I will continue this story after a quick RR!

So, our first RR is for a guest! They said, "why they don't just call the police?"

Well, since the police have spent years trying quite unsuccessfully to track down Brokenstar and Dovewing succeeded in only a few minutes, you can kind of see the problem here. The teens feel like the police aren't a very reliable source and they know that if they tell the police about this, they'll just get ordered to stay out of it until the case is solved and who knows how long that could take. They want to be involved because they're worried about each other. Does that answer your question, Guest?

QQA: Hawkfrost, Mapleshade, Thistleclaw and Shredtail

Breezepelt

"Are we really doing this?" I was shaking so hard I thought I might fall over.

Ivypool whipped around to face me and hissed. "Yes! Now keep your voice down!"

We were crounching behind some bushes that reeked of dead animals. We'd arrived in the Dark Forest only a couple of hours earlier and had been waiting for someone to walk by so we could begin our plan. I wrinkled my nose. "Man, it stinks here!"

"Gee, I didn't notice," Ivypool retorted, rolling her eyes, then froze. "Do you here that?" she whispered.

I stiffened as I heard the sound of leaves crunching somewhere nearby. "Someone's coming," I whispered back.

"Ya think? Do you remember your character?"

I nodded. The others had come up with personalities for us to mimic and fake identities. Dovewing had even hacked into the Starlake Island mother computer where they kept files on every single person on the island and created folders for our fake characters. "Just in case," she'd said when we asked her what the heck she was thinking.

Ivypool was supposed to be a cruel and ruthless girl named Violetshadow, and I was a nervous boy who'd been bullied and hated everyone, which worked for me. I knew that I'd be too nervous and scared to put up a tough cover and was satisfied with my character selection. My new name was Nightwhisker. We'd also gotten outfits that suited our personality. I was wearing a dark gray hoodie with dark blue jeans and black sneakers. Ivypool wore a black jacket, black leggings and black knee-high leather boots, no heels. Honestly, that was what she usually wore anyway.

Suddenly, Ivypool tugged on my sleeve and motioned for me to get up. Standing, I noticed she was staring at a tree, hard. "What're you staring at?" I whispered.

"There's someone hiding behind that tree," she responded. "I saw them duck behind it."

"So... are we going over there?"

"Of course we are! Now get into character! As soon as we say hello, there won't really be anywhere safe to talk about our real plans. No communication with the others. We're on our own now."

We're on our own now. Her words sent a shiver down my spine, but I followed her over to the large tree where someone was apparently hiding.

"Hey!" Ivypool barked. "Get out here!"

I spotted movement behind the trunk and gasped as a girl stepped into the open. She had strawberry colored hair and worea red t-shirt with ligth blue jeans. Her orange sneakers were dirty and worn and she wore an expression of pure anger and hatred. She was younger than us, probably still in middle school, but she scared the living daylights out of me. How could one so small bear so uch anger?

Somehow, Ivypool did not seem at all intimidated. She flashed me a warning look before turning to the girl.

Teh girl glared at us. "What do you want?" the she growled, her voice hard and cold.

Ivypool glared rigth back. "You got somebody that's in charge aroung here?" she hissed slowly, with the same amount of coldness.

The girl looked slightly surprised by Ivypool's reaction. I guess she was used to people being afraid of her. I couldn't blame her. "What do you care?" she challenged.

"That a yes or a no?" Ivypool responded through gritted teeth.

Unexpectedly, the girl's expression changed. All the hostility disappeared from her face, leaving only defeat.

Ivypool stepped back, surprised. "Huh?" she asked, still not changing her tone.

The girl sighed. "We do have a leader. He's real mean. My mentor taught me to act cruel and tough when he's around. Same with new people. It's hard. I can't do it for long. Seems you're better at it than me. Don't tell anyone. I gotta keep my reputation or I might get kicked outta here."

"Why are you here in the first place?" I asked, confused.

The girl looked up at me. "Don't get me wrong, I got anger. Lots of it. Some people got way more though, so I act tough so they'll leave me alone. That's how it's always been. Only my mentor knows this. I'm not pleasent to be around either way, so don't go thinkin' I'm all nice an' stuff. Others just got more hate."

Ivypool shrugged. "Not that I really care."

The girl looked relieved. "Good. Now I got a question for you. Why're you here?"

"The real world is boring. Nothing ever happens. Just people being all nicey nicey and freaking out whenever something actually does happen. Thought I'd find stuff to do here."

The girl nodded slowly. "And you?" she said, turning to me.

It was like something snaped into place at that moment. I knew exactly what to say. "Too much exposal. Everyone wants to know everything about you. No personal space. Everyone's all nosy and stuff. I'm trying to get away from that."

"So?" Ivypool said. "Can you take us to this leader of yours?"

The girl hesitated, then nodded. "Yeah. He always wants to meet the new people. Put up a good impression. First impressions decide your fate around here. You impress him, you're in. If not, you gota leave."

"...And if you don't?" I asked.

She turned around, her amber eyes burning into mine. "They'll kill you. You try to come back, they'll kill you. You get in and then try to leave, they'll kill you. Nothing comes without a penalty. So I ask you, you sure you wanna do this?"

Ivypool nodded. "Definitely."

"Yeah, definitely," I echoed.

The girl nodded. "Okay. I'm Amberpaw, by the way. You are?"

"Violetshadow," Ivypool answered.

"Nightwhisker," I responded.

"Let's go," Amberpaw said, vanishing into the trees. Ivypool nodded to me and followed her.

I gulped. This was it. This determined whether I would stay or. Whether Ivypool would do this with a partner or alone. I couldn't fail. I couldn't. If I did, all of Starlake Island would be in terrible danger.

QQ: How old do you think I am?

-Silver Speaker