Tala ran as
fast as her feet would carry her. She
didn’t even give time to think about the attention she was drawing to herself
as she hurried through the dark streets, her hands dripping blood. She didn’t
know where her clothes had gone but she was running through the streets in
nothing more than a borrowed dress shirt in too crimson in the blood of another.
Her eyes could barely focus and the light of the moon seemed too bright as her
blue eyes squinted. Her feet were bare, scratched with rocks and glass with
each step she took. A hand grasped her arm and she heard a distant sounding
voice asking If she was okay. She ripped her arm away and turned the corner
stumbling into the nearest alley. Tears began to stream down her cheeks, hot against
her skin in the cold damp night. As she came to a stop against the wall she
slid down to the ground trying not to think of what filth was against her bare
skin. Her eyes were blurred with tears but she could feel her body shaking closed
her eyes for a moment she listened as her heart raced within her chest her
hands resting on her knees bloody palms up to the sky. What had she done? She didn’t
remember any of it, not after the bar. Her mind flashed back to the apartment,
she woken up in. There had been blood everywhere, the bed, the walls, the floor
and none of it as far as she could tell, belonged to her. She didn’t know who
it belonged to but judging from the state of her hands she could only assume
she’d had something to do with it. The moment she’d heard someone in the hall
she’d bolted through the fire escape and out into the streets and she didn’t
stop running. She stared at her hands and took a careful breath as she felt her
ribs tighten. Her body ached, every muscle, every joint felt like it had been
ripped and snapped just to be taped back together with hope to heal. A voice,
still distant sounding pulled her out of her trance. “Miss Canagan” her bright
blue eyes lifted to gaze at the man who had spoken to her, golden eyes stared
back at her but the shadows seemed to conceal the rest of him. She could barely
make out the features of his face but she was certain he was smirking at her. “You’ve
been frighteningly easy to track” he said stepping closer and crouching down so
he was suddenly at eye level with her. His eyes looked her over as though he
were inspecting a new car he was considering buying. His eyes stopped at her
hands and if there had been any doubt of a smirk before, it was obvious now as
watched him. “A shame about your boyfriend, I’m sure you two would have been a
match made in heaven…you know, if you hadn’t ripped him to shreds” he said and
the memories carefully creeped back into her mind. Boyfriend, no she didn’t
have one of those, but there had been a guy at the bar, she’d gone home with
him and she’d-- the thought of what he’d said caused her to lose whatever was
left of her lunch as she leaned over and threw up in the alley, tears appearing
in her eyes again. “Ah yes, get him out of your system” he commented which
really wasn’t helping manners. He waited for a few seconds before he gripped
her arms tightly pulling her with force off the ground. “There’s no time for
your conscience they’re looking for you and you need to be briefed on a cover…you’re
coming with me” he said harshly his voice sounded almost like a growl as I
stared at him but didn’t fight the hold. Whoever, or whatever was planned for
her, it couldn’t have been worse than what she’d just done, what she’d woken up
to find. She noticed her body was still shaking but she nodded accepting the
unknown fate. “Now, there’s a good girl”
Wednesday, 25 September 2013
Monday, 23 September 2013
How well read are you?
I was thinking the other day about high school literature, I still get shocked when I find people haven't read or studied certain classic novels or plays. Then as I started to think about all the ones that I did study in the short four years of high school I realized the list was relatively extensive. This was JUST for English class, not to mention plays for Theatre (some of which, thank god they worked together and crossed our projects over) and reading for enjoyment (something I do a lot of). This didn't include our study of Mythology where we did whole units on stories of the Greek God's studying creation stories of all different religions. This also didn't include Bible or World Religions studies or readings either. For one subject, In five years I read 41 books and plays, that about 8.2 books a year, which is almost one a month for every month I was in school. Wow. Of course some years were more heavy than others, and this is a list of just the ones I happen to remember reading, I'm sure there were others that didn't make quite an impression.
The Chrysalid's
The
Outsiders
Midsummer
Night’s Dream
Little
Women
To Kill a
Mocking Bird
The Heat of
the Night
Frankenstein
Dracula
Anne Frank
Flowers for
Algernon
Of Mice and
Men
Romeo and
Juliet
Rebecca
Jane Eyre
Wuthering
Heights
The
Crystal Cave
Twelfth
Night
Catcher in
the Rye
1984
Animal Farm
Greek
Mythology
Beowulf
Morte D’arthur
Macbeth
Huck Finn
A Separate
Peace
Lord of the
Flies
Much Ado
about Nothing
Death of a
Salesman
The
Crucible
The Glass Menagerie
Tuesdays
with Morrie
The Joy
Luck Club
Pride &
Prejudice
The Little
Prince
King Lear
A Doll’s
House
Oedipus Rex
Rosencrantz
and Guildenstern are Dead
Stone Angel
Hamlet
Has all of that made me a more informed person? I'm not sure, I look around at my class and know we all read relatively the same things, saw the same words, did the same questions and assignments. What did we all take from it? Certainly not the same things, despite the efforts of a Preparatory education no two people are the same and so we never get the same things out of something. Begs me to think of my writing, it's both a fascinating and terrifying reality that people perceive things differently. What I write on the page may not be what they imagine in their minds, my world could turn out completely different to someone else. It's both exciting and the nerves got mad at the thought of it. It's the same reason people prefer one character over another the ever famous Peeta vs Gale fanbase. Different aspects of characters or stories appeal to different people in different places in their lives. It's the reason my characters range from 15 to 50 in my novel. Different personalities, different careers, places in their lives. We've got meek, strong, laid back, funny and down right psychotic a little something for everyone.
So what do we think? The more the read the better off we are? Or is it all about the perception of what we read that expands out minds?
