Seems like ff.net has disabled the privilege of writers communicating with their readers. They have decided to delete the keyboard dialogues (or so they call it) Basically, i'll just have to find other ways to go about doing it.
Spawn - Thank you for digesting Chapter 3 bit by bit. I've learnt more and you've noticed things that i myself havent even!
Jiaz - Jasper's coming. He's coming.
Ching - Thanks girl. Do read on.
Aha, this is the start of my june holidays. Wouldn't really call it holidays anyway, since there's the major super duper block tests at the end of June (starting June 28th). Sick? That's life.
On to the story!
Kyle Caldwin and Russell Timbal were caught in a ferocious crossfire of multi-purpose bullets, arrows and energy bolts.
"Move!!" Shoving Russell to the right, Kyle dived to his left and rolled behind a three-seater sofa set. The sofa's backrest rocked violently as it was assaulted mercilessly by the incessant attack. Kyle looked over to Russell, who was not faring any better. Crouched behind a wooden cupboard, the blond vampire licked his extended canines nervously, gearing up for a fight.
Outside, the dark clouds had gathered at an amazing rate. The windows slammed and flung open repeatedly, under the strong wind. The chandelier in the middle of the living room swung dangerously, some of the crystals exploded under immense pressure of the wind. Before long, the onslaught of the weapons began to lessen, no doubt the supply of the weapons for their attacker dwindling. The whistling sound of the flying objects decreased, only to be replaced by the howling wind coming in from the windows that swung precariously on their hinges.
Kyle straightened himself and peeked over the sofa cautiously. This time, a painting flew off the wall from the right side and brushed over the sofa's backrest, where Kyle's head had been a moment ago. Following that painting, other paintings, vases and now even the window panes came crashing at them.
"Damn it!" Russell swore over the noise, "When the hell is this going to end?"
Kyle tried to take another look. He had spotted a woman standing at the staircase across the room facing them, her hands sweeping in the air like a music conductor, no doubt orchestrating the attack. Kyle looked around at the mess around him, and then he found what he was looking for. Grabbing what was left of a wooden back support of a painting, he held it in front of him like a shield as he crossed the room, meeting the brutal assault right on.
"What the hell... Get the hell back, Kyle!!" Russell yelled. He tried to come out from the cover of the cupboard, but a window pane came smashing down beside him. Watching his friend go on the suicidal mission, Russell could only grit his teeth in anxiety.
It was not an easy journey for Kyle. He blocked most of the objects, thanks to his quick reflexes. A few vases found their way onto his body and pieces of glass and porcelain fell of him harmlessly. Splinters of wood from the frames of paintings, however, embedded themselves onto Kyle's flesh.
Flinging away the makeshift shield, Kyle tensed the muscles in his legs and sprang upwards. Doing a somersault in the air, he landed right in front of the woman, barely a few inches away from her. The objects, having found themselves endangering their owner now if they were to continue their attack on Kyle, turned towards Russell instead. The noise was deafening as the objects smashed themselves onto the cupboard that was barely withstanding the attack.
"Stop it." Kyle ordered, grabbing the woman's shoulders and tried to make her look at him. "Stop it, Aria!"
At the mentioning of her name, Aria's hands stopped in midair, and the objects immediately fell straight to the ground. The wind stopped howling and the dark clouds dispersed nearly twice as fast as they had gathered. It was almost as if someone had taken the remote control and pressed the 'pause' button before rewinding the tape.
For a moment, deafening silence filled the house.
"Now, what the hell was that?" Russell rose from his place behind the ruined cupboard, looking very crossed and dishevelled. His honey blond hair, which was usually styled away from his face, was covering his eyes.
Without another word, Aria's face crumpled and she broke down, her shoulders shaking as she sobbed loudly. "Are you people from Circle Daybreak?"
Rolling his eyes, Russell snapped, "Do we look anyhow like bad guys to you?"
Aria lifted her head and took a look at Russell, then at Kyle. Suddenly, she burst into tears again and flung herself onto Kyle, who was momentarily stunned.
"Thank god... Thank god..." She sobbed into Kyle's shoulder.
"Thank the Daybreakers." Kyle muttered.
Jade was gliding her lipstick on when she was interrupted by a knock on her bedroom door. "Come in," she called.
The door opened and Jasper, her brother, came in. After being sired by Kyle just when he was about to die from leukemia, Jasper would remain at seventeen years old forever. Becoming a vampire made Jasper looked more radiant; his skin seemed to glow and his cheeks had a rosy blush, a stark contrast to his pale pallor when he was sick.
