The First Contest of the New Year!!

Spoiler:

Two Worlds

A groggy yawn interrupted the rather cheerful chirping of the birds right outside the window. Soon afterwards, however, the chirping of the birds continued and, making a rather frustrated sound, someone sat up on the bed on which they were just lying.

"Stupid birds..." This person mumbled as she stumbled out of her bed and nearly tripped on the corner as she went towards the door. Making her second frustrated sound of the morning, she rubbed her foot, which had hit the corner of the bed and nearly caused her to fall.

"Why am I always so clumsy?" She questioned herself with a shake of her head. She finally opened her door and headed down to the first floor, going over her schedule for school. After all, it was going to be the second semester soon, and that meant her classes were getting switched around.

As she headed downstairs, she noticed it was a bit quiet, and she was concerned about it until she saw the note on the counter, simply explaining that her parents went into work early. Her dad was a really successful lawyer, while her mother was... Well, actually, she didn't know what exactly her mother did, Something relating to her dad's work. She was sure of that much. Her parents had been going to work earlier and earlier. Frankly, it was starting to arouse her curiosity, making her wonder about why it was a lawyer might go into work so early.

Deciding not to think on it for now, she started to make the breakfast she usually had before school; just a simple bowl of cereal. However, as she was opening the fridge, she paused, hearing a knock at the front door. She glanced over at the clock hanging in the kitchen and frowned when she saw the time. It was around seven a.m. Why would anyone be knocking at the door at this hour? Disgruntled with not being allowed to have her breakfast, she headed to the living room. She was surprised to see that her cats, or rather their family's cats were fast asleep, not even bothered by the knock. Another odd event, yet she dismissed this as well and headed straight to the front door. Then she opened it, freezing up like ice when she saw someone she knew was dead; her grandfather.

"Grandpa?" Was all she managed to say before he spoke to her as well.

"There isn't much time," he said quickly, pulling the door open. He glanced around a bit before finally fixing his eyes on hers sternly, like he always did when he was alive. "You're in grave danger."

"But... w-what do you mean?" She couldn't help but ask him. Considering he'd been dead for two years now, she was unable to stop herself from stuttering.

"Let me explain" He said simply, gently grabbing her by the arm, again like he did when he was actually alive, and pulling her along with him out the door. She was, of course, not disgruntled anymore. She was concerned about why her grandfather was now telling her she was in danger and dragging her away from the house. This is crazy… She thought to herself as she was pulled along by him, and he simply shook his head.

"It might seem crazy to you, Robin, but you'll understand." He stated, somehow able to guess what she thought, as he still pulled her along. Just as she was about to ask him about what he meant, the house he was tugging her away from suddenly just... vanished into nothingness, as if sucked up by something. She didn't even hear a sound as it was sucked up. She didn't even know it was gone until she glanced back and didn't see her house where it just was. Her first immediate and silly thought, considering the circumstances right now, was wondering if her cats were okay. "G-Grandpa… Stop. What the heck is going on!" She exclaimed, pulling out of his grip, something a bit uncharacteristic of her. She had never been placed into an experience like this, so her personality was bound to change. "Tell me what's going on, or I'm not moving an inch farther." She said to him, crossing her arms and standing right there. She waited for him to say something to her or for something to happen. Seconds seemed to go by extremely fast at this moment for some reason, but in actuality, it was only a moment before the man in front of her sighed and shrugged.

"Fine, fine, if it will get you moving, I'll tell you everything," he stated, looking as if a great burden was in front of him. "Don't think I'm crazy, though." He added before moving again and going between two buildings. He motioned for Robin to do the same, so she did.

"Alright… well, it's not an easy thing to explain, but I'll try my best. I, or rather one of my ancestors, stumbled across something long ago, a kind of energy that could allow one to move between worlds. Now, he wrote down some notes on this object, but unfortunately, at least for him, he lost it and couldn't find it again, so the notes are the only things that remain of it." He stated, rubbing his eyes a little before continuing.

"That's where I come into play, though. I apparently found this object without knowing it and accidentally activated it. Moving between worlds is very useful indeed. For instance, when you want to seem dead." He stated, expecting Robin to question that, and she did.