So what do we think? The more the read the better off we are? Or is it all about the perception of what we read that expands out minds?
Wednesday, 18 September 2013
Daltons Part 8
This is Part 8 continuation of the Dalton's story. The rest of the links can be found throughout the blog. Stay tuned for continuations.
"You were on a what?" Jake asked for about the third time since the three of them had met up at the park.
"A Date! Jake shut up that's not the important part of the story" Lia said exasperated from trying to get their attention again and again when they were both fixated on the fact that she had lied to them about where she'd been going, honestly they lied for a living she didn't understand why they were so utterly shocked.
"Why were you on a date?" Jimmy added in confusion obvious in her voice and she buried her eyes in her hand.
"Dear God, give me strength" she muttered "because someone asked, and because I was trying to get that ring back" she reminded them.
"You could have just taken it back-" Jake said.
"Yeah where did the date come in, I'm still lost on that" Jimmy admitted.
"BOYS!" Lia shouted "Focus! Vampires, ring, Hunter, missing!"
"He's a hunter?" Jake said and she could almost see his need to punch someone right then and there.
"No! His name is Hunter" one more of these and she might just end up punching him herself. "We're wasting time if you're not going to be helpful I'll track them myself"
"Oh like hell Lia, you're not hunting alone you know that's not an option" Jake said going back into full on protective big brother mode, which didn't bode well for hunter when and if they found him. When, she needed to focus on that word rather than the possibility that they weren't going to find him. "This just doesn't make any sense, we kill the whole nest!" he reminded her.
"Then there's another nest.." she said simply "He said 'you weren't exactly subtle' which means they aren't the only ones who know we're here. They also know about the ring..."
"Which brings us back to that Tristan kid" Jake muttered and Lia looked at him. "What? Come on Lia, even you aren't that naive, that kid knew exactly what the ring was, the very reason he hadn't put it on. He wanted you to find it, he's using us for something, the question is what"
"But he sounded pretty upset that I didn't have it" she protested
"Of course he did because with us, it's safe, we aren't going to put it on, use it, lose it.... he needed us to find something on it for him, we just need to figure out what that is before he does, which means we have to get it back from those bloodsuckers" and suddenly he was in full on hunting mode.
"Jimmy research, we burned that warehouse to the ground so find any other abandoned buildings in town or surroundings. They're going to have to be large if they're building another nest, maybe a barn or another warehouse. Where ever they are, find it" he told him. "Lia, you're gonna help me track you were the only one who was here where did you leave that wounded one?" he asked and she led him quickly across the park to the tree where she had wounded him. Jake's blue eyes wandered over the bark and the surrounding ground before shining his flashlight on it "Black blood...you wounded him pretty badly" he said as he followed the trail with the light. "enough that it didn't heal right away, he's trailed blood all through the part" he muttered and followed it quickly. The trail stopped eventually.
"He wouldn't get too far without feeding" Lia said glancing around "Not if he was hurt that badly, he'd need the fresh blood to heal faster"
"Great so now we're looking for two bodies? Way to go Lia" Jake said harshly and she stopped in her steps.
"This- this isn't my fault" she said but there was a hesitation in her voice that was uncertain. Jake had never blamed her for anything before, not out loud, she had always done a good enough job of doing that for herself. She blamed herself for her parents death, for not coming home from school sooner, not being able to stop it, or to be with them when it had happened. She blamed herself for their Grandfather's death on the job, if she'd only listened to him when he had told her she wasn't ready to hunt on her own, he never would have come after her and he never would have been killed. There were so many things she carried around on her shoulders that they didn't even know about to have him throw it directly in her face seemed to have broken down some sort of barrier she'd been keeping it all behind.
"Of course it is if you had just stayed with us at supper you never would have found that ring, you never would have met that guy in the bar, he wouldn't have taken the ring and you certainly wouldn't have been on a date and had this poor guy kidnapped by fucking vampires" he hissed. She stared at him in shock for a few seconds before she realized he was right. She was always hurting people, with her day to day decisions there was always some sort of domino effect that caused trouble, like it followed her around waiting to come out.
"Screw you Jake" She said as forcefully as possibly but she was fighting tears as she turned and bolted from the park. This was pointless, Hunter wasn't here they'd already taken him and the park wasn't going to give them any answers.
"LIA!" she heard coming from behind her but she just ran faster. The further she ran the more time her mind had to think about what she'd seen around town, the places people frequented the ones they avoided. She stopped suddenly as a thought hit her and she pulled out her phone to check. A smile smile crossed her lips at the realization. She knew exactly where they were, and if it was the last thing she did she was going to get him out of there, alive.
"You were on a what?" Jake asked for about the third time since the three of them had met up at the park.
"A Date! Jake shut up that's not the important part of the story" Lia said exasperated from trying to get their attention again and again when they were both fixated on the fact that she had lied to them about where she'd been going, honestly they lied for a living she didn't understand why they were so utterly shocked.
"Why were you on a date?" Jimmy added in confusion obvious in her voice and she buried her eyes in her hand.
"Dear God, give me strength" she muttered "because someone asked, and because I was trying to get that ring back" she reminded them.
"You could have just taken it back-" Jake said.
"Yeah where did the date come in, I'm still lost on that" Jimmy admitted.
"BOYS!" Lia shouted "Focus! Vampires, ring, Hunter, missing!"
"He's a hunter?" Jake said and she could almost see his need to punch someone right then and there.
"No! His name is Hunter" one more of these and she might just end up punching him herself. "We're wasting time if you're not going to be helpful I'll track them myself"
"Oh like hell Lia, you're not hunting alone you know that's not an option" Jake said going back into full on protective big brother mode, which didn't bode well for hunter when and if they found him. When, she needed to focus on that word rather than the possibility that they weren't going to find him. "This just doesn't make any sense, we kill the whole nest!" he reminded her.
