42 replies to this topic

[CraazyOne]

LOLyay! Thanks!







~Rachel~

[Mara=^.^=]

Soooooo amazing! I'm really enjoying reading this.

Write more soon...

or not. I probably deserve to suffer with a cliffhanger for awhile.


~*Mara*~ = ^.^ =

[CraazyOne]

or not. I probably deserve to suffer with a cliffhanger for awhile.

LOL. *chuckles evilly* Nah, actually, I'm pretty sure I'll update again soon...I've started writing the next part already.


Thanks. ^_^ It's really fun to write.





~Rachel~

[Beks]

Oh Raaaachel! :D

There's a little surprise for ya in the IDOJ Community forum... ;)

[CraazyOne]

Yay! I was hoping to finish this part yesterday, but I got sidetracked...

Anyway, here's ya go! I still don't know how many parts this is going to have, but I think I'm almost done...


Part IV


Light flashed momentarily through the darkness and I was conscious of shouting and footsteps all around me. The noise was faint, though, as if it was coming from somewhere far away. I wanted to open my eyes, to find out what was going on and to defend myself before I was killed, but I couldn't seem to manage. Maybe my eyes were already open, and I just couldn't see in the blackness; I couldn't tell. The pain made my brain sluggish and my senses dull. My strongest emotion was panic; but other than that and the fact that every breath I took sent another shockwave of agony through me was about all my brain could comprehend. Suddenly the world seemed to tilt and rock and I became aware of another sensation: that of the overwhelmingly cold wind rushing around my face. As the icy air seemed to gnaw right into my bones, shudders rippled through me; I didn't seem to be shivering so much as I was convulsing. An unbearable, stabbing sensation wrenched at my gut, and I fell into oblivion at last.

__________________________________________________

I opened my eyes to sunlight streaming in through an open window. For the longest time I lay motionless, not wanting to move and send the knives through my body again. I was afraid to look down at my body and take in the damage I'd received: though the pain wasn't as intense as it had been at first, it was still excruciating. Trying to breathe felt more like pushing a blade deeper and deeper into my abdomen.

All of a sudden, I was aware of something other than my discomfort: there were people outside of my room. "Go check on her," came a voice from nearby. My heart leapt in fear and I prayed I wasn't in danger again.

I heard the thud of footsteps on a wood floor and then the door to the room I was in swung open slowly. "Rachel?"

I blinked. Since when had I been called that? And how did this stranger know my name...? I couldn't find my voice in my shock, although feeling the way I did, I doubted I'd really be able to speak anyway.

Then a man stepped in and I recognized him as none other than Trent. "So you are awake!" He walked over to the bed I was lying on and frowned down at me. "How are you feeling?"

"I..." I began, trying to sit up, but I immediately froze. My fingers tightened as I clung to the bed sheet for dear life and my face must have turned several shades whiter.

Trent shoved one of his huge arms behind my back and to support me. "Don't move," he advised me, as if I'd actually want to try again. He lifted a cup off a nightstand beside the bed and a few pills and offered them to me. "Painkillers," he explained.

I shoved them into my mouth and put the cup to my lips, eagerly swallowing the cool liquid. Before I could gulp down too much, Trent slipped it gently out of my fingers and replaced it on the nightstand. "You'll make yourself sick if you drink too much at once," he cautioned me, easing me back down onto my pillow. "Try to rest for now, and I'll let you drink more later."

Curiosity proved stronger than the pain that had kept me quiet; I had to ask some questions. "How...how long has it been?"

Trent grinned. "Don't worry; only three days. Go back to sleep." With that, he left the room, leaving the rest of my questions unspoken. I was left only to ponder them until numbness dulled my pain and a wave of exhaustion swept over me.

___________________________________________________

The medication must have worn off, because suddenly I found myself awake, staring into darkness. Off on my right, the window looked out on a few trees standing like sentinels in the night. Snow still coated the ground and ice sparkled in the starlight. It reminded me so much of that night that I half-expected to see a dark form flitting from tree to tree, creeping to my window to finish what he'd started...

The soft knock at my door sent my heart racing madly until I could mentally yell at myself for being so ridiculous. "Trent?" I half-whispered, and the man swung the door open softly and entered the room.

I expected he'd only come to check on me and give me more painkillers to let me sleep, but he walked straight to the window instead. He started intently out of it for several moments before quickly spinning around to me. "Have you seen anything outside?"

My eyes grew wide with fright as I stared up at him. "No," I answered at last.

"They're stealthy mongrels," he muttered.

