I've decided to post another story. I will still continue with innocence, but I wanted to play around with a different plot. And please, DO NOT POST HERE. I will make a feedback thread. I hope you enjoy the story, -Irin A single tear fell down my cheek as I stared at the place I had called my home for my entire life, engulfed in flames. I didn't even have to look to know know that my parents were burning with it. You probably have no idea how heart-wrentching it is to watch your whole life burn down to ashes. Count your blessings. And count them often. Because my story could be the same as yours. It's a matter of chance, and I lost the coin toss. My heart hurt, but I couldn't turn away from the fire. In the middle of the forest, there were no fire trucks. No neighbors' phone I could use to call someone. No help. None at all. Just me, and my broken heart. The sun was setting. My hopes fell with it. My life just went up in flames. The worst part? I don't even know what happened. I was taking a walk in the woods when I saw the cloud of smoke. I ran back as fast as I could. But by the time I got back, there was nothing I could do but watch. It was night now. In the middle of summer, even the nights were unbearably hot. And with the dying fire in front of me, I was sweating. But I couldn't move. I was rooted to the spot. Tears blured my vision. But then I saw it. The thing that changed my life forever. My name is Eve Smith, and this is the story of how I found my true identity.
It's kind of funny now. As I looked at the flames, I thought my life was over. Little did I know that it just started. It started when the sun set. It started when that thing attacked me. A human figure, completely covered in black came out of the flames. It stared at me, for just a second. Then lunged at me. I jumped out of the way at the last second, but hit the ground hard. Back then I didn't know much, but I did know enough to know that I didn't want to be anywhere near that thing. I scramled to my feet then ran. I knew I was leaving my home, probably forever, but that didn't matter. I needed to get away from the dark creature. I ran as fast as I could, barely aware of my tears. I dodged the trees, then made the mistake of looking back. It was right behind me. I had a feeling that he was a cat, playing with it's prey. I would be dead right now, if he hadn't saved me.
He came out of nowhere and tackled my pursuer. I looked back, seeing the two in a struggle. The creature was on top of the man, who was trying to throw the dark thing off. "Run!" he said. He didn't have to tell me twice. I started running again, but before I did, I caught one more glimpse of them. The man was fumbeling with something around his neck. The creature was unsheathing his dagger slowly, as if it was taunting the man, making it clear that he wouldn't get away. I looked away and kept running. Then... I tripped. On a stupid tree root. But as soon as I picked my self up and started running again, I saw a blinding white light. So bright, in the midst of the darkness, that it left me slightly disoriented. Then, the light faded. It was gone, vanished as quickly as it started. I put my hand on the trunk of a tree to steady myself. I just stood there for a moment, catching my breath, trying to make sense out of everything. But, dureing the past few days, nothing had made sense. Memories came back. Memories of my parents bickering in the middle of the night, trying to whisper so they wouldn't wake me up. Then, earlier today, they had insisted that I take a walk. And Dad was spending so much time in the attic lately. My thoughts were inturrupted when someone took me by the arm and pulled me. It was the man, the one that tackled the creature. "Hurry, we don't have much time. I only stunned it. It should wake up any minute." He said. "What was that thing. And...who are you?" "Thats not important right now, Eve. I'll answer all your questions later. Right now, we have to get you to safety." "How do you know my name?" I said, slightly creeped out. "Questions for later, please." He said, panting. "Now run faster." "I would run faster if you would let go of my arm!" "Sorry," he said, and immeadiatly released it. We kept running. It seemed like we ran for the whole night. I didn't see the creature again, but the man seemed on edge, like he saw the lightning, heard the thunder, but was waiting for the rain. Meanwhile, I had about a billion questions buzzing in my head, none of which had an answer. And I was still upset about the fire.. "We're here," he said, hours later. I was tired. I had never run so much in my life. I was ready to sleep on a tree if I had to. "Where?" I asked him, not really caring about the answer. Which is good. Because I never got one. We were still in the middle of the forest, nothing but trees in sight. The man was looking around, as if making sure we weren't being watched. Then he knocked four times on a tree trunk. Instantly, a block of the trunk slid upwards, revealing a key pad. He typed in a four didgit code. Then he turned at me. "Under no circumstance are you aloud to repeat anything you see hear to any person, unless they are authorized and have proof of this. It is on a need-to know-basis. You need to know. Are we clear?" That left me utterly confused.
