Blame it on September
“I know you probably can’t deal with seeing the zombies drag your boyfriend off like that, but there was nothing we could do. You know that.”
“I know, but I am going to track them down and kill them, if they changed him to a zombie I’ll kill him too!”
“I know, but why can’t you wait to graduate? Then you will become my Hiddie and we won’t have to worry about zombies our any thing because we can move somewhere they won’t find us.”
“Well, Mikayla, I will come back as soon as I can to graduate and then I will become your Hiddie. Then we can do what you want. But I HAVE TO DO THIS!”
Chapter 2
Mikayla
I’m Mikayla Laird. Lily is my best friend.
Lily is—or was—going to be my Hiddie after she graduated. It is her last year in school, but I still have two more years.
A couple of weeks ago, her and her boyfriend were walking back to our school from the library near curfew when this huge group of zombies attacked our school and dragged him away. No one would let her go after him.
Now she is going to get herself killed. She can’t take on all of those zombies by herself.
Chapter 3
Lily
I have been walking for ever it seems.
Tonight will be my second night and I hope some one will eventually stop and pick me up. If those stupid zombies hadn’t attacked us, Carlos and I would be eating supper with Mikayla right now.
That’s why I’m going to kill them, every one of them. Unless they kill or change me first. But if they change me, then I can be with Carlos.
Chapter 4
Carlos
When I awake I am lying on a cold floor. My back aches so much. I am starving. While I am trying to figure out where I am, I realise I am surrounded by zombies. I finally clue in. I am now a zombie
Chapter 5
Mikayla
“Hey, Mikayla!” I hear my boyfriend, Peter, call behind me.
“Yeah?” I sigh.
“What’s wrong?” Peter asks as comes up and takes my hand.
“Lily.”
“What about Lily?” Peter asks with a confused look on his face.
“She left to go find the zombies that took Carlos and killed him, so she can kill them.”
“Oh. Well, Deadra wants to talk to you.”
Chapter 6
Peter
I’m Peter, I am Mikayla’s boyfriend. Lily was a senior until she left this morning. She was training to become a Hiddie, so they let her be my guardian just for practice. Now that she is gone, I guess she isn’t anymore.
Chapter 7
Deadra
Hello, I am the principal of the school, Deadra.
Six months ago, Lily was a mischievous student. I would have suspended her in a heartbeat, but now she is one of our best seniors.
“You wanted to talk to me?” Mikayla asks politely as she takes a seat in front of my desk.
“Oh, yes, Mikayla. How are you?”
“Fine, and how are you, Deadra?”
“Good. I was wondering if you knew why Lily resigned from school.”
“It was about Carlos being dragged off by zombies. I think. I’m sorry, but I have to go, I am meeting Peter in the cafeteria.”
“Okay. It was nice to see you, Mikayla.”
“You too. ‘Bye.”
Chapter 8
Lily
Finally! Some one stops to pick me up. I didn’t know walking could be so hard. The roads in Montana are so long.
Once I get in the truck that stopped, I realise, “OH MY GOD! Carlos!”
“Lily! I got away from them as fast as I could. I staked them all. There weren’t that many, but I got away as soon as I could.”
“You’re not a zombie. Why didn’t they change you?”
“I don’t know. I think I killed them before they could change me.”
“We need to get back to the school before they start telling people that you’re gone.”
Chapter 9
Lily
When we get back to the school, I tell Deadra he picked me up and drove us back. She tells us we are allowed to stay, but we need to be better behaved and act like mature vampires.
Then I run up to Mikayla’s room and Carlos goes to his room.
“Mikayla! Wake up, come on. WAKE UP!”
“Lily! I thought you weren’t coming back.”
“Well, I’m back to stay and so is Carlos, and I am so happy that he is alive!”
“Wait—he’s alive?”
“Yep, and so am I. Well, let’s go get an early breakfast.”
One Month Later
Chapter 10
Lily
“I can’t believe I actually graduated and tonight is prom night!”
