Disclaimer: I own nothing, nor do I pretend to.

Note - I know it's a short chapter but it's better than nothing. I'll try to make the next one longer.


Lissa sighed, frustrated, and rocked the infant back and forth gently. He continued to cry loudly, wanting his mother most likely. What bond she and the boy had didn't seem to mean anything now. He was restless and cranky and she didn't know why. He just kept screaming.

Nothing seemed to work. He didn't need feeding or a changing, nor did he need to go outside like she had suspected. The boy liked the outdoors, especially at night. The last few days that calmed him but it wasn't working anymore.

She laid him in the crib and rubbed her temples. "Please calm down…." She sighed and put her hands on her hips. "What do you want?" She grumbled in frustration before getting an idea. She waved her hand and five blue orbs appeared above the baby. She waved her hand again and they started rotating slowly like a mobile.

The infant calmed and watched the orbs curiously.

Lissa smiled. "Thank god." She whispered then laid back down in her bed. She fell asleep almost immediately.


Rosalee Hitchens stood at the front of the class and scribbled on the board. Jane Austen's Nothanger Abbey. "Put up your hand if you've heard of this book." She turned around to face her 34 student classroom. Her hair was short and spikey and she had a pair of thin glasses on. She frowned at the total lack of enthusiasm throughout the class. She forced a smile to her face. "Come on, I know it's not the most exciting book but it's full of great literary examples."

"Yeah but will it help us pass the SAT's because…lady, my dad said he studied his butt off and barely passed."

"I know, I showed my mom the SAT prep book and she freaked. She said what we're doing in Math, they did in college…that's like 3 years beyond us."

"Why do we have to do SAT anyways? We all know it doesn't matter how long you go to school anymore, it doesn't mean we'll get a job."

Rosalee sighed. "Would you rather us go over some vocabulary then?"

"Yeah." The class all echoed together.

She nodded and put the book down then took out a sheet of paper from her desk. "Okay…Dexter, what does 'Gregarious' mean?"

"Uh…" he flipped through his pages. "Oh, right…uh, that means 'outgoing'."

"And?"

"And…it sounds like Gregory?" He asked knowing it was a stupid response.

The class laughed and a couple students put up their hands.

"Pavarti."

"Other words that mean the same thing as gregarious are: sociable, social, extroverted, expressive, expansive, unreserved, companionable, convivial and of course outgoing….and an antonym for this would be 'shy'."

"Very good."

"Antonym?"

"The opposite."

"Oh right."

"Next word on the list…" Rosalee said glancing at her paper. "Quintessence."

"Oh!"

"Jamal?"

He smiled. "They had this on re-runs of Jeopardy…it means 'the purest or most perfect example of something'…a fifth element, or when referring to it in chemistry, it's the extract."

"Excellent." Rosalee said impressed.

Several of the students cheered him on and he smirked, proud of himself.

"Let's try a more difficult-"

Several loud pops from a room nearby caught everyone's attention. They all became quiet and serious for a moment.

"It…it was a locker…or someone dropped their books." One of the students said, praying she was right.

Rosalee went over to the door and stuck her head out into the hall. Several more pops rang out, even louder this time. She gasped and ducked back into the classroom and turned to her students. "911."

A few students took their cell phones and started dialling.

Rosalee motioned to the window. "Break those."

Only a few students were seated now. One of the ones standing asked uneasily. "W-what's going on?"

"Just break those windows! NOW!" Rosalee yelled. Several students did as she told them and smashed the windows. A couple jumped out then turned around to help other students out of the classroom.

The door burst open and a man stood there with a rifle over his shoulder and a hand gun. The students screamed.

The man started shooting. Everyone screamed and dropped to the floor. He first took out the teacher, then shot at a couple of the students. His eyes fogged over black and he just let the bullets fly, not really caring if he hit or missed anyone.

Then, someone from behind the shooter, stabbed him in the back with a pair of scissors. He kept stabbing until the shooter dropped to the floor.


Lord Elrond stared over his balcony seriously. The air was thick and he knew he was the only one to feel it. Something was wrong and it scared him. Valinor rarely had any problems at all so it would unnerving even if a small issue was needing to be dealt with.

"It has begun." Galadriel said from behind him.

He turned to her but remained silent.

"I have seen it…the darkness…and it leaves little to hope for."

"What has happened?"

"Our kin outside these lands have little chance for survival. They are being murdered."

He sighed and shut his eyes. "That world…"

"We must make a decision."

He studied her sadly. "I know what me must do…but we are ill equipped to survive in that world."

"Then we best begin to equip ourselves should we not?"

He sighed and shut his eyes. He didn't know where to start.