The Never-ending Story Version 2

[sandie]

The night was dark and cold. The wind was blowing the treees, tossing their branches toward the sky. The moon was absent, hiding behind a cloud. Despite the wind, all was silent.

That was until the scream.

It was blood curdling. It chilled the blood and made those little hairs on the back of your shoulder stand up.

It was as if a life, or the very world itself had ended.

No-one, not even Keith would have believed the scream had come from a man, unless he had seen it with his own eyes.

[churros]

As he stared at himself in the mirror, Keith realised the scream had been his and the unforgiving reflection showed the 4th and final book in the Twilight series in his hand. Had he really just finished reading it? The horror in his eyes showed the reality. This was the end of the series. The thought gave him goose bumps! The anger within him rose as he screamed again at the visage "Why did you read them so fast?"

[mushu mama]

Meanwhile, on the outskirts of town in a hovel that could hardly pass as a place of residence, the corrigated iron door that devided the meagre living area from the bedroom slowly opened and a bloodcurdling scream shattered the quite of the morning, bringing the shanty town to life with the fear that another of their comrades had fallen fowl of the evil emperor Anthony.

But no, this was not the work of Emperor Anthony... this time...
Rather, a young waif who went by the name of Mel, staggered across the rough earth floor greenish purpley fluid sizzling as it hit the hard dirt floor, singeing the fabric of her ancient Mickey Mouse t shirt where it hit and leaving green tracks on her skin where it flowed from her bloodshot eyes, her tiny shell ears and her regal nose.
the legend goes that only a memeber of the royal family would have this dreaded reation to the curse of Sandior... and many in the village long believed Mel to be a princess lost.
This my friends, was the confirmation that they needed to spur them into action.... the arduous path they all must now tread was set in stone....
and so with the curse reactivated, the ghosts of the past were rising out of the mists of time to haunt yet another generation of quiet rodent enthusiasts...

[KeithS]

Yet someone was watching for the signs. Ever vigilant. Ever alert. Studying the stars and keeping an eye on Facebook - Lisa was her name. Only she knew of the true horror of two seemingly unrelated - yet similar events: the ungodly scream of anguish from a devilishly handsome reader of the Twilight series; and the bloodcurdling scream emanating from Possibly a Princess Mel - the poor citizen of Emperor Anthony's destitute village.

Lisa reached for some wood and stoked the dying fireplace - chasing away the shadows flickering at the edges of her vision. She pulled her shawl tightly around her and waited for the visitor she knew would come this night. She sat, and waited, and thought about the dangerous path that lay ahead for all...

[churros]

The vision in his head was hazy. Why could he not see? His gift had never let him down before and now when he needed it most all that he could make out was a dying fire being stoked by a hand, a woman's hand and then the smoke would rise up and obscure his sight. But there was a sound, a hum, was that a HP Notebook?

He tried to clear his head of the confusion and pushed on as the first rays of sunlight began to reach up from the horizon. He was glad of the warmth that these probing fingers promised. The moonless night had been dark, cold and windy.

He reached for his familiar internal chant that always gave him the courage to move forward in difficult times. He froze in his steps. He grasped, searched, nothing. Had this failed him too? How could he not recall its rhythms, the cadence, the words? Had they not been a part of the very fabric of his being since he was a child? What had caused this? He knew then that when he found his chant, he would find his gift and the woman!

[mushu mama]

mystifying as it was for the dashing young adventurer to be disconnected from his gift, he knew what he must do, his quest was to find that woman wrapped in the luxurious brocade shawl encrusted with gems that twinkled in his minds eye... the remnants of his vision.... she alone held the key to unlock the secrets of his past.

MEANWHILE.....

The muffled footsteps on the cave floor grew louder, as did the booming voice that barked orders at the minions doing the Emperors bidding.

" I WILL NOT HAVE IT!" snarled the voice of the most feared head of state in written memory in the land of Anthor.
" YOU MUST FIND HER AND PUT HER TO DEATH FORTHWITH"
"But sire... our best men are out there looking and we have no word of her whereabouts"
" MY GOOD MAN, ( then speaking in a more conciliatory tone) you misunderstood me... may I enquire as to the health of your lovely daughter Jess? she is well I pray? ( the henchman nods) ahhh... and it would be a shame to see that situation reversed"

The henchman blanched, knowing all too well the consequences of not delivering the sorceress Lisa into the hands of Emperor Anthony.
" Of course Sire.... we will redouble our efforts"
Emperor Anthony turned his back on his minion to disguise the satisfied look on his face. His thoughts returning to his dislike of his meetings in caves and dark alleyways to get his dirty work done.

"WE MUST PRESS ON....I GROW WEARY OF THIS INFERNAL DARKNESS.... HOW MUCH FURTHER TO THE LAIR OF THE VAMPIRESS SANDIOR?"

[KeithS]

Keith's fingers relaxed their grip on the book and it fell from his grasp, turning end over end - falling at his feet with the barest of noises. His anguish about reaching the end of book 4 had quickly been replaced with a vision of splendor - a hauntingly attractive woman in a brocade shawl. He could swear he had just caught a glimpse of her in the mirror before him, yet turning around, he saw that he was alone. She was a stranger to him, yet somehow familiar - like a distant memory from the past. He could feel a tightening in his chest. Was it fear? Anguish? ...Excitement? Or maybe last night's curry.

He could sense the danger - evil forces were at work in the land of Anthor and the Emperor's cruel and iron grip was strangling the people. And yet there was a more evil force at work - the vampiress had returned. Keith knew the risk to humanity, and somehow he knew that, together with the mysterious woman from his vision, they would have find each other and fight together to bring peace and balance to the land.

Who was this mysterious woman? He turned away from the mirror, walked out of his tower and headed into the night to begin his quest...