Hail Mighty Reader.

As you know my first attempt at writing this story came to about 4500 words. Honestly I tried to cut it down but I could never get it to be something that I felt I could be proud of or that contained the true essence of the story. So I did this new one. Truth be told this story is more of an epilogue to the original than a stand-alone but I hope that is okay.

Thanks to Everyone who commented. Your advice has been instrumental in putting this together.

Harry Dresden - Harry is a wizard who works as a private investigator of sorts in Chicago (he’s in the phone book, the only listing under “Wizards”), dealing with paranormal crimes and consulting for the Chicago Police Department.

Bob - Bob is an air spirit of intellect who resides in a human skull owned by Harry. Bob is a massive repository of magical knowledge, in to which he allows Harry to tap between wisecracks and attempts to be allowed out of his skull.

If you are confused at all read my original story HERE

If your confused about Dresden Click HERE

If you want to learn more about Jim Click HERE

"The Reasons Why" by Troy Jones

“Wake up Bob. Time to go to work.” I tapped the end of my pencil against the top of the white skull on the shelf in my laboratory. “I need your help figuring this out.”

Orange dots appeared in the eye sockets of the skull. Slowly it swivelled to face me as I begin pulling books off the other shelves and setting them up on the centre table.

“Do you know what time it is boss?” Bob asked sleepily. “Its barely dusk and you want me to wake up now. Give me a five minute snooze and play the alarm again,” and with that the orange dots went back out.

“No Bob wake up now. This is important and I need your help.” I threw the pencil and bounced it off the top of the skull and the orange orbs flashed back into brilliance as my spirit of intellect awoke to possess his receptacle.

“Fine, whatever. Never am I ever appreciated around here.” Bob began his usual grumbling but I knew he was up and ready to go. “So what is it this time? More movie monsters or do we finally get something fun like Nymphs. I do like a good Nymph or two.”

“Nope,” I answered, “I just came up against the Big Bad Wolf or one of his ugly cousins.”

Bob made a whistling sound, which I always find strange as he has no lips. “The Big Bad Wolf did you say? As in the one from all those fairy stories?”

I looked at him thoughtfully for a moment. “I think so. It made out like it was and played the creepy card way over the top”

“So what happened?” Bob asked.

I proceed to tell him about the events that took place that day. Bob was already aware of the missing Rogers family as he had help put together the tracking spell that had led me to Murphy’s house. So I told him about entering the house and seeing the wolf on the bed disguised as Murphy. I told him about the creepy dialogue play we had done and seeing the creature’s true form in the dresser mirror.

“Conjoined objects,” Bob pronounced after I told him.

The way he explained it was, that the same craftsmen had built each dresser at the same time with the same materials. As such there was a sympathetic link between the two that had allowed the wolf to pass from the one at the Rogers to the other at Murphy’s house, bypassing her threshold but leaving a residue of its true form.

I told him about the fight and the part about disembowelling the wolf and pulling the Rogers out had garnished a murmur of astonishment. I told him about tricking the creature and sending it back into Fairy and then getting a nasty surprise as he came back through that same doorway. I ended the tale on Murphy standing outside with her gun, a red mass where the wolfs head had been and me laying there looking up at her as if seeing an angel with a halo around her. By the end of the tale Bob was laughing his skull off.

“So you are trying to tell me,” he said between chuckles “That you just got your ass handed to you by a fairy tale.” His skull rolled around his shelf as he carried on laughing.

“Stars and stones Bob, you didn’t see this thing,” I growled “It was frickin deadly.”

“And,” Bob carried on as if not even hearing me “You got cast as Red Riding Hood with Murphy saving you from the big doggie.” Bob was laughing so hard he nearly rolled off his shelf.

I grabbed the ball-peen hammer I kept by my table and took a few practice swings. I got a steady rhythm up and advanced on the skull. Bob gulped (how can you gulp when you have no throat?) and an edged of fear crept into his voice.

“Look boss,” he said, “There is no need to do something drastic that can’t be undone. You can put the hammer down now.”

I glared at him. “Then if I were you I would get to telling me everything you know about these creatures. It might just stop me smashing your skull Bob.”

