A thank you and a new extract

Hi guys, thank you for the very kind positive responses...sorry I haven't posted anything in a while. Here's chapter 3 of my book The Myth Project. Hope you like it :) Please post any comments below...thanks... beasle95

Saturday approached quickly and the week flew by. School rushed past in a blur of work and homework. Thankfully nothing strange happened again and although Dad acted cool towards me, everything seemed to be getting back to normal again.
Everyone’s interest was in Blaze though. With his dark eyes and mysterious personality, he seemed to be causing quite a flurry amongst the girls as they all tried to catch his attention.
“Honestly!” Sam muttered, not very quietly as we passed a group of giggling girls in the corridor. “I mean, he’s fit, but he isn’t a Greek god!”
The girls glared at Sam and I noticed with a twinge of annoyance and worry that Marcie was among them. She strutted forward, one hand on her hip.
“Like she’d ever go for you titch,” Marcie sneered and Sam clenched her fists in anger.
Sam and I are both about 5ft 3 – quite small compared to Marcie who seemed to have legs up to her eyebrows. I don’t really mind being short but Sam hates it, which Marcie knew.
“Titch? That’s the best you can do?” Sam hissed back and Marcie raised her eyebrows, about to reply.
“Come on Sam, she’s so not worth your time.” I yanked on her arm and although she immediately tried to resist, she gave in pretty quick.
“I so wanna punch that chick,” Sam thundered. She squeezed my hand so hard that my knuckles went white.
“Ow.” I freed my hand from hers and shook it out to try and get some feeling back into my fingers,
“Maybe one day...” Sam mused and I rolled my eyes at her plotting. She grinned.
“Hey guys.” Aaron came up behind us and slung his arms over our shoulders. Sam grunted in annoyance and we dropped out shoulders in sync, causing Aaron to stumble forwards. Sam chuckled, satisfied that she had got revenge on at least one person that day.
Aaron scowled and then smiled again.
“So are you ready for tomorrow?” he asked, his grin spreading further up his face.
“Yes,” I sighed heavily. “What are we supposed to wear? Waitress outfits?” Aaron nodded enthusiastically.
“You’ve got to be kidding me!” Sam threw her arms up in exasperation, nearly catching Aaron on the nose. He winced and I fought a smile.
Aaron rubbed his arm. “Yeah, sorry; Dad’s orders. He wants you to fit in with the theme – James Bond; black skirt, white blouse and high heels. ”
“And err... what exactly is this thing about?” I asked, ignoring Sam as she made her fingers into a gun shape and jumped round the corner as an impression of James Bond.
“It’s a drinks evening for Dad’s work – to promote the company and so Dad can get to know people. I knew you guys needed money, so I volunteered you to do the waitressing because dad said he’d pay you.”
“Thanks – I’m desperate for cash at the moment – even if it means tarting up for the evening. I guess it’ll be fun.” I ran my hand through my hair to pull it out of my face.
“My Dad said he’d take you home as well, so you don’t have to walk,” Aaron said.
“Cool, I’ve got science, so I’ll see you guys later.” I waved to them both and set off down the corridor.
“Hi Rachel.” I jumped, not expecting the voice to be quite so close behind me. Turning, I looked up to see Blaze, his eyes dark and looking a bit worried for making me jump. “Sorry.” His face spread into an apologetic grin and my heart stuttered. I realised just then how tall he was – almost six foot and I felt dwarfed.
“Oh, err...that’s alright...sorry.” I smiled back at him, feeling embarrassed and struggling to find something to say. “What have you got now?”
“Science. Bummer eh?” He chuckled and his hair fell over his eyes.
“Same – with Dr Moore?” Blaze nodded that small smile on his face again.
“I got moved yesterday.” Shrugging, smirked. “Apparently they decided that I needed to be in a higher set.” I nodded and smiled nervously up to him again, holding my folder close to my chest.
We walked together, going back into the main school building. Peoples shot us looks – a mixture of envy and admiration. Despite myself, I felt quite touched that he had chosen to walk with me. Stupid, but I felt it nonetheless.
“How come you moved here?” I asked as we approached the classroom. I had to crane my neck sideways to see his face properly and was surprised to see that it was torn.
“I...wasn’t happy at my last school. This one seemed like a better option.” I nodded and pondered over his hesitation. I shouldn’t expect him to be open straight away, but I was suspicious that he wasn’t telling the whole truth. Surely it was a normal question to ask why he had moved schools? We lapsed into silence and made our way into the lab. I sat down at my seat next to my friend Emily. Blaze stood awkwardly at the front when suddenly Dr Moore came in. He looked up startled, almost walking into Blaze. Mumbling an automatic apology, his gaze suddenly snapped up.
“Ah, you must be Blaze Roberts!” he announced, pushing his glasses back onto his nose. Blaze nodded. I could tell he was nervous because he ran his hand through his hair, but he showed no other outward signs of it.
“Yes-sir that’s me!” he said enthusiastically, which should have been dorky, but was actually cute. The female population of the class giggled and I smiled. Meeting my gaze and holding it for a second, he looked levelly back at our teacher. Dr Moore was looking around the room, a concentrated frown contorting his forehead. His gaze swept the room, row by row, pair by pair until it finally settled on me and Emily at the back.
“Ah yes; Blaze, please go and sit next to Miss Forester at the back.” Emily stuck up her hand, a slight pout turning down the corners of her lips.
“But sir, where shall I go?”
Dr Moore frowned over his glasses. His corkscrew hair was fluffed up and sticking out in every single direction as if he had been electrocuted or walked through a hedge backwards. Watery grey eyes behind the square frames stared intently at Emily, assessing the situation.
“Hmm, come and sit at the front please,” he said and turned his back so he faced the board.
“Sorry,” I whispered to Emily as she got up. Shooting me a half envious look, she picked up her books and slipping her bag onto her shoulder, she made her way to the front. Blaze sat down next to me, placing his books neatly in front of him. I shot a smile up to him which he returned politely and I wrote the title at the top of my page.
“You came on a good lesson Blaze!” Dr Moore announced with a flourish of his hands. “We’re doing an experiment today which is much more exciting than these boring textbooks.” Slamming his down on the desk, he turned back to the board, looking around for a pen.
“Whoop de doo,” I muttered sarcastically and I saw the corner of Blaze’s mouth lift into a smile.
Dr Moore continued. “Today we will be heating hydrated copper sulphate crystals which are pretty and blue!” His hair seemed to shiver with barely contained excitement, his eyes wild. “When we heat them they’ll turn into...what Jason?” He pointed as Jason, a handsome Asian boy in the front row.
“Er....dehydrated copper sulphate?”
“Bingo! And what will happen when it you add water once it is cool? Miss Lawson?”
Emily smiled brightly. “It will turn back to hydrated copper sulphate sir!”
“Perfect! And this is called, Miss Forester?”
“A reversible reaction,” I answered and Dr Moore clapped his hands together, looking pleased.
“Ah, what I wonderful class I have!” he grinned manically making a few at the front titter with laughter. “You will be working in pairs, with the person sitting next to you – you need Bunsen burners, goggles and boiling tubes. I will come round with a small beaker full of crystals and instructions. Remember, you need tongs to hold the boiling tubes – they will get extremely hot once you put them in the flames. Off you go!”
Blaze reached behind him and grabbed some goggles off the bench behind and handed a pair to me.
“Thanks,” I muttered. “Shall I go and get the equipment?”
“I’ll get the Bunsen burner and the tongs,” he said and followed some other guys who were collecting them. I blinked and went to fetch the rest of the equipment. Two minutes later we met back up at the desk.
“The instructions are on the sheet on your desk, now quieten down please – you need to be sensible!”I studied the instruction sheet in front of me.
“Ok, we need three scoops of copper sulphate and we need to put them in the boiling tube.” I held the tube and put three scoops in. “Now all we need to do is hold it over a blue flame until the crystals turn to a white powder.” I looked up at Blaze. “Seems simple enough.”
He smiled. “We need to have a flame first.” Turning away, he put the rubber tube onto the gas tap, and turned it on. Then, seeing that the people next to us already had a flame burning he lit a wooden splint and lit ours too. Next, he adjusted the flame until it turned blue.
“Let’s heat this baby up,” I muttered and holding the boiling tube with the tongs, I held it at the hottest, brightest point.
“Have you done this experiment before?” I asked Blaze, watching the crystals carefully.
“No – similar but not this one.”
I nodded smiling. “Dr Moore gets so excited when we do experiments – if he had it his way we’d do them every lesson. But unfortunately we have to do book work too.” As soon as the words were out of my mouth, I bit my lip in embarrassment. When did I turn into such a geek?
Glancing back at the tube, I realised that something had gone horribly wrong. The blue crystals hadn’t turned into a white powder, but instead into a thick, black liquid that was bubbling angrily.
“Ah – what’s happened?” I gasped, pulling the tube out of the flame. The liquid continued to bubble, with a new energy. “Dr Moore!” I cried frantically as the liquid started spitting and drops landed around us. I held it out at arm’s length to stop any droplets from falling onto my arm. Dr Moore rushed over. When he saw the liquid, he gasped.
“Put it in the fume box! Everybody get under the desks please!” he yelled. The class except Dr Moore, Blaze and I backed away and dropped behind the other benches out of harms way. Just before I was about to drop the tube, it suddenly exploded, sending the sticky black liquid straight towards me.
In a flash, Blaze’s hand was on my arm. Just as I squeezed my eyes shut, I felt an electric shock run right up my arm and down through my body and saw a giant bubble form around us. I was pulled to the floor and shoved underneath the desk so hard I cracked my head on the floor.
Then...silence.
Slowly I opened one eye, crouching underneath the desk. Blaze was still clutching my arm and I could feel it tingling with static. Staring down at it, I realised that none of the liquid had landed on me - I hadn’t been burnt by the heat, or any liquid. But what I did see around Blaze and I was a semi-transparent bubble. One of Blaze’s hands was on my arm, his other held up in the air. Was he...creating the bubble?
But as soon as I blinked it was gone and Blaze took his hand slowly off my arm.
“Rachel, are you alright?” he asked, his eyes wide with horror.
“I’m fine...a-are you? What just happened?” I stammered and got to my feet. Blaze nodded mutely and looked around.
Dr Moore’s head stuck up from behind the desk next to us, his eyes huge and his hair more like a corkscrew than ever. Each hair seemed to be bristling and his pupils were both dilated.
“Dr Moore, what just happened? We only did what was on the instruction sheet...” I whispered with shock. My knees were shaking as I looked around. Our desk was caked in the black substance which was bubbling and starting to corrode into the desk. The liquid oozed out of the remainder of the shattered glass and spread like spilt oil.
Thankfully Blaze and I had both moved our books and belongings onto the desk behind so none of our things had been damaged. The explosion had also been pretty much contained to our desk - only a few drops and shards of glass had landed around us. Blaze reached up and brushed a shard out of my hair and when it dropped to the ground it tinkled delicately, flashing in the light.
“What the hell is that stuff?” Blaze muttered. Dr Moore peered at the gloopy mixture and his eyes widened even further. The room was completely silent – only the hiss of a flame could be heard.
“I’m not sure...but something is very, very wrong.” Dr Moore’s grey eyes met mine.
“Rachel, I want you and Blaze to go to the nurse please. Get her to check the pair of you over. The rest of you – please take your belongings and go next door to Miss Hayward’s classroom. In silence please, there are still lessons going on.”
Everybody nodded and started packing their books away, turning off the gas taps and placing their boiling tubes into racks warily to make sure none spilled. The room was very quiet – everybody strangely cooperative. Shocked into silence?
“Come on Rachel.” Blaze tugged my arm and held my bag out for me. I smiled in confused thanks and took it, silently walking out of the room, with Blaze only two steps behind.
The corridors were deserted since everybody was still in their lessons. Perfect. I turned sharply round, almost making Blaze crash into me.
“What happened in there?” I asked Blaze, staring up at him seriously.
“The experiment? I have no idea – but there was definitely something else mixed in with those crystals.” I shook my head.
“Not that...the...bubble.” I frowned, one eyebrow raised, challenging him with my eyes. “When the explosion happened, I saw a...giant bubble type thing and it protected us.” I frowned again. “It looked like you made it.”
One corner of Blaze’s mouth lifted up into a sarcastic smile, but his eyes were tight, wary. “You think that I created a shield to protect us from the explosion?” I nodded stubbornly. “You’re imagining things – have you been inhaling too many chemical fumes?”
I scowled at him and crossing my arms, not caring if I looked like a toddler who wasn’t getting its own way. “I know what I saw.” Suddenly Blaze looked angry, scared even. Something flashed in his eyes that betrayed some of the emotion that he was so carefully concealing. He looked...terrified.
“Well no one is going to believe you. No one else saw.”
I raised my eyebrow again. “I wasn’t going to tell anyone. I just want to know the truth.”
Blaze stepped past me and started walking up the corridor again. “You will soon enough,” he muttered, so quietly I wondered if I had imagined it. I stayed frozen on the spot, staring after him.
“Are you coming or are you just going to try and stare a hole in my back?” he asked sarcastically and I blushed.
“No, I’m coming,” I replied and wordlessly lead the way to the nurse.
The nurse checked us over and declared that we were both fine. However, I was still confused, and probably a bit shocked.
Someone must have rigged the experiment. There was no possible chemical way that the experiment could have gone the way it did if it only contained copper sulphate. So what had happened? Something else must have gone into the mixture.
At lunchtime Dr Moore came and found us both before registration.
“Someone tampered with the mixture, although I’m sure you figured that out for yourselves.” Dr Moore pushed his glasses further up his nose. “Needless to say, we are investigating the situation very seriously; the person who did this was a trainee and has now left –but of their own accord.” He raised his eyebrows. “We tested all the other mixtures but only yours contained anything other than the copper sulphate. So we aren’t sure if you were the ‘targets’ or if someone else was. Of course, I just handed out the chemicals at random...” he babbled and I smiled at him reassuringly.
“It’s ok Dr Moore, we know it wasn’t your fault.” Dr Moore’s shoulders sagged as he let out a deep breath.
“Thank you Rachel. Regardless, I am truly sorry and am very glad that neither of you, nor anyone else was hurt.”
Blaze and I nodded and Dr Moore waved half-heartedly and turned away. Suddenly he spun back again.
“Just out of interest...if this was a deliberate move, do either of you know any reason why it would have happened? If you or anyone else could have been...targeted for some reason?” I immediately shook my head and looked up at Blaze to see what he would say. Shaking his head, his face was set into a blank expression, but as he looked down I thought I saw something flash in his eyes. The look instantly reminded me of what he had said earlier: “You will soon enough.” What had he meant?
But apparently Dr Moore was satisfied. “Thank you. Well then, off you go.” We parted and Blaze and I didn’t speak. How could we have got off to such an awkward start?
I told Sam about the incident and she was worried, but she couldn’t help but laugh.
“Trust you to be in the middle of it,” she said with a wink and I rolled my eyes at her. Suddenly she wrapped her arms around me. “I’m glad you are ok though – I wouldn’t want anything to happen.”