"Then there's another nest.." she said simply "He said 'you weren't exactly subtle' which means they aren't the only ones who know we're here. They also know about the ring..."
"Which brings us back to that Tristan kid" Jake muttered and Lia looked at him. "What? Come on Lia, even you aren't that naive, that kid knew exactly what the ring was, the very reason he hadn't put it on. He wanted you to find it, he's using us for something, the question is what"
"But he sounded pretty upset that I didn't have it" she protested
"Of course he did because with us, it's safe, we aren't going to put it on, use it, lose it.... he needed us to find something on it for him, we just need to figure out what that is before he does, which means we have to get it back from those bloodsuckers" and suddenly he was in full on hunting mode.
"Jimmy research, we burned that warehouse to the ground so find any other abandoned buildings in town or surroundings. They're going to have to be large if they're building another nest, maybe a barn or another warehouse. Where ever they are, find it" he told him. "Lia, you're gonna help me track you were the only one who was here where did you leave that wounded one?" he asked and she led him quickly across the park to the tree where she had wounded him. Jake's blue eyes wandered over the bark and the surrounding ground before shining his flashlight on it "Black blood...you wounded him pretty badly" he said as he followed the trail with the light. "enough that it didn't heal right away, he's trailed blood all through the part" he muttered and followed it quickly. The trail stopped eventually.
"He wouldn't get too far without feeding" Lia said glancing around "Not if he was hurt that badly, he'd need the fresh blood to heal faster"
"Great so now we're looking for two bodies? Way to go Lia" Jake said harshly and she stopped in her steps.
"This- this isn't my fault" she said but there was a hesitation in her voice that was uncertain. Jake had never blamed her for anything before, not out loud, she had always done a good enough job of doing that for herself. She blamed herself for her parents death, for not coming home from school sooner, not being able to stop it, or to be with them when it had happened. She blamed herself for their Grandfather's death on the job, if she'd only listened to him when he had told her she wasn't ready to hunt on her own, he never would have come after her and he never would have been killed. There were so many things she carried around on her shoulders that they didn't even know about to have him throw it directly in her face seemed to have broken down some sort of barrier she'd been keeping it all behind.
"Of course it is if you had just stayed with us at supper you never would have found that ring, you never would have met that guy in the bar, he wouldn't have taken the ring and you certainly wouldn't have been on a date and had this poor guy kidnapped by fucking vampires" he hissed. She stared at him in shock for a few seconds before she realized he was right. She was always hurting people, with her day to day decisions there was always some sort of domino effect that caused trouble, like it followed her around waiting to come out.
"Screw you Jake" She said as forcefully as possibly but she was fighting tears as she turned and bolted from the park. This was pointless, Hunter wasn't here they'd already taken him and the park wasn't going to give them any answers.
"LIA!" she heard coming from behind her but she just ran faster. The further she ran the more time her mind had to think about what she'd seen around town, the places people frequented the ones they avoided. She stopped suddenly as a thought hit her and she pulled out her phone to check. A smile smile crossed her lips at the realization. She knew exactly where they were, and if it was the last thing she did she was going to get him out of there, alive.
Tuesday, 17 September 2013
Dalton's Part 7
The Dalton's Short Story, Fantasy Fiction continues with Part 7
PART ONE: http://thewriteaddictions.blogspot.ca/2013/04/a-daltons-short-story.html
PART TWO: http://thewriteaddictions.blogspot.ca/2013/07/a-daltons-short-story-ctd.html
PART THREE: http://thewriteaddictions.blogspot.ca/2013/07/daltons-part-3.html
PART FOUR: http://thewriteaddictions.blogspot.ca/2013/07/daltons-part-4.html
PART FIVE: http://thewriteaddictions.blogspot.ca/2013/08/daltons-part-5.html
PART SIX: http://thewriteaddictions.blogspot.ca/2013/09/part-6.html
"OW!" Well this was boding well so far. "Jesus if you're going to blindfold someone and expect them to trust you, tip? Don't lead them into every single thing in their way!" Lia said her voice had gone from patient to annoyed relatively quickly
PART ONE: http://thewriteaddictions.blogspot.ca/2013/04/a-daltons-short-story.html
PART TWO: http://thewriteaddictions.blogspot.ca/2013/07/a-daltons-short-story-ctd.html
PART THREE: http://thewriteaddictions.blogspot.ca/2013/07/daltons-part-3.html
PART FOUR: http://thewriteaddictions.blogspot.ca/2013/07/daltons-part-4.html
PART FIVE: http://thewriteaddictions.blogspot.ca/2013/08/daltons-part-5.html
PART SIX: http://thewriteaddictions.blogspot.ca/2013/09/part-6.html
"OW!" Well this was boding well so far. "Jesus if you're going to blindfold someone and expect them to trust you, tip? Don't lead them into every single thing in their way!" Lia said her voice had gone from patient to annoyed relatively quickly
"Sorry..." he said but she could hear a hint of laughter in his voice "and don't call me Jesus" he added.
"Hilarious" she muttered but the more they walked she began to hear more people, which was either comforting or terrifying. "Why are we in the park?" she asked suddenly which caused him to stop abruptly.
"What- how did you know?"
"Well, we've been walking for a while and we started on pavement but you've led me over grass most of the way, a couple rocks, I've stumbled over two stumps and been hit in the face with tree branches and now there's commotion so... we're in a park" she said matter of factly.
"Wow you weren't kidding about that training" he added and she shook her head, she rarely joked about anything but especially about her training. "We're here anyway" he said and carefully took the blindfold off. It took a moment for her green eyes to adjust to the dim evening light setting on the Horizon but as she started to take it in, she realized she had been right, they were definitely in a park.
