Tiana aka Bofur: Nero trotted out of the school on the edge of town and sat on the same stump he usually did while he waited for his sister. He took out one of his books and started to read. When he was halfway finished with one page he heard excited chatter from behind the stone school house.
Curious he closed his book and crept around the building.
He saw a group of boys and girls standing in a circle around one girl. They were jeering at her and calling her and her father all sorts of foul names.
Nero saw that she was trying to be strong but tears were running down her cheeks.
Not standing for bullying, and not one to just walk away, Nero marched up to the circle and pushed his way through the crowd.
He planted himself in front of her. “Leave her alone!”
“Don’t you know who this is?” One of the older boys laughed.
“She is the daughter of a thief!” Another called.
“So?” Nero snapped.
“So get out of the way little boy.” A boy walked up to him and pushed him back.
Nero was ready and didn’t lose his footing.
“You get out of the way you big nosed bully.” Nero glared at him.
“What did you call me?” He asked.
“You heard me.”
The bully threw a punch aimed right at Nero’s nose. Nero staggered back, but still didn’t back down.
“Leave her alone.” He growled.
“Make me!”
The bully threw another punch, Nero blocked it and hit him in the eye.
“Nero!”
Nero cringed at the sound of his sister’s angry voice. The bully saw what his sister thought and fell on the ground screaming.
“Nero what did you do?” She marched up to him.
“I… I… I…” he stuttered.
“Come on.” His sister grabbed him.
“Thank you,” the girl whispered as he passed out of the circle.
Con aka Samwise: Kyra was glaring at me. Those eyes were shooting daggers at me. They expressed so much. Disappointment. Lots of that. Hurt. Hatred. Maybe even a tinge of disgust.
I peered at her from beneath my brown hanging locks. Okay, I was picking up on a lot more than just a tinge of disgust.
I had the kiddish urge to stick out my tongue at her, defy her judgement. Proclaim to her, and the world at large that I could care less that she scorned me. It was disturbing that I barely restrained my tongue.
Instead, I spat onto the dirt, and rubbed my spittle into the dirt with my bare foot. It was cold and squishy beneath my toes, and when I looked back down on my toes there was a splatter of wetter and cleaner skin there.
I glanced at her retreating back. She was escorting away her younger brother, a witness to my latest misdeed. He was dressed in a nice tunic. She was in a pretty dress. Heck, it was lovely.
I slowly stuffed the chunk of stolen bread into my mouth, and chewed slowly. Contemplatively. Did she have reason to scorn me?
I swallowed a lump, which almost caused me to choke, and stuffed some more in.
Probably.
I was a dirty thief now. We had been pals growing up, but lately grown apart. She had been taken in by the noble’s lady as a maidservant. I was taken in by no one, and cast out by them all.
I stuffed some more bread into my mouth, and slipped the rest into the pocket of my baggy jerkin. It had used to fit me more snuggly.
The world owed me a loaf of bread. I was convinced of that.
And yet, part of me despised myself. Part of me wanted to sign up for the army, go die a hero in some senseless war. Another part of me wanted to disappear into the woods, never to return. To live off the land.
A figure came up and clasped my hand. I stared down into the soft brown eyes of my younger sister, and slipped her the rest of the loaf. “How’s the hair, princess?”
She fingered a lock as she twirled it between her fingers. “Dirty.” Her tone was careless. She was used to this life. She enjoyed it. The adventure, the screaming cooks shaking cleavers at us. The adrenaline was exhilarating, I must admit.
I cackled, rubbing my hand in it. It was dirty, so was the rest of her. And me. “How do you feel about moving on, sis?”
She glanced up at me. “Where would we go?”
I stared off at the horizon. “I was thinking anywhere but here.”
Sabrina aka Legolas: Illessa’s glare cut through Dare’s chest, like she was tearing through his clothes and flesh to rip his heart out with just her eyes. It wasn’t so much that she was glaring at him, it was why she was glaring at him, and the emotion that was encapsulated in the dark brown depths.
Disappointment.
He had disappointed her.
He had finally started to build up her trust. Something had sparked between them. He was certain something had. He’d thought maybe she was finally starting to overlook the fact that he was a half-blood.
It hadn’t taken much for that trust to be shattered.
“Illessa,” Dare started.
Her brows drew together in a dark, firm line. She cut him off with a slice of her hand through the air. “Stop.” Her voice was thick with emotion. The muscles in her jaw and neck were pulled taught. “Just, stop.” She shook her head, disappointment brimming in her eyes. A smile lifted her lips, but not a happy one. It was a smile that had fiery anger and seething emotion crackling and snapping behind it. That slight smile was worse than if she had outright yelled at him. He would have preferred that she had yelled, screamed, beat his chest with her fists, punched him, slapped him... The angry smile was so much worse. But what cut like a dagger to his breast was the look of disappointment in the eyes he loved so much.
He had failed her.
Zachary aka Kili: “He’s fading…” The Doctor said. “No! He can’t be!” I shouted, leaping from my bed. I grabbed the Doctor by his coat, and said “That is my partner, you better help him!” “Corporal Ryrie, please! Keep your voice down, they’re still searching for you!” The Doctor said, “We’re doing the best we can!” “Can you let me see him?” “I can…” Outside of the Hospital, the SS was still searching for Peter and me. A little boy got loose from his mother, who was tightly holding him, trying to keep him from being taken. The SS were frantically searching for us. This meant they were willing to kill. They were always ready to kill. The little boy ran, right in front of an SS soldier. The man grabbed the little boy, and pushed him to the ground, and pointed his Mauser at him. His mother rushed to grab him, and wrapped her arms around the boy, shielding him from the SS man. The soldier pulled his rifle back, and started to walk away. He then turned and smacked the woman in the head with the butt of the stock. She fell over.
Curious he closed his book and crept around the building.
