“Hey, Arty. What’s up?” Holly said, cheerfully. She sat down in a chair on the opposite side of Artemis. He didn’t move from the position he was in, nor did he answer her question. Holly could tell that something was very wrong.
“Why didn’t you tell me?” he whispered. Holly’s brow furrowed in confusion.
“Didn’t tell you what?” she said. Artemis bit his lip, holding back a smart retort for the first time in his life. He pulled something up on his computer. He turned the screen towards Holly. She gasped. The video feed from Lilly’s room was playing on the screen.
“Lilly,” she whispered. How did Artemis know about her? she thought.
“Yes. Lilly. Our daughter.” Artemis leaned forward. “Why didn’t you tell me, Holly?” he repeated. Holly closed her eyes and breathed deeply for a minute.
“Because, I wasn’t ready. It was an accident and I was panicked. I didn’t know what to do, so I gave her to Juliet to take care of. I never wanted to do it but I had to because, because…” Tears started to streak down Holly’s cheeks. “I LOVE MY DAUGHTER!” she yelled. There was a thump from the other side of the door.
“Oh no,” Artemis said, standing up. A door on the opposite side of the hallway slammed shut. He sat back down.
“What was that?” Holly asked, wiping her face with her hand.
“Lilly,” he breathed.
Lilly slammed her door and flopped onto her bed, her thoughts spinning in her mind. My mom is in the other room, she thought. She suddenly became angry. Her mom had abandoned her! She crossed her arms and pouted on her bed, grumbling to herself. She didn’t hear the lock on her window click open. The window slide open and three small figures slipped inside.
Artemis was trying to comfort Holly in the study. A piercing scream split the air. Artemis and Holly bolted out the door and across the hallway. Holly ripped Lilly’s door open. They burst into the room to find it empty. The window stood open and the curtains flapped in the winter wind. A piece of paper was taped to one of the bedposts. Artemis grabbed it. Sleek curvy writing covered the page.
If you ever want to see your daughter again, you will meet me in the old abandoned warehouse in Wicklow at 1600 Green burrow lane in an hour.
Lots of Love,
Opal
Artemis passed the note to Holly. She gasped. Artemis looked at his watch. It was exactly 5 o’clock.
“Let’s go,” Artemis whispered. He walked out of the room and headed towards his car. Holly jogged behind him.
“Wait, Artemis. We can’t just go there without a plan or anything.” Artemis whipped around, his face hard. Holly took a step back in surprise.
“I just found out that I had a daughter half and hour ago. I have missed 16 years of her life, I’m not losing her now.” Artemis got into the driver’s seat. “Are you coming?” Holly sighed and slowly got into the passenger’s seat. Artemis took off down the street.
Lilly’s eyes fluttered open. She found her hands tied behind her back. She was in a dark room. She could hear footsteps coming closer. She cowered in the corner of the room and closed her eyes. The door opened and a small female creature stood in the doorway.
“Where is the prisoner?” she demanded, stomping her foot. She can’t see me, Lilly thought. The creature pulled out a pair of strange sunglasses. She put them on and glanced around the room.
“There she is.” The woman walked towards Lilly. “Come on. Unshield.” Lilly had no idea what she was talking about. “Much better.”
“Who are you?” Lilly asked.
“I am Opal Koboi, but you can call me Empress Koboi.” Lilly rolled her eyes. Great, she thought, I’ve been kidnapped by an egomaniac. Opal snapped her fingers and two men walked into Lilly’s cell. They pulled Lilly to her feet and dragged her into a large room. They pushed Lilly down beside a huge thrown which Opal was now sitting in.
Two people ran into the room through the door on the opposite side. Lilly’s eyes widened as she recognized Artemis. He was with a short but fully-grown adult woman. Her auburn hair framed her sparkling hazel eyes. That’s must be my mother, Lilly thought.
