Okay, so firstly, I want everyone to read Within Temptation by Myster1a please =) She's a new writer (I think it's a She=S) so please review for her. The first chapter is just a prologue I think? But it gives you an idea of her writing. Here's the link for it: .net/s/6315214/1/Within_Temptation Thank you everyone! I know how it feels to be new, so give people support! Anyway, I had like, an epic idea, and I think everyone will like this one, just because of, well, read it. Here's the quote: "Your little light is like a candle trying to outshine the sun.
God I loved cars.
Sure, this was no Pontiac Firebird or "65 mustang, but God I loved cars. As I coasted down the dead highway in Jab's burnt orange Saleen s7r01 I couldn't help the feeling that I was flying. A total cliché, but the feeling was the same. Though that may have been caused due to the fact that I was racing along the road fifty kilometers over the speed limit. Well…take your pick. Either way, as the music blared and the sun streamed over my features, I couldn't help but notice the imposing building that came into sight a minute later. The structure was some kind of gothic looking castle, huge and intimidating as it seemingly blocked out the sunlight. As the car streamed by I couldn't help the unmistakable surge of déjà vu that sparked to life inside of my body. Odd; I didn't seem to remember walking into that mouth of Hell, for that's what it looked like. One massive structure that was prepared to swallow its victim's whole. It reminded me of some old movie set. Jeez, whoever lived there must have been gothic or something. No insult intended of course.
As I turned off the highway and began the last leg of my journey toward the Grand, I turned the radio on, the hum of the engine dying down slightly as the road changed and the speed limit significantly dropped. What was the point of driving fast if the limits were freaking grandma slow? Sheesh.
As the radio blared, stuck permanently on Jab's favourite channel the ABC news, I moved to change the station, before some extremely monotone reporter caught my attention. I know, amazing right?
"Police have found another man brutally injured yesterday afternoon just after four o'clock near the Eagle Ridge High School. Detectives assume that the man was attacked by local gang members, who are thought to attend the school. The man is suffering from multiple knife wounds and is currently in critical conditions. Greg Parks reporting."
I frowned. Four o'clock? Eagle Ridge High? That was just after I left the school after talking to Fang. I blinked, confused. That could have been me…Though the man was brutally injured, that was not the most interesting, or rather, the most bewildering part of the article. It was the fact that there was an actual gang at Eagle Ridge. Where was my heads up about this? I didn't particularly want my life threatened—I hadn't dragged enough people to Hell with me yet! Annoyed now, I switched the station and drowned myself in crappy music. I guess my reactions were a little bit screwed up. Who got annoyed about gangs? I probably should have been scared, right? Oh well, I guess that's what I get for living with a terrorist—cough—I mean Iggy.
I pulled into the Grand's car park ten minutes later, the door of the Saleen opening vertically, much like a Lamborghini. I stepped out of the low sitting car, my converse hitting the pavement lightly. I straightened out my white t-shirt and black shorts, thankful that my work uniform wasn't too skanky. I shrugged on my leather jacket and locked the car, walking toward the great building that was, wait for it, a pub.
The Grand was the biggest restaurant/bar we had around this joint, and it was also owned by Nudge's parents. It used to belong to her Christian grandparents (God help us all) before it was passed on and became the most popular joint around. I was one of seven waitresses, and the minute I turned eighteen they were moving me to the bar. I was guessing that was a good thing, but I really didn't want to have to deal with drunk morons every day. Joy.
When I stepped through the door Nudge's incessant talking instantaneously captured my attention. She was standing, pen and pad poised at the ready, in front of a group of teenagers around our age. They all had smirks across their faces, all seven of them. Nudge looked like she wanted to shoot them all. I smiled. Looked as if I'd trained her well. I strode over to her, ignoring the customers that wanted a refill (seriously, have they hear of getting their own?) and came to stand beside her. I took up my natural stance that screamed arrogance as I watched Nudge attempt to stop her head from exploding. It was a humorous sight, but I figured I needed to take her side, not laugh at her.
Which is what the customers were currently doing.
"Monique I think I'll have a…well, nothing really looks too appetizing here now does it?" My eyes left Nudge and settled on the guy who had spoken, and I had to blink away the surprise. Facing me was the three guys from the gym, plus four…others. The shock eventually ran dry as Nudge's frustration leaked into me as well. I was already tired, I didn't need more annoyances.
