Dark Divine Fan Wrestlemania Talentmania FAN ART voting begins!

Are you ready for Round 2 of Dark Divine Fan Wrestlemania?! Oh wait, I mean TALENTMANIA! Because TDD Fans have got some artistic talent, and they're ready to duke it out in the FAN ART portion of the competition!

(Just remember, no hitting below the belt.)

Rules for voting for Fan Art is the same as voting for the Fan Fiction portion of the contest.

Here's how it works:

1. You can vote for up to 3 different Fan Art entries, but you can only vote once per entry. (So no voting multiple times for one entry. Got it?)

2. Vote by leaving a comment that says "Vote" on the post for the entry you wish to vote for.

3. When you leave a comment, be sure to "sign in" so we know who you are. If you do not have an account to sign in with and need to leave an anonymous comment, you must then leave a valid email address with your comment. (I need to know who you are to ensure people are voting fairly, AND so I can contact you if you win a door prize.) Anonymous comments that do not leave a valid email address will not be counted. You can use the name/url option, but you must either leave a valid URL or an email address.

4. Please, absolutely no flaming of entries is allowed. There are many different ages ans skill levels represented in this contest, and everyone has worked hard on their entries, so absolutely no rude or negative comments will be tolerated. If you don't like something then just don't say anything at all. This here is a kitten fight, not a cat fight.

5. 3 of Fan Art entries will be picked by popular vote to advance on the the finals. So be sure to vote for the entries you love! 2 additional entries will be selected (by me) as "wild card" entries to advance on to the final round as well.

These five finalists will then be submitted to a panel of judges (consisting of professional artists and nationally published authors) who will determine the winners of first, second, and third place. To remember what prizes the contestants will be vying to win, please refer to THIS post.

6. Each time you vote (up to 3 per person) you will be entered into a random drawing for some fabulous door prizes (listed below). These 3 votes are in addition to any votes you may/may have placed in the Fan Fiction portion of the contests. Contestants who have submitted fiction or art entries in the competition are allowed to vote. This contest is open internationally.

7. Voting for Fan Art entries is open until 11:59pm MST on February 28th. That gives you 1 week to get your votes in.

8. Winners of the competition, and winners of door prizes, will be announced on or before March 13th, 2012. (TSG release day!)

9. Contestants, yes, you are allowed to campaign for your entry. Tell your friends, family, social media followers, that boy you want to impress at school, whomever, to vote for you. Just remember, they can only vote one time for your entry. (And up to 2 additional entries to make 3 votes total.)

So what are these fabulous door prizes you can win just by voting?
DOOR PRIZES INCLUDE:

SIGNED books:
CINDER by Marrissa Meyer
TIGER'S VOYAGE by Colleen Houck
EVERNEATH by Brodi Ashton
HOURGLASS by Myra McEntire
TRIS & IZZIE by Mette Ivie Harrison
THE MEPHISTO COVENANT by Trinity Faegen
EVERY OTHER DAY by Jennifer Lynn Barnes
THE BUTTERFLY CLUES by Kate Ellison
THE SAVAGE GRACE by Bree Despain

Dark Divine Jewelry from Infinite Jewelry Company

TSG nail polish


Want to earn additional entries in the door prizes contest? You can by spreading the word about TDD Fan Talentmania.

You can earn up to 5 additional entries by doing the following:

A. Earn +1 entry each time you post about the contest on a social media site (such as Twitter, Facebook, Tumblr) up to 3 times for a total of +3 entries.

B. Earn +2 entries for posting about Talentmania on your blog or website.

C. Leave a comment on this post (with linkage) telling me what you did to spread the word.

(Note: These entries are in addition to the ones you may have earned by posting about the first phase of Talentmania a couple of weeks ago, and in addition to spreading the word about the Fiction portion of the contests, so you can go ahead and keep spreading the word to earn more entries now.)

Ready to start voting?

All 14 FAN ART entries have been posted below. Scroll down, see, enjoy, and vote for up to 3 of your favorite Art entries! (You will probably have to click on "older posts" a few times in order to see all the entries.) And then don't forget to spread the word about Talentmania so you can enter to win those door prizes.

Also, don't miss the FAN FICTION portion of Talentmania. To read and vote for Fan Fiction, go HERE.

Talentmania Fan Art Entry #1

Artist: Katie Dahlberg

Artist's Description: "I've had this scene in my head ever since I finished The Lost Saint last year - Grace, anguished and desperate, finds Daniel (who is, of course, in wolf form) resting in the middle of a forest and cuddles up next to him. For me, a scene like that will yank on my heartstrings and turn me into a blubbering mess, so I wanted to bring it to life."

Talentmania Fan Art Entry #2

Artist: Emma

Artist's Description: "For my entry I decided to make a fan-art cover for Dark Devine."

Talentmania Fan Art Entry #3

Artist: Katie Dahlberg

Artist's Description: "If the book was adapted into a movie, I'd assume the poster would look something like this. Dark, foggy and romantic. I'm also a big fan of Emma Roberts as Grace and Taylor Kitsch as Daniel so I wanted to incorporate them into it as well."

Talentmania Fan Art Entry #4

Artist: Samantha Dussor

Artist's Description:
"I drew this picture as my idea of what a graphic novel cover for The Lost Saint might look like, if there were to be one. The picture features what i think Daniel and Grace, my two favorite characters, would look like. The wolf in the background is Daniel, and since there is more action in The Lost Saint (to me at least) i added some blood underneath the moon. The reason I chose The Lost Saint my medium was because it is, so far, my favorite book out of the series."

Talentmania Fan Art Entry #5

Artist: Giada Mariani

Artist's Description:
"Here’s my colored pencil drawing of Grace.
I used a marker to color the dress and a micron pen for the wolf. I also used a silver colored ink pen for the leaves.
It took me three days to finish it (I cannot count how many hours)."

Talentmania Fan Art Entry #6

Artist: Eileen

Artist's Description:
"In this picture, Grace and Daniel are making a heart with one of their hands and leaning in for a kiss. The title is "Grace and Daniel Forever" and each of the words, besides "and", is in a color of a book cover in the series. This scene was something that I envisioned would happen instead when Grace and Daniel were in the prison cell after being captured by Jude, and Daniel's dad."

Talentmania Fan Art Entry #7

Artist: Rudi May Hart

Artist's Description: No description given, but I love how Jude is standing farther back from the others in the darkness.

Talentmania Fan Art Entry #8

Artist: Sophie

Artist's Description: "Grace and her world in watercolors"

Title: "Purple purple purple"

Talentmania Fan Art Entry #9

An interesting take--this artist made different cover options for his Fan Fiction entry that can be found HERE.

