The End is Near . . .

It's so true . . . the apocalypse is coming . . . The APOCALYPSE OF MY BOOK!
It'll be in 2012 . . . nobody will survive . . . BECAUSE PEOPLE TRY TO DESTROY THE WORLD!
Maybe there is hope . . . maybe we'll be saved . . . BY THREE MUTANT NINJA BIRD-KIDS!

See what I did there? Three mutant NINJA bird-kids? The mutant ninja turtles? Get it? Hahaha!
Forget writing - I'm officially changing my profession to stand-up-comedy.
I lied! Hahaha! I'm so funny. You laughed, right? Right?

Anyways. As I've noted before, my book will be ending soon. *wipes tear from cheek* But it's not all over now. The second book will come! And let me tell you - the second book will make the biggest impact ever in the series. It's is the climax of the series - you have no idea how excited I am to start writing it!

So, I'm writing the last bits of my book. The big, end-scene has yet to come, but I have only a few more pages until the write the epilogue. I love that word. It sounds so . . . important and creepy. Is it just me, or do you agree? Either way, it's the end! I've never finished a book before, but I am now! This is inspiration for all you teen/kid-writers out there: IT IS POSSIBLE. Don't give up on your book - it's amazing and you know it.

So far I'm at 125 000 words (approximately) and I'm going to give you a snippet! There should be a snippet song, like - 'Snip-snip-snippet, it's time for a snip-snip-snippet! Si-si-sit down and en-joy it! Snip-snip-snip snip snip-snip-snip-SNIPPET!' I know, I know, it's amazing. Seriously, I'm flattered that you love it. I mean, you love it, right? I have talent in songwriting - I HAVE TO LET IT SHINE!!

So . . . as promised . . . here you go!

Reluctantly, like a little kid getting into bed after watching a horror movie, I crawled under my blankets. I reached over and shut off the lamp, plunging the room into darkness. “Good night.” I whispered to Daniel.

   “’Night.” He whispered back, and I heard the rustling of sheets as he turned over. The room was silent after.

   Hesitantly I closed my eyes, hoping – wishing – that I would be able to sleep.

Animals. All of them. Ugly, ravaging beasts. Black eyes. Pointy teeth. The need to bite, the need to spread.

   I couldn’t figure out what it was. Why I was here, why these things were in front of me. What were they? A figment of my imagination?

   They looked anything but imaginary.

   I stood in a white room, facing a wall of cages, like those in animal rescue centers. Inside each one was a person, ranging from seniors to children no older than seven or eight. Their eyes were black, devoid of any white, and their teeth were practically all carnivorous. They tore at the bars, shaking them, kicking them, even gnawing at them in attempt to get out. All of them wore clothes, mostly bloodstained from bites that ranged from their shoulders all the way to their feet. Some of them had multiple ones, as if they had been attacked. One lay dead, limp at the bars of his cage, covered in his own blood. The person must have been no more than twenty years old.

   “Beautiful, aren’t they?” A familiar voice rang behind me, and I spun around. Before me stood Fletcher – the different Fletcher. He had black eyes, and when he smiled at me, I realized the same shark-like teeth of all the others. But he didn’t look like he’d gone mad, like all the others. As if he were in control of himself.

   I resisted the urge to run as Fletcher walked up to me, putting a hand gently on my cheek. “Them. Me. You.”

   “This isn’t real,” I whispered, clenching my fists into a tight ball. My arm wasn’t in a sling – in fact it seemed like my bullet wound was gone. “You aren’t real.”

   Fletcher smiled, and I felt his long, inhuman nails brush the skin of my cheek. “Maybe not here. But I am alive. Looking for you. All I want is to have you back, Celeste. You, Owen and I, we’re a team. We can’t be torn apart.”

   I shook my head, feeling tears linger on the surface of my eyes. “No,” I said, voice quavering. “You’re dead. Dylan said –”

   “Forget him!” Fletcher snapped with a sudden ferocity in his voice. I winced, and a tear slipped out from the corner of my eye. This wasn’t Fletcher. Fletcher wasn’t – and could never be – like this.

   Fletcher’s eyes turned soft, and he wiped the tear away, catching it on his thumb. “Just forget him, okay? Dylan’s not important. You’re important, Celeste. You’re our leader.”

   “I’m not,” I whispered. “I’m not your leader.”

   “Yes you are,” Fletcher urged, his eyes turning sharp. “You’re the leader. No one else is capable of doing what you can.”

   “Fletcher, please . . .”

   “No!” Fletcher spat, and I flinched again. But he continued, “You are our leader! You belong to us! No one else!” He was tensing up, anger flaring in his eyes.

   Tears were wavering my vision, making Fletcher blurry. I tried not to let them slip down my cheek.

   “You don’t belong to anyone else,” Fletcher said, softer this time. “You belong to me.”

   “Fletcher, I don’t know what you’re talking –”

   “Of course you do!” Fletcher yelled, right in my face. The creatures behind us began to howl, screeching, rattling the bars. They screamed, a chorus of horrible, bloodthirsty cries mangled into one song. I couldn’t stand it, but yet I stayed there, right in front of Fletcher.

   “Celeste, I love you. I’ve loved you all along.” Fletcher’s gaze softened, and he relaxed his shoulders. “All I want is to have you back. I want you standing by my side – we can fight this. We can. It’ll be us against the world, Celeste. We’d win.”

   I felt the tears escape the safety of my eyes, making streams down my cheek, dripping off my chin. “This isn’t you, Fletcher. You aren’t –”

   Fletcher’s gaze turned dark, full of frustration and hatred. His hand flicked back, and he let out a long growl, slapping it across my face. I yelped with his strength, feeling pain split through my cheek, and fell back. I cradled my cheek, stumbling away from him.

   “I tried to play it nice,” Fletcher spat, taking long, fast steps towards me. “I tried. But you’re such an arrogant little piece of trash. You’re hardly fit for the plan!” He yelled grabbing me by the shoulder. I screamed, feeling his nails dig into my flesh, drawing blood. He thrust me towards the cages, and I stuttered back, falling against the bars. Hands of all the creatures shot out between the bars, grabbing me and ripping me towards them. One pulled my arm back and sunk its teeth down into it, and I screamed.

   Fletcher watched with satisfied eyes, grinning the whole time.

I jerked awake, shooting up in bed.

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I like this part! I wanna tell you about it but I can't! It'll give away too much - you'll just have to think about it all, add it up . . . oh, who am I kidding? Forget it - I'm telling you.

This is a dream Celeste is having.

There! I know - you would've never guessed!