*Kitana*
My name is Camryn. Well, that's my old name - I never liked it anyways. I'm fourteen, or perhaps fifteen - Earth time has no meaning in this world. I'm the most powerful force for evil here and well on my way to becoming Empress of the Eastern Continent. The only ones who stood in my way have returned to the old world. They chose to give up magic and all the wonderful adventure of Avrien for the corrupt society of the place they call Earth.
It was a nice enough world, but it is no longer my world.
You see, about seven months ago some of us accidentally ended up here on the planet Avrien. Maybe that's where I should start - with the other world. The other place
We were freshmen in high school, all but Ashton, who was still in eighth grade. They all had one thing in common - they knew me, or thought they did.
One day in October, a very cold day for Wisconsin, I was in study hall, daydreaming, when Mary passed me a note.
"Hi CC! I'm kind of bored over here. I have to baby-sit tonight, it sucks."
I sighed and grabbed my pen to compose a reply. In my messy handwriting, I printed, "Yo, Josie. I have to work tonight. But I also get paid tonight! Awesome!"
I think I have that note somewhere, under lock and key. It was fun. That was back when she called me CC, and I called her Josie. That was a good day, overall, but none of them knew the significance of it.
After study hall, I went to Biology, where we started a project. After that class, I saw Shannon and waved. She immediately came over to me and started chattering about how her unofficial boyfriend had kissed her last night. I already knew about it, so I wasn't terribly interested.
Then Jared and Allison walked over, giggling about some private joke. We exchanged hellos, and I went to my Theology class, shaking my head, still blissfully unaware. We all swore those two would someday make a cute couple.
I remember my other friends, a little. It seems such a long time ago. Luckily, at the time, there was rampaging influenza, and most of them were out. This was good, since anyone who had contact with me got dragged along to Avrien. Let's see, that's Shannon, Jared, Allison, and Mary. Who else? Oh, yes, Ashton and Manda.
I went home on the bus, as I always do, and I stared off into space, thinking about my latest story, about the Greek gods. Mythology fascinated me then, still does, I suppose. I write fantasy, occasionally science fiction and horror.
When I got home, my mom left to run errands, and I slipped online. The only person on MSN Messenger was Manda, a girl from Minnesota who I'd known for two years. I printed out that conversation. I have it around here somewhere.
MANDA MANDA: Heeey! It's you!
DARKMAGE: Heeey! It's /you/!
MANDA MANDA: It's been awhile.
DARKMAGE: Well, duh. You got any new streaks?
MANDA MANDA: Nah, just the blue one and the purple one and the green one. They're braided right now. El-beth did it for me today in music. How's HS for you?
DARKMAGE: Oh, I dunno. S'okay. I've got some new friends, but I'm only doing average in English and you know my parents - average isn't good enough...
MANDA MANDA: Yeah, tell me about it. Oh, you won't believe my father. It's so stupid. He's actually considering - seriously - proposing to Her. I would actually live with Eric. That's such a scary thought.
DARKMAGE: Ew.
I didn't know then what happened to Manda's mother, I just knew that her father was dating a woman referred to as Her. She had a son named Eric, a year younger than Manda, and my dear friend couldn't stand him. At that point, Ashton connected, the poor girl. If she had only, only stayed away from me...
NOVALICIOUS has signed in.
MANDA MANDA: Hey hey, it's Ashi-sama!
NOVALICIOUS has joined this conversation.
NOVALICIOUS: It's Manda! o.O
DARKMAGE: All hail my dark powers! I have brought Manda back from beyond the grave!
MANDA MANDA: Oh, come on, it hasn't been that long.
NOVALICIOUS: Yes it has.
NOVALICIOUS: It's been several months.
DARKMAGE: Darn straight!
It was about then that I noticed a new CD lying on the desk next to the computer. It was black - a black that seemed to radiate an unholy light. And on it, inscribed in silver, were the words "Avrien: The Other World."
I couldn't resist. I had to play that game, but first I was going to talk to my friends.
MANDA MANDA: Eric is insane, dude. I mean, Insane. INSANE.