"What is this?" She asked confused.
"Movie in the park.. you don't have that where you're from?" He asked
"I'm not really 'from' anywhere remember" she pointed out and for all she knew, this was sort of a thing, just one she'd never really had time for. She realised the way she made it sound, it seemed like she was an alien or something, not from this planet, let alone the country.
"Well then it's a first even better, how are my chances now?" he joked and offered a wink that caused her to roll her eyes.
"Don't get too cocky" she warned him, just offering a sliver of hope. It really didn't matter, she knew that she'd likely be gone tomorrow, at worst the day after that she had been doing this to get the ring back, it was as simple as that. Her eyes observed the people around her and once again marveled at the normalcy of the situation. She couldn't even recall the last thing she had done that anyone would deem normal, what was a normal life for her was something out of a horror film for others. As the movie started she took a seat with him on the grass but instead of really watching she couldn't seem to get him to shut up. The problem was, the more he talked about himself, the more she found herself actually starting to like him. He wasn't completely annoying, he seemed to put on a pretty good show of it though. A kiss caught her off guard as the sun began to fully disappear behind the trees, and despite her uncaring attitude she found herself lost in that same feeling from the bar, utter consumption of her senses completely lost in the moment. The sun had been hidden from the horizon for only a few minutes when a cold and all too familiar feeling settled over her. Her muscles froze and her stomach tightened as she pulled away from the kiss she turned her heard to look around. Was this paranoia? Her green eyes found them in seconds. To anyone else they might have looked normal, beautiful even but she could see everything wrong with them even from a distance. Their skin, was pale odd for the middle of the summer, but it was the translucency that stood out, the firmness, the utter perfection of their complexion. "Shit" she muttered under her breath which caused a sideways glance from Hunter.
"What?" he asked curiously glancing around but his untrained eye didn't see it, not as clearly as she saw.
"Nothing, I was supposed to call someone and check in" she admitted. "I'll be right back" she said grabbing her bag and standing up quickly. She moved into the trees and felt in her bag for supplies. She didn't have much, her gun and salt were useless in this situation holy water was her only ally. Breaking a branch of the tree she uncapped her flask and poured some on the tip.
"That for me?" a voice came from in front of her and she lifted her head quickly to see one of them standing there before her, his smile too confident.
"No, but this is" she assured him splashing the holy water into his face she heard the sizzle of his skin and it gave her enough time to push off the tree and reverse the hold. Turning she avoided his grab and kicked him back into the tree lurching forward driving the edge of the branch into his chest. A wooden stake was a little cliche, she knew that much and she also knew it didn't kill them, not even if you hit their heart. It hurt, but unless you left it in there, they could heal from it just like any other wound.
He laughing through the pain "You know that can't kill me" he taunted and she smirked.
"I know... but it hurts like a bitch" she said pressing the heel of her hand against it driving it into his chest further which caused another cry of pain. "What do you want" She said. More importantly where had they come from? They had slaughtered the entire nest, there had not been a single vampire alive when they'd walked out of that warehouse. "and how did you find me?"
"Well your massacre was hardly subtle" he pointed out "besides word on the horizon is you have a ring... one we'd all very much like to get our hands on" she tilted her head in confusion, how did they know about the ring, as far as she could tell Travis and her brothers were the only ones who knew anything about it.
"I don't have the ring" she stated, that wasn't a lie, after all wasn't that the whole reason she was on this date in the first place, to get it back into her possession.
"Oh we know you don't... " he said and again the same confident, knowing grin appeared on his face.
"Hunter..."she said and a panic rose in her chest. She drove the branch in a little further knowing it would be hell for him to get out and turned to run back to where they'd been sitting. Her stomach sank as she saw he was gone. Pulling out her phone she dialed the first number she had on speed dial and waiting for an answer. "Jake? We have a problem"
"I'm not really 'from' anywhere remember" she pointed out and for all she knew, this was sort of a thing, just one she'd never really had time for. She realised the way she made it sound, it seemed like she was an alien or something, not from this planet, let alone the country.
"Well then it's a first even better, how are my chances now?" he joked and offered a wink that caused her to roll her eyes.
"Don't get too cocky" she warned him, just offering a sliver of hope. It really didn't matter, she knew that she'd likely be gone tomorrow, at worst the day after that she had been doing this to get the ring back, it was as simple as that. Her eyes observed the people around her and once again marveled at the normalcy of the situation. She couldn't even recall the last thing she had done that anyone would deem normal, what was a normal life for her was something out of a horror film for others. As the movie started she took a seat with him on the grass but instead of really watching she couldn't seem to get him to shut up. The problem was, the more he talked about himself, the more she found herself actually starting to like him. He wasn't completely annoying, he seemed to put on a pretty good show of it though. A kiss caught her off guard as the sun began to fully disappear behind the trees, and despite her uncaring attitude she found herself lost in that same feeling from the bar, utter consumption of her senses completely lost in the moment. The sun had been hidden from the horizon for only a few minutes when a cold and all too familiar feeling settled over her. Her muscles froze and her stomach tightened as she pulled away from the kiss she turned her heard to look around. Was this paranoia? Her green eyes found them in seconds. To anyone else they might have looked normal, beautiful even but she could see everything wrong with them even from a distance. Their skin, was pale odd for the middle of the summer, but it was the translucency that stood out, the firmness, the utter perfection of their complexion. "Shit" she muttered under her breath which caused a sideways glance from Hunter.
"What?" he asked curiously glancing around but his untrained eye didn't see it, not as clearly as she saw.
