You'll see at a later point in this, that Valkyrie mentions soccer. Being an American, the soccer we have is the one with the ball on the ground, but everyone else being awesome and Irish/British/living in Europe, you guys call it football. But football in the US is the one where they all toss the ball in the air and yell, "HUT, HUT."

BUT. When I say soccer in this chapter, I mean the American football, where you throw it, and not kick it. Just to clear that for ya'll.

ONWARD.

EDIT: I forgot to include the entry number and date it was written. That's all.


Entry #8: Written June 10th

Dear Diary,

I love playing games at night in the summer.

We played MANHUNT last night, and it was really awesome. And just for future reference, anytime I mention MANHUNT, it will be in capitals. Why? Because.

After our water fight (and Tanith and Fletcher got murdered first, since they had sprayed China and Skulduggery with water) everyone staying at the villa was sitting outside. The sun was still up, but slightly, so everything was peaceful and calm and bright orange. Ghastly and Tanith were up in a tree, so then Fletcher and I sang that immature kissing in a tree song (I still do that), so then Tanith threw a branch at us. She and Ghastly jumped down and I think we then began a giant game of tag. Fletcher kept cheating and teleporting halfway across the yard to get away, and Tanith would yield everyone away with her sword. China just idly sat by, watching us. Gordon stood beside her, staring wistfully at the sun.

"I should get outside more often," he mused quietly. It came so out of the blue that we all stopped our tag.

"You're kind of…not real," Fletcher said, ever so delicately. "You could come out at night. That would be easier, and not as many people are out."

"Yeah, but we live in Ireland," Ghastly grinned. "There's someone always out throughout the night."

Skulduggery nodded. "And the day doesn't really work, since you'd be pretty much transparent, and half of the people would see you wandered around."

Gordon looked dejected. "Gee, thanks everyone. Glad you all support me."

"Oh we do," I said, "but not in your decision to join the outside world. Maybe when the apocalypse comes and we only survive because we're awesome." Fletcher laughed at this and teleported directly next to me, poked my sides, and we started tag all over again. I felt like I was in third grade again, and it was too fun to ignore. China got a call from Mr. Bliss while we were playing and explained everything that had recently happened, and included the reason we were all screaming was that we were acting like four year olds. It was great. I stopped to watch her discreetly tell her brother something, but Skulduggery slammed into me, knocking us both down on the grass. I looked beside me, and he laid there, panting.

"Your brake lights were out," he whispered.

"You should be more aware of the road," I muttered back, rolling so I was on my side. I finally noticed he had taken off the tan trench coat and his suit jacket, and the sleeves on his blue shirt were rolled up to his elbows. "We've reached Casual Skulduggery now," I said and motioned to his outfit.

He smiled and laughed. "As Ghastly said, it's the Paris air that gets to you. It'll turn any man into a romantic sap and want to make him get married right away. I honestly think that's the only reason people like it so much. That and the pretty churches."

"Paris does have pretty churches," Fletcher grinned.

"Merci!" OH HOLY CRAP MYSTERIOUS VOICE. I jumped up as fast as I could, and Skulduggery was only a millisecond behind me.

"Sweet Jeezums!" Tanith shouted, jumping away. Monsieur Rhett shimmered into view from beside China and grinned at us all.

"Excusez-moi!" he said, laughing a little bit. "I didn't mean to scare, just wanted to play a…prank, I think is the word."

"How did you know we were here?" Fletcher asked a little defensively. Trying to protect the fort, I see.

"Oh, we know your living arrangements," Monsieur Rhett answered testily. "We even know who you all are rooming with." He gave a look at me and Skulduggery. I glared back.

"Hush up, Rhett," I groaned, sticking my tongue out. He smiled and put his hands on his hips. He had on plain blue jeans, old and beat up sneakers, and a shirt that had some French saying on it.

"I see you are all playing tag," he said, gliding into another topic easily. "Mind if I join? I promise not to cheat or anything."

"How about something else?" Tanith asked as the sun finally disappeared behind the Earth. (Poetic much?) "How about MANHUNT?" Fletcher and I shouted, "yes," while Ghastly, Skulduggery, and Monsieur Rhett stood there awkwardly.

"What's MANHUNT?" Ghastly asked.

"It's like hide and seek and tag rolled together as one," I said.

"We all know how good I am at hide and seek," Skulduggery grinned. "But how exactly does this go?"

"Well," Fletcher began explaining, "one person is it, and he's the Hunter. Everyone else is the Hunted. The Hunted all hide out in places throughout the boundary lines set up by the Hunter or whatever, and then the Hunter hunts the Hunted. When they're found, the Hunted become Hunters and look for the other hidden guys. It's simple. Except it's in the dark, and you're only allowed a flashlight. In a few cases, a flame in your hand."

