Chapter 2

That morning Fiona awoke to a thud on her bed. She groaned and sat up, scowl on her face from being woken up so early.

"Mom? What are you doing?"

"We are packing now, while we can." The thud had been the large family suitcase that Fiona usually used and was being filled with the contents of her room.

"Why are we packing?"

"I thought the school made their classes watch the live broadcast yesterday? The aliens have started their abductions. Japan was hit this morning at a private school. The ones where the kids live at the school. They swooped right down, forced the poor children to kill each other until only the winner remained."

"Then what?" her mother stopped her packing frenzy and looked wearily at the suitcase.

"Then the 'winner' took their own life so that they wouldn't have to go with them. Those monsters!" she threw her daughters clothes in the bag, sealed it and took it downstairs, minus the clothes that Fiona would wear today.

"Darn…" she slowly got out of bed and ignored her pile of clothes for now. Her room was so bare from everything being striped from her walls and wardrobes. It was so empty now, just how she felt.

Fiona washed her face and brushed her teeth, showered and dressed into her clothes. She wore loose black jeans that hugged her hips, a slim purple polo neck with long sleeves and her favourite necklace. As she never took it off. She brushed her long chestnut hair back into a pigtail and began her search for her mother. She needed more information. She finally found her mother in the kitchen, crying whilst washing the dishes.

"Mom? Are you ok?"

"OHHH!" she whimpered and tears ran down her cheeks, but her father was already there and comforting her by rubbing her back.

"Your mother is upset because we just heard over the radio…the new emergency announcements. We are to remain in our homes and stay where we are. Japan was blasted into shards a few moments ago and took China with it."

"Oh god…" Fiona sat down with the news for two major countries being wiped out. "How?"

"The ship opened fire on Earth, blasting Japan. The head monster then sent a message over the radio saying that that was the punishment for denying him what he wanted and that if the 'winning child' took his life again, that their country would be annihilated too…"

"How old were they?"

"how old were who honey?" her mother finally turned round, her face still red from crying."

"Don't call me honey." She said off instinct and habit. "But I meant the kids he tested, how old were they? Were they from an infant school, no they would kill themselves if they were…what kind of a school were they from?"

"Fiona." Her father started. He never used her real name unless he was about to say something very, very serious. "The boy was 15, they are targeting your kind of schools. They want teens."

"Like me…"

"That is why I wanted to get us ready to leave sweetie. So that I can keep you safe. You may not be the most innocent of children but damn it! You are still my baby!"

"Not…the most…innocent?"

"We have to go somewhere!" her mother turned to her father, ignoring the blank, hurt expression on her daughter's face.

"Not the most…innocent?"

"We can't. We have to stay in our homes, that is what the announcement said."

"Not the most innocent?"

"We can't just stay here!"

"Not the most innocent!" Fiona shot up from the table and slammed her fist on the table to get her squabbling parents attention. "I am not the most innocent am I? Well, I have had enough of this. I have this shit from school, and now I have it here. I thought that, being my parents and all, that you might not hold the fact that I am not a 'modal' kid against me. But I guess I was wrong wasn't I?" she spat, leaving the kitchen all together and getting her rucksack. Her parents were still in shock from being shouted at when she returned, her bag full of her clothing, toiletries and soon food. She emptied the contents of the cupboards and fridge into her large backpack and shoved a few bottles of water in there too. It wasn't until she put her shoes on that her parents came back to reality and realised what she was doing.

"Fiona! Don't even think about."

"Shut up! I am SICK and TIRED of putting up with this. I am leaving and don't worry. You might, if I feel like it, see me again when I have calmed down."

"Young lady you are not even going to-"

"Good bye!" Fiona stormed out of the house and down the street. Her parents tried to catch her, until she pulled out her prised ivory white dragon dagger, that her grandfather had sent her for her last birthday. "Try to come near me again and you will no longer have a way for you to conceive a replacement for me. Got it!" too shocked that Fiona had pulled a knife out on them, they backed off and let her leave, hoping that she would return to her senses soon…

"Damn parents!" Fiona had left the place she once called home and was now at a hotel in the outskirts of town. "Excuse me please." A large, jolly sized man with a huge goofy smile, leaned over the counter and beamed at her.