I had no choice but to tell him yes. He nodded. "Good. You should be safe here. For now anyway." The man pressed enter on the keypad, which disappeared as soon as he did. I heard a loud click. I looked around, then saw that a square of grass had popped slightly out of the ground. "How safe is this place?" I asked, a bit frightened at what he said last. "Its perfectly safe. Why don't you wave at a few of our cameras?" I looked around, but didn't see any. "What cameras?" "Exactly," he said as he smirked. "No one can see them without a microscope." He lifted the square of grass up, revealing a ladder and a dark tunnel. "After you," he said.
Two days ago, I would have never thought that I would be climbing down a dark and dusty tunnel into the unknown. But that just shows how much can change in the blink of an eye. Like I said, count your blessings. When I was almost at the end, I saw some light, heard some noise. By the time I had gotten off of the ladder, I was completely exhausted. He led me out of the tunnel and into another room. I didn't know what I expected, but it definatly wasn't a workplace. It was like the inside of an office building, with cubicles, desks, and the faint hum of printer. "this is it," he said "This is what? Where am I? And who are you and how do you know my name?" I was yelling at the end. It wasn't exactly one of the greatest days of my life, and this guy wasn't giving me any answers. "Calm down, would you, Eve? I'll answer all your questions soon. I promise." Because a promise from a complete stranger is worth sooo much these days. I nodded, useing up my last shred of patience. He led me into another room. Like a break room for those who worked here. A coffee pot, a couple vending machines, and a few tables and chairs. He told me to sit down at a table in the corner of the room, then came back later with two mugs of coffee. I thanked him as he handed me one. Then, we were silent. Minutes passed. I heard the workers at the other tables, talking and laughing. But we only sat there, in the corner, me not looking at him, him looking at me. Finally, he broke the silence. "No questions then?" I forced myself to make eye-contact with him and presented my first question. "Who are you?" "The name's John. John Doe." he said with a grin. "Im serious!" I said. My voice was harsh. "This might not mean much to you, but my life just got turned upsidown. Now either take me serious or I'm out of here." "Whoa, whoa. Calm down. Relax. Chill. I'm sorry. Didn't know you'd get so upset. But I'm serious in that I can't tell you my last name. My first name is James, but that's all I can tell you right now." "Why not?" I demanded. "Because, this is a top secret facility. Not even the goverment knows about it. And we can't risk anyone else finding out about us. Not about the facility, not about the volunteers." Well that certainly cleared things up. Not. I changed the subject, feeling too confused by the one we were on. "What was that thing that was chaseing me last night?" "They're known by many names, but we call them the shadow stalkers. They're night hunters, but they have been spotted duering the day. They're evil doers, working for Rectar." "Who's Rectar?" "Rectar. He's out to destroy everything and rebuild the entire world, making himself the Emperor. He's Wants to wipe out all of the mortals. There's even a rumor that he's going to ban pizza." "What?" This had to be a dream. "What does any of this have to do with me? And what do you mean by 'mortals'?" James started to say something, then stopped, and looked me up and down. "You...you really don't know who you are, do you. Your parents never told you?" Puzzled, I shook my head. "Eve...you...your..." I could tell he didn't know what to say. "Eve, we call it something different, but...magic runs through your veins. Your one of the last of a dying race. Your a witch." And that, ladies and gentlemen, is how I relized that James was a total nutcase.