He looked at everyone, stuck his finger and pointed at each of us (except China) and did that "eenie-minee-mo" thing. He got Tanith as the Hunter.

"China!" I called out. "Set our boundaries!"

She looked up from the book she had her nose stuck in and rose an eyebrow. "Nothing past the front door, hiding in cars is acceptable, no locking doors or windows of any kind, and no going into the woods. Good?"

We all nodded, and Tanith traipsed over to the lake, where she was supposed to count to one-hundred. The five of us all bolted away in different directions. Fletcher and I ran into the house, but he remained downstairs, but I went up. I dived into my bathroom and hid behind the shower curtain.

It was about twenty minutes later when Tanith found me. She had a flashlight, and the rest of the lights in the house were completely off. She shone it obnoxiously on my face until I got up and helped her. Ghastly was downstairs, poking at the furniture with a flame in his palm, looking for Fletcher, I assumed.

"Ha!" Ghastly called out triumphantly as Fletcher crawled out from his position under the piano. "I got him!" Fletcher frowned but stood up and stretched.

"Never hide under a piano, guys," he said, "cause it hurts to be all cramped up." I laughed and began dragging him back outside.

"Okay, we need to find Skulduggery and Monsieur Rhett!" I shouted.

"You take Skul, Val," Tanith grinned, "since we all know you want to!"

I spun around and glared at her. "Enough of this flirting business," I growled. "I'll take Fletcher with me, since I need someone to yell at." Fletcher whimpered slightly.

"You can always yell at Skulduggery and have make-up se –" Tanith began, but Ghastly cut her off by singing loudly.

"Let's not torture the poor couple anymore, Tanith," he said sympathetically, but still with a smirk. "We'll go try and find Monsieur Rhett."

We split up, with Tanith and Ghastly staying in the house, and Fletcher and I heading outside. We passed by China, who had a lantern by her chair, so she could keep reading. Gordon was still beside her, staring at the moon.

"Did you see where Skulduggery or Monsieur Rhett went?" Fletcher asked.

China shook her head and didn't look up from her hardback. "You guys wouldn't want to cheat, would you?" Fletcher grumbled something, but we kept walking anyway.

"So about this teasing thing," Fletcher began once we were out of earshot of China and Gordon, "We all love to tease you guys about this, and I'm curious if we're all…right in our…jokes."

"Are you trying to ask if I actually like Skulduggery?" I asked, staring directly at Fletcher. His hair seemed to be glowing in the dark.

"Yeah, pretty much. I was just afraid to ask since I could get punched in the face."

I grinned and only punched his shoulder. "I'll let you answer the question yourself," I said. "Whether you figure it out from what happens is up to you."

He nodded, but then Fletcher was suddenly knocked back and he went sprawling to the ground with a thump. Another thump was heard.

I stared at Fletcher, and the flattened grass across from him. "Way to cheat, Rhett," I mumbled angrily and reached out and searched for Monsieur Rhett's arm. Fletcher staggered up and dusted himself off from the dirt and grass bits.

"I don't know what you're talking about," Monsieur Rhett said, still invisible. "See, I never said I wouldn't cheat at this, since I said I wouldn't cheat at tag. This is a different game."

"My, what a cocky jerk!" Fletcher grinned.

Monsieur Rhett shimmered in front of us and he bowed. "Merci," he said. "Now, who is left to find? Is it anyone I could scare?"

"We only need Skulduggery, unless Tanith and Ghastly have already found him."

"Sounds lovely, then." He grinned again and marched back up to the house, where Tanith, Ghastly, and Skulduggery were.

"Looks like we found the opposite guy," Tanith mused. "Skulduggery didn't want to leave his hiding place, the big baby."

"At least he wasn't cheating," Fletcher added. "I slammed into Monsieur Rhett." He turned to look at him, but Monsieur Rhett was gone. "Who here knew he could turn invisible?" Skulduggery and I raised our hands. Everyone groaned, and Monsieur Rhett appeared next to me and laughed.

"Anyone up for a rousing game of capture the flag?" Monsieur Rhett loudly asked. We all shrugged. "I absolutely love it."

"Why not?" Tanith shouted happily. "It's still early, and playing at night will make it harder."

Fletcher giggled. "That's what she said." We all glared at him, and he just laughed.

"Oui, oui, teams!" Monsieur Rhett called out. "Mademoiselle Sorrows and Monsieur Gordon care to play?"

The two looked at each other, but miraculously, they both came towards us. I never thought I would see the day when China Sorrows when join in a game like this.

"I think Monsieur Pleasant should be captain of one team," Monsieur Rhett announced, "and if there are any protests, I shall be the other team captain. Monsieur Pleasant, pick you're first player, s'il vous plait."