Artist: LC Piper

Artist's Description:

Cover #1
This story book cover is my favorite. It shows a black background that has been tore into (presumably) by a werewolf claws. The interior looks red, but not a particular bloody one. ;-) The title in this and the other two book covers is from my submitted short story. I tried to emulate the fonts and layouts to the book covers from your Dark Divine series. I used Dark Divine in the cover assuming that since this is a fan art contest it would be fine.

Cover #2
This story book cover draws from both my short story Savage Beginnings and from the first chapter in the Dark Devine where I connected my plot to yours. I really like the feeling of Angel, my character, seeing Grace through her perspective as she is introduced to Daniel for the first time. I think it's a bit of foreshadowing and stage setting. This image of a solitary isolated locker reflects Grace and how her struggle is hers alone to deal with. The locker is iconic to High Schools where she starts her story and on it's own looks odd, but is still instantly identifiable.

Cover #3
This final story book cover is similar to the first, but I took it to a closer perspective. The girls hand is drawing across the red locker. The claws drawn back have shaved small curls of metal off the locker face as told in my short story Savage Beginnings. The other two book covers kept a black background which I felt was important to keep a similar feel to your Dark Divine books, but I decided to do this one for fun, because the ripping of metal off an actual locker seemed to make more sense. So it's a big red monstrosity. ;-)

Talentmania Fan Art Entry #10

Artist: Amber Knighton

Artist's Description:
"I used white charcoal on black paper.
This is a picture of the forest behind Grace's house.
Not far from this scene, Grace and Daniel began their journey to find Baby James after he went missing in The Dark Divine."

Talentmania Fan Art Entry #11

An out of the ordinary entry--TDD earrings.

Artist: Grace Radford

Artist's Description:
"I made earrings...The backs have the letters T D D for "The Dark Divine" (The series title) and the front has the three covers."


Note: Grace has said that if anyone would like to purchase earrings from her, to email her at peachandblue2 [at] aol [dot] com

Talentmania Fan Art Entry #12

Artist: Diana Gudayol

Artist's Description: Star-lighted Grace and Daniel

Talentmania Fan Art Entry #13

Artist: Brina Cook

Artist's Description: "I love to draw so I drew a picture of Daniel Kalbi, his good wolf, and his bad wolf."

Talentmania Fan Fiction Entry #14

Artist: Marguerite Gibson

Artist's Description:

"The title is 'My Wolf'. It is a linocut, hand burnished with black graphic oil-based ink on Arches BFK 100% cotton paper."

Dark Divine Fan Wrestlemania Talentmania FAN FICTION voting begins!

The contestants are in their corners. The Fan Fiction entries have been posted below. Voters are going wild with anticipation. So let's get ready to rumble. . .


Here's how it works:

1. You can vote for up to 3 different Fan Fiction entries, but you can only vote once per entry. (So no voting multiple times for one entry. Got it?)

2. Vote by leaving a comment that says "Vote" on the post for the entry you wish to vote for.

3. When you leave a comment, be sure to "sign in" so we know who you are. If you do not have an account to sign in with and need to leave an anonymous comment, you must then leave a valid email address with your comment. (I need to know who you are to ensure people are voting fairly, AND so I can contact you if you win a door prize.) Anonymous comments that do not leave a valid email address will not be counted.

4. Please, absolutely no flaming of entries is allowed. Everyone has worked hard on their entries, so absolutely no rude or negative comments will be tolerated. If you don't like something then just don't say anything at all. This here is a kitten fight, not a cat fight.

5. 3 of Fan Fiction entries will be picked by popular vote to advance on the the finals. So be sure to vote for the entries you love! 2 additional entries will be selected (by me) as "wild card" entries to advance on to the final round as well.

These five finalists will then be submitted to a panel of judges (consisting of nationally published authors) who will determine the winners of first, second, and third place. To remember what prizes the contestants will be vying to win, please refer to THIS post.

6. Each time you vote (up to 3 per person) you will be entered into a random drawing for some fabulous door prizes (listed below). Contestants who have submitted fiction or art entries in the competition are allowed to vote. This contest is open internationally.

7. Voting for Fan Fiction entries is open until 11:59pm MST on February 27th. That gives you 1 week to get your votes in.

8. Winners of the competition, and winners of door prizes, will be announced on or before March 13th, 2012. (TSG release day!)

9. Contestants, yes, you are allowed to campaign for your entry. Tell your friends, family, social media followers, that boy you want to impress at school, whomever, to vote for you. Just remember, they can only vote one time for your entry. (And up to 2 additional entries to make 3 votes total.)

So what are these fabulous door prizes you can win just by voting?
DOOR PRIZES INCLUDE:

SIGNED books:
CINDER by Marrissa Meyer
TIGER'S VOYAGE by Colleen Houck
EVERNEATH by Brodi Ashton
HOURGLASS by Myra McEntire
TRIS & IZZIE by Mette Ivie Harrison
THE MEPHISTO COVENANT by Trinity Faegen
EVERY OTHER DAY by Jennifer Lynn Barnes
THE BUTTERFLY CLUES by Kate Ellison
THE SAVAGE GRACE by Bree Despain

Dark Divine Jewelry from Infinite Jewelry Company

TSG nail polish


Want to earn additional entries in the door prizes contest? You can by spreading the word about TDD Fan Talentmania.

You can earn up to 5 additional entries by doing the following:

A. Earn +1 entry each time you post about the contest on a social media site (such as Twitter, Facebook, Tumblr) up to 3 times for a total of +3 entries.

B. Earn +2 entries for posting about Talentmania on your blog or website.

C. Leave a comment on this post (with linkage) telling me what you did to spread the word.

(Note: These entries are in addition to the ones you may have earned by posting about the first phase of Talentmania a couple of weeks ago, so you can go ahead and keep spreading the word to earn more entries now.)

Ready to start voting? All 22 [EDIT 23 entries!] of the Fan Fiction entries have been posted below. Scroll down, read, enjoy, and vote for up to 3 of your favorite entries! (You will probably have to click on "older posts" a few times in order to see all the entries.) And then don't forget to spread the word about Talentmania so you can enter to win those door prizes.

Be sure to come back tomorrow for when the Fan Art portion of the competition goes live!

(Note to contestants: Apologies if there are any formatting problems with your post. Not all transferred over to the blog with their formatting intact. I tried to fix things the best I could, but not all the formatting changes would stick.)

Talentmania Fan Fiction Entry #1

By Tammy B

I opened my eyes to blackness.
Everything was hazy, memories escaping out of my reach. I went still and took a few deep breaths to clear my mind. Slowly, realization set in.
I was sitting in a very uncomfortable chair, hands tied behind my back. The darkness was actually a blindfold over my eyes.
They caught me.
The Shadow Kings.

