tent rock pictures 

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More tent rock pictures

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Tent Rock Pictures 

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Rambling

SO I got my hair cut on Saturday. It is short enough to deal with now, and highlighted purple again. I am happy. We also had a good time with my brother visiting. We went to tent rocks and I was reminded again how uncapable of any climbing I truly am. But I did get some good pictures. I may post some later today, or not. I don't know yet.

Anyhow I have been having dreams again that remind me of exactly how lonely I am. It is a sad thing when you get waaay more action in your dreams than in real life. I'm not even talking home run action, I'm talking first and second base. Hugging and kissing. I just wish I could find someone who is nice, and right for me. I keep having these dreams in which I am with someone and happy, and then I wake up. Talk about suck.

Anyhow I know what you truly came for is the story. So here you go.

Torn
46

Maureen hadn’t even finished eating before Julius had drained the glass and headed back into the garage. She wanted to follow him and find out what the big secret was, but decided that he would let her know when he was ready.

She collected the dishes and took them into the kitchen to wash.

As she stood there washing the dishes she wondered how Scott would react to Julius. She wondered how Scott would react in general.

They were almost exact opposites, Scott and Julius. Julius was outwardly calm with an intense inner core. Scott was neither extreme, he seemed to exist in that place where any emotion could be brought forth as needed, but there was never one in particular that was present most of the time.

Then there was the whole business of the fighting. Scott had always seemed to live by the belief that there wasn’t a fight that couldn’t be talked down. Nothing could be so bad that a couple of beers and a night at the bar couldn’t even it out.

Life since Julius had arrived had taught Maureen differently. She couldn’t even start to guess at Scott’s reaction. Until this point they hadn’t even owned a knife that wasn’t for cooking use. Now she was able to use a sword, and magic.

Things had definitely changed in her life, and in a relatively short space of time.

Then there were the ever-present questions. Would she survive her battle with Jack? And if she did how long would she have before the war that Julius talked of?

Could she prepare her family for her possible death? Would she have enough time before Jack made his appearance?

Finally came the big questions. What would happen to her family? Would they survive, could they survive if she wasn’t there to protect them?

Dishes done she returned to the living room to await Julius’ reappearance.

***

She didn’t have to wait long. She had no more than sat down on the couch when Julius reappeared.

“Finished with the big secret?”

“Close you eyes.”

Maureen eyed him quizzically, then did as asked.

She felt something placed in her hands.

“Can I look now?” she asked once she was sure that he was done.

“Absolutely.”

She opened her eyes cautiously. What she saw in her hands didn’t immediately strike her as anything. But as she looked at it dawned on her what it was.

“Julius,” she asked with awe, “is this what I think it is?”

Julius merely nodded.

“How? Why?”

“After your death you father had decided to give most of your belongings to me. The dresses and trinkets I could do nothing with. But this… this reminded me of your strength. I wanted to remember you strong, fighting to protect others. I would always carry the other memories as well, but somehow this held special value to me. I think I know why now.”

“Julius… I cannot accept this.”

“Yes you can, and you will, as well as one of those swords. They were made for the both of us, and it is not fair for me to keep both.”

“You mean…?”

“Yes. Those swords that we have been practicing with are the same ones that were made for us. It is only proper that you have yours.”

“But it is not mine, it is hers.”

“She is you. I see the same strength in your eyes. I know the fire that burns in your soul is the same that burned in hers. I wouldn’t be here if I didn’t believe to the core that you and her are the same.”

Maureen was speechless.

“Try it on.”

“Surely it can’t…”

“I think that it will. And we won’t know until you try it on. So get to it.”

Maureen silently made her way to the bedroom.

She laid the outfit on the bed, reverently. She couldn’t believe what had been given her.

She expected the leather to be stiff, difficult to move in.

She was surprised to find it flexible, so much so that it was almost hard to believe that it was armor.

She walked over and examined herself in the mirror. It fit perfectly, skin tight. One area reflected the lamps in the bedroom.

She almost laughed. It reminded her of so many Hollywood heroines. She had always thought that the outfits must be horribly uncomfortable, now she knew better.

She was still examining herself in the mirror when Julius opened the door. He just stood in the doorway, watching.

He noticed something, and decided to fix it before she thought that it was correct.

He walked up behind her. She didn’t even notice his presence until he was right there. She jumped, and turned.

“You scared me.”

“It fits doesn’t it?”

“You were right. It fits perfectly.”

“Good. Now turn around.”

“Wh…”

“Just do it,” he said before she could even finish the single word question.

He pulled loose a knot at the back of her neck, and retied it.

“Okay.”

“What was that about?”

“Your neck guard was too loose. Those things have a nasty habit of loosening up during a fight, it is better to tie it snug at first than to have it fall off during a battle.”

“Oh.”

“If it’s okay with you I would like for you to practice with that on in the mornings from now on, while it is still cold. You need to get used to it.”

Maureen smiled her agreement.

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Memorial Day

So I am on Dial-up because I am at home today. Thus this post will only be the next chapter.
Happy Reading!

Torn
45

Malchevio had news. Unfortunately he had to share the news with Jack.

It wasn’t quite nightfall yet, but his orders were to tell Jack immediately.

He had to be careful exiting the village. The villagers were wary since the fire, unusual activity was sure to prompt unwanted questions. And if the answers didn’t suit the villagers’ moods then he was sure to be watched.

He wished again that Jack hadn’t set the fire. It had only caused more problems for him.

He considered using an invisibility spell, but dismissed it for fear of another mage noticing. The last thing he needed was a nosy mage trying to follow him to find out what secrets were so important that they required a spell of invisibility.

He pulled his cloak tight around him. It was too hot for it, but the dark color would help to disguise him when he entered the burnt forest.

He slipped out of his house and into a nearby alley. It would take longer, but he was far less likely to encounter anybody else in the alley.

He considered himself lucky that it was dinnertime. The streets would have fewer people on them for that reason alone.

