didn’t looked back at me till he continued. “I was thinking of going to Berkeley for it. I know I have two years as well, but need to start getting things in place. Berkeley’s graduate school has a program in comparative literature. I’m wanting to get into it.”

His passion was back in his voice. I continued trying to eat as I watched him talking. Something was still different. There was something wrong here. I wanted to know what it was, but the feeling it would change things made me hesitant to push. I took a drink before I said “Is that what you want to do ultimately?”

“Well yes,” he said while he started eating again. This is not what he told me the last time we discussed the future. Perhaps it had changed recently I thought, then he added “I’ve always wanted to ever since I knew there was a field for it.”

My heart sank as my throat closed up more. I picked at my food for the rest of the meal. I had lost my appetite. I tried to force my food down my throat. My throat felt closing up. I continued getting the feeling of foreboding as the meal ended. When we left the restaurant, he drove us down to the beach. Something in me was happy we were the only ones here. Something else felt a finality was coming, but I had no idea what.

He took my free hand as we walked down towards the water in the sand. I was carrying my shoes in my other hand. We were looking at the moon over the water as he heard his phone buzz. He checked it then put it up.

“Go ahead if you need to,” I said hoping it was why I was feeling the way I was. I thought it wasn’t directly, but I wanted it to be.

“ No it’s just Carlo asking about class Monday.”

I could tell he was lying to me. I felt my back stiffen. He went to put his arm around me, then his horn started going off. We both turned to look at his car. He handed me his phone. “Wait here. If I yell, call the police,” he said before he ran back to the car.

I watched him running to his car while the alarm blared. I had his phone in my hand upright and unlocked. I didn’t think about it until he disappeared from sight. That was when I looked down at it. It was still open to Carlo’s text: “Hey man, you got her yet? I’m at the car.”

I blinked. Did I read that right? I read it again. The words didn’t change. I scrolled back in the texts reading them backwards as I did. There was an outline of everything he had ever talked about with me and everywhere we had gone over the last two weeks. Each one of the texts at the end of the date we had was followed by a number. Each number was descending as I read it, which meant it was getting higher. Our last date had been a 9 with a note that the next would be a 10 one way or another.

When I got back to our first date, his message to Carlo said “Dude, she’s so gullible. I could keep this up a few weeks then hit it for the pay off.”

I could feel the tears burning in my eyes as I read the next set of texts “It’s worth $100k if you can get to home plate in three weeks.”

“Three weeks, I can do it in two. Shoot, she’s probably never been on a date, let alone had someone bed her. I might only need one night.”

“No that would be to obvious, but 2wks would add 50k to the pay out. Plus I’ll cover your expenses just keep the receipts.”

“2 wks is a go. What proof do you want?”

“Pics man or vid. I can help you set up in your place if you need cameras.”

“You got it. Maybe post online and make more money on it after.”

“That’s up to you. I just need a copy.”

“Got it. I’ll start talking her up tomorrow. I’ll pop that cherry within two weeks.”

Tears were already flowing down my face. I didn’t know who Carlo was, but there was only one person I knew who had that much money on hand. I couldn’t believe I had trusted him. I also couldn’t believe I trusted Steve. I let my guard down to them. I let my mind reach out to find Steve. He had to be somewhere near right?

Before I even got started, Steve came up from behind me. I turned to look at him trying to keep my emotions from showing on my face. He stopped when he came up beside me saying “I told you to stay on the beach. That guy could have come after you and hurt you.”

“I didn’t see you or anyone else. Was there a guy up here?” I said not really sure I wanted to hear his answer. I started wiping my cheeks and eyes. I had seen a figure near the car but now I wasn’t sure of even that. “Well, it didn’t happen. I saw someone too before you ran up here. Who did you think it was?”

“I don’t know,” he said moving next to me on the side with my phone in the pocket. He caressed my cheeks as he moved to wipe more of the tears from my eyes, “Some thug wanting to rip my car off. Hey, it’s ok. No one is going to hurt either of us. I won’t let them.”

Steve’s car was nice, but it wasn’t new. It wasn’t a sports car either. It was a sedan of some model I really couldn’t care about. Honestly, I knew no one was trying to steal his car. I was mentally trying to work out how to get him to confess while trying to keep calm. “He’s gone now. Maybe you should just take me home,” I said looking up at him. “Tonight was great, but the mood is gone now. I’ve got group meeting tomorrow. I should get some sleep before it.”

My ending the date without him getting his goal caught him. He knew he didn’t get the extra $50k if he didn’t bed me tonight. He moved to stand in front of me as he put his arms around my waist. “Come on Cassandra,” he said his tone completely changed from irritation and protectiveness to seductive. “The guy is gone. The night is still young. We didn’t even get to enjoy the beach.”

“I’m not in the mood for the beach anymore Steve,” I said looking up at him hoping the red flecks in my eyes weren’t giving me away. “I just want to go home and sleep.”

His hands started wandering up my back in a caress as he spoke “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to get all upset and ruin the night. Walk out with me to the water again, then if you still feel like going home. I’ll take you home. Deal?”

I had no intention of letting him drive me anywhere. Not now, but I played it off with a sigh before saying “Ok, but if I say take me home…”

“I’ll take you straight home right away.”

I nodded to him and put my hand in his for him to lead me back down to the water. Now to get him to confess. As we walked, I started up the conversation saying “I’m really trying, but I fear I’ve lost the feeling we had earlier. Dinner was so wonderful. Before your car alarm went off, the beach and the moon were so beautiful and added to the emotion of the evening.” I let my hand go slack in his. I needed him to feel the difference in my emotions without knowing exactly what I knew.