"But… even if all this was true, how could that work? I saw you get shot, Grandpa. It was you. It definitely was!" She exclaimed with a frown, not wanting to believe any of what he was saying right now. Why would her grandpa come back from the grave to tell her lies? Of course, the possibility of this being a fake didn't go through her mind. Why would someone impersonating her dead grandpa make up a story like this, after all?

"Well, that object also lets one switch places with someone else, say, a prisoner in this other world that I went to." He explained simply. Before she could say anything in response, he continued speaking. "Now, this prisoner was made to look exactly like me since I had been in this world previously. Apparently my, and your, ancestor made quite a large effect on the people there, so they were willing to listen to what I said. I realized that what I had stumbled upon was important, probably enough to kill, so that's why I did it." He stated. "Finally, that object seems to have cursed our ancestor's family bloodline, so now that curse surrounds us. The curse is, quite simply, bad luck, but the people after this object have no idea about the curse." The man continued.

"Why are they after it, though?" Robin asked, unable to think of anything else to inquire. What does one say to something like what she was just told, anyway?

"I thought that would be obvious. One world seems to not be enough for them, so they plan to take over the world, or worlds, with this little device. You'd be surprised by how easily people in that other world can be manipulated by people like them and use those people to do it." He stated, and, unable to think of anything to say, Robin stayed mute until her grandpa snatched her hand, pulling her along again.

"Where are we going?" She finally found the voice to ask after a few minutes, and he glanced back at her.

"You'll see soon" He said simply, continuing to run, pulling her with him. She accepted that answer and stayed completely silent as they ran, and ran, and ran. Eventually they stopped in front of a warehouse. [/I]Here?[/i] She asked herself, glancing around. Then her grandpa motioned her to follow him inside, and she did. Once inside, he took something out of his pocket. Robin presumed it was the device and frowned as her grandpa started to fiddle with it.

"Grandpa, how did the house get sucked into nothingness before? And what are you doing?" She questioned.

"It's simple. Remember those people I told you about? They have technology somewhat like this device, except that device they built is broken, and they learned of this while they were here. They didn't find it since I did hide it, but after their device they built was fixed, they decided two years later, that is, today, it would be useful to have more than one. As for what I'm doing, I'm trying to operate this." He said, then continued to mess with the device until a circle opened up in front of them, making no noise at all. Shocked, Robin simply followed her grandpa through the device and thought she heard a gunshot before she stepped through.

Instead of being greeted by nothing happening or appearing in some meadow somewhere, Robin was enveloped by blackness. She wondered about what was going on, why she was seeing a color as dark as the blackest ink. Then, almost as soon as that thought passed through her mind, she was in a different place other than a warehouse. She was in some sort of field. She frowned, glancing around before she remembered what happened. Grandpa...where is grandpa? She asked herself, glancing around, but she stopped doing that when she felt some sort of liquid on her hand and looked at said hand. H..He's dead..all over again? She asked herself, shocked to see her grandpa dead for the second time]. She didn't even notice the stinging pain in her own shoulder. She was probably shot, too. The person just missed. "I..It's not fair... He throws me into this crazy situation and dies again." She mumbled, forcing herself to not cry. If she was to… well, survive in a strange world, she had to be strong and face the problem head on.

Shaking her head, Robin wiped away her tears and stood up, taking a better look around. This time, she saw a city that was far off in the distance. She was just about to go before she remembered the device and carefully removed it from her grandfather's body. She took one last, long look at her grandfather, perhaps unable to believe he had died again, before she faced the direction of the city and started to walk. She was unaware that in her world yet another portal to this world was opening, this one belonging to the people that had killed her grandfather this time.

For the most part, she encountered no problems on her way to the city. She did spy an occasional animal that looked pretty dangerous, but none ever attacked her, something for which she was thankful. She was unsure what she would do then.

As she approached the city, she frowned, noticing the walls surrounding the place as well as the gate that prevented one from just walking in. Why did they have walls, and why did they have a gate? It didn't make much sense to her, but oh well. She continued forward to the gate and was stopped by a man in uniform.