Throughout the rest of the day I went over the incident.
Had anything suspicious happened beforehand? No.
Anything afterwards? Only Blaze.
He really was acting suspicious, or was that just my overactive imagination? Was he involved in some kind of organisation? A gang? Maybe he had had to change schools because he was getting away from them?
I knew that I was being ridiculous, as he was so easy going...but who was I to know?
These questions and memories of our meeting swirled around my head. It was almost impossible to think of anything else.
Except Dad.
When I got home, he was acting strangely, especially around me. He seemed lost in a deep thought.
For instance, he was sitting in the lounge staring over the top of his newspaper at a picture of the two of us when I was about eight. Sarah was trying to tell him it was nearly dinner time, but he seemed unable to hear her.
“Ed? Ed? It’s dinner time!” She shook his shoulder and he blinked a few times.
“What’s wrong?” Sarah stared at his face with concern. “Are you alright darling – you seem spaced out?”
Dad cleared his throat. “I’m fine, why wouldn’t I be?” he ran his hand across his chin. “Dinner – let’s go.”
Sarah gave him a strange look. “Alright...”
Over dinner he seemed colder than normal towards me and wouldn’t meet my eye. Afterwards he went straight up to his study without a word. I followed anyway. I’d decided I was going to tell him about Mrs Richards and Marcie the other day and the incidents with the moving paper. When I came in, he was sitting at his desk with his head in his hands. I approached him cautiously and placed one hand on his shoulder.
“Is everything alright Dad?” I asked, perching on the edge of his desk. He let out a deep breath and looked up at me.
“I hoped it wasn’t true,” he murmured almost to himself and my brow furrowed with confusion.
“What?” Dad suddenly looked guilty, like he’d said something he shouldn’t have done.
“I...nothing. I meant to check - you know that Sarah and I are staying out tomorrow night and coming back Sunday morning?” I nodded.
“Sure – I’m going to Aaron’s for the evening and his Dad is dropping me off home again.”
Dad frowned. “I’m not sure that you should stay here on your own sweetheart. I mean, I know you are sensible but what if something happens? We won’t be here to help you.”
“I’ll be fine Dad. Seriously, nothing is going to happen.” Dad hesitated and thought for a few moments.
“Fine. Daniel and Lily are staying at Jane’s house for the night and we’re picking them up on our way back home.”
“I know Dad, stop worrying.” Dad smiled at me and I grinned back. He stood up and pulled me into a hug and I instantly felt safe and surrounded by his love.
He kissed the top of my head and patted my back.
“Go do your homework or something – I’ve got to finish off some reports.”
I nodded and walked into my room. Knowing that I wouldn’t want to do homework later on in the weekend, I worked hard and managed to finish it all off before I went to bed.

