Chosen Chapter 5: Witch Wars, Survivor Island
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In a stylish penthouse overlooking the night skyline of San Francisco, a female demon with short black hair teleported onto the spacious terrace in bright red flames. Dressed in a killer red cocktail dress and black stilettos, she entered the penthouse and looked around the modern and classy room with shades of purple and metal. As she grabbed a glass of champagne from a waiter, she noticed several large screens all over the room with a burning athame on screen.
"So glad you could make it." A man said.
The demon turned around saw the warlock Bacarra walking up to her, looking quite dashing in his black tuxedo.
"I wouldn't miss it." The demon replied. "Your parties are the talk of the Underworld."
"Well, wait until you see what I have planned tonight." Bacarra said with a grin. "You are just in time, if you will excuse me, I shall get the event started."
Bacarra walked away and headed to the bar, where another warlock was waiting for him. He was young and unshaven, dressed in jeans and a worn-out leather jacket, sticking out like a sore thumb on this important black tie event. The other warlock just took a sip from his beer when Bacarra leaned against the bar and ordered a martini.
"Enjoying yourself, I see." Bacarra remarked in an annoyed tone.
"Boss!" the other warlock said shocked. "I am sorry, I could not find you and I…"
"Stop talking." Bacarra ordered him. "Just tell me that it is done."
"Oh, it's done." The other warlock said with a smile. "The witches took the bait, but there were some complications."
"Please tell me these complications will not ruin my event." Bacarra said as he took a sip from his martini.
"No, no, no." The other warlock quickly said. "They were not alone, you see, there were others. There was this mortal and some teacher from Magic School and their Whitelighter, but they all fell for the trap anyway."
"And you're sure these extra additions will not pose a problem?" Bacarra asked.
"They will be taken care of, sir, I promise. They will not interfere with the end result." The warlock said.
"Good, perhaps they will even add to the entertainment, bigger risks grant bigger rewards after all." Bacarra said casually. "Now get the hell out of here, your presence is a distain to his party."
"Sorry, I couldn't find a tux." The warlock replied.
"Get out!" Bacarra snapped at him in a furious tone, at which the other warlock quickly disappeared in a blink of the eye.
"Nice party." A familiar voice sounded.
Bacarra turned around and saw Klea standing at the bar behind him. She was dressed in a beautiful silvery white dress with a plunging neckline and wore large diamonds in her necklace and earrings. She looked quite stunning and eye-catching, which he did not expect from the stealthy demon.
"Klea." Bacarra said in a fake friendly tone. 'How lovely of you to join us. I don't remember inviting you."
"I might not have a seat at the table yet, Bacarra." Klea remarked. "But I do have an interest in the success of this Brotherhood. The other members sent me to keep an eye on you, seeing as what happened to the others."
"You don't need to check up on me, dear." Bacarra said. "Unlike the others, I am loyal and committed to our little club and our endgame."
"My mother always told me never to trust a warlock." Klea replied with a half-smile. "I will be keeping an eye on you. Meanwhile, your guests are getting impatient, so I suggest you get started."
Bacarra looked over his shoulder at the party, but when he looked back, Klea had already disappeared into the crowd. He had to admit she was quite good at what she did. He looked on his watch and corrected his collar, it was time to get started. He took one last sip of his martini and walked over to a small elevation in front of one of the screens.
"Excuse me, ladies and gentlemen." Bacarra said, and his magic allowed his voice to be enhanced and reach the entire room. The crowd feel silent. "I would like to thank you all for coming and I am quite sure you will be pleasantly surprised by the night we have in store for you. After all, tonight will be the night that any of you will be given the opportunity to see the Chosen die on live TV."
A gush went through the crowd and several demons and other evil beings started to whisper. By now, all had heard about the Chosen, the witches who had taken over for the legendary Charmed Ones, and they all wanted them dead.
"But that is not all." Bacarra added. "Because tonight, all of you will be given the opportunity to bet on their lives and more importantly their deaths, with the grand prize being their collective magical powers and of course, the glory of victory. We will accept all bets, whether it is powers, souls or mortal investments. Tonight, anything goes."
"So what is this all about?" The demon in the red dress asked.
"Let me tell you." Bacarra said with a smile. "Several years ago, two of my kind introduced the demonic world to reality TV with Witch Wars, a contest where demons would compete to kill witches and gain rewards. While the old show was aimed at the lower class of demons, this new revival will up the class, the excitement and of course, the reward. With a new setting, new enemies and new plot twists, I am proud to introduce you to Witch Wars: Survivor Island."
Several demons clapped and became excited, while others remained somewhat unimpressed. Despite his slight annoyance, Bacarra kept smiling and knew they would be convinced when saw the show. He signalled his crew and stepped aside as the screens came to life. The flaming athame started swirling until the entire screen was covered in flames, after which a beautiful tropical island came into view. Showtime, Bacarra thought to himself with hidden excitement.