We were half-way down the beach when he was slowed by my words. He looked at me though I continued to look towards the ocean. “Cassandra, you do know how I feel about you, don’t you?”

Internally, I smiled. He took the bait. I waited a minute letting my hand drop from his as I spoke “No, Steve, I don’t know how you feel. You haven’t told me. I still don’t understand why you even wanted to take me out the first time or after wards. That’s what I was asking at dinner. I’m even unsure how I feel about you as well.”

I didn’t turn my eyes to him as I waited to see if that would spark the explosion or if he would hold back. The reason was more I didn’t want him to see my eyes more than anything. I was trying to keep control of my emotions. This was one of the disadvantages of my abilities. Using them I could know exactly what he was thinking and what he was going to do, but holding back gave me the experience others around me had so I could understand and relate to them. Yet in situations like these, my eyes could easily give me away.So I didn’t know if I was getting to him or not. Still it didn’t take me long to find out.

He grabbed me by my shoulders turning me to look at him before he spoke, I could see him trying to hold his emotions. He was much less skilled at hiding them than I was. His voice was angry as he spoke “How could you not know how I feel? Are you really an ungrateful little prude? I could have my choice of any girl on campus. I’ve been waisting my time with you for this?”

I fained shock mixed with fear while I managed to remove his hand from me by jerking backwards and sitting in the sand behind me as if he had shocked off my feet. I looked up at him pretending bewildered fear as I spoke “What do you mean? You’ve been waisting your time with me? Do you not care at all for me?”

He laughed as he leaned towards me without joining me on the sand or actually moving over my body. “You know, when this started I thought you would be just like all the other tramps here. You though, you made it an adventure. I thought you would just lead me on for a while, but you really are a prude! You have an iron lock on your knees! I wouldn’t have even put up with it for this long if it wasn’t for other factors!”

I was done with him now. That was what I needed. He had just inferred what I knew was true. The only thing I didn’t know for sure was who “Carlo” was. I was fairly sure it was Warren. Warren would have used Bobby to find out information about me to feed to Steve. Steve would come after me and ruin my life. I didn’t know what role if any Bobby played in this. I hoped it was none, but I was fairly certain Warren was “Carlo”. What I didn’t know was why either of them did this. However, it didn’t matter what his motivation was. My hate for him was now firm and burned hot.

I leaned up towards him letting my voice sizzle with my anger and hate. “You admit it then. You are nothing more than a letch!” I said as I moved upwards to raise myself from the sand as I continued “You took a dare – a bet for money – to play with my emotions! All I am and ever have been to you is cash for you to spend. You haven’t even paid for anything we have done together!”

By this time, I was on my feet standing in front of him practically spitting the angry words in his face while hot tears ran down my own. I took a step towards him as I watched his shocked expression as I felt my anger gave way to the pain of the betrayal he and Warren had played on me. I had started feeling something more than friendship for him, possibly even love. My voice gave way to it as I spoke “You never cared anything about me! You never wanted anything to do with me. Do I disgust you that much? Why? Why would you do this? Why do you hate me this much? Why couldn’t you two just leave me alone?”

He was bewildered now. However, he was still indignant. He was not going to get his money from “Carlo”. I didn’t know if Warren was still going to pay for our dates or not, but I didn’t care. He snarled at me. I felt threatened as he came at me. I thought he would attack me as he said “Because you are such a freak! Look at you! Your hair! Your eyes! Why do you do that to yourself? Why not just be normal? Do you think you are better than us so much you have to put this look of yours on?”

His face was so close I could feel the spit from his words hitting my face. I figured he meant for it to punctuate his words. He really believed I dyed my hair and used contacts in my eyes to look like this. I wondered if he could see the increase of red in my eyes while the tears ran from my eyes. I slapped him as hard as I could. “I hate you! I hate you both!”

I started running from him. Running in sand on a beach is not easy. I was slowed by the sand as I tried to make my retreat. I wanted to get away from him. I wanted to be in my apartment even though I knew Warren was just across the hallway. I didn’t care. My apartment was my sanctuary. I wanted to get to it.

As I ran, I didn’t look back. He was stunned by the slap enough I was able to get a few feet away from him before he started after me. I was almost to the parking lot when he grabbed my arm to pull me back. I pulled away from him, but he pulled me back again. I was slammed into his chest against my back. I tried to pull away more. He grabbed me by my other arm. I couldn’t get away.

“Let me go!” I screamed through my sobs.

“No! You’re not costing me this!”

I screamed again suddenly honestly afraid of what he might do to me next. I pulled against him as I looked over my shoulder trying to catch his eyes. I was not strong enough to do anything to stop him without seeing him yet. Catching his eyes with mine, I made his mind force his muscles to let go of me. I froze him like that. The mental paralysis wouldn’t last long, but I hoped I could get away before he was free of it. As soon as I knew he was paralyzed, I ran.

When I hit the parking lot, I glanced back at him. I was terrified he would be free already. I had never paralyzed someone this way before. All I wanted was to be back in my sanctuary alone. I crossed my arms around me holding myself. I turned towards my apartment closing my eyes against the burning tears in my eyes and running down my cheeks. I started to run again as I opened my eyes.

Then I stopped. Though I didn’t know how, I was in my apartment. I didn’t care at the moment. I was safe. I moved to a couch wrapped myself around a pillow to cry easily and openly to my solitude. My heart ached as if it was being torn out of my chest. I thought I was going to die. My emotions were completely wrecked. My anger had fallen to pain and sorrow. I felt like I had lost everything I thought I had created for myself. All I could do was cry.

