The List 61-65

Fairy Tales, Magic, Do Not Disturb, Multitasking, Horror

#61 Fairy Tales

            Once upon a time, not so very long ago, there was a magic man. And this magic man would travel the lands enchanting all with not only his mysterious power but his captivating stories as well. He would sit himself down before a large fire and tell his tales to anyone who would listen. This one seemed to be his favorite to tell considering how many people knew the story of the Mage Queen and her Guardian.

            It had been said that the two were born of the same bloodline several years apart. The Guardian was the first to be born, and the nearly a decade later came the Mage Queen. When at last the two discovered who and what they were, their story truly began.

            From the day the Mage Queen was crowned, the battle for the existence of magic erupted. And it began with the Guardian: a headstrong, overprotective, ill-tempered young woman. Although she knew and understood what her purpose as a Guardian was, believing was a completely different issue. And because she refused to let herself believe, the young Guardian was more prone to being manipulated by those who sought to rule.

            Then there was the Mage Queen herself: an energetic, overly trusting, wide-eyed little girl. Some throughout the magical community, so it was called in those days, voiced a harsh opinion against the Mage Queen because of her age. She was only nine when she was given the crown.

            This short tale is all that is left of their story. What truly happened has either been lost or erased. The magic man told a tale of battles and triumphs; failures and deceptions; fairies and pixies. For months, the Mage Queen and her Guardian fought for the salvation of magic.

            But also, his tale did not end happily. After all their trails and efforts, in the end the Mage Queen lost her life at the hands of our rulers, Jason. And the Guardian was said to be drained and disappeared.

            And what became of this magic man, you ask? The ending of his story did not please those in power. he has not been seen in months. Rumors suggest that he was arrested and drained, possibly killed.

            The magic man's tale ended as such: despite the fact that the Guardian was drained, she is leading out rebel troops and returning. Jason and his followers demand we believe such rumors as fairy tales.

            Long live fairy tales.

 

 

#62 Magic

            There were seven of them.

            Pete was the video game addict who demanded nothing more from his girlfriend, Jamie, than sex and cake.

            Jamie was the dumb blonde who conveniently enough was a brunette.

            Jackson was the hot guitar player who was sleeping with, but not dating, Kayla.

            Kayla was the animator with an off fear of people sitting next to her on the train for fear that someone would steal her ideas.

            Kurk was the starting quarterback of the college football team, and so totally, one hundred percent, fully out there gay.

            Eve was the sexy motorcycle chick bartender who slept with Pete, Jackson, and, yes, even Kurk multiple times just for the hell of it.

            Meghan was the quirky little bookworm with an endless knowledge of useless and completely random information.

            They sat around a bonfire late one night down at the private beach near Kurk's summer home. Meghan shifted and the light from the fire reflected off her glasses. And at that exact moment, Pete looked over at her and caught the glare.

            "Ah!" he yelled, shielding his eyes. "You are an evil, evil woman and your glasses can cast sorcery!"

            The other six glanced over at Pete, each with the ever popular 'what the f**k' look on. After a moment of silence, Meghan snatched up a stick from the sand and jumped to her feet. She adjusted her glasses, wearing an evil grin. She began moving the stick through the air like a wand, making ghostly moans and moving toward Pete. The others burst into laughter.

            As Even and Kayla started chanting in odd, made-up tongues, Jackson plucked an eerie tune on his acoustic guitar. Pete got up as soon as Meghan was practically on top of him and back up slowly. It was not long before she was chasing him down the beach, waving about the fake wand.

            The other five quickly got up and followed, yelling strange words and laughing harder than they had in a while.

 

 

#63 Do Not Disturb

            On her way back to her house, Tikki listed everything she did that day for Pyro, mostly out of pure and utter exhaustion.

            "I woke up at four-thirty to do penance; was forced into chaperoning three, count 'em three, hunting exercises back-to-back-to-back; didn't get to take a nap or eat because Brett showed up; we got chased out of the City of Ancients by Hunters, which we had to evade for hours to avoid being caught and arrested; on the way back to the village, we were caught by Elder Ashton, who just hates me to begin with; he sends Brett away and escorts me to the temple where he makes me do a double penance for no reason what-so-freckin-ever; and before he lets me go, he gives me an hour lecture about how I should be careful with who I trust. I am running on three hours of sleep, a glass of wine, and a piece of corn bread. All I want to do is crawl into bed and die."

            As soon as she finished her ran, she reached her house. She turned the latch and pushed only to discover the door was bolted from the inside. Allowing her exhaustion and frustration to get the better of her, she began violently banging her fists against the locked door.

            "Kenny." she growled, trying to keep her voice as soft as possible considering how late it was. "Kenny, you open this damn door right now."

