SAVVY

Chapter 2

And to think I thought I was safe.

It was the first time in forever that I felt scared. I'm not talking about a nervous kind of scared, like stage fright or the stomach plunges you get on a roller coaster, which is actually quite fun to me. I'm talking a deep, icy terror that washes over you and drags you under, a bottomless sea of metal delirium. Sounds weird, but it sure wouldn't if you were me.

I backed up. The school was burning down, literally. All my friends were safe outside, all but one, of course.

The creature fixed her beady eyes on me. She grimaced like she was smiling gruesomely. Smiling at my cowardice.

I reached for Thorn. Holding it out with shaky hands, the monster got ready to lunge, again, for my throat.

…

My name is Savannah Hughes, or just Savvy like everybody calls me, and I am a "juvenile delinquent".

My life is a mess. I ran away 5 times over. I've been all over North America. I never could fit in, so when it gets to be too much I leave. I would change my last name and find a new life.

I messed up big time when I snuck on a plane to Vancouver from California. They were waiting for me at the airport. I don't know how they found me, but I think it was totally my fault anyway. They put me in an orphanage, and miraculously I was adopted after only a week. People don't usually adopt 14 year old troublemakers like me; they go for the adorable little tots. You can imagine my surprise when my social worker told me I had new parents.

The Harrisons are ok, I guess. Gordon Harrison, the 50 year old hippie who has long hair and is in a rock band, is a little on the weird side. But Beth is very grandmotherly, and she's the only lady I've ever met that respects me. She tries the hardest out of the three of us. Sometimes I feel really guilty when I get into trouble, because I really like her. It was her idea to adopt me. I don't think Gordon really wanted me at all.

I have dark gold hair and brown eyes. My mood varies like the ocean— calm on some days, rowdy on others. I am of average height, and yippee for me! I have dyslexia and ADHD. My friend Rachael can relate. She has ADHD as well, but she used to have dyslexia. If you knew her, you would never for a second think she has dyslexia. She is a human bookworm.

We both go to a school in Port Coquitlam, Kwayhquitlum Middle. Like I said, I'm a juvenile delinquent, but juvie just doesn't work for me so they put me in a public school. I'm in this gifted program, which is weird considering I'm not gifted. Apparently test results show I am, but they're just saying because they think I'll fit right in. MACC class is a class full of unordinary kids who seem to get along with each other well enough, but I still can't seem to fit in. Why?

I. Am. Socially. Awkward. Proof of that: Of all my life, I have one friend, if you're not counting inanimate objects — Rachael Nicholas.

At least I've made a friend. Although Rachael and I don't have a lot in common, we understand each other really well. Rachael is so different. She keeps to herself yet she's a genius. There's something about the way she is, but we tell each other a lot of our secrets. I know she still hides from me some stuff. I hide from her loads of secrets too. The hidden parts of my life, the ones I never ever share with anybody.

Today I snuck out of the house at 5 AM to walk around and clear my head. I had this bad feeling, the one I get whenever something big happens. I usually get it right before a monster turns up. Yep, monsters. I'm dead serious, in case you think it's funny.

I came home at 6:30 AM before Beth and Gordon wake up. They're used to me disappearing like that. They can scold me all the want, but I go wherever I want whenever I want to. I'm just that way. Still, I don't want them knowing where I've been.

My favourite outfit are jeans, a camouflage jacket with secret inside pockets, and a pair of worn converse shoes, covered in doodles and my only pair of shoes, period. My hair is usually messed up and all over the place if I can't force it into a simple ponytail.

I also always wear a clip, the only thing I have from my mother, according to my social worker. Although I don't really like it that much, it's the only connection that I have to a long dead mother. I never probe into the history of my past; I don't want to make myself feel any worse. Maybe if I knew more about my mother's death, I would stop blaming her for the unwanted and mostly depressing life I'm living. But with nobody to blame except for me, I can't help but get mad at someone I never knew. Why did she have to go and die?

I can't throw the stupid clip away. It's old and plastic, and used to be black but is now grey. It was something you would find lying on the side of a road but I still couldn't throw that thing away. I always clip the stupid thing carefully to my hair every morning without fail. Today was no different. I was rushing on account of being late to school, but I spent a moment to gingerly slip it into my hair, and then snatched up my bag to go.

"Have you gotten your lunch? Did you finish everything due today? Remember, your social worker is stopping by after school to see how you're doing after school, so be prepared, OK, Savvy? See you, and please try to stay out of trouble for once, dear!" Beth can be such a mother at times. I roll my eyes as I walk out, but out of gratitude for taking me in and trying to connect to me I call behind my back, "See you, Beth!"