"Look, if you're not going to order something, get lost." My voice was unsympathetic as every eye turned my way, distracting them from Nudge, who blew out an air of aggravation. I took in the features of all seven of them, who I noticed were all eerily beautiful. Each and every person had a different mixture of colours and shades as their eyes shone, with hair done in extravagant ways. Another thing I noticed were the dark jackets, each and every one of them wearing the same black shade. It looked almost as if they were part of some kind of club or something. Though as much as I tried to focus on the others, my eyes were drawn back to the one person sitting in the very centre of the U shaped booth.
Fang.
His bottomless obsidian eyes were connected with my plain brown ones, his black hair messed up to the point that it looked like he had just gotten out of bed. My breath hitched slightly, but as the guy next to him spoke the moment was shattered and my breathlessness was turned to anger.
"Look sweetie, we'll order when we're ready. We'll call you over then, okay?" The guy's name was playing on my tongue, and I had the urge to spit it at him. The only problem was that I couldn't remember what it was.
"Look honey, order of get the fuck out. Oh, great. You just broke my non-swearing streak. Fan-freaking-tastic."
"Would you like me to get the owners?" Nudge asked, her pen tapping against her paper in annoyance. "It won't be a problem, I assure you."
The brown haired guy snickered. "You think we're afraid of two humans?" he replied disdainfully, the way he said the word human sounding as if he were talking about dirt. Odd…and why was that familiar?
"Ari, shut up," one of the others said, one I didn't know. That was his name. Ari…yeah, it was definitely familiar.
"You do realize you are human, right?" Nudge rolled her eyes in exasperation, and I suddenly felt as if I were stabbed, like a knife was slicing its way into my entrails. I blanched, trying to blink away the pain as I sucked in a breath of air.
Ari had a weird smirk plastered to his face, just like the other guy, the one who had told him to shut up. "Sure, whatever you think princess."
Nudge's mouth fell open in mock surprise, and I fought the urge to laugh. "I am not a princess!"
"You look like one from where I'm sitting," Ari replied, grinning evilly.
"Look, seriously, dog-breath? I don't have time for this and my head still freaking hurts. So do the world a favour and, I don't know…die?" I asked it as politely and seriously as I could, but the look on the guy's face was too hilarious to keep a straight face. I started laughing.
"Excuse me? Waiter! Can I grab a refill? We're ready to order as well." I turned toward the table of four, a group of very wealthy looking people. I rolled my eyes.
"Just wait, sheesh!" I yelled back, shaking my head.
Nudge sighed. "I'll do it." She glared at Ari, Fang and the others before leaving.
"One down, one to go," Fang said, the first words he'd uttered since I'd stepped into the restaurant. They were quiet, even and intimidating, as I assumed all his sentences were. I folded my arms across my chest in a smug gesture.
"Do you want something? I can get a healthy dose of security on your ass right now if you'd like." The words were directed at Ari, but I was facing Fang. As much as I hated the brown haired dipshit, I actually liked Fang. He'd been nothing but nice to me since the second I'd met him. I caught the slight twitch of his lips, as if he thought something were funny. And I was sure it wasn't my threat, however subtle it was.
"I think we're fine," Fang said, leaning forward toward me slightly.
I shook my head in exasperation. "What the Hell, why didn't you just tell Nudge that? You know what, whatever." I stalked off from the group, their snickers audible as I did so. Ugh, I hated customers. As I took the orders of the next table and took it to the kitchen, I saw Nudge ripping orders from her notebook viciously. I came up behind her.
"What's wrong Nudge?" I asked, coming to lean against the wall as I passed the order to the Grand's cook. He was good, but he was no Iggy.
"I hate them, I really do," she said blowing her fringe out of her face. "I have a headache and you won't join the cheer squad. Kapeesh?"
I shook my head. "You know I hated gymnastics, and frankly I don't want my life to become one big stereotypical cliché. And frankly, your captain kind of freaks me out. Just saying."
"Jackie? Are you kidding me, no-one freaks you out. If you can deal with those losers, you can handle Jackie."
"Well the point still stands, I hate peppy people, I don't like performing in front of people, and I don't particularly like the idea of being held in the air by a heap of guys. I'd probably get dizzy whenever I was thrown. Not to mention I have no determination or motivation when it comes to school things. Sorry."
Nudge sighed. "Fine, whatever, don't join. I just figured it would be good for you to like, get some other friends, start you off at the top of the social ladder, not at the bottom."
"You think I can't cope socially? I just love your faith in me Nudge."
She smiled, which had been my intended reaction. "I just love the sarcasm there Max. It is ever so welcome here." Nudge headed back out into the dining room and I followed her. Kate and Nicky had finally arrived, so it freed up some tables with the number of waitresses doubled.