“Lilly,” the two people yelled in unison as they started to sprint across the room. When they were about five feet away from Opal and Lilly, a glass wall slid down from the ceiling, blocking their path.
“Well hello there, Artemis and Holly.” Opal’s voice echoed against the walls. Holly, Lilly thought, that’s a pretty name.
“Let our daughter go, Opal,” Artemis said through gritted teeth. Koboi put her finger to her chin thoughtfully.
“Uh, no,” she said, a wicked smile spreading across her face. Opal snapped her fingers again and the two men came back. They attached something around Lilly’s neck. The glass wall slid back into the ceiling. Artemis took a step forward and Lilly screamed as she felt 4,000 volts of electricity rush through her body. Artemis withdrew his foot and the pain stopped. Lilly dropped to the ground, panting.
Opal shook her finger, like you would at a naughty child. “I wouldn’t try anything.” She held up a small control panel with one large blue button in the middle. “This little panel controls the device around your daughter’s neck. So, if you want to see her tortured, by all means try something else.
Lilly’s mind was racing. Part of it was still screaming in agony and the other half was constructing a plan. She scooted behind the thrown slightly, out of Opal’s view. She was too busy taunting Artemis and Holly to notice anyway.
Lilly started to rock back and forth, eventually she was able to get her butt through her arms. Lilly grabbed one foot and pulled it through her arms. Man, I wish I was more athletic, she thought. She pulled the other foot through and started to work on the knot. Another surge of electricity caused Lilly to writhe on the floor in pain. She pulled on a certain rope with her teeth and the bonds fell away.
Lilly clawed at the collar, trying to find a way to get it off. There was none. So instead, Lilly stood up behind Opal. She saw that her mother’s hand was hesitating over her gun.
“Now watch as your daughter is electrified.” Opal turned to where Lilly had last been. Her smile disappeared, replaced by surprise. Lilly grinned down at Opal, with a vampire smile that matched her father’s.
“Oh look,” Lilly said, fake concern filling her voice. “Your plan messed up.” Lilly lunged for the remote, knocking Opal off of her thrown in the process. Lilly and opal rolled across the room in different directions.
“GO!” Lilly shouted to her stunned parents. They shook their heads and ran towards Opal. Electricity raced through Lilly’s body, causing her to twitch and bend in ways she never thought possible. She heard the smashing oh technology and felt her body go limp as the pain stopped. She lay on the floor, her breath coming in quick rasps. Artemis and Holly ran over to her, kneeling down beside their daughter.
“Are you alright?” Holly asked, pushing a piece of hair out of her face.
“Never better,” Lilly said, a small smile lighting up her features.
“Come on,” Artemis said. “Let’s go home.” He picked Lilly up, bridal style and the newly united family walked towards their car.
Alternate ending
“Let our daughter go, Opal,” Artemis said through gritted teeth. Koboi put her finger to her chin thoughtfully.
“Uh, no,” she said, a wicked smile spreading across her face. Opal snapped her fingers again and the two men came back. They attached something around Lilly’s neck. Opal pushed a button and Lilly screamed as she felt 4,000 volts of electricity rush through her body. Lilly dropped to the ground, panting
Artemis and Holly’s eyes widened in a mixture of concern and fear. Opal laughed. Lilly’s mind was racing. Part of it was still screaming in agony and the other half was constructing a plan. She scooted behind the thrown slightly, out of Opal’s view. She was too busy taunting Artemis and Holly to notice anyway.
Lilly started to rock back and forth, eventually she was able to get her butt through her arms. Lilly grabbed one foot and pulled it through her arms. Man, I wish I was more athletic, she thought. She pulled the other foot through and started to work on the knot. Another surge of electricity caused Lilly to writhe on the floor in pain. She pulled on a certain rope with her teeth and the bonds fell away.
Lilly clawed at the collar, trying to find a way to get it off. There was none. So instead, Lilly stood up behind Opal.