It all began about a year ago. You see, I was turned into a werewolf by my boyfriend (ex-boyfriend). He kind of forgot to mention that small detail when we started dating. One evening things got out of control and I earned a scar just above my collarbone. The following day was the first time I Changed.
The pain was unbearable, coursing through my veins like a drug. Every limb and muscle, every bone screamed with agony. My thoughts through the Change were a real mess, not here nor there. It was almost impossible to focus on anything but the pain. I wanted it to stop.
There was one thought, though, that kept breaking through the pain.
I'm going to die.
At those moments, I wished I did.

Later, the Change would become easier and easier, and only a couple of months after, I was able to Change whenever I wanted. Which was good, very good. On the hundredth day of being a wolf, my seventeenth birthday, I ran away.
If you asked me how, I would have no idea, but I managed to successfully live in the wilderness. I would come across a pack, join them for a while, and then move on. I've made some friends and crashed in with them when it had been needed.
It was going well until two weeks ago, when I first noticed somebody was following me. At last, yesterday somebody knocked me out with a hit on the back of my head, and now I was here, in a cold, not so good-smelling room, anticipating my destiny.
Thanks to my inner wolf, I could see and hear abnormally good, and I was extraordinary fast and strong. I focused on the sounds around me, realizing that I was in the room alone, most likely underground. Then I focused on the sounds coming from outside. At fist nothing, but then...
One - no, two- pair of footsteps coming closer and closer...I didn't have the time to prepare.
The door burst open.

There was a sound of hard breathing, then someone's hands were on the ropes that bound my hands, untying them. My blindfold slid off.
In front of me stood a boy and girl, both around my age, by the looks, although the boy did look a bit older.
He was blonde and cute, and she definitely looked smart and like she was in charge of something, but not in a bad way, but in a way that she was born to be a leader.
Two things I noticed by the way they were standing.
One, they were an item.
Two, they were werewolves.

I was about to say something, but the room was suddenly filled with SKs, and before I knew it, we were in a battle.
Blows and hits were flying all over the place, and in the middle of the fight, I counted how many of them we were fighting.
Three of us against eight of them.
Well, dang it.

I prayed that those two were as good in fighting as they were in rescuing missions. Luckily, they were.
By the time I got one of the Shadow Kings, each of them took down two. Their movements were clean and precise, but also full of grace, where mine were somewhat sloppy and predictable.
I sensed an attack from my behind and spun around, connecting my foot with the stomach of a hooded man. He buckled a bit, but didn't go down. I was preparing for my next hit when he reached out and sent me flying backwards into a wall.
I saw stars for a second, but then regained my balance and stood up, just in time to see the girl finishing the poor bastard. I looked around.
Only the three of us were left standing.
Quickly I approached them and said: "Uh, thanks. I'm Emily."
The girl smiled and moved closer to the boy. "Glad to help. This", she hugged the blonde-haired boy, "is Daniel, and I'm Grace."
I smiled back. "Nice to meet you both."
Grace looked at the door, my path to freedom, and said, "Shall we?"

Talentmania Fan Fiction Entry #2

By Whitney Gibbons

“…and after she took the knife out of his chest there was only one heartbeat! We’ve been searching for a cure for hundreds of years and it shows up in Minnesota a week ago.”

Hope sighed in envy as she stared up into the afternoon sunlight filtering through the forest canopy. Fingering the moonstone beads on her bracelet she tried to ignore the proximity of her families’ mansion behind her, instead pretending that she was deep in the mountains that surrounded it. Far away from her pack and her curse, being alone with Chance was worth the isolation.

“Grace Divine.” Hope said. She caught the stone Chance had dropped to her and tossed it back up with a powerful flick of her wrist. “I bet she’s blonde.”

“I thought Brother Mooney said her hair was black?” Chance said from his perch high in the oak above her.

“She’s the Divine One, her hair is probably whatever color she wants.” Hope pointed out.

With a slight rush of wind Chance jumped out of the tree, the superhuman strength in his legs steadying him after his twenty-foot drop. Hope jumped to escape the burst of leaf litter heralding his decent.

“Do you know how long it takes to get this stuff out of my hair?” Hope said in mock indignation. Smiling, Chance delicately picked a leaf from her brown tresses.

“You look beautiful with or without leaves.” He said, taking her hand in his. A shivery warmth spread up Hope’s arm as she looked into his green eyes.

A snapping sound killed the moment. Chance’s head jerked up in the direction of the disturbance, away from the house.

“You hear that?” he whispered.

“Yeah, it’s coming from the edge of the property.” Hope said, reluctantly taking her eyes off Chance to listen as the shuffling noises grew closer.

“Want to check it out?” Chance asked, cocking an eyebrow playfully.

“We aren’t really supposed to, it’s probably just a deer.” Hope said hesitantly.

The noise suddenly resolved into human muttering, like a radio dial had been nudged. Chance’s playfulness disappeared and Hope’s muscles tensed.

“Still think it’s a deer?”

“No, let’s go.”

Yes, go punish the trespasser.

Hope gritted her teeth as she and Chance silently sprinted through the woods at an inhuman pace. Just shut up. She thought fiercely, this was no time for the wolf to distract her.

Hope saw the source of the noise and skidded to a halt, holding a hand out behind her to stop Chance as she realized what they were up against; a man with shockingly blonde hair, a cleft chin, and a perfectly malicious smile.

Hope desperately tried to back up but she just ran into Chance. The man looked up and his grin grew wider.

“A couple of Sirhan’s flea-bitten pups I presume?” he sneered.

Chance stepped in front of Hope, between her and the lunatic pack-reject. It had been a while since anyone had seen Caleb Kalbi, but his name was still spoken with disgust.

Kill him. Do it now! You and Chance together. The wolf screamed. Hope tried to stifle the furious indignation simmering in her chest, the fumes were drifting up and stifling her mind. She could practically see the hair on the back of Chance’s neck prickling with hostility.

“What are you doing on our land? This is private property!” Chance growled, taking a step forward.

“I don’t have to justify myself to you.” Caleb snarled back. Hope didn’t see a speck of moonstone on him, nothing to prevent him from going wolf and ripping them to shreds. She suspected the only thing keeping Chance from going ballistic was the moonstone stud in his ear, she hoped it would be enough.

Hope heard thundering footsteps from the house, others had heard Caleb too.

“Come and get me, or are you a Gabriel pacifist poodle? Are you wolf enough?” Caleb jeered.

Chance roared and leapt at Caleb, Hope screamed and vaulted against him, throwing him off-course and into a bush, she wasn’t going to lose him to the wolf! She heard crashing underbrush as the cavalry arrived, but she only had eyes for Chance.

“Are you okay?” she asked, checking to make sure his stud was in, his eyes were horrified.

“It was so easy to give in.”

