Note: Decided to blend one of the script projects I created years ago, and am now working on again, with Legend of the Seeker. It goes under a different name and of course has nothing to do with Legend of the Seeker in real-life, but within this story - it does. This means my original characters and premise for another story are being infused into this one. Two of the main characters are traded out with Cara and Kahlan instead, and some things are mixed in. Transferred into book format for most desired reading within fanfiction fandom. I originally said this story would not be as long as Memories Guarded in Blue Paradise, and would instead consist of one episode's worth, with extra minutes tagged on for changes that would happen within this version, but that has now changed. It is now a full-blown series. Plus, this episode is actually two episodes combined - it's a two-parter. The story is also available at LiveJournal, where it may at times be rated R or higher.
ACT 1
A fearsome wind formed outside of D'Hara High School, swirling and blending dirt and grass, faster and faster, until there was no doubt left that it was a tornado. Night had arrived, and no one was on campus. Thunder roared, and the air crackled with pops. Soon, the tornado faded, a person with black boots now standing in its place. The boots were of particular design. On their outer sides, diamond-shaped cuts existed in their center, glowing an angry red.
This person soon turned away from the school and walked off into the distance.
IIII
It was morning, and eighteen-year-old Cara stood in her room preparing for school. She was already dressed in what she would be wearing for the day - tight, red leather pants and a black, low-plunge V-neck shirt to draw attention to her cleavage. It was really nice cleavage, after all. But what she focused on in the mirror was her bee-stung lips as she applied lipstick to them. Those lips were both a curse and a blessing. A curse, because people often looked there instead of at her face when first meeting her (unless, of course, they found her cleavage first). And a blessing because that, combined with her long, blond hair, sparkling green eyes which could appear blue at the drop of a dime, and angelic-like face, enabled her to get away with almost anything. People really are a sucker for good looks, she thought, as she ran a hand through her luxurious locks and moved away from the mirror.
Cara sat on her huge bed and glanced around her enormous room. What a plain room, she decided. Maybe she should decorate it? With lots of girly things? That would help her to not focus on the annoying thoughts plaguing her day in and day out? But what to make of such annoying thoughts in regards to her love life? Dating these boys hadn't helped squelch the urges. Her new boyfriend, for example? She didn't want to date Bobby Alderson, but he helped keep up appearances.
Cara put on her high-heel leather boots. Good thing she never had to screw him. She grabbed her books and pencil from the desk next to her bed and headed for the door. She wouldn't needed a jacket. For some reason, it wasn't cold this time in February.
In the living room, she came across her mother watching television while sitting on the couch. "Ugh, just look at that," the light-haired woman in her late twenties said to Cara. Cara stopped beside her mother and looked in her direction, to the television screen to see two women kissing on some morning talk show. "So disgusting. I don't see how these women do it – give up men for someone who has the exact same thing between their legs," her mother finished.
Cara leaned in and kissed the older woman on the cheek. "You're right, ma. So disgusting." She then headed for the front door.
"Today's the start of your last semester as a senior, isn't it?"
Cara looked over her shoulder. "Yeah."
The older woman narrowed her eyes on the television screen. "Your father would say to make him proud. Get that diploma so that you can get the hell out of here."
"Sure thing, ma," replied Cara, going out the door.
IIII
At D'Hara High School, students made their way through the crowded campus area. The streets were busy with traffic, and buses headed along.
A slim, brown-haired boy stood in front of the school as others passed, with his backpack slung over his shoulder. His clothes were that of a major geek, but his features said, "Hunk."
Just then, a beautiful blonde girl with glasses approached, grabbing him by the arm with one hand and pushing the glasses back up on her face with the other. Her outfit? Skanky. "And how's the boy I call pain-in-my-ass Gicko?" she asked, briefly leaning into his ear. "Not to be confused with Geico."
"Funny, funny," Gicko rolled his eyes. "That commercial is so tired." He sighed, gaze still on the school. "If you must know, I'm fine. It's just so sad to believe that society has been reduced to this fame-obsessed state, where... Just look at that." He briefly pointed to the school. "Parents are jumping to send their kids to this school all because the President said it's one of the best academic high schools in the country. Hell, our parents sent us here. And you know it's not because of academics. It's because they want to be one of the ones to say, 'My kid went to one of those schools the President mentioned in one of those speeches.'"
