Disclaimer: I own none of these characters; they all belong to L.J Smith.
Also some points; thank you very much for the review ArchAngel, and I would like to point out that before anybody else says it, that Jenny's house does not in fact have an upstairs, I was wrong * blushes ashamedly* and I have decided now that Jenny had an upstairs added. (It's my fan fiction so I now own the new upstairs of Jenny's house). Just kidding, I don't own anything so don't sue me. If you like this, please review, any suggestions are welcome.
* * * * *
Chapter 2 - The Game Begins
Julian stared around at the sun filled streets. He had let himself quietly out of Jenny's house, taking with him only a slim ring with the inscription "I am my only master" inside. Julian did not know why he was there or how he had got there. He had no idea why he had taken the ring, but it reminded him of something. Out of the house, the sensation of walking out in the sunlight where people could see him felt wrong to Julian, and he had to keep resisting a strong urge to hide in the shadows. Girls walking past him gave him startled yet appreciative looks, as he appeared to them a predatory stranger cloaked in mystery and danger. Clothed all in black with hair like moonbeams and with electric blue eyes, he was no ordinary guy. Julian had no idea of where he was going or what he was going to do, but in the complete blank white emptiness of his memory, one word was imprinted there. Jenny.
* * * * *
Jenny and her friends were at a virtual game arcade. They were all playing a virtual game, in which the aim was to shoot anyone who came out of the mist at you. Jenny had been apprehensive, as Julian could easily have manipulated the game to his own ends, but Tom had looked at her with those eyes that he knew could melt her will, and she had, albeit reluctantly, agreed. As she prowled through the game, a confusing, twisting maze, she held the gun close, pointing away from her. She stole through the swirling mist and kept close to the wall. Even though it was virtual reality, she could feel the roughness of it, and she could hear the dripping of water against a stone floor. Jenny shivered. It felt cold, although that was probably her imagination. Ahead of her, she heard a startled yell that sounded like Michael. She jumped, and then caught herself. Stupid Jenny, she told herself, get a grip. To her left, she heard a slight rustle, and ducked instinctively. A virtual bullet shot past her head, and she looked over the short wall to see who had shot at her. It was Zach. She pouted at him, and then shot at him. He dodged easily, smiling challengingly at her. Zach laughed and sauntered off down another passage to find someone else to shoot at. Jenny breathed a sigh of relief. There were five lives in this game, and she'd already lost two, one to Dee, who was loving this game and had shot her in the name of the game, and one to Summer, who had appeared harmless as usual, and had then shot Jenny. Jenny smiled grimly in remembrance, and massaged her stomach where the virtual bullet had hit. The bullet had actually hurt, and the area still stung where she had been hit. Jenny didn't know enough about computer and virtual games to know if that was normal. With the Shadow Games still in her mind, Jenny didn't really trust the virtual reality surrounding her. Audrey would be hating this, she thought to herself, she didn't go for games like this and it would probably mess up her clothes. As she grinned to herself at this, she felt a gun being pressed into her back.
"Don't turn around, " a low voice growled. "Give me the gun."
Jenny laughed. Tommy, she thought, that is so like him.
"Tommy," she said, "I knew you'd do something like this!" Laughing, Jenny turned around to hug Tom, but was shoved roughly back to face the wall.
"I said don't turn around!" the voice said angrily. "Give me the gun!"
A cold feeling swept over Jenny, and her heart began to beat faster. Jenny dropped the gun on the floor for the mysterious person to get. She tried to see out of the corner of her eye who it was as they bent to get the gun, but she felt a blow at the back of her head, and her senses reeled. I shouldn't be able to feel this, she thought, panicking. All went black, and Jenny slumped to the floor. The malicious stranger shot Jenny twice with the guns and ran off down the passage.
* * * * *
Jenny awoke to a throbbing headache, but still in the virtual reality game. Anxious and almost crying, she set off down the passages to find her friends, but to no avail. She wandered around, screaming their names until her voice gave out, but no answer came. Tired and upset, she sat down against the wall and fell asleep.
* * * * *
Jenny was dressed in a long flowing white gown and had a tiara in her hair. At her side stood Julian. Jenny looked down at the ring on her finger, but found that it was gone. With a flash of remembrance, she saw a flashback of the morning, the ring she had left on her bed. Looking up at Julian, she saw only a hazy form.
~Where are you going? ~ She asked, worried that he was going to leave her alone again.
Julian just stared at her, as though he was trying to remember who she was.
~Julian? ~ She asked.
Julian studied her for a moment, then asked,
~ Are you Jenny? ~
Jenny was shocked. She stared at Julian, her puzzled green eyes seeking his. A slow smile spread across his face, and he hugged her. She must be Jenny, he thought to himself. She looks so familiar, and the name suits her picture. He took her hand and looked earnestly at her.
~You are Jenny, aren't you, ~ he stated.
She nodded wordlessly, questions waiting to spill out of her lips. He put a finger to his mouth and then said softly,
~ I have no memories of anything, a life, a home, only your name. Will you tell me who I am, and why you are the one thing I can remember out of anything? ~
Jenny took a deep breath, and, still in shock, started to tell Julian the story of a Shadow Man and a game.