“Right,” Bob replied quickly and began listing his sentences in a short rapid rate as if reading off a checklist “’The Big Bad Wolf’, well it’s a creature of Fairy. Or more specifically Winter. Was one of Mab’s top enforcers. There were generally good in a fight. They were used when Mab needed to storm into an enemy’s stronghold and well,“ Bob began to trail off “that’s when things would go horrible wrong for them.”

“Wrong? How so?” I asked, my anger having subsided.

“Just like in the fairy tales they were easily tricked.” Bob instructed “Mab after repeated failures became infuriated with them, especially after humans stop fearing them. Mab saw no need in keeping them around and banished them to the outer edge of her realm. Most now consider them to be wild Fay.”

“So then why attack Murphy?”

“Oh that’s simple. They want to win back favour with Mab and this has given them the perfect situation to do so.”

“What situation? Our attack on Arctis Tor”

“I was meaning more the retelling of the fairy tale itself. All the elements were there. A blonde girl.” I looked sharply at Bob. “A blonde women then,” He corrected himself, “Her Grandmother’s house, and a nearby hunter.” Bob looked at me as if it should have been plainly obvious.

I shrugged, “What does all that mean?”

“Fairies like them have to follow specific patterns and the two of you fulfilled all the requirements they needed. It was a prefect setup giving them a perfect opportunity to try and prove their services to Mab. By bringing one of the people that helped attack Arctis Tor to the Winter Queen they could prove they weren’t screw-ups and win back her favour.”

“It didn’t pay off.” I said. “They still lost”

“Exactly,” said Bob “Patterns are rarely broken. Theirs, not for several centuries.”

“So do I have to worry about more coming back”?

“I wouldn’t think so,” said Bob thoughtfully. “But to be safe we will put up a protection spell at Murphy’s place to repair the gaping hole you’ve left there. It’ll at least stop them getting in again that way”

Bob and I spent the next several hours working in my lab piecing together the parts of the spell I was going to use to properly close the open doorway.

Fairy tales are real? I shouldn’t be surprised really, I mean I’ve ridden a dinosaur.

Posted at 2205 on the 19 August 2011

iWrite: FanFiction (SPOILERS)

For anyone who is reading the story without the intent to read the series then proceed. However If you do plan to read the serise this does contain spoliers and is a draft copy only. A finised version will be posted at a later date.

Takes place between Proven Guilty and White Night

A Favor Owed

When you’re Chicago’s only professional Wizard you’re not immune to all the crazy the paranormal can throw at you. And it takes a lot to rattle me. I’ve seen homicidal unicorns, porn star witches, ridden dinosaurs, and even battled some of the worst movie monsters Hollywood has ever terrorised its audience with. All of which I have pretty much taken in stride, but it’s always those damn fairies that cross that line from insane and head into the kingdom of Complete Bizaro Land.

I had been working for the Special Investigations’ Division of the CPD on a recent kidnapping case. I don't normally get asked for help anymore as the Chicago’s ‘Powers That Be’ had come down very heavily on SI when their old Lieutenant Karrin Murphy helped me out on a case last summer. Murphy was a friend and and aly of mine. She had skipped town in the middle of a crisis to go storm a winter ice castle and rescue a teenage girl being held by Mab, The Queen of Air and Darkness in the heart of her own power. Granted we didn’t do the actual storming. That had already been done by someone else. We just simple slipped in afterwards while no one was looking, threw around a bunch of Summer’s fire, pulled the girl out, and ran like a rabbit crossing a motorway for the safety of home.

Here I was now paying back some of that favour to Murphy on her most recent case. The villain of the week had held a family hostage overnight before making off with the mother and her six year old son. The reason Special Investigations’ had called me in is because the only witness to all this was traumatised 11 year old girl, who swears to whatever creator she believed in that the “Scary, hairy, tramp had simple just walked into the master bedroom and disappeared into complete nothing.”

I pulled my Blue Beetle Volkswagen into the drive that my tracking spell had navigated me to. Murphy had been able to get me some hair from the mothers hairbrush and after a bit of hocus pocus I begain trying to locate them. Mouse my shaggy oversized canine companion and I had followed the signal all over town until we came to a stop in front of a single story colonial style house, built over 100 years ago in one of Chicago’s nicer neighbourhoods. I stared unsure that the spell had been cast right. Maybe Murphy gave me the wrong hair. So I rechecked the spell with a different strand. Then I checked again. And just to be annoying I did the spell for a fourth time. Every time it pointed me directly at the house Murphy had inherited from her grandmother.