DARKMAGE: What'd he do?
MANDA MANDA: Oh, nothing short of totally dying his hair. It's white. Like, white on white. Albino-white. And he's going to get red contacts. Albino-red.
NOVALICIOUS: Scary. And he's how old?
MANDA MANDA: Thirteen.
DARKMAGE: Ew.
NOVALICIOUS has disconnected.
DARKMAGE: ...bye.
MANDA MANDA: So, did you ever finish that story? The "Wanderers" one?
DARKMAGE: ...no, sorry. Got to chapter 21 and blanked.
MANDA MANDA: Dagnabbit! Now I am reduced to reading classics again! I hate you!
DARKMAGE: I got a new one. Greek gods.
MANDA MANDA: Ooh, awesome. E it to me.
I e-mail Manda just about everything. She's like my beta reader. She's like...just cool. Streaks in her hair and everything. I want streaks, but Mom won't let me.
DARKMAGE: Sure, sure, hang on.
As I opened the file labeled "Aphrodite" I found my eyes drawn again to the black disk. Of its own accord, my hand left the mouse and picked up the disk, slipping it into the drive. My computer whirred, the screen twisted, swirled into a myriad of colors.
One last message popped onto my screen - or, shall I say, six last messages.
MANDA MANDA: My computer's all screwy...
NOVALICIOUS has signed in.
ALLISON LARCOBRADSKY has signed in.
MARY LARCOBRADSKY has signed in.
SHANNON LARCOBRADSKY has signed in.
JARED LARCOBRADSKY has signed in.
The stage was set. They were all there. I just didn't know it at the time.
Oh, and if you were wondering about the names? Allison, Mary, Shannon, and Jared spontaneously decided to smash their last names together and become "siblings." I was mad for a while that I wasn't one of them...
But a ridiculous game was the least of my worries.
*Ashton*
When I opened my eyes, I thought I might possibly have a concussion.
Only a minute ago I had been sitting at my computer, and then everything had gone totally dark, and now there was sky above me...
But it wasn't October sky. Camryn drags me outside all the time to play fantasy games, and believe me, I know October sky. It's never this blue or this perfect. And I wasn't cold.
"Meh," I muttered, rolling over.
The grass was blue.
I screamed and rocketed to my feet, staring in horror at the blue grass. Then I looked around. Laying nearby were some people I knew, and some people I didn't.
"Jared?" I asked incredulously.
I hadn't seen Jared in almost a year. He's a friend of Camryn's from school, and I don't go to their school. Jared had glasses now, and his hair had been highlighted and spiked, but it was unmistakably him.
He was wearing ordinary jeans, but a shirt that was very suited to the warm climate here - wherever the heck here was. The shirt was a pale green color and very...clingy.
"Ashton?" he asked, staring groggily at me.
"Yes," I replied. I recognized Shannon from her revealing clothing - which definitely wouldn't be allowed at a private school. I knew Manda was there because of the streaks in her brown hair. The other two, though, I had never met.
Jared looked up. "Allison! Mary! Shannon! Ashton! And...uh..."
"Manda," the Minnesotian replied. "So you're Jared! And..." She looked at me. "Ashi-sama?"
"You could say that..."
"Too cool!" Shannon giggled nervously. "We finally get to meet Manda!"
The girl who had been addressed as Mary shivered and glanced down at her orange shirt. Unfortunately, it bared her midriff, and she tried to yank it down. "I wasn't wearing this!" she cried, sounding terrified.
Allison shivered violently. "The grass is blue," she intoned.
"Don't start crying," a very familiar voice lilted. I knew that voice - it was Camryn, and we've known each other forever. But I had never heard that tone before. She actually sounded happy. The only time she was ever anywhere near that happy was when...well, never, really.
I turned slowly and was greeted by a strange sight. It was Cam, yes, but she was wearing something I had never expected to see her in. It was the outfit of a harem girl, done all in black, baring an awful lot of skin to the air. Strangely, she didn't seem to mind. She'd worn something similar for Halloween the previous year, but...well, that had been a costume.
What really drew my eyes was the flash of silver at her side. Oh, God, she had a sword. What the heck...?