He exited the alley onto a lonely back lane. This was the most dangerous part. The lane led directly past the main entrance to the village. Since he needed to get to the other side there was no avoiding going this way.

He just hoped that if anybody saw him they would just assume that he was doing something unimportant and leave him alone. He didn’t want anybody to see his face. If they did then he might never be allowed through.

***

It was dark by the time that he reached the cave. He had heard screaming coming from the direction of the cave when he had been in the forest, but the screams had ended just about the time he exited it.

He strode across the open space between the edge of the forest and the cave. His cloak flapped; open since he entered the forest.

He entered the cave, and lit a torch. Without it the cave was too dark for him to see.

He had gone almost all the way to the back of the cave before he found Jack.

Jack was once again pouting over the elf.

“Dead?”

Jack smiled. “No, not yet. Just too weak to handle me. I’ll just get started and he’ll pass out again.”

“Well, maybe it’s a good thing. He’ll keep your interest for these last few days.”

Jack turned and faced Malchevio. “That sounds like a promising statement.”

“That it is. I got an update, and we really are in the last few days.”

Jack’s smile grew. “How long?”

“Two more full days, then we move.”

Malchevio thought that the smile would crack Jack’s face.

Jack finally asked the question that Malchevio had expected. “How did they manage to make it? The last time I saw you I was told that at least a week was left.”

“By the time they are ready it will have been exactly a week.”

“Who had to die to make the deadline? I had been expecting at least a few more days.”

“Some general on a power trip. Now anybody else who had thought that they were high and mighty has been reduced to their proper places. Eliminate the power trips and eliminate the delays.”

If Jack’s smile could have grown any bigger it would have. However, being restrained by his face it turned into a sinister leer.

“And the girl?”

“She fell ill a couple of days ago. She was to lose at least two days of training.”

Jack shouted his triumph.

Malchevio waited in silence while Jack celebrated.

Jack started to calm down.

“I will come back day after tomorrow. We will finalize your preparations then.”

Jack picked up the limp body of the elf and danced it around the room in a morbid display.

“Think he’ll last that long?” Malchevio asked Jack of the elf.

Jack stopped his dancing, and looked at the face of his victim.

“Yeah, I’ll make sure of it.”

“Is there anything that I should know, or anything that you need when I come back?”

“Just don’t come back and tell me that there is another postponement.”

“Then I’ll take my leave of you.”

Malchevio had barely walked five steps when he was halted by Jack’s voice.

“Malchevio.”

He turned. “Yes?”

“I sense that you have other news for me.”

“Yes, I do. But it is of no use at this time. I will tell you when I return.”

He started walking again, not wanting Jack to press the issue.

He heard Jack’s footsteps follow him to the cave’s exit.

He had just stepped out onto the grass when he heard Jack one more time.

“Will I like this news when I hear it?”

Malchevio turned and spoke into the darkness. “Yes, I believe you will.”

He turned to face the forest again and left.

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Better weather

Ahh. Another day of cooler weather. It's great, i had felt like my brain was frying from the heat.

My brother should show up sometime tonight. It's his birthday. He will probably enjoy the cooler weather as well. Down where he is it has been ion the 100's all week. Yuck!

Anyway, I am thinking of taking a day or two to work on something else before going through another edit of Torn. My mother asked how it would sell at all if I can't stand another read right now. I reminded her that at this point to me it would be like reading the same book three times in a row, twice within the same week. She understood a little at that point. She also had me print off a copy for her to read. Now my laser printer is claiming to be nearly out of toner.

Which leads to my next big desision. My laser printer is fairly old and toner is hard to find. At last check I can get toner for about $60, but I can get a new printer for not much more.

So what does everybody think? Replace the old printer, which does have other issues than just low toner, or buy a new printer?

While you think on that here is the next chapter.

Torn
44

The first thing that Maureen did upon reentering the house was to head to the shower.

She had always wondered why it always seemed that she needed a shower immediately after playing in water. She wondered it again as the hot water washed over her.

She finally decided that this time it was the sunscreen. It always felt so greasy, and she hated having it on if she wasn’t actually in the sun.

She sniffed at her collection of soaps until she found one that she decided suited her mood. She squeezed a small amount onto her sponge.

The lather was soft and full. She could almost feel the stress being washed away with the dirt.

She was so comfortable that she was almost disappointed when it was time for her to get out.

***

Julius was quite as pleased with his shower. The main reason was that he had never experienced the shower before. All his experiences with the act of cleaning oneself was with water brought by the bucket from the lake if it was to be heated, or directly in the lake if not.

Hot water from above was definitely different.

He also didn’t understand the different cleaning implements. Maureen had pointed them out to him, but he finally decided that the basic washcloth would suffice.

She had shown him how to operate the foreign thing, and then had disappeared to the other bathroom for her own shower.

He was almost over the newness of the shower when it came time for the soap.

The soaps that he was used to stank compared to this. Animal fats and weeks of sitting before it could even be used was what he was used to.

This soap had perfumes in it, and he could smell the underlying chemicals. It was nothing like the natural soaps that he knew.

He grimaced, wondering how well it would cleanse him.

As he stepped from the shower he was not as disappointed as he thought he might have been. At least the soap had removed the greasy feel of the sunscreen.

***

Julius ended up beating Maureen out of the shower.

She had insisted on washing what clothes of his could be washed while they were outside playing with the water. He retrieved his freshly cleaned clothes, and put them back on.

He thought that he smelled the chemicals from the soap again, and then realized that it was the cleaner that she had put in with his clothing.

He did notice one advantage; his clothes were softer than they had been in many years.

She still hadn’t emerged, even after he had finished dressing.

He decided that the time was right.

***

Maureen came out of the bedroom still rubbing her head with a towel.

She had put on a pair of shorts and a sleeveless top. It would be the most comfortable in the heat that remained.

