I was curious to see if the button was actually under that rock, so I walked over to it and picked it up. The cave appeared as well. I glanced behind me, but nobody was there so I walked into the cave.
I heard footsteps behind me and I knew exactly who it was. Zavion. I turned quickly to find him approaching me with a knife a little too quickly for me to react. He jolted for me and I screamed, but I opened my eyes to the sound of grunting. Brendon was on top of Zavion, holding him to the ground. Zavion threw him against the wall as if he weighed nothing. It was the most terrible moment to be sucked into a vision, but it was worth seeing.
We were still all in the cave and Brendon was used all of his force to try to push away Zavion’s knife, while I just stood there. I don’t know what happened, but I felt a sudden surge of anger and suddenly Zavion was just lying on the floor in pain. And when he stopped moving Brendon ran over to him to check his pulse and then looked at me.
“He is dead.” Brendon walked over to me while I had my first close look of Zavion. He had black hair and looked to be about thirty with scars all over his face.
“How did I do that?” I asked, hoping Brendon would know the answer.
“I guess you’re discovering your powers now,” he said. “If I’m lucky I’ll discover mine soon too.” Then he took my hand and we walked back up the beach.
We started packing up, because now that we were safe we could move back home, although my parents would be angry with us for leaving and not telling them when or where we were going; they were probably worrying sick about me. When we got home we knew we had to tell my parents the truth, so when they asked where on earth had we been we explained everything. At first my dad’s reaction was just anger.
“Do you think we’re stupid? You can’t lie to us. Now tell us the truth.”
“No Dad, you’re a very smart man and a great father so I want you to believe me and I can prove that we’re telling the truth.”
“Okay then, go ahead.” He folded his arms and leaned against the wall. So I looked at his coffee mug, sitting on the kitchen table.
“Want some coffee?” He looked very confused when he saw his mug floating over to him, my gaze following it the whole way.
“H-h-how are you doing that?” His voice was all shaky and scared.
“I told you, I’m a witch.” They believed me and after a while using my powers around the house and constantly passing out for my visions the whole became casual. Brendon discovered his powers and he used them around the house too. My parents were used to having him around all the time, so when Brendon and I moved into our own place they were really lonely; even though our place was just down the road and we visited all the time.
Six Years Later
Brendon and I are now happily married with 2 kids of our own; our little witch Rebecca who is four years old and is just beginning in Witch craft and Wizardry school along with other magic folk who survived Zavion. And there’s our little wizard, Jason, our smart 2 year old who already knows his alphabet. They have this special bond with my parents. We visit them all the time and my parents spoil them rotten with all the toys and stuff they buy them.
I don’t know what the future will bring, but I’m pretty happy here right now. It’s nothing that I ever expected my life to be like. My life changed the day I turned sixteen and so will the life of my daughter. Of course she won’t have to go through all the trouble I did to get that necklace, because I will be here to hand it down to her.
This is my life now and I’m happy to be living it.
***
The Monster Under the Bed
Sophie MacLean
The sun went down and both the indoor and outdoor stars started to glow. Emily grabbed her stuffed rabbit from the floor and jumped onto her bed. It was always a good idea to be on the bed before the lights went out. Having Fish with her was also very important. Her rabbit was called Fish simply because it was fun to name things after what they weren’t. However, she supposed Fish could be a fish if he really tried.
Emily snuggled into her bed, listening to the fish tank burble. The wind had stopped whistling.
“Mmph.”
Emily rolled over on her stomach, coccooning herself into her purple blanket. Minutes passed.
She jerked awake. What was that sound?
She sat still in her bed, listening. Where was Fish? Oh. He was lying on the floor, silly thing. What was he doing down there?
Aha! There was the sound. It was a glittery sound, like in Mommy’s songs. What was the word? It wasn’t ‘laugh’ . . . ‘Giggle’! That’s it! The giggles were coming from the underneath of her bed. Maybe it was a monster! No, that’s silly, monsters don’t giggle. A mouse? She was fairly certain that mice giggled. Emily hoped it was a mouse. She liked mice. They were soft and had lots of little bald babies who didn’t open their eyes until they got older, which Emily thought was funny. It was funny because baby people had their eyes opened and had lots of hair. It would be fun to have mice friends.
“Are you a talking mouse?”
There was no answer. Emily frowned. She didn’t want a mean mouse, even if it did talk. Better fetch fish.
She looked over to where Fish was, but he was gone. Her eyes scanned the room.
Emily spotted Fish. He was almost underneath the bed, with just his ears sticking out.
There was a pitter-patter sound coming from under the bed.
Like little feet.
She heard more giggles. More talking mice! Emily burrowed her way under the pillows from excitement. After a minute or two she peered out from the end of the bed and swung over to look underneath.
There was Fish, lying in a corner with one ear torn off.
The last thing she saw was a pair of dead eyes. Shark eyes.
***
Psychotic killer strikes again
Emily Marchwell, age 4, was murdered last night in her own home. The suspect is an unnamed killer who has claimed many other victims, all within the province of Nova Scotia. The killer has been known to lure his victims using various tactics, including ‘teddy bear abduction’ and the use of candy baiting. Emily’s parents have organized a hotline for the sole use of finding the killer. If you have any information regarding the killer, please call 1-888-555-2940 toll-free.