"I'm sorry, Miss, but at this time, no one can enter or exit the city unless on official business, such as delivering materials." The man said to her while at the same time looking her up and down, apparently wondering where she had gotten her clothes.

"Um… I'm sorry, but I'm... kind of new to this… world. My grandfather, Robert, he to-" She was broken off here by the captain, for that was what it seemed he was, shouting to the men at the gate, telling them to open it.

"Robert? What about Robert?" The man questioned as the gate opened.

"Um... He told me I was in danger. He took me here, and I guess on the way in, he was shot by people chasing us." Robin stated. Looking more than a bit troubled, the captain motioned for her to follow him, and she did, into the city. As they walked, the gate lowered again, and soon after it did, she saw they were heading to a pretty impressive building.

"I am General Ashfort, and this is the capital of the country of Mastovia." He stated simply, apparently not being much of a people person. She briefly wondered, again, what in the world her grandfather was thinking by dragging her into all of this. Of course, if she thought about it, she might realize that the "evil" people might have questioned her and not believed her when she told them whatever she told them.

"Ah… General? Just where are we going?" She questioned him. "And what is with the gate?"

"Well, we're currently heading to the palace where the current King presides and rules over the country. As for the gate, we have it because of other countries. You see, we have precious minerals that are pretty much directly underneath the city. Because of that, other countries always want to invade us. They haven't yet because we have the tactical advantage. Most of our country is mountains and rivers." The General stated to her as they entered a big building, presumably the palace. Robin did remember the rivers though didn't see any mountains at all.

"Ah... okay" She stated, assuming she was being taken to the king, or presumably the king, anyway, because of the fact that her grandfather had that device last. Anyone who had such a device would be of interest to the king, she believed. Her assumptions proved correct when the General did indeed lead her into a room with a rather fearsome looking man behind a desk.

"General, what is it?" The king asked without looking up from the paperwork in front of him.

"Well, Sir, it seems that Robert's granddaughter is here. Robert has been killed." He said, getting straight to the point. There was just a brief pause as the king considered this information, then looked up from his paperwork at the two of them.

"And what of the device?" He asked, looking at Robin like he was expecting her to take it out.

"Hold on. What is so important about this one? Grandpa told me that the people that wanted it wanted to have two ways through the worlds. Why can't they just build another one of these?" She asked, and the king shrugged.

"It's quite simple, actually. The one they have? It isn't portable in the slightest. Therefore, it can only send people into your world at a certain point, and into this world at a certain point. A portable one is able to send any person anywhere in the two worlds. Of course, we don't have one, either. That one you have was ours until some fool used it to go to your world." The king said, standing up and walking over to her. "Now, the device?" He asked her, and she took a long look at him before sighing.

"Fine. I trust you" She said, trusting her gut instincts on this. Even if she was wrong about this, she didn't have the device, now did she? Besides, she doubted the countries in her world would be conquered by these people. They didn't seem too advanced, and there had been no magic so far that she had seen, so they didn't even have that going for them. Yes, the device would be safe here, and even if it wasn't, the people that wanted it couldn't conquer her world. Her grandfather hadn't realized that these people weren't prepared to deal with people in her world or fight them.

Spoiler:

The Parks Escape

Somewhere in an undisclosed, underground facility, down a florescent lit, long stretch of metal corridor - two suit clad elderly men walked side by side in conversation.

“Is this really worth the risk?” One asked the other.

The latter looked to his friend – still walking. “Yes. It’s every bit worth it and more, and you know it is.”

“It’s just you’re vital to what we’ve been doing here. If something was to go wrong…”

“Ray, we’re best friends; I’m asking you to have faith in me… Besides, I don’t have a choice. It’s already happened.”

--

Eighteen year old Andrew Parks in every which way had lived an average life. He hadn’t had many accomplishments to mention. His most glorious moment had come when he had egged freshman Tommy Woodson from forty yards away while hanging out the passenger side window of his buddy’s ride. His most courageous act had come when he had asked Serra Jenkins, the prettiest, most popular girl at school, to the prom - she had let him down easy. Had someone told him his life was all going to change at a knock at the door, that everything he had known and had trusted in his world was about to transform, he would’ve called “Bull shit!”