There was simply no way this was right. What the hell were they doing here? How the hell had it even gotten into the house? I got back in my car with Mouse and drove down to the gas station on the next block. Using their payphone I punched in the number to Murphy’s extension at the station and got a gruff voice coming over the line.

“Stallings.”

“Stallings? It’s me Harry, I’m looking for Murphy.”

“Well you got the right place but this is the old extension ‘arry.” I smacked my head in remembrances. Murphy had lost her rank within the department after the fallout of last summer. John Stallings, her old partner had been promoted to Luietenant in her place. “Do you want me to pass a message along?”

“Na, just tell me when she will be back in the station?”

“Back?” came Stallings “She ain’t anywhere, She’s sitting at her desk right outside.”

“Crap.” I muttered “Can you put her on the line for me?”

“Sure Harry.” I could hear the sound of Stallings being slightly put out, but still getting up and going to get Murphy.

“What’s up Harry.” Murphy asked over the line

“Tracking spell led me to your house Murph. I think the bad guy is holed up there.” A barrage of swear words came down the line and I had to hold the receiver away from my ear for a minute or three.

“Hold up and don’t do anything.” Murphy said after she had calmed down a bit “I’ll be there shortly.” I could hear the anger in her voice and after years of knowing Murphy knew when to shut up and get out of her way.

“Will do Murph. I’ll park close to your house to keep an eye on things till you get here. See you soon.” The line went dead as she slammed down the receiver.

We drove back a little ways up the road until Murphy’s house came back into view. As we were still some distance off, Mouse and I got out of the car and took a walk down the road. Just a 6ft 7inch man in a black leather duster and a rune covered staff with his minature doggie mammoth out for a walk .

Yeah thats not going to freak out the neighbours.

I saw everything as it should and just to be paranoid I checked the tracking spell yet again. Again it still pointed directly at Murphy’s place. On our second trip past Murphy’s I noticed her door standing wide open. I looked and didn’t see Murphy’s Saturn parked anywhere which was odd and sent my spider-sense tingling. Cautiously Mouse and I made our way to the open front door. I shook put shield bracelet on my left wrist and clutched the staff in my right hand. Mouse gave me a wary look and followed close behind.

We entered into Murphy’s house and I took in the living room. Murphy hadn’t done much to change it from when her Grandmother had lived here. It was still covered in the ruffles and knitted things that had been left to her. A color patter of yellows and greens could be seen in within the funiture of the entire room, all of which was topped in lacy and doilies. If you knew Murphy you would know just how unlike her all this was. The only traces of the Murphy that I knew came in the form of a pair of Japanese swords over the fireplace, and a series of family photos sitting on the mantle.

I looked around the front rooms, which didn’t take long as I could see them all from the door and saw no one in sight. Cautiously we moved into the house. A low growl started in behind me and I jumped half a foot in the air, spinning around and throwing up my shield. Mouse let out a slight chuckle before starting up the growl again.

“Wise guy.” I said to him and resumed the slow entrance into the house. As we made our way down the tiny corridor, a flash of blonde passed in front of the door to the master bedroom.

“Murph” I said in a loud whisper. Her face appeared back at the door quickly before ducking away. “Do you see anything?” I asked.

“Only you Harry” came her reply. Murphy had been dressed in dark jeans, a white blouse and her leather bike jacket. At five foot nothing, with shoulder length hair and a button nose, it looked like she would be more comfortable in a Stepford Wives outfit than the biker gear she was wearing.

Murpys life had been hard. With the loss of her father and two failed marraiges, all she had now was her work. And she had fought for ever inch of her old authority. She could out shoot any man on the force and led the police department in hand to ahnd combat. Murphy was a genuine badass. Besides if she took her bike to work then it made sense that I didn’t see her car out front, but why didn’t I hear it come down the street?

“What are you doing here?” she called out from the bedroom. I edged up to the doorway and peered inside. Mouses soft growl followed me down. The bedroom was small. A single twin bed and an old style wooden dresser with a high top mirror were the only furniture in the room. Murphy lay on the bed. Looking out the window to the front of the house. Her head on the pillow and arms clasped over her stomach. “I didn’t think you would be here yet.” Seeing her lay there, like that, I knew something was wrong.