The blonde leaned against Gicko's shoulder, looking up at the building as well. It was truly a magnificent piece, taller and bigger than any school she had ever seen, that's for sure. "Yep," she replied. "And it harbors the Haven't-Seen-You-In-Years Cara Mason... Wait ... No, forgot she goes by 'Cara Pyro' now."
Gicko raised his eyebrows. "She'll talk to us, right? I mean, she has to."
The blonde smiled. "Gicko, we've known Cara even before she was the fat baby pooping piles of it in our cribs. Stinking 'em up. You know, grew up together and all that. Of course...she'll have to talk to us."
Gicko grinned, the blonde throwing an arm around his shoulder as they headed for the school's entrance.
Inside, as they came in, Gicko leading, and both passing by groups of people, the blonde almost tripped over a red, diamond-shaped crystal; it skidded a little across the polished wood. Not one to turn down shiny things, the blonde walked to it and looked up to see Gicko still moving ahead, distancing himself through the crowd. Shrugging, she picked up the diamond-shaped crystal and went on her way.
IIII
"And this is why you're all here," Mr. Tanner pointed to a word on the dry-erase board. It read: Quality learning.
Cara rolled her eyes as she sat in the front row of the very full class. Mr. Tanner was cute but boring. On top of that, he had a girlish hairstyle, reminiscent of the "The Rachel" from the 90s show Friends, and the students hardly respected him.
He finished up his lecture with, "Any questions?"
There was an awkward silence.
A prissy girl smacking as loudly as she could on bubble gum batted her eyes at the man. "You got a girlfriend?"
A muscular boy shrugged, "And why is your hair like that?"
A curious boy rose his hand. "Yeah. Are you a sissy? 'Cause it's okay if you're a sissy. That's what my mama always said."
Mr. Tanner just sighed and dropped his head.
But soon, someone entered the class. Cara immediately froze as she watched the beautiful dark-haired girl close the door behind her and stride up to Mr. Tanner, offering him some type of note. As he took the note and read it, Cara's eyes took in every aspect of the girl's form. The brunette was tall, and she had legs for days, which her extremely short skirt was all too eager to show off. This was topped off with red, high heel shoes which matched her tight, red, long-sleeved shirt. And her eyes sparkled a blue Cara had never seen before. Damn it! This girl... She will be 'the new me.'
And like clockwork, there was already hooting and hollering in the ways of compliments and good cases of sexual harassment being made in the brunette's direction.
The girls, popular and not-so popular, looked threatened, and Cara knew they would be on her - Cara's - side about this: This brunette must be squashed.
Mr. Tanner silenced the room with waves of his hand, one of the rare occasions they quieted down at his request. "This here is Kahlan Amnell," he said. "A transfer student." He motioned for Kahlan to choose a seat. "This isn't kindergarten, young lady. That's as formal an introduction as you get. Now take a seat."
Kahlan, without even scanning the class, looked directly at Cara; the gaze was so penetrating and intimate Cara felt one of them had been impregnated right there on the spot. The other girl then looked to the empty seat next to Cara. Oh no, Cara thought, and looked away as quickly as she could. Except, it won't matter anyway because you just knocked her up with your eyes, Cara scolded herself. She made a silent prayer to whatever higher power: Please don't sit here. Please don't sit here.
Then, the chair pulled out from the desk beside her. Damn it all to hell. She really couldn't catch a break when she really needed one. She had made sure that seat stayed empty because she liked being able to make such demands, and now it had come back to bite her in the ass. For some reason, the brunette sitting next to her unnerved her deeply. But she could deal with this. She'd been through worse. It was just a girl. A very beautiful girl, but a girl nonetheless. She decided to look to her right to see what the other female was up to. Yikes! Cara swiftly turned to face the dry-erase board. The brunette was staring at her, and openly. Only two kinds of people were allowed to look at her like that - boys she would use to remain popular and dirty old men she would use to remain an honor student. Cara sighed. This was going to be a long day.
IIII
Once class was over, Cara eased out of her chair, trying to ignore the brunette as much as possible. Others were leaving quickly, and she wanted to leave just as quickly. She managed to get past the brunette, but was stopped at the door by a friend. "Seems we have a dyke on our hands," said Becky, her gray eyes narrowing in Kahlan's direction. "I saw the way she was looking at you. The boys are going to be heart-broken to know she's pitching for the other team."
Cara looked in Kahlan's direction, seeing the brunette still packing up her books. "A dyke, you think?"
