Spinners
Prologue
A dark figure crept along the city of New York. She was lucky the power is out, for her appearance frightened many. She was also fortunate that the only person who could see her was the only one not afraid of her.
The figure stopped suddenly. The power came back on, and suddenly the New York skyline lit up bright. The silhouette of the figure was more visible now, and you could see that it was a small girl, about twelve or thirteen years old.
She scurried into an alleyway, afraid of the bright lights that could expose her appearance. It wasn't ideal, but she would have to do the call from there. She opened her black bag and set it on the floor. A misty green spirit rose from the bag.
"Arachne, queen of the Great and Powerful Spinners", she whispered, looking around her to make sure no one was there.
Suddenly, the spirit glowed red, and the shapeless lump formed into a sleek slender corpse. The corpse spoke in a ragged, rough voice. "Have you brought me good news?"
The girl swallowed, raising her face to the corpse. In the dim red, you could see that she had long hair, and dark eyes. She said nervously," Perhaps, my lady, it depends on what you think."
The corpse's voice grew amused. "Such a diplomatic answer. Your tongue grows ever smoother."
The girl bowed her head, her entire body shaking. The corpse continued. "Well? Whether the news be for the better or the worse, tell me."
The girl bowed again, her voice trembling as she spoke. She said," I have found an ample opportunity for you to rise to power. In some time, the third star on the right of the Opaline constellation will align with moon when it reaches it's zenith."
Here, she paused, as if considering whether to go on, and the corpse's eyes grew large with hunger.
"Well?" said the corpse impatiently. "When will this time come?"
At last, the girl continued, and she said," My lady, it will be in one-and-twenty rotations of the moon. It will take one hundred and twenty two years." The corpse's features grew serious. "Well," she said. "You do know what that means?"
The girl shook her head. The corpse's eyes gleamed. "Did you not just say you found an opportunity for me to take over the world called Earth? Finally, after years of searching for the time, I will rise, and rule the whole world!"
The girl looked confused. "But, my lady," she said. "You are great, but how will you survive the next hundred years?"
The corpse chuckled, a truly terrifying sound. "Naïve girl, how do you think bears survive the winter without eating?"
The call was taxing so much of the girl's strength, she could only whimper.
The corpse smiled, showing barbed fangs.
"I shall sleep off the years," she said. "And you will, too."
The girl cried out in protest, but remained rooted to the spot. The corpse reached out a glowing red arm. It was hairy, and rather like a spider's. It touched the girl's straining face, and she collapsed and fell into a deep sleep. And there she stayed, for a thousand years. Until today.
Part One: The Apocalypse
Chapter 1
I woke up, my heart pounding. It was just a dream, she told herself. No one can change colors or collapse people by touching them in real life. I heaved a sigh and got out of bed to get ready for school.
I shouldered my bag and try to get through the swarm of kids surrounding me.
Sometimes being popular is a bust, I thought as I pushed against the tide of kids.
It wasn't that I minded being invited to every party in the school, being an idolized wardrobe goddess, or being picked first for teams in P.E. Actually, that was great. No, what bothered me was that six months ago, I'd been a nobody. Just another girl in the crowd. Sure, I stood out a little because of my bright auburn hair and my coppery-green eyes, but that only made me look stranger.
But then, my dad got a call from his work. He had to move to Russia for his job, and he couldn't take us with him. My dad was never really around much because of his job, and most of the time we spoke on video chats. So things weren't all that different, but it had forced Mom to get a job.
Mom accepted a job as a makeup salon artist at the mall, and nothing had been that different. My dad had never been around the house, so the only difference was that there were more worry lines on Mom's face.
Then, my whole life got turned upside down. A modeling scout had 'discovered' my mom, and gave her the opportunity to model for Swoon, a widely-read gossip magazine. Mom had never wanted to model, so she accepted only because it paid well. The issue with my mom in it came out, and suddenly there were half a dozen scouts knocking at our door. Then, before my eyes could take it all in, Mom was featured across a dozen different magazines and her name was plastered across every one of New York's billboards.