***
Friday Night Madness
Tara Llewellyn
Prologue
As soon as I pulled into the driveway, I could tell something was wrong. The beautiful, dark green grass I carefully mowed into the perfect pattern just hours before was all torn up and covered in tire tracks. My mother’s hundred-dollar vase was missing from its place on the dining room windowsill. And the worst; the house seemed completely silent. As I stepped out of my car into the darkness, I saw nothing. Not a light was on, and only the soft hum of the cricket’s songs played in the distance.
There was only one explanation.
Demi.
Part 1
My name is Tiffany. Some people say I’m everything they ever wanted to be. Tall, blonde, drop dead gorgeous, and popular. I couldn’t disagree more. Some people just don’t understand that even though I may seem ideal on the outside, my life cannot compare to others. It sucks.
Like most people my age, I live at home with my family. My mother works late night shifts as a nurse and my father is a police officer, so they’re barely home at the same time as I am. As for my sister, most times I would rather she wasn’t there, but of course she’s always around somewhere.
If Demi was anything like me, maybe life wouldn’t be so bad. But she’s not. While I’m a straight A student, cheerleader, and future prom queen, Demi is…well… Demi! Last week, she dyed her hair an electric sort of blue, and so far I swear she has never missed a chance to party. I’m not so sure her group of friends are exactly what I consider charming. I tend to think of them a bit more like child delinquents. At least she had no trouble fitting in, right?
When Dad was transferred to California for his job, w
e had to move out here to stay “connected” like “normal” families, as my mom puts it. Demi and I had to start fresh at a new school. Being as beautiful as I am, I fit right in as a new cheerleader, student president, and hopefully prom queen once the year ends. Demi, on the other hand, had a bit more difficulty. Because of all the jerks in her grade, she was made fun of a lot and constantly came home with puffy red eyes from a day full of crying. I attempted to help her by bringing her to a party.
Instead, I just ruined my own life, because that’s where she met Ken.
Ken is like most of the people in his little posse; loud and obnoxious. He is the one that got Demi hooked on going to all his dark, loud, devilish parties, and somehow she manages to have fun. Since she met Ken, Demi has been out partying every Friday night and there’s nothing I can do to stop it. Since Mom and Dad work on Fridays, I have been staying home so I can protect the house from any unexpected parties she might try to throw.
My friends don’t seem to be that supportive. They have invited me time after time to go out to the movies or even just hang out with them on Friday nights, but I just can’t bring myself to do it. With Demi being so wild and all, I’m not going to risk some strangers entering our home and robbing me of everything I own. They have enough time to do that while I’m at school.
Part 2
Just like every other day, I drove Demi down the long roller coaster of a road to Gracewood High. She used to go to Mountain View high with me, but she begged mom and dad to let her go to Gracewood with Ken. I like to let myself believe they only let her go because she had a rough start at my school; I hate to think they might actually trust Ken!
“Are you going to be home Friday night?” Demi tried to act casual.
I immediately pulled over to the side of the road. “Am I going to be home? Are you joking! Of course I am! Why would I chance leaving, to come home to a mess bigger than the California street dump? I know what you’re planning; no way.”
And just like that she hopped out of the car. I watched her as she pulled out her cell, dialed a few numbers and started for the school, her phone pressed against her ear.
“Good luck getting there,” I screamed. “You still have a good hour of a walk ahead of you and your first class starts in twenty minutes!”
When I rolled my window back up and was about to drive away, I saw a familiar puke green 1970’s Chevy truck pass by. As I leaned forward to get a closer look, I quickly learned my prediction was right. In my lifetime, I have only seen one truck like that which makes the same horrific sound; it was Ken. He slowed down and pulled over just a few meters ahead. A huge grin spread across Demi’s face as she waved towards the piece of garbage on wheels.
I rolled my window back down as quickly as my arms would let me.
“Don’t you dare get in that car with—” And she hopped right in. She must have seen the anger on my face because as they drove away, she turned around and waved at me through an evil smirk.
With all the stress Demi had been causing, I forgot all about my science test after lunch. The plan was to sneak in some extra study time while I ate, but I was so focused on being angry at Demi, I forgot all about it.
As I sat down to write the test, I felt a bit more comfortable; it was only seven pages long. The stack of paper I meant to study at dinnertime had at least fifty pages, so Mrs. Applebee must have removed some of the new stuff that could easily be forgotten.
As she handed out the tests, I realized something was wrong, very wrong. Instead of cutting out the new stuff I didn’t know as well, Mrs. Applebee removed all the older stuff I spent all of my time studying last night. Beads of sweat started trickling down my face as I looked around the room. Nobody seemed as nervous as me; in fact, some were even sighing in relief!
Try your best, I thought. It can’t get any worse than this.