"And you know what we do about dykes," said Becky with a grin.
Cara turned back to her and smiled. "Throw them hos out."
They slapped hands, then left out the door, laughing.
Later, they approached Kahlan in the hallway with some other girls. Kahlan was stacking some things in her locker, and actually looked quite confused about what she was doing.
Cara slammed the locker shut, causing Kahlan to jump and look at her. The other girls behind Cara laughed. Becky moved to glare over Cara's shoulder at the raven-haired beauty.
"You should know...I rule this place," Cara faced Kahlan with her most menacing gaze. "And I don't like the way you were looking at me earlier today."
Becky whispered over Cara's shoulder, "Dyke."
Cara moved closer to Kahlan, and Kahlan met her gaze dead-on. "We don't like lesbos around these parts. So wherever you came from, maybe you should think about transferring back."
Becky and the other girls repeated in unison, "Transfer back." Kahlan just ignored them and kept her eyes fixated on Cara.
Cara grinned. "Don't you speak?"
Kahlan tightened her jaw and narrowed her eyes on the blond.
Frustrated, Cara knocked the books from the brunette's hand. In another instant, she slammed Kahlan into the locker, bringing their faces close. As she placed her right hand to rest beside Kahlan's head, their eyes locked, and she saw that this girl wasn't afraid of her in the least. Cara traced her eyes all over that determined face, staring back at her with just as much venom. And yet, there was something else there. Kahlan had lowered her gaze to Cara's lips, just like everyone else eventually did. But Cara felt she didn't mind it this time. In fact, she found herself eyeing Kahlan's lips as well. Something was thick in the air and threatened to break her mask, the mask she had so carefully built, crafted over all these years, and so she spoke, eyes still on Kahlan's pretty mouth. "It doesn't matter if you can speak or not. Do you know why?" She noticed the tiny scar at the left of Kahlan's top lip, and her mind fought against touching a finger there. "Because if I point, you will hop. If I point, you will bounce. If I point, you will do whatever it is my pointing means for you to do. No words are needed to understand... You either follow, or try to lead."
Cara pulled back. Kahlan was still eyeing that plump mouth. After another moment, she looked up again, to Cara's eyes. "And if you're going to try to lead, Kahlan, just know it will be one hell of a fight."
And with that, Cara stepped on the girl's books, then moved ahead, the other girls giving their own menacing gazes Kahlan's way as they followed Cara. Becky nearly jumped Cara's shoulder, laughing so hard. "That was hilarious! Love the way you played on her sexual attraction to you by moving so close."
Cara grinned nervously. "Yeah." She looked briefly over her other shoulder, at Kahlan, to see the girl still watching her. Weird vibe, that one, she thought, then continued on.
IIII
In the wide area of the hall, many students passed down the open space, headed to classes.
Cara came walking along the area by herself, when, out of nowhere, Gicko and his blonde companion approached, stopping right in front of her. "Cara!" yelled Gicko.
To say that surprise marked Cara's face would be an understatement. "Gicko. And..."
The blonde companion gulped down a beer, head held back; she then held up a finger as to signal the others to wait. In another second or two, she finished the beer, crushed the can in her hand, and then burped a long and disturbing one.
Cara made a somewhat unappealing face. "The same beer-belching bitch Hyper."
Hyper smiled wide, throwing an arm around Cara's neck and hugging tightly. "Cara!"
Cara carefully pushed the other woman off of her, and looked to them both, irritated. "What are you two doing here?"
"How can you ask your two bestest pals in the whole world that? As if we'd need a reason to visit you after all these years."
Cara arched a skeptical eyebrow.
"Okay. We were sent here by our parents. Famous school and all," he admitted.
Cara sighed. "You too. Ugh, this school is a like a magnet for all kinds of people now."
"What's that supposed to mean?" Gicko frowned.
Hyper walked across the wide area, to a door and opened it. She pushed the glasses back up on her face. "We could live here. So clean and neat." She threw her bags and empty can of beer into the room. "I'll just drop my stuff off in there." The blonde closed the door and then walked back to Cara and Gicko. Cara just stared at her, dumbfounded.
"Listen, guys, I really have to go," said Cara. She checked her watch. "And my boy's gonna bust my ass if I don't leave now."
Hyper grinned from ear to ear. "Your boyfriend? Oh, I bet he's a hunk. You always only dated the hottest guys."