I didn’t even remember my phone was still recording and I still had his.

Grief’s Price

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**** Trigger Warning: Deals with the death of a loved one. #WTW ****

⊱ ────── {⋆⌘⋆} ────── ⊰

Fred Clarke photoed and grown by Ctsm pileatum v imperale ‘SVO Blood Red’ x Ctsm John C. Burchett ‘Ursa Major’

They say grief is
The price of love.

If my heart breaking
Even more
Every time I think of you
All the things
I know you
Would have loved
Is the price of love
I’ll pay it.

Hades and Persephone 2 by Sandara on DeviantArt

Hades and Persephone 2 by Sandara on DeviantArt

They say grief
never ends.

From other losses,
I can more than agree.
However, I can say
It never gets easier
As grief compounds
Each loss makes
Grief compound
The price grows.

They say grief
Only changes.

Of this too,
I can agree.
It is different too.
With each passage,
It transforms into
Something different
Which helps ease
The price.

They say grief
Is a passage.

A way through
To another point.
We aren’t meant to stay
Locked in grief’s binds.
How many of us
Let it keep us tied up
In pain and continually
Paying the highest price.

2009 09 – Alyssa L Miller – Please CC2.0

They say grief
Is not a sign of weakness.

Though some act like it is,
Of this I too agree.
This is why they don’t allow
Themselves to feel or deal with it.
Those of us who
Make it through
Know strength is the prize
For this price.

“Beauty and the Beast” by Sandara on Deviant Art for Iron Crown

They say grief is
Not a lack of faith.

Yet, what of those
With no faith?
The strength to believe
You can overcome the pain.
The pain of grief
Can only be relieved
By the strength of that faith
The price is easily paid.

Grief’s price
Changes who we are.

It strengthens us.
It binds up our heart
From the wounds
Of loss.
It helps us heal.
It helps us move on.
It helps us
Pay the price of Love!

⊱ ────── {⋆⌘⋆} ────── ⊰

#LettersForTheLost

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⊱🌹 ⟿  Please note: Works of fiction have no real people in them.  All written content of my blog, unless otherwise indicated is my intellectual property thus covered under copyright laws.  Please do not use without permission or steal.  ⟿ 🌹⊰

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⊱🌹 ⟿  Additionally, only one of the images used in this post is mine.  It is indicated in the post by caption.  Credit to the original artists of all the other images.  If you are the artist, please let me know so I can note the credit to you.  Thank you.  ⟿ 🌹⊰

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⊱🌹 ⟿  Occasionally, pieces I’ve written will fit in more than one challenge or would be easily expanded to fit in more than one.  However, I would never force elements into a story just to meet a challenge.  In that case, I would just start a new work.  In this case, I had two challenges at the same time.  ⟿ 🌹⊰

⊱🌹 ⟿  The first was from Writing Prompts and Stories under “Short Horror Story” Challenge.  The challenge was to write a story with a good plot giving enough detail with the characters and their environment so the reader could visualize the characters and the action.  There was a limit on gore, which honestly I usually only use gore if it is needed as an element of the story.  Additionally, there was a ban on sexual content, self-harm, and talk of suicide.  It also required at lease one picture of one of the characters.  Cussing was allowed with limited use as well though I don’t go into the heavy use of cussing.  Everything else was left up to the author to decide on.  ⟿ 🌹⊰

⊱🌹 ⟿  The second challenge was from Paranormal On YouTube under “Challenge Post. “My Ghost Adventure”.  This challenge was to tell a story, either made up or real life experience, of a ghost story.  It needed to have at least 300 words with a start and finish date.  Grading was based on neatness, creativity, spelling, and how many words/characters were used.  Everything else was left up to the author.  ⟿ 🌹⊰

⊱🌹 ⟿  Now you can see how the two challenges went well with each other.  So since they were due the same day, I decided to do one piece for both of them.    ⟿ 🌹⊰

⊱🌹 ⟿  Please note: Works of fiction have no real people in them.  All written content of my blog, unless otherwise indicated is my intellectual property thus covered under copyright laws.  Please do not use without permission or steal.  ⟿ 🌹⊰

⊱🌹 ⟿  Additionally, only one of the images used in this post is mine.  It is indicated in the post by caption.  Credit to the original artists of all the other images.  If you are the artist, please let me know so I can note the credit to you.  Thank you.  ⟿ 🌹⊰

Last Investigation

 

**** Trigger Warning: Mature and violent subject matter, including blood, and the paranormal. #WTW ****

 

🥀 🌹❈@~~ Rough Edit ~~@❈ 🌹🥀

 

July 15, 2019

I pull my legs up to my chest to wrap my arms around my knees over the blanket. My blue eyes are focused on the bay windows covered by the drapes and blinds across from the bed. I’m waiting for something I hope will not happen. It’s out there. It knows where I am. It knows I saw it. It knows I’m the only one left. It wants me. I just don’t know why.

☽✧───┈✦✦✦┈──────┈✦✦✦┈───✧☾

Three weeks ago, this all started. We were just trying to help a family find some peace. They had something in their house. It was a modest four bedroom split level brick ranch. The part that always gets to the five of us is the involvement of children. We just never could turn our backs on a family who needed help to protect their children.

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The five of us had been ghost hunting for three years together. Jasper Nermual – our lead organizer and founder. Without Jasp, none of us would be here at all. He was thirty-seven and had a biology degree of some sort. I know he told me, but it isn’t important now. He worked in the city forensic lab for his day job. He had close cut, light brown hair with brown, puppy dog eyes. He was is fairly good shape for a man his age at six foot two.