"Hey princess, I think we're ready to order now," Ari called as Nudge and I came into view. Everyone but Fang, the guy next to him and the girl he had his arm around laughed.
"Come on, I'll go with you. Play it cool." I winked and she laughed, the line so cliché that it would have been weird if she hadn't.
"Do you even realize how scary these guys are? Seriously Max, you're a freak if you think it's fun to torment them."
"Scary?" I asked before snorting. "You have got to be kidding me. They're just teenage guys with their girlfriends. How "scary" can they be?" I laughed as I began toward them, Nudge close at my heels.
"No, Max you don't get it. I thought I told you before…"
"Told me about what?" I asked, still laughing.
"That they're in a—"
"Okay, so I want…" Ari began, cutting Nudge off. I plastered a smile to my face as I waited for the ass to order. This could take a while…
"I don't know what I want. Sam, you go." My eyes moved from Ari to "Sam," whose chestnut hair was lying limply across his forehead, blocking one of his tortoiseshell eyes. I had my pen ready to scribble, waiting for him to order. Instead he lifted the menu and sat there, pretending to look for something. My knuckles went white as I clenched my fingers around my pen.
"I have no idea. Lissa, you go." My eyes migrated to the other end of the table, where the red-haired wonder named Lissa sat, checking out her black manicured nails. I rolled my eyes and turned to Nudge, who was turning red in frustration. This could go on for hours…
"So Nudge, I was thinking we check out that new store on Wilson Avenue? Didn't they just open it like, last week?"
Nudge frowned for a second before catching my meaning. "I guess. Isn't it like, a clothes store or something?" I saw the smile in her eyes as she realized what I was doing.
"Yeah. You think they have a sushi shop down there? I'm craving it at the moment. We could go check it out later today…?"
"I guess. Maybe I could get mum to let us off early?"
"Hey, I think we're ready," Ari growled, attempting to get our attention back. I suppressed the smile that was about to spread steadily across my face.
"Yeah, yeah, hold on," I said, putting my hand out in front of me in a stop gesture before ignoring him again. "That would be perfect. You think she'd let us?"
Nudge shrugged, attempting to hold her grin back. "I don't see why not."
"Cool, let's check it out." I turned toward the group, who were watching Nudge and I"s exchange with varying emotions. "I'll get Kate or something to take your orders, seeing as though you're still deciding." I smiled brightly and prepared myself to walk away, but Fang's voice stopped me dead.
"I already know what I want," he said, staring at me with night eyes. I took an involuntary step backward, and didn't understand why. It was as if my sub-conscience was afraid of something, and was now directing my body. I shook it off and prepared to reply, but Nudge beat me to it.
"Seriously, out if your league," Nudge spat. However, instead if a witty retort as I expected, the entire table began laughing, even Fang, who was shaking his head condescendingly.
"More like when Hell freezes over," I said, rolling my eyes.
Nudge grinned. "Oh! Can we go skiing? Best holiday destination." My eyes met Fang's, and there was a strange look in his eyes, one that was mirrored throughout his friends' eyes as well.
"Ugh, I hate the cold," I said, shaking my head in fake exasperation.
"Looks like we'll have to unfreeze your kingdom then," Nudge said, sighing regrettably. The grin in her eyes however was undeniable.
We turned toward the group of black jackets and I blanched. The look that crossed each of their faces was complete shock, as if we'd said something that was completely and utterly alarming. They soon morphed into glares, each and every one of them. I frowned, what the Hell?
"Your kingdom Max?" Fang asked, his head slightly cocked to the right. The abyss that was his bottomless eyes captured my own and kept me prisoner. I tried to say something but my mouth wouldn't form words. There was just something about that look…
Nudge didn't face the same problem. She never did. "Didn't you hear? Heaven didn't want her, and Hell was afraid she'd take over. Well, I've got news and it's all bad. Looks like you better bow down to you new queen."
What happened next was too fast to possibly comprehend.
Before I even had time to blink everyone but Fang had gotten up from their booth and were now surrounding Nudge and I in stances that were too predatory to be anything but intimidating and vicious. Fang sat directly opposite to where I was standing, his eyes narrowed in near anger, but the interest that shadowed the anger softened them ever so slightly. All in all they were still black and as sharp as razor blades.
"Bow to our new queen?" The red-haired one hissed, her teeth bared. Her eyes were crazed, and they looked as if they were taking on a reddish tinge. Okay, did I need glasses or something?