"Yes young miss? Can I help you?"

"I would like a room please. I have the money for it."

"Ok, where are your parents?"

"They erm, are staying in another room to me. They haven't booked in yet but will be around soon. They are in town on business."

"Ok, well let me see. Since you are paying, I will get you a nice room for half the price. How's that sound princess?"

"Very nice thank you. And don't call me princess."

"Sure thing kiddo. Follow me." he proved to be the same shape as saint Nick as he opened a side door and walked around the counter. He had a plastic rectangle in his hand with a small yellow key hanging from it. He headed past the reception and up the stairs. This was a very god hotel that mostly handled with campers and scouts. But did accommodate for families too. The man led her to the top level and to a red corridor. "Here we are young one. This will be your room and here is your key." He passed it to her and pointed to a white door with a devil drawn on it. "See this Satan carving? Each door has a different tale behind it. This one tells of a white devil that came from hell himself, brought fire and brimstone with him and scorched the Earth itself."

"Then what happened?" she put her bag down and leaned against the wall, listening intently.

"Well he ruled the planet without question, until he met a young girl, about your age actually, and he fell madly in love with her. but she was so scared of him, that she didn't dare do anything but what he wanted. So when he demanded that she marry him, she did so."

"What? But didn't she stand up for herself!"

"No, for you see, if she had then all of her people would have died. And not fighting, was the braver thing to do, to sacrifice her happiness for the lives of her people." He pushed the door open and led her inside. He was going to tell her about the facilities, but she wanted to know more.

"What happened to her?"

"You wish to know more?"

"Yes please!"

"I will tell you more about her fate, tomorrow. Until then, you have a radio next to your bed, the shower is down the hall with a frog on it in a sink, the cafeteria is with the lounge on the 3rd level, we are on the 6th at present. If you need anything I am at the reception. If I am not there, my wife will be and she will help you with whatever you need. I hope you enjoy your stay and don't worry about the cost. You are under 18 yes?"

"Yeah, 15."

"I thought so. Under 18's go free."

"Really! Wow thanks."

"No problem. Just…"

"Just what?" his smile grew teary and he turned to leave.

"Stay safe young one. Stay safe." He closed the door and a single, silent tear ran down her cheek. What a lovely man. He wasn't scared of me. I wonder if he is Santa under all that. He is nice and kind enough to be. Wow look at this room!

The walls were like the door, bright, pure white and even had little devils and demons stencilled in black on the walls every now and then. The bed was a huge single; there was a white, wooden bed side chest of draws and a white lamp with a white lamp shade on it. The floor was covered in a shag white carpet and was also white, there was a long, wooden (white) wardrobe against the left wall and she even had a window view.

She dumped her bag next to the bed and ran to the window. She pulled the white curtains open and was taken back by the view. Fiona could see the vast, lush countryside that was her home. She could even see her house from here…

She shuck it off and returned to her bag. She put her clothes in the wardrobe, her food and drink in a hidden fridge in the wardrobe bottom, her bag under her bed, her night clothes under her pillow and her school things in her chest of draws. She did intend on going to school and didn't intend on going home before then.

Finally unpacked, she slummed on the fluffy bed and closed her eyes.

What a day. First I fond out that the aliens want kids my age, China and Japan have been blown up, then argue with my parents and here I am. Free at last. I know this wont last, but it's better than the alternative. Maybe here I can relax and de-stress before I have to go home. Grrr! No more thought of home! I want to have fun? Then what am I doing here? Fiona jumped from the bed and shoved her wallet into her pocket, grabbed her keys, locked her window and door, left for the bottom floor and waved to the nice man at the reception.

"Excuse me? I just wanted to say that that is a lovely room and thank you for helping me out."

"Any time young one."

"Please don't call me young one. My name is Fiona."

"Alright Fiona. Are you off out?"

"Yep."

"To find your parents?"

"Erm...yeah I am. I will be back around 6ish if I cant find them. okay?"

"Alright young, I mean Fiona. Have fun."

"I will, thanks!" she waved off and left through the front door.