            She went back to banging on the door, kicking it even sometimes.

            "Kenny, I swear to all the gods and goddesses above, if you do not open this door in the next ten seconds, I will shoot it down."

            It took nine seconds for Kenny to open the door slightly. Tikki glared at him. Her anger only grew when she realized her brother was not only hot and sweaty, but stark naked as well.

            "You have to be kidding me." she muttered.

            Kenny swallowed, panting.

            "Tikki, please-"

            She pushed passed him and walked in the house.

            "Get her out." she shouted back, heading for her room.        

            "But-"

            "Out!"

            With that, Tikki slammed her bedroom door, leaving Kenny in the middle of the open door way naked and defeated.

 

 

#64 Multitasking

            Quinlan struggled with the rope around her wrists that kept her dangling slightly above the stone ground. Declan sat in the chair she was tied to, taking hit after hit from the mysterious Italian. Bowen lay unconscious on the ground, a large bump forming on the back of his head where he had been struck.

            Blood trickled down the side of Declan's check as the Italian's fist once again came in contact with her face. Quinlan kicked violently in the air, screaming for him to stop. He leaned in close to Declan's face, grabbing her chin.

            "Had I known exactly who and," he snickered, "what you were, I would have demanded more money."

            "I'm sorry for your suffering." she managed to grunt out, her head bobbing a bit.

            Before he had the chance to hit her again, someone on the outside began kicking in the door. The Italian had just enough time to grab his sword before the door flew off its hinges. Sean walked in, his sword already out. The Italian smiled.

            "These must belong to you then." he said with a grin.

            As the two began clashing swords, Quinlan attempted to free herself from the rope. Declan tried her best to remain conscious, shaking and bobbing her head about.

            "Sean, watch out for Bowen." Quinlan shouted.

            "What?"

            But it was too late. Sean tripped backwards over Bowen, nearly falling back completely.

            "Get Declan." she ordered.

            Sean dodged another blow and nudged Bowen with his foot.

            "Wake up, Bowen."

            "No, untie Declan."

            Sean yelped as the Italian's blade nipped his arm. Quinlan continued to kick. Her wrists began to bruise.

            "Oh, cut my down already."

            "Wake Bowen up; save Declan; cut you down; kill the Italian; stay alive. There's only so much I can do at once!"

            Suddenly, the Italian flew back against a wall and fell to the floor, unconscious. Declan stopped moving her hands, which were still tied behind the chair, and turned her head slowly to look at Sean.

            "Thank." he said, sheathing his sword.

            "Not a problem." she answered, still heaving, and smiled as best she could.

            "Sean." Quinlan snapped.

            "I'm coming. I'm coming."

            When Quinlan was cut down, she untied Declan and helped her walk. Sean carried Bowen out on his shoulders.

            "What about the Italian?"

            "One thing at a time woman!"

 

 

#65 Horror

            Don't panic. Don't panic.

            The weight on her chest was unbearable, but it only lasted a few seconds. It was hard to breathe though. She could not tell if her body was shaking, everything was too fuzzy to register. She could feel whatever had come out of the airbags travel down her throat and burn her lungs each time she took a breath.

            Though her fear grossly outweighed every other emotion she could have possibly felt at that moment in time, she opened her eyes. The first thing she noticed was the smoke. Then the smell hit her. Her head was pounding and she noticed that she was in fact trembling.

            "Jen..."

            She had to stop after that one word to take a few deep breaths. Her chest and arms burned.

            "Jen, get out of the car."

            Everything ached. She turned her head slowly toward the passenger's seat. Despite the fact that it was painful, her breathing sped up when she saw the seat was empty.

            "Jen?"

            She closed her eyes for a moment to temporarily relieve the sting.

            Don't panic. Don't panic.

            She moved as fast as her sore muscles allowed. The pressure on her chest returned.

            "Jen?"

            After what had just happened, she did not think her heart rate could accelerate any more. But it did. the sound of her pulse rushing through her veins drowned out everything else except the faint sound of her breathing. The smell hit her again.

            "Jen?"

            "Miss, can you get out of the car by yourself?"

            Hi voice sounded muffled. She did not know the voice. She was still unable to register much outside the fact that she had just crashed her car and that Jen was gone.

            She fumbled with the seatbelt a bit and opened her door. She had to take a break before turning her body.

            "Jen?"

            She closed her eyes again to stop the stinging. The pounding in her head got worse as she tried to move. Her breathing became more labored with each movement.

            "Miss?"

            The smell hit her again. She could feel her consciousness slipping away from her rapidly.

            "Jen."

            "Miss?"

            "Je-"

            Don't panic. Don't panic.