LeDacia Renfro-Jones

Mr. T
P.7
February 11th, 2013

For she...
Many, many years ago in a far away land, there lived two
friends. One was named Raun (rAHn) and the other was named Faine
(fIne). One day, they were walking along an old path talking and
enjoying the day, when suddenly they saw a shadow up ahead,
partially hidden by a tree. They were both curious young girls,
so instead of just walking right past, they stopped to take a
look at it. It was a decent sized wooden box, slightly stained,
with three antique brass locks, and some ruby writing swept thin
and gracefully in an etching across it. Beware. It said, For
all who have peaked inside my depths linger with me always. Raun
picked up the box, dusting the dirt from its bottom, while Faine
looked on the other sides to see if there was any more writing.
There was none.
Take me. Take me with you.
Shall we go, Faine? Raun said, with a peculiar look in her
eye. Faine immediately looked alarmed as she stood up straight
from her position of examining the box. You are planning to keep
it? Raun turned and looked over her shoulder, Of course. It
isnt everyday that we find a box like this just lying around.
She began to walk off down the trail, We shall keep it. Faine
hesitated a moment, and then quickly ran after her, a bad feeling
settling deep in her stomach.
They awoke a few days later to a bright shining light.
Faine, being the lighter sleeper of the two awoke quick enough to
see the cause of it. A bright, golden light etched flaming ruby
writing swept thin and gracefully into the side of the box. It
shone so bright that Faine had to look away. The black haired
girl threw off her blanket and scuttled quickly over to the
sleeping form of her friend then shook her, trying to get the
other to wake up.
Begin anew. Lets begin anew.

Raun mumbled sleepily, rubbing her eyes and sat up slowly.

She swatted Faines hands away and she opened her eyes, just as
the light was finishing its last bit of punctuation. What a way
to wake up! She scrambled over to the box just as the light faded
away, moving her hand to touch the writing, she pulled it back to
her with a yelp. The entire box felt as if it were metal just
pulled out of a fire. Faine knelt beside her, leaning in to read
the writing for herself.
Look quickly; consult the time, spirits fall, at three
chimes.
Faine looked at the box, sort of horrified. I think that we
should put this back where it was. Raun chuckled, swatting her
hand in a dismissive manner, No way! This is getting
interesting! Spirits fall at three chimes? Its almost three
oclock. Lets go to Central!
They sit on the edge of the fountain in the middle of
Central, around ten minutes later. Its eight minutes till three.
Raun is looking around excitedly, trying to see anything that
could be a spirit. Faine, on the other hand, sits looking
around warily, holding the box protectively on her lap. Its four
minutes till three. She runs her fingers along the two riddles,
noticing how the box itself didnt show any sign of burning or
singeing. She lets out a long sigh as she looks at her energetic
friend who is practically vibrating in her seat from excitement.
A few minutes go by. Its one minute till three now. Faines
fingers start to speed up in their tapping. She is suddenly hyper
aware of the large clock in front of them, whose minute hand was
making its way ever so slowly around the clock face. Making its
way ever so slowly to the three. Ever so slowly to the three.
Slowly to the three. To the three. The three
BONG! BONG!! BONG!!! The clock chimes. Raun looks towards
the clock in anticipation; people walk by, trying hard to ignore
the commanding sound, even as its waves reverberate through their
bones. As the sound dies out, Faines world drains of color,
everything painted in a dreary blue (6C92AF). Everything slowed
to a stop as that one note stretched out of its allotted time and
into that of which its never known. Faine looks around, from her
left to her right, taking in the still world. People have stopped
moving, the water has frozen in its given path, the birds are

