Airalin

Death Note(s)

Dead. He was really dead. The Death Note... it was real.

Lyra scuttled away from the music room along with a group of girls with faces drained of blood. As she pushed past gossiping students, making way for the algebra classroom, Lyra felt bile rising in her throat. The music teacher was dead... and that was only because she had written his name in that notebook. Did that make her a murderer? Cold sweat ran down her cheeks as she took her seat, fighting to maintain a mask of calmness. The police were being notified - would they be looking for her? Her house was prison enough - she couldn't live in a little cell, shut away in the darkness forever. The Death Note was sitting on the floor of her room, among a bunch of library books. She couldn't run to get it now - that would look far too suspicious. But, when she got home, she would go to it. She would write her own name if she had to. Better dead than locked away.

She released a deep breath, and only then did she realize she'd been crying. But that reaction had been silly. The police would be investigating natural causes of death - not looking for weird notebooks with supernatural powers. Though she'd had a disagreement with the victim the day of his death, she had a solid alibi. Her brothers and parents would vouch for her.

But still... what if someone figured it out? It would be best to have the notebook with her all the time, just in case. She didn't want to kill again, but if they forced her to, she would. The dead teacher's life already weighed heavily on her conscience, but if it was to save herself... yes, she could do it again. But she couldn't carry around the whole Death Note with her. That black cover and the instructions written within... they were way too obvious. But... what if she tore out a page? Would it still work? There was only one way to find out. But could she kill again just to learn?

She bit her lip as the teacher began his lesson. Absently, she scrawled a few of the symbols into her normal notebook. Yes... if it was to guarantee her freedom, Lyra could stomach one more use of the notebook. She was a princess - more important than anyone else. For her, sacrifices could be made. They were justified!

Strange World

Abby glanced up at the unfamiliar man who spoke to her, but she looked away, hiding her tears, almost immediately. He seemed sympathetic to her concerns. Abby felt heat rising to her cheeks. Somehow, his kindness made her shame all the greater. Fortunately, before too long, the man moved forward into the light. Abby took a deep breath. She didn't want to move forward. She wasn't ready. But if she didn't, she would have to endure the stares of the others, their judgment that she was weak. Even the kindest of people made such determinations, though their intentions were often good. Her foster parents had shown her sympathy, even pity, for the longest time after adopting her. Teachers, classmates, boyfriends - they were all the same. Show them the first sign of vulnerability and it would forever define you. That was why Abby couldn't stay. Regardless of her feelings, the only choice was to move forward.

She stepped forward, marching into the light before she could second guess herself. For a moment, it was blinding, but then, she was in a hallway lined with doors. The name "Camilla" was written on one of them. Abby walked past it and checked the next set, which, as she expected, included one with her name on it. Not wanting to deal with the others, she bolted through the door and shut it behind her.

For a few seconds, she was in utter darkness. Then, a small lamp hanging from the ceiling flickered on. It illuminated a table with a single chair on each side.

Slowly, Abby approached the table. A gruff voice called out to her from the darkness.

"Sit down. Everything will be explained."

After a moment's hesitation, Abby seated herself in the nearest chair. A tall, muscular man in a police uniform took the one opposite her.

"Gotcha," he muttered.

Abby tried to flee, but suddenly, she was tied to the chair, arms pinned at her side. She gasped, eyes darting in each direction, but the two of them were alone. No one was going to save her. She bit her lip, took a deep breath to calm her nerves. She recalled all the advice her attorney had given her. She just had to keep her mouth closed. He couldn't hurt her.

The cop waved his hand, and a bunch of cell phones appeared on the table. Of course, she recognized them all.

"Did you steal these phones?" asked the cop.

Abby steeled herself, pressing her lips shut - but, for some reason, they reopened at once, and the words poured out despite her resolve.

"I did. All of them."