“Not on my watch.” Hope said, helping him to his feet, Caleb was gone, the others in pursuit.

“Who needs Grace when I have you?” Chance smiled and pulled her into a hug.

Talentmania Fan Fiction Entry #3

By Vy Tran

The wood was awfully quiet tonight. It doesn’t matter though, even if I have a millions pair of eyes watching me, I still run. As fast as I can, as hard, until the soles of my feet feel like nothing more than tingling sensation. What was I suppose to do? Stand there and watch April and Jude snuggle on the couch, like nothing even matter anymore? Like all the problems in the world is solve. Not even close. Each and everyday, I feel the weight of the world falling on me, one by one, not at all completely. That would have ruined their fun. They dump a little bit on me each day, just to watch me fall. Just to watch me dodge the inevitable. We all know that it was impossible, but I still try, and in the end the only one going to fall will be me along with my stubbornness.


I got to the middle of nowhere. Just I, surrounded by the sweet smell of tree branches, and dead leaves. The smell indicating that fall is almost over and winter is just the next to come. Here, everything seems so peaceful, so stunning, just beautiful. Nothing compares to my raging heart, and nerve wrecking inside. There are a millions thing to be done, and here I am running away from my problems. Even if it was for a little while, I still feel at ease. Maybe sometime, if you can’t find the solution to your problem, you should just run. As far from it as you can, despise all those that you would hurt in the process. This thought only brings me back to Daniel. His sweet smiling face, as his shaggy blonde hair runs down to his eyes. His eyes. The most beautiful brown eyes I have ever seen, now sit on top of a face fill with fur and a snout. I will never be able to hold on to his tight and secure embrace, or feel the touch of his lips on mine, along with the feeling of heat arouses all over my body as an after effect to his kiss. How will I be able to reverse the curse that had haunted him practically his whole life? More importantly, how will I be able to keep my purist souls at it most vulnerable state, as each and everyday, the wolf inside me threatens to take over? Will I still be Grace Divine, in the end, or does it ends here for me?


I had to choke back the tears that had threatened to come out, when a familiar smell came out and surrounds the woods. It was painfully sweet. The smell of almonds surrounds me, calming, almost telling me that everything will be okay, and that I have to keep fighting. I look up to see a wolf, in the color of white, so bright, so pure, that it literally stands out against the cold and dark woods, luring me in to it. The beautiful wolf walks toward me, in a way that so graceful, so controlled, and delicate, yet also in a way that almost protective. His snout nuzzles under my neck, urging me to look at him. But I can’t. Not when I was just about to give up. On everything. On us. How I was so selfish, but when I stare into those brown eyes, that were all it took for me to realize that he was never mad. In fact, he understands what I am going through right now. Because he is going through the same battle. This is his way telling me that I am not alone, and no matter what, I have him with me. Along with everyone else.


“Daniel.” I whisper his name. It tasted sweet as it rolls off my tongue, and with that I lean into his fur neck, and cried. I let out all the tears that I have been holding back ever since we got back from the warehouse that day. As he sit there, patiently waiting. I can almost hear him say that everything will be okay. And that no matter what happen I will be with him. Forever.

Talentmania Fan Fiction Entry #4

By Emily Reinke

I wake up. Silence. That’s what I hear. I’m not sure what happened to me I remember one minute having fun at a party with my friends and next I’m here sitting in the dark. There is a lightness in my pocket and I realize that my cell phone is gone. “Hello” I say out loud but there is no response. “HELLO!” I shout this time and I hear something start to move. “Good. You’re awake” says a voice I don’t recognize at all.
“Where am I?”
“You’re home” says the voice without hesitation.
“No I’m not,” I respond firmly, “Is this some kind of joke? Did my brother set this up to teach me a lesson about going out at night?”
“I have no idea what you’re talking about,”
“What’s your name?”
“Jude”
“Well Jude, what am I doing here?”
“You were chosen.” He steps out of the shadows and I see his tall figure. I looked like he goes to the gym often. “What was I chosen for? What are you talking about?”
“All in good time. Now come” I follow Jude out a door and into a hallway. “One thing you need to know. Never disobey father or there will be punishment. If you do what he says you will be rewarded.”
“Ok, I still don’t see why I’m here.”
“I told you,” he says angrily, “all in good time.” He walks down the hallway and opens a door. “This will be your room, you are to tell me where you are going at all times before you leave and there is no visiting anyone you knew before now. You have changed. End of story.” He leads into the room and I see an old looking bed and a mattress with old moth chew sheets on it. There is one window not even big enough to fill the room with light. There is also no light in the room. “I will leave now, you are to go nowhere.” Jude leaves and I’m left standing in the room. “My name’s Kat!” I shout, “If you wanted to know.” I lie on the bed which is in the middle of the room and start to doze off to sleep again. This time I start dreaming of wolves. Thousands and thousands of wolves coming straight at me and attacking me. I try fighting them off but as soon as one left another one came. I just can’t fight them all at once. What’s happening? Why am I having this dream? I wake up and find out that I am covered in sweat and panting like a dog. I try to find my cell phone in my pocket but remember that it is gone. They must have taken it to make sure I had no contact with anyone I use to know. I hear footsteps outside the door and I spring up as the door is open. Jude steps in with a serious look on his face. “It’s time for you to start training.”
“Training? For what” I say stunned.
“You are going to kill Daniel Kalbi.”

Talentmania Fan Fiction Entry #5

By Entity Carter

“Damn it!” I heard my father shout as he slammed the front door. I quickly hid in my room and shut the door, praying he wouldn’t come in.

“Caleb! Where have you been?!” I heard my mom shout at him, from behind my door.

“None of your business!” he yelled back, angrily. I tried plugging my ears as they exchanged swears and screams, but it couldn’t block them out. I ran over to my desk and stuck my earbuds in, blasting my music as loud as it could go. I could still catch a few words though, like: “your fault!” or “he’s your son!” and“that bastard is no son of mine!”

I leapt onto my bed and buried my face in the pillows until it was over.


After laying on my bed, waiting for the fighting to stop, for so long, I’d fallen asleep. I slept for three hours, until I finally peeled my eyes open. It was dark outside now and my stomach growled, incessantly. I got up, and opened my door just a crack. The hallway was empty. I listened for voices, but heard none.

Quickly, and quietly, I made my way downstairs to get something to eat. In the kitchen, I opened up the fridge and peered inside. There wasn’t much. I grabbed an apple and headed back up to my room, but stopped by the front door when something on the floor caught my eye. It was red. I swallowed the fears that grew in my chest, and looked closer.

I knew it was blood. I could smell it. But, what it was didn’t bother me. Where it came from, did.

He was always doing this. I’d seen him do this. They way he shook, and screamed, then transformed into an even greater monster than he already was. The way he bit into his kill, ripping and tearing innocent people to shreds. I shivered, and slowly backed away from the blood. But, then I heard a gravelly voice behind me.