Skulduggery nodded and stepped forward. He opened his mouth to say something, but China cut him off. "Valkyrie, just go over to him," she said.

"Excuse me, but what if I wasn't going to pick her?" Skulduggery defensively asked. China rose an impeccably shaped brow at him, but he sighed and motioned me over.

The team picking carried on normally. Monsieur Rhett's team was him, China, Tanith, and Fletcher (he got picked last, poor thing). Skulduggery's team was him, me, Ghastly, and Gordon. Team 1 (the other team) trudged off towards the East woods, while we took our place in the West woods. Gordon was going to float around the edge to look out for anyone. He said he'd distract them, but he didn't say how, and I feared for my friend's lives now. Ghastly would hide up in the trees and move from tree to tree and side to side to get a better look. Skulduggery would sit in a tree as well, but he would be guarding our flag, which was his suit jacket. Team 1's "flag" was Tanith's sword scabbard for some strange reason. And, Diary, in case you were wondering, Skulduggery made me the person to go and get the "flag." Gee thanks, buddy.

The game started with a piercing scream, provided by China, respectively. I descended down from my perch on the tree with Skulduggery, and started running. I blew past Ghastly, who was still in a tree, scanning everything. He gave a type of war cry thing as I went past him, and I responded by speeding up. Gordon shouted something at me, as I ran straight through him and into the field of the backyard.

Fletcher stood at the other end, right by the edge of his team's woods. He waved cheerfully at me, and I waved back, but after shooting columns of shadows towards him. He grimaced, but teleported away just in time. I held my breath and listened for the little pop he makes when he teleports. I heard it a few feet away, and I swung my leg and arm out, catching his chest. Fletcher flew backwards, and I cackled and picked him up with a tendril of shadow. He groaned and frowned at me, but let me pass by. I set him gently on the ground and raced past him and into the forest.

I hopped and jumped over giant branches and rocks, but I suddenly slammed into something else entirely. I saw the air before me glitter and little swirls appeared on a flat surface in the air. It was like there was a giant sheet of glass before me. But obviously, it was a giant force field that China had set up. And then, out of the blue, came a short burst of light, and I was knocked from my feet. Leaves crunched around me, and I knew China was at least a yard from me. I braced myself and halted my breathing, and sat up slowly.

"Ow," I managed, and China laughed calmly. She helped me up, but then immediately touched a symbol on her pinky finger and I went sprawling to the ground. She bent down to do something else, but I shot shadows out at her and knocked her away in the dirt and leaves. China crawled back up, pulling leaves from her hair, but then, without warning, lashed out and pushed me back against her Wall of Magic Barriers. We both slammed into it, feeling an electric shock go through us both. I cried out and threw her off of me, then tried running, but she shouted something and charged after me. I skidded to a halt when I saw Tanith slinking by with her sword. We stared at each other, but then China tackled me that moment and I went down.

Tanith laughed loudly, then ran away towards the forest edge and over to my team's side of the woods.

"China, you suck!" I squealed and kicked her off as she poked at me with a sharp stick.

"I'm defending my fort," she said back and went flying back when I threw a ball of shadows at her. I watched as she landed safely in the tree and she groaned. She touched her back, and the ground began shaking slightly. I growled at her from below and raced to the barrier and poked it, wincing as I felt another shock go through my body. I stuck a few shadows and traced a symbol that appeared near me, and my shadowed fingers stroked the swirl and it seemed to purr. No kidding. The shield purred like a cat.

But it collapsed after a moment, and I saw China jump from the tree and quick set it up again. "Good luck getting through this, Cain!" I smiled at her and darted away and through the trees. I eventually gave up and climbed up my shadows and to the top of a tree. I flew from branch to branch and found the scabbard amazingly.

The moon shone brightly in the spot where Team 1 had placed their flag, and I went to poke it, making sure it wasn't going to turn into a monster and eat my face off or something. I reached to grab the scabbard, but it was suddenly lifted from the ground and swung to my face. I bent backwards like I was from the Matrix and just missed the sword holder. Monsieur Rhett, obviously, materialized into the space next to the sheath. He laughed and lunged towards me, disappearing again. I felt arms and legs pin me down, and Monsieur Rhett was laughing quietly.

"Too bad we didn't establish raping as going to far," I mumbled.

Monsieur Rhett appeared into view again. "Oh, don't be crazy. I just protect my prized possession. I get really into a game like this. Any game where you keep something is something I love. I quick butt at it."

"Obviously."

"Did you fare well with China?"

"Oh yeah, I just had a few hundred or so volts shot into my body a couple times. Nothing too major. I did kick Fletcher down easily though."

"I sent Tanith out for your flag."

"Yeah, I saw her. She laughed at me when China tackled me. That woman would be good at soccer, am I right?"