frozen in flight. The clock face glows, and the three begins to
flicker with a ruby fire. The box in Faines arms begins to glow
with the same red fire. She looks at it with horrified awe, as
she realizes that the flames that are licking at her arms and
fingers should be burning her badly, but for some reason they
arent. One of the brass locks begins to emit smoke from its key
hole, and it grew white-hot. The clocks ding has become a
fluttering, droning white noise in the background of this event,
stretching itself to fill the time its been allotted as if it
were grateful to not become a faded memory all too soon. The
brass lock suddenly breaks open, its fragments flying off and
burning the girls arms and legs. She jumps at the unpleasant
contact and feels at the front of the box, finding only two locks
there now, with the third one nowhere to be found. The world
fades back to normal. The birds soar, the people make their way
to their various destinations, and the fountain spurs back to
life. Raun turns to Faine excitedly as the clocks toll
reverberates into its designated nonexistence. So, did anything
happen?
Faine looks down at the box in her arms. She turns it around
to see its now empty left side.
The lock broke off.
What ! Really ? It was there just a second ago ! Faine looks at
her with alarm. She didnt see it ? She didnt feel the intense
power radiating from the box when the world
stood still ?
Raun takes the box from her. Theres a three here now. In
place of the lock! She turns a big smile to her friend. Isnt
this exciting ! The way she said it was more of a statement that
a question. Faine didnt want to ruin her fun just yet, though.
So she just returned the excited gesture, albeit rather weakly.
Keep me. Show you great things. I stay.
Raun shook her head. Im so happy that we found this box !
I havent had this much fun in a long time ! Raun took the box
and began walking home. Faine looked after her for a moment,
until she got up and began trailing after her. She hadnt missed
that strange look that the brunette had made. It was almost the
same spaced out hazy look that she made back when they first

found this horrid box. As she heard her friend humming happily,
her heart sunk and she hung her head.
The next night, when they were getting dressed for bed,
Raun spied something on the darker haired girls left shoulder
blade. Hey! When did you get that?
When did I get what? Faine asked, confused.
That tattoo!
Tatt- Faine cut herself off by scrambling over to the mirror
and trying to look at her back.
I must say, you couldve gotten something much cooler! Really,
Faine? The number three?
The girl hurriedly pushed her hair to the side over her right
shoulder so that she could see. She gasped as it was revealed. A
highly decorated number in what seemed to be Old English font was
etched into her shoulder in dark Ruby ink. She looked from the
mirror in horror.
Raun.
Maybe something like a whale. Oh, OH! Or a SHARK! Ha! Think of
that!
Raun!
Or maybe a- oh, yeah?
I didnt get this tattoo.
What?
I didnt go out and get this done to me!
Well, what do you mean?
I think we need to take the box back to where we found it.
Raun looked as if her heart had been broken. What? Nooooo!
Its doing WEIRD THINGS, Raun!!
Weird things? I havent seen anything! All its done is gain a
new inscription on its side and lost a lock!
It burned that inscription in ITSELF! It froze time at the third
chime, set itself on fire, TWICE, it blew that lock off, its
etched the SAME THREE thats on it, on my back, AND, the box
clearly stated when you picked it up that all who peak in its
depths linger with it always! Its marked me already, and I
havent even LOOKED in the box! I dont want to end up trapped in
some evil DEMON box, or have my soul sucked from me or whatever,
JUST because you want an adventure!
Found a match. Not leaving. Found a match!

As if on cue, the box suddenly burst to life. Aflame with

its ruby fire, it floated and stalled in the air, its second lock
billowing ice blue smoke. Its lid shuddered on its hinges, as if
something was trying to get out, but they were still locked in.
The box began another etching as a bright red ruby light began
its etching, and the box hissed. The girls backed away and
shielded their eyes as the light became too bright. Faine heard
that familiar white noise billowing from its depths as a loud
metallic crunch was heard. They heard the box drop back down to
the floor, and lowered their arms. The second lock was now gone,
leaving only the one in the middle. In its place, there was now a
seven. Faine went over to the box as the last ember of light
faded out. In its place, it read:
The deed is done. The one has been chosen in the night. To
be guided into the depths. She leads the frozen in moonlight.
Faine began shaking as she felt a dull ache sting her right
shoulder.
Raun?
Her friend shook her head as her eyes widened in disbelief.
Its the number seven.
Faine gulped and ran to the bathroom to grab a towel to stop the
light bleeding. Raun peeked her head inside the door. She was now
really worried about her friend.
Faine? The girl was silent as she rinsed the towel off in the
sink, and walked out of the bathroom door, passing Raun silently.
She walked over to the box and paused in front of it. Raun began
to hear a quiet yet harsh whisper in her head as she watched
Faine stare at the box with an empty look.
Dont let her touch me. She doesnt like me. She wants to throw
me away. You want to keep me
Raun twitched.
Dont let her touch me. I am your excitement. I am your new
beginning. You want to keep me.
Raun shook her head, clearing it of the haunting voice.
Keep me. You cant get rid of me. I have you now.
Raun dragged her hands down her face in exasperation. That was
it. She cant get rid of the box. The excitement cant end now!
Faine! I think we should ke-