Why? Why had she said that? Something was really, really wrong! Tears trickled down her cheeks, and she squirmed uselessly within her bonds. This was a dream, just a dream!

"Are you scared?" asked the officer.

"Terrified," said Abby at once, against her will.

"You should be," replied the cop, scowling. "In this room, you can neither lie nor maintain your silence. You're going to confess to everything here - and those phones are just the beginning."

Abby's shaking arms worked furiously to be free, but with a snap of his finger, the officer froze them in place. Abby looked away, sobbing. "Please... don't to this..." she whimpered.

"Only one person can stop this, kid, and it ain't me."

Death Note(s)

@Alina13

Oh, good. I've always liked playing the villain. xD

Death Note(s)

@LotusWarrior

Pffft! 'Poor poor brother' has been teasing little Lyra for her whole life. He deserved it! ^.~

Death Note(s)

Hehe! *cackles* Sorry~

Strange World

Abby glanced nervously at Cam and the two unfamiliar men they'd run into. One of them, a dark haired man who looked a bit older than Abby, took a few hesitant steps forward, drawing closer to the light.

The light that, if the recording was to be believed, would show them the truth.

"He's right," she found herself saying as she glanced at Cam.The girl was so innocent, still unsullied by the cruelty of the world. "This is no place for a child. I... if this hurts, I can take it. It can't be as bad as some of the stuff I've already been through."

She approached the light, yet stopped briefly to muse on what a fool she was. Her curiosity had always gotten the better of her - it was, in part, the reason she'd started stealing things in the first place. And, perhaps, it was the reason she didn't belong in a city like the one she'd been teleported to. The people there gave her everything she asked for, never held back. That luxury was more than a little tempting... but where was the fun in it? If there were no rules to break, what would she do with herself?

Was that really why she was moving forward?

Perhaps it was for Cam... Abby didn't think she wanted to stay in the mysterious city. She missed her family. Abby gulped. She'd lost her real parents forever ago... they would never come back. So why did she even care about the little girl? Didn't she deserve to suffer a fate similar to Abby's own? Altruism had never been one of Abby's strengths. If Cam wanted to find the way back, she ought to be the one walking into the light. Not Abby. Abby had nothing to gain by proceeding.

So what was driving her?

Abby stood immobile. "I can do this," she muttered to herself, eyes focused on her trembling feet. The light washed over her stockings, yet she stood on the brink of it, unable to move forward. She didn't dare meet the eyes of the others, her fear having just been exposed. She didn't understand. Why... why was she so afraid? She could just stay... even if it was boring, she'd never be discarded again... yet that didn't feel right. To her chagrin, a tear trickled down her cheek. Something was wrong with her. She was broken - she had always been broken. Her trial had defeated her before it had even begun.

Death Note(s)

Lyra laid on her bed, kicking her feet in the air as she read the horror story she'd borrowed from the time library. She didn't know why she bothered. None of her recent reads had actually been scary - in fact, they were downright predictable. With a yawn, she flipped to the back of the book and found her suspicion confirmed - the killer wasn't the creepy, shy boy, who was clearly the red herring, but the star player of the football team. Could the author have been more obvious?

She threw the book aside and rolled to her feet, stretching out her legs. Though it was barely 6:00 PM, she was already wearing her nightgown - it wasn't like she was gonna leave her prison and sanctuary either way. Even her brothers had stopped teasing her about her strange behavior months ago - apparently, they preferred to focus on her latest insecurities. Like the romance novel she dared borrow from the library a few weeks ago.

Lyra sighed, throwing herself onto her desk chair. She'd finished her homework within an hour of returning home - it had been super easy, as usual. Unfortunately, she didn't have anything fun to look forward to afterward. Even her lousy book had been worthless.

"Hey, Lyra!" called Jason, knocking on her door. "You dropped one of your library books outside earlier. Lucky for you, mom and dad didn't see it. They're still bitter about the one they had to pay for after you drenched it in the tub.