"What's going on?" Mary asked.
Camryn laughed, a real laugh, that delightful sound that I'm sure no one had ever heard before. She waved an arm expansively at the world around us. "Welcome to Avrien!"
"Avrien?" Jared asked.
"Yes, that's right. It's a different world!" Her heart was in her eyes. It's the look of someone who's fallen in love, hard. I couldn't shake a feeling that something was wrong, though.
Allison really did start to cry, then. "I want to go home!" she sobbed, burying her face in her hands.
Manda, on the other hand, lit up like a Christmas tree. "I'm getting a new name," she announced. "I mean, it's boring being Manda. I'll be..." She thought for a moment and then announced, "Meg."
"Meg," Camryn said. "When you could have any name? I'm - "
She didn't finish, because at that moment, I heard a gasp behind me. Cam whipped her sword out of her belt and pointed it at me, but at the same time I felt a sharp object being pressed into my back.
"Put your weapon away," a man said in a harsh voice.
"Get away from them," Cam said, her voice suddenly very dangerous.
"You are trespassing. You must stand at the tribal council."
"Oh, God, it's freakin' Survivor," Shannon moaned.
Cam shrugged. "Do their lives mean anything to me?"
My brain pretty much shut down about then.
"We will take you as well, witch."
"Know this, fool. I am the Sorceress Kitana. My powers equal and exceed those of your magician." When she said that word, magician, she had hatred and sarcasm dripping from her voice. "These are my servants and..." She faltered momentarily, and then went on, "Minstrels. Servants and minstrels. Shannon, Jared, give them a song."
There was silence behind me, and then Jared raised his voice and sang a song that I don't think I'll ever forget.
"Do, a dough, a cookie-making dough
Ray, a guy that lives over there
Mi, a name that's in another song
Fa, a really weird word
So, why should I sing the rest of this song?
La, la la la la la la!"
Our captors didn't let her get any further. "Give us a new one," someone grunted.
Shannon groaned, obviously unable to think of anything on such short notice. So, I stepped in, desperately singing the only song I could remember.
"Twinkle, twinkle little star
How I wonder what you are
Up above the world so high
Like a diamond in the sky..."
I couldn't go on. This was all so weird. And - had Camryn introduced herself as a sorceress?
The sword point left my back and I was shoved roughly forward, catching my footing as quickly as I could. I looked back, but our captors were gone, although Mary had a new bruise on her arm.
"Well done, my minstrels," Cam said, smirking. "Come on. I want to get away from here by nightfall."
"Camryn?" Allison asked, her voice trembling.
"Kitana," she corrected.
Mary took over. "Where the heck are we and what the heck is going on?"
"We're on the planet Avrien," Cam - Kitana said. "I've been here for a week already. The mages at Halico granted me sorceress powers." She shrugged. "It's all good."
"I want to go home," Allison sobbed.
Kitana's grin, if possible, grew even wider. "Sorry, my friends. You're stuck here - and the mages at Halico want to talk to you about the real world. So that's where we're going - the necropolis of Halico."
"Necropolis," Shannon muttered. "City of the dead."
*Meg*
After about ten seconds of horror following Shannon’s announcement, I decided to break the silence in my usual way – by whining!
“Kitana’s going to mummify us,” I complained shrilly. Jared winced at the extreme high-pitched-ness of my voice.
Notice that I was already using her assumed name – and I was hoping that she would remember mine. New world, new rules, new name, after all. I’ve been waiting since I was seven to change my name to Margaret, but Dad won’t allow it till I’m out of his house, since that’s my mother’s name. He misses her a lot, but that didn’t stop him from dating Her. I absolutely can’t stand Her. God, I hate Her. I loathe Her. If I could I would kill Her and be done with it, because I want Her out of my life.
But enough about me.
We started walking toward the forest, which I assumed from the position of the sun was to the north. We had only been traveling for five, maybe ten minutes when Ashton started in on Kitana.
“I’m tired! Are we ever going to stop?”
“It’s only been eight minutes,” Kit muttered.