There was a knock at the back door. Andrew was in the middle of lunch - a baloney sandwich and a glass of milk. He was tempted to ignore the rapping in hopes that whoever it was would go away, or they would at least go around to the front for his mom to answer it. A bit harder, the knock sounded once more.


Andrew sighed, lightly tossing the sandwich to the plate before he slid from his chair and moved to silence the knocking. He swung the door open and stood in shock. His eyes were unblinking at what he was seeing, and his jaw, could it have dropped to the floor, would have. Staring back at him with the same golden brown eyes was his two-years dead “Grandpa?” The family resemblance was uncanny; it was like looking into a mirror at himself sixty years from then.

"There isn't much time," he said quickly. "You're in grave danger."

Andrew arched a single brow and instantly thought he was dreaming.

“Within the next hour six thousand, twenty-two people across the country will be assassinated. You, if you don’t listen very carefully, will be among them.” His grandfather said matter-of-factly.

“Yep, I’m dreaming,” Andrew told himself once more.

“Brace yourself for what I’m about to tell you… Your father – he isn’t who you think he is. Everything has been a lie; his family, the marriage, you, the all-nighters at work, the business trips – they’re all lies, a veil to hide who he really is… He’s a ruthless, heartless, trained killer, and he works for a secretive group of powerful government officials; the men behind the curtain whose immediate plan is to eliminate everyone that will pose a threat to their plans.”

Every sentence the dead man finished was like a brick of confusion dropping on Andrew’s head. “Luckily I’m dreaming,” he reassured himself.

“I know what you’re thinking, and no you aren’t dreaming. We’re running out of time. Here, if you want to live, follow these instructions to a T.” The old man grabbed Andrew’s hand and shoved a perfectly folded white piece of paper into it.

“Andy… who are you talking to?” The teen’s mom suddenly asked from the kitchen’s entrance.

Andrew whirled around like a kid caught with his hand in the cookie jar before dinner. Speechless, he glanced back to the door where his grandfather was now gone. “Did that just really happen?” He wondered before looking down at the note in his hand that proved otherwise.

Closing the door, he looked back to his mom. “Um…” He gulped trying to find the words to explain to her he had just spoken with her dead dad.

“What’s the matter? You look like you just saw a ghost.” His mom said, worried.

Andy avoided the question and looked down at the paper. He carefully unfolded it, reading the first line.

DUCK!

"Huh..."

Suddenly the window beside the back door shattered with the three bullets whizzing through it, striking his mother in the chest and sending her to the ground.

"MOM!" Andrew screamed, ducking. He scrambled to his mother's side, taking her in his arms. "MOM!” The boy cried. "Oh, God, no."

Her mouth was red, filled with blood. She tried speaking, but it came out as a cough, and she went completely still.

"Mom? Mom!" The boy screamed to her – tears in his eyes. There was no response. She was dead.

The old man’s words resonated back to him. “If you want to live, follow these instructions.”

Andrew looked to the note.

Pull yourself together. Armed men are about to storm the house.

You have 30 secs. Get to the basement.

He jumped to his feet; staying low, he dodged out the kitchen, past its entrance, and made it for the basement door. Andrew practically ran through it on his way in, nearly stumbling as he scampered down the stairs. He was standing in the middle of the dimly lit basement when, from up stairs, he heard a loud crash. The front and back doors had been knocked down, and like a thundering herd, a group of men rushed inside. "Move! Move! Move!" He could hear their shouting.

The teen’s heart was racing, keeping pace with his mind. He glanced down reading the next line.

There's a switch under the work bench. It's located in the left corner, shaped like a nail. Flip it up.

Andrew moved hastily to follow the next instruction. He fingered under the bench until he found what felt like a protruding nail. Flipping it up, he slowly backed away. The sound of gears turning emitted from the bench and from the shelves above it as they folded and slid over one another. In a moments time, an entrance to a room a little larger than a walk-in closet was revealed. It was a mini armory with a desktop computer at the back wall.

"No wonder Dad never wanted me down here," he thought, quickly entering the small room.

The next line read:

Grab the Sig-Sauer p229 pistol.

