THe Painter

Tarabite and I creeped into the living room. This was a mission not some folly thing. We had to get joshua to talk about Maddie in his sleep. If it was fulfilled we could rest at ease that we had done the right thing and got them back together again when it was my stupid mistake that split them up in the first place. You see when Maddie was little, about three, her dad was very abusive and she often came to our genius babies school with bruises and cuts all over her body. One day it had been especially bad and that happened to be the day she met josh. She acted like she had fallen out of a tree and he believed her so much so that he wanted to hang out with her. Last year they had started going out having been friends since that day. A couple of weeks ago Josh decided he wanted to meet Maddie's dad. She was very coy in keeping him away from her house and one day, as usual, in my morning not awak and not thinking mode, I told him about Maddie's dad. He was horrified by her father, then angry at maddie for having lied to him about it when something could have been done years ago. She told him that her dad just got angry sometimes and that she loved her father and couldn't bear for things to get "taken care of" so they got in a fight. Then the saddest thing in the world happened, the cutest couple to ever walk this earth BROKE UP. Just plain both said I ca't be with you anymore and borke up. Maddie always still talked about josh and we decided (tarabite and I) to get them back together. If we could just get him to think he still loved her then everything would be all right, but I had always been a bit of a clumsy kind of blonde person and surely enough, I tripped over the couch. Josh came out completely freaked in a pair of aerospace boxers and we began to laugh our heads off at him, realizing now who it was. He ran and put on a robe then came to ask what we were doing. I told him all aobut Maddie and how things were for him and he said he still felt the same. I told him he should talk to her tomorrow if he could and we would help. He nodded then turned to look at the clock. As her turned tarabite readied her pouch and we dissapeared as he tried, in his confused stills leeping state, to figure out what those darned numbers meant. When he turned around, we were gone and he was ready for bed.

The Painter

I went out after our friends had found the terrified girl. She cocked her head to get a better look at the stranger creature in front of her. I looked back, but not because she was odd. Her wispy hair was blue and gray, the colors of sadness, and looked as though she had never washed or combed it. Her eyes were the normal gray color, but unlike the others, the fire that burned in the back was gone, and so was any spark of light. Her clothes were torn and ruined. She had red blood spilling in many places. She was nearly dead. I walked up slowly and she began to squirm and try to get free. So she was afraid of me. Well I'd fix that soon enough.

The Creeasnts held her in place and I began to treat her wounds, to help her. Slowly, but surely, a little spark started in her eyes. When her wounds were all healed, Creeasnt's wounds have a quick heal, I began to explain what had happened to her lover. I carried his message, but she never batted an eyelid.I began to belief I had the wrong girl when she spoke to her gods in her own tongue.

"Relay this message to him. please my gods! Tell him he has done well, and he fufilled both his missions. To die and to save me. Thank you."

I was confused but I said nothing. She turned to me,"thank you too. Manny would not have relaied the messagy and ignoored meh. I thank you vary moochly."

I spoke in creeasnt to her,"I speak your language fluently. YOu need not try english among us."

She smiled and nodded at the kindess and turned to the others dismissed them. "I need a place to stay and wash. And somewhere to eat"

"I can provide all of that, IF you are willing ot help me and my friends defy the dark lord"
She smiled coyly and nodded. I knew then that her lover was not her set lover, and she had been defying him so years. I knew then that she would be very helpful. I knew then that she would show us the way. And I was glad.

Life as we know it continued

I grabbed the knife from under my pillow and pulled my covers closer around me. Switching on the light I found nothing. So this WASN'T another middle of the night-stay awake-raid done by the other girls. I looked around my room. I started screaming at the top ;of my lungs, when I found nothing. Annie came running in with my little brother Saige.

"What's wrong?"
"Bad dream. Sorry I woke you. Hey, Mom," She forced me to call her mom around her," Can Saige stay in my room. I got a little scared and I think my little boy would make everything better."