Cara turned, walking away, but her lighter fell out of her back pocket. Gicko noticed and picked it up. "Cara?"
Cara stopped to look back at him. Gicko flared up the lighter. "Your lighter," he said, before tossing it back to Cara. "Never know when you're going to need it."
Cara just smiled, then left.
IIII
In another classroom full of students seated at their desks, Becky and a boy acted out the scripts in their hands.
"And so you see, that's why I love you, Brad," said Becky dramatically.
"Oh, yes, I see. I see clearly now," said the boy in turn.
And with that, Becky and "Brad" kissed, throwing their scripts down. Their kissing, however, was not going smoothly. In fact, they were having great difficulty.
Some of the students snickered.
Becky and "Brad" pulled apart, and Becky popped him in the back of the head. "Jerk," she uttered.
Cara grinned.
They both went to their seats.
The teacher of the drama class explained, "Now you see! This couple was lacking something. And it would've been very valuable on screen... Knowing how to act with someone as a love interest is very important, to the point where you must have something that this couple didn't." He paused. "Can anyone tell me what that is?"
There was silence. Blank faces.
The teacher emphasized, "Chemistry. Now I want all of you to say it with me." He used his hands, "Chem-is-try."
The students didn't listen, and Cara wondered why this school was thought of as one of the best.
The teacher again tried to urge them on, "Come on. Say it. Chem-is-try."
Again, he was ignored, as the students went back to working. "I don't know why I even bother," he muttered.
Feeling sorry for the guy, though she usually never cared for teachers or anyone these days, Cara offered to help. "Here, let me," she stood, walking in front of the class. The class immediately looked up to her, rapt with attention. The teacher's face could only be described as one of jealousy.
Just as Cara was about to speak, Bobby Alderson, her boyfriend walked in, immediately walking to her. He pulled her into his arms, and kissed her passionately.
The class finally said, "Chem-is-try."
The teacher rolled his eyes. "Cut it out. Cut it out."
IIII
In a corridor later on, the two stood close as they talked. "What were you thinking, kissing me in class like that?" asked Cara, pursing her lips together. She'd rather not kiss Bobby, really, and being all touchy-feely just wasn't her.
Like a blessing, Gicko and Hyper approached, jumping out in front of them. The two were like cockroaches, that was for sure, but at least they came in handy every now and again.
"Cara!" yelled Gicko, just like last time.
"I thought I told you two," she started, but then sighed with insincere annoyance. She looked to Bobby. "Bobby, this is Gicko and Hyper." She looked to Gicko and Hyper." "You two, this is Bobby."
Bobby looked to Gicko weirdly. "That's his name? You mean - like that old commercial?"
Hyper grinned at Bobby, this dashing dark-haired man. "Ha! I knew you were good-looking. Cara here only dates good-looking men." Hyper started to talk fast, in that non-stop way she often did. "Not to say she has a problem with ugly men. Or partially ugly men. Or that she suffers from some good-looking man complex. And it's not like she blames her parents' violent relationship on the fact that one was mediocre-looking while the other was stunningly beautiful. Not like she thought they had nothing in common because she feels to have something in common, you should both be drop-dead gorgeous. No. No. That's not the case at all."
There was silence, Cara, Gicko and Bobby staring blankly at her.
"And I'm guessing that's why you call her Hyper," said Bobby with a sneer.
"And that guess would be correct," smirked Cara.
Hyper became embarrassed. "Sorry. I tend to do that a lot." And unable to help herself, she started up again. "Not to say I can't do that a little. Or a little I can't do. It's just -"
Gicko quickly threw a hand over Hyper's mouth, shutting her up. "She tends to do that a whole lot," he explained.
Bobby rolled his eyes, then turned back to Cara. "Baby, how many times have I told you to be careful not to pick incompetent friends?"
Gicko stepped to him, offended. "Hey! You can't talk about us like that. Why, any second now Cara is going to put you in your place, bitch."
Bobby scoffed. "We're leaving." He walked ahead, then stopped to look back at Cara. "Cara?"
Cara looked away from him, then to Gicko and Hyper.
"Cara, girl, defend us," pleaded Hyper.
Cara just looked away, walking ahead to join Bobby's side. And they both left.
Hyper and Gicko just watched them exit.
IIII
In another corridor, Cara and Bobby stopped, Cara trying to see what he had in his hand. "What?" he asked. "It's just the necklace you bought me." He put the unique-looking necklace, tiny white orb in its center, on. "So...I'll see you at The Ditch tonight, right? I mean, it's still the best place for all us youth-driven people to party."