“The which one!” He looked frantically around both adjacent walls with rows upon rows of weaponry, then back to the letter.

The all black handgun, located on the second row from the top, on the right, third one closest to the entrance.

"Oh," Andrew thought, spotting the gun. He stuffed it into his pants before looking to the note's next line.

To the computer. Password: 678900

The teen hurried to the desk. He gave the mouse a shake, and the screen lit, displaying a message box requesting a password. Andrew punched in the numbers, hit enter, and looked back for the next instruction.

RUN! The basement window.

“What?” He glanced from the note to the screen. It read: Self-Destruct in T-minus: 15… 14… 13…

“Oh, shit!” Andy declared, whirling around and booking it from the armory where he cut left for the basement window. He leapt onto an old hope chest positioned under his exit and forced the window open. Just as Andrew was pulling himself through the crawl space the basement door slammed open with the armed men flooding in.

8… 7… 6…

Andy scrambled to his feet, taking off running away from the side of the house.

3… 2… 1…

The ground rocked as the whole house exploded. The blast sent Andrew flying forward, crashing into the fence that separated his yard and the neighbor’s. The once two story home was left as flaming framework. Andy moaned, pushing himself up slowly, but he paused when he caught something from the corner of his eye. He turned where the back of the house had been, and rounding the yard was his father – a rifle, equipped with scope and silencer attachments, in his hands.

Andrew didn’t wait for his Dad to take aim. He bolted to his feet and dipped behind a nearby tree, escaping three shots that burrowed in it after him. Pressed against the trunk, the teen breathed deeply trying to collect his voice. "Dad! It's me!" He screamed, almost in tears. The whole situation was overwhelming. It felt as if a relentless current was pulling him against his will, and he was helpless but to go along with its flow.

Nothing you say will matter to him. Get to the main street and make for King Blvd.

Andrew took a deep breath, pushed off the tree, and dashed for what had been the front of the house. Two silenced rounds zipped past him before a third tore into his upper arm nearly spinning him completely around. He yelped in pain, instinctively grabbing the wound with his opposite hand but didn’t stop. The boy kept running across the drive way, onto the sidewalk, and down the street.

Andy didn’t look back. Fear and adrenalin kept him going. The two pumped throughout his veins, pushing his body beyond its normal limits. He wasn’t certain which was louder: his heart hitting his chest or his sneakers against the pavement. It wasn’t until he heard the distinct sound of a vehicle fast approaching did he glance behind him. It was his dad, nearly hanging completely out the driver side window, one hand on the wheel and the other on a pistol aiming for Andrew.

The boy quickly turned to the note:

The next house on the right. The door will be unlocked.

Andrew cut left almost immediately, eluding two bullets that ripped past him. He sprinted up the driveway and through the door, slamming it closed behind him. His eyes fell to the letter.

Upstairs. The last door at the end of the hall.

Andy darted up the stairs, reaching the second floor where he rushed down the hall and more or less barreled his way through the door. He froze – his gaze wide.

“Andy! What hell are you doing here!”

“Uh… Serra?” The teen muttered, highly confused.

She marched over to him furiously. “I told you I’m not going to Prom with…” Her words trailed off, and she stopped to stare at him. He was a wreck – his clothes charred, torn, and bloody in most places, his hair a mess, and his face smudged and sweaty. “What the hell happened to you… are you okay?”

“Uh…” Andrew glanced at the note.

Kiss her. You’ll never have another chance.

Taken aback, he read the line again and looked to Serra. “Fuck it.” Andrew moved in, taking her in his arms, and before she could push him away, he leaned in pressing his lips to hers. Serra hesitated but embraced the moment, kissing him back. For a few, blissful seconds, everything else had washed away; it was just the two of them somewhere else…

She pulled away. “Maybe we can go to Prom after all…” Serra said batting her eyes.

“Um…” Andrew began but looked to the note for a reply.

Don’t even think about it. Her window. NOW!

“I’m sorry,” he said sighing. “I have to leave.” He gently let her go, stepping away and moving to the window, sliding it open.

“Andy, what’s happening?” She breathed as he was climbing onto the ledge.

“I wish I knew,” he said, giving her one last stare, and jumped.