She didn’t see Julius as she went through the living room and kitchen. She figured that he must either be getting dressed, or doing his own thing.

He would find her when he was ready.

In the meanwhile she had decided that it was time to make dinner.

It was too hot, even with the air conditioning, to make dinner in the kitchen.

She went out back and started the grill, giving it time to heat up.

She went back to the kitchen and started seasoning her meat and making a foil container so that she could roast some vegetables at the same time.

Ready to decide on her vegetables she looked in the refrigerator. She found broccoli, summer squash, and cherry tomatoes. Perfect.

She finished preparing the food and went back out to check on the grill. It was hot enough.

She made the round trip to recover the food and enjoyed the sizzle as the fresh meat hit the grill.

She finished grilling just before the mosquitoes came out.

Putting the plate on the counter she grabbed a bottle of water from the fridge and made her way to the living room to eat.

She was surprised to see that Julius was still not to be seen.

Deciding that her food could cool a moment she returned to the kitchen and sliced a bloodroot the way that she had seen Julius do it. She drained it and returned to the living room.

Julius was still not there. She called him.

There was a shuffling noise in the garage. She headed toward it.

She found Julius rummaging through his bag. He was hiding something, but she couldn’t even begin to guess what it was.

“Dinner is ready.”

“Ok, I’ll be right there.”

She stepped a little into the garage. “What is that you’ve got there?”

He quickly shoved the thing out of sight. “Nothing.”

“I saw something, what is it?”

“You’ll see later.” With that he led her by the elbow out of the garage.

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Almost cold.

Yeah! I woke up to see clouds. It is much cooler today. I am happy for it. The heat had been unseasonable.

Since there are fires again I hope that it rains and helps out the firefighters. Those guys can use every drop that the sky will give.

In other news I am done with the first readthrough/edit of my book. I plan to do at least one more before sending it off, maybe two. It's still hard for me to believe that I actually did it, that I actually got one of my stories out of my head and onto paper (sort of :-)).

So here comes the next chapter.

Torn
43

It took Julius a little bit of time to figure out the game. He had never known of things like garden hoses and pressure nozzles, and thus had never participated in a water fight like this.

However, once he figured it out he enjoyed it completely. He also understood why he had been asked to change. His clothes would have been soaked and not only would have been uncomfortable, it would have been extremely difficult to move.

There was another advantage that he saw to the game. Since the object was to soak your opponent while staying dry, it helped in defensive maneuvering. He wished that he had known of this game earlier, and had the tools to play it in his world. Not only was it fun, but it was excellent as a training tool.

Maureen wasn’t as happy. She was having an excellent time, but was still having no luck with controlling water.

She was running, trying to get in another shot at Julius. She slipped on the wet grass. She didn’t fall, but it was a close thing.

Julius saw this. He ran over to check on her, and promptly slipped on the grass himself. He was laughing all the way down.

Maureen was laughing as well. She knelt by Julius, trying to make sure that he was all right. He pulled her down to the grass, and then pulled the hose from her hand.

He got one good shot of water off before she was up and moving to retrieve the hose that he had left behind when he had run over to check on her.

The game was back on.

***

They continued to play for the better of the afternoon.

At some point the rules changed, and both of them started to use magic.

Soon enough the water was being blocked by walls of flame, sucked into swirling vortices, or used in mud attacks.

Julius tried not to directly alter the water until Maureen was able to control the water as well. He decided that everybody would be happier if the terms were even.

Both were pleased with Maureen’s success. She was easily able to defend herself from the water with the other magic that she had learned. At the same time her abilities were growing.

Julius pushed her in the name of fun, and she responded exactly as he wanted. His only wish was that she be able to control water.

He hoped that the ability would present itself by the end of the next day. He worried that if it did not she wouldn’t have enough time to develop it before she had to fight.

Tired, they retreated to the patio for a short break.

“You’re coming along.”

“I still can’t do a thing with water.”

“I know, but I hope that will change soon.”

“Me too.”

Silence. Both were trying to figure out a new approach that would help her learn to control water. Coming up with nothing new, Julius stepped down off of the patio.

Maureen watched as the vampire headed for the hose, picked it up, and shot a stream of water at her.

Her arms were dripping as Julius walked back to sit down again.

“It was worth a try.”

Maureen shook her arms off. “Yeah, I guess.”

“You have any better suggestions?”

Maureen thought about it for a minute. “No.”

“Then I think that we’ll just continue this until you get it.”

“It’s definitely a lot more fun than staring at a glass of water for hours.”

“And you get to work on other skills at the same time.”

“I didn’t even notice that I was doing it for the longest time.”

“That’s exactly what I was hoping to hear.”

“Why?”

“It means that you are starting to react instinctively to attacks. You fight better if you don’t have to think about it.”

Maureen thought about it. “True, but what if the attack is mostly physical? I don’t have those same reactions to physical attacks.”

“Yes you do.”

Maureen raised an eyebrow.

Julius almost didn’t catch the motion, but responded when he did.

“I watched you out there. If you couldn’t use magic to fend off an attack you were usually able to move out of the way. You were also able to turn and use the open space to attack me. If that isn’t a physical reaction I don’t know what is.”

He smiled. She returned the smile.

He walked over to her. “Kyra, you have all the skills. Now it is just a matter of refining them, even the water. You have the ability; you just need to find it.”

“How do I find something that I have spent days looking for?”

“Stop looking.”

Maureen almost glared at him, then reconsidered when she realized that his statement made sense.

“I don’t know if I can,” she said after a moment.

“Like I said earlier, don’t allow the stress to overcome you. Right now you are so worried that you won’t be able to work with water that you are causing your own inability.”

“So what do we do about it?”

Julius paused, how would he force her to forget about working with water and help try to encourage it at the same time?

“Let’s do this again tomorrow, but worry more about strengthening your other skills than developing that of water. You showed promise today in everything else, let’s build on that.”

“Are you sure?”