“Now watch as your daughter is electrified.” Opal turned to where Lilly had last been. Her smile disappeared, replaced by surprise. Lilly grinned down at Opal, with a vampire smile that matched her father’s.
“Oh look,” Lilly said, fake concern filling her voice. “Your plan messed up.” Lilly lunged at Opal, knocking her off of her thrown. The two sprang to their feet, facing each other. Opal still held on tightly to her remote.
“What are you going to do, little Mud Girl?” Opal taunted, waving the remote back and forth. Lilly’s mind sprang out hundreds of possibilities, but she decided to go with the one most comfortable to her. Lilly ran at Opal. Koboi pressed the button, but Lilly ignored the pain. She hit Opal straight between the eyes.
Koboi fell to the ground and Lilly pounced on top of her, punching every inch of skin she could reach. The electricity from the collar still raced through Lilly’s body and her arms started to go numb. Then, from out of nowhere, Opal pulled out a pocketknife.
Lilly felt the sharp blade pierce her skin, just below her left lung. She heard Artemis and Holly scream from the opposite side if the glass. Lilly’s vision started to get dark, but she still fought. She had to save her parents. Lilly wrestled the knife from Opal’s hand and stabbed her in the abdomen. She felt Opal’s body go limp beneath her. Lilly stood up and dropped the knife. She staggered over to the remote and crushed it beneath her heel.
Lilly could hear banging coming from somewhere. She stumbled slightly, then collapsed on her back. She could feel something wet on her fingers. She lifted her hand to see that it was stained red with her own blood. She heard glass break and two figures appeared by her sides. She looked at the dark haired male and smiled.
“Thank you for your generosity,” she said. Tears started to run down the man’s face. Lilly looked at the woman. This was her mother. Her mother whom she had just met for the first time.
“Hi, mom,” she whispered. It was becoming difficult to talk.
“Hi sweetheart,” the woman said, tears running down her cheeks too. “Just hang in there, you’re going to be fine.”
Lilly shook her head slightly. “No, I’m not and you both know it. But, it’s okay, I got my one true wish.” Lilly closed her eyes and exhaled for the last time.
“Why didn’t you tell me?” he whispered. Holly’s brow furrowed in confusion.
“Didn’t tell you what?” she said. Artemis bit his lip, holding back a smart retort for the first time in his life. He pulled something up on his computer. He turned the screen towards Holly. She gasped. The video feed from Lilly’s room was playing on the screen.
“Lilly,” she whispered. How did Artemis know about her? she thought.
“Yes. Lilly. Our daughter.” Artemis leaned forward. “Why didn’t you tell me, Holly?” he repeated. Holly closed her eyes and breathed deeply for a minute.
“Because, I wasn’t ready. It was an accident and I was panicked. I didn’t know what to do, so I gave her to Juliet to take care of. I never wanted to do it but I had to because, because…” Tears started to streak down Holly’s cheeks. “I LOVE MY DAUGHTER!” she yelled. There was a thump from the other side of the door.
“Oh no,” Artemis said, standing up. A door on the opposite side of the hallway slammed shut. He sat back down.
“What was that?” Holly asked, wiping her face with her hand.
“Lilly,” he breathed.
Lilly slammed her door and flopped onto her bed, her thoughts spinning in her mind. My mom is in the other room, she thought. She suddenly became angry. Her mom had abandoned her! She crossed her arms and pouted on her bed, grumbling to herself. She didn’t hear the lock on her window click open. The window slide open and three small figures slipped inside.
Artemis was trying to comfort Holly in the study. A piercing scream split the air. Artemis and Holly bolted out the door and across the hallway. Holly ripped Lilly’s door open. They burst into the room to find it empty. The window stood open and the curtains flapped in the winter wind. A piece of paper was taped to one of the bedposts. Artemis grabbed it. Sleek curvy writing covered the page.
If you ever want to see your daughter again, you will meet me in the old abandoned warehouse in Wicklow at 1600 Green burrow lane in an hour.
