NEW Seeker post

Here's a new Seeker extract; I hope you like it! :)
beasle95

Ben knelt on the floor in the middle of the circle. The marble floor spread out wide all around him like a stage; an endless expanse of swirling stone and engraved symbols. The elders stood in a circular formation all around him, their cloaks dark and glowing with magic, their hoods raised to cover their faces.
I stood on the sidelines, watching intently. My hands were curled into fists at my sides; I was clenching them so tightly that my nails dug crescent shaped indents into my palms. Jaw locked, I couldn’t take my eyes off Ben’s hunched figure, his hair falling over his eyes. Owen stood stoically at my side, holding himself ramrod straight and hands clenched like mine.
“Owen...?” I whispered his name hesitantly, begging him to look at me. His gaze flashed to meet mine, his blue eyes blazing with icy fire; frosted over and hard, with all his emotions locked away.
“Yes?” As he registered my presence, his eyes melted slightly.
“W-what will they do with him?” I whispered again, my voice hoarse. The first fingers of panic crept across my skin, clawing its way towards my heart and my breath hitched in my throat. Owen’s eyes softened further and he put one hand on my arm, trying to calm my frayed nerves.
“He’ll be fine Lauren, don’t worry. This sort of thing has happened before...” The icy beams flashed away again and I turned back to Ben’s hunched figure. As I watched, Ben slowly pulled himself to his feet and stood with his legs spread apart for balance as if he was expecting an attack. His eyes searched around him and he nodded at the hooded figures.
“I’m ready,” I heard him say and his gaze locked onto mine. We stood staring at each other, sustaining each other, preparing ourselves for what was about to happen.
A low chant had started among the assembled figures. The sound was haunting like the whispering of ghosts. As it started, Ben’s muscles went rigid; his jaw locked and his hands clenched at his side. But his eyes still held mine and I found myself unable to look away. A small bead of sweat pricked on his forehead and rolled down his neck. My heart tightened and I felt Owen’s fingers bite into my shoulder.
The chanting rose as more of the Elders joined in; a harrowing sound that chilled me right to the bones. Goosebumps shot across my arms in response and my hands tightened. The noise rose and rose; one or two produced a high keening sound.
Then the words – a chant in an alien tongue. But I recognised it as the old language; the language spoken by the first Seekers that was in all the old books. I felt something deep in my gut pull towards the sounds like I had a rope attached behind my belly button, tugging me forward so I fell against the railing.
“Lauren?” Owen cried his voice concerned, but I shook my head. Ben’s eyes had tightened as he saw me move and I could see him straining forwards, but he didn’t move an inch. As I had shaken my head, I saw him stop struggling again. But he didn’t relax.
I gripped the railing for support, holding myself upright as I watched Ben under the magic of the Elders.
“Phasmatic intus, exorior. Effrego vinculum. Paro puer solvo.”
“Is that Latin?” I managed to gasp out.
“Yes, it means; Spirit within, come forth. Break the bonds. Set the boy free.”
“But before...”
“They were speaking in the old language, ensnaring the spirit. That way it won’t hurt Ben –“
He was interrupted from a sharp cry and my head whipped round to face the circle. Ben’s face was contorted in pain, his eyes screwed shut and sweat standing out on his body. His hands were raking through his hair, grabbing it in fistfuls. When he yelled again, his voice cracked.
“I thought you said that it wouldn’t hurt him?”I choked in horror, my knuckles white on the railing. Owen was frozen. “Owen!” I screeched and Ben’s cry escalated. “Owen, we have to do something!”
“No Lauren, we cannot.” Owen’s eyes zeroed in on mine, pinning me in place. “I was worried that this might happen; everything’s fi-“
“Don’t you dare say everything’s fine,” I hissed in disgust, breaking eye contact. “Ben is in pain.”
As if to confirm my statement, Ben suddenly let out another hoarse yell, building into a scream and he collapsed on the marble floor. His head cracked on the hard surface and blood trickled from a wound that opened. But he wasn’t still – no, he writhed around on the ground, still screaming in agony.
Each cry pierced me like a knife, deep inside my heart – hacking away mercilessly. I couldn’t do anything – I couldn’t help him.
“Owen, please!” I begged and felt a wetness on my cheek. “Please, what can we do? Make them stop, I-“ Suddenly I was spun around to face Owen. His hands gripped the tops of my arms like iron vices, encircling and unbreakable. Icy blue eyes made me freeze in place, and my breath caught in my throat. Ben’s screams continued in the background and Owen flinched. So I wasn’t the only one being affected. My legs trembled underneath me and my hands shook.
“Owen, we have to do something...”
“No, Lauren we can’t. You need to stay here, do you understand?”
“But –“