He saw a group of boys and girls standing in a circle around one girl. They were jeering at her and calling her and her father all sorts of foul names.
Nero saw that she was trying to be strong but tears were running down her cheeks.
Not standing for bullying, and not one to just walk away, Nero marched up to the circle and pushed his way through the crowd.
He planted himself in front of her. “Leave her alone!”
“Don’t you know who this is?” One of the older boys laughed.
“She is the daughter of a thief!” Another called.
“So?” Nero snapped.
“So get out of the way little boy.” A boy walked up to him and pushed him back.
Nero was ready and didn’t lose his footing.
“You get out of the way you big nosed bully.” Nero glared at him.
“What did you call me?” He asked.
“You heard me.”
The bully threw a punch aimed right at Nero’s nose. Nero staggered back, but still didn’t back down.
“Leave her alone.” He growled.
“Make me!”
The bully threw another punch, Nero blocked it and hit him in the eye.
“Nero!”
Nero cringed at the sound of his sister’s angry voice. The bully saw what his sister thought and fell on the ground screaming.
“Nero what did you do?” She marched up to him.
“I… I… I…” he stuttered.
“Come on.” His sister grabbed him.
“Thank you,” the girl whispered as he passed out of the circle.
Con aka Samwise: Kyra was glaring at me. Those eyes were shooting daggers at me. They expressed so much. Disappointment. Lots of that. Hurt. Hatred. Maybe even a tinge of disgust.
I peered at her from beneath my brown hanging locks. Okay, I was picking up on a lot more than just a tinge of disgust.
I had the kiddish urge to stick out my tongue at her, defy her judgement. Proclaim to her, and the world at large that I could care less that she scorned me. It was disturbing that I barely restrained my tongue.
Instead, I spat onto the dirt, and rubbed my spittle into the dirt with my bare foot. It was cold and squishy beneath my toes, and when I looked back down on my toes there was a splatter of wetter and cleaner skin there.
I glanced at her retreating back. She was escorting away her younger brother, a witness to my latest misdeed. He was dressed in a nice tunic. She was in a pretty dress. Heck, it was lovely.
I slowly stuffed the chunk of stolen bread into my mouth, and chewed slowly. Contemplatively. Did she have reason to scorn me?
I swallowed a lump, which almost caused me to choke, and stuffed some more in.
Probably.
I was a dirty thief now. We had been pals growing up, but lately grown apart. She had been taken in by the noble’s lady as a maidservant. I was taken in by no one, and cast out by them all.
I stuffed some more bread into my mouth, and slipped the rest into the pocket of my baggy jerkin. It had used to fit me more snuggly.
The world owed me a loaf of bread. I was convinced of that.
And yet, part of me despised myself. Part of me wanted to sign up for the army, go die a hero in some senseless war. Another part of me wanted to disappear into the woods, never to return. To live off the land.
A figure came up and clasped my hand. I stared down into the soft brown eyes of my younger sister, and slipped her the rest of the loaf. “How’s the hair, princess?”
She fingered a lock as she twirled it between her fingers. “Dirty.” Her tone was careless. She was used to this life. She enjoyed it. The adventure, the screaming cooks shaking cleavers at us. The adrenaline was exhilarating, I must admit.
I cackled, rubbing my hand in it. It was dirty, so was the rest of her. And me. “How do you feel about moving on, sis?”
She glanced up at me. “Where would we go?”
I stared off at the horizon. “I was thinking anywhere but here.”
Sabrina aka Legolas: Illessa’s glare cut through Dare’s chest, like she was tearing through his clothes and flesh to rip his heart out with just her eyes. It wasn’t so much that she was glaring at him, it was why she was glaring at him, and the emotion that was encapsulated in the dark brown depths.
Disappointment.
He had disappointed her.
He had finally started to build up her trust. Something had sparked between them. He was certain something had. He’d thought maybe she was finally starting to overlook the fact that he was a half-blood.
It hadn’t taken much for that trust to be shattered.
“Illessa,” Dare started.
Her brows drew together in a dark, firm line. She cut him off with a slice of her hand through the air. “Stop.” Her voice was thick with emotion. The muscles in her jaw and neck were pulled taught. “Just, stop.” She shook her head, disappointment brimming in her eyes. A smile lifted her lips, but not a happy one. It was a smile that had fiery anger and seething emotion crackling and snapping behind it. That slight smile was worse than if she had outright yelled at him. He would have preferred that she had yelled, screamed, beat his chest with her fists, punched him, slapped him... The angry smile was so much worse. But what cut like a dagger to his breast was the look of disappointment in the eyes he loved so much.
He had failed her.
Zachary aka Kili: “He’s fading…” The Doctor said. “No! He can’t be!” I shouted, leaping from my bed. I grabbed the Doctor by his coat, and said “That is my partner, you better help him!” “Corporal Ryrie, please! Keep your voice down, they’re still searching for you!” The Doctor said, “We’re doing the best we can!” “Can you let me see him?” “I can…” Outside of the Hospital, the SS was still searching for Peter and me. A little boy got loose from his mother, who was tightly holding him, trying to keep him from being taken. The SS were frantically searching for us. This meant they were willing to kill. They were always ready to kill. The little boy ran, right in front of an SS soldier. The man grabbed the little boy, and pushed him to the ground, and pointed his Mauser at him. His mother rushed to grab him, and wrapped her arms around the boy, shielding him from the SS man. The soldier pulled his rifle back, and started to walk away. He then turned and smacked the woman in the head with the butt of the stock. She fell over.
Con aka Samwise: Dear sir,
Most zoos are thought of as like the picture enclosed. Cute animals. I mean, the visitors don’t exactly expect the elephant to kiss them, but heck, maybe a few do. They want something adorable.
I am a visionary. I see a new future in amusement. I have started a different type of zoo. It is a project for those of us who almost died of boredom the last time we went to a zoo.