It was a Saturday, she had a thousand pounds to last her as long as possible (she wasn't a big spender and had saved her Christmas and birthday money since she was 6), had free range of the town and could do as she liked. This was new, normally she just did anything she wanted in her house, but now she had a whole town to have rain over. This was going to be fun!

First she ran to the arcade. People her age were always going on about how much fun you could have at the arcade and she wanted to see what it was all about. But she found it to be more of a social area than amusement centre, so she moved on. Next she went to the main shops, she bought something she had always wanted, a diary and a padlock for her new self present, and a padlock for her door once she had to return home. Then, pleased that they were both in a sale and only cost her £2.50, she moved deeper into the urban part of town and into the city. There she had to catch a bus, and went to the cinema. With panic, people had stopped running the city places as much as they had all fled that morning. So the cinema was not only free form guards, but all the movies were still on reels and ready to go. So she helped herself to the unguarded but fresh popcorn, figured out how to set up a reel and sat in a full screen room, by herself. She sat in the very best seat in the centre of the room and firstly watched War of the worlds, which she found ok, but not her kind of thing, then an old reel of Troy, excellent, and finished off with the new Fantastic Four movie. She realised that it must be getting late from the protesting growling of her stomach and left to find a bus. Luckily there was just one left and she hopped onboard, headed back and entered the hotel at the very second the clock chimed 6.

"I'm back."

"I see you are. Find your folks?"

"Yeah, they had to go shopping for my birthday; it's the day after tomorrow you know."

"Really? Well, will you still be here for me to wish you a happy birthday?"

"Yep and thanks. But you don't have to."

"Oh I do. It isn't everyday you have a birthday."

"Thanks and." She was interrupted by her stomach growling loudly. "Oops. I haven't eaten since this morning. And that was a small tub of popcorn…"

"Well, let's get some food down you."

"Oh, that's ok. I have my own food in my room that will spoil if I don't eat it. But thanks anyway."

"See you tomorrow Fiona!"

"Bye!" she skipped up all 6 flights of stairs and unlocked her room, proceeding to skip into her bedroom, locking the door and falling limp on the bed. "Now that was a hell of a lot better!"

"Now that was a hell of a lot better!" The Ice-jin prince cooed at the victorious student. After being more than pissed of about the Japan incident, and furthermore blowing it up, they landed in the US to a weekend fight school and were pleased to know that the selected school's 'recruits' already had a basic understanding of combat. They were all either boxers in training, marines in training, cage scrappers in training, weapon specialists in training, Ninjitsu masters in training or dabbled in everything. So when a 17 year old cage fighter beat the brains out of his last living peer under pain of death, Frieza was very pleased. "Much better. What is your name human?"

"D Derrick s sire." He stuttered tearing from the blood that still dripped from his shaking hands. The last person he had just killed had been his brother…

"Well Derrick, welcome to my army. You have shown that you posse potential if you are willing to train under more qualified and skilled trainers than this planet could ever hope of producing. And you will clear planets, kill certain targets and many more mercenary and assassin jobs along those lines."

"Why…"

"Because I want you to. I am your master now, and you will do whatever I tell you to."

"Why…"

"Why?" Frieza saw that the boy wasn't even registering what Frieza was saying. He was too busy looking around at his lost comrades in training and the blood that still damped his fingers, still dripped from his face and chest and caked his clothes. "Boy! Look at me when I am talking to you!" Frieza jumped out of his pod, brought his almighty foot round and slammed it into the side of the boy's head, severing the limb from the rest of his body. "Oh well, he was too weak anyway. Only level 3 at his best." He incinerated the blood from his foot and returned to his pod. "Zarbon, what is the next country for our recruitment trip?" Zarbon flicked his long, luscious plat behind him and pulled forward a small list. He crossed UZA from his list and looking to the next one.

"Somewhere called Germanie."

"Why do we keep dotting from one part of this planet to the other?"

"My lord, if we went in order of 'from one country to the next', they would be able to determine our movements and our next target."

"Very well, just tell Burter to beam us there so we can get this over with. My morning was already a waste in two ways. My day is half over and I hope to get through two more countries before retiring."

"Yes my liege. Dodoria!" Zarbon kicked Dodoria and the little pink worrier rubbed his aching ass.

"Yes ZARBON! Burter?"