“Yes, let’s rule out water a factor. If you get strong enough in everything else you will still have an excellent chance of at least countering whatever Jack might throw at you.”

“And the rest of today?”

“Well I don’t know about you, but I think that it is getting a little too cold to continue playing with water.”

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Better Bird Behavior

So Teioh is finally starting to behave again. Not completely, but he's better than he has been the past few days. So I have hope for that bird again, even though I have been bit so much the past few days I am still worried to even get my hand near him.

Anyhow, Editing is going good. I am more than a thrid of the way through on this first readthrough/edit, and not many changes are being made.

Anyway, here comes chapter 42 for you.

Torn
42

The afternoon was exactly what Maureen had hoped for. The heat was nearly unbearable, and her plan would perfectly offset the heat.

She was rummaging around in the garage. Julius was confused as to why, but she still wouldn’t tell him.

She finally found what she was looking for at the bottom of a pile.

“Ah-ha,” she exclaimed as she pulled a green coil from the bottom of the pile.

Julius was still confused. Maureen pulled some metal things off of a shelf and walked out of the garage.

He followed.

Maureen almost made it out to the patio when she turned and looked at Julius.

“That won’t do at all.”

“Excuse me?”

“I was going to set up and then go change, but you’ll need something different to wear as well.”

“Why?”

“Because what you’re wearing would be horribly uncomfortable.”

“What do you have in mind then?”

“You’ll see.”

Maureen put her finds on the patio and returned to the air-conditioned inside.

She went to the bedroom. Julius stayed in the living room.

He could hear her rummaging in the bedroom, but he had no idea what he was looking for.

“Found it,” he heard her exclaim from the bedroom. “Julius, come in here.”

Curious, Julius did as asked.

“Try these on,” he heard as a wad of fabric hit him in the chest.

“What is it?” he asked as he held up the scrap of fabric.

“Swim trunks. I bought them for Scott, but he said that he didn’t like the color, so they’ve never been worn. I think that they’ll fit you.”

“What goes with it?”

“That’s it.”

Julius grew pale.

“Are you sure?”

“Yes, you would be incredibly uncomfortable in your clothes. Just trust me”

She dug around in another drawer, and soon pulled free another small scrap of fabric.

“Go into the bathroom in the hall and try that on. I’ll put on mine, and I’ll meet you back here in a minute.”

Maureen disappeared into the bathroom off of the bedroom. Julius eyed once again the piece that he was to try on, and then went where he was directed to try it on.

He tried the thing on. It was a little loose, but he found a string that he could use to tighten it.

He felt naked. Not only did he have too much skin exposed, but he didn’t have any armor on with this thing. He pulled a towel from the rack and wrapped it around himself.

He had barely walked into the room when Maureen walked out of her bathroom. She had a towel as well, but hers was folded and slung over her shoulder.

Julius couldn’t help but stare. The red suit offset perfectly the tone in her skin, and her pulled-back hair just barely brushed the back of her neck. She came out with a bottle in one hand and the other rubbing her arm.

“Oh, good. I see you grabbed a towel. Here, put some of this on.” She threw the bottle at him. He had to choose to either let the bottle fall to the floor, or drop the towel. He barely caught the bottle.

Maureen was concentrating on making sure that all of the sunscreen was rubbed in.

“What is this?” asked Julius.

“Sunscreen. It’s a lotion. Rub it on and protects your…” She looked up and finally saw his bare skin. It was covered with the scars of battle. She walked over and traced with a finger one long scar that ran down his arm.

Julius used the other hand to redirect her attention to him. “Kyra?”

She stood as if mesmerized, continuing to trace the ancient scars.

“Kyra?”

She shook her head and looked at his face. “It protects your skin from the sun.”

She went back to tracing his scars. “So many…” she murmured to herself.

“I told you that we are a hunted species. Some of these I earned the night that you died. Most I earned defending my right to exist.”

They stood that way, silent, for several minutes. Finally Julius pushed her away.

“We don’t want to waste the day in here like this.”

“You’re right. Can you put some sunscreen on my back?”

Julius squeezed a small amount of the lotion onto his hand. He rubbed it onto Maureen’s back, grimacing at the greasy feel of it.

When he finished Maureen said, “Turn around. I’ll get your back.”

He did as asked, still grimacing at the greasy feel of it.

Finally they were done preparing. Julius still had no idea what Maureen had in mind, and was hoping that it was worth the nakedness, and the grease.

They went outside.

“Give me a minute while I finish setting up.”

Julius waited on the steps of the patio while Maureen went around to the side of the house with the green coil and metal bits.

She returned a minute later and handed Julius the end of the green thing, with one of the metal bits attached.

She then walked over to another green rope lying on one side of the lawn and attached the other metal bit to the end of it.

She returned to the house and turned something protruding from the house.

She walked back to the steps. “Ready?” she asked.

“For what?”

Maureen grinned mischievously, and then laughed as a burst of water hit Julius square in the middle of his chest.

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Another blog quiz

Ok, sometimes I just have to try these things. I liked this one, so I'll share it.

You scored as Cultural Creative. Cultural Creatives are probably the newest group to enter this realm. You are a modern thinker who tends to shy away from organized religion but still feels as if there is something greater than ourselves. You are very spiritual, even if you are not religious. Life has a meaning outside of the rational. Cultural Creative 88% Materialist 69% Romanticist 69% Idealist 56% Existentialist 56% Postmodernist 50% Modernist 44% Fundamentalist 19% What is Your World View? (corrected...again) created with QuizFarm.com

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Editing

Sucks! I wrote it, so I deided with the story fresh in my mind it was good to go right back for the first edit. This is actually hard. You get second thoughts about your own work, and wonder if it is good enough for other people to read.

So my goal for now is to clarify funny spots and make minor chages to streamline the story, along with the expected typo correction.

Tigger is doing fine, and Teioh is still a bitey bird. Honey chirps.