As I turned my eyes back to the window, one of my earlier questions darted through my head. "My family..." my voice drifted off anxiously as my gaze locked on the view outside. The people hunting me had to be hunting them, too; that was, if they hadn't found them already. Several moments passed before I realized that Trent was quiet...too quiet. A quiver of fear ran through me as I turned to him and demanded, "Tell me what happened to them! Are they all right?"

His face was impenetrable as he looked back at me from his position beside the window. "You need to stay quiet; they might hear you."

Dread certainty gripped my heart and my breath came in ragged gasps. "What happened to them?" My voice had risen almost to a shriek, but I didn't care if I was found anymore. I was consumed with the growing emotion; it numbed my pain and clouded any other thoughts.

Trent knew it was pointless to hide it anymore. "They were killed the night you were attacked," he replied softly, emotionlessly. "All of them. Your house was found burnt to the ground, erasing the...evidence."

How long I lay there, numb, without any emotion at all, I don't even know. It was impossible to comprehend the fact that they were all dead, let alone to know how to react. For the longest time I was breathless. Then the sorrow hit, and it was far more excrutiating than the pain had ever been. Sobs wrenched themselves from my throat, sending my whole body into spasms. I was vaguely aware of the stabbing sensation in my gut increasing each time I shook, but it didn't matter to me anymore. Somewhere overhead Trent was ordering me to stay quiet if I valued my life, but that didn't matter either.

Nothing mattered anymore.







~Rachel~

[.:!Gwen!:.]

......D8!!!

They DIED?

AGH NO. --cries too--

Oh man, you have such a way with expression. I could literally feel her pain, the kind from her stomach and the kind from her sorrow.





.:!Gwen!:.

[Beks]

Waa! That's so sad!! I can't wait to see what's next!

[RocksmySocks]

*sniffles* Awww...that is so sad!

Very moving, Writer Lady. Great new chapter - Gwen is right, it was like you could really feel the pain. Really nice job!

[Jimmygang 005]

This really sad, nice work hopes to see more from you soon, I really should work on my story.


:) Khalid :)

[CraazyOne]

This is where I throw in the weird plot twist that's either really gonna work with this story or gonna kill it. I dunno. Like I said before, there is minimal planning in all of this. I kinda just sit down and write.



Part V

In my state it was hard to be aware of anything going on around me, but I could feel Trent lifting me in his arms and pressing my face against his jacket to muffle my crying. I felt like I was suffocating: every time I gasped for breath I found the effort useless with my face buried in Trent's jacket. The sensation of choking on my own sobs slowed my tears enough to make me overly conscious of the fact that I was crying in front of someone with seemingly no way to escape. I wanted to shove myself out of Trent's arms and find somewhere to be alone in my grief, not caring what whoever was stalking the forest outside his cabin wanted. He was too strong to fight against, however; I was forced to let the crying cease and let a strange numbness take its place.

When he set me down, I found I was on a cellar floor with barrels of food surrounding me. Overhead, a deer carcass hung from the rafters. I focused my eyes on Trent, who was gazing down at me rather sternly, but with a face not totally void of sympathy. Then, almost with a start, I realized we weren't alone in the room.

"Is she all right?" came a kind voice. I glanced up to see a tall boy stepping over to Trent's side and staring down at me with eyes full of compassion. He seemed a bit older than me, and had the "friendly giant" look down perfectly.

Trent murmured something too low for me to hear, and the two of them moved away from me and took perches on barrels across the room. My eyes slowly searched the room and landed on several other boys sitting against the wall on my left: two were about the age of the friendly giant, though smaller, and one looked to be about the age of my youngest brother...or the age my brother was before...

I clenched my eyes shut, leaned back against the cellar wall, and let the pain wash over me again. It was impossible for me to cry this time, not only because I was aware of all the eyes watching me but because I felt as if I'd cried all the tears I could in those first few minutes. Again someone was at my side, lifting up my head and pressing something to my lips. I opened my eyes and saw Trent holding a mug of water to me. I had little interest in it, but since he had shoved it to my mouth it was almost impossible not to drink. When he moved it away, I shut my eyes again and let the memories take over.

_________________________________________________________________________

I don't know when conscious memories slipped into unconsciousness consisting of strange, disconnected dreams, but when I opened my eyes next I was aware that some time must have passed. My body felt stiff and the physical pain I'd been able to ignore before seemed to have returned with a vengeance. That was, until my foggy brain recollected what had happened before I'd slipped into dreams.

The cellar was gone: I was back in the bedroom again, with sunlight streaming through the window. Outside most of the snow had turned to slush, letting the dark grass--and a lot of mud--show through.