“Oh, whys that?” I asked. I tried to keep my tone from showing just how weirded out I was. I glanced in the mirror on the dresser and turned back to stare at Murphy.

“It seems out of order. I was expecting someone else before you.” she said, her voice soft and dreamy. Mouse followed me in and his growl deepened. Yellow eyes flash over to stare at him. Murphy beared her teeth “What is that?”

“Oh, him? That’s my Big Bad Wolf detector. I like to use him when stupid scary things get uppity.” The Not-Murphy’s right hand blurred in a flicking motion. A gust of focused wind shot forth and blew Mouse backwards and out the front door. The door slammed shut in the wake of the spell, and I stared in amazement. The only other time I had seen Mouse knocked off his feet, it had taken being hit by a fricken van. This thing had just flicked her wrist and sent Mouse packing. Now that took power. And I was trapped with it. Good going Harry.

Still she hadn’t moved and her arm was back to resting on her stomach. “How did you know?” Not-Murphy asked

“The mirror.” I said nodding to the mirror on the dresser.”You used it as your door to this house. That’s how you got past the threshold.”

“You’re sure of that?” she asked

“Well you didn’t huff and puff. I can tell cause the house is still standing. Besides by using the mirror it left an impression. A reflection of your true from.” I turned back and looked at the hedious moster. Covered in a soft sun colored hair the creature lay on the bed. Pointed ears and an elongated snout, flainked on either side by a high canine tooth. All of which sat only what could roughly called a humoniod body but with a large distended stomach, connected to stretched arms and reverse jointed legs.

“I always hated that story” Not-Murphy said. “They never quiet got it right. A tale to teach our kind strengh and tactics and you humans turn it into a parrable for hard work. Pathetic really. “ Her voice never rose or changed cadience, but a hard edge come into it. “Our stories tell it differently. It’s a battle tactic taught to our young. I think you phrase it as ‘Look before you leap’”

“Is that why you havn’t come after me yet?” I asked.

“You are not my pray. There is another I have come for. We will be getting to you soon”

I gulped. As I stared at the demented version of a wolf laying on my friends bed, I knew that Murphy was in real danger. This thing had just taken two people from one house and broken past Murphy’s threshold and gained access into her home. Anger swelled in me and and I planted my staff firmly into Murphy’s worn green carpet.

“Ain’t no one going to take my friend. I’ll see you back to the hell you came from bitch.”

Laughter rolled out from Not-Murphy, rich and lyrical “Why Hunter, shouldn’t you come after the girl has been taken. I haven’t played my game with her yet. And I so enjoy playing my game.” In a flash Not-Murphy leapt off the bad and came at me, hands out streached. Her body shimmered as if seen through a desert on a hot summers day, morphying into the horid creature that I had seen in the mirror. Arms changed to claws and the came down on me in a devistating blow. If it hadn’t been for the sheild I had thrown up those claws would have torn me to shreds. Instead the pressure of them on my sheild drove me back down the hall and into the lounge.

I moved with the creature and back into the lounge. I managed to keep my footing until I was pressed up against the side of Murphy’s two seater couch and we fell onto the coushions. I had keep my staff infront of my body and used it to push the wolf off me and onto the floor. I scrambled to the other side of the couch and we started pacing a slow smooth circle. Always keeping the couch inbetween us.

“Who sent you bitch” I snarled.

“Why do you ask hunter? Are you going to lay your self at there feet and beg for mercy? For I can assure none will be granted to you.” The voice came out of the muzzle of the creature still sounding like Murphy. Tre` creapy.

“Nope. I just want to know who to send you back to. Cause this is about something that Murph and I have done and I want to know who I get to thank for this nice little visit.” I replied.

“None” it said, there was bitterness in her voice as she spoke “We were cast for the cold and banished to the wild. Its where our Queen sent us for to many failures.”

“Well the wolf always seemed to get screwed in the end. I guess there is some bases for everything.” We had been circle around each other for a minute. Several times we had gone around all the while I had been trying to formutale a plan to bet this monster. Fro she had broken the number one rule of any combat with a wizard. Don’t give us time. Magic is all about preperation, given enough time and concentration and we can do almost anything. Had it kept going from its initial attack and I would have been left using all my energy defending off said attacks. Instead the dialouge had been resumed and I had time to think, to plan, to prepare.