Andrew landed with a grunt and rolled to his feet. The adrenaline was beginning to fade, and though the aches all through his body were starting to surface, he couldn’t take his mind off the kiss.

Make your way through the back of the houses to get to the other side of the neighborhood.

The teen huffed with reluctance before forcing his body to move. He ran towards Serra’s fence and scaled it as fast and as best he could with one good arm. Andrew continued through each yard, overcoming every obstacle the various backyards had to offer: some with larger than normal fences and others with the ever so popular guard dog. In several long, grueling, hard earned minutes, Andy jumped his last hedge and was at the other end of the neighborhood – its entrance not even a block away and just beyond the Forest Circle Strip Mall.

Andrew doubled over, breathing heavily. The boy was exhausted and wanted to fall out, but instead looked to the letter.

The gun! Pull back the slide, take off the safety, and fire it at the windshield.

“What?” He asked the note, but before he could get to the next line where he expected to read his answer, his attention was drawn down the street to his Dad’s car screeching around the corner. Andrew quickly went for the gun, pulling it from his pants. He struggled as he attempted to get back the slide – mostly due to him constantly glancing up to the speeding car that was riding right for him. Andy finally slid back the slide, flipped off the safety, and with two hands, lifted the pistol at the oncoming vehicle. He squeezed on the trigger rapidly, firing wildly at the windshield until the clip was empty.

While only four of the twelve rounds that were fired struck their target, it was enough to send his Dad ducking behind the dashboard, taking the steering wheel with him. The car abruptly swerved off the road and right into a light pole with a loud crash.

Andrew dropped the gun, looking to the letter.

Get to the Forest Circle Strip Mall parking lot.

The teen whirled around, running for the exit. His adrenaline had returned to him – churning his legs as he ran from the neighborhood. Andy sprinted across intersection, dodging a car on his way to a large patch of grass that separated the roads from the mall. He reached the parking lot and kept running toward where the majority of the cars were parked. Just then, a single silenced gunshot hit his back left shoulder. Andrew cried out in pain as he stumbled forward, collapsing to the concrete.

Andy rolled over to see his Dad walking across the patch of grass – gun now down by his side. He was coming to finish the job. The assassin stepped off the curb into the parking lot and continued walking for his son – his target. Andrew didn’t move. He didn’t even cry; he had given up. His father raised the pistol as he came within several feet and…

SPLAT!

A car came left and smacked into his Dad, sending him flying prior to hitting the ground, rolling limp before lying lifeless – dead.

Andrew stared wide eyed, unblinking. The passenger side-door opened, and a teen boy his age was looking down at him from the driver’s side.

“GET IN!”

Andy read the last line on the note.

Trust him.

Andrew weakly got to his feet and climbed into the car, closing the door behind him. “Who are you?”

“My name’s Raymond; friends call me Ray.” The other teen answered as he slapped his foot to the gas and sped off.

“What’s going on?”

“I have no idea, but I’m afraid we’ll be finding out soon enough,” Ray replied, holding up a freshly unfolded white piece of paper with a list of instructions on it…

Fifty years later...

The door at the end of the corridor slid open, and the two old friends entered a room filled with computers, screens, terminals, blinking buttons, and a single white coffin looking bed at the center of it all. The two made it to the middle of the room.

“Are you sure you want to go through with this?” One asked the other.

The other climbed into the bed and lay down. “Yes, Ray. Let’s just get this over with.”

His friend nodded and closed the top to the bed locking it at several clasps. He walked over to the closest terminal where he entered a few keys. There was a sudden flashing light from the top of the bed, and the other man was gone.

“Good luck, Andy.”

--

The old man slowly walked up the back steps and gave the door a knock. No answer. He knocked once more, and the door swung open with young Andrew standing at it.

“Grandpa?”

"There isn't much time," he said quickly. "You're in grave danger."

Spoiler:

Bloodlines

The morning had started out like any other morning for the Atwater female. Her mother had left at six a.m. to get to work before the rush of traffic hit the downtown area while her father lingered behind until seven thirty. She was up by eight and in the shower by nine. God the shower felt yummy that morning. After last night, it was exactly what she needed. She had spent the entire night working on a family tree for a school project. What she had noticed though scared her. Her father’s father was not listed no matter how hard she looked for him. Not only that, lately things around this place had been weird. She wasn’t allowed to go out after the sun went down anymore, which was very unusual.