I walked up to the door of Aaron’s house and rang the doorbell. Aaron answered, throwing the door wide open so hard it crashed into the wall, making the windows rattle.
“Hiya – come right in.” I had my costume in a separate bag to change into because I knew I couldn’t walk to Aaron’s house in those high heels.
“The main bathroom’s upstairs, but you know that anyway.” He grinned lopsidedly and I laughed, pushing him aside.
“I know thanks.” I paused on the stairs. “Is Sam here yet?”
Aaron nodded. “Yep, go right on up.” He winked at me and then turned into the kitchen to help his parents set up for the evening.
I walked up the stairs and headed for the bathroom. The door was locked. “Hello, anyone in there?” I called and the door opened. Sam poked her head round.
“Sorry,” she grinned. “I didn’t realise it was you.”
We got changed quickly and sorted out our hair and make-up. I felt like a plastic Barbie doll, teetering in heels with my hair curled.
Sam laughed when I slipped on the stairs and landed straight on my bum. “It’s dangerous to put you in heels.” Then her face suddenly looked alarmed and she fell on top of me.
We roared with laughter again and tried to stand up again, failing miserably.
Aaron walked out of the kitchen and stared at us, one side of his mouth turning up into a grin. “Everything alright in here ladies?” he asked warily and we nodded and then laughed again. Sam winced.
“Garr, my bum is so bruised!” she whined and Aaron pulled us to our feet.
“Try not to have any more accidents girls,” he said in a patronising tone and Sam punched his arm lightly.
“You’d better hope we don’t.”

People started arriving about half and hour later. Sam and I immediately started getting people drinks and handing out food. Some people chatted to us and a few sneered and leered.
“Keep away from that man over there,” Sam whispered in my ear as we passed each other. “Bad piece of work – I’m very tempted to tip his beer over his head.”
I looked over at the man. He had jet black hair that was obviously dyed, but the hairline was receding. His suit was a charcoal grey and his tie was only a shade lighter.
He looked up as I watched him and his eyes glinted.
I shuddered and turned away.
“I will,” I muttered back to her and walked to the kitchen to collect some more drinks.
The evening dragged on and Sam became more irritable as she got more tired.
“We’d better get paid really good money for this,” she muttered.

Aaron’s dad had set up a presentation for all his colleagues, so that meant Sam and I could have a break. Aaron joined us in the kitchen and we ate some of the leftover food and drank orange juice. As Sam and I were talking, Aaron was knocking back glasses of coke or juice.
“Thirsty?” Sam asked and raised an eyebrow at him.
“A little,” Aaron said. “I just need the loo quick,” he said and got up. But as he did, he teetered sideways and fell straight onto my lap, knocking my glass out of my hand and sending juice all over the floor.
“Oops, sorry,” he giggled. Getting to his feet, he tried to walk again but he kept stumbling. Sam took his glass and sniffed it warily.
“You’ve been drinking!” she exclaimed with surprise and Aaron shrugged.
“So? You’ve been watching me do it,” he said and walked unsteadily out of the room.
Sam turned to me and rolled her eyes. “He’s going to have one hell of a hangover in the morning. Serves him right too.”
At last the meeting drew to a close and Sam and I were free to leave. Aaron’s Dad James gave us our money and said we could go.
“Err, aren’t you taking us home?” I asked warily and James laughed a little more enthusiastically than was necessary. . I could see his eyes were glazed and unfocused.
“Sorry girls, but I don’t think I’m fit to drive.” He laughed again and stumbled around the corner.
“Great,” I muttered. “What are we going to do now?”
Aaron came over to us, his face apologetic. “I’m sorry guys. I really thought he could drive you.” He ran his hand through his hair and let out a deep breath. “Could your parents drive you home?”
“Nope. Both our Dad’s are away on business –you know that!” I glared at him and he shrugged.
“Well I guess you’re going to have to walk,” he murmured and trudged upstairs to his room.
“Yeah, thanks a lot!” I called up the stairs. “It’s nice to know who our real friends are!”
“What are we going to do know?” Sam asked and yawned widely. I shrugged.
“We have to do as he says – we walk.”

Dramatic scene...

Hi guys,
Below is an intense scene set on top of a building from my Myth Project book; almost at the climax. It's quite dramatic, but I hope you like it.
Thanks
beasle95

As we burst onto the roof, a desperate feeling of horror flooded into my veins.
Blaze was standing so close to the edge of the building. There was no wall or fence to catch him if he fell backwards and tumbled off the top...

“Give it back!” Ryan yelled, pushing Blaze further towards the edge of the roof.

“Never!” Blaze yelled back, his hair whipping across his face.”I’ll never give it to you, even if it means that I die!”

My heart stuttered with each backwards step that he took and I shuddered as he came within a metre.

“Blaze, watch out!” I screamed and he stared at me in response. Ryan whipped around, apparently just aware of our presence.

“You can’t save him though, can you?” Ryan sneered in my direction. “It’s not as if you can lift him up again.” Did he know that I struggled to lift Blaze in particular, or just addressing me as if I couldn’t lift anything with my mind like everyone else? Surely he couldn’t know about us?

He turned back to Blaze. “You’ve got one more chance. Give. It. To me. Now!” Blaze still shook his head.

“Give it to him please!” I begged him, tears starting to stream down my face again. “We can get it back – but you can’t gamble with your own life. If you lose it, then you’ll never get it back!”

“And to achieve what? Waste all this time we’ve spent trying to get it back? I’m not going to let him get it, even if it means dying myself.”

“No!” I screamed, trying to run forward. Jake and Sam grabbed my arms and pulled me back again.

“You can’t do anything Rachel,” Jake yelled into the wind. My hair flew around my face and I struggled against them.

Suddenly Adam and Cara burst out of the fire exit behind us, both holding guns pointing straight at Ryan.

“Step away from Blaze!” Adam bellowed, his voice stolen away and echoing. In a movement quicker than I could follow, Ryan’s arm snapped up, also holding a gun.
Pointing at Blaze.

I trembled and struggled to stay upright. I couldn’t watch him shoot Blaze.
Sam’s voice flashed into my head. Calm down Rachel. Her voice was soothing and calming in my turmoil and panic.

I can’t, I whispered in my mind. Blaze can’t die...I choked back a sob and pushed my hair out of my eyes.