“What the hell do you think you’re doing?” my father grumbled. I turned around quickly, not meeting his eyes.

“Nothing,” I said, quickly. “Just going up to my room.” I tried to make a dash for the stairs, but my father caught my arm, jerking me back towards him.

“Not so fast boy!” He flung me onto the ground, with impossible strength. My head hit the tile and I tried not to cry out, as I sat up.

“What?” I moaned. My father glared at me, practically seething. He was angry about something. But, what? What had I done to piss him off this time? Suddenly my dad jerked something from out of his pocket. My eyes widened in fear.

“WHAT THE HELL IS THIS?!” he demanded. How? I thought, standing up slowly. How did he get them? In his hands, my father was holding all of my drawings of him. Except that in every single one of them, he wasn’t human.

“I-I-” I stuttered, but he didn’t wait for my answer. He slapped me, harder than should have been possible, and I staggered backward.

“YOU IDIOT!! BURN THEM!!” he screamed, flinging my drawings at me. “ALL OF THEM!!!” Then he leaned down towards me, grabbing my shirt. “And if I ever see them again, trust me when I say, you’re going to wish you were dead.” He released me, and started walking away. I looked down at my pictures, then back up at my father, glaring at him.

“No,” I stated, coldly. He turned around slowly, nostrils flaring.

“What?” he hissed, walking towards me.

“No,” I repeated. “These are my drawings, and I’m not going to get rid of them.” Before I could say anything else my father screamed and punched me. I clutched my bloody, broken nose, and glared with all the hatred in my body at the man who couldn’t possibly be my father. “I hate you.” Then, Caleb Kalbi did probably the scariest thing I’ve ever seen in my life...he smiled.

“The feeling is mutual.” Then he turned and left.

***

“I told you,” I repeated to Jude, for the millionth time. “I fell.” Jude scowled at me.

“I know you’re lying Daniel. Tell me what happened to you! You don’t get a broken nose from just falling!” he exclaimed. He was right. I sighed, then looked him in the eye.

“Fine. But, you have to blood-brother swear that you won’t tell your parents!” Jude nodded.

“I swear.”

Talentmania Fan Fiction Entry #6

By MaCayla Caso

His body went rigid under her touch. He could feel the cold permeating from her fingertips and it enticed him. Her piercing green eyes looked over him, as if embracing him, taking in every centimeter of him. Her petite figure could take him down in less then a second if she had to. Her hand trailed from his back around to his chest.
“Nice to see you again Jude,” she said, her voice sounding like it’s made of silk. She knows her power over him. Something about the way she is makes him feel like a magnet being attracted to metal. The lightness of her touch sent a chill through out his skin. “What are you here for now, since I know you aren’t here to see my enchanting face?”
It fits that she referred to her face as enchanting since it truly is. The heart-shape of it and the pout of her lips made it beautiful without too much work. “I need your help Zia,” he said, every word clipped at the end. He could only think about every move she takes and how her body was so close he could smell the scent of her perfume. He wanted to grab her and hold her in his arms never letting go. He has always known she was the one that made his heart race and always will. She tempted him in no ways any other person has. But the past has stopped what they could have had and he knows it wont progress, but is in a frozen moment, there but not changing.
“I knew you just wanted to use me for your own gain,” she said with her plump, red lips turning up into a start of a smile. Their history was brief but it would always be there. He knew the reason they were so attracted to each other because of the senses and links that come from them both having the wolf in them. The wolf intensifies how much they want each other. “What can I help you with my love?”
The way she said that caused him to stand up straighter. He had gotten to know and love her in his time away from home, or what used to be his home. He is not the good boy he used to be. When Daniel had turned him into this monster he had to change. The world he is in now does not have to do with charities and meaningless school grades. People don’t see the world he is in and like to avoid the truth of it. Zia came closer to Jude and he brushed back some of the long strands of thick, black hair that fell into her alabaster toned face. “I need your help to get a message to my sister,” he said breathlessly from her close proximity.

Talentmania Fan Fiction Entry #7

By Annie Boytim

The ground crunched under my feet. The dead leaves turning brown as winter began to brew and the air grew icy. A few birds and squirrels lingered in the forest trees, calling out to others every so often. More than a few leaves were still left on their branches and fluttered in the cool breeze.
My hair lifted gently with the breeze, causing me to shiver involuntarily. I padded along the forest floor leaving soft prints in my wake. Pacing and circling tree after tree I finally settled down
The sun in the late afternoon was a brilliant orange glow across the plain, giving the land a distinguishable sparkle. I sat down and leaned my back against a tree looking out into the sun. A memory creeping back into my mind….
Grace, Jude, and I were in the backyard throwing a baseball back and forth. Grace was out to the side and Jude was standing directly across from me, making us a triangle.
“Hey, Grace!” Jude shouted. “Bet you can’t catch this!”
Jude hurled the ball into the forest and Grace sulked. “Jude! I’ll never be able to find the ball now!” Grace had whined.
“Come on, Gracie, I’ll help you find it. Jude, tell your parents that we’ll be back soon. And me and Grace will do dishes tonight after dinner,” I grinned.
“What? No!” Grace protested.
We waited for Jude to go in the house and then walked into the woods. It was early summer, school had just ended but it didn’t feel warm out. It was unnaturally cool this year and I could notice Grace shivering.
“Grace,” I spoke. ‘Gracie.”
She tensed at her name. “What?”
She rubbed her hands up and down her arms, trying to keep them warm in the crisp wind. “Do you want my jacket? You look cold.”
She shook her head no but her teeth slightly chattered. “No. I’m fine. But thanks, though,” she said and smiled sweetly.
I shrugged and kept walking next to her trying to stay as close as possible. I could smell a sweet scent coming from her hair and inhaled deeply, shutting my eyes and focusing.
“What are you doing? Are you smelling my hair?” Grace asked incredulously.
A smirk spread across my face and I stepped away from her. “Of course not. But if I was I would say that your shampoo is divine… but then again, so are you, Miss Divine.”
She hugged herself and gave me a small smile that light up her violet eyes. “You are just too kind.”
I rolled my eyes at her. “Bet you knew I was going to say that.”
Now she rolled her eyes. “Of course I did. You are just too predictable, Daniel Kalbi.”
I stopped under a big branch full of lush, green leaves. “You think I’m predictable? You liar. You know how spontaneous, and outright I can be. For example, what of these leaves?”
“What of those leaves?” She laughed.
“If I am so predictable, then what am I going to do with those leaves?” I raised an eyebrow at her, beckoning her to tell me.
Her eyes grew wide in disbelief. Was I really asking her this? She couldn’t fathom my question, leaving it answerless.
I jumped in a flash and leaves rained down around us, engulfing us. Grace twirled around, helplessly lost in the sea of the green. She flailed her arms hopelessly scattering the leaves and accidentally hitting a low lying branch, sending even more leaves raining down upon us. I pushed through the leaves and wrapped my arms around her waist from behind and scared her even more. Grace twisted around in my arms until she was facing me. Her palms resting gently on my chest, her face tilted upwards.
“Are you still cold?” I asked softly.
A slow flush crept up her neck and onto her face, giving it a soft pink glow. “I’m never cold when I’m with you. You’re like my own personal bonfire,” Grace whispered.
My stomach twisted and my face got hot. Grace took a hand from my chest and cupped my face. I took one of my hands and slowly caressed the side of her face.
“Grace, I-”
“Daniel!” Her voice rang out through the forest.
My head perked up at the sound of her voice and I began running back to the Divine house, remembering along the way, why Grace could never love me because of what I was… a wolf.