"James. Seriously, just be honost, or I'm out of here." I didn't believe him. I stood to make my point. "Thats just it Eve. I'm telling the truth. And unless you want to be breakfast for a shadow stalker, I suggest you stay here." I abruptly sat down. "Alright. You say your telling the truth? Prove it. I don't belive in fairy tales, James. I'm 17 years old. Those stories are for kids. Magic, witches...they aren't real." "I know for a fact that they're real. I wouldn't be here if they weren't. Niether would you. Niether would the F.F.B.C. Niether would the world." His voice sounded slightly cold. "The world? I think your blowing it out of proportion." James shook his head. "No, I'm not. You told me to be honost. I am. You asked for proof. I'll give you proof. On your right forearm you have an unexplained birthmark that resembles an animal of some type, am I right? All witches have one." I looked down at my arm. He was right. It was a bird of some type. An eagle maybe? But that proved nothing. "You could have seen that while we were running." I said. "You need more proof? Alright, fine." James waved his hand. As he did, his coffee cup moved. But he wasn't touching it. "How do you think I got away from the Shadow Stalker? Magic, Eve, magic." Then, a male voice sounded from across the room. "Oh my gosh. Evelyn." This place was just crawling with people who knew my name.
The man who said my name ran across the room to our table. "Ron, this isn't a good time right now. I think you should-" The man I assumed was Ron cut him off. "I don't care, James. I haven't seen her in years." Then he turned to me. "Eve. Do...do you remember me?" He looked familiar, but I couldn't remember... "Maybe? I'm not sure." "Eve. You have to. I'm...my name is Ron Smith. I'm your brother, Eve."
The next second we were hugging. It was him. It was my brother. For those of you lucky enough to see your siblings every day of your life, you wouldn't know what it felt like. But I hadn't seen Ron in years. I relized I was crying, but I really didn't care. "Ron, what happened that night? I thought...I thought you were dead." "Its a long story. They tried to kill me. Like they tried to kill you. And they almost succeeded. The shadow stalkers. But mom and dad were a step ahead of them. They got Dave to take me here." his voice was shakey, and I knew he was crying too. "Dave...whose Dave?" "Dave is...was my best friend. He died almost a year ago, at the hands of Rectar. He was a good man. Didn't give up any information about us." "But...why did mom and dad tell me you were dead?" "You weren't supposed to know about us then. They told you that to protect you." I pulled away from Ron. "I can't believe that I thought you were dead for...7 years. What have you been doing for all this time?" Ron looked at James, who shook his head slightly. "I can't tell you right now, but I promise I will later." I sighed. It seemed like no one could tell me anything. Not even my own brother. "Ron," James said, "you shouldn't be here right now," Ron nodded. "Fine. I guess I'll see you later, Eve." then he left. The first time I see my brother in 7 years, and James just makes him leave. "What the hell was that for?" I said, pretty pissed. "You need to focus. You can't be distracted." "Even by my own brother?" "Especially him." we were both yelling by then, and others in the break room were stareing at us. "C'mon," James said, taking my hand. "We'll talk somewhere else
James led me down a long hallway and into a bedroom. It was like one of those bedrooms you see on those big Navy ships. Completly impersonal, cold, and depressing. "What am I doing here?" I said, trying to keep my voice under control. "there are many reasons," James replied, "One of which being that you'll be safe here." I was quite after that. "You still don't believe me. You still dont believe in magic, or that your a witch? This is real, Eve. You saw your brother. You know this has to be real." In all honosty, I still didn't know what to think. I wasn't one of those kids that belived in fairy tales. That wasn't me. I didn't believe in that stuff. Now, I was being told to go against everything I had believed for my whole life. It completly sucked. "I don't know, James. It's pretty far fetched. Wouldn't I have found out that I was a witch by now, accidently cast a spell or something?" "Did you ever try to?" "Well...umm...no." I said. "Then that explains it." I was still doubtfull, and James knew it. "If you don't believe in magic, where do you think the shadow stalkers came from? They were one of Ractors experiments," I shook my head. "James, I never belived in this stuff," James sighed and said, "Why don't you take a night to sleep on it. Might clear things up." He led me to another room, then left. I sat on the bed, wondering what to believe.