* * * * *
Jenny's friends stood next to her motionless form in the arcade. She was the only one of them still in the virtual game, and nothing they had done had got her out. She still had one life left in the game, and she wouldn't be released until the life had disappeared, and to make matters worse, the game had crashed, with Jenny inside it.
"Why can't we just pull off the helmet?" asked an impatient Summer. Tom and Zach looked worried, and Dee replied, "Summer, honey, if we do that we might hurt Jenny, her mind is in the game."
All of them were starting to worry, as the Shadow Games had been a lot like this. For a while, none of them spoke. Zach brooded, Tom frowned, Audrey worried, Dee was troubled and then Summer screamed. Everybody looked up, startled. In front of them was Julian. He spoke before anybody else had the chance to.
"Don't scream, fight, talk or do anything other than listen, " he said urgently. " Jenny is in deep trouble and we have to get her back. The Shadow Men have taken her, and they are going to kill her."
The gang looked at each other, and before any of them could ask the obvious questions, "How can we trust you?" and "How did you get back?" Julian held out his hand. In it was Jenny's ring, the one she never removed. He spoke quickly and precisely, saying only what was necessary. "Jenny's ring brought me back, " he began, pausing to look around, "I had amnesia, but Jenny told me some of what I've done to you all." Julian looked grim.
"The ring helped me find Jenny and it drew me here. Her astral self is in the Shadow World though, and although I didn't do it, it is my fault that she is there. She brought me back, you see, and even unknowing, in the Shadow World the law is a life for a life, and they want Jenny's life because she gave me mine back."
Julian looked around again at Jenny's friends, and saw the ranging emotions in their faces, from disbelief to anger. Tom had been seething that this.this monster whom had endangered his precious Jenny's life launched himself at Julian, expecting to be thrown back from a shield, but he contacted with Julian's muscled body and knocked him to the ground. Julian, with amazing reflexes, stopped all the attacks from Tom, but still did not blast him with a nightmare or some horror. Tom stopped, and narrowed his eyes shrewdly. "Why haven't you used your 'powers' on me?" He asked, staring at Julian. A strange suspicion was brewing in his mind.
Julian looked at him out of calm eyes. "I have no 'powers'. I'm human as much as you are, Tom."
* * * * *
Well that's the next chapter! Like I said, please review, any comments are welcome, if you love it or you hate it, tell me why, and what I can do to improve it. If you want another chapter, say!
Also some points; thank you very much for the review ArchAngel, and I would like to point out that before anybody else says it, that Jenny's house does not in fact have an upstairs, I was wrong * blushes ashamedly* and I have decided now that Jenny had an upstairs added. (It's my fan fiction so I now own the new upstairs of Jenny's house). Just kidding, I don't own anything so don't sue me. If you like this, please review, any suggestions are welcome.
* * * * *
Chapter 2 - The Game Begins
Julian stared around at the sun filled streets. He had let himself quietly out of Jenny's house, taking with him only a slim ring with the inscription "I am my only master" inside. Julian did not know why he was there or how he had got there. He had no idea why he had taken the ring, but it reminded him of something. Out of the house, the sensation of walking out in the sunlight where people could see him felt wrong to Julian, and he had to keep resisting a strong urge to hide in the shadows. Girls walking past him gave him startled yet appreciative looks, as he appeared to them a predatory stranger cloaked in mystery and danger. Clothed all in black with hair like moonbeams and with electric blue eyes, he was no ordinary guy. Julian had no idea of where he was going or what he was going to do, but in the complete blank white emptiness of his memory, one word was imprinted there. Jenny.
* * * * *
Jenny and her friends were at a virtual game arcade. They were all playing a virtual game, in which the aim was to shoot anyone who came out of the mist at you. Jenny had been apprehensive, as Julian could easily have manipulated the game to his own ends, but Tom had looked at her with those eyes that he knew could melt her will, and she had, albeit reluctantly, agreed. As she prowled through the game, a confusing, twisting maze, she held the gun close, pointing away from her. She stole through the swirling mist and kept close to the wall. Even though it was virtual reality, she could feel the roughness of it, and she could hear the dripping of water against a stone floor. Jenny shivered. It felt cold, although that was probably her imagination. Ahead of her, she heard a startled yell that sounded like Michael. She jumped, and then caught herself. Stupid Jenny, she told herself, get a grip. To her left, she heard a slight rustle, and ducked instinctively. A virtual bullet shot past her head, and she looked over the short wall to see who had shot at her. It was Zach. She pouted at him, and then shot at him. He dodged easily, smiling challengingly at her. Zach laughed and sauntered off down another passage to find someone else to shoot at. Jenny breathed a sigh of relief. There were five lives in this game, and she'd already lost two, one to Dee, who was loving this game and had shot her in the name of the game, and one to Summer, who had appeared harmless as usual, and had then shot Jenny. Jenny smiled grimly in remembrance, and massaged her stomach where the virtual bullet had hit. The bullet had actually hurt, and the area still stung where she had been hit. Jenny didn't know enough about computer and virtual games to know if that was normal. With the Shadow Games still in her mind, Jenny didn't really trust the virtual reality surrounding her. Audrey would be hating this, she thought to herself, she didn't go for games like this and it would probably mess up her clothes. As she grinned to herself at this, she felt a gun being pressed into her back.