You need to concentrate, Sam’s voice drifted into my head again. Be ready for the unexpected.

I nodded in reply and felt the connection drop away – leaving my head free again.
I reached out in my mind to Blaze, who was still standing way to close to the edge. I focused entirely on him, forgetting my fear and my anger. I felt the cool emotion slip over my face as I steadied Blaze again. For the briefest of moments, his eyes flashed to mine as if he knew I was ready to help him. I stared back coolly, ready to push him forwards if he fell backwards off the roof.

“Step away from the edge!” Adam bellowed. “Move or I’ll shoot!”

“I’ve got nothing to lose.” Ryan’s hair moved in the wind, swirling back and forth as he glared coldly at Adam. “It makes no difference to me if he lives or dies – my men can pick him up at the bottom.”

Ryan pulled the trigger.

Blaze flashed up a shield super fast, but the movement knocked him backwards a little further. I panicked, confused by the sudden appearance of the shield. But Blaze’s shield wasn’t strong enough because he had been weakened so much from the hundreds of bullets earlier. The bullet clipped his shoulder and the shield dropped away. He teetered on the edge and his foot slipped.

Adam pulled the trigger and the bullet hit Ryan’s arm, making him fall to the ground in pain.

“NO!” I hissed through my teeth as Blaze fell over the edge.

“Rachel – you have to catch him!” Cara yelled and Ryan cackled like a madman in response.

“Blaze!” I screamed, running to the edge. I threw myself onto my front and looked down.

Concentrate you idiot! I yelled in my head and forced the cool concentration to fill my head once more. I instantly felt Blaze’s weight and grabbed at it.

Blaze froze in midair and his eyes flickered open in shock. My eyes bulged and cold sweat sprang across my forehead with the weight.

As carefully as I could, I slowly lifted Blaze up, centimetre by centimetre. My whole concentration and mind was focused on him, brining him closer and closer...
You cannot imagine how heavy he felt – like twenty cement trucks all hanging from one tiny thread. My feelings for him had gotten far too strong recently and I was suffering because of it. Stabs of pain shot through my head, getting worse the longer I held him. But I couldn’t let go – I just couldn’t. Blaze’s life literally depended on it.

“C’mon!” I hissed through my teeth which were clenched tightly closed in concentration. Blaze’s head was about a metre away now, but I couldn’t hold him any longer. My eyes watered and I was trembling all over with the exertion. I struggled to concentrate – it was a battle of wills.

“Take. Him Now!” I gasped as Blaze dropped a few centimetres. Sam and Cara were instantly by my side and reached down to take Blaze’s arm. They rolled onto their stomachs to stop themselves being pulled over the edge and wound Blaze upwards.
With the last of my strength, I gave Blaze one final push over the top and collapsed on the ground. My head pounded and swam with dizziness, so I shut my eyes tightly.
Jake gently pulled me away from the edge and I slowly crawled – I didn’t have the strength to stand.

There was a pile of crates about ten metres away and I made my way towards them at a snail’s pace. I turned my back towards the wood and slumped against them. I was so tired – all I wanted to do was sleep. But I had to make sure Blaze was alright first.
With a will power that nearly knocked me unconscious, I raised my head and looked over to Blaze. Adam was trying to get him to lie down and rest, but Blaze pushed past him and ran over to me. Instantly he swept me up in his arms and pulled me to him to tight I couldn’t breathe.

“How did you do that?” he asked, his grin literally reaching his ears.
“I don’t know,” I answered truthfully. But even those three words were an immense effort to get out.

I slumped forwards and Blaze caught me just before I hit the ground. “Rachel?” His beautiful, worried face swam in front of my eyes, spinning round and round.
Feeling sick, I gently closed them and gratefully sank into the folds of unconsciousness.

Seeker....Chapter 2

Hello guys...
Below is the second chapter of my 'Seeker' book (the one about Lauren, not Rachel). I hope you like it.

beasle95

Chapter 2

I barely slept at all that night, I just couldn’t switch off. My mind kept whirling in circles over what had happened, and what I had to do.

As soon as it was a reasonable time to get up I ran downstairs and ate my breakfast at top speed, and then upstairs to get ready. I jumped in the shower, needing to be quick, but the hot water soothed out all the knots in my back and helped me relax.

Unfortunately it ran out quickly and when I got out I was rushing again. I pulled on a t-shirt and combats and ran into my room again. I towelled my hair, but couldn’t be bothered to dry it properly so I dragged it back into a ponytail. Shoving my purse and keys and my phone into my backpack I ran down the stairs, two at a time. As I was pulling on my shoes, my mum walked into the room, still bleary eyed with sleep.

“What’s the hurry?” she asked, yawning. I cursed inwardly. I didn’t have time and had no idea how to explain. What could I say? That some crazy and potentially dangerous boy had called me last night and wanted me to pick some fairy tale book?

“Erm, I need to pop round to Emma’s to pick up some text books. She texted me this morning about some homework I didn’t know we had.” It wasn’t very convincing but it was all I could think of.

“But why are you going so early? It’s just gone eight,” Mum asked, narrowing her eyes suspiciously.

“Well, it’s a big history essay, and may take a while and I want to get it done before this afternoon.” Mum sighed and waved her arm dismissively.

“Fine,” she said as she turned round. “But don’t be long.” I didn’t intend to be.
I ran out of the house down to the bus stop just as a bus pulled in. I waved, and sighed, relieved when he door opened. I handed the driver my fare and asked if he could call my stop. He nodded, bored.

I sank down into one of the seats and rested my head against the window. What was I going to do when I found the journal? What if there was no journal and this was some kind of sick joke? But I knew deep down that it wasn’t a joke. The boy had been serious. I thought again how he’d said his dad had given him my mobile number to call in an emergency. If he thought he was going to die. I shuddered. Why would anyone want to kill a teenage boy? He said that if he told me this ‘secret’ then they would want to kill me too.

I was broken out of my thoughts when the bus driver called me for my stop. I got off the bus in a daze, and tried to work out where I was going. I mustn’t get lost, I told myself. I was hopeless with directions and was well known for going in the wrong way. I glanced up the road and saw that it led into the town centre. I supposed this was my best hope, and after a few minutes, saw to my relief the coffee shop the boy had told me about. Keeping my head down I walked up the road. I didn’t need to hide my face, but I had a bad feeling that something was going to happen, and didn’t want to recognised later.

I opened the door of the shop and sat in a booth in the far corner to wait. I didn’t have to wait long.

“Lauren Hayden?” a soft voice murmured my name. I jumped and looked up at the source. A teenage boy stood before me, about sixteen. His hair framed his face, falling down around his eyes. His olive skin was clear and the lines on his face were strong. He had a hood pulled up over his head and scruffy trainers and jeans on. He didn’t meet my eyes.

“Yeah, are you...Ben?” I asked, feeling stupid.

He chuckled once under his breath. “Yes,” he said and sat down opposite me.
“I’m sorry for what happened last night – and I’m sorry for what I’m about to drag you into.” He glanced down at his hands, still not meeting my gaze. He rubbed his arm slightly and winced.

“What’s wrong?” I said. I now noticed that he had a pale parlour to his skin and was obviously in pain. “Was it what happened last night?”

“It doesn’t matter,” he said. “It’ll all be over soon.” I started, confused at the certainty in his statement. It left me worried. Did he really think he was going to die soon?

“Anyway,” he said, slipping a backpack off his shoulder. “I wanted to give you these.” He pulled out a leather bound journal and small leather pouch, pulling a necklace from it.

“This,” he said “is an amulet. It explains about them in the journal, but I’ll tell you a bit about them. Inside is a powerful force. You can get it out when you are in trouble and it will help protect you. You must wear it so it can help you out.” I sighed, frustrated. Why wouldn’t he tell me exactly what these things did and give me a straight answer for anything? “And this is the journal you will find your answers in,” he said, handing me the journal. I tried to open it, but he placed his hand on mine, forcing me to close the book.