In this one, that glass that little girl is standing behind will be her only defense between her and a four-ton killing machine.
It shall be a hit. It shall succeed. We’ve had some minor setbacks, but we’re close to opening now. So close.
We would like you to come out and see the park, Mr. Malcolm. View it. I guarantee it’ll be worth your time. All we will need is your opinion, and your signature.
Signed,
John Hammond
Owner of Jurassic Park
Ian leaned back into his chair, and tossed the letter towards a stack of “junk” mail. “As a matter of fact, the last time I went to a zoo I got thrown out for disturbing the visitors with my explanations of how this place exemplified my chaos theory…”
He picked the paper back up, and slipped it into his pocket. It sounded like outrageous fun.
Ian stalked off to go find his shades and black jacket. Oh, and a couple of pens. He had lots of opinions, and would need a lot of ink to express them all. He smiled to myself, and grabbing a glass, he dipped a finger in and sucked on it. Then he dropped the glass. He watched entranced as the water spread out on the floor. Totally random. So unpredictable. So much chaos.
And then Ian realized all that water was about to soak into his carpet, and rushed off to find a towel.
Maria #2 aka Fili: “She was five years old.” The lady honked noisily into her tissue and reached for another to dab at her eyes.
The investigator tapped his pen against the desk, eyes roving the room for something more interesting than the story in front of him. “Last time you said she was barely three. Did you actually have a daughter? Or maybe you’re hallucinating, making up things that aren’t true. Grief can drive the mind to dark places.”
“No!” The woman clenched the tissuse tight, her fingers going white. “We went to the aqautic museum, she wanted to see the polar bears before they were moved across the country.” Her eyes filled once more with tears. “Her favorite books were always about polar bears. Dixon would read them to her every night…”
“That’s very touching.” The man sighed, finally leaning back in his padded armchair, a resigned look on his face. “Have you ever seen a therapist about this? Instead of coming in for a consultation every week?”
“You just don’t understand! I’m not hallucinating, my daughter was taken!”
Tiana aka Bofur: Dak and Kody walked down the dark hallway, lit only by the blue lights from the water on either side. A little girl ran passed them and up to the glass of the polar bear’s enclosure.
Dak kept on walking but Kody stopped and watched as the little girl put her hands on the glass and stared into the blue water. A polar bear swam up to her and put its huge paws against the glass on her hands.
Kody smiled. She reminded him of his sister. He wished she was his sister.
Sabrina aka Legolas: The little girl squealed with delight and let go of her mother’s hand. Pig tails bobbing, she pushed through the crowds of people and ran up to the polar bear exhibit. She pressed her palms and nose against the pane. The sunlight up above streamed down and glinted off the surface of the water. Sunbeams sparkled on the lapping waves and danced on the floor of the pool and reflected on her raptured face.
Through the water swam a massive polar bear. His thick white fur rippled like long ivory grass. His mighty paws swiped through the water, his movements fluid.
He cocked his head, his large ears pivoting. Swimming in a slow circle. The little girl’s exuberant smile reflected back as he swam up to her. The bear pressed the pads of his paws against the glass. The little girls spread her arms wide, putting up her hand that were smaller than one of his toes. The bear smiled.
Zachary aka Kili: “Why Theodore!” “What is it, Barry?” “Look at that sweet little girl down there!” “By Joe, you’re right! Oh, isn’t she adorable!” “I know! I can hardly bare it!” The two jumped into the water, and swam down to where the little girl was. Theodore put his paws against the glass. “Hello little girl!” he said. To the little girl bubbles just came from his mouth. She giggled, as her mom pulled her away. Theodore waved to her, as the children and parents came and left.
Most zoos are thought of as like the picture enclosed. Cute animals. I mean, the visitors don’t exactly expect the elephant to kiss them, but heck, maybe a few do. They want something adorable.
I am a visionary. I see a new future in amusement. I have started a different type of zoo. It is a project for those of us who almost died of boredom the last time we went to a zoo.
In this one, that glass that little girl is standing behind will be her only defense between her and a four-ton killing machine.
It shall be a hit. It shall succeed. We’ve had some minor setbacks, but we’re close to opening now. So close.
We would like you to come out and see the park, Mr. Malcolm. View it. I guarantee it’ll be worth your time. All we will need is your opinion, and your signature.
Signed,
John Hammond
Owner of Jurassic Park
Ian leaned back into his chair, and tossed the letter towards a stack of “junk” mail. “As a matter of fact, the last time I went to a zoo I got thrown out for disturbing the visitors with my explanations of how this place exemplified my chaos theory…”
He picked the paper back up, and slipped it into his pocket. It sounded like outrageous fun.
Ian stalked off to go find his shades and black jacket. Oh, and a couple of pens. He had lots of opinions, and would need a lot of ink to express them all. He smiled to myself, and grabbing a glass, he dipped a finger in and sucked on it. Then he dropped the glass. He watched entranced as the water spread out on the floor. Totally random. So unpredictable. So much chaos.
And then Ian realized all that water was about to soak into his carpet, and rushed off to find a towel.
Maria #2 aka Fili: “She was five years old.” The lady honked noisily into her tissue and reached for another to dab at her eyes.
The investigator tapped his pen against the desk, eyes roving the room for something more interesting than the story in front of him. “Last time you said she was barely three. Did you actually have a daughter? Or maybe you’re hallucinating, making up things that aren’t true. Grief can drive the mind to dark places.”
“No!” The woman clenched the tissuse tight, her fingers going white. “We went to the aqautic museum, she wanted to see the polar bears before they were moved across the country.” Her eyes filled once more with tears. “Her favorite books were always about polar bears. Dixon would read them to her every night…”
“That’s very touching.” The man sighed, finally leaning back in his padded armchair, a resigned look on his face. “Have you ever seen a therapist about this? Instead of coming in for a consultation every week?”
“You just don’t understand! I’m not hallucinating, my daughter was taken!”