"Wow. Is Kyle back already?" Jasper asked, taking a good long look at his sister from head to toe. Jade applied blushers on her cheeks as she replied, "No, why?"
"Then why are you dressing up?" Jasper asked, eyebrows raised.
Jade hesitated, "Um... no. I'm just going out."
"Liar. My sister seldom bothers to dress up so nicely when she's going out." Narrowing his eyes playfully, Jasper taunted, "You've got a date?"
"Quit being nosy!' Jade answered, a little too quickly. Turning back to the mirror, she checked her reflections. Indeed, dressed in a spaghetti top and a denim miniskirt, she did not look any bit like her normal 'jeans and t-shirt' self. Not forgetting the makeup that she had put on.
Throwing himself face down onto Jade's bed, Jasper sprawled on the mattress lazily. "You know," Jasper began, his words muffled by the bedsheets, as he launched into another of his long-winded lectures, "The first thing that leads to a failed relationship is infidelity -"
"Just because I'm going out with Skye doesn't..." Jade caught herself, but it was too late. Jasper sprang upright instantly, his brown eyes widened dramatically, "You're going out with Skye? Skye as in Elder Kollesbarr?"
Jade swallowed nervously. What have I got to hide? She felt ridiculous at her own uptightness about the whole date. It was not as if anything was going to happen between them. "Yeah, so what?"
Shaking his head in mock disapproval, Jasper said, "You've got a soulmate, you know? What, just two days after he left you've already gotten yourself a date! Teenagers these days..." he sighed.
"Ah! I must go now!" Jade said quickly, without even taking a glance at the clock. Grabbing her handbag, she ran out of her room just as the doorbell rang. Opening the door, she saw Skye, dressed in simple fade-out jeans and a white t-shirt underneath a black jacket. He looked, well, human enough. Skye did not have Kyle's icy good looks, but he had a kind handsome face that made him look more approachable than her soulmate. Stepping out of her apartment, Jade slammed the door shut as Jasper hollered, "Boundaries, sister! Know where your boundaries are-"
Shaking her head to herself, Jade turned and smiled to Skye.
The two of them made their way out of the Daybreak Center slowly, neither of them seemed to be in any hurry. In Clainesville, the weather was rather cold and as the Daybreak Center was situated near the coast, the nights were always chilling. Jade cursed inwardly at her own stupid choice of clothings. She shivered and Skye, without any hesitation, shrugged off his jacket and laid it across Jade's shoulders. It reminded Jade of Kyle, both men were selfless and giving. She thanked Skye gratefully and they reached the restaurant shortly.
The glow from the flickering candle on the table lit their faces. The restaurant was cosy and posh, with soft music floating in the air as a pianist played the piano in the middle of the restaurant.
"So, how did you know of such a beautiful restaurant?" Jade asked in amazement.
"Why?" Skye was amused. "You thought that we just stay in the Daybreak Center all day long, right?"
Jade nodded.
"Well, sometimes we do come out and explore the world outside. Necessary for missions, know our way around the towns and networking with the other Night Worldlings elsewhere. It took me quite a while to accept that there's a world outside other than Daybreak Center itself." Skye laughed softly, "That was when I was younger, a lot younger."
"How old were you when you moved into Daybreak Center?" Jade asked.
"I didn't move in. I had always been there."
"What about your family? Your parents?" Jade could not help herself.
It was a moment before Skye answered.
"I don't... know about them," Skye said quietly, not looking up from his plate, "The Daybreakers had been my family ever since I can remember."
"I'm sorry. Don't you ever ask Elder Fallis about them?" Jade probed gently.
"I did. When I was young, I saw how the other kids always have their mummies and daddies to run to at the end of the day." Skye smiled sadly, "I still remember, on the Mothers' Day when I was seven, I ran to Dermot's office furiously, crying and demanding that I be sent home to my family right away."
"Dermot just picked me up and sat me on his laps, his blue eyes looking into mine and telling me this, 'Skye, this is your home. When you're older, you'll understand everything.' Years passed, and I continued asking around about my family, but they never did tell me. I just gave up asking them as I grew into my teenage years."
The two of them sat in silence for a moment. Jade was lost for words. She did not know that Skye did not have his kins with him in Daybreak Center. "Well, I guess I should count myself lucky that I still have Jasper and my mum-"
Skye choked on his water abruptly and coughed hard. "Oh my god. Are you okay?" Jade asked with concern, handing him a napkin. Skye nodded, his eyes still watering.