"I'm sorry that had to happen to you," Trent murmured. I turned my head, trying to wipe away the tears that had slipped down my cheeks, and glanced up at him. He was just walking through the doorway with a mug of water in his hand. In a few strides he'd crossed the room and set the mug on the nightstand by my bed. "They do it in a well-meaning way, thinking they're fulfilling justice..."

Shock hit me so hard that it numbed--though never replaced--the overwhelming devastation I'd felt. Then everything began to piece itself together...

"THE NEUTRON KNIGHTS!" I shrieked as rage erupted through the tumult of emotion. It felt as if adrenaline had been injected into my veins: suddenly I was alive again. The fury made my eyes flash as I glared up at the man; my muscles tensed as if ready to spring; and the strength returned to my feeble frame. "You're one of them! I hate you!" My hand clenched into a fist as the tears sprang into my eyes again. "You deserve to die," I spat. I leaned forward, feeling like a tiger preparing to strike.

And then, to my absolute horror and revulsion, Trent laughed. The sound rang out in such a disgusting disharmony in my ears that the hatred only magnified. I felt if I didn't find some way to stop the sound right then, I might explode from the intensity of the anger and the pain. Catching sight of the mug in my periphreal vision, I grasped it in my hand and prepared to hurl it straight across the room at him. In my impatience, I released it too quickly: it soared through the air for a few feet in a totally wrong direction and then smashed into the wood floor, sending shards of porcelain and droplets of water flying in every direction.

But the shattered mug did accomplish one of my goals: Trent stopped laughing. "Rachel..." he began, sounding like a father trying to use reason on his child as he began to walk toward me.

"Don't use my real name!" I snapped.

He halted midstep and his eyes grew wide in a mixture of mild surprise and amusement. "Relax," he said.

"I'll relax when you're dead," I shot back, thoroughly irritated. The fact was, I knew I was completely at his mercy. There would have been no way I could have taken on a man of his strength and size in perfect health; in my current condition any punch I threw at him would feel more like a gentle pat. It was absurd to think I could do anything...I was trapped here with my enemy and now he could kill me too...

"Use your brain," Trent responded, making me frown immediately. If there was anything I hated, it was an insult of that kind... His voice broke through my scattered thoughts. "If I were your enemy, why would I save your life, take you in, and try to nurse you back to health?"

"You're a...knight," I whispered.

"I told you that because I knew you trusted them," Trent explained, "and I wanted you to trust me. To know I was here to help you and your family. But I am not a Knight...in fact, I lost my brother to some of them."

"So who do you serve?" I frowned at him. "Eustace?"

Again Trent couldn't repress his laughter. He seemed to find my disgusted expression amusing, and it was really irritating me. I could feel my cheeks darkening with embarrasment and anger, but he didn't seem to notice.

"For one minute, will you be quiet, stop jumping to conclusions, and let me explain?"

I paused for a moment before nodding.

"My brother was killed by the Neutron Knights when he was wrongly accused of siding with our enemy Eustace. Of course I am not on Eustace's side; I am for justice. Those boys you saw that night in the cellar are...part of my 'band', if you will. We're rebels, serving neither one side nor the other. We do all we can to prevent others like ourselves from losing loved ones to either the Knights or Eustace and his men."

"My parents insisted the Knights were for justice...that they would never harm an innocent citizen..." My voice wandered off.

"That is what they all swear to do," Trent responded solemnly. "Unfortunately, there was someone among the Knights who was giving them faulty information, pinning crimes on innocent citizens. The Knights, believing they were doing good, instead caused much damage. After my brother's death, I swore to do all I can to prevent the loss of innocent life, and when I found those boys, who'd also lost loved ones, I let them join me."

"And that traitor is still a member of the Knights?" I wondered.

"To the best of my knowledge, yes. Although getting your hands on information on the Knights is...difficult." Trent stepped over to the broken mug on the floor and picked up some of the larger pieces. "I could hardly believe it at first, either," he went on, noting the shock in my eyes. "But I couldn't deny my brother's death..."

I leaned back on my pillow, trying to let it all sink in. "Are the Neutron Knights still after us, then? Are they hunting you down because they're still looking for me?"

Trent shook his head. "I don't think they want to kill you...in fact, you family's death appears to me to have been accident. They were supposed to be captured, alive, but they fought back and their captors killed them in self-defense..."

I cringed at the thought, a mixture of horror, loss, and disbelief flooding my heart. To imagine that my family was dead was hard enough, but to imagine I'd lost them at the hands of the people my family and I had always looked up to, even if we had been running from the law...

"But those weren't Neutron Knights we were hiding from," Trent continued. "They are looking for you, but they're not the only ones. I really can't understand it, but both they and Eustace's men seem bent on hunting you down."