“How does this dress look Lil?”
“Great. How does mine look?”
“Awesome! Okay let’s GO!”
“Kay! Prom is going to be great! And in the next couple of days I will become your Hiddie!”
“I know right? Well, come on. We are wasting time! We have to meet Peter.”
“Oh yeah. Let’s go.”
Chapter 11
Lily
That was the best month of my life! I came back to school, graduated, and they let me bring Mikayla to prom even though she wasn’t graduating! Right now my life is great and I hope it stays like this forever.
Until next time!
***
The Legacy of Loss
Koltan Compton
This is the stupendous, horrific story about a little boy and girl, whose names were Xaiver and May-Belle. They had suffered a tragic loss of all their prized possessions. For Xaiver it was his Encyclopedia of Carpentry. May-Belle, she lost her golden barrette encrusted with diamonds
As for their parents they lost everything.
However it doesn't start there, let's begin two weeks before, in school with Xaiver and May-Belle.
Xaiver, with his ravishing long blond hair with bright red streaks, he was sort-of vigorous but he didn't know how to use his strength to his advantage. He was mainly afraid he would lose his beloved girlfriend and his astounding friends who were with him every step of the way.
He loved math and science, in fact he was in math that day even though he had his head buried in his encyclopedia. This was peculiar, for he usually paid attention in math class. Now wasn't the time to worry about math though. Xaiver and May-Belle had found out that morning there were crazed people that wanted to burn their house down.
May-Belle she of her flowing electric-blue hair, extravagant tan skin, beautiful red tank top with a striking blue cotton half sweat-shirt on over it and blue short-shorts, had implied on one test to distinguish the flame as soon as it would touch the invisible barrier. This test had failed, imploded, and they were sent to the office for playing with fire in school.
"What if we create an invention that distinguishes the flame and absorbs the explosion?" May-Belle asked Xaiver after they escaped the principal's earshot.
"That will take a lot of experimentation," Xaiver said "I'm in."
He wore a wide grin on his face every time he thought of creating such a powerful invention.
As soon as the bell rang, they burst through the doors and sprinted home. They had created the perfect machine to prevent the people from burning their house down, but there was one flaw it had to stay exactly in the middle of the house.
If you thought their parents removed it, you're wrong. Xaiver walked down the stairs reading his encyclopedia and bumped into the little stand they made to protect the FIRE (Fire Incident Re-builder Errhad) and that's when it happened, the people burned the house down.
***
I told you it was a sad story.
Don't say I lied to you.
***
The Gift
Kyla MacKenzie
Hu Hu (heavy breathing)…
My side is killing me. The ground is mushy and cold. I look around I can’t see or hear a thing. The moon is piercing th
rough the trees when I hear the howl of the werewolf! My heart starts to feel like it is going to jump right out of my chest.
When I look up, all I can see is this big red eyed, hairy, drooling monster. As I run this huge wolf comes barreling towards me. It has me now; I have nowhere to go.
I give up. I yell out, I stop and the werewolf pounces like a cat. I start to scream and cry.
All of a sudden the wolf goes flying at a tree and I see this tall human like shape fighting with the werewolf. A few minutes after the shape slashes off the wolf’s head with its nails. I am so terrified.
The shape starts walking over to me. I push myself back but I hit a tree. The shape says, “Don’t be scared. I will not hurt you.”
“Yeah right you won’t.” I say. The voice of the shape sounds like a man. As he comes closer I can see him better. He has lightning blue eyes and muscled broad shoulders.
He puts his hand out and says, “Don’t be scared. Just take my hand.”
I put my hand out he helps me up. I am bleeding and my clothes are torn. As he helps me up, he says, “My name is Zan. Sorry if I scared you.”
”How did you do that?” I ask him.
He mumbles to himself for a minute and then he says, “I am a vampire.”
I step back in fear. He says. “It is okay, I am good. I would never hurt the gift.”