“Oh, really? Time doesn’t have any meaning in dreams, does it?”
“It’s not a dream.” I think I’m the only one who caught the look of pure anger on Kit’s face. That would explain why no one else ever suspected what she would eventually do.
“Oh, really? You’re right. It must be a nightmare.”
We were silent from then until we reached the forest at sunset. Kit sullenly said, “I’ll get the firewood.”
Ashton didn’t even pretend that she wasn’t following Kit, so I followed her – just to help with the wood, naturally. I’m not a spy. Well, I wasn’t a spy then, anyway…
Once we were out of the others’ hearing (I was still hiding, of course), Ashton turned on Kit. “What the hell is wrong with you?”
I have never heard Ash swear before, so naturally I was intrigued.
Kit shrugged and picked up a stick, holding it up almost protectively. “Nothing’s wrong. Everything’s right, as a matter of fact.”
“A matter of opinion,” Ashton snapped. “Listen to me, Camryn. This is not you. You don’t wear stuff like this. And what was up with the act back there? Sorceress Kitana? Get real.”
“It’s true.” It was true, actually. Maybe what caused that almost permanent rift in their friendship was that Ashton didn’t believe that it was true. Everything may have turned out differently if only…
“Yeah freakin’ right,” Ashton cried. “This is not you! Camryn was nice. Kitana is, excuse my language, a slutty – “
The words she used at that point don’t bear repeating.
Kit listened calmly and then retorted, “For your information, I’m happy this way. I’ve never been better. You’re free to find a way back to the other place. Me, I’m staying. I’ve never felt so wonderful in my life!”
That was when I knew for sure. Kit was in love – in love with this other world, this Avrien. And, though I wasn’t aware, I had fallen in love as well. Fallen very, very hard.
“But your family!” Ashton shrieked. “What about your sister? She needs you!”
Kit grinned. “That’s the beauty of it. There’s another me on Earth. I exist in both places – simultaneously.”
“Oh, and is there another me, as well?”
“No. You and Allison have disappeared. I don’t know why you two.”
“Really.” To this day I don’t know how she did it, but Ashton filled that single word with sarcasm, skepticism, and an almost overwhelming despair as she realized that nothing she said would make Kit come back to Earth. Assuming the rest of us found a way, you know, because at that point we still weren’t positive that it wasn’t a dream.
“Really really.”
Ashton slapped her.
I mean, I have never seen anything like it. She actually left a bruise. That was the last thing Kit had expected, so the force of the blow knocked her over. Ashton smirked, picked up some sticks, and stormed back to the camp. I really had to run to get back before her.
“Where’s Camryn?” Mary asked.
“I dunno,” Ashton muttered, tossing the sticks on the ground. “Anybody got matches?”
Shannon did, and she also discovered several small, useful daggers and two throwing stars tucked in various places in her clothing. I don’t know how they all fit – her outfit was really revealing.
The next morning found us cold, stiff, and completely without a leader. Kit hadn’t come back. I actually thought for a while that Ashton wouldn’t come with us to find her, but she followed – at a distance of ten yards.
They let us get out a mile or so and then they attacked.
It was the same people who had waylaid us last night, but this time we could see them. They were all male, all very tall, and incredibly muscular. They weren’t really wearing many clothes, which made us very uncomfortable. It took them less than two seconds to grab us. As they dragged us away, I glanced back. Ashton was hidden behind a tree. I’m surprised they missed her. Actually, considering their collective intelligence, I'm not.
It took the better part of an hour for us to reach their village. There were about a hundred tents, all set up in a square, and in the middle of the square was a circle. In the middle of the circle was a bonfire, and tied to a pole near that fire was none other than my dear friend Kit.
They had apparently beaten her up, because I could swear she was unconscious, and her lip was bleeding. Only I knew that barbarian hands did not make the bruise on her face.
On the other side of the bonfire was a man. He was old, his dark hair streaked with silver, and he was dressed in various animal skins that did little to cover his scrawny frame. I took an immediate dislike to him.