"Nothing, I was supposed to call someone and check in" she admitted. "I'll be right back" she said grabbing her bag and standing up quickly. She moved into the trees and felt in her bag for supplies. She didn't have much, her gun and salt were useless in this situation holy water was her only ally. Breaking a branch of the tree she uncapped her flask and poured some on the tip.
"That for me?" a voice came from in front of her and she lifted her head quickly to see one of them standing there before her, his smile too confident.
"No, but this is" she assured him splashing the holy water into his face she heard the sizzle of his skin and it gave her enough time to push off the tree and reverse the hold. Turning she avoided his grab and kicked him back into the tree lurching forward driving the edge of the branch into his chest. A wooden stake was a little cliche, she knew that much and she also knew it didn't kill them, not even if you hit their heart. It hurt, but unless you left it in there, they could heal from it just like any other wound.
He laughing through the pain "You know that can't kill me" he taunted and she smirked.
"I know... but it hurts like a bitch" she said pressing the heel of her hand against it driving it into his chest further which caused another cry of pain. "What do you want" She said. More importantly where had they come from? They had slaughtered the entire nest, there had not been a single vampire alive when they'd walked out of that warehouse. "and how did you find me?"
"Well your massacre was hardly subtle" he pointed out "besides word on the horizon is you have a ring... one we'd all very much like to get our hands on" she tilted her head in confusion, how did they know about the ring, as far as she could tell Travis and her brothers were the only ones who knew anything about it.
"I don't have the ring" she stated, that wasn't a lie, after all wasn't that the whole reason she was on this date in the first place, to get it back into her possession.
"Oh we know you don't... " he said and again the same confident, knowing grin appeared on his face.
"Hunter..."she said and a panic rose in her chest. She drove the branch in a little further knowing it would be hell for him to get out and turned to run back to where they'd been sitting. Her stomach sank as she saw he was gone. Pulling out her phone she dialed the first number she had on speed dial and waiting for an answer. "Jake? We have a problem"
Monday, 16 September 2013
The Novel Summary: The Lost Legacy
Finn Adams
thought she knew what her life had in store for her; a mundane existence of day
to day life. After meeting Eamon, the mysterious new boy at school and her
whole world is flipped upside down. When her mother goes missing, Finn soon discovers that she is a witch and she is being hunted for her power. Ripped from the only life she’s
ever known, Finn is transported across the country to
Broadhaven, Maine to discover the secrets she never knew about herself, her
heritage, and the tremendous power she’s kept hidden for so long. Her loyalties
are tested when she learns of her true parentage and discovers she is part of a prophecy, destined to awaken an ancient power that has been lost for centuries .
As she struggles to learn from her mother’s past, she is faced with the
ultimate struggle of good and evil, family or friends, she must learn who she
can trust and find the power within herself to stop the prophecy from coming
true.
Tuesday, 3 September 2013
Part 6
The Dalton's Short Story, Fantasy Fiction continues with Part 6
PART ONE: http://thewriteaddictions.blogspot.ca/2013/04/a-daltons-short-story.html
PART TWO: http://thewriteaddictions.blogspot.ca/2013/07/a-daltons-short-story-ctd.html
PART THREE: http://thewriteaddictions.blogspot.ca/2013/07/daltons-part-3.html
PART FOUR: http://thewriteaddictions.blogspot.ca/2013/07/daltons-part-4.html
PART FIVE: http://thewriteaddictions.blogspot.ca/2013/08/daltons-part-5.html
"Is that a dress?" James Dalton's voice inquired with a hint of surprise. "Are we going under cover or something?" he asked his sister as he watched her.
"What? No...I just- " she couldn't tell him the truth. "Wanted to wear it is there a law against that or something?" Lia's dress selection was slim, she owned about two in total one, the one she had on now was more casual, a red linen sundress the other was a little dressier and usually only for serious undercover work. For the rest of her apparel it consisted most of jeans, cutoffs and plaid.
"You just look weird that's all" he said. Great, she looked weird that was exactly what she wanted to hear. The dress was off faster than he'd said it and just as quickly she was back in dark straight leg jeans, her black combat boots with a red tank and her leather jacket. She actually felt more like herself in this, and what did it matter what she was wearing anyway, she wasn't going on a real date. Grabbing her bag she moved to the door and moved to leave.
"Hey wait up I'll come with you where are you going?" Jimmy asked as he sat up from the bed.
"No!" she said too quickly but she couldn't risk him actually wanting to come along. "You don't want to I have stuff to do-" though she couldn't exactly think of what she would need to do that required her older brother to stay behind. "girl stuff" she said hesitantly. It was weak at best but she had learned a long time ago in the Dalton house hold if you said you had girl stuff to deal with it made everyone uncomfortable and they would leave you alone.
"Oh... err okay well good luck?" he said leaning back and she quickly made her way out of the room before he could have a chance to change his mind.
***
She had told him to meet her back in front of the diner for one reason, she didn't want him knowing where she was staying, and she also didn't want her brothers to have any idea what she was up to. This way, meeting on her own terms it was a win-win situation for her. Hearing a scartch on the pavement behind her she turned quickly, her hand on her bag ready to pull a weapon at the first sign of trouble. She relaxed slightly at the sight of Hunter standing there, the same stupid grin on his face. "Next time you sneak up on me like that I will cut you" she warned him and he laughed. Heh, if only she'd actually been kidding it may have been funny.
"You look hot" he observed and she rolled her eyes. He really was just blunt, it was sort of refreshing to hear the honesty even if it wasn't exactly always the easiest thing to respond to. She was a liar, born and raised. It was difficult to reveal the truth on the best of days, and especially to a stranger.
"Thanks" she responded simply and held out her hand. "Ring" she demanded.
