Hello hello, dears !
First, I'm so sad that Sandy brought so much desolation in USA. Many casualties and homeless... Oh Lord ! And of course, Halloween has been ruined. So sorry for you all, Buddies ! Please receive all my sympathy and empathy, Folks !
Second, loads loads loads of thanks to CutieGirl57 for calling me, in her last SHADOWLAND review, an « incredibly talented writer ». Girl, you made my day and night with such a flattering comment ! I don't know what strong enough I can say to thank you for that…! My endless gratitude for your support !
And third, I just became addicted to a new show which you all know : TT. Eh, say what, Léo : TT ? Yeah, c'mon, you know it : "When there's trouble you know who to call From their tower they can see it all…" You're familiar with these lyrics from the show's opening credits, aren't ya ? So TT stands for… ?
And my TT favourite character is… ? C'mon, guys, show me you're smart enough ! ;)
Alright, enough's been said ! Now… ACTION !
N'joy !
/
7 / SUPER SAM
/
{("Come with me" – Sammie)} (A/N : No jock : there really is a singer called Sammie !)
"Hey Sam !"
The brunette turned her head to the right, where the voice came from. But of course, she had recognized its owner.
"Oh, hi, Nat ! What… what are you doing here ?"
He gave her a wide grin.
"Well, just greeting my darling ! You know, it's funny I can call you "darling", while I not so long ago fell shy enough to even call you Sam. Ain't that kinda bizarre ? What do you think ?"
She did her best to relax and grinned back.
"Yes, that's strange. You're loosening up, Honey, eh ?"
She felt it remarkable to appear that cool while a bit of uneasiness was creeping inside her heart.
"And may I know where you are going, my black pearl ? And also, can I go there with you ? I miss you so much !" he said in a tender voice.
Although his accompanying proposal indisposed her a bit, because of what she was about to do, she did her best to appear as calm as she could.
"Oh, just… fetching some vitamins, you know. You really wanna come with me to the pharmacist's ? Not that much exciting, I'm afraid…"
But what was exciting was the tangy flavour of Dresoprin filling her mouth. That and, naturally, Nat himself !
"Bah, nevermind ! As long as I'm with you…" he gently whispered, and suiting the action to the words, he delicately laid a sweet kiss on her cheek, making the contact last on.
She felt the surge of heat rising in her body and reaching her face. And this way, she knew for sure that he had made her blush.
"Thanks for that, Sweetheart !" she said under her breath, and she leaned to make her lips meet his.
They remained "sealed" for many seconds, enjoying the warmth of the contact, then pulled apart and smiled to each other.
"You still taste so good !" she enthusiastically said.
"Thanks, so do you ! And so, do you mind if I walk with you ?"
Uneasiness returned in her heart, because of what she had planned that morning. And what if there was a problem, and Nat could actually witness it all ? What if the falsification was discovered and she found herself accused, in front of her boyfriend ?
But he looked at her so nicely in this moment that she didn't find the strength to refuse. She would have to wait and see… and hope that things would go smooth !
"No, I don't, of course not ! I'm happy that you have time for me !"
"Hey, I'll always have time for you, Sam !"
He winked. Then he observed her carefully for a while, focusing on her eyes. This triggered an alarm signal inside of her.
Why is he… ?
"Your pupils are dilated today. That's peculiar. I don't think they were last time. Or maybe I didn't look attentively enough ?"
"Are they ?" the African-American said, replying to a question by another question.
Uneasiness, again...
"Yes, they are. Very dilated. It reminds me of the pictures I had seen when I was reading books on drugs and how exactly they affect organism. They said that one of the most obvious outer signs of drug addiction was dilation of pupils…"
"Are you saying I'm a drug addict ?" she said, laughing nervously, but not feeling comfortable, although she tried to make it sound a joke.
He seemed to instantly regret what he had innocently brought up.
"No, no, of course not. Sorry if you interpreted it that way. I wasn't implying anything. It's just that memory which came up… sorry, Sam !"
"Hey, it's okay, right ? I was just teasing you ! The dilation thing probably is a side effect of my love for you. I know you don't suspect me of anything, and that there's no reason for thinking of addiction…" the yellow member explained, but her voice still showed signs of nervousness. She wasn't addict… right ?