For now that is my life, and I bought more trail mix.

Torn
41

The morning was cool. Maureen sat on the patio playing with the air currents.

Julius looked on, pleased with her ability with air. She was able to use air as an effective attack, and was developing rapidly the ability to use air as a defense.

Maureen had also finally had some success with earth late the previous day. It wasn’t much, but anything was better than nothing.

Maureen continued to play with the air as she tried to decide how to ask the question that had come to her the night before.

“I’d tone that down a little if you want your plants to survive.”

Maureen focused on the small whirlwind, at least she thought it had been small. While she had been thinking of other things it had grown larger than her and if it grew any bigger it would be visible from the other side of the house. She quickly reeled it in.

“Sorry,” she said, a blush creeping into her face. “Had something on my mind.”

“Well, let’s get that something taken care of before you blow us out of here.”

Maureen let the whirlwind dissipate.

“Not that I’m eager to get things going, but why is this whole battle thing taking so long?”

“Training, equipment, plans. All of those take time. Our side has been mostly prepared for some time. We have used the extra time for strengthening, but the other side… Well, let’s just say that the infighting in evil slows them down a little.”

“So why don’t we just attack them?”

Julius took a deep breath, not knowing exactly how to answer.

He finally decided how he wanted to respond.

“I would like to say that we don’t want to, but that is not the case. We have initiated some skirmishes, but have never staged a massive attack.

I think the main things holding us back are the rules. Those who have set up this whole affair keep both sides in check until they are ready to make their moves. When there have been those who have decided to take things into their own hands, they usually end up disappearing. If a group tries to speed things up they usually runs into problems that either kill the group or make their plans impossible.

It was decided on our side this time to wait for the other side to make their move. We have been ready for some time, but we also knew that it was just better to wait. They have been in intense preparation for most of the recent months. But luckily for you they still are not ready.”

“So how long do we have left?”

“Days.”

Maureen grew pale. “Days?”

“Days.”

“How many?”

“I don’t know, nor do I care. If we allow ourselves to worry about it now we you training will cease. If the time comes as a surprise we will both know that you were as prepared as possible.”

“I really don’t understand that logic.”

“Let’s say that I did know an exact time. You then would know it as well, and your focus would be on how much time you have left. Your stress levels would rise, and with it your concentration drops. Less concentration means that your training is less effective, and therefore you are not as prepared.”

Maureen thought about it for a moment.

“I guess that it does make sense. I just wish that I knew.”

“No, you don’t.”

Maureen started playing with the air currents again. She couldn’t decide if she was happy with the answer or not.

“Would you take an opportunity right now if it presented itself?”

“Absolutely, but we have not been so lucky. Precautions have been taken on both sides to prevent attacks before we are ready. Therefore we cannot easily pick them off, and we are stuck waiting for them. Believe me, if things were different we would most likely already be fighting, as much as we dislike the idea.”

“And me?”

“If we could have taken out Jack, we would have. But I would have still been sent to train you.”

Maureen was silent, accepting her role.

Julius watched for a while.

“So you said that you had an idea for water today, but you have been working with air so far. Want to share your thoughts?”

“No. You’ll see what I have in mind later, when it gets a little warmer. It’s still too cool for water.”

The phone rang. Maureen ran inside to answer.

“Maureen?”

“Scott!” Maureen was ecstatic to hear from her husband. “Does this mean that things are clearing up there?”

“Sure does baby.”

“That’s great! When can I expect to see you home?”

“Well, the roads are still flooded. But they are expecting that they will be passable day after tomorrow. We will wait until the day after to leave”

“So in three days.”

“You got it.”

“Oh, I can’t wait. I have missed you so much”

“I’ve missed you too.”

“I guess I shouldn’t force you to tie up your parents’ phone, but if Karen’s available I’d like to talk to her as well.”

“She thought that you’d never ask. Hold on let me hand her the phone.”

Maureen heard the phone being handed over, and promptly dropped in her daughter’s excitement.

“Mommy!”

“Hi sweetie. Did you see the water?”

“Naw, it was rainin too hard.”

“Have you been good for Grandma and Grandpa?”

“Uh-huh.”

“What did you do while it was raining?”

“I played blocks, an helped Gramma make cookies, an colored.”

“Is that all?”

“Uh-huh.”

“Well I’m sure that Grandma and Grandpa need to use the phone too. So we need to say good-bye now.”

“Nooooo.”

“Yes, Karen. I’ll see you in a few days, and we’ll go out for ice cream.”

“Promise?”

“Promise. Now give the phone back to Daddy. I love you”

“I love you too. Bye Mommy.”

“Bye Karen.”

Maureen waited as the phone changed hands again. “Be safe on your return home. If the roads don’t look passable don’t try it ok?”

“I’ll be safe, don’t worry about that. I’m looking forward to that ice cream too.”

Maureen laughed. “She’s already excited about that, isn’t she?”

“You know it babe… My mother is asking for the phone, so we better finish up.”

“All right, I’ll see you in a few days. I love you.”

“I love you too. Bye.”

“Bye.” Maureen hung up the phone.

“I take it they’re ok?”

Maureen turned and hugged Julius. “They’re absolutely fine. They’ll be home in a few days.”

“That’s good.

Now that your mind’s been eased shall we get back to work?”

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Tigger 

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DONE!!!

So I pulled it out this weekend. I managed to finish torn. It topped out at 62 chapters. so that means slightly more than twenty posts till you all get the end.

In other news I got a new bird this weekend. It is another cockatiel and it's name it Tigger. It is too young to know if it is a boy or girl yet, but I think it's another boy bird.

I'll try to get a good pic of Tigger up soon.

Here is chapter 40. And you can start counting the days to the end.

Torn
40

Night had fallen and Jack was thoroughly enjoying himself.

The elf had woken, and Jack was ready to play.