Tiana aka Bofur: Dak and Kody walked down the dark hallway, lit only by the blue lights from the water on either side. A little girl ran passed them and up to the glass of the polar bear’s enclosure.
Dak kept on walking but Kody stopped and watched as the little girl put her hands on the glass and stared into the blue water. A polar bear swam up to her and put its huge paws against the glass on her hands.
Kody smiled. She reminded him of his sister. He wished she was his sister.
Sabrina aka Legolas: The little girl squealed with delight and let go of her mother’s hand. Pig tails bobbing, she pushed through the crowds of people and ran up to the polar bear exhibit. She pressed her palms and nose against the pane. The sunlight up above streamed down and glinted off the surface of the water. Sunbeams sparkled on the lapping waves and danced on the floor of the pool and reflected on her raptured face.
Through the water swam a massive polar bear. His thick white fur rippled like long ivory grass. His mighty paws swiped through the water, his movements fluid.
He cocked his head, his large ears pivoting. Swimming in a slow circle. The little girl’s exuberant smile reflected back as he swam up to her. The bear pressed the pads of his paws against the glass. The little girls spread her arms wide, putting up her hand that were smaller than one of his toes. The bear smiled.
Zachary aka Kili: “Why Theodore!” “What is it, Barry?” “Look at that sweet little girl down there!” “By Joe, you’re right! Oh, isn’t she adorable!” “I know! I can hardly bare it!” The two jumped into the water, and swam down to where the little girl was. Theodore put his paws against the glass. “Hello little girl!” he said. To the little girl bubbles just came from his mouth. She giggled, as her mom pulled her away. Theodore waved to her, as the children and parents came and left.
Sabrina aka Legolas: Dare looked up in horror as the flames leapt into the air, the heat like an inferno. Sweat dripped from his hair and his mule snorted and reared in fright beneath him. He jerked the reins in a circle.
“Easy, Reckless!” Dare said.
Reckless balked, his hooves dancing in the dirt.
A building exploded into flames behind him, two already being consumed on either side. Reckless reared and brayed.
The building on his left teetered on its burning foundation. It was coming down.
“Come on, Reckless!” Dare yelled. He kicked his heels into the mule’s flanks and the animal leapt forward.
The building crashed on his left. It started to fall. The blazing structure burned like a furnace. It was coming down on top of them. Dare felt his hair become singed, the sweat boiling on his skin.
Sparks, flames, and ash hailed down around him. Sparks caught in his hair, shoulder, and on his mule’s neck. He swatted at them, constantly digging his heels into the animal’s sides.
With a deafening smash the building exploded on the ground, Reckless barely leaping free of its hungry flames.
Maria #2 aka Fili: Foam from his mount’s mouth and neck flicked onto Kieran’s cheeks and hissed, adding to the already raucous rush and crackling of the flames they were rushing to avoid. Why he chose a horse to ride, every time someone needed fire somewhere, he couldn’t say. The creatures weren’t quite as fast as a fire shrike, though they did have the convenience of being incredibly easy to get a hold of. Someone was always willing to saddle an old plowhorse of theirs if Kieran used enough charm.
He smacked the reins against the horse’s neck and it reared, its front hooves barely passing over the remains of a woven wall. Kieran cursed and slid off the horse’s back, jerking the reins along with him as he kicked at the smoldering barrier.
“Stupid town,” he muttered, stomping out a stray ember that decided to spark up. “Stupid townspeople. I didn’t ask to live in a castle right next to a pile of tinder.” With a final kick the wall crumbled into a smaller heap, and Kieran hopped over, pulling at the reins. The horse balked, lifting up its front legs, eyes rolling with fear.
“Idiot beast.” Kieran threw the leather reins at the soot covered charger and it took off at a canter, back into the blaze.
Tiana aka Bofur: “Basil forget it!” Blake shouted over the roaring flames.
“I can’t just leave that foal in there to burn!” Basil swung into his saddle.
“If you go in there you will burn!” Ben grabbed the reins.
“You are not going to stop me little brother!” Basil jerked the reins from him. “And you know it!” He kicked his paint and the horse took off towards the fire.
They galloped into the forest of crackling trees. Basil heard a shrill whinny, on the other side of a burning thicket.
“Let’s go!” He ordered, sending up a silent prayer.
His horse leapt through the flames and landed safely on the other side. Basil spotted the sorrel foal and, without slowing his horse, scooped the foal into his saddle.
“Let’s get you back to your mama.”
Basil spun his horse around and they galloped out of the flames.
Con aka Samwise: It takes extraordinary circumstances to reveal extraordinary talents. Captain America would not be Captain America if it wasn’t for World War II. Iron Man wouldn’t be Iron Man if terrorists hadn’t picked him up. Spider-Man wouldn’t be Spider-Man if he…oh, wait a minute, his circumstances weren’t that extraordinary.
Anyways…
Who rides a horse into battle in the 21st century? I mean, only an idiot would think of doing that! I am an idiot. Take note that wasn’t in the past tense. I still am an idiot. I have no doubt that I am.
I took good ol’ Fleabag right into the middle of raging Cyber War XVI, clutching my laser sniper like my life depended on me squeezing all the gunk out of it.
And he performed exceptionally well. He dodged a couple laser, bucked me off twice just in time for me to not get shot. Of course, he bolted then, and I had to go find him.
Somewhere in there a fire had gotten started. I am still confused on how. We were fighting with lasers, not cannons. But then again, knowing my division, somebody probably had an old flintlock rifle in there somewhere. I know for a fact that there was a cutlass in action somewhere.
And then during a charge, we ended up getting forced straight through the flames. And there it was revealed that good ol’ Fleabag was a regular old Phoenix. He literally just ignited. One minute I was sitting atop a perfectly regular horse, next up, I was sitting atop a raging firestorm.