There was a short moment of silence between the two.
"By the way..." the blond boy went on "may I ask what exactly you're going to buy for vitamins ? And also, why you're taking vitamins ?"
She sniggered.
"You kinda nosy, eh ?"
His smile vanished, giving way to an expression halfway between sorry and surprised.
"Oh, I'm… I'm sorry ! I didn't intend to be nosy ! It's just that I have difficulty refraining from asking when I'm curious about something…"
She guffawed.
"Ah ah, don't worry : just joshing you, once again. It's ok asking me. I'm taking vitamins for my reviews… you know, for our August competition, Singletown VS Manorshide"
"You really intend to win that one, don't you ?" he asked teasingly.
"I do !", she replied with a confident grin.
And with that, they left hand in hand, under the warm sun.
/
{( "Better than you" – Metallica )}
"Are you ready, Sam ?"
"I am, Chris ! Bring it on !"
The geek pressed start and the challenge began.
Chris was doing great at avoiding the enemies and fire at them, bringing down many of them. But Sam was even better at it. She almost never got hit by an enemy shot and destroyed more spaceships than her friend. It seemed to be such an easy drill for her.
"Waow, you're in great shape, I can see !" he complimented her.
She smiled while focusing on the game. She was in a happy mood since everything had rolled at the pharmacist's : the young assistant had taken a brief look at the prescription before actually bringing over the Dresoprin. So she hadn't been suspected of anything, and had felt relieved not to have been in a bad position in front of Nat.
"Why, thank you ! You're not bad yourself !"
He slightly winced while shooting at an incoming spaceship.
"Not bad ? I think I'm doing pretty good, you know ! I'm not sure I'm as efficient as you, but I'm still in shape !"
"I'm sure you are ! I was just teasing you !"
He smiled as well now.
"It's nice spending some time with you on videogames, you know. It's been a long time since we last did that. And I must say that, given your reviews, we haven't seen you as frequently as usual these past days. I'm aware it's important for you, but you must remember that you are important for us as well ! That's why we've been missing you, Sam !"
She suddenly felt sorry for her friends, which she indeed hadn't met that much of late. And this temporary loss of focus on the game made her be hit three times by enemy shots. But she soon pulled herself together and blasted the ships which had dared to harm her own.
"I know..." she sighed "I've been pretty busy lately. I put so much of myself in that future competition... It's important for me. But you, my friends, are important as well. I'll try to find more time for you, I promise."
It was his turn to feel sorry for her. She sounded as if she considered herself guilty about the whole thing. And he didn't want his buddies to feel guilty, about anything.
"It's okay, Sam ! As long as you still have some spare time for us... and I know things will be back to normal once this competition is behind. And given all the time you spend with your books, you better win it !"
A smirk made its way to her lips.
"Speaking of winning, I have far more points than you and we're getting closer to the boss. So, looks like girl power once again made the difference !"
He laughed, happy to hear she was back in high spirits.
Her enthusiasm was not only linked to the game. It also related to the red rhombus slowly melting within her mouth…
"Oh, don't show off too early, my friend ! Don't make your Ana again ! (A/N : sorry, couldn't resist... then again, you, my dear Ana, LOVE showing off & boasting, eh ?) You'll see that I may still have an ace up my sleeve, eh eh !"
The game went on and Sam continued dodging easily almost all the enemy shots, while her own ones got practically all the foes opposite her. Chris had to marvel at how it was easy for her. She wasn't that gifted before. It was as if some new strength was inhabiting her and giving her extra energy and focus.
Yes, it was definitely obvious that some mysterious power boosted her will and abilities.
A mysterious power... boosting...
Boosting...
Chris's attention slackened a tad as he thought it over, which induced successful attacks from the adversaries. He slightly shook his head, but although he was focusing on the game, as good as he could, part of his brain was still brooding over it.
The two spaceships were now facing the huge boss. Both were doing their best to weaken it, but once again, Sam was doing better than Chris. Even much better. She moved her ship with such quickness and precision, and still dodged most of the blasts as if nothing... it was incredible ! And thanks mostly to her efficiency, they managed to take down the greatest enemy of the game.