Boy was I ever wrong. That night, I didn’t fall asleep until 3:00AM, and I accidentally slept in. When I woke up, Demi was gone. I immediately started panicking and didn’t know what to do first. Call Dad at the police station, or use the bathroom. I really didn’t want to risk getting my favorite white and pink striped PJs stained with pee, so I ran to the bathroom. As I ran past the mirror, I noticed my forehead was blue. Was that normal? The answer was no. As I approached the mirror to get a closer look, I learned my forehead was not blue at all; Demi plastered a sticky note on my forehead.
It read:
You sleep too much. I’m going to school with Ken. Don’t bother telling Mom and Dad, because I’ll just tell them you wouldn’t get up and I was going to be late for school. Remember, they like me better.
Demi
Sometimes, that child drove me crazy! But there wasn’t enough time for that. In five minutes, I would be late for school.
As I bolted out to my car, I took a good look at myself. My clothes didn’t match, my hair was all greasy, and, in general, I was a mess. I’ve always been the neatest, best-looking girl in school and now I was no doubt the ugliest. I took a quick look at the clock; two minutes, no time to change. I really had to put the pedal to the metal!
I ran out of my car into the dirty, old, brick school. As I walked through the door, the 9 o’clock bell rang. I sprinted to my locker and decoded my lock; or at least I tried to. After about ten minutes of failure, I heard the familiar buzzing that meant there will be an announcement. They never made announcements during learning time, so even I found it quite odd.
“Tiffany MacDonald to the office please, Tiffany MacDonald.”
Mr. Maddox our new principal must have heard me banging my head off my locker. Well wasn’t that just lovely!
After a two-hour session about destruction of school property with Mr. Maddox, I was really getting annoyed. But it wasn’t until I went to the fountain after school that I lost it. I was on my way to cheerleading practice and decided I should probably grab a drink before. The fountain by the east doors was normally the quietest, so I took out my school map and started down the maze of bright white, sweaty walls.
Once I arrived at the fountain, I knew something weird was going on. There was a long line up that went down past the science room doors. Using my cheerleader authority, I made it to the front of the line within five minutes. As I walked to the front, people started to laugh. It wasn’t until I bent down to get a drink that I realized why. That morning, Mrs. Applebee must have posted our science test results and she put one page above the fountain. Normally, I would be fine with that. I have always been at the top of the list. But now, I was thoroughly embarrassed and frustrated. I was at the bottom of the list with a mark of 42%, all because of Demi. I must have turned beet red, as there was an explosion of laughter as I stomped down the hall to the football field.
“Number one rule of cheerleading; no matter what is going on in your life, cheer practice is a happy time and grumpy humour will not be tolerated.” I had to remind myself of this, as I skipped onto the field. I was ten minutes early, and there was almost nobody there. Josh, the head cheerleader’s boyfriend, sat off on the bleachers reading a book. Now, he’s not the brightest light bulb in the pack, if you know what I mean, so I went to go check it out.
He looked up as I started over.
“Hey Tiff! Come here for a minute; I want to show you something!” He probably wanted some study help or something; hopefully he hadn’t seen the poster.
“I saw the poster… and no offence, but you don’t really look like yourself today either.” He noticed. Actually it didn’t surprise me, everybody had. I didn’t know who I was fooling when I reassured myself nobody would notice I look horrible or that I flunked my test.
“You’re right. I slept in this morning and forgot all about the test.” I figured confessing everything to somebody would make me feel better, and so far, he was the only one listening.
“Figured. Here, I bought a joke book the other day and I think some of these might cheer you up.” Sometimes I envied Jordan; Josh is so nice and positive. Any time I need somebody re
al to talk to, I find him and he cheers me up within seconds. I’ve never told him about Demi or my family, of course, just little things like bad hair days, or 95% tests.
Normally joke books suck, and this one was no exception, but somehow Josh made it somewhat funny. We laughed and we laughed until I turned around and saw the team was ready to start.
“It looks like we’re going to start now. Thanks for cheering me up.” I giggled as I ran over to the cheer squad.
“No problem, see you around!”
Cheer practice went well, although when I thought about it later, I realized Jordan wasn’t there. Kaitlyn, my best friend, directed all the routines. Oh well!
I pulled into the driveway just in time to see Ken pulling out and guess who was with him? Demi. I rolled down my window, but as I did so, Ken speed up, and they went off into the distance. As I walked into the kitchen, there were two notes waiting for me.
The first one was from Demi:
I’m going out. I might go see House of Horrors 2, but no guaranties. Your friend called. I didn’t want to answer, so I let the answering machine go off.
Demi
Well isn’t that nice? The second note was from Mom:
Hi girls, I know I’m supposed to be home tonight, but the hospital has been very busy and they called me in. I’m sorry. On the bright side, they promised me the whole weekend off. Again, I’m sorry. Take care and there is leftover meatloaf in the fridge.
Love you guys! Mom.
Oh well, not the first time this happened. Like every other Thursday night, I was home alone sitting on the couch eating meatloaf. When I finished, I washed my dishes and made my way over to the phone. Looked like Kaitlyn called. She probably wanted me to go see another movie tomorrow night and I would, yet again, have to decline. Like a new tradition, Friday nights had to be spent protecting the house. Well, I guessed I might as well listen and see what she wanted.