I awoke in the hospital with third degree burns on my legs. Fleabag had given me a mournful glance, which to me just informed me that whoever had been taking care of him had not found the sugar cubes. I glared at him.
“You could’ve let me know about that.”
He seemed to shrug.
“I almost died.”
He seemed to laugh.
That wasn’t funny to me. “Don’t make me dock your carrots.”
His glance easily told me that he could care less about the carrots. It also confirmed an earlier suspicion of mine that despite his lack of sugar cubes, he probably was getting fed his winter rations of mush right now. I groaned. He would be picky now, for probably well over a month.
He seemed to grin. In fact, I could’ve sworn I saw a grin.
And then a nurse walked in. “Well, I see you’re up Mr. Archo. How does it feel to be the owner of a fire-breathing, flying monster?”
“Flying?” I glanced over at Fleabag. He just placidly chewed on the sofa, which he had reached his head threw the window to reach. It must have been the florid print.
“Easy, Reckless!” Dare said.
Reckless balked, his hooves dancing in the dirt.
A building exploded into flames behind him, two already being consumed on either side. Reckless reared and brayed.
The building on his left teetered on its burning foundation. It was coming down.
“Come on, Reckless!” Dare yelled. He kicked his heels into the mule’s flanks and the animal leapt forward.
The building crashed on his left. It started to fall. The blazing structure burned like a furnace. It was coming down on top of them. Dare felt his hair become singed, the sweat boiling on his skin.
Sparks, flames, and ash hailed down around him. Sparks caught in his hair, shoulder, and on his mule’s neck. He swatted at them, constantly digging his heels into the animal’s sides.
With a deafening smash the building exploded on the ground, Reckless barely leaping free of its hungry flames.
Maria #2 aka Fili: Foam from his mount’s mouth and neck flicked onto Kieran’s cheeks and hissed, adding to the already raucous rush and crackling of the flames they were rushing to avoid. Why he chose a horse to ride, every time someone needed fire somewhere, he couldn’t say. The creatures weren’t quite as fast as a fire shrike, though they did have the convenience of being incredibly easy to get a hold of. Someone was always willing to saddle an old plowhorse of theirs if Kieran used enough charm.
He smacked the reins against the horse’s neck and it reared, its front hooves barely passing over the remains of a woven wall. Kieran cursed and slid off the horse’s back, jerking the reins along with him as he kicked at the smoldering barrier.
“Stupid town,” he muttered, stomping out a stray ember that decided to spark up. “Stupid townspeople. I didn’t ask to live in a castle right next to a pile of tinder.” With a final kick the wall crumbled into a smaller heap, and Kieran hopped over, pulling at the reins. The horse balked, lifting up its front legs, eyes rolling with fear.
“Idiot beast.” Kieran threw the leather reins at the soot covered charger and it took off at a canter, back into the blaze.
Tiana aka Bofur: “Basil forget it!” Blake shouted over the roaring flames.
“I can’t just leave that foal in there to burn!” Basil swung into his saddle.
“If you go in there you will burn!” Ben grabbed the reins.
“You are not going to stop me little brother!” Basil jerked the reins from him. “And you know it!” He kicked his paint and the horse took off towards the fire.
They galloped into the forest of crackling trees. Basil heard a shrill whinny, on the other side of a burning thicket.
“Let’s go!” He ordered, sending up a silent prayer.
His horse leapt through the flames and landed safely on the other side. Basil spotted the sorrel foal and, without slowing his horse, scooped the foal into his saddle.
“Let’s get you back to your mama.”
Basil spun his horse around and they galloped out of the flames.
Con aka Samwise: It takes extraordinary circumstances to reveal extraordinary talents. Captain America would not be Captain America if it wasn’t for World War II. Iron Man wouldn’t be Iron Man if terrorists hadn’t picked him up. Spider-Man wouldn’t be Spider-Man if he…oh, wait a minute, his circumstances weren’t that extraordinary.
Anyways…
Who rides a horse into battle in the 21st century? I mean, only an idiot would think of doing that! I am an idiot. Take note that wasn’t in the past tense. I still am an idiot. I have no doubt that I am.
I took good ol’ Fleabag right into the middle of raging Cyber War XVI, clutching my laser sniper like my life depended on me squeezing all the gunk out of it.
And he performed exceptionally well. He dodged a couple laser, bucked me off twice just in time for me to not get shot. Of course, he bolted then, and I had to go find him.
Somewhere in there a fire had gotten started. I am still confused on how. We were fighting with lasers, not cannons. But then again, knowing my division, somebody probably had an old flintlock rifle in there somewhere. I know for a fact that there was a cutlass in action somewhere.
And then during a charge, we ended up getting forced straight through the flames. And there it was revealed that good ol’ Fleabag was a regular old Phoenix. He literally just ignited. One minute I was sitting atop a perfectly regular horse, next up, I was sitting atop a raging firestorm.
I awoke in the hospital with third degree burns on my legs. Fleabag had given me a mournful glance, which to me just informed me that whoever had been taking care of him had not found the sugar cubes. I glared at him.
“You could’ve let me know about that.”
He seemed to shrug.
“I almost died.”
He seemed to laugh.
That wasn’t funny to me. “Don’t make me dock your carrots.”
His glance easily told me that he could care less about the carrots. It also confirmed an earlier suspicion of mine that despite his lack of sugar cubes, he probably was getting fed his winter rations of mush right now. I groaned. He would be picky now, for probably well over a month.
He seemed to grin. In fact, I could’ve sworn I saw a grin.
And then a nurse walked in. “Well, I see you’re up Mr. Archo. How does it feel to be the owner of a fire-breathing, flying monster?”
“Flying?” I glanced over at Fleabag. He just placidly chewed on the sofa, which he had reached his head threw the window to reach. It must have been the florid print.
Con aka Samwise: Phil slipped a pine needle in his mouth and sucked on it. “Hey pal, what’s the plan?”