“Don’t you trust me?” I asked. He glanced up and stared me straight in the eye. Time froze for a few seconds. His eyes were so deep and mysterious, I got lost in them. They had seen much more than a normal teenage boy would have done. So many emotions flickered through them; amusement, anger but mostly fear. Fear was so intense that I gasped silently. I never knew such terror could be in a boy’s face – in any face. The determined eyes stared back then softened.

“I do trust you,” he murmured, his voice low and intense. “I trust you with everything I have. That’s why I’m giving it to you. But there are people around who I don’t trust and I can’t risk overhearing.” I looked away, embarrassed. “I can’t let anyone else hear in case they report back to the organisation that wants to get rid of me. I can’t risk that happen Lauren, please trust me.”

“I do,” I said, and I meant it. Even though I’d only spoken over the phone with him for a few minutes and this was the first time I’d met him, I trusted him completely. It should be wrong, but it felt so right.

“Keep them safe. There are not many people out there you can trust, Lauren. There are people who may seem to be your friends, but not everyone is as they seem. They can hide behind secrets and lies and try to betray you. But you have to stay strong, and keep what I tell you safe.” He paused and looked me in the eye again. “Come on, we need to get out of here.” I dropped the journal into my bag and tied the amulet around my neck and followed him out the shop. We started to walk down the road when suddenly two men jumped out and dragged him into an ally.

“Gotcha!” one muttered triumphantly and grabbed the boy from behind. Ben lashed out at him but the man dodged and held him tight. Ben kicked him in the groin and the man fell to the ground, cursing. His friend ran and lashed out at Ben, his fist connecting with the boy’s jaw. Ben grunted and dropped to the ground, dazed. The men jumped on him in a second, pinning him down. One pulled out a radio and spoke quickly into it.

“Sir, we’ve got the boy cornered. Should we kill him now or bring him to you?” I was terrified; I couldn’t just stand there and let him be killed.

“No!” I screamed and threw myself on top of one of the men. “If you do, you have to get through me first!” I punched the man in the jaw, and he grunted, surprised. He lashed out and tried to hit me, but I ducked and kicked him in the shin. He shoved his arm out and hit me in the chest; throwing me against the back wall. I sat up, dazed. A crackled response came through the radio and the man brought out a gun. I stood up, about to throw myself at the man again.

“No!” Ben yelled. “No, Lauren! Get away! Get away and keep it safe! Don’t let them get to you!” I stared at him wildly, tears springing into my eyes. I was helpless. I couldn’t let him be killed, but I had to get away so the men wouldn’t get the journal or the amulet. I went to pull it out from around my neck, but Ben yelled at me.

“No! Lauren run! Get away from here!” he screamed at me and stared deep into my eyes again. Hot, angry tears rolled down my cheeks and a silent understanding passed between us. Thank you, GO! He mouthed, so I turned and backed slowly out of the alley and ran. I ran as fast as I could, away from the alley, away from the men. Away from Ben.

A single shot rang out from behind me but the silence that followed seemed so much louder.

Review...

Hi people,

For my latest english coursework, we had to write a review for a film we had made up. So I decided to pretend that my book 'The Myth Project' had been made into a movie and what I would have thought of it if it had been. So I'm going to share it with you to show off my writing skills...lol...

Tell me what you think!

Thanks!
beasle95

Plot
Rachel Forester (Alexandra Daddario) is startled to discover after meeting Blaze Roberts (Logan Lerman) that she has the power of telekinesis and is recruited alongside her best friend Sam Freeman (Tahlula Monticelli) into a top-secret government organisation to defeat crime.
Review
With this kind of movie, whispering starts early, fervent fans (mis)reporting every little leak. For those net-heads who stopped to listen, the early buzz on Christopher Columbus’s adaptation of the bestselling start to the series The Myth Project was poor.
Thankfully it’s time for the rumour-mongers to gracefully retire. The finished film is in, and – whisper it – it’s not bad. Better than that, The Myth Project is actually pretty darn good. And, in a summer so far short of a real spectacle, that’s near enough a miracle.
This energetic home-grown adventure based on the first of Bethan White’s teen novels has an easy pitch: ordinary girl discovers she has an extraordinary unknown power, meets mysterious boy and the become the young James-Bonds of their generation to defeat the bad guys...Thus right there in its creative DNA is a huge task.
Daddario’s Rachel Forester is very much the focal point and the beautiful and charismatic American conveys Rachel’s growing weakness and confusion into strength and confidence about her shadowy past and disaster-filled future with surprisingly convincing ease. Yet she’s aptly supported by the likes of Logan Lerman, subtly portraying Blaze’s struggle between keeping a low profile and protecting his new romantic interest; Alex Pettyfer having all sorts of fun as the beefed up and witty role of Jake and old stagers Christian Bale and Christopher Lee. The newcomers to the film business don’t disappoint either. Tahlula Monticelli is all rebellious chick as the supportive and fiery best friend and Tabrett Bethall, the feisty and dangerous leader of the project who is not to be messed with.
The Myth Project is also possessed of an emotional complexity that won’t surprise book fans, but will delight connoisseurs of the summer blockbuster. The film wears its heart on its sleeve, be it Rachel’s anguished search through her past and precarious future, the poignant sequence in which Rachel ‘comes out’ to her father or Keller’s corrupting influence on the group. The plot, in which a delusional man threatens to inflict a global terror is frighteningly topical and Columbus doesn’t flinch from showing that resolution often comes at a bitter price.
Yet it’s not all FX-augmented naval-gazing. Though it gets very dark, The Myth Project is unashamedly entertaining, with crowd pleasing moments for geeks (the appearance of floating objects and Rachel’s surreal power should benefit upholsters everywhere) and non-geeks (a desperate attempt to save Blaze’s life on the top of a skyscraper is exhilarating) alike.
There are problems – the third acts sags a little under the sheer weight of storylines; while some of the expositional dialogue is a little heavy. However, this thought-provoking, scintillating and stylish flick has opened the summer of superheroes in fine style. The Matrix Reloaded may have better effects and Inception may be more eye-catching, but as an overall package, The Myth Project is going to be hard to top.

Fire

Heya guys,

I'm going to post a little thing I wrote while I was on holiday. It uses the characters from my book 'The Myth Project' (well the main character) and is based on that storyline.

The main character Rachel has the power of telekinesis, which means she can move things with her mind. She has made many enemies during her time of working with the Myth Project and in this extract, she meets a new one

I know it is long, but I hope you like it.

Love beasle95 x :)