He had decided to start soft. Since he had been asleep the elf hadn’t eaten in days. Jack had tied up the elf, and ate a huge meal while the elf could do nothing but look on. He then gave the elf the food that had spoiled, and when the elf tried not to eat it he forced it upon him.

He normally wouldn’t have fed his toys even that much, but he figured that the elf would need some food in order to survive what Jack was planning next.

Jack had a hard time restraining his laughter.

***

Malchevio approached the cave cautiously. He hadn’t approached since his last talk with Jack, and was worried about Jack’s mood.

He heard laughter coming from the cave, and then a groan followed.

He turned around. What he had to say to Jack could wait. He didn’t want to know the fun Jack was having.

***

The elf was obviously weak, but as soon as he saw Jack approaching with spiders his struggling against the bonds increased.

“Don’t bother,” Jack said with a smile. “Even if you do manage to break those bonds you will never get out of the cave.”

The elf pretended not to hear, he just continued struggling.

Jack laughed. The elf stopped struggling long enough to glare at him, but then the elf’s eyes grew round with fear. Jack wondered what caused the look, and then he saw one of his spiders rounding the top of his shoulder. Up to that point Jack had been standing with his hands behind his back, but with the game revealed he brought them forward to show the elf the spiders crawling all up and down Jacks arms.

The elf screamed.

Jacks’ smile grew.

The elf’s struggles grew frantic, but he only succeeded in knocking over the chair.

Jack took his time in walking over to the elf. He was enjoying the show. The spiders were under his control, so he was only slightly tickled as they moved about. They dare not bite him, no matter how much they wanted to.

Jack reached to elf, and just stood over him for a moment. He allowed one of the spiders to slowly approach the elf. The elf started screaming as the single spider approached. It dropped onto his chest, and Jack could taste the terror.

He kneeled next to the elf. The first spider was merely running around on his chest, it hadn’t even been allowed to bite yet.

Jack thought that the elf’s eyes would pop out of his face, they were so wide. The elf couldn’t tear his eyes from the mass of spiders crawling over Jack.

Jack allowed the terror to grow until the elf started to think that Jack wouldn’t put the rest of the spiders on him. He even called the one spider back to him.

The elf started to relax.

Jack grabbed the elf’s head, and with a single thought allowed the spiders to swarm over his face. Angry and hungry the spiders bit into whatever flesh they could find, hoping to find something that could be considered food.

Once all of the spiders had moved onto the elf Jack retrieved his hands.

He was glad to get a little distance between himself and the elf. The screams had been painful in such close proximity.

Jack sat in a chair, and closed his eyes.

The screams sounded sweet. It had been too long since he had last played like this. The terror was so thick it could almost be cut with a knife.

Jack relished in the screams of the elf until they faded away.

He walked over to examine his victim. As he thought the elf had passed out from fear and exhaustion.

The spiders were loosing interest in the elf and were starting to scatter. Jack gathered them back up; he wasn’t done with them yet.

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Swamp coolers

My god has it been HOT. It's not even the end of may and we are experiencing temperatures in the friggin 80's. I hope that this is not an indicator of the summer.

Because of the heat my dad started up the swamp cooler yesterday. Now if you don't know what a swamp cooler is, it is a big humidifier. Since it is so dry out here just adding moisture to the air is usually enough to cool.

Now I said that hope that this heat is not expected all summer. This is because once the rainy season hits the swamp coolers are worth squat. If it is already humid then humidifying is worthless.

I hope it cools down some.

Last chapter of part 2.

Torn

39

The day had turned hot and humid. Eventually they were uncomfortable out on the patio. They retreated to the air conditioning of the house.

Maureen was becoming increasingly frustrated. She was able to control very small pockets of air, and was getting better with air and fire, but still had no success whatsoever with earth or water.

Julius had set the glass of water in front of her again. She stared at it, trying to make it do something.

She thought that she was getting somewhere. The surface of the water appeared to ripple, and then flames erupted on the surface.

She gave up, disgusted. The flames fizzled out.

“I can’t do it.”

Julius merely looked at her. He had argued the statement before and was not in the mood to argue it again.

“I’m telling you Julius, I just can’t do it.”

“Nonsense!”

Maureen was surprised at the sudden forcefulness in Julius’ voice.

“Kyra, I know that you are having a hard time at this. But you need to get past these feelings of inability. You will never get this if you believe that you can’t do it.”

Julius walked out of the room.

Maureen sat in stunned silence. She didn’t know what to say or do.

Soon enough Julius reentered the room. He found Maureen concentrating on the glass of water.

She hadn’t noticed him, so he walked back out to the patio. He sat down in one of the chairs. He was starting to worry, he wondered if she had enough time. Could she learn enough magic to defend herself?

He lost track of time sitting there.

He was brought to the present when he heard her approaching footsteps.

He turned to face her. “Any luck?”

Her scowl and silence were answer enough.

He went into the kitchen, got what he wanted and returned.

He walked up to Maureen and before she knew it she had the contents of a glass of water flying at her.

She was drenched, and understandably angry

“What was that for?”

“To make sure you weren’t faking the inability to work with water.”

“Why in God’s name would I fake something like that?”

“Because you are convinced that you can’t work with water.”

“So are you satisfied now?”

“No.”

“Why the hell not?”

“Because I won’t be until you can work with water. I can see that other methods are failing, so we’re going to teach you how to block water.” He then threw another glass at her.

Doubly drenched Maureen went into the house to look for a towel.

***

It was close to an hour before she returned to the patio.

She had changed to a lightweight summer dress that close fit her body.

Julius couldn’t help but stare.

“Don’t you dare throw more water on me.”

Julius gawked at her. “Are you still upset about that?”

He barely got the question out before his face was dripping.

“Gotcha.”

“I can’t say that I didn’t deserve it, but you still need to work on your water and earth magic.”

“We’ll work on water tomorrow. I have a better idea than throwing glasses of water at each other.”

“So then do you plan to work with earth and air for the rest of today?”