James walked into a Dark room, lit only by a single candle on the table in the middle of the small room. There were two chairs, one occupied by a tall figure, the other, empty. "I've been waiting, James." the figure said. It had a feminen voice. "I know. I'm sorry I took so long, Director." James took a seat. "I don't have much time, so let us cut to the chase. Is she the one?" The Director said. Her name was unknown, even to highest ranked agents. A bandana concealed her face, so that only her cold and demanding blue eyes could be seen. "I think so." James said. "She has the mark. It's just... she doesn't believe." Her blue eyes hardened, as the light from the candle was reflected in them. "She will have to. If she wants to help the world, she will have to. The fate of her brother depends on it." The Director dismissed James, but stayed in the room by herself, contemplating over what would become of the girl.
"Heres the deal." James said. We were sitting in the break room at the table we were at yesterday. James was trying to explain things to me. "Rector wants to destroy the mortals. The only thing standing in his was is us, The Order for Tomorrow, we're called. Or T.O.T for short. We're the made up of mythical creatures and a few humans who know about us," He was droning on and on, boreing me to sleep. I had concluded through deductive reasoning that this had to be a dream. A result of my over-active imagination, maybe. "...and since we are the only thing standing in his way of his 'world domination', he wants to get rid of us, before he goes on to the..." I tuned him out and sipped my coffee, as I tried to think about things. If this was a dream (which it was, because none of this stuff is real) then that meant my parents were alive, my brother was dead, and there were no shadow stalkers. At all. Except for my brother still being dead, I liked this option. "...and if he achieves world domination, then over 150 years of work would be wasted and thousands of lives would have been given up for nothing. The Shadow stalkers would repopulate the world and become the dominate species. That would be really bad. Now, what you can do..." Ugh, would he ever stop? I didn't care! I just wanted to wake up already. This is the stupidest dream I have ever had. "...and achieve our goal. You still with me?" James said. "Huh? Oh, yeah, of course. Can I get some more coffee?"James took my mug and refilled it. "Thanks," I muttered as he handed my mug to me. "I know this is a lot to take in, but you'll catch on. We would send you to training today, but since Rector knows that your here, we can't risk moving you. This underground facility is one of the safest places in the world. Screw all those goverment buildings with the F.B.I. Agents! The Goverment doesn't even know we exsist. And our agents trained those FBI guys. We are the definition of 'Secured Enciorment,'" 'A little to boastful are we?' I thought. "This place is a safehouse, to those people who's lives has been disturbed because of Rector. We give the humans desk jobs, so they can still earn a living and get back on thier feet when all of this blows over, and train them to fight the Shadows, in case they should ever find our location and break in- which won't happen. Those humans who show potential get they oppertunity to train as agents, like apprentices..." Blah blah blah. I was ready to shoot myself. "...of the mythical creatures, or those who have mythical blood in thier leniage go through intense training so they can get ready for fieldwork. We have to take Rector down so we can secure the fate of humanity and.." This was Endless...
An hour later and I was finally free of James and his everlasting lecture. And I still hadn't woken up. Sitting in my 'bedroom,' I had a feeling of loneliness. I barely knew anyone here. And the one person I did know, I wasn't aloud to see. I guess that's why I resolved to do something rebelious and stupid. That's why I went back to the ashes that were my house. I stepped out into the hallway and walked around for awhile. James was nowhere to be seen, and everyone else was too preoccupied with thier own lives to notice my dissapearence. So I seized to oppurtunity and ran for the ladder, then climbed as fast as I could. I reached the top sooner that I expected. I pushed the top off easily, then climbed out. Then, I ran. It was great to be outside again! To breath fresh air, to feel the wind on my face. I hadn't relized how much I longed to be out of that tunnel. Too soon, I stumbled upon the clearing where my home had been. But there was more than ashes....