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Billie Jenkins found herself in a beautiful dream that she did not want to wake up from. She felt the warm sun shine on her skin and the sand underneath her, with the sounds of waves gently washing up to the beach. All that was missing was a sexy hunk delivering her a cocktail and giving her a nice massage with sunscreen. When a shadow appeared above her blocking the sun, she figured her hunk had arrived. She opened her eyes and found herself staring at a dark-skinned demon with a leather hood covering his face.
Billie instantly rolled over and flung her arm, sending the demon flying into some rocks. Billie looked around and discovered she actually was on a tropical beach, so it was not a dream. Instead it was a very realistic nightmare.
"You ruined my fantasy." Billie remarked as the demon crawled up. "Who or what are you and where the hell am I?"
The demon did not respond and merely growled, so Billie wondered if it even could talk. It raised its hand and summoned a fire ball, which it threw at Billie. She quickly raised her hand and deviated it, sending it back at the demon and vanquishing it. However, as it turned two dust, two more appeared in a shimmer.
"Oh crap." Billie said.
Billie flung her arm and sent both demons flying. She then turned and started to run off the beach and into the thick tropical jungle before her. She ran for a few minutes and then stopped and hid behind a rock. She heard the demons coming after her, but they did not see her and they ran past. Billie let out a sigh of relief and realized she needed to figure out what was going on. She was trapped in some crazy jungle with demons after her. She looked down and noticed she was not wearing her own clothes. Instead, she was dressed in a blue tank top and dark brown shorts, along with ugly yet practical boots. She needed to figure out what was going on, but she could not remember where she had been last. Then suddenly, she remembered something
They were walking down a dark alley, Violet, Duncan and Billie herself. They were being careful and checking out everything.
"Are you sure it was seen here?" Billie asked.
"This is where the scrying crystal pointed at." Duncan replied. "Also, that blood back there definitely seems like a clue."
"Good point, so what is this thing exactly?" Billie asked.
Before there was an answer, her mind went black again and the memory was gone. So they were chasing something and there was blood, so there had to be an innocent hurt. Perhaps it had been some kind of demon or something. Either way, Violet and Duncan were there, so it was possible they were trapped in this weird place as well. She needed to figure out where she was exactly.
Billie jumped up and levitated into the air. Her levitation was still a little shaky, but she had been practicing and she was getting better at controlling it. She rose into the air and passed the top of the trees, she had never been this high before. As her view was clear, she looked around and saw she was on some kind of tropical island. It was covered in jungle with a few small mountains, though it was surrounded by endless sea on all sides. Afraid of being spotted, she quickly levitated down again and landed on the floor. Part of her wanted to call Mikelle to orb her out of here, but she did not know if it would work and it could lead the demons straight to her.
"Mikelle." Billie whispered. "Mikelle, can you hear me?"
Billie waited, but nothing happened. Either Mikelle could not hear her or she was unable to sense her location. Either way, Billie was on her own on this island that could be filled with demons. She needed a plan. She needed to find the others. Billie stood up and started walking across the jungle as quietly as possible. However, she accidentally stepped on a twig that snapped, which seemed to echo through the jungle.
A few seconds later, the demons from before stormed through the bushes and Billie started running. Since killing them would only cause more to appear, she figured she'd best avoid them for now. As she ran, she looked over her shoulder and saw she was outrunning them, but then she tripped over a root and fell in the dirt.
Billie spun around and saw the demons charging at her with Fire Balls in their hands. Suddenly one of them screamed out and the Fire Ball disappeared as it fell to the ground. Before the other knew what happened, he was struck across the face with a thick wooden club and fell to the ground. Billie looked up and saw Jake Porter standing before her. Suddenly she remembered more from before.
Billie was running down the dark alley. She crossed a corner and almost bumped into Jake Porter, the witch hunter, who raised his gun at her.
"What are you doing here?" Jake asked.
"I could ask you the same thing." Billie replied.
"So I guess we're after the same thing that has been killing people." Jake concluded as he lowered his gun.
Billie got up from the dirt and walked over to Jake. He was dressed in similar clothes to hers, a dark blue t-shirt and dark brown pants with boots underneath. He looked hot and sweaty, with a short stubble beard. She noticed his protection ring on his finger as he clutched the wooden club.
"Are you okay?" Jake asked.
"Do you care?" Billie replied. "How did you get here, do you remember anything?"
"I remember hunting something and running into you." Jake said. "Did you have anything to do with this? Some weird magic trick?"
"So you instantly decide to blame me?" Billie asked annoyed. "Just like a Witch Hunter, always jumping to the wrong conclusion. I thought you knew better."
"I am just trying to figure out what is going on." Jake replied. "It's not every day I wake up on a tropical island hunting by demons."
"Yeah, speaking about that, we should get out of here before these two wake up." Billie said pointing at the knocked out demons. "They multiply once you vanquish them."