"Don't turn around, " a low voice growled. "Give me the gun."
Jenny laughed. Tommy, she thought, that is so like him.
"Tommy," she said, "I knew you'd do something like this!" Laughing, Jenny turned around to hug Tom, but was shoved roughly back to face the wall.
"I said don't turn around!" the voice said angrily. "Give me the gun!"
A cold feeling swept over Jenny, and her heart began to beat faster. Jenny dropped the gun on the floor for the mysterious person to get. She tried to see out of the corner of her eye who it was as they bent to get the gun, but she felt a blow at the back of her head, and her senses reeled. I shouldn't be able to feel this, she thought, panicking. All went black, and Jenny slumped to the floor. The malicious stranger shot Jenny twice with the guns and ran off down the passage.
* * * * *
Jenny awoke to a throbbing headache, but still in the virtual reality game. Anxious and almost crying, she set off down the passages to find her friends, but to no avail. She wandered around, screaming their names until her voice gave out, but no answer came. Tired and upset, she sat down against the wall and fell asleep.
* * * * *
Jenny was dressed in a long flowing white gown and had a tiara in her hair. At her side stood Julian. Jenny looked down at the ring on her finger, but found that it was gone. With a flash of remembrance, she saw a flashback of the morning, the ring she had left on her bed. Looking up at Julian, she saw only a hazy form.
~Where are you going? ~ She asked, worried that he was going to leave her alone again.
Julian just stared at her, as though he was trying to remember who she was.
~Julian? ~ She asked.
Julian studied her for a moment, then asked,
~ Are you Jenny? ~
Jenny was shocked. She stared at Julian, her puzzled green eyes seeking his. A slow smile spread across his face, and he hugged her. She must be Jenny, he thought to himself. She looks so familiar, and the name suits her picture. He took her hand and looked earnestly at her.
~You are Jenny, aren't you, ~ he stated.
She nodded wordlessly, questions waiting to spill out of her lips. He put a finger to his mouth and then said softly,
~ I have no memories of anything, a life, a home, only your name. Will you tell me who I am, and why you are the one thing I can remember out of anything? ~
Jenny took a deep breath, and, still in shock, started to tell Julian the story of a Shadow Man and a game.
* * * * *
Jenny's friends stood next to her motionless form in the arcade. She was the only one of them still in the virtual game, and nothing they had done had got her out. She still had one life left in the game, and she wouldn't be released until the life had disappeared, and to make matters worse, the game had crashed, with Jenny inside it.
"Why can't we just pull off the helmet?" asked an impatient Summer. Tom and Zach looked worried, and Dee replied, "Summer, honey, if we do that we might hurt Jenny, her mind is in the game."
All of them were starting to worry, as the Shadow Games had been a lot like this. For a while, none of them spoke. Zach brooded, Tom frowned, Audrey worried, Dee was troubled and then Summer screamed. Everybody looked up, startled. In front of them was Julian. He spoke before anybody else had the chance to.
"Don't scream, fight, talk or do anything other than listen, " he said urgently. " Jenny is in deep trouble and we have to get her back. The Shadow Men have taken her, and they are going to kill her."
The gang looked at each other, and before any of them could ask the obvious questions, "How can we trust you?" and "How did you get back?" Julian held out his hand. In it was Jenny's ring, the one she never removed. He spoke quickly and precisely, saying only what was necessary. "Jenny's ring brought me back, " he began, pausing to look around, "I had amnesia, but Jenny told me some of what I've done to you all." Julian looked grim.
"The ring helped me find Jenny and it drew me here. Her astral self is in the Shadow World though, and although I didn't do it, it is my fault that she is there. She brought me back, you see, and even unknowing, in the Shadow World the law is a life for a life, and they want Jenny's life because she gave me mine back."
Julian looked around again at Jenny's friends, and saw the ranging emotions in their faces, from disbelief to anger. Tom had been seething that this.this monster whom had endangered his precious Jenny's life launched himself at Julian, expecting to be thrown back from a shield, but he contacted with Julian's muscled body and knocked him to the ground. Julian, with amazing reflexes, stopped all the attacks from Tom, but still did not blast him with a nightmare or some horror. Tom stopped, and narrowed his eyes shrewdly. "Why haven't you used your 'powers' on me?" He asked, staring at Julian. A strange suspicion was brewing in his mind.
Julian looked at him out of calm eyes. "I have no 'powers'. I'm human as much as you are, Tom."
* * * * *
Well that's the next chapter! Like I said, please review, any comments are welcome, if you love it or you hate it, tell me why, and what I can do to improve it. If you want another chapter, say!