"Yes Dodoria? You ready to go to the next place on the list?"

"Yes, and download the language to the scouters. You know how upset master Frieza was when he tried to talk to the Japanese kids this morning and they couldn't understand him, and vice versa."

"Will do, downloading now. There, and here you go." Within a second, all three creatures of destruction were transported to another point in the world, Germany or Germanie from Zarbon's list.

"Sire, we are here. Shall we start?"

"Yes, I am already growing impatient with these humans. Do they not know what is good for them!"

"Obviously not. here we are. It seams that they are not here today. I told you now was a bad time to start the recruiting. Humans don't study on weekends."

"I don't care. Find me a group of teens and let us be done with this!"

"Yes my liege!" Zarbon kicked Dodoria as a sign to start scanning for large groups of teens. Dodoria, now with a very sore butt, found a large area where lost of teens were.

"My lord. It seems there are, 2000 teens in one place, at some sort of festival with loud music."

"Then take me there."

Back at the hotel in England.

Fiona smiled goofily and had eaten a huge meal of ham salad and cheese and biscuits. Her stomach full and her hunger fed, she turned to the bed side table and switched on the radio, thinking that some music may be just the ticket to making her even mellower. She flipped the switch and a loud emergency announcement cued on perfect timing.

"Ladies and gentlemen. This is the emergency announcement update channel with the latest news. I am Mark Mishawaka and here I am, sat in a helicopter over what used to be Japan and not even the debris of China can be seen from here. Only dust and discoloured water is what remained of the two, mighty countries that used to thrive here. Over to you Joe."

"Joe here, I am stood at the bloody mess in USA Ohio at what was a martial arts Saturday session and boy. The amount of blood left even after the body bag clean up is still indescribable and gut wrenching. To see it is to want to scream and even now I am close to tears. Over to you Sue."

"This is Sue and I am in Germany Hamburg here. The amount of blood here is even more devastating than in Ohio and detectives still, can not give us a total body count. Here was a rock concert with the worlds greatest performing for charity and the alien menaces landed here, on the stage and carried out their own tournament. No one survived and after 2 hours of straight blood shed, no one is left. From the live cameras at the time, we had to stop showing as the graphic violence was too severe for public viewing. But from the recordings, these creatures are murdering bastards and merciless. I apologise for my choice of language, but it is the best way that anyone who had to see the scene unfold, see the piles of dead carcases right now, can describe it. Over to you Steve."

"This is Steve and I am stood in Italy Rome. To say how well known this part of the world is, not one of the vacationing teens on a school educational retreat are alive as just as they entered the country, the dictators from outer space, forced them to take each other's lives in the most gruelling, gut churning display of evil I have ever had to watch. I saw the footage just before I came to report to you here, and I can only send out my deepest sympathies for the families back in the UK, that will not be welcoming their children this afternoon. None of the children survived and none of them were taken to the alien ship.

May I say, that even after the blood curdling experiences that the children of the world have been subjected to, none of them have gone willingly with the tyrant who calls himself, Lord Frieza. Two took their lives; two were killed in cold blood. Our sympathies are with you. Steve out."

That was it, she could take no more. She turned the radio off and tears were still flowing down her cheeks. Even she, with the hard heart she had from time to time, felt outrageously devastated by what she had just heard. There were 2000 people at that rock concert, or so the news said there would be a few days before, a group of kids which is usually 50 if it was for educational purposes, a Saturday session which could be about, 20, and two countries with over a billion each. So billions of people had died, in one day alone. And tomorrow was just around the corner. They said 8 kids from 8 countries. Only 4 countries have been 'tested' and that left, UK, Russia, Canada and France. Four countries, in one day. Two countries destroyed in one day. So many lives…taken in one day. It was a curdling thought to say the least. To say that while she had been having the time of her life, people had been suffering and dying all around the world. It made her life seem, bearable. Happy in fact. But still, she wouldn't go back. If the UK was destroyed tomorrow, she still wouldn't go back. At least in her last moments, she would be free.