The final board appeared, showing the scores. Sam's was way higher than Chris's. And this yielded her a special prize for "major achievement", symbolized on screen by a gold medal.
The blue member switched off the console and turned to the leader. And a leader she had been also in this game here, leaving Chris only the "leftovers", the "crumbs".
And he was surprised to notice that Sam had a very confident smile and look. In fact, her whole appearance made him think of someone much pleased with oneself... not exactly arrogance, but... not that far from it. And that really wasn't like her, who never even boasted about her own achievements and victories.
He tried to ignore the slight embarrassment he felt deep inside and put a grin on.
"Well, congratulations, Sam ! That's what I call a high score ! You've really outdone yourself on that one !"
She smiled, but while it wasn't precisely in a contemptuous way, there was something in it which recalled that negative feeling. But she had never looked down on Chris up to now, so why would she do so ?
"Yeah, one can say that ! I'm pretty happy with my score ! I even got a reward, right ? Looks like I'm getting better and better at videogames. I mean, if I can beat even you, who used to be the best..."
It hadn't been uttered with the intention to hurt, yet Chris couldn't help wincing at this.
She noticed and her grin vanished, giving way to a concerned expression. And that expression looked like one from the Sam he knew, a typical Samantha expression... unlike the somewhat proud one she had just before, which was... new.
"Oh, sorry ! I... I didn't mean to harm you, Chris ! I just said it without thinking. Sorry, really !"
He grinned, but not as frankly as he wanted to.
"Thanks for being a solace to me, Sam ! And don't worry, it's okay : I know it wasn't intended to hurt my feelings. I know you wouldn't do that to a friend. It's just that... well, I guess my ego suffers a bit from "losing the crown", you see ? But it's fine, I'll get over it !"
"Sorry again !"
"No biggie, really ! And I'm happy you won !"
"Thanks !" she replied, smile returning on her lips.
Chris had mentioned his ego and hinted that her outdoing him had somehow upset him a bit, but that was a minor preoccupation. The major one was Sam's behaviour : she had been playing that game with such talent that it almost aimed at perfection, and her attitude upon winning wasn't one she had ever shown. At all.
And the young genius, while thinking that this may have to do with Sam's actual confidence in love and in work, couldn't still help thinking that there was more than that. A part of his brain suspected another element causing that change in Sam. And he had begun wondering if that element could be...
/
(A/N : oooooh, a mini-cliffhanger, right above ! Ooooh ! I'm sure ya love it ! Then again, who doesn't ? Who ? XD)
{( "Fastest girl in town" – Miranda Lambert )}
The gang was strolling in the sunny streets of Singletown, enjoying the mild weather of that beautiful summer day.
Sam had finally found some time for her friends, after dedicating so much to her reviews.
Nat as well knew that his girlfriend was dead busy, but it seemed somehow strange to him that he couldn't see her because she was actually doing her best in order to win against… him, that his her boyfriend ! That had to be strange somehow, because she was granting so much time to something relating to him, but not with him : without him ! That was the odd part.
The four of them were walking and chatting joyfully, but Sam seemed a tad absent-minded, distracted, as if her mind was not totally linked with her friends'. She didn't speak much that day, but when the other laughed, she still laughed along, although her laughter didn't sound exactly as spontaneous as usual.
In her mouth, her third Dresoprin of the day finished dissolving, freeing the last bits of its power, for her to absorb and go on with studies as soon as possible.
"Funny, right ?" exclaimed Cathy as she quickly turned a happy face towards her best friend.
The golden eyes widened, as the sudden head movement of her alien teammate caught her by surprise.
"Yeah… funny…" replied the yellow member.
Cathy's grin vanished.
"Are you okay, Sam ?"
The addressee shrugged and forced her mouth to stretch more.
"Yes, just a bit tired, that's all ! But somehow, paradoxically enough, I still feel in great shape for whatever physical effort. I would gladly do some exercise, if I was to."
"Well well well, someone's feeling kinda hyper, eh ?" Danny teased. "What about we make a race together, and check who's the fastest one ?"
"Hum, if you really wa-"
"HELP ! STOP THIEF ! STOP THIEF !"