"So everybody's out to get me," I concluded. My face twisted with pain, but I didn't really feel afraid. What was the point in fearing for your life when it all felt empty anyway?




~Rachel~

[RocksmySocks]

Whoa!!!

Oh no!!!! Neutron Knights as...killers and assassins?! :o

You have to post more soon! MUST KNOW WHAT HAPPENS NEXT!


Really great chapter, Spike! And an awesome (and sad) plot twist!


-Rat Lady :ahoy:

[CraazyOne]

*giggle* Thanks, Katie! It just kinda came to me and I was like, "AHHHHH! MUST DO THIS!" XD





~Rachel~

[Jimmygang 005]

WOW great, wonderful, fantastic it’s so well written that I don’t know what to say about its greatness, I wish I can write like that (or like Gwen or Mara or …) you should find a job in Hollywood

:) Khalid :)

[.:!Gwen!:.]

GUESS WHAT.



But in all seriousness, that was truly an unforeseen plot twist. Killers? lolwut

Want moar. D:






.:!Gwen!:.

[CraazyOne]

I hope this isn't very crummy. I usually sit down and write everything really quickly, like in the space of a half-hour or so. But this time I kept getting idistracted or nterrupted (like having to go to work, ugh) in the middle of working on this part. So...yeah. Took a while. Might've messed up the "flow" or whatever, too. LOL.

I think we're getting close to the end...finally.


Part VI

Days stretched into weeks, and weeks into months. The sorrow that had questioned my motives to even live anymore was gradually replaced with a driving passion for justice. Not revenge, I told myself, though now and then I wondered if I wasn't letting my anger consume my judgement. I wasn't the type of person who usually entertained thoughts of killing, but Trent's enthusiam for saving lives before they were taken by the misguided Neutron Knights was contagious. I'd always placed a high value on human life, and with my family's murder came horror whenever I imagined someone else having to face what I was. My sympathy for Trent and his little band I'd only seen once made me shudder at the thought of anyone else being thrown into our way of life; my compassion made me cringe and hold back the sobs when I realized that others might have to experience the same gruesome death my parents and brothers had. Trent's mission became my mission: it wasn't long before I determined that his rebel band's way of life would be mine, too. If I had to kill the traitor among the Knights myself, I'd do it in order to prevent more murders. And as for Eustace...well, my blood boiled just hearing his name. Although, to be quite honest, hearing about the Neutron Knights irked me, too. I couldn't help but wonder exactly how many of them were sincere about their mission and how many didn't really serve Eustace instead.

Having purpose to my existence did wonders to my healing process. Slowly but surely the sharp pain in my abdomen and my leg diminished to a dull ache. Trent informed me that my leg had been fractured, perhaps in my attempts to fight off my attacker, and that a dagger had been buried in me, just below my diaphragm. It had made breathing difficult, but none of my organs had been injured. The blood loss had frightened him, however; he'd fought to get it under control and had been a bit surprised when I'd pulled through so well. Due to Trent's care and my sudden fervent desire to recover and get back to whatever life I had left, I was soon moving easily on a pair of crutches. As my leg healed I began to get around without them; though the lingering weakness and pain in my stomach still slowed me now and then, especially since I still could not breathe without aggravating my wound.

Most of the time I was left alone, and I preferred it that way. I rarely saw anyone but Trent; his gang spent a lot of time away, making sure neither the Neutron Knights nor Eustace's men caused any more trouble. I figured the fact that they were rarely around made many people think Trent was a reclusive man living by himself, though the outside world seemed very distant now. Trent didn't like me wandering anywhere alone; even though he hadn't spotted anyone for months, he was sure that no one had given up hunting for me. I did walk through the woods outside his cabin, though, where I was still close enough that Trent felt he could keep me safe. The fresh air did wonders in lifting my spirits and making me feel human again: by now the snow had long since melted and the sweet, refreshing scent of spring hung all around me. When the boys were home, Trent spent much time outside training with them. Those were the days I found a nearby tree stump to sit on and watched them interestedly as they practiced both with weapons and hand-to-hand combat. They moved with such swift, fluid motions that I quickly abandoned any hope of ever being as graceful or skilled as they were.