“What are you talking about, the gift? What is that?”
“It is you,” Zan says.
“I’m not a gift. I’m a loser,” I say.
“I must take you to your father now,” Zan says.
“What father? I’m adopted. My parents died in a fire,” I say.
“No, they didn’t. You must come with me now.”
“Dude, I think I’m going crazy, this is all a dream and I will wake up NOW!”
“You a wake yet?” Zan asked.
“Ha ha, really funny,” I say. “So if this is not a dream then you really are a vampire and I’m the gift, whatever that is?”
“Will let me take you to your father now?” Zan asked.
“Why not.” I say. “O.k.”
“So get on my back, Jenna,” Zan says.
“Why?”
“Vampires can run faster than a speeding bullet.”
“Okay.”
So I jump on his back and he says, “Hold on tight.”
I wrap my arms around him and he smiles back at me, making butterflies in my stomach. He starts to run. It begins just like he is a normal person, but then he runs faster and faster.
All of a sudden we are somewhere else. It is very dark and gloomy. There is a giant castle with a little village around it.
“Would you like to go into the castle right now?” Zan asks.
“Umm, okay,” I say. As we walk through the village, all the other vampires are gasping and bowing down.“ Why are they doing that?” I ask.
“’Cause you are the gift, “Zan says.
We reach the castle door. It is a big wooden door with a goblin’s face as the bell. Zan presses on the goblin’s face and it makes an eerie, screaming noise. The door starts to open slowly. Behind the door is a very pale looking woman.
“You must be Jenna,” the woman says. “You look so much like your father.”
“Is she here, Mary?” Zan asks.
“Yes, come on in,” Mary says.
We walk into the dark, gloomy castle and as we climb the stairs we enter a dark room with cobwebs on the curtains. There is a big wooden antique desk in the room. There is a man standing behind the desk who turns around to face us.
I think to myself, Oh my goodness, he does look so much like me. We both have light blue eyes with shaggy, dirty blond hair. He looks to be about thirty-six years old, but because he was a vampire he is probably 220 years or so.
“Jenna, oh my,” says the man behind the desk. “You are more beautiful and amazing than I ever imagined.”
“Thank you, sir”, I say.
“You are so very welcome,” the man says. We stand there in silence for a minute, but then the man known as my father, and I guess the vampire king, says “ So, let’s get down to business.”
I say, “Okay.”
“I am guessing this is a little shocking,” says my father.
“Not really, because earlier I got chased down by a werewolf,” I say.
“Oh I see”, he says. “Well I guess I’ll get started then. On your eighteenth birthday you will become…the Vampire Princess.”
***
The Crash
Lauren MacConnell
I still remember that night. We were dropping off my older sister at the airport. It was on the way home and I was sitting in the back seat all alone. I sat there watching the rain tapping against the window.
I could hear my mom and dad arguing in the front seat. My mother thought it would be a good idea to stay in a hotel over night, because the weather was getting worse and it was late. It would take us over an hour to get home. Dad said they shouldn’t waste their money on something that wasn’t necessary. And of course mom listened.
We all sat there in silence.
We came to a red light, and waited there until it was our turn to go. Just as dad put his foot on the gas, another car ran through the red light. Dad tried to swerve off the road, but the car was going to fast.
That was last time I ever talked to either of my parents.
I woke up the next day in the hospital, my leg was bandaged up. I had a few little scratches on my face as well. The nurse told me I had a concussion, and I was going to be out of the hospital later on that day. Everything was still a little blurry. I could only remember before the accident, and seeing the lights just before they hit us. When the doctor came in, he told me my parents were gone.
Then, all I wanted to do was sleep, and to forget everything. I wanted it to all go away. As I slowly closed my eyes, I thought I could hear my mom saying my name.
“Chloe,” I jumped, hoping to see my mom standing beside me, telling me it was just a bad dream. But it wasn’t my mom; it was my sister, Ali.