"Just leave it!" yelled Lyra irritably, cheeks blazing. Princesses were not supposed to be made fun of like this!

After listening to Jason's retreating footsteps, Lyra tiptoed to the door and cracked it open. She didn't recognize the little black book she found lying on the floor, but she scooped it up anyway. It was entitled 'Death Note'. Maybe it was overdue?

The mystery deepened when Lyra flipped through the pages and found them all blank. Was this just some pseudo-creepy notebook? Just before she could throw it aside, she glimpsed the text written on the inside of the cover.

The Death Note... was a tool to murder people?

Lyra snorted, shaking her head. As if anyone would fall for such a stupid prank! On a whim, she wrote the name of the boy who rejected her from the music club on the first page. It was all too easy to picture his ugly face! When she returned to school the next day and found that jerk alive and well, the Death Note's alleged power would be debunked. Just another idiot's dull attempt at horror!

She threw herself back onto her bed, willing herself to fall asleep. Within seconds, the Death Note was all but forgotten.

Strange World

Abby followed the red girl into a part of town that was oddly reminiscent of Los Angeles. She glanced backward as she entered. Cam was still keeping pace, more or less. Unlike Abby, she was unlikely to be familiar with this sort of setting. Even Abby had never been to a casino before - her parents would have killed her if they'd caught her in such a shady place.

A sharp tug at her heartstrings accompanied that thought. Her parents... they were only foster parents, of course, and they hadn't gotten along with her over the past year. But, for some reason, she missed them anyway.

"Stay close to me," she said, slowing for a moment to give her companion time to join her. Taking her hand, Abby jogged toward the red girl, who was floating into a building. Once inside, she dashed past slot machines and people playing card games at brightly lit tables. What were they gambling for, anyway? Money was useless in this city because everything was free. Shrugging the question off, Abby chased the red girl - who no one else seemed to notice - toward a heavy-looking metallic door that opened at her approach. Something about it gave Abby pause.

"I'll go in first, okay?" she said, glancing at Cam. "Just in case it isn't safe." Her mouth twisted into an odd frown as she spoke. Why was she getting all maternal, anyway? She ought to let the younger girl go first and risk whatever danger might be within?

No. She wouldn't do that. Following the red girl had been her choice.

Abby took a few tentative steps into the room on the other side of the door and glanced around, wary of danger.

Strange World

Is it even possible for Abby to follow your characters through the door? The Evette character sheet says one at a time.

Death Note(s)

Lyra listened with a growing frown on her face as the boy - Sif - explained that his father made he dress the way he was dressed so he would pick up girls. "Whatever!" she said, rolling her eyes before turning away. Sif didn't matter; since Lyra no longer had a reason to stay at school, her only choice was to hurry back home. If she was late, she'd be grounded for forever, club or not.

Gloomy clouds filled the sky as she walked briskly along the pavement, veering past chatting students and ignoring some jerk who whistled at her as she passed. His type had always pissed her off - he was exactly the sort of boy her parents were afraid of. If it weren't for people like him, she might actually be allowed a little freedom even without resorting to deceiving her parents with permission slips to join clubs she had no interest in attending. She hoped he tripped and broke his nose on his way home!

By the time she turned the corner onto the street she lived on, Abby had already come up with four other clubs she could try to join the next day. Immersed in her thoughts, she walked straight into her big brother, Jason.

"Watch it, kiddo," he said with an easy smile as he grabbed her by the arms, preventing a collision. "If I hadn't been keeping my eyes open, you might have tripped over my spare." He gestured toward the driveway, where a tire rested parallel to the pavement. Jason had been obsessed with his car ever since he got one for his 17th birthday. Lyra's other brothers had received vehicles of their own on their birthdays, but Lyra would never have any such luck - her parents didn't trust her to take care of herself.

"Just go away," she said sullenly, pushing past Jason and entering the house. Living with these people was gonna drive her insane!