Suddenly, we moved out of our cozy apartment in Greenwich Village to one of New York City's skyscraper penthouses. Now, I was afraid of putting my feet on the floor, it was so grand. I could barely take it all in.
I moved from my public school with all my friends in it to the Trinity Di Academy. It was a snobby private school, and I felt like the only reason these kids liked me was because of my money. No, not my money. My mother's money.
All of this ran through my mind for the umpteenth time since we moved. I pushed my way through the crowd and hurried out.
Now, if only she could get home before-
"Hey, Evanna!"
I sighed and turned to face Alexandra Di. As usual, she had her signature bright fake smile pasted on, masking her ugly thoughts. Alexandra was the daughter of Trinity Di, principal and founder of the school. She had been the most popular girl in the Academy until I had been enrolled. I knew that as soon as I fell from my throne of popularity, Alexandra would drop all pretenses of being my friend and make my life miserable. But for now there was nothing to do but be nice. Then maybe Alexandra would be easier on me.
"Hey, Alexandra," I replied dully.
Alexandra pouted her perfect mouth.
"You don't have to call me Alexandra. You can call me Alexa."
I huffed slightly. Everyone was 'allowed' to call her Alexa. Alexandra acted like it was a big deal, though.
"Fine, Alexa. Do you need something? I'm in a hurry." I knew it was rude, but I was in no mood to deal with Alexa's obviously fake charms and graces.
I saw an ugly look flash across Alexa's face. I was surprised to see how much hate and anger was in it. Then just as suddenly, it was gone, and Alexa's fake smile back on, beaming so brightly I couldn't be sure if it hard look was ever there.
"No, not really. I'll see you tomorrow." She skipped off, leaving a cloud of perfume behind her. I recognized it as my mom's signature perfume that was being advertised all over New York now. I gagged slightly and walked on.
Chapter 2
Exiting the elevator, I walked into the central room. I looked around for my babysitter, Joanne. Joanne was just fifteen, only two years older than me, and was tons of fun. She was like an older sister to me. But she wasn't in the room at all today.
It was strange, because Joanne made a point of being there to greet me after school every day, unless....
"Mom?" I called. "Are you home?"
My mom appeared in the doorway.
"Hey, honey," she replied, leaning on the doorframe and texting. I tried not to cry. I hadn't seen my mom for weeks because she had gone on a photo shoot to Milan. I had really missed her.
I looked at all the ways my mom had changed since she got her modeling job. Before, my mom had had to hug me every day before I went to school and after I came home. Now, after being gone for three weeks, my mom just stood in the doorway, texting on her phone and giving me short, uninterested replies. My mom always told me that when I made a mistake, it was a lesson
learned. Now, everything I did was criticized and condemned. And no matter what, I remembered, my mom had always stood by me. Now, my mom wasn't around half the time.
Tears formed in my eyes as I realized my mom was a different person now.
"I'm going to my room now," I said in a choked voice.
Her mom nodded, not taking her eyes of the phone.
"Oh, and honey?" my mom asked. I paused on the staircase, waiting for a sign of my old mom, anything.
"I'm leaving for Pakistan in two hours, so Joanne will come at three-thirty, k?" she said.
I fought back a surge of anger. My real mom would never say 'k'. Then her words registered.
"You're leaving already?" I burst out. "You're not even going to stay one day?"
My mother looked up, surprised.
"But, honey," she said. "I've been here two days already. You surely can't expect me to stay longer than that?"
This made me, if possible, angrier.
"You mean," I began. "YOU HAVE BEEN HERE FOR TWO DAYS AND YOU HAVEN'T EVEN SEEN ME?"
My mother took a step back, even though I was more than fifty feet away from her.
"Honey.."
But I was mad now, venting off all my worked up feeling she had bottled in since the move.
"You have never paid a smallest BIT of attention to me since you became a stupid model! It only been your job, or your life, or your money. It, ever since the move, has NEVER been about ME!"