I was so happy to see her. Now that she was here, I didn’t feel so empty. She held me in her arms, we sat on the bed and we cried. She told me everything was going to be all right. I still couldn’t believe it, my parents were gone. No last words, no goodbyes.
There was a knock at the door; it was my nanny and poppy. They said that we would be staying with them. Ali wasn’t going back to school for a while, she said she didn’t want me to feel alone.
Finally, we were dismissed from the hospital. I was really nervous driving to my grandparent’s house, but I guess that was normal.
When we got there, they showed Ali and me to our rooms. I lay in my bed and stared at the ceiling. I could hear footsteps coming towards my room; Ali opened my door and came in. I asked her if she would spend the night in my room, to help me sleep better.
***
Asterion and Fukayna
Leanna Hambly
“You idiot!” King Minos, a short fat bald man, yelled at his wife, Queen Pasiphae. Queen Pasiphae, a tall, thin woman with fiery red hair, began to sob, tears flowing from her smoky gray eyes. “You were supposed to take the maids and youths to the labyrinth!”
I closed the door, for I did not want to hear anymore. But I could still hear the Queen’s sobbing. I turned my back to the metal door and walked towards my chambers.
Daedalus, King Minos’ skilled craftsman, hobbled towards me. His back curved slightly, from old age, hair gray and neatly trimmed beard slightly brown at the edges.
“Little owl” he said, referring me to the animal my mother, Athena the goddess of wisdom, had upon her shoulder “Icarus is waiting for you to teach him.” I nodded, and smiled at Daedalus.
As I walked into my chambers, I saw Icarus, a tall youth with curly brown hair and bright brown eyes; look up from his writing tablet and smile at me. Icarus was an inventor, like his father, but had a more childish spirit.
“Lady Fukayna, you lo
ok lovely today” Icarus handed me a narcissus. I smiled and sat next to him, picking up my scrolls from my table.
We studied until Apollo’s chariot was setting on the horizon. Icarus left: Princess Ariadne, the daughter of King Minos, came to see me before I went to sleep.
Princess Ariadne was a tall, flat girl with olive skin, ruby red hair tied with light green ribbons, and sky blue eyes. She wore a deep green chiton.
“Fuka, today’s suitors were all old, and boring. All I want is a strong, young man.” She complained, sitting at the edge of my bed. I dressed into a thin white chiton, and lay in my bed.
“You will find the perfect man for you, Ariadne” I said softly, taking the ribbons out of my hair.
Ariadne looked at me. “Do you not want a husband?”
I laughed. “No man ever attracts me, and if one ever did, he should be above normal.” I said, closing my eyes.
***
I woke to the sound of shouts, and the cries of seagulls. I walked onto the balcony to see a familiar ship with black sails at the docks. Seven youths and seven maids walked onto the land of Crete.
Each year, Athens sent seven boys and girls to the island of Crete, but I never learned why. I just knew they lost their lives. Pity tugged at my heart as I watched the children walk through the gates of the palace, lost forever to the sun’s rays.
I then walked into the hall, dressed in blood red, to go finally ask Daedalus about the children. When I neared his workshop, I paused at the mural of the White Cretan Bull, a bull given to King Minos by the gods.
I heard rumours that Queen Pasiphae fell in love with the Bull, so she begged Daedalus to help her find a way to spend time with her love.
As I ran my hand along the mural, a found an odd bump along the wall. When I pressed it, I heard clicking. Then the mural moved to reveal a narrow stone stairway.
I stood in a dusty stone hallway. I walked around, exploring but soon found myself at a dead end, lost.
“Hello?” I called. I received no answer. This had to be an abandoned labyrinth. I looked at the stones. They appeared eighteen years old, a year younger than me.
“Who are you?” I heard a deep voice growl. I turned to see a tall man in the shadows. I could see the outline of his body. He had long, muscular legs, big muscular arms, and a hard, flat stomach. But something about his head was not correct.