The girl tugged on her ragged ponytail, which looked frankly like it had been stuffed into a paper shredder. She probably had cut it herself. With a knife. Or maybe she had burned it off. Sketch was keeping his distance. He preferred being tougher than the girls he dated.
“Well, we’re on the train.” She said, rather unnecessarily. They were standing atop the roof of a railroad car. Or rather, she was standing straight up, Sketch was crouched on the ground, and Phil was sitting cross-legged on top of it. “But we happen to be on the wrong end.”
Sketch rocked with the train, swaying desperately trying to keep his balance. “How do you plan on remedying this situation?”
She ran forward, did a handspring, and then a back-flip onto the next car. She gestured for them to follow. “C’mon, we’ve got approximately 143 cars to traverse, fellows. Let’s keep moving.”
Sketch just gaped.
“Shut that mouth, you’re going to gag on the airflow.” Quip called. She took off along the train car, leaping towards the next and disappearing from view.
Phil stood up and stretched languidly.
“I think she’s crazy.” Sketch said. “We can’t do this! This is insane!”
Phil just gave him a half-lidded stare. “Hot shot, I thought you liked danger.”
“I like being in control. If I had my boot jets, this would be a breeze!”
“Welcome to the real world. It’s more like a strong wind.” Phil trotted up to the edge, and snapping a branch off a nearby tree, he vaulted over.
Sketch took a running start, and leapt the distance with his eyes closed. Phil caught him on the other side, before he slid off the edge. “Pal, eyes open.”
“But I might get woozy.”
“Woozy is better than dead.” Phil clambered up the boxes.
Quip was on the other side, dueling with a duo of masked guys with rapiers. Sketch blinked. “What world did we stumble into? And who in the heck are those guys?”
“Bill and Bob.” Phil said definitely. “I’ll take Bob, you get Bill.”
Sketch cocked a brow. “Which is which?”
“I’m taking the guy who looks like a Bob, you’ve got the guy who looks like a Bill.” Phil blew out an exasperated breath, and charged forward, vaulting over the gap between them and the next car.
Sketch leapt off, and ended up hanging onto the edge for dear life. He really needed to work on his jumping. He hauled himself up.
And then the guy who was presumably his Bob bashed him in the head with his foot. He lost grip with one of his hands, and just hung there staring up at the guy entreatingly.
Quip’s dagger appeared around the guy’s throat. She dragged him back and out of Sketch’s line of vision. Sketch hoped she disposed of the body. He didn’t want to see the carcass.
Phil walked up. “Frank, that was disgraceful.”
Sketch grabbed the proffered pole and hauled himself up. “The name is Sketch.”
Quip him in the back of the head. “Fellow, that was pathetic!”
“So what?” Sketch tried some nonchalance.
She tossed him off the side of the train.
Sabrina aka Legolas: Karissa popped a hand to her hip and stared over the train racing along the tracks. The car clanged beneath her as Royin came up beside her, propping the massive explosive against his thigh.
“So, we gonna blow this baby?”
She tossed her matted ponytail over her shoulder, thick braids trailing out among the loose hair. “Let’s do this.”
She leapt over the side of the car and caught onto the rung of a ladder at the last second. Royin slung the strap of the explosive over his shoulder and climbed down after her. Karissa jumped to the next car, the wheels sparking beneath her.
“We’ve gotta blow it when we’re on the bridge,” Royin called to her as she lowered herself down the ladder. He tossed the explosive to her.
“Attach it under the train, right?”
He jerked his head. “Nu-uh. No way are you doing that. It’s too dangerous.”
She gave him the look. “Nothing. Repeat. Nothing is too dangerous for me Royin James. Don’t you ever tell me different.”
His face softened. “That’s not what I meant, Riss.”
“Then what did you mean?” she snapped.
He spoke softly, she could barely hear his voice over the roaring of the train. “It’s too dangerous because something might happen to you. I can’t lose you, Riss. I can’t.”
Her brow furrowed. “What do you mean?”
He opened his mouth to respond, but his eyes leapt beyond her. “The bridge!”
She whipped her head around. The train was barreling towards the bridge barely visible around the corner through the trees.
“I gotta mount it!” Royin jumped through the air, grabbed the bottom rung of the ladder and swung underneath the train. A moment later his hand appeared. Karissa dropped the explosive to him and he disappeared beneath the belly of the train.
All she could do was watch as the train started going over the bridge. “Royin, hurry!”
“Almost... done...” Royin’s head popped out. “Riss, jump!”
“What?”
“I don’t have time to set the timer, I have to detonate it manually.”
The color drained from her face.
“What! I’m not letting you, Royin! This wasn’t supposed to be a suicide mission!”
“No choice!” Royin snagged her ankle and yanked her off the train.
She plummeted through the air, her scream ripped from the throat. She hit the water hard and went under twelve feet. She opened her eyes, her vision blurry. She powered up to the surface just as the train exploded.
Tiana aka Bofur: Sheila ran along side of the train and latched onto the ladder on of the cars. She climbed up and stood on top of the car. The wind blew her shoulder length hair as she watched the trees go by in a blur. She liked being a hobo. A modern day hobo, but a hobo none the less.
She had run away from her alcoholic parents three years before and had been riding the rails ever since. She worked were she could, but never stayed anywhere long, she did NOT want to go back to her parents and she did NOT want to get put into a foster home.
Sheila heard a thud behind her and she spun around.
A stranger rolled onto his back. “Ow!” he grunted.
“Who are you?” She asked.
He jumped to his feet. “Who are you?!”
“I asked first.” Sheila pointed out.
“Yeah, I guess,” He held out his hand. “I’m Jeff.”
“What are you doing here?” she lifted a brow.
“You didn’t answer my question.”
“Nope.”
“Are you going to?” He asked.
“Most likely not.”