“Maybe later, but while I was inside cooling off I remembered something you said earlier. I want you to clarify.”

Julius thought back to what he had said since he had met her, but could think of nothing right away that she would have questions about.

Finally, “Ok, what is it?”

“When I first met you I asked if you had a family. You said that you had a mate, but no offspring. Is that the truth, or were you trying to protect me?”

Julius walked over to her and with her chin cupped in his hand he raised her face so that he could look into her eyes.

“I would never lie to you. I may omit some truths in order to protect you, but I would never lie.”

“So you really do have a mate back home?”

“Yes, I do.” He let go of her.

“Does she know? Know about… about…?”

He moved back to the chair, and sat down. “Yes. I didn’t feel right not telling her about it. She was aware from the beginning. She knew that there would always be a place in my heart for you.”

“And she still let you come here?”

“Yes. She knows what is in my heart. She knows that I care deeply for her and wouldn’t betray her.”

Maureen smiled.

“Tell me about her.”

Julius was confused. “Why?”

“Because I want to know.”

“Ok.

To start off, she is nothing like you were. You were demure and proper, with a fierce core. She is very opinionated, and doesn’t care who hears. But she hides behind this shell as her she lacks the confidence that you had.”

“Is she from the community?”

“No. Her community was attacked. The situation prevented them from rebuilding and they were forced to scatter to other communities that could take in refugees.”

“Do you love her?”

Julius was shocked at the forwardness of the question. He was silent as her considered how to answer the question.

“She is my mate. I love her as such. I love her as a friend. The love isn’t as strong as ours was, but I am comfortable in it.”

Maureen was satisfied.

“Anything else?”

Maureen shook her head.

“Good, let’s get you ready to fight.”

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Religion

SO I found out a few days ago that my grandmother is one of those people who believe that the bible is the absolute truth. Now she was raised in a different time, and I understand that the belief as such is part of her upbringing.

What amazes me is that there are people who want their children to hold as deep a belief. I can understand that people want their children to believe in religion, but at what cost.

This comes up as there is once again a debate between creationism and evolution. I am all for children learning the story of how god made the world, but it needs to be taught in church, not school. School needs to be the place where children learn of science. Where the wonders of what has been discovered is revealed.

My biggest concern is what happens with these children when they get out of creationist systems and into hard science systems. How difficult a time will they have catching up to what others learned years earlier? Will they be able to catch up at all?

In a time when science is driving changes in society is this the way people should be headed. Parents should think of the oppertunities available to their children, and not hinder them. Religion has a place, but not in what is taught in school.

And for those who are truly opposed to evolution, maybe convince your school to send permission slips. Don't hinder the children of others because you want your kids to be held back scientifically. Your kids are your responsibility, but don't harm others.

Finally, consider other religions. Maybe they have a serious problem with the intellegent design theory, maybe they also don't like evolution. Would you want another religion imposed on your children? They probably don't either. So stop trying to impose religion on the children, and come up with a sensible compromise.

Ok, what you really came for.

Torn
38

After three tries she was able to get through.

“Scott?” she said, trying to be heard through static in the line.

“Maur…”hiss. “Cant’ he…”

Maureen decided that it was useless. She yelled into the phone, “Call me when the service is better.”

The call was disconnected on the other end. She hoped that her message had got through.

She hung up the phone.

Julius could see the concern on her face.

“What’s wrong?”

“Line was full of static. We couldn’t hear each other. I hope that they’re ok.”

“They’re probably fine,” Julius said with a smile.

“I hope so.”

Maureen limped back out to the patio.

Seeing a place with a little bit of sun she pulled a chair over and sat down.

She closed her eyes, soaking up the sun. A cool breeze blew over her. She couldn’t remember being so comfortable in a long time. She leaned back in the chair, making it recline.

Julius stood in the doorway, looking at her. He wanted so badly to just let her rest, but he felt time slipping away. They had already lost two days, and could ill afford to lose any more.

Still he watched, not wanting to disturb her.

Maureen sensed him there, but thought that he would eventually either sit down or decide to do something.

Finally disturbed by the silence, “Julius, why don’t you pull up a chair?”

Julius walked over and did as requested. It sounded like a good idea anyway as he still hadn’t decided what to do that day anyway.

Maureen was concerned by the continued silence. She opened her eyes and sat up. “What’s wrong?”

Julius remained silent and contemplative. Finally, “I’m trying to decide how we should continue with the training.”

“And?”

“I want to let you relax as much as possible over the next couple of days, but we need to get back to training. I also want you to stay off of that ankle at least through tomorrow.”

Maureen grimaced. She didn’t want to think about the foolishness that led to her hurting herself.

“I’m sorry.”

Julius was confused. “For what?”

“For going and getting myself hurt. I should have controlled myself.”

Julius walked over, knelt at her side and placed his hand on her shoulder. “You were emotional, and I threw another log on the fire. Eventually things like that just overwhelm you. It’s not your fault.”

Maureen smiled at him.

He stood up and returned to the other chair. Maureen just watched in silence.

“I think that you could easily find the answer, unless something else is on your mind.”

Julius looked at her. “You’re probably right.”

“So what is it?”

Julius shook his head. “I don’t know.”

He stood up and started pacing the patio. Maureen watched, wondering what could have so agitated the vampire.

“I just don’t know what to focus on,” he said finally.

“What do you mean?”

“I don’t know how much time we have left, and I don’t know his strengths and weaknesses. So I don’t know what to focus on.”

“Well, what’s left?”

Julius stopped. He thought about it for a moment. “Not much when I think about it. We really just need to strengthen your existing skills, and work out the few remaining problems.”

“Like what?”

“Well… your magic isn’t as strong as I’d like it to be. You are fine with fire, but the other elements still seem to give you problems. You seem to have had some success with air, but none at all with earth and water.”

“Then let’s start there.”

“You sure?’