I looked up, my hair falling across my face.
He was watching me again; I could feel it. Flicking my hair out of my eyes, I looked up at the man.
He was holding up a newspaper – The Times – supposedly reading some of the latest sport headlines. But I could see his eyes peering over the top of the pages, zoning onto me. I cleared my throat and threw a pointed glance in his direction. The man coughed too and shook his papers, holding them up a bit so I could no longer see his face.
Turning my back on him, I grabbed some more books and headed over to shelf ‘R’. Quickly finding the right placement for the book, I groaned inwardly at the surnames of the next three authors of the books in my hands. ‘Fleming’, ‘Dickens’ and ‘Ackerman’. All in the same area. All within a few feet of the man.
Over by the M’s to Z’s I was safely out of sight. But the earlier letters were right near him and I was feeling more than uncomfortable by his presence.
I had filed a book under Dickens before and two under Fleming as well, so I could put the books straight on the shelves and walk away again. But the place for the book by ‘Alice Ackerman’ was taking me ages to find. My eyes scanned the shelves again and again, trying to find the exact place to put the book. My fingers twitched as I got more and more agitated. My side burned under the man’s gaze until I thought I might explode with tension. I was so scared that I could feel my control over my powers slipping. The recent months had proved to me that keeping control wasn’t easy at all.
I saw two leaflets flutter slightly, but they were sitting right by an open window, so I hoped that no-one would take any notice of their movement.
Breathing out a sigh, I at last found the location for the book and placed it on the shelf. It took so much will and self control to calmly stroll across the room to the trolley which was out of sight instead of sprinting there like Usain Bolt.
When at last I got behind the shelf out of sight, my shoulders sagged and I exhaled heavily. David walked up beside me, his face kind and smiling, holding a pile of books.
“You alright Rachel?” he asked sympathetically. “You don’t look very happy.”
I shook my head. “I’m not – that crazy man over there keeps staring at me and it’s freaking me out!” I ran my hand through my hair. “I just don’t want to be rude by saying anything, but it really is making me feel uncomfortable.”
David frowned and peered around the bookshelves. “Grey hair and stubble, black t-shirt with the newspaper?” he asked, turning back and I nodded. “I’ll go and have a word with him then.” David said and I threw him a grateful smile.
“Thanks.”
I hid behind the bookshelf and watched through the gaps between the books. David approached the man by walking casually across the room. The man stared over the top of his newspaper to where I was hiding. I flinched back, feeling his gaze burn my face.
“Hello sir,” I heard David say quietly to the man. Turning back around, I peered through the books again so I could see them both.
“Alrigh’?” The man replied, flashing two blackened teeth at the front of his mouth. I grimaced, imagining the smell from them – they must be rotten.
“You are making some of our employees feel uncomfortable with your...staring.” David stumbled over the last word but kept his tone polite. “Would you mind...not staring or I will have to ask you to leave the building.
The man frowned – his eyebrows knitting together and his face crinkled. “I ‘aven’t been starin’” he stated angrily.
“Mr...?” David asked and the man shook his head.
“I ain’t tellin’ you ma name mista!” The man growled and got to his feet. David held his hands up.
“Well then that’s fine sir. I just wanted t make that issue clear.” The man glared and sat back down again.
“Good. Glad there ain’t any more problems.” He rustled his paper indignantly and started reading again. David walked back over to me.
“Sorry Rachel.” He frowned. “I’d just stay away from him from now on. You get all sorts of people coming in here.” I nodded and thanked him again gratefully. David smiled and walked off to continue stacking books.
I was very selective about the books that I chose to stack for the rest of the hour. Anything before M in the alphabet didn’t come into my hands so I wouldn’t have to go near the man again. I could still feel his gaze on me for a while, but after 40 minutes, I looked over to the chair where he had been sitting and saw that he was gone.