On each rotation of the couch I had slowly been moving further and further back. Soon I stood within opposite the entrance of the corridor. When I said my last line I reached behind me a gripped one of the swords of the mantle. Swinging it like a complete madman I charged forward, directly at Not-Murphy. The creature jumped to the side in surprise of my sudden attack and I continued forward bolting back down the corridor we had just come out of. Again I threw up my shield, shaping it to fit within the doorframe. It’s disgusting yellow form leapt over the sofa in pursuit. It’s distended stomach catching the lip of the sofa and bringing it down in a resounding crash. Another leap and it hit muzzle fist into my shield. An idiotic sense of satisfaction entered into me as I saw it recoil in pain and confusion. A snarl erupted from its lips, which promptly killed my elation.

I wasn’t terrified. It was a manly turn and fleeing into the safety of Murphy’s bedroom. I swear.

I dropped my first shield and put up another one in the new doorway. Not-Murphy came more cautiously down the hallway this time. It battered one of its paws at the new shield and I could feel its wait behind the thrust. I took a breath and used the time to jump-start my idling brain into action. Stars and stones, I was a wizard, for the freaking White Council. I should just go out there and pummel this thing till it gives in; instead I was cowering in the bedroom of a friend. I looked around and realized I was trapped. Nowhere to go, I had to come up with a brilliant plan, one plan that didn’t involve the destruction of Murphy’s house. Fire was out, and so was kinetic force. That didn’t leave me with much. And I couldn’t quite destroy the fairy tale nightmare until I learnt where it had stashed the mother and the kid.

“Hunter.” it called from the hallway “You’re trapped Hunter. Nowhere to go, nowhere to hide, and I will have you now.” A pause for a moment “Can you hear me?”

I didn’t reply right away, the beginning of a plan was starting to take foundation my mind. Foundations grew and a small dwelling was there. Made of straw I looked on it and reassessed the plan. I strengthen it with a wooden structure. It wasn’t quite right yet, so I added a layer of bricks to it. Finally I was secured with the thought that maybe it might just work.

I aimed one end of the staff pointing towards the creature and the corridor. I held the sword in my left hand. With a fluid motion I dropped the shield and unleashed a small force out of the end of the sword blowing Not-Murphy back down the corridor into the lounge. As the creature went flying I reversed the staff, backed up to the far wall and spoke a few soft words. Not-Murphy let out a tremendous growl that shook the entire house with its rage and frustration. It charged down the corridor at me, and this time I didn’t run away. Instead I repeated an earlier action and once again charged towards it.

Time slowed down. I know it didn’t, not really. But I had one of those moments when the entire seconds feel like minutes and every detail, thought and feeling becomes crystal clear and precise. When the two of us closed in on each other in the corridor Not-Murphy leapt and went for where it thought my throat was. I could see the shock register in its widening yellow eyes when it realized I wasn’t there. Instead I had started in on a baseball slide and angled myself underneath it. The soft sun colored fur flew overhead. From where I lay I could make out every bump and contour of its stomach, and as I brought up the sword I could feel the little resistance as it cleanly sliced through its skin. Cutting the creature from head to tail and leaving a black opening lined in red blood. From its ever-increasing widening gap a hand shot out and clutched at the doorframe. The mother held the door frame pulling her body out of Not-Murphy’s stomach. Clutched to her stomach was her son, hitching a ride like a baby kangaroo.

The Wolfs body continued its flight straight at the back wall of Murphy’s bedroom letting out a yelping sound as it went. Instead of crashing into the wall it sailed right through and kept going, shattering the veil I had put up covering the doorway into Fairy I had opened earlier with my staff after I had knocked the bitch back earlier. I hurried over and closed the doorway, preventing it form coming back through. That is if I hadn’t killed it with my disembowelment trick. I hurried over the mother and son sitting, looking shocked at their surroundings. They sat covered in snot colored mucus style substance, which had began to leak onto Murphy’s carpet. I reached out and gently placed my hand on the women’s shoulder. That one simple act seemed to break her out of the trance

“Ohgod,ohgod,ohgod,ohgod,ohgod.” The words came out in a fluid wave, rolling over her and the surrounding area. Her child started to cry as she spoke and the hugged each other tighter. A crowbar wouldn’t have been able to pry them apart right now.