"You want a ring already? Well, that's a little soon, you're hot and all but I don't do marriage"
"Do you take anything seriously?" she asked him "you know exactly what ring I'm talking about come on"
"and you know you're not getting it back until after the date" he said with a grin and offered his arm.
"I hate you" she muttered but took it anyway. She had to make the best of this, it was her own mess and it was her responsibility to clean it up.
"No you don't, you just don't know me" he pointed out.
"No but I know guys like you...and I hate you" she assured him. The over confident athlete who thought he could get any girl that he wanted to. That was not the case with her and she knew that, it was just a matter of making sure that he knew that.
"Just suck it up princess, I promise you'll have fun" that was a very assuming promise.
***
The car ride to where ever he was taking her had started out awkwardly, the silence between them was so thick it could be cut with a knife. The longer he tried to talk to her the easier it became to just let him. He was right, it was one date and she was leaving so she could relax and let her guard down, after all he wasn't a demon she'd already figured that one out. For the first time in a long time she felt normal. She laughed at his stories as they drove and the hunt and her life was the furthest thing from her mind. She watched him thoughtfully as he talked and for a moment he turned his eyes from the road to look at her and smiled, she smiled in return. He was so painfully normal, just a guy who had no idea who she was, what she did. She was envious of his life, though she suspected he was wasting it, the potential at least. A sadness settled into her as she realized how badly she wanted that. She'd never really thought anything of her life other than knowing it would never change. She didn't let herself care about people because as soon as she did they were taken from her, killed, possessed, or lost when she moved towns. For the first time in her life she actually let herself imagine what it was like to be human, blissfully ignorant and happy. "What's your favorite flower?" he asked suddenly and she turned from her thoughts back to the moment. She'd never been quite so stumped by a question before, but truthfully she didn't have one. To her, a flower was a flower and it wasn't like she had any good memories tied to any specific type.
"I guess I don't have one" She admitted.
"How is that possible, I thought girls obsessed about things like flowers" the wrong flower meant the wrong thing, boy had he learned that the hard way. "All those secret meanings and stuff, I swear you guys have a club" she laughed at the thought but shook her head.
"Some girls maybe but I wouldn't know the difference" she assured him.
"No ones ever given you 'the wrong flowers'?" He asked the disbelief obvious in his voice.
"No, no ones ever given me flowers at all" She corrected and she lurched forward slightly as he hit the brakes.
"What? No one's ever given you flowers? That's impossible..." he accused.
"Ow!" she stated though it hadn't actually hurt, she'd been in some pretty bad crashes in her lifetime a little seat belt tension was hardly going to do any damage. "It's not impossible, it's the truth" he was staring at her like she was some sort of new species of animal at the zoo and it was making her slightly uncomfortable.
"Wait here" he said putting the car into park and climbed out.
"Wait where are you-" he shut the door behind him "going" she finished and with a sigh sat back in her seat. With her luck he was ditching her on the side of the road in a rental car. At least he'd left the keys, that was some sort of act of kindness. After a few minutes she was about to just get up and get out the car. Just as she was undoing her seat belt the door flew open and he slipped back inside handing her a handing of somewhat mangled flowers. She blinked in surprise and a hint of a smile crossed her lips. Seriously? He'd stopped the car to get her flowers, she might have laughed but it was surprisingly sweet, even if she wouldn't dare admit that. It was something she hadn't exactly expected from him. She wasn't exactly sure what she'd expected from him but in the back of her mind she hadn't exactly gotten a thoughtful vibe from him.
"Yeah! I'm a nice guy" he told her in response to her surprised look "Well that, and I was kind of hoping it might help get me laid" he said a joking tone in his voice but she couldn't help thinking he was very serious.
"Don't hold your breath, you'll pass out long before that happens" She told him but as she turned her attention to the window a small smile settled on her lips as she lifted the flowers to smell. Leaning her head forward she let her hair fall to cover her face and hide the smile that had formed there. For the first time in a long time she just felt like a girl, a normal girl on a somewhat abnormal but still enjoyable date. Damn it, she had been convinced he wouldn't deliver now it was going to be really hard to get him to leave her alone, she was going to have to pull one hell of an Oscar performance.
After a couple more minutes of driving he stopped the car and got out and ran around to open her door before she even got the chance to get her seat belt off. "Thanks..." she said hesitantly. He didn't seem like the chivalrous type to be honest so there was a serious hint of doubt hanging in the back of her mind with every action he took to prove otherwise.
"So I know you're not from here" he started "So where are you from?" It was a fair enough question the only problem being the fact that she didn't really have an answer for him.
"I'm, not really from anywhere" She admitted, she had been born in Boston but hadn't been back since her parents had died. Since then they had moved around nearly every week into a new town. The only form of stability had been the lockbox cabin her grandfather had found in the woods somewhere down South. When she'd been really little they'd leave her there alone for days at a time for 'safety' when a hunt was too dangerous but once she'd turned 12 and made her first kill they hadn't needed to do that anymore. "We moved around a lot, still do"
"Ah Military?" He asked and she could do nothing more than shrug her shoulders.
"Something like that"
"You don't talk much" he added and she laughed.
"Yeah well I'm not my favorite topic" she confessed. She would love to be able to talk about herself, but she knew she couldn't, not with her past, and the type of work she did. The less he knew the better.
"I'm from New Orleans.... if you were wondering" he changed the subject without question, something she appreciated and though she'd been dying to know, asking would imply interest and it was safer to remain with as little interest as possible.
"I wasn't" She assured him, even thought she actually had been "I was really more wondering how you ended up here" she admitted as though she really wasn't wondering at all but she knew why she was in this town, she couldn't seem to figure out why on earth he would be.