They each had pasts similar to my own: one or most of their closest family members had been killed by the Neutron Knights, Trent had found them, and they had found purpose in life by seeking justice. When they'd joined the man they'd each abandoned their former names for safety reasons; sometimes they went by first names similar to their old ones. Often, they used somewhat teasing nicknames for each other instead. The friendly giant (at 6'4" he was even taller than Trent) went by Simon, but his friends liked to jokingly call him "the Beast". "Captain" went to Phil, who had been with Trent the longest and was basically the man's second in command. He had dark hair, deep blue eyes, and was a good eight inches shorter than Simon. All the others obviously looked up to him: he seemed to lead so naturally, with a friendliness that endeared him to them all. The boy who'd reminded me of my young brother couldn't be older than ten: the other boys always referred to him as Sammie or "Little Man". He was a quiet, intelligent kid with short brown hair and chocolate eyes. Daniel was the originator of all the nicknames, I came to realize. His circumstances didn't seem to have rubbed off on him too much: when he wasn't throwing himself into his training, he seemed laid back; and his whole purpose in life appeared to be to tease everyone around him. He had sandy blond hair, blue eyes, and an almost perpetual smile.

I didn't really actually meet the rest of my new "family", however, until the day I asked Trent to begin training me. Simon had gone off to the village to spy on some "suspicious activity" that Trent had mentioned, so that left five of us. Trent said the most important thing was to work on physical conditioning, so he set up his own obstacle course and told us to divide up in teams to compete against each other. Phil chose me for his team, leaving Daniel and Sammie to go up against us. Trent stepped back to watch, all the while warning me not to go to push myself too hard.

"And...go!"

Daniel and I were to run the course first. We both stepped up opposite to each other, facing the bars we were to swing on. Obviously, Trent possessed an overly creative brain and affluent free time when it came to training. Cringing inwardly at the height I'd have to jump just to reach the bar, I set my jaw, stood on my tiptoes, and stretched my arms up toward it in preparation.

"Wow," a sarcastic voice broke in on my concentration.

Used to being teased about my height, I rolled my eyes at Daniel. "Shut up," I countered without missing a beat.

He laughed and turned to Trent, calling out, "Did you hear her?"

And then we were off. I sprang into the air and, to my utter relief, caught the bar. Then came the tricky part of gaining momentum after such a shaky start and swinging over to the next section of the course. My fear of heights kicked in and it took me a moment to force myself to let go of the bar and plunge onward. In the end, Daniel beat me by a few seconds. We stopped, panting, at the start of the course to watch Phil and Sammie race each other. Sammie was quite the sight as he leapt, frog-like, for the bar and swung easily off. He used his small size and agility to his advantage and finished right behind Phil.

"Very good," Trent commented with a grin as the boys came to a halt. "Now, Rachel..."

"She, of all people, needs a new name," Phil pointed out suddenly.

"Rebecca," Daniel offered with a grin.

"Um...Rose?" Sammie shrugged as he attempted to come up with something.

"More like a rose thorn," Phil muttered.

"Thorn?" Daniel repeated. "No...that's not sharp enough. We need something...closer to a spike."

Again, I rolled my eyes, but the conversation ended abruptly at that moment.

"Trent!" Simon's voice echoed through the surrounding trees as he dashed across the yard toward us. "The men slipped away before I could observe them for long, but I think you're right: they do seem suspicious. I think they could be some of Eustace's thugs, but I'm not sure."

"Well, if they've left for the moment, then the only thing we can do is prepare for their return," Phil spoke up. He cast a glance in my direction, and all the others followed his lead. I flushed and looked away, hating to have them all watching me at once.

Suddenly, Phil stepped toward him and muttered something the rest of us couldn't hear.

"Of course I do," Trent responded. "She has a lot of potential."

I shuffled, realizing they were discussing my ability to defend myself.

"They'll probably be here tonight," the man went on, keeping his voice low as he addressed the rest of us. "Let's get ready."




~Rachel~

[RocksmySocks]

Uh oh, sounds like trouble is a-brewin'! But we'll have to wait until the next installment to see the fight...


Great chapter, Spike! It didn't seem jagged at all, flowed very well! Fantastic work, once again. You rule, majorly.



-Rat Lady :ahoy:

[.:!Gwen!:.]

WOW, SPIKE.

I am honestly continually stunned by my absorption into this story. I didn't even hear my dad call me from downstairs when I was reading about the race. He had to knock on my door loudly to get my attention.

This is seriously amazing. Keep it up! And more soon! :thumbsup:






.:!Gwen!:.

[CraazyOne]

LOL, GWEN. THAT'S BECAUSE I HAVE THE POWER OF HYPNOSIS.


...Now ya know. :P



@KAITE--No, YOU rule!!!!!! :D





~Rachel~

[.:!Gwen!:.]

LOL, GWEN. THAT'S BECAUSE I HAVE THE POWER OF HYPNOSIS.


...Now ya know. :P

...IT ALL MAKES SENSE NOW.








.:!Gwen!:.

[CraazyOne]

Yeah, nice to have that clarified, isn't it? :D




~Rachel~