The tallest girl, the one who had been sitting next to the red-haired cow stood in front of Nudge, her eyes squinted in anger. "The height of disrespect," she spat, leaning over Nudge in intimidation. Nudge receded, her eyes wide in panic.
The shortest girl came to stand in front of me, roughly my height with similar coloured hair and eyes to mine. She was followed closely by the guy who had had his arm around her moments before.
"You've already been pulverized once," she jeered threateningly, the tone sounding too harsh to belong to someone as innocent looking as she was. "Don't make him do it again."
I blinked, nowhere near as freaked out as I felt I should have been. "Excuse me, I don't get pulverized. I've got no clue what you're talking about."
"Well that's obvious," the guy behind her stated.
"God you're an idiot," Ari sneered.
I faked mock surprise melodramatically, slapping a hand to my cheek. "Oh my God, I'm literally crying over that comment."
"Do yourself a favour Max," the girl in front of me said as she moved inhumanly fast to snare my wrist. "Go—"
And that's all she got out before she screamed.
Though the scream was hers, it was amplified by my own. I stared at her in shock as the burning pain seared a path of unbearable fire through the centre of my body and through my mind, splitting me in half as images began to pour into my head. I fell to the ground, the girl collapsing with me as her boyfriend tried to keep her standing. But the hold she had on my wrist was stronger than the one he had on her, and as I heard the audible snap of bones crushing I couldn't take my mind from the pain cutting its way through my body. The girl held her chest with her spare hand as I held my head, my throat continuing the scream despite its dryness. People began yelling and crying out but it was all in the background. The only thing I could really concentrate on was the pain, the girl, and the images that began to paint themselves on the inside of my mind. My eyes went wide as I filtered each one, before I realized that each picture, each image, were my memories. Nudge's party, the threats, water, the defaced bike, blood, pain…Fang. The scream died as the last image streamed through my mind and the pain suddenly stopped. The girl's clenched hand that was wrapped around my wrist let go, unclamping. I was shaking, and unsurprisingly so was the girl. Her boyfriend held her as her body shuddered violently. While all I could do was look in horror as people surrounded me. Or more specifically, as he surrounded me, as he looked down on me in shock, surprise, astonishment…whatever word that could possibly explain the completely mind-blown look on his face. As he crouched in front of me I tried to scramble, the memories of him, of what he was, or rather, what he wasn't, flowing through my mind once more. He'd done something to get rid of them, he'd hurt me…as the girl had put it, he'd pulverized me. He'd, he'd…
What was he?
"Max—" the awe in his voice was palpable, but then again, so was the sudden desire that was streaming through it as well. My eyes went wider as I tried to shove him from me. It didn't work of course. Instead he grabbed hold of both of my wrists. His eyes were red again as he pulled me closer to him.
"Get off me!" I screamed, but it came out as no more than a whisper, my throat was so dry. I flailed, anything to get him away from me. Fang held me still as his friends blocked he and I from the rest of the restaurant. Why wasn't someone doing something? Where were the police!
"You're coming with us Max," Fang, said before dragging me upward with him.
"No! Get away! Someone help!" Again, I couldn't scream, couldn't yell, but I was in total panic mode now, something I had never been in, not in my entire life. I was almost hyperventilating. These people weren't human! I tried to yell again for help, my pride completely disintegrating. Where was Nudge?
"Dylan, get Ella out of here. I suspect there may be quite a few visitors coming down here soon," Fang ordered as he pulled me into him via my arm. "Both of them together at the moment is dangerous. Ella are you okay?"
"Max," she whispered, her eyes still on mine. "Are you…is she okay?" she asked Fang, changing the direction of her question.
He nodded slightly. "Get out of here. Dylan go!" the blonde carried the girl, Ella, out of the restaurant and into the darkness that was now the sky. Once again the sun had retreated, leaving only darkness at two in the afternoon. It looked as if a electrical storm was about slice through the sky. I was shaking again, and as I looked up at Fang I tried to scream again, but my voice was muffled by Fang's chest.
"Max, you're getting more interesting every day." Fang grinned, a chillingly daunting smile that left me frozen.
"What are you?" I whispered, tears stinging my eyes. And to think I'd thought he was nice yesterday.
"You claimed that you were the queen of my home, I'm sure you already know exactly what we are."
It was the last thing I heard before I was enveloped by ribbons of black smoke and my mind spun into unconsciousness.
Please Review. Did you like it? I know, broken record, and don't forget Within Temptation! Thanks guys =)