Lots of Love,
Opal
Artemis passed the note to Holly. She gasped. Artemis looked at his watch. It was exactly 5 o’clock.
“Let’s go,” Artemis whispered. He walked out of the room and headed towards his car. Holly jogged behind him.
“Wait, Artemis. We can’t just go there without a plan or anything.” Artemis whipped around, his face hard. Holly took a step back in surprise.
“I just found out that I had a daughter half and hour ago. I have missed 16 years of her life, I’m not losing her now.” Artemis got into the driver’s seat. “Are you coming?” Holly sighed and slowly got into the passenger’s seat. Artemis took off down the street.
Lilly’s eyes fluttered open. She found her hands tied behind her back. She was in a dark room. She could hear footsteps coming closer. She cowered in the corner of the room and closed her eyes. The door opened and a small female creature stood in the doorway.
“Where is the prisoner?” she demanded, stomping her foot. She can’t see me, Lilly thought. The creature pulled out a pair of strange sunglasses. She put them on and glanced around the room.
“There she is.” The woman walked towards Lilly. “Come on. Unshield.” Lilly had no idea what she was talking about. “Much better.”
“Who are you?” Lilly asked.
“I am Opal Koboi, but you can call me Empress Koboi.” Lilly rolled her eyes. Great, she thought, I’ve been kidnapped by an egomaniac. Opal snapped her fingers and two men walked into Lilly’s cell. They pulled Lilly to her feet and dragged her into a large room. They pushed Lilly down beside a huge thrown which Opal was now sitting in.
Two people ran into the room through the door on the opposite side. Lilly’s eyes widened as she recognized Artemis. He was with a short but fully-grown adult woman. Her auburn hair framed her sparkling hazel eyes. That’s must be my mother, Lilly thought.
“Lilly,” the two people yelled in unison as they started to sprint across the room. When they were about five feet away from Opal and Lilly, a glass wall slid down from the ceiling, blocking their path.
“Well hello there, Artemis and Holly.” Opal’s voice echoed against the walls. Holly, Lilly thought, that’s a pretty name.
“Let our daughter go, Opal,” Artemis said through gritted teeth. Koboi put her finger to her chin thoughtfully.
“Uh, no,” she said, a wicked smile spreading across her face. Opal snapped her fingers again and the two men came back. They attached something around Lilly’s neck. The glass wall slid back into the ceiling. Artemis took a step forward and Lilly screamed as she felt 4,000 volts of electricity rush through her body. Artemis withdrew his foot and the pain stopped. Lilly dropped to the ground, panting.
Opal shook her finger, like you would at a naughty child. “I wouldn’t try anything.” She held up a small control panel with one large blue button in the middle. “This little panel controls the device around your daughter’s neck. So, if you want to see her tortured, by all means try something else.
Lilly’s mind was racing. Part of it was still screaming in agony and the other half was constructing a plan. She scooted behind the thrown slightly, out of Opal’s view. She was too busy taunting Artemis and Holly to notice anyway.
Lilly started to rock back and forth, eventually she was able to get her butt through her arms. Lilly grabbed one foot and pulled it through her arms. Man, I wish I was more athletic, she thought. She pulled the other foot through and started to work on the knot. Another surge of electricity caused Lilly to writhe on the floor in pain. She pulled on a certain rope with her teeth and the bonds fell away.
Lilly clawed at the collar, trying to find a way to get it off. There was none. So instead, Lilly stood up behind Opal. She saw that her mother’s hand was hesitating over her gun.
“Now watch as your daughter is electrified.” Opal turned to where Lilly had last been. Her smile disappeared, replaced by surprise. Lilly grinned down at Opal, with a vampire smile that matched her father’s.
“Oh look,” Lilly said, fake concern filling her voice. “Your plan messed up.” Lilly lunged for the remote, knocking Opal off of her thrown in the process. Lilly and opal rolled across the room in different directions.