"Yeah."
They kissed.
"Bye. Love you, Babe," said Bobby. Cara nearly cringed at those words. She watched him retreat down the corridor.
After a few moments, she turned to exit out the side door, coming along the playground that was there for teenage mothers and fathers. Goodness, the school even had a daycare system. At least the playground was empty, she thought, as she walked across the grass, her eyes focused there. But when she looked up again, she saw a little blond boy, dressed in a suit, hair slicked back, running to her. He stopped before her and grabbed at her top.
"Quick. You gotta help my brother," stated the child.
Cara looked mildly concerned for the young one. "Hey! Calm down, little guy. What are you doing here? Surely, you're not all alo-"
"You don't understand!" he exclaimed. "If my brother fights him, he'll die. There's gonna be a big fight. My name is Tyler Blondes. And you've gotta stop my brother. Please! When you find him, come back here!"
After that, the boy ran away, leaving Cara to wonder.
Back inside the school, on the sixth floor, two boys were indeed fighting...brutally. A crowd of people watched as the two shared blow after blow. The first boy punched the second boy, and the second boy kicked the first through a closed door.
The audience "oohed" in amazement at the second boy's strength, and the second boy triumphantly raised his arms high in the air, growling ferociously.
IIII
At the porch area of the school, students passed by; others conversed. Cara, Gicko and Hyper sat and conversed as well. "...And I'm really sorry, you guys. You know - about the way I treated you earlier. He's my boyfriend, okay?"
Gicko shrugged. "Still no excuse."
"Yeah, I think you should dump the bastard," added Hyper.
"Hello! Can we get back to the real subject here? The weird blond kid," asked Cara.
Gicko relented. "Right. And you've never seen him before?"
"No. Have you two?"
"Can't say that we have, buddy," uttered Hyper. "Speaking of never seeing something before..." She pulled out the red, diamond-shaped crystal, and held it out in front of them. "Ever laid your eyes on this piece of rock?"
Cara pursed her lips together. "That's just like mine." She pulled out her own diamond-shaped crystal. "There were - strangely - a few of them located around school. Can't figure if they're real, though."
Cara and Hyper placed their crystals on the table.
"I'm thinking your letting go of those jewels means you guys could care less about them?" asked Gicko.
Cara and Hyper shrugged.
"Excellent! More for me," Gicko grinned. He stuffed the crystals into his pocket.
Bobby approached, stopping behind Cara with a sigh. "Hanging out with the geeks again? You know, Cara, you may be the same age as them, but I can tell you now...their IQs are far lower on the par."
Gicko and Hyper gave Cara an "it's now or never" look. She knew what she had to do. "Bobby, these are my friends," she started. "My true friends. So believe me when I say if you don't learn how to get along with them, then I will - as Hyper thinks I should - dump your ass."
Bobby gasped. Gicko and Hyper snickered.
"And, really, Bobby," added Hyper, "you're what, 24? Messing with our 18-year-old Cara here? Couldn't find someone your own age?"
"I'm not..." Bobby frowned.
Cara smirked. It was true; he looked much older than he was. Then again, Cara had seen plenty of 24-year-olds who looked their age.
Bobby finally got his anger under control. "I wouldn't be here if it weren't for the major fight taking place on the sixth floor as we speak. I was just watching. And I came here to tell -"
"Wait! Fight?" Cara questioned.
Cara looked to Gicko and Hyper, worried. "Guys, the boy. The fight."
"Go!" Hyper encouraged.
"Yeah, we'll keep Bobby annoyed. I mean - company," stated Gicko.
Cara dashed from the porch, running to the entrance.
Bobby turned from Cara's direction to look at Gicko and Hyper; they smiled wickedly at him.
IIII
In the wide area of the school, the second boy was beating the first boy relentlessly, and now an even bigger crowd of people surrounded them.
From the end of the hall, however, a few cops came running to stop the boys, making a pathway through the crowd. "Hey, you two!" yelled the first cop.
At the end of the wide area hall, Cara appeared, breathing heavily, and stopped to watch.
The cops came upon the two boys, but the second boy pushed the first one down, then turned around and jumped through the window, breaking and shattering its glass. People backed away to shield themselves from the shards. But the cops and some nosy people ran to the window to look out.
"Did you see that," asked one nosy person. "He just vanished. We're six floors up."