…

Everything was fine at school. We were working on our countries project, and Fraser was being annoying as usual. Still, I hid my feelings of unease as I bent over my paper at the end of the day, pretending to work as I absently doodled, fighting to keep my eyes open and wondering why I ever took a walk so early this morning when I had slept so late at night last night. I was on the verge of exploding after sitting through a quiet day with nothing happening. Then I happened to glance up for the 32nd time today.

It was a monster, a demon, with sharp claws and massive wings and spectacles, which sounds a little weird, but every monster I've met tried to pass off as humans, and it actually works — the humans think monsters are just like them.

So I was right, something was going to happen. Sometimes, I hate myself for being so… correct.

The monster was talking to Mr. Lau, my homeroom teacher, but its eyes were fixated on Rachael. Nobody in the class noticed it. It was weird, but every monster I met went unnoticed by normal humans. However, I apparently, was not normal.

I gasped, horror-struck, and jumped to my feet, but started when Leah gave a little scream. Nobody noticed— noises of any kind were familiar to all MACCS, but Leah was also looking at the she-creature. She could see it?

Rachael's eyes swivelled around to us both. And then she jumped up and dashed to the fire alarm.

Miss Uglyface intercepted her, but she ducked and rolled like an expert, and made her way to Leah, yelling at her to get the others out. Suddenly the back of the classroom was covered in flames. Flames? No, I blinked and the image dissipated, and then reappeared in front of my eyes again. What kind of illusion was that?

It was chaos. Everybody ran, and I could see Leah helping the last person out the door. She looked back at Rachael before leaving, but she didn't see me. I stayed still, trying to calm myself.

Rachael was fighting the monster using arrows, weaving through the classroom. She was fighting only like a professional could. But Rachael? Rachael using a bow and arrow? Yet she was hitting every target with the arrow perfectly.

She shot another arrow at Miss Uglyface, but missed. On purpose? Spotting me she darted towards me.

"Savvy, Savvy!" She yelled in my face. I swayed dizzily. "You have to get out! You have to get to safety! Savannah!"

"Rachael?" I stared at her. "Why-"

"There's no time! You have to GET OUT!"

"But-"

Miss Uglyface leapt forward a surprisingly long distance, and I was too stunned to react. There was a flurry of movements and suddenly Rachael was in front of me. She had taken the blow!

Both human (human?) and monster rolled on the ground, wrestling. Unfortunately, Miss Uglyface managed to bonk Rachael hard on the side of her head, and she collapsed. Miss Uglyface kicked her away. Rachael's eyelashes were fluttering. Could she be alive?

No! Rachael was my one and only friend. She had to be alive.

Uh oh! I was losing control. All my life had been devoted to the quote: "Nothing gives a person so much advantage over another as to remain always cool and unruffled under all circumstances", Thomas Jefferson. I had always maintained my mind and kept it in a calm and collected state in emergencies, especially in ones like these, but seeing the helpless Rachael strewn on the ground made me want to break down. It made me want to destroy Miss Uglyface…I mean, the monster.

The creature started towards me and smiled. That did it. I reached for Thorn, the bronze double-edged dagger, from inside my coat. Its leather handle was worn and supple to the touch, fitting like a glove in my hand. The blade was undecorated; a gleaming bronze double edged blade. I had picked it up from my hiding place in a knothole of a tree at the trails. That was where I was this morning. The blade was trembling.

I could see Rachael dizzily raise her head a little, gaze unfocused. I breathed a sigh of relief. She was ok.

Well not ok, more like not dead.

The monster lunged for my throat, and my instincts took over. I rolled under and stabbed upwards, dagger clashing with the hard metal of her underbelly. The blow knocked her off balance, as did I, but I just rolled again to absorb the impact and ended up next to Rachael. It was her turn to look stupefied.

"No, no, no," muttered Rachael. "You're a demigod, and I didn't even KNOW?"

"A what?" I dodged as Miss Uglyface headed for me again, but her sharp talons scraped my side.

I howled. My side felt like it was on fire. I stumbled and Thorn slid out of my hands and clattered to the floor. She kicked it to the side. Great. I was unarmed. The blade wouldn't appear in my hands for a while. Thorn is magical, but its magic is slow.

The monster had cornered me. I backed up against a wall, stumbling, but I couldn't feel anything. My clothes were wet… with blood?

The monster advanced. This time, I was NOT going to survive.

Goodbye Rachael, I thought, squeezing my eyes shut. I'm sorry.

There was a flash of light, and I opened my eyes.