"I know, they're Swarm Demons." Jake replied. "They're all spawn from the body of their king, the only way to vanquish them permanently is to vanquish the king himself."
"How do you know?" Billie asked.
"I already told you once, I might be born a Witch Hunter, but I hunt other things." Jake replied. "Now let's get moving. Are your friends around here?"
"I don't know." Billie said as they started walking further into the jungle.
"Well, we'd better find out then." Jake replied "Maybe then we can find out what is going on and how to get the hell out here."
Billie let Jake take the lead as they walked through the jungle, allowing him to clear a path through the bushes with his club. As she stared at his back, she wondered if she could trust him. After they had defeated the Wendigo, he had made it perfectly clear he hated magic and did not trust her. Now she was trapped in the jungle with him of all people. She needed to watch her back, even though he had just saved her from the demons, he was still a witch hunter, a potential threat. She just wished he wasn't such a hot potential threat.
Unknown to Billie and Jake, a small metallic sphere hovered in the trees above them with a red light aimed at them, broadcasting them on live TV screens.
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On the other side of the island, Duncan crawled over rocky cliffs at the edge of the sea, with waves crashing into the rocks beneath him. He had no idea how he got there. All he remembered was being in a dark alley to find some evil that had been killing innocents, then he had suddenly woken up on the cliffs of what seemed like a tropical island. He was dressed in a blue shirt and brown shorts that were not his own, and he wondered who had put him here. Meanwhile, Mikelle was not answering his calls and he had no idea if Billie and Violet were around. He was getting pretty tired of waking up in strange places.
After climbing over the cliffs, Duncan finally managed to get onto some solid ground and avoid a potential dive between the rocks. He sighed as he let himself fall on some grass and looked on ahead to see a jungle stretching out before him with a mountain in the distance.
"Just great." Duncan remarked.
When he heard a scream, Duncan flew up and looked around. There was nothing to be seen, but he heard another scream coming from the jungle, someone calling for help. He ran into the jungle and followed the sound and ran through some bushes. He arrived on a clearing and heard Mikelle screaming for help.
Mikelle was in the middle of the clearing, though she was slowly sinking into a pool of mud. She had already sunk in to her waist and was desperately trying to get out, which only seemed to speed up the process. When she noticed, Duncan, she screamed for help.
"Stop moving!" Duncan called out as he made his way around the mud, careful not to sink in as well. "Mikelle, stop moving, you'll only sink in faster."
"Then get me out!" Mikelle called out.
Duncan reached Mikelle and tried to reach for her as held on to a tree, though he could not reach her. Meanwhile, Mikelle was sinking further and the sand had almost reached her chest. Duncan stopped and thought for a moment, he needed a rope, so he closed his eyes and focussed. A thick rope appeared in his hands in an orange glow as he conjured it. He wrapped the rope around the tree and tossed it to Mikelle. When she grabbed on, he pulled with all his might and slowly managed to drag her out of the mud. When she was clear, the rope disappeared and Duncan fell to the ground.
"Thanks." Mikelle said as she sighed.
"No problem." Duncan replied with a faint smile.
"Where the hell are we?" Mikelle asked.
"I have no idea." Duncan replied. "I tried calling you."
"I thought I heard some static." Mikelle replied. "Something is messing with my powers here. I cannot sense anything and I can barely orb before something pulls me back."
"Do you remember anything?" Duncan asked.
"I remember sending you after some kind of demon that was killing innocents." Mikelle replied. "You tracked it to some alley. Then you disappeared, so I orbed there to check it out. Then everything goes dark."
"Do you remember anything else?" Duncan asked. "Any small detail?"
"No, everything is a blank after that." Mikelle said. "I woke up here and I barely took two steps before getting stuck in that mud."
"We need to find the others." Duncan said. "If we're here, I am sure they must be around somewhere."
"Alright, let's get going." Mikelle said.
Duncan helped Mikelle up and she tried to wipe the mud from her body. Duncan noticed she was wearing a similar outfit to his and wondered what was going on. He got the feeling he was trapped in some sick game, and that all of this was a part of something bigger.
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A flaming athame flew across the screen as the cameras zoomed out of the island and the screen turned black. An amused Bacarra stood up from his seat and stepped onto the stage. The demons present clapped and seemed to be enjoying the show, though it was only just the start and he had not even introduced all the players yet. Things were getting even more excited in a few moments, but it was time to get started.
"Well, ladies and gentlemen." Bacarra announced. "Let's start the games shall we? After a short break, we will introduce the final two players and the threats they will be facing. After that, we can begin with the betting. Who will die first, how will they die and who will the one to end them? Who will be the last one standing? Place your bets and claim the prize."
Bacarra smiled as the demons started whispering among themselves. From across the room, Klea nodded at him as she raised her glass of champagne. This would most certainly prove to be a very entertaining night and when it was over, the Chosen would be no more.
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A new chapter in the Chosen series has started. Hope you enjoy and please review!