"But, Evanna," pleaded her mother. "It's really hard being in my life. My job is really unstable, and if I don't devote enough time to it-"
I yelled," See, there you go again, talking about YOU! Well, fine, let's talk about you. YOU are a terrible mother. I hope I never see YOU again. I hate YOU!"
I had begun to cry now, and weak with the effort of yelling, ran up to my room, collapsed on my bed, and cried my heart out on the pillow. Drained of energy, I fell asleep.
When I woke up, I found Joanne sitting next to her bed. Her bouncy blonde ponytail hung limp, and her sparkly green eyes were sad.
"Where's my mother?" I asked hoarsely.
Joanne's eyes became sadder.
"She had to leave for her flight."
I sat up.
"What?" I yelled.
Joanne nodded.
"I know," she said." And it's really unfair, but you can't go yelling at your mom like that. It's not going to give her any respect for you."
"You saw the whole thing, didn't you?" I said miserably.
"Just the end." admitted Joanne. "But it was enough to figure out what happened."
I slumped down miserably.
"It's just not fair," I said. "You don't know what she was like, Joanne, before she moved here. She was the best mom in the whole world. She never, ever, let anything get in my way, and she was just great. I don't know what's happened to her now.."
I trailed off.
Joanne's face was looking incredibly, incredibly, sad. The rosy tint was gone from her cheeks.
"You know, you look a little sick. I think you should take a nap," said Joanne.
Before I could protest, Joanne reached over and passed her hand down my face. My eyes instantly closed. I saw the weirdest flash of red light before my mind grew heavy and I fell asleep.
Chapter 3
I woke up. My mind felt dull and heavy, and my surroundings didn't register. My first thought was: I'm gonna be late for school! Then: What's school again? After that I promptly fell asleep once more.
My eyes opened again, and I smiled sleepily. I admired the carvings on the headboard. They pictured a dragon roasting a town of people and were surprisingly realistic. I got out of bed, shivering as my feet touched cold stone tile.
Wait a sec, I thought . My bedroom has carpeted floors. As I looked around, I realized my surroundings were completely unfamiliar. Panic overtook me and I bolted out of the door.
I looked around. I was on a street, with seven houses- no cabins really. It looked perfectly normal. It even had a name, Elm Street.
Suddenly, a wave of nostalgia took over me. This street looked exactly like the one we lived on before moving to New York. Of course, my old street wasn't named Elm Street, and the houses looked normal, but otherwise, it looked exactly the same.
Suddenly, the cabin's next to my cabin door burst open, and a girl came flying out.
"Where am I?" she cried out."Did you bring me here?"
I could only shake my head.
The girl, who had been running to me, stopped, looked me straight in the eye, and said,"I believe you. You have a terrified look in your eye, and if you brought me here you wouldn't be scared of me."
The girl stopped to catch her breath, and I found my voice.
"What's your name?"
The girl didn't hesitate.
"Holly Dixon. Yours?"
"Evanna Vaisley."
Holly nodded, her shoulder-length blond hair swinging back and forth.
"How did you get here?" she asked.
"I was crying about my mom leaving for Pakistan, and my babysitter told me to go to sleep. She passed her hand over my face, and suddenly I wanted to go to sleep. So I did. I saw the weirdest flash of green light before I closed my eyes, though. Next thing, I know, I wake up here."
Normally, I would never tell anyone about her mom, but I felt like I could trust Holly. Holly nodded thoughtfully, her intense gray eyes darkening.
"I got here in the same way," she said. "Well, kind of. I was in the nurse's office because I twisted my wrist. My cousin Charlotte works as a nurse there, and as she was putting on the band-aid she looked at me really sad, and told me to go to sleep. I don't remember much after that, because I was kinda woozy. I do remember a flash of blue light though."
I looked at Holly's arm.
"You look fine to me," I said, and Holly looked at her arm.
"What do you know?" she chuckled. "It's fixed!"
I wanted to tell Holly how her gray eyes twinkled when she laughed and made them look almost silver.