For us, his specialty was checking for biological explanations for what is happening, such as high EMF readings which can cause hallucinations. He would also put the occupants, if we were doing an occupied location, through a physical exam of sorts to make sure it wasn’t something physical or biological causing the events. This would include, possible tumors, drug abuse, medications which could cause side effects mirroring what we were told about, etc. Jasp made sure there was actual events happening. He also was able to qualify any physical attacks reported. In this case, he had been documenting for two days while the house was being checked for environmental effects. He ruled out everything he could while documenting the wounds the family was reporting as paranormal.

Next was Jasp’s younger brother, Sid. Sid was a technical hardware genius. He worked for a computer and communications company. If you had as computer, video, or audio question he was the guy to ask. All of our electronic and technical tools to capture evidence. He was an expert with. He was five years younger than Jasp, though he looked like it was probably ten. He was a blond copy of Jasp with amber eyes. He was more muscular, but I always thought it was because of his carrying the cases of our equipment. I know he had always been the more fit of the two of them while he stood at six foot four.

He would go into the location, in this case the house, to take baseline readings for temperature variances, EMF readings, electrical or magnetic anomalies in the location, and basically anything that can be recorded or measured with equipment. In this case, he had done this already. Then, he had set up motion activated full-spectrum cameras around the house for monitoring. These were monitored and recorded off location and on location. We have found that sometimes there would be discrepancies. He had the whole house set up before the rest of us would show up. He had cameras up a week ago.

Working closely with Sid is Jade Prorot. She’s an environmental engineer. Jade was spitfire smart and sharp as a tack twenty-five year old. She didn’t take anything off anyone. If she found something in her investigation, she had no problems telling someone. She was also extremely thorough in everything she did. She was five foot ten with a crown of shoulder length fire red hair and jade green eyes. Her medium build allowed her to move around any location we had with ease.

She and Sid would go in together checking locations for everything. Since they worked closely together on baseline readings and checking environmental conditions. They were usually first on location. We usually had the residents, moved to friends or family or a hotel while we worked. In the early stages, when Sid and Jade were there, the residents were still there. The three of them had more interaction with residents than the rest of us.

We had a psychic who worked with us occasionally named Paige Suptan. In this case, we talked with her off site. She wasn’t interested in going to the location. She said she could see what she needed through the monitors. It wasn’t a good place for her to go. I felt she was letting us down, but I never brought that up to Jasp. He had a history with her. It wasn’t worth the argument at the time. It also doesn’t matter in this story. She wasn’t with us on the investigation after Tuesday before we went to location as a group. Paige told me I shouldn’t go either. I just told her I would be careful.

Our record and history document hunter was Jareth “Wolf” Praxson. If there was a record written or oral still in existence Wolf could find it. Wolf was a forensic historian. He worked with Jasp. We were lucky to have him. He was able to get information on locations none of us would even know where to look for.

Wolf was half-Cree with long, straight, black hair down to his shoulders. He had dark eyes, which were between brown and black. He was six foot four and muscular. He was twenty-nine which put him four years older than me. He liked to go off on two week bow hunts every year living the whole time on the land while gone. When we talked about it, he told me it was his time to get back with his ancestors and the spirits of his people and nature. His spiritual links helped us to protect ourselves.

Of all our group, I was closest to Wolf. He knew more about me than any of the others. He was also against me going into the location after he got us the history. He’d been there once. Then he spent the better part of two hours trying to convince me not to go on location. We needed another camera person. I was a camera person in the group as well as an investigator. We had also noticed the spirits liked to talk to me, usually. There was a reason for that, but only Wolf knew of it.

My name is Phoebe Aria. I’m twenty-five and the shortest of the group at five foot eight. I’ve got curly strawberry blond hair, which I usually keep braided when I’m on an investigation. I’ve got a medium build and can usually slip between things the others can’t. Wolf says I’m far too hard on myself. He keeps telling me I’m far too thin for my height and that is why I can slip where the rest of the team can’t.

Anyway, my specialty is video and audio editing, writing and translating captions, as well as any graphic or audio work needing to be done. I’m the one who gets to look through all the video and audio make captions for it and translate to any language we need. Most of the time it is for the client. The main reason I go to the investigation is to help get good video and audio. The team knows as well I seem to be a magnet for the spirits, good and bad.

The team believe it was because I died a year before the team was formed. I was in a car accident and was actually “brain dead” and removed from the machines. However, I continued breathing and my heart continued beating. They waited. The doctors told my family, it would stop because my brain was not responding. Then twelve hours later, my parents continued to ask why I continued to breath and how I still had a heartbeat and blood pressure. I opened my eyes while the doctor told them I would not wake up.

I don’t talk about it. I honestly don’t like to think about it. However, ever since, I’ve been a spirit magnet. Wolf says it is because I was there on the other side with them. They know it. Some want to take me back; while others want me to pass on information. Then there are the ones he wants to keep from me – the ones who want to use me.

Wolf introduced me to the others. Originally, it was to find out why I seemed to be having strange seemingly paranormal things happening to me. I honestly didn’t believe in the paranormal at the time. I was going with Wolf to humor him. What happen led to me joining the group. While still being skeptical of things, I started to believe there was something there when there were no other explanations available.

I’m the first one to ask if there are car sounds or could it be the house settling. Is it possible the pipes could be making the sound? Or is there a wind? Suction could have closed or opened a door? Or not? I want the answers to be non-paranormal. Unfortunately, they aren’t always able to be rationalized away. So when I tell you what we found in that house was paranormal, I don’t say it lightly.