I had no more than a seconds warning, nothing more than a subtitle shit in the rooms airflow across my cheek, when the door I had just closed ripped open and the creature came back into the room. Its body was healed mostly; you could still see the red cut along its belly and had taken on the proper form now of a wolf. It had looked as if someone had hurriedly zipped the two sides together again. It growled like it had last time, only being in the same room I could feel the force of the growl push us a step or two back. I placed my body in-between the women and child and the monster.

“I will not let you steal my prize,” it howled “Not this time. We will be victorious and win back favor with the cold Queen.

“So huff and puff already cause you ain’t blowing this house down.” I spat back.

It leapt at the three of us huddled there. I raised the sword again in some kind of defense. Useless as it may have been it was the best I had at the moment. I was exhausted. Those spells had taken to much effort out of me and I was tired. This was going to come down to a physical confrontation.

I was screwed.

As the wolf came at us another form leapt through the mirror on the dresser and they collided in mid air landing on the bed. Mouse, my guardian dog hadn’t been able to come back in the house from the door, but he had run the five miles back to the Rogers residence. The mirror, of course, they must be twins of each other and that is how wolf bitch had gotten into the house. And here Mouse was, using the same entrance to come to my rescue.

They two grappled with each other. Each using their teeth and fur to try to bring the other down. So close they were it looked like a warped version of yin and yang. Only this time colored in yellow and grey. I pulled the others out of the room and hurried back down towards the lounge. A large crash sounded from the room we had just left. I heard the shattering of glass and splintering of wood. Well its one way to close down the doorway. As we entered into the lounge I threw open the front door and pushed the others outside. Before I could follow, another crash sounded and I turned to see bodies fall out of a large hole in the wall. Murphy was going to blame me for that. Disorientated the Wolf Bitch turned and looked from me and back to Mouse, realizing that it was right in the middle of us. It turned towards the open doorway and me and came charging forward, Mouse in pursuit. I was to slow to react and its entire weight hit me. We went tumbling off the front porch and down into the surrounding rose bushes.

As its teeth began to close around my throat lightning and thunder erupted close by and I was covered in red rain. I wiped the liquid from my eyes and stared up into the cold blue eyes of the real Karrin Murphy standing there holding her service pistol pointed towards me. A wisp of smoke still trailing out of the gun's barrel.

“Why Murphy, What a big gun you have.”

“All the better for shooting smart moth wizards with, my dear” She replied adding specific comical infliction on my dear to drive home the point that I had just been saved be her. “Especially if they have destroyed my home?”

“Its not destroyed” I said, a little hurt by the accusation. “See look, it’s still standing.”

As she turned back to the house there was another crashing sound from inside

“Mostly” and with that I closed my eyes. I had saved the family, defeated the bad guy and paid back a favor. Not bad for a days work. I thought about the state of Murphy’s house. Well mostly paid back the favor.

The end.

Week 2 Assignment: Inventory

For this Assignment we were asked to rewrite our on version of the poem "Inventory" by Gunter Eich. Below is my attempt.

This is my wool cap,

This is my jacket.

These are my fingerless gloves,

My imitation Chucks.

A black leather notebook,

A pen, laptop, and cord.

Each has its own pocket,

Inside my messenger bag.

The stories I construct,

Are contained within each holder,

Each a piece of me,

Hidden safely from view.

This is my bed,

This is my desk,

This is my couch,

My clothes stacked neat in a row,

This place is my shelter,

To rest and recover,

My single shelf lined,

With bottles filed with color,

The cuddly wolf stands at my door,

A silent guardian alone,

A picture of love,

Sits in a position of honor.

This is my phone,

This is my music,

These are my books,

This is my character.

Week 1 Assignment: My Earliest Memory

My Earliest Memory.

Upon the distant hill, sat the white house. Inside was the prettiest girl in all of kindergarten awaiting her hero’s return. His duty was to finish the quest that she had laid out and return with the treasures to her home, to collect his reward. Though none knew what this reward was as all who had attempted had failed, all those who still attempted the task was eager for this discovery. The idea was simple. To race across the fields dodging the impediments that was strewn across it and to be the first to reach the sheltered cave. There they would collect the trophies in the wooden crates and using a moving trolley to follow the path back to the white house, never deviating off of the path or losing any of the three crates off the trolley.