“No buts, Lauren. Sit.” He pushed me down onto one of the benches and checked me quickly before removing his hands. Warily, he turned his back and I pulled out my notebook. I flipped through the pages as fast as I could until I came to the part about the Unbinding ceremony. Heart thudding in my chest, I scanned the page as fast as I could. Then...there!
Hope bloomed in my chest like a flower in spring and I shot to my feet. Owen twisted round, startled.
“Lauren, what are you-“
“Helping. Please don’t try to stop me.” Owen opened his mouth in a cry of surprise as I yelled, “Ropebind!”
Immediately the magic ropes shot out from under the benches and grabbed Owen, encircling him instantly. Yelling out at me, he struggled against his bonds, but it was futile. Nothing could break through, not for a long time anyway.
“I’m sorry Owen,” I murmured and turned to hurdle the barrier. Sprinting down the steps two at a time, I plunged towards the circle – and hit a barrier. It was like I had run into a glass wall, completely encircling the main pavilion. “Iter,” I hissed and suddenly the barrier disappeared. Falling forwards, I sprinted towards Ben. He was still writhing on the floor, screaming and yelling his head off. Occasionally a strange word from the Old Language would spill out too. Hands tightened into fists, he clawed at the ground and yanked at his hair, desperately trying to fight the battle inside himself.
Gently but determinedly, I put my hands either side of his head and I felt his body still instantly under my touch. The screaming ceased and Ben slowly sat up. Pulling himself onto his knees, his eyes met mine. They were bloodshot and sweat ran off his skin in rivulets, soaking his hair and my hands. I was vaguely aware of the Elders still chanting; how they had not noticed the interruption?
“Lauren, what are you…”
“Put your hands on my head. Either side, like I am to you.” Ben blinked slowly in confusion, almost like he was sleepy or drugged. “Now Ben – you must do it quickly!” He nodded and brought his hands up obediently. I felt the calloused palms on my temples and his strong fingers in my hair and my eyes closed automatically at his touch. But I forced them back open and stared straight into his eyes, locking our gazes.
“Don’t let go,” I murmured.
And then the pain hit. It was like nothing I had ever experienced. Like the worst spells hitting me over and over. Being plunged in acid or set on fire and run over by a cement truck; over and over again. Unimaginable. Intolerable…
I felt my hands gripping Ben’s head and his fingers in my hair – holding me upright. My eyes screwed shut and I clamped my lips together to prevent my screams from escaping. The tears could not be restrained though; salty and hot, they poured down my cheeks. A lump rose in my throat and I struggled to breathe against it.
I was vaguely aware of Ben trying to pull away from me, conscious now that I was taking the pain from him. The healing process was continuing uninterrupted, but it meant that he could fight harder. Fight to get that dammed titan soul out of his body. But my muscles were locked tight in agony – my hands stayed fixed in his hair. I couldn’t have pulled away even if I wanted to.
“Lauren, Lauren – stop it!” Ben called. The voice reached me from somewhere far away, burning up the acid flames inside of me. I clung on tightly, willing my way through it, clinging on to the lifebuoy that was Ben. He was keeping me strong.
I forced myself to think past the pain – firstly counting seconds, but that was pointless; it only prolonged the agony. So instead I focused on the person who knelt in front of me; the person who was holding me upright and had sacrificed so much for me. The boy who’s life I would fight for every day and I loved with all my heart. Totally and absolutely. Everything I had, I would sacrifice for him. Memories of our times together flashed before my eyes…I focused and clung onto them with desperation.
His beautiful face, laughing at a joke. The strong muscles, rippling under his tight gear as he fought the Organisation agents. Holding me carefully in the dark by a small campfire in Prague, while the rain poured down in sheets. Every touch, every kiss. When he had pulled me in and held me tight against him, his gentle fingers stroking my hair…
I clung on, holding myself to my lifebuoy willingly; keeping myself in the fire. I no longer drowned in the flames, I rode on them like waves. He was keeping me strong. Keeping me alive…
I don’t know how long it went on for; how long I sat, curled in on myself, clinging onto Ben. But through that, I endured the pain.
I did notice the subtle changes in Ben’s aura during the time. Before, even though he had been Ben, my Ben, there had been something off about it. Like how you can tell when a piece of fruit has gone off – the sourness to the smell – almost acidic and stale. That’s what it was like with Ben; I could sense a shadow – an underlying darkness that was not quite a part of him.