At the dreaded word, Faine stiffened up and gave the box a good,
hard kick.
AAAUGHHH!! FILTHY HUMAN!
Raun collapsed to the floor as a shrill scream and a loud
bang resonated through her head. She smashed her hands tightly
over her ears, hoping that it would just go away. Faine quickly
turned around at the sound of her friends yelp. She bent down to
see what was wrong, but as she touched her shoulder, she was
roughly pushed away.
We will keep it. Raun gasped her breathing wavering and
laborious.
We have to put it bac-!
We. WILL. Keep it. Raun stated again, eyes narrowing into a
dangerous glare.
Raun-
You WILL keep me you human SCUM! Raun yelled, but not in her
own voice. Her voice had turned raspy and it lowered in pitch.
Her eyes burned with a barely hidden fury. Faine took a step
backwards when she saw her friends eyes change from its friendly
green to a rage filled red. She jumped a bit when she bumped into
the box. She looked at her friend, and then back at the box, and
then back to Raun. Something in her brain suddenly clicked as she
realized that this transformation had been happening since the
moment they decided to take the box. She remembered the
persistence that Raun had about keeping the box and the weird
looks and the twitching that was slowly happening more
frequently. It had happened in only five days, but Raun was
almost gone. Her friend was slowly being taken over by this
monster.
She very nearly started crying.
She quickly realized that this wasnt the time for that kind
of thing, however, and she looked back to Raun. She looked back
at the box, and then back to her friend again, this time, with a
slight look of certainty in her eyes. With a deep breath she bent
down, grabbed the box, and took off running. As she jumped off of
her balcony and surprisingly landed on her feet (because, in all
honesty, nows not the time to be clumsy), she ran out into the
slightly cloudy night. It was dark because the clouds covered the
bright full moon. She heard an anguished roar sound from her

window. This only made her run faster and harder. Once she
reached the end of her street, she looked over her shoulder to
see Raun (or the monster currently possessing Raun) sprinting
down the street after her. She quickly looked back to her front
and tried to run even faster.
She didnt know where she was going; she only knew that she
had to destroy this box. And fast. She ran out of her
neighborhood and down the street. She kept running until she
reached the old path that they were walking that day. She ran
until she found a dense area of trees, and then she quickly hid
behind one. Faine breathed heavily, trying hard to calm her
breathing down. After a while she heard the loud crunching and
snapping of someone stepping on leaves and branches, and her
breath catches in her throat. She presses herself and the box
closer to the tree, hoping not to be seen. She hears the
crunching grow farther and farther away and she relaxes a bit.
*crunch* *crunch* *SNAP!*
She very nearly jumps out of her skin as she hears a twig
snap RIGHT behind her. She calms her breathing again, and presses
even closer to the tree.
Oh, Faaaaaaaine~ the raspy voice of the monster calls out,
Come out! I know youre in here.
The last bit was said close to her ear, low and deep. She hugs
the box closer to her as she hears the monster start to laugh. It
was quite possibly the worst thing shes ever heard.
She sees a sudden glowing and quickly jumps out of the way
to avoid being spotted as the tree she was hiding behind was
shattered into wood shavings. She turns quickly to see that the
glow came from the razor sharp claws that the monster now had.
She didnt have time to really look at them because she was
dodging another swipe of those dangerous things. The monster was
just too fast! It seemed as if every time she would land, the
monster would be there to swipe at her again. The thing started
growling after her dodging about four times, and the growls just
grew louder and louder until it was a loud roar, and a big wave
of energy exploded from its very being. The energy wave knocked
Faine onto her back, and the box flew from her arms. As she
slowly sat up, she saw that the dense forest she was in was now a

medium sized clearing, and the monster stood in the middle,

coming down from its power release. A large branch was lying over
her lower half. She was trapped.
The box, lying before her, started glowing a dark purple instead
of its normal ruby red. The purple was a haze now; however,
instead of the violent flames it once produced. Faine looks at
the box in fear, knowing that only one thing could happen now.
The box began shaking and a deep sound resonated from its depths.
It sounded like Centrals clock bell.
The violet haze began to switch from the lazy nonsense
patterns it was making, to knocking around violently. The box
began to shake harder as the clouds began to part. The light from
the full moon peaked out from around the obstruction; its lazy
beams making the violet light grow brighter. The lock began to
rattle as the clouds parted more. Ever so slowly did the clouds
part, and once most of them did, the violet light flashed,
blinding, and the loud sound of exploding metal pierced through
the air. Faine brought her arms down from the position over her
eyes, and she looked down at the box. The ultra violet colored
light burst forth from the box in thick tendrils, twisting and
looping in the space above it. She looked through the haze at
Raun, whose claws have gone, and eyes look close to normal.
Raun, are you back? Faine asked cautiously. Raun blinked and
then looked at her friend.
Hey the box is finally open She had that hazy look in her eye
again, but this time, it seemed stronger.
Raun? The other girl didnt seem to be listening to her
anymore. She began staggering slowly over to the box. Faine
watched her until the very first inscription on the box flashed
through her head.
Beware. For all who have peaked inside my depths linger with me
always.
She gasped and struggled to get up. Raun ! Dont look in
there! Itll suck you in! But she just kept walking over to it.
Faine struggled harder now, getting more and more desperate with
every step Raun took. Raun!
The brunette reached the box, and peered over the edge. Into the
swirling violet.