"I can see her freaking out about getting a grass stain over it, though," Monsieur Rhett grinned.

I shrugged to the best of my ability. "The women's league or something. You could join her team."

"Ouch!" he shouted playfully. But right then, I raised my leg slightly and kneed him right in his happy sacks. Monsieur Rhett rolled off of me instantly, whimpering and moaning and clutching his crotch. I smiled and jumped up, grabbed the scabbard, then bolted away. I climbed a tree and made it China's Magic Wall of Barriers, disengaged it, laughed at her surprise shout, and then kept running from tree to tree. I arrived at the edge of the forest, where Ghastly and Tanith were sparring in the center, with Fletcher being freaking tickled by Gordon.

I laughed, and took a few steps forward, waving the scabbard in the air. "YOU GUYS LOSE," I shouted to everyone and cackled when Ghastly took the opportunity to hoist Tanith up over his shoulder. China appeared next to me, and glared.

"We'll win the next time we play," she said and glowered at me. I could barely see Skulduggery leaning up against a tree at the other end of the field. He waved at me, and I pumped my fist in the air in return. Skulduggery heaved himself from the tree trunk and briskly came over to me.

"Very nice," he said quietly to me. "How'd you get it? I figured Monsieur Rhett wouldn't let you even touch it."

"Yeah, he had me pinned to the ground, but I kicked him in the crotch."

"Ah, uh, well, I can't say I'm glad," Skulduggery whispered, "since I know from experience how bad that can hurt." I giggled and remembered when I kicked Skulduggery in the crotch (by accident) and it still really hurt him. It was only the greatest thing I had ever done. We bugged Kenspeckle about it and he gave him some ice, but that didn't do anything. Skulduggery refused to talk to me for the rest of the day.

But anyway, we all turned towards the forest, where Monsieur Rhett was limping out, and he was yammering on in French on his cell phone. He shot me a glare after he had put his phone away, but addressed everyone.

"That was Madame Gabs calling, and she just wanted to let us know that at nine tomorrow morning, we're all supposed to meet at the Sanctuary, since Monsieur Snuggles has escaped."

"Who's Monsieur Snuggles?" Fletcher asked loudly.

"He's the gargoyle that these guys captured," Skulduggery quick explained. "And then he attacked us all. It wasn't a pretty sight. But I thought that Mademoiselle Robin had him tapped and wired and there were thousands of cameras around him. How did he get out?" Skulduggery asked, switching over to Monsieur Rhett.

"Madame Gabs said that from all of those…mini-earthquakes, as she calls them, caused by him were enough to crack the ceilings so he could get through. He ripped through the concrete, through the dirt and everything atop our Sanctuary, then burst through the ground and shot up into the surface. My sister had tagged him with a GPS type thing, so we know where he is, but it's just getting to him will be hard."

"What do you mean? Is he in Antarctica or something?"

"No, but it's just that he keeps moving so incredibly fast. He's been halfway around the world, but he keeps ending up back here in Paris. He was spotted around Église de St-Eustache, which is a church here."

We all nodded, and Skulduggery sighed quietly. "Never a quiet day in Paris, hmm?"

Monsieur Rhett shrugged. "Oh but we all love our pretty city," he said and gave a salute. "Merci for letting me join your childish games, and I had a lovely time, except for the being kicked in the crotch thing. Good thing I don't plan on having any children anytime soon." He gave a wave, and then bolted away to the house.

"Wait!" I shouted towards him. He stopped and turned towards us. "Do you want to stay here? We've got plenty of room."

"Madame Gabs wants me back at the Sanctuary, as does my sister," he called back. "But merci for the offer!" He turned again and disappeared by the side of the house. We heard a car start, and tires screeching.

And so, that was the day. It's a little late now, and that is why I'm lying in bed, with Skulduggery meditating in the chair beside the bed. He looks quite peacefully now. Did you know that he snores occasionally? It's the cutest thing ever. Usually that means he's about to wake up, so I know if I'm playing a prank on him when I need to get out of there.

But anyway, I must be leaving you Diary, since I need my sleep if we're going to on an actual MANHUNT, only with hostile gargoyles that could swallow me in one gulp. I'll leave you with that lovely imagery, Diary.

~Valkyrie


Sorry for being a day late. I had a tough week, and then I went to my grandparents this weekend, so I barely had any time to write. I worked hard on Sunday night to get this done, but I only got the chapter of A Heart to Give done, and I don't upload one without the other.

I'm on spring break all this week, so I should have loads of time to write. My inspiration has been up lately, but I just bet it'll drop since I just said that XD I'm definitely thinking I'll be able to have the next installment of this and A Heart to Give up by next Sunday, but we'll see.

Thanks for reading and sorry for mistakes! :D