"Training camp... I'm a kick boxer I've got a match in a couple weeks this is my coach's home town he wanted to be able to spend some time with his family and train at the same time" he stated with a shrug. So she had been right, he was an overconfident athlete, apparently not a very good fighter, or at least not as good as she was. "you don't seem surprised..." he added and she shrugged her shoulders gently.
"I knew you were some sort of jock it was just a matter of what sport...Where are we going?" she asked as she realised they were wandering through the public park with what seemed to be no direction.
"You'll see" he assured her. "can I blind fold you?" he asked curiously with a smart hesitation in his voice.
"Can I cut off your right hand?" she asked. She could see him hesitate for a moment, the look in his eyes as though he were considering weather or not she would actually do that.
"I'm going to assume you're joking and do it anyway" he told her and next thing she knew her eyes were covered.
"Just so you know I have sensory training" she warned him. Blindfolded combat had been one of the earlier traning exercises their grandfather had taught them and she was perfect capable of retaliating.
"of course you do" he said with a laugh though he suspected that she was being quite serious. "Can you just relax and trust me?" he asked. It was a fair enough question, but trust was not something Amalia Dalton just gave to anyone, there were two people in her life that held her trust and it was only because they watched her back in dangerous situations each day, she had to trust them or she would die. Hunter, she didn't have to trust but something was preventing her from fighting him, she took it as a sign that he wasn't going to back track, she had an instinct about people, and as annoying as he seemed to be, her danger senses were seriously low.
"Fine" she said carefully "I trust you"
PART ONE: http://thewriteaddictions.blogspot.ca/2013/04/a-daltons-short-story.html
PART TWO: http://thewriteaddictions.blogspot.ca/2013/07/a-daltons-short-story-ctd.html
PART THREE: http://thewriteaddictions.blogspot.ca/2013/07/daltons-part-3.html
PART FOUR: http://thewriteaddictions.blogspot.ca/2013/07/daltons-part-4.html
PART FIVE: http://thewriteaddictions.blogspot.ca/2013/08/daltons-part-5.html
"Is that a dress?" James Dalton's voice inquired with a hint of surprise. "Are we going under cover or something?" he asked his sister as he watched her.
"What? No...I just- " she couldn't tell him the truth. "Wanted to wear it is there a law against that or something?" Lia's dress selection was slim, she owned about two in total one, the one she had on now was more casual, a red linen sundress the other was a little dressier and usually only for serious undercover work. For the rest of her apparel it consisted most of jeans, cutoffs and plaid.
"You just look weird that's all" he said. Great, she looked weird that was exactly what she wanted to hear. The dress was off faster than he'd said it and just as quickly she was back in dark straight leg jeans, her black combat boots with a red tank and her leather jacket. She actually felt more like herself in this, and what did it matter what she was wearing anyway, she wasn't going on a real date. Grabbing her bag she moved to the door and moved to leave.
"Hey wait up I'll come with you where are you going?" Jimmy asked as he sat up from the bed.
"No!" she said too quickly but she couldn't risk him actually wanting to come along. "You don't want to I have stuff to do-" though she couldn't exactly think of what she would need to do that required her older brother to stay behind. "girl stuff" she said hesitantly. It was weak at best but she had learned a long time ago in the Dalton house hold if you said you had girl stuff to deal with it made everyone uncomfortable and they would leave you alone.
"Oh... err okay well good luck?" he said leaning back and she quickly made her way out of the room before he could have a chance to change his mind.
***
She had told him to meet her back in front of the diner for one reason, she didn't want him knowing where she was staying, and she also didn't want her brothers to have any idea what she was up to. This way, meeting on her own terms it was a win-win situation for her. Hearing a scartch on the pavement behind her she turned quickly, her hand on her bag ready to pull a weapon at the first sign of trouble. She relaxed slightly at the sight of Hunter standing there, the same stupid grin on his face. "Next time you sneak up on me like that I will cut you" she warned him and he laughed. Heh, if only she'd actually been kidding it may have been funny.
"You look hot" he observed and she rolled her eyes. He really was just blunt, it was sort of refreshing to hear the honesty even if it wasn't exactly always the easiest thing to respond to. She was a liar, born and raised. It was difficult to reveal the truth on the best of days, and especially to a stranger.
"Thanks" she responded simply and held out her hand. "Ring" she demanded.
"You want a ring already? Well, that's a little soon, you're hot and all but I don't do marriage"
"Do you take anything seriously?" she asked him "you know exactly what ring I'm talking about come on"
"and you know you're not getting it back until after the date" he said with a grin and offered his arm.
"I hate you" she muttered but took it anyway. She had to make the best of this, it was her own mess and it was her responsibility to clean it up.
"No you don't, you just don't know me" he pointed out.
"No but I know guys like you...and I hate you" she assured him. The over confident athlete who thought he could get any girl that he wanted to. That was not the case with her and she knew that, it was just a matter of making sure that he knew that.
"Just suck it up princess, I promise you'll have fun" that was a very assuming promise.
***
The car ride to where ever he was taking her had started out awkwardly, the silence between them was so thick it could be cut with a knife. The longer he tried to talk to her the easier it became to just let him. He was right, it was one date and she was leaving so she could relax and let her guard down, after all he wasn't a demon she'd already figured that one out. For the first time in a long time she felt normal. She laughed at his stories as they drove and the hunt and her life was the furthest thing from her mind. She watched him thoughtfully as he talked and for a moment he turned his eyes from the road to look at her and smiled, she smiled in return. He was so painfully normal, just a guy who had no idea who she was, what she did. She was envious of his life, though she suspected he was wasting it, the potential at least. A sadness settled into her as she realized how badly she wanted that. She'd never really thought anything of her life other than knowing it would never change. She didn't let herself care about people because as soon as she did they were taken from her, killed, possessed, or lost when she moved towns. For the first time in her life she actually let herself imagine what it was like to be human, blissfully ignorant and happy. "What's your favorite flower?" he asked suddenly and she turned from her thoughts back to the moment. She'd never been quite so stumped by a question before, but truthfully she didn't have one. To her, a flower was a flower and it wasn't like she had any good memories tied to any specific type.