Thoughts of the weird attitudes had left her mind as she showered. The warm water running down her body, relaxing her muscles and washing her clean did her some good for once. She turned off the water and stepped out. Wrapping a towel around her body, she walked down stairs, leaving wet footprints behind her. Once down the hallway, she entered the living room and soon the kitchen where her breakfast would await her. Opening the fridge just a smidge allowed her to see exactly what they had. Eggs? Sure. Why not? She didn’t eat them enough and they were supposed to be good for you. Just as she reached for the carton, a loud bang on her back door caused her to jump. She hit her head hard on the roof of the fridge. A slur of curse words escaped pretty lips as she backed out and slammed the door closed. Walking to the back, she gasped loudly at the figure that stood there. It was her grandfather, on her father’s side, the one that supposedly didn’t exist.

"There isn't much time," he said quickly. "You're in grave danger."

She couldn’t help but just stand there, dumfounded and staring. He rolled his eyes and threw open the door. “Go get dressed. Now.” He demanded, his dark eyes showing how serious he was. Amelia just nodded to her nonexistent grandfather and she ran down the hall to put some clothes on. Five minutes later, she came back with a pair of white tennis shoes, blue jeans and a hoodie on. She had planned on running later today and this was the outfit that had been laid out on her bed. Yes, she ran in blue jeans. Upon her arrival back into the room, he grabbed her by the wrist and pulled her close. “Stay close or else.” She couldn’t even speak before he dragged her from the safety of her home.

“We’ll need to keep moving in order to get ahead of them.”

“Ahead of who?” She demanded to know. Amelia was still rather pissed that he had just showed up from beyond the grave to drag her away from her house. How would her parents know where she had gone? He hadn’t given her time to leave a note. He didn’t answer, causing her anger to boil up quickly. Snatching her wrist from his bony hand, she stopped dead in her tracks. “Ahead of who?” There was no way she was going on without knowing who the hell she was running from.

“Ahead of the military. They’re after you.” The confusion on her face made him shake his head and sigh heavily. “They didn’t tell you did they?” She tilted her head to the side and shook it to tell him no. Who didn’t tell her what? Amelia had never been more confused in her entire life. Before any more questions could be asked, she witnessed her grandfather vanish before her eyes. Looking around, she was shocked when he whispered boo in her left ear. “You come from a long line of gifted people Amelia. Haven’t you ever wondered why you can see things before they happen?” It was true. For years now she foresaw things, mainly through her dreams. Was she really pre-cognitive? “Yes. You are. Now come on.” He took her wrist once more to drag her away.

They had reached the end of the block when a black SUV came speeding around the corner. Cursing, her grandfather began to run with her in tow. For someone his age, he was in amazing shape and much faster than she was. Amelia was having a hard time keeping up since she kept looking over her shoulder at the vehicle that sped towards them. “Would you quit worrying so much?” How had he known what she was…oh. She wrinkled her nose as they ran. How dare he read her mind like that. “I can’t help it kid. Just run!” The sound of screeching tires made the girl pump her long legs faster. She just knew the two of them were about be squished like human pancakes.

Just as she felt the heat of the SUV on her back, it was suddenly gone. Now all she felt was the chill of wintery air. It hadn’t been cold back home. In fact, it had been sixty when she woke up that morning. Well, that wasn’t cold to her since she had grown up in a cold climate. Looking around, she noticed that her grandfather wasn’t with her anymore. Walk to the base of the mountains and wait until you see the eagle fly over. The voice in her head sounded like him and she listened to it. The mountains in the distance looked to be miles away. Even as daunting as the tasked seemed, Amelia began to make her way over the snow covered land before her towards the mountains.

