The Intro III

Brooke Lyn finished washing her hands and listened for the sound of the john sucking the last of the water down to pipes, making sure that she had flushed. She opened the mirror up to reveal shelves filled from top to bottom with makeup, facial creams, brushes, and a multitude of brushes, combs, hair dryers, curlers, and straighteners. "What shall we do today?" she wondered aloud. "Hmmm, let's see, today consists of Creative Writing, PE, US History, lunch then Keyboarding II. PE sure limits what we can do with ourselves, now doesn't it?" Brooke Lyn then laughed at herself. "Being sleep deprived sure does make one loony doesn't it?" she said, giggling at the fact that she was asking herself a question and wondering what the answer was, even though the answer immediately followed her question and was never as insightful as she hoped it would be.

BANG! The door behind her shuddered on its hinges as she let out a small scream. "Honey, are you talking to someone?" her mom called out from the other side.

"No, I am fine, just getting ready for school!"

"OK, I thought I heard you talking to someone and wanted to make sure that you were okay. If you need anything let me know....Oh, and I love you."

Brooke Lyn rolled her eyes at her mom's last statement and deliberately said nothing as she waited for her mom to listen for a response, then slowly retreat down the hall to her room. She knew that her mom was just trying to do what was best for her, but she still felt bugged all the time.

Brooke Lyn was bugged that everyone seemed to be doing better than her. She was bugged that no matter how hard she worked, she always had less than everyone else. She was bugged that no matter how hard she worked at school, and no matter how good her grades were, everyone around her seemed to study less and do better. She was bugged that they had better clothes, better makeup, cars, and parents that seemed to do whatever they asked of them. She was bugged that her mom had to work, that her dad wasn't around (she knew absolutely nothing about him, other than she had to have his eyes), and that she didn't have a car (she smiled to herself as she thought about that. She knew she listed that one twice, she always did, but it really, Really, REALLY, bugged her that she didn't have a car. Everyone had a car but her). She was bugged that she had to work after school and on weekends, while her friends went to football games, dances, and each other's houses.

So, she took it out on her mom.

Turning back to the mirror she began readying herself for the day. She grabbed the small container of Estee Lauder eyeliner and began the process of applying her makeup. Everyday the same routine: first Estee Lauder, then Almay shadow and mascara. She put the liner on extremely thick, going for the "Avril Lavigne" look, knowing that her mom hated it. Besides, she listened to her mom once when she told Brooke Lyn she looked trashy and went without the eye makeup, but nobody even noticed her that day.

Then going from her eyes, to her cheeks, to her face, she completed the makeup ritual for the day, pulled her hair up in a pony tail, and strolled back to her room to get dressed. As she walked into her room, she glanced over to the large glass cage in the corner of the room that contained Fangel, her pet ferret. A look of concern crossed her face as she realized that he wasn't in his usual spot, in front of his burrow hole, watching intently for her to return to her room. "I wonder where he is," she wondered aloud, "looks like everyone is too busy to care what I am doing."

Shaking her head, she got ready for school, at breakfast, said goodbye to her mom and left for the day.

The Intro II

Brooke Lyn slowly awoke as her alarm bellowed through her room. I can't believe that it is six-thirty already she thought to herself as she pushed her blond curls out of her green eyes. "Whoever said that six hours of sleep a night was enough was crazy," she said aloud to no one as she slid out of bed and stumbled to turn off the wailing alarm. She took a deep breath and stared at her reflection in the mirror situated above her dresser across the room. She squinted her eyes wondering why they were so small. They seemed to be the right distance from her nose, but just too small top to bottom.

I wonder if this is what my dad's eyes looked like? Nevermind, she thought, he's not here anyways. No time to worry about this, I need to get ready for school. She turned away from the mirror and walked into the hallway, across the walkway and into the bathroom to pay her morning visit to the john, and begin the morning ritual that would make her look acceptable to herself and her friends.

As she left her room, she didn't notice the small pair of eyes that watched her every morning as she stood in front of the mirror, discrediting the beauty of her eyes then stumble off into the hallway. She didn't notice the eyes because every morning the eyes did the same thing. They blinked rapidly then turned away as she left. But this morning was different. This morning they stared off after her not looking away. This morning they took in every detail of every move she made, analyzing whether or not she was the one. This morning was crucial. Time was of the essence now, and there were no more mornings to waste. They needed to find out now what direction to take. They needed to know for sure how to prepare for the upcoming battles. They needed to know if she was the one, and if not, which one of the hundreds of possible ones was the chosen.

The small eyes watched as she left, thinking that she could not possibly be the one, wondering if his life would ever be the same. The one or not, I have a job to do, he thought to himself, slowly turning around, then climbed carefully into the hole at the back of the cage that led through the dirt and directly to a small opening to the outside world. The sooner I can be done with this girl, the sooner I can move on to a better prospect, he thought as he climbed up the bookcase and out the window that Brooke Lyn could never seem to remember to close.

The Intro

Lightning ripped through the sky and the rain began pelting the windows. The King sighed heavily as he looked out over the forest that rested below his vast kingdom. The wind tore through the tops of the trees and they groaned as the weight of the water pulled their branches to the ground.

“How can this be happening so soon? The learned told us that this wouldn’t happen for at least two hundred years. The preparations have begun, but they won’t be in place for another 75 years. We won’t have the manpower to man these stations for another 125 years. How can we possibly be to this stage of the prophecy? There is so much that hasn't happened yet."

"Are we sure this is really happening? There have been false alarms in the past. We are properly equipped to handle another small resurgence. The army is well trained, and if this is a false alarm, we can have it put down within a matter of days. All we need is the word, and the troops will be dispatched immediately."

"No, this is more than a false alarm. The lights in the east have begun to change, and there are other signs that point to the realizing of the prophecy. Not only is the opposition mounting their forces on our borders, the snakes have been rumored to be gathering together, and towards the west there have been rumors of restlessness among the reptiles. There are even rumored sightings of death adders."

"Death adders! They aren't on this continent. If those are even remotely true, then this is serious trouble. What are we going to do?"

The King turned from the window and towards the voices in the dark that were debating the kingdom's future. "We are sure the learned were correct in their estimations concerning the invasions?"

"Yes, your honor, they have been through them multiple times. Their estimations were always worst case scenarios."

The King furrowed his brow, sat down at his throne, and put on his robes. The voices in the dark immediately fell silent as they all listened for his command. "We must prepare now as if the learned were wrong. We must prepare today for the rest of our lives. If the rumors are true, then the end of our existence has begun and we must do everything we can to stop it. I want the army's mobilized, and the reserves activated. I want each member of this kingdom to prepare for the worst. And if this is the beginning of the end, then that means that the chosen one is out there, and we must find them at once. I want our fastest messengers sent out to the seekers. We must find the chosen immediately!"