The four teenagers turned around, only to find a running man coming their way. He knocked about two ladies and an elder before rushing to the MBC members.
The thief was about to go around them, since they were gathered in the middle of the pavement, when Sam did some splits in his direction, fast as lightening.
Busy as he was running around the teens, the robber didn't see the low move the black girl of the group made, and therefore failed to spot the leg bent across his way.
Not a chance to avoid the fall ! He collapsed to the ground, screaming both out of surprise and rage. He hurt violently the pavement and lay there for a few seconds.
Sam quickly stood up and ran to him. She saw him awkwardly get up and try to escape again, but she had already taken care of that : dropping to the ground in a wink, she threw her leg around and neatly swept him off. He fell back to the ground and his head hit it hard, which made him scream, this time out of pain, and let go of the purse he had been holding tightly in his left hand.
The young victim of the thief quickly reached the group and hurried for his purse. He then turned to Sam and held out his hand.
"Thank you ! Thank you very much !"
She shook it, smiling nicely.
"No problem !"
The young man walked away, and three of the four teenagers watched the thief until Cathy came back with an officer from the nearby police station, who placed handcuffs on the robber's hands and took him to the office.
Danny was observing Sam, amazed.
"Waow, Sammy ! I've rarely seen you reacting this fast and this precise ! You were almost swifter than a flash of lightning ! I wouldn't have moved that fast ! Impressive ! And no, I'm not joshing you : I'm really astounded at your quickness of reaction !"
"Yeah !" approved Cathy. "You were soooo quick, Sam ! Incredible ! I couldn't believe my eyes !"
Chris was the only one remaining silent. He merely kept watching the leader, thinking back about their game session. Sam was moving really fast in that game, and was more alert than he had ever seen her. And the same kind of behaviour had just been observed in her intervention. The African-American seemed pretty energetic, of late… yes, pretty much !
"Thanks, guys ! Glad you enjoyed the "show" ! I actually feel great today, and I must confess I'm surprised myself by my swiftness…"
"You can be !" shrilled Cathy. "Not even (she lowered her voice) Rhapsodians can act that fast !"
"Love has given you wings, Sammy ?" joked the Jock. (A/N : Yeaaaaah, I knoooow... XP)
She smiled and blushed lightly.
"Maybe…"
But there still was someone not so enthusiastic about Sam's energetic behaviour…
/
{( "Superstrong" - Lunachicks )}
"Quiet, Team ! We're almost there !" Sam whispered to stop the bickering between Chris and Danny. Boys, really… (A/N : yeah, boys, really…=P)
They were tiptoeing now, Chris checking the A-scan for the alien's location. Everything was quiet around them. The only sounds around the gang of four were those induced by the gentle breeze blowing through the forest.
A crack, on the left.
The gang shot their heads in that direction, only to see a gigantic yellow kind of spider emerge, its head entirely covered with eyes.
"THERE !" screamed Danny, as he began shooting at the creature, soon imitated by Cathy.
Chris was about to do the same, but he couldn't help glance over at Sam, who certainly was paralyzed by fear. It was a spider-looking alien, after all…
But what a surprise he got upon noticing that not only wasn't she afraid at all, but she on the contrary looked very determined, showing her teeth in a furious grimace.
In her mouth, the delicious taste of her fourth Dresoprin was gradually disappearing. But the boost that it had created wasn't about to disappear before long !
"Leeeeeet's bust them !" she cried out with utter rage.
And with that shouted, she started running to the monster.
The alien cast a web at her but she dodged as if nothing. The hideous creature wove some more and shot it at the human, but the latter once again avoided it and reached its goal.
Next thing Chris, Danny and Cathy saw was Sam blasting her Blue Shift straight at the horrible head.
An awful shriek was heard, deafening as hell, and the eyes of the alien simultaneously exploded, enabling dark green liquid to drool everywhere around.
The legs of the beast started fidgeting frantically, and several web shots got cast all around the massive body, trying to aim at the enemy who had just got the upper hand.
The boys and the blonde were watching, fascinated, how rapidly and precisely the leader motioned in order to shun all the attacks. It seemed as an all-too-easy game for her. As if she had been dancing on some music she liked or simply practising her karate moves, like during training sessions. She seemed to be enjoying herself fighting that dangerous monster, while it looked like what she feared most : spider ! How strange...