We the heroes, lined at the starting point. Each with one eye on the cave, and the other on those we were trying to beat. With no perceptible signal we started running headlong. Dodging any obstacle in our path. The sprint was hectic and crazy, yet somehow I made it first. Today was going to be my day, and I was ready. I had a plan. I had watched where the others failed and figured out a way around the obstacle that threw them. I had a secret weapon. One I had been carrying around all that a week concealed in the belt pack I wore around my waist along with other devices that helped me navigate the world of Kindy. All I needed was a chance to see if I was right, and here it was. I pumped my fist in the air as I jumped for joy. I landed and poked my tongue out at the others who I had beaten. Granted not my smartest idea. You see, in this game if you lost the race, then you became one of the monster sent to prevent the hero from completing the quest. To deviate him off the path but unable to stand on it yourself. So mocking them only succeeded in giving them more of a reason to stop me.

The first part of the journey along the path back to the white house was always the easiest. It relied on speed. To put as much distance between yourself and the others, before they could organise themselves into a coherent mob to stop you. I took the handle of the trolley which was already loaded with the three crates, and started the run back. The first challenge came in the form of burning rocks being flung at me. Those I couldn’t dodge, I let bounce off and away from me. I knew they would only sting for a moment and hoped one didn’t knock me on my head. I survived the initial barrage and carried on, knowing they were out of ammo. Strangely enough they always stood on one side of the path and threw. It never occurred to them to put someone on the other side to throw the rocks back.

The second challenge came from an unexpected source. A gaggle of witches stood in my path. All carrying their plastic familiars. They looked from me, to the white house on the hill and back. Their faces turning to a glare, words being uttered from their lips. The beginnings of a chant started softly first one. Then two. Soon the whole giggle started chanting and calling out against me, and the girl who sat upon the hill watching. I knew I only had moments before the newly formed monsters regrouped and cam after me again with fresh ammo, but I also knew I couldn’t physically attack the witches. There rage could last long after the game had ended. Knowing I had mere seconds I pulled out from my bag my first weapon, and showed them. The glitter off the ring, that I had gotten out of a toy surprise shone, and made their eyes widen. I had been saving this to be a token to the girl in the white house on the hill. Yet here I was offering it as a bribe for safe passage. Thankfully it worked and I was allowed to pass.

I took off again along the path and made it to the final and deadliest stage. This is where all others had failed. This is where I knew I could win. The path became surrounded by high wooden walls. Walls placed by the guardians to prevents the deserts from encroaching along the path. On the walls, straddling the path but not standing directly on it stood the meanest monster of them all. One called Nomis. Nomis’s beady little eyes watched me approach and his moth curled into an ugly smile. His giant green chest acted as an immoveable boulder, with his black legs making the pillars holding it in place. There was nothing nice about Nomis. He was bigger than all the other kids. Yet his mouth, nose, and other features always appeared to small for the large round face they were put on. As if some drew a tiny smiley face on a balloon.

“Ya cant cross” he squeaked at me. Did I forget to mention he had a really high pitched voice. Like he had been sucking on helium just before he spoke “No way past, and all I have to do is throw one of the boxes off” His grin grew wider, yet still only covering half his face. This is were the others had failed, and why they hung back now. Everyone was scared of Nomis, It really hurt when he punched you and if he couldn’t get to a box, he punched you till you ran away. With being so big and ugly he was just to heavy to simply heave off and out of your way. He was the Kindy bully, and even at four I was beginning to hate bullies. If you hadn’t guessed by now, I was also becoming a bit of a smartarse. I smiled at him. A grin of triumph, and pulled out the secret I had kept stashed in bag for the last week. His grin faltered, and gave way to confusion as he stared at my toy ray gun.

All games follow a set of rules. You can bend them, but you can’t quite break outright. Not without destroying the game or it essence. However you can add to them. And with kid playing games, they add stuff all the time. We call it cheating as adults. Teachers and philosophers call it thinking out side the box. Kids just simply call it playing. As the toy ray gun was a game changer, it didn’t violate the rules or the essence of the quest. It just added in a new dimension.

“What's that” Nimos asked stupidly staring at the object in my hand

“A gun of course” I replied “The one I use to kill the monsters in my closet at night. This thing, one shot on the right setting and the monster just disappears” I tilted the toy ray gun to show him the switch on the side that allowed me to adjust the settings. Each would, in turn play different lights and make different sounds.