But as time passed, I felt him go hot under my hands, like a fever had broken out across his skin. But then slowly the heat began to fade and the shadow disappeared. The pain gradually eased like receding waves and I found that the air became free in my lungs. I felt my muscles go weak like jelly and I leant into Ben for support. Warm, strong arms wound around me and held me close and I breathed in his familiar scent deeply. Sweat covered our skin from the exertion of the ordeal like we had run a marathon and my hands slipped off his face, falling into my lap.
The sound of our breathing echoed in the cavernous space around us and as I gathered myself, I realised that I could hear nothing else. No chanting, no talking – not anything. The ceremony was complete. The spirit was gone. Very slowly, Ben lifted my head so our eyes met.
“H-how did you do that? Why? I-“ his voice cracked and I could see the intense emotion burning in his eyes. “Lauren, you shouldn’t have taken the pain away from me. You’re much more impor-“
“Ssh,” I whispered and put one finger on his lips. He stopped speaking out loud, but I could see that he was bursting to interrupt. “I couldn’t stand there and watch you in so much pain. I had to do something...I’m sorry...” I ran my hand down his cheek and he tilted his face so it settled into my palm. We sat for a few minutes in silence as our breathing steadied.
“It’s gone though hasn’t it?” I whispered fearfully and I felt my eyes well up again.
“Yes. Yes, it has finally gone.” Ben’s face broke into a wide grin and he laughed shakily in relief. The tears spilt over my eyes and rolled down my cheeks, but Ben wiped them away. “Thank you,” he breathed and kissed me softly on the lips. I felt strength and love surge though my veins and I clung to him, crushing his lips against mine. My skin rippled with goosebumps and I felt a warmth bloom in my chest. Smiling, he pulled away far too soon and my muscles felt shaky again. As he broke away, I looked around us and gasped.
The Elders were standing very close having encircled us in our distraction, their shadowy cloaks whispering with the slightest movement. As always, their faces were shadowed so we couldn’t read their expressions, but I could sense mixed feelings in their auras. There was annoyance – of course – I had intervened with their important ceremony after all. But there was also admiration for both of us. What we had achieved was remarkable. It was amazing that we had both survived, let alone come out unscathed. Warily I glanced between them and then suddenly remembered Owen. I shot to my feet and ran two steps before my knees collapsed and I crashed back onto the floor.
“Lauren?” Ben cried, sounding worried.
“I’m fine, just got up too quickly, that’s all.” Carefully and more slowly now, I warily tested my legs and walked across the floor until I reached the steps. There I clung onto the banister and made my way up slowly until I reached Owen. I didn’t meet his eyes straight away, but I could feel them burning into me.
“I’m really sorry Owen...I’m sorry I tied you up and disobeyed orders. But I couldn’t leave Ben like that...I couldn’t. I couldn’t stand it. I’m sorry.” There was a short silence as I stared at my shoes and at last Owen spoke.
“Lauren.” His voice commanded that I looked up, so I did. Our gazes met and what I saw in his eyes made me start. I’d expected him to be angry, fuming even. But he wasn’t; his gaze was soft and kind. “Look, I know that you hate it when Ben is in pain, so do I. But I also know that you guys are connected in a way that I can’t understand properly too. Not just because you love each other, but because of the magic. I know it was unbearable. But seriously Lauren, you got lucky. You have no idea how much damage you could have caused everyone if that had gone wrong. And frankly, I’m surprised that it didn’t.” I nodded seriously, feeling disappointment bloom in my chest. He was right, I’d been stupid. “You could have ended up hurting Ben even more, maybe even killing him. So, next time, when I say don’t do anything...please, don’t. Ok?” I nodded slowly, absorbing his words and meeting his intense gaze. Then a slow smile slid across his face and he glanced down.
“Now, can you please get me out of these ropes?”

Poem attempt

Since I've been studying poems so much recently, I thought I'd have a go...
Hope you like it....this is the first poem I've written in a long time and it is much harder than prose!
Beasle95 :)

Monsoon

When will this storm cease?
When will these waves of words
Stop crashing on deaf ears?
Neither side agrees to listen
So the chaos never ends.

Intervention achieves little,
And grasping tighter only causes greater
Distance.
Tilted heads to hide the tears
That all can see.

What use are empty words?
Do we achieve anything by
Keeping up old pretences when
All can see through our
Shattered glass?

Broken mirrors bring only bad luck.
Empty windows,
Dusty floors;
These are the aspects we tried to hide
But all seem to see

But is there point fixing that
Which is broken in a storm?
Pointless endeavours never cease.
Icy waters bring no warmth, nor do
Locked doors invite in friends.

One can only hope for it to pass.

But the storm doesn't last forever.
Soon enough the clouds part and
Rain ceases to fall.
Sunshine breaks through the
Congregated madness and
Peace is once more. Restored.

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.