"Yeah, where the hell did he go? The bastard's gone," noted another.
The few cops now in the hall signaled to one another to move out and search, and jetted off in opposite directions.
Cara ran to the first boy, watching people help the sore kid up. Others went about their business.
Cara moved to the window to assess the matter, only to hear another person say, "Man, he just disappeared."
Suddenly, Cara saw the second boy dashing across the campus. "What the f-"
IIII
Back at the playground, Tyler Blondes stood against the jungle gym, his back to Cara as Cara exited out a door and stopped behind him. "Think I found your brother," she said.
Blondes shifted a little, though keeping his back to Cara. "Are you afraid he made the boy a monster?"
Cara gave him a questioning look. Blondes continued, "Don't worry. A person can only be turned into a zombie if killed at night, then taken to their master as a choice zombie to be brought back to life... And by the way," he finally turned to view Cara, "he isn't my brother."
Cara met the weird boy's gaze. He added, "Got you here, didn't it?"
Cara smirked. "Okay. Maybe it's time I take you to your mother."
"How about I take you to yours?" retorted Blondes. "Watch as she preaches to you about gays and lesbians being abominations, and you - out of aggravation - go flirt with as many young men as you can."
Cara became defensive. "You don't know the first thing about my mother. Or me, little boy."
"I know you like fire. So much, in fact, that it's the reason you carry around a lighter. It's part of the reason you changed your last name to Pyro."
Cara scoffed, then turned to walk away. Blondes continued. "I know you are a Flamer!"
Cara jerked back around to stare at Blondes. "If you're insinuating -"
"I don't mean that kind of flamer," he clarified. "Your soul is that of a particular Mord-Sith. You are also descendant of a long line of Flamers - a group of the strongest. Missing link to the human race. Born for main reasons and purposes to protect mankind against the darkest forces of this world, especially zombies." He paused, letting the words sink in. "You are the reincarnation of the Mord-Sith Cara Mason from a time long, long ago. Things have changed over the many years. D'Hara is no longer a great land but rather this obnoxiously sheltered town, bloodlines have been mixed. Banelings are now what we call zombies, and you are now Cara Pyro... You requested a name change once you found out that your father had been abusive to your mother. Ashamed of him, you took her last name - Pyro. But that does not stop the fact that your blood screams, "Mason... Cara Mason."
Cara stepped back, clearly freaked out. Blondes pressed further, "And Cara Mason, you had no idea what your father was. What you are. But it's not your fault."
Never taking his eyes off Cara, Blondes pulled at the jungle gym bar. A holographic screen appeared right before Cara's eyes and she stopped to view it.
"I believe this town provides you with incredible strength. It gives you this to fight demons -"
On the holographic screen, a hideous creature appeared, as well as other such creatures and beings mentioned by Blondes. "- To battle witches, warlocks, you name it. You must believe me, Cara. These things exist."
Cara smiled, and raked her hands through her blond hair. "You know, this whole holographic thing is really cool. Almost had me. And since we're waiting for the hidden cameras to reveal I'm on some reality show, let's just say - for arguments sake - that they are real. How do you know so much about these monsters?"
"Well, I'm a Youngster," stated Blondes.
Cara twitched. "Obviously."
"No. You misunderstand. I'm a Youngster - a race of people who only age on up to that of thirteen. After that, we are thirteen forever. This is to provide the Flamer with youthful thoughts - objective against their ever cynical, aging mind. Since we are immortal, there are only sixteen of us. All part of the Youngsters Circle."
Blondes pulled at the jungle gym bar again, and the holographic screen disappeared. "I am - as of right now - six years of age," he said.
Cara started to back away again. "You know what? If this is a prank, I don't even care anymore. I just want out of this conversation."
She turned her back to Blondes, walking toward the exit.
Blondes yelled after her. "This isn't a game, Mord-Sith... You hear me, Flamer! That boy, the one who won the fight - believe it or not - is a zombie. And more will come. They will come for you."
Cara spun around, eyes flashing furiously on Blondes. "Oh, yeah? And will 'they' have an army?"
IIII
In a zombie graveyard, someone wearing black boots, diamond-shaped cuts in the center of their outer sides, stood. "We will conquer them all. It will be a time of great reckoning," this person breathed out loudly, also wearing a black leather ensemble. "Yes, we will conquer them all."