“One shot and all types of monsters just go poof” He looked at me and back to the toy in my hand. I could see him thinking it through furiously, trying to find a way around this new wrinkle. When it came to him his eyes brightened, and smile returned.

“Wont work on me” Nimos stated.

“Why not?” I enquired, knowing full well what he was going to say.

“I’m not a monster, I’m a troll” Nimos the monster just upgraded himself to Nimos the troll.

“Okay” I said as if I didn’t care and flicked the setting button on the side of the toy ray gun. “That was the troll setting. Now do you want to change to something else? Cause whatever you change to I can set the gun to it”

Nimos went back to thinking. I waited, I wanted to give him a chance, to see if he could out think this. He couldn’t and I got bored. Without any warning I aimed directly at his green chest and pulled the trigger. Lights flashed, sound erupted from the toy ray gun and Nimos clutched his chest. He knew I had him and even though I knew he would make me pay for this later he had no choice but to conceded that I had won. He collapsed and in true troll bully fashion fell into the desert destroying the newly built cities of the sand goblins, and listening to there cries of protest and anguish with a happy smile on his face. I had moments before the guardians heard their cries and came to investigate. Wasting no time I tilted the trolley and sprinted the final distance to the hill with the white house.

The others chased me but as they had expected Nimos to stop me none was in a place to prevent me from reaching the end of the quest. I took one final look back before I carried the crates to the top and could see the guardian pick up Nimos and begin to tell him off for destroying the cities. He had been in trouble plenty before, so he kept his eyes downcast and while the guardian lectured. As soon as I turned my back to them all thought left my head except for the destination I climbed to. I short timed I reached the white house, and there sat the prettiest girl in all of kindergarten staring at me. Her eyes squinted, eyebrows furrowed with arms folded across her chest.

“Your late, and now my breakfast has gotten complete cold without the milk you were supposed to have here hours ago” There was no mistaking the anger she was giving off.

“Did you see what I just did for you” I asked “No one else has ever done this, I’m the first” This wasn’t how this was supposed to go. She was supposed to be all grateful and stuff give me a reward. Gosh damn it, there is just no pleasing some people. Her scowl faltered and as the anger passed her face melted into one of beauty. She looked and me.

“You are right” she admitted “You are the first to complete the task that I have asked to be done, and for such you shall receive my reward” That line sounded rehearsed and who speaks like that. While I was thinking this, she moved closer to me and took my hand in hers. Without warning or asking if it was ok, she stood on tippy toes and kissed me on the cheek. My brain stopped working for a moment. I was to stuned to think. What the hell had she just done, and in public. Didn’t she know just how humiliating, doing that would be. Obviously not, because as I looked at her she had a smile on her face, probably thinking that what she had done was the greatest gift ever. Admittedly I didn’t handle it well. I pulled my hands out of hers and started rubbing at my face. A desperate attempt to try to wipe away my shame.

“Gross” I said “that was completely gross” Her face fell and tears swelled in her eyes. She turned from me and run inside the white plastic playhouse that sat on top of the raised area of the playground. Ashamed I turned and stared back the way I had come. The other boys stood holding the red rubber dodge balls. The girls had settled down in a group and were having a tea party with their dolls. The kids in the sand pits which had been watching Simon being told off by the teacher, were like all the others, now staring at me. All of them also with a stupid stunned look on there face. I should of let Simon punch. It would of hurt less, but I knew what was to came and took it as deserved punishment for my actions. With a slow movement Simon raised his finger and pointed it directly at me and began the chant

“Troy and Lisa sit-in in the tree…”

Untitled Poem

Silent struggle breeds quiet desperation. A smiling facade to fool the clowns.
Hands outstretched slapped away. A drowning man ignored.
Noble beginnings led to resentment. Isolation needed and regretted.
Thin to breaking pulled in all directions. No one there for support.

iWrite: Brief ONE (Part 1)

Fan Fiction Reviews

The first post wont actually be anything more than a 'Link' to a different website. Our first task is to write our own Fan Fiction story. The idea being that it is easier to begin in an established world and twist or add to it to make it your own. However before we can begin to write, we should look and review other peoples Fan Fictions within the area that we are creating our own. Might help us with ideas and stuff. Anyway my reviews are posted so read and tell me what you think.

Also part of my iWrite class is to post all our work online. Hence the inspiration for this blog.