☽✧───┈✦✦✦┈──────┈✦✦✦┈───✧☾

Friday night, there wasn’t much investigation time. We were finishing up our set up making sure the static cameras were working properly. Checking sound levels and getting a feel for the location with finalizing base settings on everything. We set up REM-pod EMF proximity detectors around the entries to the house as well as some key points. These will alert if someone enters the house or key locations which could be vulnerable if there are no living people around.

Once we were sure everything was set up, we spent the rest of the night testing and doing what Jasp calls pre-investigation. Basically, we want to find out what the atmospheric sounds around the location are. Cars, insect, animal sounds which come into the location as well as those things within the house which make noise. This is so we can debunk those pieces of evidence. We also check doors and such for opening to wind, pressure, etc.

What is not unusual in these locations, which actually do have spirits, the spirits are curious about us. This Friday set up was no different. We could all feel the eyes upon us. They were keeping their distance, but they were watching us. There was more than one that night. I didn’t feel threatened until we went into the children’s bedrooms.

We reached the upper level after already deciding we would be sleeping in the living room in our sleeping bags. We just needed to finish our pre-investigation before we went to sleep. Wolf and I were walking through the upstairs bedrooms. The parents’ bedroom didn’t seem to be very different than a hundred other’s we’ve been through. We both felt the eyes of the spirits, but they were only watching. Wolf kept repeating a soft prayer every so often to protect us.

Then we went in the oldest daughter’s room. The closet or under the bed is where the children fear in their rooms. However this eight year old’s room had a window across from the door which felt dark to me. I actually stopped outside the door. Wolf gave me a look as he asked what was wrong.

“I don’t know,” I said before taking a deep breath. “It’s a…there is definitely something dark in there. Give me a moment.” It did take me a moment to calm my heart before I walked into the room.

We finished what we had to do in the room. Wolf watched me as I tried to work while avoiding the window area of the room. The cameras covered all of the room as well as the closet. I was trying not to deal with the fear I was feeling from the darkness around the windows. When we left the room, I felt like I could breathe again.

The son’s room was typical of a six year old boy. There was army men and Legos scattered on a small table. Where the daughter’s room, had been stuffed animals and Barbie dolls. Legos seemed to be a theme in both children’s rooms. Books were in bookshelves. The closet had toys and clothing somewhat neatly placed in it. There was another dark presence in the son’s room, but it wasn’t as foreboding as the one in the daughter’s room. Nor was there any single point of focus.

It took us little time to finish the son’s room. Wolf watched me again. I knew he was looking for what I was feeling and not talking about. Wolf knew me well enough to know I wasn’t one to talk about everything I was experiencing. Besides, this was the first night. We were in pre-investigation mode, this was not the time for investigation activities.

However when we moved to the last room upstairs, I stopped outside the door. I shook my head at Wolf. “I can’t go in there,” I said looking at the room. I couldn’t look away from the figure I could see standing at the head of the crib in the baby’s room. “I’m sorry Wolf. I can’t.”

“It’s ok Phoebe,” Wolf said with a tight grin. “I can take care of it. You just wait there. Let me know if I need to get out, ok?”

He worked quickly to finish up the room while occasionally glancing back at me to see if he was still safe in the room. The figure didn’t move. It just stood there staring at me while I stared back. I knew if I advanced on it, it would attack me.

There was no doubt this was one of the entities threatening the family. I could tell this was not the one in charge. It wanted to come at me, but something was keeping it at bay. I didn’t know what at that time, but I knew there was something.

Finished, we went down to rejoin the rest of the team. I went immediately to our monitor bank to start looking at the cameras. Checking angles and ranges of the cameras is what I appeared to be doing. However, what I was really doing was trying to see if the entities I felt and saw were showing on the cameras.

Only one set of the entities were showing. There were three at the windows of the older daughter’s room. I couldn’t stop looking at them. Why did they show up on the camera when I couldn’t see them in the room? Where was the figure from the baby’s room? Wolf came behind me looking over my shoulder he saw what I was really looking at.

“You saw them?” He said softly his braid dropping down next to my face across my shoulder.

“No,” I said still scanning the monitors.

Jasp saw us talking. He came over to see what we were looking at. He said “What secrets are you two discussing?”

“No secrets,” Wolf said quickly without letting me answer.

Jasp looked through the cameras feeds showing on the monitor bank. I looked back at him. I could see he was seeing what we both saw. He wasn’t going to let the rest of the team know what we were seeing. Looking back, I wish we had packed up and left or at least talked about it with the team. What I didn’t know at the time, it was already too late.

Regardless, we all bed down to sleep in the living room. I don’t know about the rest of the team, but what dreams I did have.were nightmares of each of the members of the team dying in front of me before I died myself. I finally gave up trying to get restful sleep. I got up and started working by making notes on the video footage and reviewing some of the cameras from the day while we were all sleeping.

Jade was up next. She started by brushing her hair and braiding it up. We had both gotten in the habit of braiding our hair on all investigations. Then she started pulling together breakfast for us when she was joined by Sid, who had made most of the food we would be eating through the investigation.

☽✧───┈✦✦✦┈──────┈✦✦✦┈───✧☾

The night of July 13th to the morning of July 14th started as most of our normal investigations did. Game planning with mapping out the location. Running down what we would be doing in each part as we try to find evidence and help our clients. Pairing off, left me as usual at the monitors for half of the investigation. I was also on the ground floor while Sid and Jasp were in the basement and Wolf and Jade were upstairs.