“Unless you’d rather go back to physical training,” she said with a smile in her voice.

Julius laughed. “You have a point.”

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Sleepy

I have been writing late at night again. Unfortunately, this conflicts with the whole morning thing.

It gets to be a nasty cycle. I write late, get up for work, work tired all day, go home, nap, write late...

You see how this works. Since I nap because I am tired I don't fall asleep as easily, which helps me write later, but then I don't get enough sleep at night. hoo-boy.

Either way I am approaching the end of this book. I am tracking what is left to write by the major events left to happen. Everything else is just fill to tie the events together.

Either way, I hope that you, the readers I have are enjoying this. And if you're reading this post, I'll let you onto my plans for the near future. Once I finish this book I will take some time to edit it, and then onto the next project. It is a sci-fi/horror, and I think that it will be better than torn.

we'll see, and more on the next project as I get a little closer to it.

So here is the next chapter.

Torn
37

Sleep came easy to the both of them that night.

Maureen dreamt of the things that Julius had told her about.

Julius just dreamt.

***

Morning brought the fresh smell that follows rain.

For the first time Maureen woke before Julius. Not yet ready for coffee she went out onto the patio, inhaling deep the cleansed air. She wanted to go and run in the wet grass, but her ankle was still sore. She would have to take it easy for the day.

She closed her eyes. She had always loved the outdoors just after a rain. The world was renewed, not yet soiled again by the likes of man.

“You always did like the rain.”

Maureen’s heart jumped. She hadn’t heard Julius approaching.

He walked up beside her. “I think that if your ankle wasn’t hurt you would be running through the grass. You always enjoyed life at its freshest.”

Maureen sighed and leaned against the vampire. He understood her in ways that Scott didn’t.

Scott! She remembered her husband with a start. She limped back into the house, intent on calling his parent’s house.

She picked up the phone before she realized what the time was.

Julius had followed her in and had pushed the receiver button down again before she even finished dialing. She looked at the vampire, a little annoyed.

“Kyra, the sun has barely finished clearing the horizon. You would only wake them up.”

She looked at the clock. He was right, but she didn’t want to forget. She at least had to try to call them.

Julius had removed his hand from the base as she was thinking. She started to dial again.

Julius pushed the button again. “I’ll remind you when the time is better.”

Maureen stared at him for a moment, then hung up the phone.

***

The coffee was ready. Maureen poured herself a cup and went back out to the patio, determined to enjoy as much of the weather as she could.

Julius followed, and sat in the chair opposite hers. He was silent as he tried to decide what to do that day.

“What happened afterward?”

Julius looked at her, “What do you mean?”

“After I… After Jack…” Maureen didn’t know how to ask. She finally just restated the original question. “What happened afterward?”

Julius nodded, understanding. “Rumor spread. As other communities found out about the attack more of the actual dynamics of it became clear.

There was suspicion that there had been more involved than those who participated in the attack. Another community found one of those people. He was executed.”

Maureen winced.

“Our community recovered. Jack had done one good thing for us. He had left none of the invading forces alive.

We think that he stayed in the area for a while after that, feeding off of the fear that surrounded us as we tried to decide on whether to leave or stay.

He left once the fear had mostly subsided. Hungry for more action, and generally bored with us.”

Maureen smiled, but in her eyes Julius could see sadness.

She looked away.

Finally, after a silence, “I meant with you.”

Silence.

After she could stand it no more she looked up. She could see the memory of it all in Julius’ eyes. She was about to rescind her question when he spoke.

“I did nothing for three days. I didn’t eat. I didn’t sleep. I didn’t even take water. All I thought about was you. I wanted Jack to have taken me as well, at least then we would have been together.

I don’t know what pulled me through that stage. I like to think that you were looking after me, giving me the strength I needed.

The fourth day after the attack I decided that I needed some time away from the community. I packed a satchel, and left. I said not a word to anyone, and I left when most were asleep.

I think that most of the community believed that I had left to die in peace.

Another three days I wandered. I revisited all of our favorite places, but found no solace there.

Finally I found myself at the entrance to the elven city.

I hadn’t meant to go in at first, but I reasoned that at the very least your great-great grandfather needed to know of your death.”

Julius paused. He took a sip of bloodroot juice.

“I was lucky. Three days in the wilderness had caused me to tan ever so slightly. As I entered the elven city I was mistaken for just a pale elf.

I had no idea where your grandfather lived, just that I was in the right city.

I think I scared the elf I asked nearly to death. I was so desperate to find him that I was alternating yelling and crying.

Your grandfather knew the instant that he opened the door. I think the grief was still so evident on my face that he knew it could be nothing else.

He treated me as if I had always been a member of the family.

You saw me there, but he saw me through. He showed me that I spared for a greater reason than Jack’s love of pain. He showed me the good that I could still do.

Slowly I recovered.

I had been there nearly a month when he asked me to continue training.

I didn’t know what to say. I had thought that the training would have ended with your death, that it would be too painful for him as well.

I knew what you would have wanted me to do.”

Julius bowed his head. Remembering with mixed emotions that time.

“I spent two years there. He taught me everything that he knew, and then some.

He had grown ill after your death. I had trained under him, and helped him through his last days. He had told me to leave a couple of days before his death, but I knew that you would want me to help him. He smiled at me just before he passed, and thanked me. In those moments I knew that you be happy.”

Maureen felt tears in her eyes.

“It was after his death that I finally returned to the vampires. I had been thought dead for so long that some screamed when I reentered the caverns. They thought that the sight of me meant ill tidings.

I was left alone for quite a while after my homecoming. Nobody was sure what to think of my reappearance. The only thing that they did know was that I had come back stronger and with a resolve that they had never seen in me before.

Everybody asked where I had been, but they never received an answer. Some still guess.”

Julius sat back in the chair, finished.

He looked across the grass, watching the dew evaporate in the heat of the rising sun.

“It’s late enough now. Call your mate.”

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