Finally, after another Blue Shift blast, she transformed her weapon into the vacuvator and put the final touch to her masterpiece of a struggle… even if it looked more like some entertainment rather than a fight !
The tiny spider-looking alien now floated inside the green bulb that the brunette held firmly in her hand while walking back to the gang, in a very relaxed manner.
"Et voilà, les amis !" she exclaimed, thinking it a nice occasion to practise her French. (A/N : and after all, many of you Yankees do learn French at school, so… I guess you enjoy the choice of language here, eh eh ! =) )
"Hum… what does that mean again ?" asked a bedazzled Cathy.
"There it is, friends, if I recall my French lessons good enough !" replied Chris.
"Exactly ! Bravo, Mr Bilingual !" joshed the African-American.
"Sam, you… you just busted that alien all by yourself !" Danny remarked, stunned. "I've never seen you that… efficient. How did you do that ?"
The addressee laughed, a clear, resounding laughter.
"Oh, that's really one of those days on which I feel… hum, unstoppable ? I really have that heady feeling that I could succeed in whatever I undertake. I feel… super !"
"Well, lucky us to have a leader like you, Sam !" piped the Rhapsodian.
"Yeah, for sure ! You're stealing the show from me ! But still cool watching you move with such easiness and defeat aliens without any apparent effort !" commented Danny.
"Yup, great job !" concluded Chris.
But once again, the latter felt preoccupied by the vigor of his friend. An unusual vigor, to be honest. And he couldn't help wondering if he was right about its origin.
Still, the whisper of reason told him he may well be right…
/
{( "Addicted" – Enrique Iglesias )}
Sam shivered as the fog wrapped its cold, shapeless arms around her body.
She cast her eyes up once more, but she had lost sight of her friends. They were somewhere up there, leaning over the hole, trying to detect her, but now unable to.
And there was nothing anyone could do to solve the problem.
A sea of fog was now hovering, menacing, both over and inside the red maze. Sam couldn't even spot the walls anymore, given the thickness of the mist. All she spotted in the surroundings was white… endless white…
She didn't dare to move, for fear of hitting a wall. And it now would be pointless to try and find her bearings in such an environment, deprived of boundaries, of limits, constituted only of the absence of any remarkable element.
Oh guys… how can I ever find you now ?, Sam thought.
She sat down, and for the first time since long, she felt a burning stream flow slowly, slowly down her cheeks.
Then came this movement.
This mysterious movement.
The fog started to dissolve, and soon she could see the walls again.
And the walls were moving !
All of them !
But what… ?, she thought.
She soon understood that the whole maze was moving. Its shape was changing quickly. The walls were sinking, one after the other, and after two minutes, she found herself sitting on a large portion of red floor.
Around her, the maze was growing, growing, higher and higher, and it looked like it was about to close around her.
But it wasn't just an impression : it was happening ! For real !
The metamorphosis continued, and the more it went on, the more Sam felt frightened.
Then it came to an end.
The young girl got up and looked all around her, analyzing the shape which was wrapping her.
And she felt a powerful shiver run down her back : she was trapped in an enormous red rhombus !
And as if she had known she was to utter these words one day, her lips formed them, one after another, phrasing them aloud :
"This is my prison…my red prison…"
/
And… cut !
And now, you know everything about the title of the story, I guess...
How was that ? Freaky ? Anguishing ? Horrible ? Name your prize… hum, I mean, adjective !
I could craft this one way quicker, given that the operations at work are very calm these past three days (not like that hectic past weekend during which I almost wrote nothing !)
Anyway, I'm happy I can publish wzout too much delay, this time !
Thanxxxx to Lauren, Ana and Kryzl for their regular publishing ! You make my days, girls ! And your stories are great ! GO GIRLS ! (Hence my giving more importance to females in my stories and regularly choosing female avatars... I really am a feminist !)
Now's reviewing time, Dudes ! C'mon, I'm pricking up my ears… =P
Take care and write again soon !
Peace, Love, Ecstasy !
XXXX