Maria #2 aka Fili: “We’re headed south, over.” Static snarled through the radio, and a one word reply scrathed through it all. The woman clipped it back onto her belt and turned to glare at Max, who had managed to climb up onto the next level of cargo. “You idiot. Where do you think you’re going? Fifty feet down into sharp rocks and twenty below water?”
Max paused a moment, then continued to wriggle his way along with bound hands. “Madam, it is not polite to butcher a man’s hope.”
She put her hands on her hips and strode closer. “It is even ruder to let false hopes live. This is Russia. Where do you think you will find help?”
With a grunt Max rolled onto his back, droping his manacled hands onto his chest. “I dunno. Maybe I can convince you to smuggle me out of whichever base we’re headed to.” He grinned, his teeth painfully bright against his dirty and bruised face. “I have a certain charm.”
The woman grunted. “Yes. The charm of a flattened lemming.” She hefted herself up onto the next level. “I’m glad you stopped moving.”
“Now you can see my overly qualified psyche. I was born ready for this job.”
The woman arched an eyebrow. “Being kidnapped.”
Max closed his eyes, groaning. He covered his face with his hands. “No, I’m an agent. You couldn’t tell?”
She crouched, arms resting on her thighs and fixed Max with a narrow stare. “Why do you think you’re here? You really are an idiot. I should have taken the smart looking one.” She sighed, throwing her head back.
“Oh, Jay?” Max pulled himself into a slightly more upright position. “Yeah, he’s crazy.”
The woman put a hand on his back and pushed him into a proper sitting position without batting an eye. “My name is Aven. Try not to waste my boss’s time. The way you talk, you won’t last fifteen minutes.”
“That is a very nice compliment.” Max bent over his feet, grunting as he stretched. “Except I have orders. And no passive compliment is going to put me to shame.”
“Yes,” Aven laughed. “You’ll do that yourself.”
“Excuse me.”
Zachary aka Kili: After a couple more days, we were finally leaving France. It was time to enter the heart of the Nazis… Nazi Germany… This was it… we had been on this mission for nearly 6 months. Now, for the hard part… We snuck past the border, and got into Germany. It was time to finally do our mission. We were to find out about Nazi weapons, and destroy them if we could. We drove for a while, avoiding the cities. We figured they wouldn’t have any secret weapons inside the city. We found a railway. We followed it for a while, until we finally saw it… the Gustav Railgun. A HUGE weapon. Nazi soldiers were constantly working on it. It appeared to be difficult to maintain. We started taking pictures. I was given a camera so that I could document the different sightings. We parked Rocky a ways away, and covered him in tree branches. We crawled closer to it, to get a better look. Nazi soldiers were all over the railway, and the other trains. A train arrived there. I zoomed in with my camera as much as I could. I snapped a photo of what they were pulling out. It was a HUGE round of ammo. It was taller than the people unloading it. “We need to get a closer look.” I said. We crawled closer, and got some better pictures, as they loaded it onto a Halftrack. I took a picture of the gun again, “This thing is crazy…”
The girl tugged on her ragged ponytail, which looked frankly like it had been stuffed into a paper shredder. She probably had cut it herself. With a knife. Or maybe she had burned it off. Sketch was keeping his distance. He preferred being tougher than the girls he dated.
“Well, we’re on the train.” She said, rather unnecessarily. They were standing atop the roof of a railroad car. Or rather, she was standing straight up, Sketch was crouched on the ground, and Phil was sitting cross-legged on top of it. “But we happen to be on the wrong end.”
Sketch rocked with the train, swaying desperately trying to keep his balance. “How do you plan on remedying this situation?”
She ran forward, did a handspring, and then a back-flip onto the next car. She gestured for them to follow. “C’mon, we’ve got approximately 143 cars to traverse, fellows. Let’s keep moving.”
Sketch just gaped.
“Shut that mouth, you’re going to gag on the airflow.” Quip called. She took off along the train car, leaping towards the next and disappearing from view.
Phil stood up and stretched languidly.
“I think she’s crazy.” Sketch said. “We can’t do this! This is insane!”
Phil just gave him a half-lidded stare. “Hot shot, I thought you liked danger.”
“I like being in control. If I had my boot jets, this would be a breeze!”
“Welcome to the real world. It’s more like a strong wind.” Phil trotted up to the edge, and snapping a branch off a nearby tree, he vaulted over.
Sketch took a running start, and leapt the distance with his eyes closed. Phil caught him on the other side, before he slid off the edge. “Pal, eyes open.”
“But I might get woozy.”
“Woozy is better than dead.” Phil clambered up the boxes.
Quip was on the other side, dueling with a duo of masked guys with rapiers. Sketch blinked. “What world did we stumble into? And who in the heck are those guys?”
“Bill and Bob.” Phil said definitely. “I’ll take Bob, you get Bill.”
Sketch cocked a brow. “Which is which?”
“I’m taking the guy who looks like a Bob, you’ve got the guy who looks like a Bill.” Phil blew out an exasperated breath, and charged forward, vaulting over the gap between them and the next car.
Sketch leapt off, and ended up hanging onto the edge for dear life. He really needed to work on his jumping. He hauled himself up.
And then the guy who was presumably his Bob bashed him in the head with his foot. He lost grip with one of his hands, and just hung there staring up at the guy entreatingly.
Quip’s dagger appeared around the guy’s throat. She dragged him back and out of Sketch’s line of vision. Sketch hoped she disposed of the body. He didn’t want to see the carcass.
Phil walked up. “Frank, that was disgraceful.”
Sketch grabbed the proffered pole and hauled himself up. “The name is Sketch.”
Quip him in the back of the head. “Fellow, that was pathetic!”
“So what?” Sketch tried some nonchalance.
She tossed him off the side of the train.
Sabrina aka Legolas: Karissa popped a hand to her hip and stared over the train racing along the tracks. The car clanged beneath her as Royin came up beside her, propping the massive explosive against his thigh.