I wish I knew if Wolf asked for the upstairs or to have me allowed to skip the upstairs’ initial investigation. It might make me feel better about what happened.

The first event was in the basement. Jasp asked me if I saw anything in the IR. I couldn’t see anything at first, then I heard a voice. “Please tell me the camera’s caught that,” Jasp said over the mic.

“Yes,” I said answering him as I pulled the fed record to the review monitor. I listened to the voice repeatedly. “I can’t tell what it says Jasp. I’m sorry. It’s not distinct enough.”

“We can’t understand you. Please repeat yourself a bit clearer so we can understand you,” Jasp said trying to get a clearer response.

Then it came clearly through the mic “This is ours. Get out or pay the price.” I swallowed hard as I heard the voice. Jasp continued telling the entity it was in someone else’s home and needed to move on. He went on trying to talk to it and make it leave. There was a crash in the kitchen. We all jumped.

“Stay at the monitors!” Wolf yelled at me from upstairs. I knew he was yelling at me. He knew I would have grabbed the handheld at my side and run to the kitchen to see what happened. I could hear Wolf and Jade running downstairs into the kitchen.

I looked at the monitors to see all the cabinets open. All the pans were all over the floor. As Wolf and Jade entered the kitchen, we watched the pans pick themselves up and put themselves neatly back into the cabinets, which closed after. However, the other cabinets stayed open.

Jade came running into the living room saying “Please tell me you got that on camera!”

I nodded. I played it back so we all could be sure it was what we saw then there was a scream from the basement. “You two stay here!” Wolf said as he ran down towards the basement.

Jade watched as I move the cameras around to see where Jasp and Sid were in the basement. Jasp was holding Sid strangely trying to get him up the stairs. The camera didn’t show Sid well enough for us to see what was going on with him. Then Wolf came into the picture. He helped Jasp pick up Sid before they headed up the stairs to join us.

Jade was at the basement door before they reached it. She had it opened waiting for them. “What happened? Is Sid ok?” she said repeatedly as the guys moved into the living room. Sid said nothing. I started to get up, but a look from Wolf kept me where I was.

They put Sid on the couch. Jasp started working on his leg which was bleeding. Wolf got a splint to put around the leg and immobilize it. Finally Sid started talking as he took Jade’s hands saying “Something hit me with something like a block of metal or something. My leg went out from under me. I think I passed out for a moment from pain.”

Jasp and Wolf finished their first aid measures for Sid. Sid was going to take my place at the monitors. The groups would be moved around. Jasp and Jade would be together. I would be with Wolf. Wolf didn’t like the arrangement and made it known. Jasp put his foot down. We had to finish the investigation.

As we moved back to work, I looked at Sid to make sure he was ok with the controls. When he looked up at me, his eyes glowed red. I gasped as he raised a finger to his lips to silence me. I don’t know why I didn’t say anything. I should have. I have no excuse for it. Looking back, it probably is a good thing I didn’t.

Wolf and I reached the top of the stairs without a word passing between us. We moved to the son’s room. I looked around with the handheld camera. Through it, I saw the figure I had felt in this room standing at the table with legos and army men on it. As I looked at him, something grabbed my braided hair throwing me into the wall. I was actually thrown so hard I made a dent in the wall.

Wolf had me up and out of the room almost as fast as I hit the wall. He looked me over while asking how I was feeling. I was dizzy and my body ached, but I was basically fine. Before I could answer, we heard a scream from downstairs. We ran down to the ground floor. Jasp was pulling Jade up from the basement. She was unconscious.

Wolf helped him get her to the couch as Sid came over to join us. I backed up. I looked at Sid. Something was off with him. Then he looked from Jade to me. The red eyes I thought I had imagined were there. I swallowed, but his look kept me silent. Then moved to the farthest point I could while keeping my eyes on Sid. Wolf noticed so I made a comment about checking on the monitors.

I looked to see if I could see what happened down in the basement. I blinked a moment. The basement camera monitors were off. The backup recorders were still on, but the live feed to the monitors were down. I worked to bring them back up while I kept an eye on Sid and Jade. Something was going on here. I didn’t like it.

☽✧───┈✦✦✦┈──────┈✦✦✦┈───✧☾

The clock on the monitor console showed it was just before 3 am on July 14th. I looked back over to see Jade waking up on the couch. She looked directly at me letting me see the red eyes that mirrored Sid’s. I started to call Jasp and Wolf over to me, but then Jasp looked at me. I swallowed seeing Jasp’s eyes were red as well. This was not good at all.

I wanted Wolf to come over to me. I had no way to get him to me without alerting the other three that I knew they were not who they looked like. I fought with my mind to keep control of my panic. I couldn’t panic here. Nothing good would come from losing control or panicking. Then the camera came up from the basement floor with the live feed. There on the monitor was three bodies – their bodies.

What I was looking at in the living room was not my teammates. They were dead in the basement. Wolf and I were the only ones actually alive. Now I knew we had to get out. A monitor went to snow then came back distracting me as I heard a little girl’s voice “Not safe, run!” Looking at the monitor, I was shocked to see Wolf’s body in the master bedroom.

Looking back at my “teammates”, I forced a grin. What I saw was a dark figure coming down the stairs behind them. I knew this was the entity which had been controlling the entity in the infant’s room. My teammates looked back at it then towards me. I knew they would be after me in a moment.

However when they started to step towards me, a voice filled the air “No, she’s mine.”

They stopped to let him come after me. I don’t know why I grabbed the handheld camera next to my bag when I grabbed it out of reflex, more than actual thought. All I wanted to do was run. I did make it around the monitors. I had a straight shot to the back door. I couldn’t make it to the front as quickly.