Talentmania Fan Fiction Entry #8

In These Sorrow Filled Eyes
By Amanda Tse

Under the silver light of the moon, all the sorrow that’s been building up inside me comes out in a long, broken howl. I throw my head up and sing the sorrow out of my heart, my two beating hearts. Others of my kind join in and before I know it, we are creating a symphony of haunting, sorrow filled music in the air. This is for her, for Grace, my Grace. I know I’m losing myself. I’m moving deeper and deeper into the woods. I’d forget hours, sometimes even days but not Grace. Not ever. I remember everything about her. Her violet eyes, artwork, golden smile, everything. Even now, as I wake up in the woods behind her house, my thoughts instantly drift towards her. She has stolen my heart.
I look into the sky as the stars call to me. They’ve been pulling me further and further away from her. They’re not the only things that call me though. The moon’s mystical pull, wind that rushes through my fur as I run, the soothing sound of the water running through the stream, and Grace. Grace calls me too. I can hear her even now. She calls my name, Daniel I think it was. Close, yet so far away.
I listen to her, loving the sound of her voice but sticking to the shadows as to not hurt her. I’m stuck in this body of an animal I am all too familiar with. The body of an animal, of a beast, the body of a wolf white as snow. As much as I hate to admit it, I kind of like being a wolf. Being one with nature, feeling so free, it’s so beautiful. It’s like breathing in the sweet fresh air of spring time. It’s like waking up warm after a long nap in the sun. It’s like being at total peace. I can feel my wolf instincts taking over, driving me further away from the humans, from Grace.
My fur stands on end as I sense the presence of another animal. I hear a rustle in the leaves, a change in the wind, and know they’re after me. I can feel it in an animal instinct that is unexplainable even to me. In an instant, I’m running, running away from Grace, from the only real home I’ve ever known. I will lead them away from her, as far away as possible until I reach the clearing. The wind is frigid against my fur and for once, I don’t feel the caress of the wind in my ears. No, I hear my two hearts beating away like drums in battle.
I can hear them, they’re catching up fast. I can feel their breath running down my spine and taste the hatred in the air, but I don’t see them. Trees pass by in a blur as the clearing comes into view. A low growl comes from my left and from my right, a flash of black darker than night itself. In an instant, he’s on me, spitting with hatred. He’s one of my father’s warriors sent to kill me. I bare my teeth and snap at him yet he does not yield. We wrestle in the mud snapping and clawing at one another. There is a sickening crack and the growling from the black wolf subsides into soft whimpers. I know this is my chance to kill him but I can’t bring myself to do it, to take another innocent man’s life. I slowly back away from the wounded wolf when I hear a twig snap. Whirling around I see the violet eyes I dream of so often, but something’s off. They are cold, colder than I have ever seen them before, but there is something else too. A touch of madness contaminates the otherwise breathtaking eyes. It is then that I look into the face of the cold violet eyes and see Jude is standing in front of me. I let out a sigh of relief thinking Grace is still safe in bed when I realize he’s holding a pistol.
“I’m sorry Daniel but what the boss says goes,” he whispers in a voice so quiet it gets carried away with the wind, “goodbye my dear friend.”
I close my eyes and think of the future that should have been. A strange wetness makes a river down to my nose.
There is an ear shattering bang and then, darkness…

Talentmania Fan Fiction Entry #9

By Paige Bradish

My name is April. My best friend is Grace. Those of you who know her story know that in her mind I‘m only a little part of her story but little does she know I‘m a huge part of her story.

Aprils mom pulled up to Grizzly Elementary School “Okay April here we are now remember what I said, Be brave, listen to your teacher, and try to make as many friends as you can.” April smiled brightly “Okay Mommy! Love you!” April walked up the steps of her new school suddenly wishing she hadn’t rushed getting to here. All of her previous fears were starting to rush back to her. Slowly she accelerated when she felt someone looking at her. She turned around but no one was there. She turned back around and there was a girl standing in front of her. “HI! My name is Grace! What’s yours?” April fell back a little startled at the girl who just appeared in front of her. “Umm.. My name is April.” Grace beamed brightly “Do you want to be my friend?” April let out a sigh of relief she only wanted to be friends. She smiled. “Sure!”

“April! Wake up! Grace is on the phone!” Startled awake by her mothers yelling she shot up from her bed
“What?! Mom how many times have I told you not to yell like that when I’m sleeping you’re going to give me a heart attack!” Her mother giggled.
“I’m sorry but pick up the phone it’s Grace.” April reached for her phone and put it to her ear.
“What’s up? Are you okay?”
“Yeah I just had a dream about how we met on the first day of first grade and I know we haven’t talked in awhile so I figured I would call you. You’re my bestie I miss you!” April yawned
“I missed you too, I’m glad you decided to call me for once in your life!”
“Oh shut up April! So what‘s up?”
“Nothing much but hey do you think you could come get me in an hour I have to talk to you about something in private Its really important.” Grace breathed into the phone
“April? Your not pregnant are you?” April groaned
“For god sakes Grace I’m your best friend you should know the answer to that question!”
“Okay your right well okay then I’ll be over in an hour!”
Two hours later April was sitting next to her best friend in the middle of the woods on a blanket. Grace looked at April blankly “May I ask what we’re doing here?” April sighed and looked down at her hands.
“Well there’s things I’ve been meaning to tell you, and I wasn’t sure how to tell you because I didn’t know how you would react.” Grace reached over and grasped Aprils hand
“April you’re my best friend I love you, you know you can tell me anything.” April smiled
“I know. Well here it goes. Don’t interrupt though just let me finish and then you can ask questions. Okay?” Grace nodded
“Okay well Remember how freaked you were when you found out your brother was a Werewolf?” All the blood drained from Graces face and she nodded.
“Well um I knew before you did I’ve known for a long time.. A very long time.” Grace stopped her
“What?! How long have you known?!” April squeezed her hand
“Ever since that first sleepover we had back in 8th grade when my parents finally warmed to you and let me come over.” Grace looked at her fiercely.
“You knew and you didn’t tell me?! What did nobody trust me? Wait! How did you know he didn’t tell anybody until just last year.” April swallowed.
“Well I um I know because I’m a werewolf too Gracie.” Grace stared at her in complete horror.
“What?! Oh my god you’ve got to be kidding me this can’t be happening.” Grace bolted up completely horrified from what she was hearing and ran for her car.
“Grace! Wait! Please let me explain.”
“No! April No! your supposed to be my best friend and you’ve been keeping secrets from me for basically 5 years! I can’t even look at you right now! You knew what was happening to my brother and you probably knew why Daniel left but you didn’t think to tell me?!” Grace got in her car, gave April one last look then sped away leaving April behind alone in the dark woods.