"I guess I don't have one" She admitted.
"How is that possible, I thought girls obsessed about things like flowers" the wrong flower meant the wrong thing, boy had he learned that the hard way. "All those secret meanings and stuff, I swear you guys have a club" she laughed at the thought but shook her head.
"Some girls maybe but I wouldn't know the difference" she assured him.
"No ones ever given you 'the wrong flowers'?" He asked the disbelief obvious in his voice.
"No, no ones ever given me flowers at all" She corrected and she lurched forward slightly as he hit the brakes.
"What? No one's ever given you flowers? That's impossible..." he accused.
"Ow!" she stated though it hadn't actually hurt, she'd been in some pretty bad crashes in her lifetime a little seat belt tension was hardly going to do any damage. "It's not impossible, it's the truth" he was staring at her like she was some sort of new species of animal at the zoo and it was making her slightly uncomfortable.
"Wait here" he said putting the car into park and climbed out.
"Wait where are you-" he shut the door behind him "going" she finished and with a sigh sat back in her seat. With her luck he was ditching her on the side of the road in a rental car. At least he'd left the keys, that was some sort of act of kindness. After a few minutes she was about to just get up and get out the car. Just as she was undoing her seat belt the door flew open and he slipped back inside handing her a handing of somewhat mangled flowers. She blinked in surprise and a hint of a smile crossed her lips. Seriously? He'd stopped the car to get her flowers, she might have laughed but it was surprisingly sweet, even if she wouldn't dare admit that. It was something she hadn't exactly expected from him. She wasn't exactly sure what she'd expected from him but in the back of her mind she hadn't exactly gotten a thoughtful vibe from him.
"Yeah! I'm a nice guy" he told her in response to her surprised look "Well that, and I was kind of hoping it might help get me laid" he said a joking tone in his voice but she couldn't help thinking he was very serious.
"Don't hold your breath, you'll pass out long before that happens" She told him but as she turned her attention to the window a small smile settled on her lips as she lifted the flowers to smell. Leaning her head forward she let her hair fall to cover her face and hide the smile that had formed there. For the first time in a long time she just felt like a girl, a normal girl on a somewhat abnormal but still enjoyable date. Damn it, she had been convinced he wouldn't deliver now it was going to be really hard to get him to leave her alone, she was going to have to pull one hell of an Oscar performance.
After a couple more minutes of driving he stopped the car and got out and ran around to open her door before she even got the chance to get her seat belt off. "Thanks..." she said hesitantly. He didn't seem like the chivalrous type to be honest so there was a serious hint of doubt hanging in the back of her mind with every action he took to prove otherwise.
"So I know you're not from here" he started "So where are you from?" It was a fair enough question the only problem being the fact that she didn't really have an answer for him.
"I'm, not really from anywhere" She admitted, she had been born in Boston but hadn't been back since her parents had died. Since then they had moved around nearly every week into a new town. The only form of stability had been the lockbox cabin her grandfather had found in the woods somewhere down South. When she'd been really little they'd leave her there alone for days at a time for 'safety' when a hunt was too dangerous but once she'd turned 12 and made her first kill they hadn't needed to do that anymore. "We moved around a lot, still do"
"Ah Military?" He asked and she could do nothing more than shrug her shoulders.
"Something like that"
"You don't talk much" he added and she laughed.
"Yeah well I'm not my favorite topic" she confessed. She would love to be able to talk about herself, but she knew she couldn't, not with her past, and the type of work she did. The less he knew the better.
"I'm from New Orleans.... if you were wondering" he changed the subject without question, something she appreciated and though she'd been dying to know, asking would imply interest and it was safer to remain with as little interest as possible.
"I wasn't" She assured him, even thought she actually had been "I was really more wondering how you ended up here" she admitted as though she really wasn't wondering at all but she knew why she was in this town, she couldn't seem to figure out why on earth he would be.
"Training camp... I'm a kick boxer I've got a match in a couple weeks this is my coach's home town he wanted to be able to spend some time with his family and train at the same time" he stated with a shrug. So she had been right, he was an overconfident athlete, apparently not a very good fighter, or at least not as good as she was. "you don't seem surprised..." he added and she shrugged her shoulders gently.
"I knew you were some sort of jock it was just a matter of what sport...Where are we going?" she asked as she realised they were wandering through the public park with what seemed to be no direction.
"You'll see" he assured her. "can I blind fold you?" he asked curiously with a smart hesitation in his voice.
"Can I cut off your right hand?" she asked. She could see him hesitate for a moment, the look in his eyes as though he were considering weather or not she would actually do that.
"I'm going to assume you're joking and do it anyway" he told her and next thing she knew her eyes were covered.
"Just so you know I have sensory training" she warned him. Blindfolded combat had been one of the earlier traning exercises their grandfather had taught them and she was perfect capable of retaliating.
"of course you do" he said with a laugh though he suspected that she was being quite serious. "Can you just relax and trust me?" he asked. It was a fair enough question, but trust was not something Amalia Dalton just gave to anyone, there were two people in her life that held her trust and it was only because they watched her back in dangerous situations each day, she had to trust them or she would die. Hunter, she didn't have to trust but something was preventing her from fighting him, she took it as a sign that he wasn't going to back track, she had an instinct about people, and as annoying as he seemed to be, her danger senses were seriously low.
"Fine" she said carefully "I trust you"
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)