After and amusing lunch where David and Ross had been doing impressions of Catherine Tate characters, I looked at my timetable and saw that I was scheduled to do shelf checks for an hour that afternoon. It wasn’t one of my favourite parts of the job, but I had to do everything I could.
I started off in the main section of the library, searching for books on musical history, biographies, baby names and children’s novels. I was very selective and quite tedious.
After 20 minutes of my endless searching, Gemma approached me. “Hi Rachel, have you seen David anywhere? He’s supposed to be helping me upstairs and I haven’t seen him since lunch time.”
I frowned. “What was he supposed to be doing now?” I asked.
Gemma answered almost instantly. “Shelf checks, like you.”
I nodded. “Well he might be in the basement. Some of the older books are down there right?” Gemma nodded and smiled.
“He’s probably down there. Could you please do me a massive favour and check if he is down there? I’ve got a ton of work to do upstairs and I shouldn’t waste any more time.”
“Sure,” I nodded and put my pen and clipboard on the counter.
Walking across the library, I headed for the staff door and typed in the code, shielding the buttons with my body. Even though there wasn’t anything particularly important in this section, I still felt nervous about anyone seeing. Then they would have access to everything out back.
Door unlocked and opened, I walked through, making sure the door shut behind me. Typing in the code for the next door, I strode quickly down the stairs to the basement, passing the staff kitchen and meeting room on my way.
The basement was really dark as I walked into it. It was full of hundreds of records over the last century or so. Documents, newspapers and priceless books that were full of wear and memories. To some people, this stuff was just overdue rubbish but there was so much information and value despite the age of it all.
I grimaced at the cobwebs which hung from the ceiling, mixing with the shadows to create spooky patterns in the dim light. One of the bulbs flickered ominously and I shivered. It was cold down here. The place reminded me of running through the tunnel-like corridors in Keller’s headquarters – desperately trying so search for a way out.
“David?” I called and my voice echoed, resounding of the walls. “David are you down here?” I called again, my voice catching in my throat. I coughed and then swallowed. But I got no answer. I guess that I’d have to keep looking.
I wandered through the shelves, packed to bursting with old papers. I brushed my fingers gently over them, feeling the ancient paper skim my fingertips.
“David? Hello – are you down here?” I called again and again, but I still got no answer. I was deep in the basement now and there wasn’t much light at all.
Suddenly I heard a crash from somewhere off to my right. I froze, terrified and my eyes widened. My heart was beating so loudly, I was sure that it would be a beacon to my whereabouts.
“David – is that you?” My voice sounded hoarse and I cleared my throat again. All the stupid dust was clogging up my lungs. I started walking again, each step noisily echoing off the walls. I tried to walk more quietly, but I was too scared now.
David could be anywhere down here – it was probably just some rats or something. I hoped the ‘or something’ wasn’t an option, or at least, better than rats.
I looped back around and started walking back towards the entrance. A sound of muffled shuffling and grunting suddenly reached my ears and I stopped again, listening. My eyes roamed around the dark room, picking out the details from the shadows of the shelves.
“David?” I whispered, too scared to shout. I heard a muffled shuffling again and warily stepped forwards towards the place where I thought the sound was coming from.
I wandered through the shelves, searching. My heard was pounding inside my chest and the sound filled my ears, making it difficult to hear anything else.
As I turned the next corner, I gasped. David was on the floor, his hands and feet bound and a gag in his mouth. I rushed over to his side and immediately started undoing the knot in the cloth in his mouth. After a minute, I managed to pull it free.
“What happened to you?” I gasped, undoing his hands.
“That stupid man who was staring at you earlier tied me up. He told me he had a job to finish and that I was getting in his way. He knocked me out and tied me up. I’ve only just woken up to be honest – I heard you calling.” I shook my head in disbelief and pulled back David’s hair off of his forehead. Sure enough, there was a large welt there. The skin had split and there was blood crusted around the edges.
“Is the man still here?” I asked, working the knot in the rope lose again.
David shrugged. “I’m not sure. I heard a crash a few minutes ago, but I thought it was you.” I froze, my hands hovering over David’s.
“It wasn’t me. I thought it was you.” Realisation dawned on both of us and my blood turned cold, goosebumps shooting across my skin.
“Let’s get you out of here quickly.” I couldn’t think of anything else to say and furiously continued unpicking the tight knots. My fingers ached and were rubbed red raw from the tough rope.
David sniffed and then frowned. “Can you smell that?” he asked, his eyebrows knotting together.
“What?” I replied absentmindedly. I was busy concentrating on the rope.
“That...burning...” David said slowly and my eyes shot up to meet his. I sniffed and sure enough I could smell the mild, but distinctive smell of smoke.
I worked even more quickly and with more desperation to unknot David’s hands and at last managed to do it. We started working on his feet together when suddenly there was a whoosh from behind me. We both jumped and I whirled around to stare at the bookshelves.
About three rows away from where we were sitting, a large tongue of flame shot towards the ceiling and crackled.
“Go and get an extinguisher! Set the alarm off!” David yelled, taking over from my sore hands. I nodded and scrambled to my feet. Running forward, I dodged past two shelves and around the next corner.
The flames were spreading fast; down here was the perfect place. It was dry and cool normally with a little bit of ventilation from the ceiling so the fire had no trouble setting alight the crisp paper. Three bookshelves were alight already and the flames were licking at a forth. My eyes darted back and forth as I ran from the fire, desperately trying to find an alarm or extinguisher. But I could find nothing.
The air was filling with smoke and I coughed loudly, trying to clear my lungs. My eyes watered and I wished that there was a window or something to get some clean air in here.
I skidded around the next corner and groaned. Where the fire extinguisher had once been, was an empty bracket on the wall. I couldn’t see a point to set off the alarm, but I was sure that it would go off in any second anyway. Rushing as fast as I could, I made my way back to David who was still working furiously on his bonds.
“I can’t find anything,” I choked. “He’s taken the fire extinguisher.”
“Ok, don’t panic,” David said reassuringly. “Can you help me with these ropes again?” I nodded and got to work.
Suddenly David’s eyes widened. “Rachel!” he called out in warning, but it was too late. I twisted around to see what he was warning me about just as a large metal pole was slammed into my shoulder. I gasped and rolled away, springing to my feet.
The man was standing there panting; the pole in one hand. His face was dirty from the ash and he was sweating profusely.
“Who are you?” I demanded, trying not to inhale the smoke.
“My name is not important Rachel,” the man said. “But I work for an old...friend of yours.”
“Who?” I asked, taken aback by the man’s casual use of my name and tried to ignore the uncomfortable feeling this created.
“Russell Keller.” His lips parted in a grimace – a pathetic attempt at a smile and revealed his foul blackened teeth. I shuddered and resisted the urge to look away – he might attack me again and I needed to be ready.
“Why has he sent you?” I asked just as David demanded:
“Who the heck is Keller?” I ignored him.
“What’s he told you to do then? Murder? Torture? Kidnapping? Am I being taken to see him face to face?”
The man didn’t reply, but instead lunged forward and grabbed my arm. Twisting my wrist, I tried to get away but his grip was like iron – it was almost impossible to escape.
Almost.
The man was still holding onto the metal pole that he had used to hit me with earlier. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw him lift it up, ready to hit me again.
But to his surprise, the pole suddenly decided that it didn’t want to hit me, but it wanted to be free.
Spinning around, the pole whirled out of the man’s hand so fast I thought I heard it dislocate. I grimaced as he yelled in pain and automatically let go of me to hold his wrist. I twisted away and then spun around on one foot, bringing it up to kick the man in the stomach. His breath was forced out of his lungs and he doubled over, griping his middle and holding his hand into his body to protect it. I followed through with a sharp chop to the back of his neck and he dropped to the ground and lay still.
I rushed over to David who was gaping madly – eyes as wide as saucers and his jaw slack. “What the heck just happened?” he choked, partly through disbelief and partly because of the thickening smoke.
“Doesn’t matter – we need to get out of here!” I yelled over the noise of the fire. It crackled and popped and the flames had reached the ceiling now. And they were spreading fast.
At last I managed to undo David’s feet and the rope fell away.
Grabbing my hand, David pulled himself to his feet and we both started coughing. My eyes were watering so much now, I could hardly see.
“Help me with him,” I choked and a ragged cough cut through my lungs. But with each cough, I was inhaling more smoke so it only made me cough more. David grabbed one of the man’s arms and slung it across his shoulders. I did the same on the other side and together we half carried, half dragged the unconscious man towards the exit.
“I can’t believe you knocked him out!” David kept saying, the words gushing out of his mouth and flowing into each other. “You didn’t even hit him much and he dropped like a ton of bricks!” David shot me a questioning look. “What does he want anyway? And who is this Keller guy you were both talking about?”
I desperately evaded his questions. “I’ll answer them later David – we need to get out of here!” David nodded determinedly – I think he was in shock or something.
The flames had caught the wooden supports on the ceilings which were now glowing a deep red.
“Look out!” I gasped, automatically pulling myself backwards. David, taken by surprise stumbled a few steps forward and fell down. But the man fell backwards on top of me, his dead weight heavy. I gasped and pushed him off myself. A 6 foot long wooden support post had dropped down from the ceiling, smouldering and crackling manically, landing on the ground separation David from the man and I.
“Are you alright Rachel?” David called, desperately trying to bat out the flames on the log.
“I’m ok!” I called back and tried to get to my feet. But to my surprise and horror, a bolt of pain shot up my leg. I cried out and fell back down again, catching myself just in time.
“I think I’ve sprained my ankle!” I called to David, who was looking desperately from side to side.
“I can’t get round to you!” David yelled, fear written all over his face. “The log’s blocked the path completely.” Sure enough, as I looked up, I noticed that at this point in the basement, it had narrowed into a corridor, one bookshelf on each side lining the walls. But where the log had caught fire, it had fallen right across the gap where we were supposed to walk through. Which meant our only way of escape had been blocked. Panic gripped my heart, but I tried to stay calm.
“Run David! Set the alarm off and get the fire brigade here now! Get everyone else out of the building!”
“I can’t...” David started, but I yelled.
“GO!” And he ran away.
I slumped on the ground, unsure what to do. I was finding it harder and harder to breathe. The smoke seemed to be thickening by the second.
I thought I should try and move the log out of the way – see if I could create a gap big enough to crawl through. I concentrated really hard on the log, feeling the substance and heat of it in my head. Very slowly, I tried to move it to one side, twisting it so that it ran the length of the corridor rather than the width. My breathing became more and more ragged until I thought I might pass out. And the log had barely moved a few centimetres. I guessed that I would have to wait for the fire brigade to rescue me instead.
I decided that I probably needed to find a more sheltered place to wait and hide under to protect me from the flames. I stared indecisively at the man. The flames on the log were licking at his feet and I knew that they would catch him if he wasn’t moved.
Crawling forward, I gripped his arms and dragged him and myself backwards; away from the flaming log. Unfortunately, for a while at least it meant that we had to travel past the larger fire. I could barely breathe at all now and I couldn’t concentrate long enough to use my mind to lift the man up. So I had to use the old fashioned method of dragging him with my hands. It was really hard work and by the time we were in a more sheltered and safer spot, I was ready to pass out.
The whole room apart from our little area was alight now and I could barely see anything through the thick black smoke.
I vaguely remembered that I should cover my mouth with a piece of damp cloth to stop myself inhaling so much of the smoke. But there was nothing damp in here anymore apart from the sweat the was running off of my skin from the intense heat. I ripped the bottom of my shirt so I had a strip of material and held it over my mouth and then curled into a ball.
I hoped that the fire engines would get here soon – I wasn’t sure how much longer I could take this heat. My skin was blistering and the hair was being singed off of my arms. My ankle was throbbing from where I had fallen earlier. I lay my head down on my arm, my face turned away from the fire.
Suddenly I heard movement from behind me – not the movement of the fire’s destruction, but something else. Something big and heavy. I summoned some of my rapidly declining energy to lift my head.
And gasped with amazement and horror.
The man – the man who had stared at me; the man who had tied David up and set fire to the basement; the man who had been unconscious...was now awake and standing in front of me.
With a gun in his hand. Pointing at me.
“Why are you doing this?” I whispered my voice hoarse from the smoke. The man’s bright yet freezing eyes bored down into mine. They were the coldest things in the whole room.
“Because I was paid to,” he replied. His skin was bright red and blistered badly on one side from the heat of the flames. I hoped my own wasn’t half as bad.
“But...why...” I couldn’t speak anymore. My throat was too full of smoke.
“But I have one question for you Rachel,” the man said and I nodded, indicating that he should continue. “Why did you pull me from the flames, when I’m the one who started it and hurt you?”
I pushed myself up with one arm and sat up. “’Cause,” I choked, pulling the cloth away from my mouth. “...’cause I think...people can change...” I coughed, my whole body convulsing with the movement. “...even...stupid criminals...don’t deserve...to die...like this.” I sucked in a deep breath, but it gave no relief to the burning in my chest. “So...I thought you...should have a...chance to...change...”
The man started at me, shock and disbelief written all over his face. His hand holding the gun shook and he lowered it.
“I can’t kill you now,” he muttered half to himself. “How old are you anyway?”
“Fifteen,” I replied breathlessly and resisted the urge to collapse on the floor.
“But I can’t go to the police,” he whispered. “I can’t.” He stared at the gun in his hand and lifted it up nearer to his face. Realisation dawned on me.
“Don’t do it!” I called desperatly. “That isn’t the solution and you know it.” I pushed my hair off of my sweaty forehead. “You can make a difference in the world. Taking your life out of it won’t help anyone.”
“It does,” the man replied determindly. He wasn’t going to have his mind changed. I had to stop him though – this wasn’t right. This man would have a family, and at least some friends despite his criminal lifestyle.
I grabbed the gun with my mind and pulled it from his fingers. It skittered across the floor and landed by the wall. He gaped back, open mouthed. “Keller told me you had special abilities,” the man said. “But I didn’t realise that you could do that.”
I nodded weakly, my own energy now gone.
“Tell me your name though,” I whispered. “Please.”
The man’s face softened. “Tom Jones.” His eyes were empty as he walked over and knelt beside me – I didn’t know how he could breathe with all the smoke. But as he came closer, I could see that he too was struggling.
“You can do great things Rachel,” he said and patted my head. I flinched away automatically and pressed myself against the wall. He smiled sadly, reached down and then stood up.
“No!” I called out, but ended up choking instead. Tom Jones threw me one last sad smile and walked into the flames.
I closed my eyes, tears pouring out of my eyes from sadness and the smoke as a single shot rang out. My arm gave out and I slumped onto the floor and drifted peacefully to sleep.