I didn’t look over my shoulder as the little girl’s voice urged me to get out of the house faster. I made it to the back door. I had to unlock it as I kicked the REM-pod out of the way. “You can’t leave. You are mine,” I heard the entity growling behind me as I worked to get out the back door.

I fell through the door then down off the small patio outside the door. It was a short drop to the ground, but I landed on the broken wood and my back. I moved to get up as the darkness filled the doorway. I watched a moment to see if it would stop.

As if reading my mind, it took a step out before saying “I’m not restricted to this house. I will have my prey!”

I struggled to get up before I ran around the side of the house to my car. Blessing the full moon as I ran. I pulled my keys out of my pocket. Soon I was pulling out of the driveway into the street. I looked towards the house to see the dark figure moving down the drive. I knew it could move faster than I could, but for some reason had chosen not to. I took off down the street.

First, I drove the ten minutes to our offices. I collected the hard drives from the monitoring station. Grabbing my bug out bag to stuff them into, I stopped at Wolf’s desk to get his spare keys and his bug out bag. Then with the drives in the bottom of my bag. I was back in the car on my way to Wolf’s house.

It took me twenty minutes to get there. Once inside I collected the talismen I needed along with a few other little protection items he taught me to use. Getting them into the car, I went back in for the three five pound bags of salt in the entry closet. Wolf always kept three bags there. I knew I had little time. If I thought I would be safer at Wolf’s place than mine I would have stayed there, but with the entities using Wolf’s body and image I couldn’t be sure.

I took off in the car to my house. Silently cursing the three bay windows which had been one of the reasons I loved the house so much. I didn’t know how the thing was tracking me. I only knew it was. Forty minutes later, I pulled into my garage. Grabbing the talismen, I took them in first with my bug out bag. Back out to the car, I grabbed the handheld camera, Wolf and my bags. The last thing I did was bring in the fifteen pounds of salt. I locked up my car.

First, I used what Wolf taught me and set the large talismen on the four directionals with the spells, prayers and blessings for protection. Then I placed salt across all the openings throughout my house. From the garage door to my attic windows and fans, I placed salt. Of course, I didn’t use all fifteen pounds. I barely used five, but I knew I didn’t want to run out in the future.

Sketch of Phoebe Aria's House I made for reference of locations in the house.

I drew this sketch of Phoebe Aria’s house. It is not to scale , but helps show the layout.

The sun was coming up as I finished. I wasn’t deluded enough to think I was safe just because the sun was up. I was hoping the protections I was working would be enough to keep me safe. I went to the bags to pull out the other protection and power items. I moved around the house to place them the way Wolf had taught me.

Then I went up to my computer room with the bug out bags, investigation bag, and the handheld camera. I started with the camera. Downloading everything to my raid would take hours. I would have part of it uploading to a cloud space only I could access once it was on the raid. This would give me time to go through the evidence and find out how this investigation went so wrong. It might also give me a clue as to what I was dealing with as well as how I could fight it.

I don’t have a basement in my house. I never really wanted one. My living room has a bay window on the back wall of the house. My kitchen is off the front entry. It led into the dining room which was on the side wall. The dining room also has a bay window, which showcases the flower bed I built on the side of the house. The dining and living room share a French style doors leading to my expansive backyard. My office, where I work on my computer is actually just above the living room and at the top of the stairs. You have to go into the living room to get to the stairs. My bedroom is directly across from my office upstairs. The rest of the layout is unimportant to this.

I had all the drives set up for transfer. While I was sitting there waiting, I passed out. I don’t know how I was even able to sleep, but I did. I had nightmares of my team coming after me to assault or kill me in various ways. Behind the dream was the dark and foreboding figure, before they manage to kill me it stops them claiming I am its. Then either I woke up slightly or the dream changed to another version of the dream.

I woke up sometime in the afternoon. The upload was complete. I started loading to my monitor bank to watch what the cameras caught. I moved to look through the Friday feeds. There was a point Jasp was alone in the dining room. As I watched, he seemed to be talking to something. I turned up the audio. It was a deep voice telling him how he could only succeed if he allowed himself to be merged with. The voice claimed to be a good spirit which would help him cleanse the house. Jasp had been taken before the rest of us knew. The voice led him to the basement to merge with him. Killing him and taking his form. I saw it all on the camera feeds.

The next morning when we all split up, Jasp had taken Sid down to the basement for the same treatment. However, the ones upstairs were interrupted before Jade could be taken. Wolf was taken in the master bedroom while alone in there. I knew if I went up there I would find his body. However, I was never planning to go back to that house.

I watched my team turn into these things one by one. My stomach turned. How did I not know? I should have known.

There was a rumbling voice I heard in my head saying “You were not meant to know. They were cloaked from you.” I didn’t know how it found my mind, but it did. I knew it was still trying to track me down. I just felt it. It wasn’t supposed to be able to get through the protection I had up.

I took a breath before I said to it “Why do you want us?”

“To possess you,” said the voice in my head.

“Then why are you killing…” The voice interrupted me by laughing as if it thought my belief of its words was hilarious. I knew it didn’t want to possess us. It was lying. I still didn’t know what it wanted as I felt it pull out of my thoughts.

As easy as it did it, I realized there were several protections which obviously were not strong enough. I spent the rest of the afternoon placing stronger protection crystals. I used what Wolf taught me to empower crystals for me to wear.