"Arh, sorry about that." Skye apologised sheepishly, his heart thumping furiously in his chest. Jade's mention about her mother reminded him of the vision that he had a few weeks ago. He had yet to tell anyone about it.
Skye, meeting at usual room. Now. Nichole, a fellow member of the Daybreak Council informed Skye via thoughtspeak. From her tone, it was clear that no argument would be entertained. "What?" Skye sighed aloud.
"What?" Jade echoed.
"I'm so sorry, but I've gotta go back to the Daybreak Center. Council's having a meeting now." Skye told her apologetically.
Jade was understanding. "It's alright."
"Let me walk you back to your apartment." Skye offered.
"It's okay. You're in a hurry." Jade gave a smile that made Skye's heart skip a beat. Skye noticed that she had even put soft curls in her hair. It went well with her heart-shaped face, and gave her a very sweet look. The two of them made their way back to the Daybreak Center.
Before they part at the lobby - both going to different wings of the Daybreak Center, Skye gave Jade a long look.
"Well, I enjoyed myself today." He said finally. Damn, that just sounded so fine, he chided himself.
"Me too." Jade's green eyes had a sparkle in them. The two of them lapsed into silence, simply looking at each other.
"Um, I guess I have to go now." Skye said, but neither of them moved. Jade laughed in embarrassment, "Yeah, of course... yeah. So I guess, see you around?"
'Definitely." Skye smiled. The lift came and Skye waited for Jade to get into it, before heading for the meeting with joy in his heart.
Gawd... that was a long long long long long chapter. Longer than i had expected. Haha. The last part was a little awkward. I guess it was as awkward for me as it was for Skye and Jade (really! She is such a -!). There, a little revelation about our poor poor Skye. A lead-up though. Hehe. Where could all these lead to???
It's up to me!!! evil laughter
Pretty much set-ups in this chapter. Of course, Jasper and Jade are already having a slight disagreement with each other regarding the whole dating thing. How bad will it be when it goes further? And not forgetting poor Skye, all that internal conflict and the visions. Arh, so tortured..
And our Kyle and Russell! What will happen in their mission? Who is Aria? And is this simply the end of the mission?
With me, of course not! Muahahaahahahahahahaahahahaha!!!
Reviews will be very much appreciated. Speculations about how the story will be in the chapters to come will be very much enjoyed!
Spawn - Thank you for digesting Chapter 3 bit by bit. I've learnt more and you've noticed things that i myself havent even!
Jiaz - Jasper's coming. He's coming.
Ching - Thanks girl. Do read on.
Aha, this is the start of my june holidays. Wouldn't really call it holidays anyway, since there's the major super duper block tests at the end of June (starting June 28th). Sick? That's life.
On to the story!
Kyle Caldwin and Russell Timbal were caught in a ferocious crossfire of multi-purpose bullets, arrows and energy bolts.
"Move!!" Shoving Russell to the right, Kyle dived to his left and rolled behind a three-seater sofa set. The sofa's backrest rocked violently as it was assaulted mercilessly by the incessant attack. Kyle looked over to Russell, who was not faring any better. Crouched behind a wooden cupboard, the blond vampire licked his extended canines nervously, gearing up for a fight.
Outside, the dark clouds had gathered at an amazing rate. The windows slammed and flung open repeatedly, under the strong wind. The chandelier in the middle of the living room swung dangerously, some of the crystals exploded under immense pressure of the wind. Before long, the onslaught of the weapons began to lessen, no doubt the supply of the weapons for their attacker dwindling. The whistling sound of the flying objects decreased, only to be replaced by the howling wind coming in from the windows that swung precariously on their hinges.
Kyle straightened himself and peeked over the sofa cautiously. This time, a painting flew off the wall from the right side and brushed over the sofa's backrest, where Kyle's head had been a moment ago. Following that painting, other paintings, vases and now even the window panes came crashing at them.
"Damn it!" Russell swore over the noise, "When the hell is this going to end?"
Kyle tried to take another look. He had spotted a woman standing at the staircase across the room facing them, her hands sweeping in the air like a music conductor, no doubt orchestrating the attack. Kyle looked around at the mess around him, and then he found what he was looking for. Grabbing what was left of a wooden back support of a painting, he held it in front of him like a shield as he crossed the room, meeting the brutal assault right on.
"What the hell... Get the hell back, Kyle!!" Russell yelled. He tried to come out from the cover of the cupboard, but a window pane came smashing down beside him. Watching his friend go on the suicidal mission, Russell could only grit his teeth in anxiety.