It's been a while...

Hey guys...

Sorry I haven't posted for a while. I've been up to my eyes in work, work and weddings. Lol...

Anyways, I am going to post a little thing that I wrote the other day...but not today 'cause I haven't got my memorystick with me.

Anyway, please read what I have posted already and continue to tell your friends to read too.


And please follow it, not just read it.

Thanks a lot

Lots of love

beasle95 x

A new chapter...

Heya lovely readers,
I am getting such amazing responses! Thank you all so much!!! Please continue reading and sending the link on to your friends and family. Thanks so much!
So yeah, here's the second chapter of 'The Myth Project'
Love beasle95 :)

Chapter 2
I walked back to the form room and spent the rest of the day in a daze. Now I was over my anger and shock at Marcie's accusal, I wondered about the strange wind in Mrs Richards’ office earlier. What had that been all about?
Sam tried to get me to talk to her. I just told her about the cheating, but not about the strange wind and the floating objects. For some reason I didn’t want to tell her – I felt like I should keep it to myself.
I walked home on my own too, lost in my own thoughts. When I let myself into the house and I could hear my family clattering around in the kitchen.
“Hi Rachel,” my step-mum Sarah called out from inside the kitchen and I walked through. She was standing at the sink washing up baking utensils, her face covered in flour. My half brother and sister Daniel and Lily were sitting on the floor, a mixing bowl between them and a spoon in their hands. They both had chocolate mixture all the way up to their ears and smiled sticky grins.
Daniel was almost eight years old and Lily was four. Both shared their mother’s blonde hair and sparkly blue eyes. Sarah turned and gave me a hug, her hands still wet.
“How was school today?” she asked, drying her hands on a tea towel. I sat down in one of the kitchen chairs and smiled gratefully when she handed me a mug of tea. Lily ran up and climbed on my lap. Pulling her close, I wrapped my arms around her and pressed my nose into her hair that always seemed to smell of strawberries. I bounced her on my knee and she giggled.
“Alright I guess; quite busy, but manageable.” Although I do love Sarah, I’d never been massively close to her, so I didn’t feel ready to admit the incident at lunch straight away. Sarah had always been kind and welcoming to me right from the start but I’d always felt a bit distant from her because she wasn’t my real Mum. It was worse when Daniel and then Lily were born – my father had moved on from the death of my mother and he had made a new family. I felt like I was intruding sometimes.
But I was still close to my Dad – we told each other everything, even when I was little. I told him if I had a reward or argument at school and he was honest by telling me the financial situations and how his work was going, even when I was six and didn’t understand. Sarah used to try and stop him because she thought it would make me grow up to fast. But Dad told me anyway and I liked that, even if I worried sometimes. I loved fact that we shared everything with each other.
“Look! Mummy, Dan-ny and me made fairy cakes!” Lily pulled at my sleeve and I got up to peer at their creations in the oven.
“They’re great sweetie – you’re very clever.” I kissed the top of her head and she slipped her hand into mine, her eyes wide and trusting.
“Did you have fun making cakes Daniel?” I asked him, ruffling his hair and he nodded. He had chocolate mixture all around his mouth in a sticky grin.
“I didn’t make them, but I got to lick the bowl!” He held up his spoon triumphantly and I laughed.
“Good, good.” I made my way upstairs to my room to do my homework.
Slipping my bag off my shoulder, I dumped it on the floor and collapsed onto my bed. My head was full of conflicting thoughts and emotions. Fear, worry and some happiness. Peace of mind was far away.
Knowing I had lots of work to do, I sat back up again and went to my laptop to start absentmindedly working through some maths exercises.
My laptop bleeped and my MSN page came up. Aaron and Sam were already on and waiting.
@aaronrulz says: Yo Rachel. Wot’s up?
@goldylocks says: Shuddup Aaron, you sound like a gangster.
I smiled and started typing.
@rachey-ru says: Heya guys. Aaron, what time do you want me at ur place on sat?
@aaronrulz says: 8.30 sharp plz. My dad’s gonna take u both home – it will be quite l8 tho. That ok?
@goldylocks says: Same 4 me?
@aaronrulz says: Sure. Cya l8r guys, I got footy practise.
@rachey-ru says: Cool, c u guys tomoz. Bye.
I switched off my MSN and cracked on with my homework. But after a few minutes of doing a science paper I decided I really couldn’t concentrate and would catch up later.
I wandered back over to my bed and flopped onto my back. Grabbing a picture off my bedside table, I looked at it fondly.
The picture was of my Dad, my Mum and I when I was a baby. My parents were smiling and had their arms around each other with me sitting on my Mum’s hip. My mother looked beautiful and young with her long dark hair and wide brown eyes which sparkled with happiness. My Dad also looked young with a boyish haircut that fell over his eyes. My face was stern and I was staring hard at whoever was taking the picture.
The picture was taken in the summer. Our little bungalow in the background was in the country but I didn’t remember it at all – I had been too young. The sun was shining and the sky was a bright blue. The plants and grass looked a vivid green in the golden light.
A picture of happiness.
My mum died two years later of a rare cancer. There had been no history of the disease in my family previously and my mother had been perfectly healthy. ‘It was just one of those things...’ the doctors had said.
My world was plunged into darkness when she died. My father was completely heartbroken and went into a depression. But even through his dark misery, he still looked after me. We became closer than most other families and we looked out for each other; my Dad fulfilling my basic needs and telling me all about his work and friends. In return I tried to help him as much as a four year old could around the house. But when I was seven my Dad married again to a woman called Sarah. They met each other through work and quickly became close friends, then engaged. Within six months they were married and Sarah was pregnant with their first child.
It was all a bit of a shock for me. Sarah was lovely and although I couldn’t remember much about my real mother, I couldn’t imagine my Dad with anyone else.
The picture was one of the few that we had together. My parents had very little money when they married and could only just scrape together enough to buy our bungalow and some food.
I put the picture back on my bedside table and rolled off my bed to stand in the middle of the floor. Suddenly the doorbell rang and a grin spread over my face. It was my Dad – I knew it. I ran downstairs, yanked open the door and threw myself into his arms.
He laughed. “Hello pumpkin – how are you?” He hugged me tight and kissed the top of my head.
“Better now that you’re home.” My ear was pressed against his chest right over his heart and I could hear it beating loudly. I smiled.
“Hi darling.” I let my arms drop as my Dad went to greet Sarah.
“You’re home nice and early,” she smiled and tugged at his shirt. My Dad held her hand and kissed her gently.
I looked away, feeling like I was intruding. Even after all these years, it still felt strange when I saw them kiss – I could only picture him with my Mum.
The pile of letters and papers on the table by the door suddenly started rustling and moving around. All on their own. I stared at them in shock. No-one was touching them and there was no wind.
My Dad and Sarah stopped talking and also looked at the papers. Suddenly they stopped moving. Sarah looked a little freaked out but my Dad looked...terrified.
I stared at him and he met my eye. The scale of fear in his eyes made my heart race with panic. He tried to cover it up by smiling at me, but it came out as a grimace.
“Well that was weird,” Sarah laughed nervously, but my Dad just smiled tightly in response and didn’t say anything and walked into the kitchen.
My heart pounded. What was happening? Why was all this strange stuff going on? Twice in one day papers and other objects had started moving and floating around all on their own.
I felt very confused and worried. Dad had looked terrified. I mean – some papers had just moved a little when no-one was touching them. But it wasn’t that strange...
Was it?