“So, we gonna blow this baby?”
She tossed her matted ponytail over her shoulder, thick braids trailing out among the loose hair. “Let’s do this.”
She leapt over the side of the car and caught onto the rung of a ladder at the last second. Royin slung the strap of the explosive over his shoulder and climbed down after her. Karissa jumped to the next car, the wheels sparking beneath her.
“We’ve gotta blow it when we’re on the bridge,” Royin called to her as she lowered herself down the ladder. He tossed the explosive to her.
“Attach it under the train, right?”
He jerked his head. “Nu-uh. No way are you doing that. It’s too dangerous.”
She gave him the look. “Nothing. Repeat. Nothing is too dangerous for me Royin James. Don’t you ever tell me different.”
His face softened. “That’s not what I meant, Riss.”
“Then what did you mean?” she snapped.
He spoke softly, she could barely hear his voice over the roaring of the train. “It’s too dangerous because something might happen to you. I can’t lose you, Riss. I can’t.”
Her brow furrowed. “What do you mean?”
He opened his mouth to respond, but his eyes leapt beyond her. “The bridge!”
She whipped her head around. The train was barreling towards the bridge barely visible around the corner through the trees.
“I gotta mount it!” Royin jumped through the air, grabbed the bottom rung of the ladder and swung underneath the train. A moment later his hand appeared. Karissa dropped the explosive to him and he disappeared beneath the belly of the train.
All she could do was watch as the train started going over the bridge. “Royin, hurry!”
“Almost... done...” Royin’s head popped out. “Riss, jump!”
“What?”
“I don’t have time to set the timer, I have to detonate it manually.”
The color drained from her face.
“What! I’m not letting you, Royin! This wasn’t supposed to be a suicide mission!”
“No choice!” Royin snagged her ankle and yanked her off the train.
She plummeted through the air, her scream ripped from the throat. She hit the water hard and went under twelve feet. She opened her eyes, her vision blurry. She powered up to the surface just as the train exploded.
Tiana aka Bofur: Sheila ran along side of the train and latched onto the ladder on of the cars. She climbed up and stood on top of the car. The wind blew her shoulder length hair as she watched the trees go by in a blur. She liked being a hobo. A modern day hobo, but a hobo none the less.
She had run away from her alcoholic parents three years before and had been riding the rails ever since. She worked were she could, but never stayed anywhere long, she did NOT want to go back to her parents and she did NOT want to get put into a foster home.
Sheila heard a thud behind her and she spun around.
A stranger rolled onto his back. “Ow!” he grunted.
“Who are you?” She asked.
He jumped to his feet. “Who are you?!”
“I asked first.” Sheila pointed out.
“Yeah, I guess,” He held out his hand. “I’m Jeff.”
“What are you doing here?” she lifted a brow.
“You didn’t answer my question.”
“Nope.”
“Are you going to?” He asked.
“Most likely not.”
Maria #2 aka Fili: “We’re headed south, over.” Static snarled through the radio, and a one word reply scrathed through it all. The woman clipped it back onto her belt and turned to glare at Max, who had managed to climb up onto the next level of cargo. “You idiot. Where do you think you’re going? Fifty feet down into sharp rocks and twenty below water?”
Max paused a moment, then continued to wriggle his way along with bound hands. “Madam, it is not polite to butcher a man’s hope.”
She put her hands on her hips and strode closer. “It is even ruder to let false hopes live. This is Russia. Where do you think you will find help?”
With a grunt Max rolled onto his back, droping his manacled hands onto his chest. “I dunno. Maybe I can convince you to smuggle me out of whichever base we’re headed to.” He grinned, his teeth painfully bright against his dirty and bruised face. “I have a certain charm.”
The woman grunted. “Yes. The charm of a flattened lemming.” She hefted herself up onto the next level. “I’m glad you stopped moving.”
“Now you can see my overly qualified psyche. I was born ready for this job.”
The woman arched an eyebrow. “Being kidnapped.”
Max closed his eyes, groaning. He covered his face with his hands. “No, I’m an agent. You couldn’t tell?”
She crouched, arms resting on her thighs and fixed Max with a narrow stare. “Why do you think you’re here? You really are an idiot. I should have taken the smart looking one.” She sighed, throwing her head back.
“Oh, Jay?” Max pulled himself into a slightly more upright position. “Yeah, he’s crazy.”
The woman put a hand on his back and pushed him into a proper sitting position without batting an eye. “My name is Aven. Try not to waste my boss’s time. The way you talk, you won’t last fifteen minutes.”
“That is a very nice compliment.” Max bent over his feet, grunting as he stretched. “Except I have orders. And no passive compliment is going to put me to shame.”
“Yes,” Aven laughed. “You’ll do that yourself.”
“Excuse me.”
Zachary aka Kili: After a couple more days, we were finally leaving France. It was time to enter the heart of the Nazis… Nazi Germany… This was it… we had been on this mission for nearly 6 months. Now, for the hard part… We snuck past the border, and got into Germany. It was time to finally do our mission. We were to find out about Nazi weapons, and destroy them if we could. We drove for a while, avoiding the cities. We figured they wouldn’t have any secret weapons inside the city. We found a railway. We followed it for a while, until we finally saw it… the Gustav Railgun. A HUGE weapon. Nazi soldiers were constantly working on it. It appeared to be difficult to maintain. We started taking pictures. I was given a camera so that I could document the different sightings. We parked Rocky a ways away, and covered him in tree branches. We crawled closer to it, to get a better look. Nazi soldiers were all over the railway, and the other trains. A train arrived there. I zoomed in with my camera as much as I could. I snapped a photo of what they were pulling out. It was a HUGE round of ammo. It was taller than the people unloading it. “We need to get a closer look.” I said. We crawled closer, and got some better pictures, as they loaded it onto a Halftrack. I took a picture of the gun again, “This thing is crazy…”