Fiona went to the bathroom and washed her face, splashing the cool liquid on her face and tried to wash away the red tinge to her cheeks, the puffy look to her eyes and the red blood shot visible in her eye whites. She stammered back, ready for bed when she saw that nice reception man, crying his heart out in the hall. He was holding a large woman, smaller than him and looked to be crying even worse than he was. she ran to them and saw them turn to face her.

"What's wrong? Why are you crying?"

"W why were you c crying?" the woman whimpered.

"I…heard the emergency announcement over the news…so many deaths…"

"Fiona. Our son was on that educational visit to Rome. He killed his own sister to live. He was then killed by his best friend. We got the news personally just now."

"I am so sorry."

"The fact that you have been affected by the death, before you know who he was, is touching enough. Mary, go to our room. I will meet you there in a few moments." The woman now known as Mary nodded, and sniffled to herself and out of sight. "Fiona. I think that maybe now I should tell you the rest of that story, the white devil and the fair beauty."

"I hardly think that."

"I will be leaving to identify my son and daughter with my wife tomorrow…I want to tell you now." He sniffled and walked her back to her room.

"Ok…I am so sorry."

"I know child. I wish to tell you this story, as it was the last story I told my own children before they left…"

"Come in." she unlocked the door and they walked in. the jolly, aged man sat on the bed and Fiona sat next to him.

"A long time ago there was a young girl called Samena."

"I thought you said that you were going to tell me the rest of the white devil story?"

"I am, but the true version. Not the shortened one I tell customers briefly. There was a girl called Samena. She was fair and beautiful. She lived in a village with her people, they were called Macxins. They raised the girl as her parents had disowned her, for being touched by evil at birth."

"Touched by evil?"

"It means that she had a pure soul, but was capable of great, and unspeakable deeds if she so wished. She was touched by evil, in giving her the same ability to kill and be ruthless. But she wasn't. she was the kindest creature to walk the planet, and the most divine. The villagers prided how they had raised the cursed child and didn't believe that she had been cursed at all, as she was kinder and gentler than any of their people. They worshiped the grown she walked on, even though she would tell them not to. Then the White Devil came. He, ruler of the most dark, evil forces in the world, drove his armies from hell and to the surface. You see, there is hell and heaven, but Earth is in the middle. So to conquer Heaven, he had to go through Earth and that is what he did. The White devil and his minions erupted through their underground volcanoes, brought brimstone, larva and magma to the Earth's ground, scorching and burning it forever. The people who lived on Earth ran and hid in the mountain sides, but fair Samena did not hide. She left the villagers and confronted the white devil. 'who are you?' he said. 'I am Samena and I have come to ask you why you punish our lands so'. 'To get to heaven and have what I truly want, an angle to be my queen forever'. Samena thought hard and made the wrong move. You see, to stop men from neighbouring villages to try to take her for her beauty, she wore a long hooded cloak. But she removed the cloak and the White Devil saw how beautiful she truly was."

"Did he try to take her for his wife?"

"Yes, he did. He told her that if she truly cared for the Earth, and all the people on it, that she would be his wife and go back with him to hell."

"And she went?"

"Yes. She sacrificed herself and her own life happiness, to save her people in thanks for what they had don for her. to make sure that all the innocent people on the planet would live and be happy."

"What happened after that?"

"No one knows what happened after that, other than that the White Devil made her his queen, wife and made her have lots of his children. They are the demons that arise and hurt people. Whether they be monsters, alcohol, greed, murder, or cruelty. They are the children of Samena and the White Devil. But, Samena had other children too, that inherited her qualities. Good will, kindness, salvation and retribution. And most of all, bravery. Bravery was born and that is the child that is born in every human child, helping us mere mortals to get through hardships, and that is the child that will help us if anyone like the White Devil came again. because if we were all a little more braver, like Samena, she wouldn't have had to give herself to the Devil, she would have been saved if the people in the mountains were brave enough to stand up for her. but they were not and that is how the story goes. I must go before my wife worries herself too much. I hope that when my cousin gets here, to take over, that you both get along. He will come tomorrow. Good night Fiona."

"Thank you…I am so sorry. And good night."

"Thank you, farewell." He left the room and her life forever. She didn't even know his name.

Fiona crept into bed and stared at the ceiling until she went to sleep. It was harder that night to sleep as she had a very odd dream.