"Well, they seem to be telling the truth," said a cold voice behind us.
I and Holly whirled around and saw a girl with strawberry blonde hair and icy blue eyes. She was addressing a boy next to her who likewise had icy blue eyes, but his hair was regular blond.
"Hello," I said ."Who are you?" The girl's eyes narrowed, but the boy answered.
"I'm Kae Montoya, and this is Stephanie Reyes. She's my cousin."
Holly opened her mouth, but just then the fifth cabin door burst open, and a boy came flailing out. As I looked at the row of cabins, the third and fourth door stood ajar, obviously Stephanie's and Kae. The boy stopped near us. He was incredibly skinny, with chocolate curls and brown eyes. The eyes in question were wide with panic.
"Who are you?" he yelled.
Holly stepped forward, putting a hand on his shoulder. He jerked away.
"It's okay," she said. "We all don't know how we got here. It's very strange, but we won't figure it out unless we calm down and communicate."
The boy's breathing became easier as he calmed down.
"What your name?" asked Holly in kind voice.
"Eli," he said, his voice gruff.
I was surprised at how calm and reassuring Holly sounded. I watched as the boy's face slowly returned to a normal color, and his pupils returned to a regular size.. Even Kae and Stephanie visibly relaxed at her words.
"Is there anywhere we can sit down?" asked Holly. As if on cue, a picnic table sprang up next to us, looking perfectly unassuming and natural on the sidewalk. Holly looked surprised, but she walked the boy over, motioning the rest of us over too.
I walked over and sat down next to Kae.
Holly began with her story, relating all that she told me. She motioned me to go next, and after me, Kae.
"I was in the car going to skateboarding park with Stephanie and my brother, Charles, but we call him Charlie. The night before, we had stayed up all night watching horror movies,
so we were really tired. My brother told us that we really should go to sleep. He waved his hand over our faces, and I instantly fell asleep. Before my eyes shut, I saw a flash of purple light. When I woke up, I was in the cabin." he said.
"Yeah," said Stephanie. "That's what happened to me, too."
Holly looked at Eli.
"Can you tell us what happened to you?" she asked.
"I was in my science robotics class after school," he began.
Stephanie stifled a snicker, and Holly glared at her.
"Go on," Holly said to Eli.
"Well, I was working on this complicated design, and I was really frustrated. I got worked up, and was about to have a fit-"
"A fit?" Stephanie interrupted. Holly gave Stephanie a look, but Eli answered.
"I have a condition," he said. "When my emotions rise too quickly, I go kind of crazy. My mind won't accept any other influence, and trying to talk to me during it just makes me worse." He looked at Holly.
"You're the only one to ever talk me out of it," he said to her. Holly blushed, then looked at Eli to continue.
"Anyway," he said. "My science teacher, Mr. Lewis, could see that. He came over to me and told me to calm down and go to sleep. He waved his hand over me, and I fell asleep."
"Did you see a light?" asked Kae.
Eli frowned.
"Now that I think about it," he said, "yes, I did see one. It was orange, I think, but it was hard to tell with all the bright lights from the science lab."
"You know, that's kind of weird," I said.
"What is?" asked Holly.
"Well, all the people who told us to go to sleep. They have the same name as authors."
"Huh?" asked Kae.
"Well, my babysitter. Her name is Joanne. That's the real name of J.K. Rowling. And Holly, your cousin's name is Charlotte. As in Charlotte Bronte, author of Jane Eyre? And for Stephanie and Kae, Kae's brother's name is Charles, like Charles Dickens. And your science teacher, Eli. His name is Mr. Lewis, like Lewis Carroll, author of Alice in Wonderland."
"But Lewis Carroll's just a pen name," said Stephanie, who obviously wasn't a person inclined to agree with others. "And why do their names matter, anyway?"
"I don't know," I said. "It's just a similarity."
While we were all contemplating this new bit of information, I happened to glance over at the cabins. I shot to my feet.
"Guys? Cabin six and seven are open!" I cried.