I was hoping to keep from having another mental talk with this creature. I also hoped it would cloak and shield me from allowing it to find me. It was probably a useless action, because it had found my mind. I made a bag and put it in my bra. There had to be a way. The rest of the evening I checked my existing protections.

☽✧───┈✦✦✦┈──────┈✦✦✦┈───✧☾

I finally stopped to eat food around midnight. I moved up to my bedroom with my laptop to see if I could find anything online that might help me. It was around two when I heard the first sounds outside the house. First, it was knocking on my front door with Jasp’s voice calling to me. One by one they called out to me trying to get into the house. I knew it wasn’t them. It was still hard. I was close to these people. We worked together. We were like a family. Wolf was the hardest to ignore.

There were other sounds trying to coax me out. They also had others with them. Voices I didn’t recognize called out to me. It seems they were able to take control or remake themselves into anyone they wanted. I was fighting to keep from letting them in when my cellphone rang. I looked at the phone. It was Paige, or it said it was.

“Hello?”

“Oh thank the goddess, Phoebe,” Paige’s voice said over the phone. “I’ve not been able to reach the rest of the team.”

I swallowed before saying “Is that really you Paige?”

“Yes,” she said a bit confused “Oh no, uhm, Wolf and you have matching tattoos on you…”

I interrupted her saying “Ok, that’s enough. You can stop. Paige, they are all dead.” Just then there was a scream and a growl from outside. I closed my eyes fighting the pain the voices brought with the knowledge they were dead and I was to be next.

“What was…” Paige started to speak. She paused before she said “Phoebe, do not let them in! No matter what is said or what you hear. Do not let it in.”

“Paige, I don’t know how long I can hold out. I put up Wolf’s protections and salt as well as my crystals and candles. They can’t get in, but they are trying to reach my mind and get inside.”

“You can’t let them. Give me some time. I’ll come up with something,” she said “Just give me time.”

“Don’t take too long,” was all I said before she hung up. I didn’t consider the knowledge she had anything she shouldn’t have, after all she is psychic.

I pulled the blankets over me as I listened to the creatures trying to get into my house. I pulled the laptop close and started this record. For a moment, I peeked out to see them. I hope Paige finds something. It’s there outside. It isn’t above killing others to use their appearance. I don’t know why it wants me. I don’t know what it wants to do with me.

The sun is almost up. They are starting to knock on the house walls again. I can’t move. I’m so scared. What I do know it might not stop with me. It may try to take over the city…maybe more. We were just the beginning. I don’t know where it will end. Someone has to stop them. I may be their target now, but eventually they will go after everyone everywhere.

☽✧───┈✦✦✦┈──────┈✦✦✦┈───✧☾

⊱🌹 ⟿ So as many of us who use social media know, there are some limits put in place by several of the social media sites.  In this case, this challenge addresses the 280 character limit of Twitter. 

We were allowed to make a total of four entries each with a limit of 280 characters, including punctuation but not spaces.  There were no other rule than except to keep with in the WCA community guidelines.  This included trigger warnings if needed.

These are my entries.  It is possible some of these may show up in later writings.  ⟿ 🌹⊰

・*:.。. .。.:*・゜゚・*☆

 

Entry #1:

This is a test. This is only a test. This is a test of the emergency friend’s twitter system. Again this is only a test. If this had been an actual e-mail, it would have included something of substance instead of this rambling. This concludes this test. Thank you and be safe.

Character count: 225

 

・*:.。. .。.:*・゜゚・*☆

 

Entry #2:

He stood on the balcony looking at the ocean rolling in and out of the horizon. He hated watching it roll on the beach. It reminded him too much of when her body was found with the waves crashing on it against the beach. Why had they come back here? He could only remember her voice saying I want to see you.

Character count: 247

 

・*:.。. .。.:*・゜゚・*☆

 

Entry #3:

The candle flickered as the wind blew into the partially open window. She turned to put her hand in the way to block the wind. She didn’t want the candle to go out. It wasn’t that she feared the darkness. It was just too hard to put a sleeping child to bed in the dark.

Character count: 215

 

・*:.。. .。.:*・゜゚・*☆

 

Entry #4:

The clock ticks slowly on the wall. It’s digital seconds moving one by one. Moment by moment counting each breath in and out. Looking back at the sleeping body in the bed, my hand reflexively tightens. It is squeezed back. I know it is only reflex, but it makes me feel better. I smile softly as I lay my head back to die.

Character count: 260

 

・*:.。. .。.:*・゜゚・*☆

Character count verified by https://easywordcount.com/ as the number of characters with punctuation not counting spaces.

So I mentioned in my last post that I’m going to try to make sure

Star Trek: The Next Generation – Captain Picard

I post the most recent version of the works I’ve been working on.   I don’t think I also mentioned some have been posted before in earlier versions.  As I thought about it, I decided I needed to explain what I mean.

I know you all have seen the note at the top of many of my pieces saying “rough draft”.  This is because I don’t feel finished with the editing.  There is something in the writing that is unfinished in my mind.  This could be for many reasons.  In most cases, there was a time limit for the writing of the item.  Some cases there was a word number limit or subject limiting.  It may also have been restrictions at the location I was had to post it on which forced some parts to be toned down or omitted.  This is usually when the site requires me to be G, PG, or PG-13.  Sometimes it is just because the site will not allow certain words or images even if they are only words.

I will tell you most of them will be revisited at some point with expanded future versions which will be shared afterwards.  Then it may also be a case of my reading them  to be horrified I actually worded them the way I did.  (Believe me this happens many times for me.)

So understand if you see a work I’ve already posted, it may have something in it you’ve not seen before.

Stay tuned and Stay Safe!