“GO!” Lilly shouted to her stunned parents. They shook their heads and ran towards Opal. Electricity raced through Lilly’s body, causing her to twitch and bend in ways she never thought possible. She heard the smashing oh technology and felt her body go limp as the pain stopped. She lay on the floor, her breath coming in quick rasps. Artemis and Holly ran over to her, kneeling down beside their daughter.
“Are you alright?” Holly asked, pushing a piece of hair out of her face.
“Never better,” Lilly said, a small smile lighting up her features.
“Come on,” Artemis said. “Let’s go home.” He picked Lilly up, bridal style and the newly united family walked towards their car.
Alternate ending
“Let our daughter go, Opal,” Artemis said through gritted teeth. Koboi put her finger to her chin thoughtfully.
“Uh, no,” she said, a wicked smile spreading across her face. Opal snapped her fingers again and the two men came back. They attached something around Lilly’s neck. Opal pushed a button and Lilly screamed as she felt 4,000 volts of electricity rush through her body. Lilly dropped to the ground, panting
Artemis and Holly’s eyes widened in a mixture of concern and fear. Opal laughed. Lilly’s mind was racing. Part of it was still screaming in agony and the other half was constructing a plan. She scooted behind the thrown slightly, out of Opal’s view. She was too busy taunting Artemis and Holly to notice anyway.
Lilly started to rock back and forth, eventually she was able to get her butt through her arms. Lilly grabbed one foot and pulled it through her arms. Man, I wish I was more athletic, she thought. She pulled the other foot through and started to work on the knot. Another surge of electricity caused Lilly to writhe on the floor in pain. She pulled on a certain rope with her teeth and the bonds fell away.
Lilly clawed at the collar, trying to find a way to get it off. There was none. So instead, Lilly stood up behind Opal.
“Now watch as your daughter is electrified.” Opal turned to where Lilly had last been. Her smile disappeared, replaced by surprise. Lilly grinned down at Opal, with a vampire smile that matched her father’s.
“Oh look,” Lilly said, fake concern filling her voice. “Your plan messed up.” Lilly lunged at Opal, knocking her off of her thrown. The two sprang to their feet, facing each other. Opal still held on tightly to her remote.
“What are you going to do, little Mud Girl?” Opal taunted, waving the remote back and forth. Lilly’s mind sprang out hundreds of possibilities, but she decided to go with the one most comfortable to her. Lilly ran at Opal. Koboi pressed the button, but Lilly ignored the pain. She hit Opal straight between the eyes.
Koboi fell to the ground and Lilly pounced on top of her, punching every inch of skin she could reach. The electricity from the collar still raced through Lilly’s body and her arms started to go numb. Then, from out of nowhere, Opal pulled out a pocketknife.
Lilly felt the sharp blade pierce her skin, just below her left lung. She heard Artemis and Holly scream from the opposite side if the glass. Lilly’s vision started to get dark, but she still fought. She had to save her parents. Lilly wrestled the knife from Opal’s hand and stabbed her in the abdomen. She felt Opal’s body go limp beneath her. Lilly stood up and dropped the knife. She staggered over to the remote and crushed it beneath her heel.
Lilly could hear banging coming from somewhere. She stumbled slightly, then collapsed on her back. She could feel something wet on her fingers. She lifted her hand to see that it was stained red with her own blood. She heard glass break and two figures appeared by her sides. She looked at the dark haired male and smiled.
“Thank you for your generosity,” she said. Tears started to run down the man’s face. Lilly looked at the woman. This was her mother. Her mother whom she had just met for the first time.
“Hi, mom,” she whispered. It was becoming difficult to talk.
“Hi sweetheart,” the woman said, tears running down her cheeks too. “Just hang in there, you’re going to be fine.”
Lilly shook her head slightly. “No, I’m not and you both know it. But, it’s okay, I got my one true wish.” Lilly closed her eyes and exhaled for the last time.