The person was King Zombie, face grotesquely-made; the look of someone who'd been burned alive... The pulsating veins lining his face only added to the horror. "Yes my babies... It is our time."
Before him, there stood a dozen normal-looking men and women. King Zombie continued, "We will - conqueeeeeer!"
The men hooted and hollered.
King Zombie smiled.
ACT 2
At night, in the empty parking lot of a fast food place, Cara's Mercedes-Benz pulled up and parked. Cara sat at the wheel, mom next to her. "Are you okay?" the older woman asked. "You've been quiet all day."
"Fine, ma," she said. Then pointed to Burger Barn. "Your new job, remember?"
The woman kissed Cara on the cheek. "Well, alright." She exited the car.
"And, ma?" questioned Cara. "Try not to bitch about the hours, okay? I promise you - there will be a day when we won't have to worry about money again. And the type of cars I drive now will belong to me and me only. Not my boyfriends."
"I wish you had just accepted your father's will. But, no...you just had to give it to charity," the other woman barked, then slammed the door.
Cara just sighed. Her mother would never understand. She wondered if there was any self-respect in the woman.
IIII
On the road, Cara sped. At a four-lane crossroad, however, the car halted at a stop sign. Cara looked both ways; there was no danger. She moved ahead again, but as if summoned out of thin air, another car slammed into hers, both cars crashing and skidding out of control.
After awhile, the cars stopped.
Cara, her head bleeding against the steering wheel, moaned. She then looked up. Her vision was blurry, but through the windshield, she could a see a dark figure exit out of the opposite car, then run down the street.
Cara quickly exited "her" own car. "Hey!" she screamed after the dark figure. She jetted ahead, running into the street, looking around. Her legs, though, immediately became weak, and she staggered, close to falling out.
From the other end of the street, a van sped for Cara, just as a dark figure jumped out and pushed her out of the way, tackling her to the ground and causing her to slam into a tree on the turfs of grass near a sidewalk.
The van continued to speed away.
Cara, sitting up against the tree, looked up and saw Kahlan Amnell kneeling before her. A dark cloak covered her clothes, and her makeup was a little thicker than Cara remembered. Cara tried to focus. What is Kahlan doing here? But her vision became blurry again, and then it was black. She passed out.
When Cara awoke, she moved slowly against the pain. Something was holding her in place. She opened her eyes to find that Kahlan had strung her up on one of the tree's branches, by her wrists, and was now wrapping the other end of the rope around the damn tree.
Kahlan finished tying the rope, then moved closer to Cara, staring up at her, almost as if in awe. She touched the blond's hair, gently running her fingers through it, and then giggling.
Cara pushed her off with a leg, Kahlan playfully coming back to her again. "Dyke," Cara spat out.
With a frown, Kahlan reached for the blond and ripped the woman's V-neck shirt open, exposing her racy black bra, and seemingly with little effort.
Cara gasped, watching the other woman oddly. What in the hell is she doing? Is she really into girls, after all? Kahlan now touched her neck, provocatively gliding a gloved hand from there down near the center of her chest. The fingertips of those gloves were removed, and Kahlan's fingers against her bare skin left goose bumps in their wake. Kahlan's eyes lingered on Cara's chest, and, for a moment, Cara believed the brunette would remove her bra too. But instead, she simply eyed the mounds as though she had never seen any but her own. Her fingertips were dangerously close to grazing the flesh, and Cara felt... What is this feeling? Arousal?
Kahlan glided her fingers further...down Cara's abdomen, eyes tracing every movement. She stopped just above the blond's navel, then looked back up at her as if asking for approval with her eyes alone.
With that, Kahlan unbuckled Cara's pants, eyeing her intently as she did. That deep, penetrating gaze was back, and Cara felt herself turn to mush. She blushed and panicked at the same time. This could not be happening. This wasn't suppose to happen. Her mother would not approve.
Kahlan only succeeded in unbuckling them halfway, however, as a small car approached. Quickly, she used a dagger to cut one of Cara's hands free and grabbed it; the contact burned a symbol on the front of it, and Cara grunted at the pain.
Kahlan quickly jetted off.
Blondes jumped out of the small, yellow car, running to Cara. "My God, Cara, were you raped, woman?"
She nearly smirked. "Sounds all kinds of wrong...but I don't think I'd have minded."
As soon as she said it, though, she felt she should take it back. She shouldn't…wouldn't…couldn't desire another woman. That was how things were supposed to be.