It was not an easy journey for Kyle. He blocked most of the objects, thanks to his quick reflexes. A few vases found their way onto his body and pieces of glass and porcelain fell of him harmlessly. Splinters of wood from the frames of paintings, however, embedded themselves onto Kyle's flesh.
Flinging away the makeshift shield, Kyle tensed the muscles in his legs and sprang upwards. Doing a somersault in the air, he landed right in front of the woman, barely a few inches away from her. The objects, having found themselves endangering their owner now if they were to continue their attack on Kyle, turned towards Russell instead. The noise was deafening as the objects smashed themselves onto the cupboard that was barely withstanding the attack.
"Stop it." Kyle ordered, grabbing the woman's shoulders and tried to make her look at him. "Stop it, Aria!"
At the mentioning of her name, Aria's hands stopped in midair, and the objects immediately fell straight to the ground. The wind stopped howling and the dark clouds dispersed nearly twice as fast as they had gathered. It was almost as if someone had taken the remote control and pressed the 'pause' button before rewinding the tape.
For a moment, deafening silence filled the house.
"Now, what the hell was that?" Russell rose from his place behind the ruined cupboard, looking very crossed and dishevelled. His honey blond hair, which was usually styled away from his face, was covering his eyes.
Without another word, Aria's face crumpled and she broke down, her shoulders shaking as she sobbed loudly. "Are you people from Circle Daybreak?"
Rolling his eyes, Russell snapped, "Do we look anyhow like bad guys to you?"
Aria lifted her head and took a look at Russell, then at Kyle. Suddenly, she burst into tears again and flung herself onto Kyle, who was momentarily stunned.
"Thank god... Thank god..." She sobbed into Kyle's shoulder.
"Thank the Daybreakers." Kyle muttered.
Jade was gliding her lipstick on when she was interrupted by a knock on her bedroom door. "Come in," she called.
The door opened and Jasper, her brother, came in. After being sired by Kyle just when he was about to die from leukemia, Jasper would remain at seventeen years old forever. Becoming a vampire made Jasper looked more radiant; his skin seemed to glow and his cheeks had a rosy blush, a stark contrast to his pale pallor when he was sick.
"Wow. Is Kyle back already?" Jasper asked, taking a good long look at his sister from head to toe. Jade applied blushers on her cheeks as she replied, "No, why?"
"Then why are you dressing up?" Jasper asked, eyebrows raised.
Jade hesitated, "Um... no. I'm just going out."
"Liar. My sister seldom bothers to dress up so nicely when she's going out." Narrowing his eyes playfully, Jasper taunted, "You've got a date?"
"Quit being nosy!' Jade answered, a little too quickly. Turning back to the mirror, she checked her reflections. Indeed, dressed in a spaghetti top and a denim miniskirt, she did not look any bit like her normal 'jeans and t-shirt' self. Not forgetting the makeup that she had put on.
Throwing himself face down onto Jade's bed, Jasper sprawled on the mattress lazily. "You know," Jasper began, his words muffled by the bedsheets, as he launched into another of his long-winded lectures, "The first thing that leads to a failed relationship is infidelity -"
"Just because I'm going out with Skye doesn't..." Jade caught herself, but it was too late. Jasper sprang upright instantly, his brown eyes widened dramatically, "You're going out with Skye? Skye as in Elder Kollesbarr?"
Jade swallowed nervously. What have I got to hide? She felt ridiculous at her own uptightness about the whole date. It was not as if anything was going to happen between them. "Yeah, so what?"
Shaking his head in mock disapproval, Jasper said, "You've got a soulmate, you know? What, just two days after he left you've already gotten yourself a date! Teenagers these days..." he sighed.
"Ah! I must go now!" Jade said quickly, without even taking a glance at the clock. Grabbing her handbag, she ran out of her room just as the doorbell rang. Opening the door, she saw Skye, dressed in simple fade-out jeans and a white t-shirt underneath a black jacket. He looked, well, human enough. Skye did not have Kyle's icy good looks, but he had a kind handsome face that made him look more approachable than her soulmate. Stepping out of her apartment, Jade slammed the door shut as Jasper hollered, "Boundaries, sister! Know where your boundaries are-"
Shaking her head to herself, Jade turned and smiled to Skye.