“Bring the captives forward!” the man roared. We were shoved toward him, almost into the bonfire, and he closed his eyes in what seemed to be religious ecstasy. “The witch and her companions shall burn this day as a sacrifice to enhance the power of I, Asjanel!”
I wisely chose not to tell him that he had used improper grammar. I think I’ll leave the grammar checks to Kit.
Within five minutes, we were roped to our own poles, the fire roaring too close for comfort. Apparently they were going to shove the poles over, into the bonfire, burning us alive. I wished they would just do it already.
Then Ashton ran around one of the tents, a crudely made hatchet in her hands. She hacked at Allison’s ropes. I looked at the warriors standing in a semi-circle on the other side of the circle, and almost laughed.
Those idiots! Their “magician” still had his eyes closed, and they didn’t want to disturb him, so those morons were nudging each other, trying to find someone brave enough to tell Asjanel that the prisoners were escaping.
Allison tumbled to the ground and ran off into Tent City. Mary soon followed. About half of the warriors then decided to chase them. From my vantage point, I vaguely saw the girls leading the men on a wild goose chase.
Now Ashton’s hatchet was busily sawing at my own bonds. I maneuvered my fingers to try to help and succeeded in getting cut. After a moment, I was free, and I dashed over to Shannon, absently wiping off the blood on my shirt. Snatching one of her daggers, I slashed through her bonds and moved on to Kit.
Honestly, if Shannon hadn’t had those daggers, I really don’t know if Ashton would have saved Kit or not. That’s a very frightening thought.
*Jared*
I wanted to go home.
It was bad enough that the grass was blue, but now – now some men with no fashion sense had kidnapped us. Normally I don’t pay attention to fashion, but jeez, these guys were wearing zebra skins, and that’s just sick.
Shannon cut me free and I fell down several feet, luckily not hurting myself too badly. “I like Final Fantasy better,” I whispered to her.
Unfortunately, it was at that moment that the priest or whatever decided to wake up. Allison and Mary came bursting out of Tent City and we all drew back into a tight knot – Earthlings in the midst of aliens. Camryn – sorry, Kitana – was still unconscious, although Manda – sorry, Meg – was doing an okay job of holding her up. Maybe I should have seen that. Maybe then a whole lot of hurt would have been averted. But, no, that wouldn’t have changed a thing. Meg was still Meg, and even if we had seen where her loyalties laid, it would have probably been too late.
But, anyway, the priest-dude gaped at us for a few minutes before roaring, “Seize the witch!” The tall guys ran toward us, about a hundred in all, but then they stopped.
Kitana was awake.
They stopped. Dead in their tracks. And then wave after wave of them collapsed, knees buckling. Hehe, that’s a funny way of saying it. I glanced at Kitana, and she was definitely awake. She had her hands out, palms down, and she almost looked as if she were holding the men against the ground with her hands alone – which is ridiculous.
Nevertheless, that’s pretty much exactly what she was doing.
The priest-dude, Asjanel, raised his own hands and shouted something I couldn’t really hear. Whatever it was, it had a spectacular effect. A lightning bolt hit the ground right in front of us, knocking us all over. Shannon staggered to her feet and got a grip on one of those throwing stars of hers. She lifted it, threw it –
And, dammit, her aim was off.
She got Asjanel in the arm; I’ll give her that! Sliced him pretty deep with that throw. He screamed, like a girl, and fell over. Sadly, he didn’t fall into the bonfire.
We took the time to make good our escape.
So, by nightfall, we weren’t much farther along than we had been last night. In fact, we passed our old campsite, but we didn’t stop. We just ran – or, in Kitana’s case, limped. I'm moderately certain that our sudden burst of energy was not entirely adrenaline.
We rested for the night on the banks of a stream, and that one little place was enough to make me want to stay forever. It was so clear, the rocks so smooth, and when you looked up through the trees, you could see stars. It was better than South Dakota, and that’s saying something.
There was no buffalo. That sucked. I’d give everything to see Shannon freaked out by a buffalo again.
We washed up in the stream and had a dinner of berries. I was hungry. I wanted a Pop-Tart, or ramen noodles. Even kelp! Just one bag of dried kelp would make me so happy!