Talentmania Fan Fiction Entry #10

By Mikala Laws

My cell phone buzzed once again for what seemed the millionth time that that night. I let it go to voicemail just like every other time and silently wondered when April would understand that I just didn’t feel like talking right now. As a matter of fact I couldn’t see myself talking to anyone for a good while, not even the warm smiles from my mom would snap me out of my dream state. More often than not I couldn’t feel anything, just a deep emptiness that crowded around my heart like a suffocating black hole that sucked up any feelings. Lately it seemed not even the taunting of the wolf inside of me could come close to reaching the surface. There were some nights however, like tonight, where the numbness wore off for a short while and left nothing but an aching pain in its place.

There was a soft knock on my door, and I didn’t even have the energy to tell whoever it was to go away. They would understand... Only whoever they were obviously didn’t get it. With a sigh I turned on my bed to face the door.

“Who is it”, I asked and flinched at the hollow sound in my voice.

Instead of answering a small head poked into the crack of my door. “Gwa-cie?” A small voice whispered, and instantly my heart softened as James became more in view. His large eyes were filled with concern as he watched me from just inside my doorway.

Unable to say no to the adorable little creature I patted a spot on my bed, and he came closer. “Come on in buddy.” I whispered and instantly he ran the length of my room and curled up next to me on the bed. “What’s wrong James?”

At first he didn’t answer he just trembled against me. I rubbed his hair softly and reminisced the days when he was barely old enough to say peas. A small smile curved my lips as I remembered the good ol’ days; when I was completely oblivious to anything that happened outside of my families little world. The smile vanished instantly as the words I feared most slipped off of James lips. “Judy’s gone again.” A tight fist closed its hand around my heart, and I felt my body go cold as I gently lifted James off of my bed.

“James you should go to bed now.” I whispered before taking his hand and leading him to his room. I put him under the covers and tucked him in nice and tight.

“Don’t go Gwa-cie.” He whined softly with tears in his eyes. I smiled sadly at him and instead of answering turned around. I stalked out of his room with tears of my own falling down my face.

~ * ~

The air outside was cool and light when I tightened the laces on my sneakers. I crept around to the back of my house and when I hit the backyard I sprinted towards the forest and vaulted over the protective fence letting the wind whip by me as I stretched muscles that hadn’t been used in quite a while. The last time I found myself running through the woods I was holding the hand of the very person I was out here looking for. I could almost see Daniel running through the forest with the grace of a predator just like the first time. Now it was me running without watching where it was that I placed my feet, because I simply didn’t need to.

I inhaled deeply and allowed my senses to be given over to the wolf that was inside of me. I could smell him everywhere. He patrolled the edges of the woods all the time, but he never came up to the house; like he was afraid what I would think of him. I hadn’t even spoken to him since the day that I was captured by Caleb Kalbi, and not a day went by that didn’t make me miss him furiously.

When I finally entered the clearing the massive white wolf was already there waiting. I looked up into the deep mud pie eyes and gave a smile.

“He ran off again.” I whispered. The wolf nodded once and walked closer; I broke. It dropped next to me and I sobbed into the white coat while Daniel whined and licked my face; the only comfort he could give me now.

Talentmania Fan Fiction Entry #11

By Stephanie Ehmann

Charity was starring out the Window, at the Full moon. Thinking to herself as she sang Baby James to sleep. Strange things have happened lately. Daniel was back for one. Grace seemed happen about that, Jude not so much. Jude kept getting Angry. Something happened between Daniel and Jude the one weekend we were sent to Our Aunts, and Daniel coming back is stirring up bad memories. Jude had run away after Christmas and it is driving Mom crazy. She keeps sending Dad away because she says he "saw" him somewhere on TV. He's been back for a while now though. My Dads a Pastor. So people really aren't happy when he misses. He even brought a special guest to make them happy. Pastor Gabriel. Anyway something strange was going on in Rose Crest, and things kept on getting stranger.

Charity had stopped reading when her Mother opened the door.

"Charity, honey have you seen Grace? I thought she was coming home after the Festival." She sounded tired.

"Sorry, I haven't seen her since she gave me Baby James and left to talk to a Friend of hers." Too bad she didn’t have a phone or I'd have called her.

"Hmm, alright I'll try your father." and she stepped out of the Room and Left. Baby James had fallen asleep by the time her mom left. Charity got up slowly trying not to wake the baby when she had an idea. Grace wasn't home. If she ever wanted to find out what was up with her, now was the best time. She moved very slowly toward her sister’s door. Being careful not to make to much noisefor her mom to hear. Grace's room was a mess. If I could find anything it would take hours. But I set myself to work. I didn't have much luck. Nothing looked out of the Ordinary. I'd given up. I plopped myself down on her bed. I could hear mom doing the dishes. I jumped up off the bed, a little too fast. I slipped on one of Graces art pictures. And landed on my butt. I'm sure mom heard me, because I heard footsteps coming up the stairs. I crawled under Grace’s bed, and got quiet. The Door opened and my mom came in. She walked around for a minute or two. Then headed for the door. I was crawling out from under the bed when my foot hit something. I turned my head to see. There was a Shoebox. I grabbed it and continued to crawl out. I opened the shoe box to my surprise there was a Book, a very old book. I shoved the box back under the bed and headed for my room. I went to my bed and sat down. I opened the book and started to read. I Read the Story for hours. It was a Diary of a Girl. She told the story of her life. She told of a Curse she had. She said she was a Hound of Heaven, From my understanding a Werewolf. She told of the erg to hunt to kill, A monster within herself turning to escape. She told of the Cure. A stake to the Heart by a persons true love. In the end her brother had tried to save her. But killed her in the end. What confused me the most is that she spoke of a Moonstone. A stone that can help obtain the Beast. A necklace described the same way Graces and Daniels Necklace looks. Could it be that the book was true? Were Werewolves real? What was Grace doing with the book? And the worst question of all. Was Grace a Werewolf? I kept reading. At one point the writing had change. A mans writing, A very familiar writing. There was a Signature on the last page. It was signed Gabriel. The writing was from Brother Gabriel. I was horrified. The Book was right. Werewolf existed. And Brother Gabriel was one of them, maybe even Grace. I was scared, but interested. I was tired, but wide-awake. I didn't know what to do. I did the only thing I could think of. I grabbed a jacket and slipped my shoes on. I tipped toed down the stairs, making sure my mom didn't hear me. And I took off on my Bike, to Brother Gabriel's. I drove threw the night. A Full moon filled Night. And I wondered what would become of us all.