Annie eyed me oddly, because I never let Saige sleep in my room, even when he begs for two hours. At this point, Saige was ignoring Annie and jumping up and down screaming,"I get to sleep in Atica's room! I get to stay in Atica's room!"

Annie told him to shutup and began to say slowly that he oculd but why did I want him in there when my bed moved. I told Annie to go to bed and Saige stayed in my room. I asked him to go get me a glass of water, really quick, and he ran out. I then turned to confront the underneath of the bed.I stuck my toe under and something bit it. Hard. I pulled it out and thrust the knife under. The something grabbed it before it reached skin and wrenched my hand, trying to get the knife out of my grasp. I held tight to my only survival tool and gave it a hard in what I assumed to be the chest area. I screeched in an odd voice that only a water elemental protector could hear. So this was a creature from the other world. In other words, NOT GOOD!

Saige chose that moment to speak up,"What's under your bed?"
I flipped around at a record pace and told him"Nothing. Go to bed Saige." In my best teenage sister voice. He left pouting and I returned to grappling with the Icreeasnt(Ick-re-as-net) under my bed. It pulled my closer and kicked at my kneecap. I heard a snap as the kneecap came out of place and broke my leg. It began to pull again, to get my arm this time, when I kicked it in the stomach again. I picked up my bed and moved it so I could see the windless Icreeasnt under my sleeping space. It was Male, obviously young, with a look of malice on it's dark face. It had shrouded itself in clothes in hope that I would not find it's weak area's but it was not prepared for a protector who had studied their bodies for two years. I kicked aobut a foot lower in the stomach and he doubled over in pain. I picked up my knife, grimacing because of the bloody process I had to complete. I stuck it in between The young Icreeasnt's eyes and he whispered something. I bent down, knowing exactly what he knew, that he would die and like all Icreeasnts he would ask me to carry a message to his loved ones.

"My name is Leion. Carry my message Taribite. Tell her I love her and that I died trying to save her."

I then realized what I had done. This young Leion was being forced by the overlord of the other world. He was trying to save his love, Taribite, and he had failed by failing to kill me. I was sorry I had done this, quite remorseful really, but I knew it had to be done. It was him or me, and I was a protector. But still it stung that I had killed one of the very creatures I needed. A Creeasnt who was against the overlord and willing to help us. I could have protected him and his Taribite.

I called Mattie. No answer. I paged her. No answer. I summoned her spirit. It appeared in the middle of my room,"WHAT DO YOU WANT?!"

I told her the story of what had just happened and she dispatched two of our cCreeasnt friends to find and save the lost and indagered Taribite.

Life as we know it. (acontinuatinon of the painter)

It was a stormy gray night and Mattie had called an emergency meeting at the clubhouse. We were all there in 15 minutes and ready to find out what she had ot say. Little did we know it was going ot turn our lives upsode down and change everything we knew.

"I found an open portal, to Tamara."
"Woah!! wait a minute!!! That means we have," Karma checked her watch,"36 hours and 20 minutes to close or...or..."
"Life as we know it will cease to exsist. the main reason this is so important it, unlike the first portal we foun, it isn't in a painting and i can't change the scene to close it.
"well where is it?'
"Moby's Cave."

We gasped. Moby's cave was the abandoned piece of beach and rocks, the cave in which Captain Moby and his crew had crashed into, killing almost 400 sailors, passengers, and Captain Moby himself. Moby's cave was under constant guard because it was so dangerous and Mayor Tyloer didn't want anyone to get in there. There was no way in or out, at least alive. No one had ever comeout of Moby's Cave. Captain Moby was bringing lost souls and medicine to our small town. After the crash, over 600 sick and wounded died. The plague passed and Mayor Koco helped rebuild Langshire to th point where it was livable. His son, Moby, had died and he was going ot fix everything. His daughter bore a son named Toreck and he became the next president, continuing the mayor's name in Koco's generations.

"That's impossible. We can't do that"
"we have to. Girls, we are the guardians. We must do this."
we nodded in agreement and went home ot pack out supplies for the dangerous task ahead of us