Better yet, I wanted my cell phone. “Hi, Pizza Hut? I’ll have a large pepperoni pizza please. I’m somewhere in the vicinity of Halico. It’s in a forest somewhere. Avrien, I think? I dunno. Thirty minutes or less, please!”
Actually, that call would have been fun to make – and make it I will someday. In college. Scary thought, that, Jared in college!
After that wonderful meal of berries, we collapsed. No fire. It wasn’t that cold.
In the morning – two days here, this couldn’t be a dream – we started north again, following Kitana. I joked around with Shannon, we sang a bit, and everyone avoided talking about Kitana’s display of magic. It was a distressing subject.
Around noon, we came to a town. It was a nice enough town. The people called it Niyuu. They were really nice, and if there’s one thing I feel guilty about, it’s the fate we brought upon that village.
The mayor invited us to spend the night, but we declined everything but some real food, bread and cheese. Then I heard the soft howl and looked around. "What was that?"
"One of the hunting wolves," the mayor replied. "They are our village's trade."
I hurried over to the pen, where several wolves were milling about, howling occasionally. They looked just like huskies, and I've always wanted a husky. Desperately, in fact.
One in particular caught my eye, a lovely silver creature with golden eyes who looked directly at me. There was something about that wolf, something powerful and almost human. "Oh, can we buy it?" I asked breathlessly, well aware that I sounded like a girl.
Kitana grumbled, but handed over some coins, and the wolf was mine. I hugged him, half-expecting to get my nose bitten, but he seemed quite tame - almost like a dog, rather than a wolf. I dubbed him Dakota.
We thanked the people of Niyuu and set off up the mountain.
Two hours later, there was a thunderous detonation. We all whirled in horror at the sound and saw smoke rising from the far-off village of Niyuu.
Asjanel had destroyed it.
We kept going until Dakota found us a cave, and then we crept in as far as we could and broke down sobbing. Aliens or not, the people of Niyuu had been wonderful to us, and what had we done? We had dragged a witch into their presence and they had died because of her.
That was when I first hated Kitana.
“This is your fault!” I screamed once I had recovered somewhat. “You and your stupid witchy powers!”
“Excuse me!” Kitana yelled back. “Earth to Jared! If it weren’t for my powers we would be dead too!”
“You’re a murderer,” Mary accused, her voice shaking. “Jared’s right – it’s all your fault that the barbarians came after us. If it wasn’t for your magic, we wouldn’t be here!”
“How do you know it’s my fault?”
I turned and stalked out of the cave, shaking with rage. I mean, those people had given me a good meal and they had died for it. That’s just not right.
And, because I have a very good sense of right and wrong, I decided to do something about it.
Even now I have no idea how I knew that I could do it. I just knew. I started to run towards Niyuu. I had to get there before Asjanel left. I would show him the powers of the greatest thief and assassin in the world!
That brought me up short. Thief and assassin, I mean. I didn’t know why I thought that. Thief and assassin. I’m not an assassin, nor am I a thief, but apparently my brain thought different, because I was running again before I could properly slow down.
I got to Niyuu a few minutes later, having made incredibly good time. I’m not on the track team for nothing. Besides, it was all downhill. I stood on the outskirts of the village, which was burning merrily, and then I slipped in.
I crept up on Asjanel, who was watching as his warriors looted the houses that weren’t burning yet, and that was when I realized that I didn’t have a weapon to kill him with. Sigh. So I just settled for throwing a rock at his head.
I have better aim than Shannon does. He fell over. I was David, he was Goliath.
“Hear me, Asjanel,” I whispered. “This day I have spared your life, but when I get to Halico, you won’t be so lucky because then I’ll have weapons. And in that day you’ll be murdered by the greatest thief and assassin who ever lived!”
It’s a very good thing he already knew where we were going, because otherwise I don’t think I could forgive myself. As it is I had a difficult time forgiving Kitana, who accidentally gave him that information.
You know, I just thought of something. I’m the assassin, but Shannon had the weapons. Must be because she knew how to use them, and we needed protection until we got to Calsa, which is where I started to look the part I would play.