Raun! Faine struggled harder, the branch now moving, but she
was unable to actually lift it off.
Raun looked farther into the box, and was suddenly grabbed by two
violet tendrils.
RAUN! A sudden piercing pain flowed through her back. It
traveled down her arms and to her hands. She gasped as her
fingertips started glowing white.
What is this? she asked herself. Her fingertips began pulsing
and a wavering haze formed around her hands. The light pulsed
brighter, and the branch was engulfed in the white light. The
branch shuddered, and went flying into oblivion.
WHAT is going ON??? She thought. She quickly pushed
herself up off of the ground, and ran to the box. She hesitated
for a second, remembering that original inscription, but decided
that her friend was way more important than being permanently
marked by some evil demon box. Right?
She peered into the swirling void, squinting to see as much as
she could. Dead center, she thought that she could see a hand, so
she reached in. She grabbed it and pulled, but the box protested.
It started sputtering angry red sparks and sending off what
seemed to be electrical charges, but Faine still held on, and she
still pulled. After a short while, she heard a horrible gurgling
sound, and Raun popped out.
Raun! Raun? Are you alright? Faine shook her, scooping her up
from her position on the ground. Rauns head lolled to the side,
her body limp and unmoving.
No. No no no. This cant be happening. She held back a sob as
she ran a hand down her friends cold cheek.
The last cloud moved to show the glowing full moon. The light
shone down on the two girls, and Faine looked up at it just as a
searing pain shot up her spine. She let out a small cry,
containing the rest in a harsh hiss. Shes been through worse
these past few days. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw a
familiar ruby light flicker to life.
Join with me. Give girl back.
Faine shook her head, hearing that hissing voice intrude on
her thoughts.
Join with me.

She turned towards the box, tears now running down her
cheeks.
I will. Under one condition.
Oh, you want to make the conditions ? Does she ?
Yes. I dont want you to mess with Raun ever again. If you
want to intrude on anyones thoughts, intrude on mine. If you
want to mark anyone for eternity, mark me. But dont you touch
her ever again.
It was silent for a moment, as the demon in the box seemed to be
considering.
We truly have found a match Alright. We agree.
The violet tendrils began moving again, and one slithered
out, and touched Rauns forehead. The girl jolted, and gave a
large gasp. She began breathing again, but she still wasnt
awake.
Girl will awaken later.
Faine gave a sigh of relief.
As for you I give you my power. In return for returning girls
soul, Match has to find my body. I return. Must return.
Alright. Ill find it for you. The box began glowing and
floating. Piece by piece the box fell apart, dropping to the
ground to reveal a swirling orb of dark void. It flew towards
Faine, and she felt lightheaded when it sunk into her chest. She
gasped as she felt the heaviness of the power even itself out all
through her body. It was now a part of her just as she is now a
part of it.
The dark haired girl looked down at her fingertips as they glowed
a dark, dangerous violet in exchange for the pure white light
that saved her earlier.
Youre trapped now. Foolish human.
Faine clenched her teeth and picked up her friend and began
walking out of the clearing and down the old path. As she passed
by the tree that she and her used to be dead friend found that
curious majestic looking box but a week ago. She paused to look
at the spot for a minute, and then continued on.
In an odd clearing at the outskirts of town under a cloudy
nights sky, some say that you can see these bits of wood.

Elusive, but tangible. Worn and cracked from age, yet they hold a
gleam that could go to war with the starlight. But when the
clouds part, and the full moon is at its peak, they say that you
can see thin, elegant script very neatly etched into the old
wood, that seems to glow with a soft, ruby light.
For she who has reached inside my depths, I am with them
forever.