The two of them made their way out of the Daybreak Center slowly, neither of them seemed to be in any hurry. In Clainesville, the weather was rather cold and as the Daybreak Center was situated near the coast, the nights were always chilling. Jade cursed inwardly at her own stupid choice of clothings. She shivered and Skye, without any hesitation, shrugged off his jacket and laid it across Jade's shoulders. It reminded Jade of Kyle, both men were selfless and giving. She thanked Skye gratefully and they reached the restaurant shortly.
The glow from the flickering candle on the table lit their faces. The restaurant was cosy and posh, with soft music floating in the air as a pianist played the piano in the middle of the restaurant.
"So, how did you know of such a beautiful restaurant?" Jade asked in amazement.
"Why?" Skye was amused. "You thought that we just stay in the Daybreak Center all day long, right?"
Jade nodded.
"Well, sometimes we do come out and explore the world outside. Necessary for missions, know our way around the towns and networking with the other Night Worldlings elsewhere. It took me quite a while to accept that there's a world outside other than Daybreak Center itself." Skye laughed softly, "That was when I was younger, a lot younger."
"How old were you when you moved into Daybreak Center?" Jade asked.
"I didn't move in. I had always been there."
"What about your family? Your parents?" Jade could not help herself.
It was a moment before Skye answered.
"I don't... know about them," Skye said quietly, not looking up from his plate, "The Daybreakers had been my family ever since I can remember."
"I'm sorry. Don't you ever ask Elder Fallis about them?" Jade probed gently.
"I did. When I was young, I saw how the other kids always have their mummies and daddies to run to at the end of the day." Skye smiled sadly, "I still remember, on the Mothers' Day when I was seven, I ran to Dermot's office furiously, crying and demanding that I be sent home to my family right away."
"Dermot just picked me up and sat me on his laps, his blue eyes looking into mine and telling me this, 'Skye, this is your home. When you're older, you'll understand everything.' Years passed, and I continued asking around about my family, but they never did tell me. I just gave up asking them as I grew into my teenage years."
The two of them sat in silence for a moment. Jade was lost for words. She did not know that Skye did not have his kins with him in Daybreak Center. "Well, I guess I should count myself lucky that I still have Jasper and my mum-"
Skye choked on his water abruptly and coughed hard. "Oh my god. Are you okay?" Jade asked with concern, handing him a napkin. Skye nodded, his eyes still watering.
"Arh, sorry about that." Skye apologised sheepishly, his heart thumping furiously in his chest. Jade's mention about her mother reminded him of the vision that he had a few weeks ago. He had yet to tell anyone about it.
Skye, meeting at usual room. Now. Nichole, a fellow member of the Daybreak Council informed Skye via thoughtspeak. From her tone, it was clear that no argument would be entertained. "What?" Skye sighed aloud.
"What?" Jade echoed.
"I'm so sorry, but I've gotta go back to the Daybreak Center. Council's having a meeting now." Skye told her apologetically.
Jade was understanding. "It's alright."
"Let me walk you back to your apartment." Skye offered.
"It's okay. You're in a hurry." Jade gave a smile that made Skye's heart skip a beat. Skye noticed that she had even put soft curls in her hair. It went well with her heart-shaped face, and gave her a very sweet look. The two of them made their way back to the Daybreak Center.
Before they part at the lobby - both going to different wings of the Daybreak Center, Skye gave Jade a long look.
"Well, I enjoyed myself today." He said finally. Damn, that just sounded so fine, he chided himself.
"Me too." Jade's green eyes had a sparkle in them. The two of them lapsed into silence, simply looking at each other.
"Um, I guess I have to go now." Skye said, but neither of them moved. Jade laughed in embarrassment, "Yeah, of course... yeah. So I guess, see you around?"
'Definitely." Skye smiled. The lift came and Skye waited for Jade to get into it, before heading for the meeting with joy in his heart.
Gawd... that was a long long long long long chapter. Longer than i had expected. Haha. The last part was a little awkward. I guess it was as awkward for me as it was for Skye and Jade (really! She is such a -!). There, a little revelation about our poor poor Skye. A lead-up though. Hehe. Where could all these lead to???
It's up to me!!! evil laughter
Pretty much set-ups in this chapter. Of course, Jasper and Jade are already having a slight disagreement with each other regarding the whole dating thing. How bad will it be when it goes further? And not forgetting poor Skye, all that internal conflict and the visions. Arh, so tortured..
And our Kyle and Russell! What will happen in their mission? Who is Aria? And is this simply the end of the mission?
With me, of course not! Muahahaahahahahahahaahahahaha!!!
Reviews will be very much appreciated. Speculations about how the story will be in the chapters to come will be very much enjoyed!