Hours passed and she still heard nothing from her grandfather. How was he able to do those things? She knew he had been in some sort of military program when he was younger, but what did they do to him? What had they done to her? Amelia had so many questions and so few answers. By the time she reached the base of the mountain range, she was shivering from the ever dropping temperature. If she had known that teleporting would have been involved, she would have dressed warmer. Oh quit whining. Follow the bird to the South. You’ll find me there. Wrinkling her nose, Amelia looked up just in time to spot the eagle. It was flying faster than she figured it would, causing her to break out into a run in order to follow it. At least now she would warm up.

Night was beginning to fall as she reached a small village. It seemed quaint and out of place for some reason. Nothing about it seemed right. The houses were made from sticks and hay, when they should have been made of something much sturdier and warmer. Amelia approached the village with extreme caution. Now that she knew the military was on her tail, she was making sure not to get caught in some trap. No one seemed to be about as she walked to the center of everything. Not even her grandfather could be seen...

-

On the other side of the glass window, people sat at computers clicking away. They were monitioring her heart rate, her brain activity and everything else to make sure she stayed alive. "Joseph thought he could outsmart us, but it seems we are the ones outsmarting him." The man who spoke wore a smug look on his aging face. They had captured Amelia just outside her home. Her grandfather had not been strong enough to save her. They were now running tests on her abilities. What she was seeing was just an illusion, one of her many abilities that were inherited from Joseph. Her body twitched as the scene in her mind suddenly changed to something different.

-

Amelia was now standing in the middle of a large room. A man was across from her, wearing that same smug look. "Who are you?" She asked softly. He began to chuckle loudly. That chuckle soon turned into a loud laugh, which soon became hysterical. Covering her ears, Amelia turned to run, but another man doing the same as the one behind her was standing there. They began to walk towards her, moving her into a corner. She gripped her head and screamed at the top of her lungs.

-

The monitors were going crazy. She was losing control of her psychic gifts. It was all too much for Amelia to take at one time. A scientist quickly shut off the machine she was locked into. "Inject her with the Bloodline." Nodding, a woman in a lab coat exited the room. She appeared once more in the room where Amelia was being held. Sticking the brunette haired girl with a needle, the lab technician injected her with something that looked like blood, but it was actually a chemical that would boost her psychic abilities to their maximum capabilities, but it would also put her under his control. Grinning, he snapped his fingers and watched as her head rose up. Her dark eyes looked at him dead on even through the one way glass. He knew he had finally completed his lifelong project. What he didn't know was how Amelia had managed to override his control command so quickly.

All of a sudden, one of the security guards pulled his weapon and shot as many people as he could with the rounds he had in his gun. They dropped like flies to the tile floor. The other guard did the same before killing the previous guard and himself using one of the surgical knives that was kept in the room in case a subject needed to be operated on. Amelia's eyes seemed to light up as she watched the man who tried to control her choke himself to death. Pleased with her actions, she made one of the surviving scientists free her before she let him free. He ran off screaming down the corridor that led out of this place.

Once on the outside, she closed her eyes and called out for her grandfather. He showed up in a matter of seconds. "So they really thought they could control you huh?" He asked, chuckling to himself. "Seems like Bloodline did what it was supposed to." Amelia said softly, proud of what she had accomplished. The two walked off together back towards home. It was time they revealed all of their kind to the world...

Kalon Ordona II wrote:Hello Danger's entry was by far my most enjoyable to read. It pulled me along with exceptional delivery, good quality of writing and good presentation. I only put this one in third place because Family Secrets isn't quite as much the focal point of the story as it would need to be to win.

Kalon Ordona II wrote:hubris1987's entry had great overall quality. I enjoyed the extremely clever interpretation of the starter script, and the theme is fit pretty well. In addition, I think it probably has the best pacing of all the entries. I put this in second, though, again because of theme. It's very good in this story, but it's just not quite enough of the main focal point to earn the win.

Kalon Ordona II wrote:Bird of Hermes's entry had me confused at the beginning: the protagonist seemed female to me, up until the very end of the long first paragraph. I'm still curious why a guy is wearing a "blouse." Despite that, though, the story fits both the starter script and the theme exceptionally well. The story is well-written and well paced, considering the 3,000 word limit. Most importantly, though, this story seemed to best capture the feel of "Family Secrets." The secret is profound, it involves multiple members of the family, and it is the focal point of the entire story. I'd give this entry first place.