Talentmania Fan Fiction Entry #12

By Aryanna Falkner

I didn’t know why I was here.

I shouldn’t have been loitering on the street after making the decision to see Daniel at his apartment. He hadn’t even been there.

I clutched my coat close to me to stay warm. The wind sliced through my clothes like knives; the shivers wouldn’t stop. I crossed a street—only to find myself back where I started.

Great, I thought, I’m hopelessly lost. The thought made me shake more than the wailing wind. I mentally added In case I become lost to the list of reasons why I should have a cellphone.

It was Friday night; my whole class had planned on getting together for a party. All of them except me and one other person.

Daniel.

Daniel was always the exception. He made me impossibly frustrated, mostly because of my own response to him. I couldn’t help but think of the way he walked and spoke my name, or how it was effortless for him to sketch and paint. I could picture him now, raking a hand through his choppy, dyed-black hair.

I stopped dead in my tracks and commanded myself not to think of Daniel. Not now, at least. I couldn’t even find my car.

The street quickly led into an alley and with a sudden feeling of relief, I realized that the alley was a shortcut to the street where my car awaited my return. I silently cursed at myself for being too embarrassed to park in front of Daniel’s apartment building.

I trekked through the alley. I could see the end of it just ahead—a street light was flickering somewhere near the exit.

Then all of the hair on my arms prickled. It was a warning.

A long, thick shadow in the shape of a man was cast at the end of the alley. Without wanting to see the face of the man that the shadow belonged to, I spun around and picked up a light jog to go back to the entrance. I didn’t even make it halfway before the noises started.

I heard a voice hiss. The sound made my heart start with fear. I swallowed hard and forced my feet to move. I threw a glance over my shoulder and saw that the shadow was gone. I didn’t know whether that fact made me relieved or more fearful. Either way, I wasn’t going to risk taking the shortcut that I originally thought was a brilliant idea.

The hissing didn’t stop, but I made the effort to push it to the back of my mind.

It’s just the wind, I told myself. I kept repeating that until I felt a hand graze my shoulder. I let out a small shriek as I whirled to face the man.

But nobody was there. The whispers started to become clearer. It was just one word, but it was enough to knock the breath out of me. A cold sweat broke out on my neck and my forehead. I used the back of my hand to wipe away the perspiration.

“Grace.” Someone was whispering my name. My heart dropped into my stomach. “Grace,” it continued. My mind reeled.

I whipped my head back and forth—and caught a terrifying sight: The shadow had returned. “Hello?” I asked. “W—who’s there?”

Then I recognized the tall, lean stature of the shadow. It was Daniel. It had to be him! I started going toward him but he turned away. I had the desire to call out his name until I noticed that the shadow had fully disappeared. I stared incredulously at the empty alley. The hissing and whispers had stopped. I bit my tongue to remain in control of the situation.

I began walking again and nearly fell to the ground when I heard my name.

“Grace,” the voice was filled with relief. “I’ve been looking for you all night!” My shoulders slumped as he put his arm around me and led me out of the alley.

“Thanks, Jude.” He just nodded and continued walking. His fingers dug into my arm, almost painfully. He asked no questions as to why I was here, and I didn’t ask him. I could tell he was lost in thought as we walked.

The only thing that led me to believe he still acknowledged my presence was when he tightened his vice-like grip on my arm at the sound of a wolf’s cry.

I could have sworn the wolf howled my name.

Talentmania Fan Fiction Entry #13

April Discovers a Secret
By Marguerite Gibson

I bounded up the Divine Family’s front path, leapt across the porch, rapt impatiently on the door and hopped in discomfit as Jude took his sweet old time to answer it. Gazing vacantly around the yard, I reflected on how this meeting had all started, a few hours ago, over lunch.


Lunch

I tapped my foot in triple time as Jude lingered in line with our lunch, chatting to a friend, taking his time as I wasted away. When he arrived at the table he would find an emancipated corpse if he didn’t hurry it up. I started tapping my chin and foot at the same time, building up an impressive tempo. Finally, though, Jude joined me. Sliding my salad sandwich over, we ate in silence for some time, or to put it another way, if he had spoken to me I was too busy eating my lunch to notice or participate.

“April,” he started. I stared up from the last quarter of sandwich, “I need to talk to you about something important.”

“Sure, talk away.” I lifted the final sandwich sliver to my lips and chewed slowly.

“I can’t talk here,” Jude said, gazing surreptitiously over each shoulder.

“Okay,” I began slowly, “Where would you like to talk?”

“Come over to my place tonight, around six, if that’s alright?” Then he hits me with his intense stare – or puppy eyes as I liked to call them. How could I say no to those eyes?

“Certainly, I’ll be there at six.” Surprisingly he started to stand. Startled I ask,
“Hey, where are you going?” my hand reaching toward him.

“I’ll see you then,” he called over his shoulder as he walked away. I slumped back into my chair and sighed, I ripped open my chocolate bar; he had been acting so weird lately.


6 o’clock


The door swung open, revealing a grave faced Jude. I summoned my brightest smile, encouraging him to emerge from his somber mood, and swaggered inside.

“Hey,” I called back to him, the door thudding as he closed it with more vigor than necessary.

“Hey, you’re here.” He stayed stuck to the floorboards, hands lodged deep within his pockets.

“Why wouldn’t I be?” He studied the floor intently instead of answering.

“Come into the study.” Leading me along the hallway, I gasped with wonder as we both stepped inside. It was a beautiful room, a truly tranquil place, though Jude seemed more agitated than peaceful. Clearing his throat to pull me from my reverie and taking a seat by the desk, strewn with ancient looking books in strange languages, he gestured for me to sit down nearby. I fidgeted awkwardly as he clasped his fingers repeatedly.

“April, I really don’t know how to put this gently.” Oh, no! he was dumping me. “I really need to tell someone, I’m scared,” and he looked scared. Exhaling, he continued “I’m going to put this simply,” I waited and braced myself “April, I’m an Urbat.” I blinked a few times, whoa, where did this come from?

“A what?” I asked perplexed.

“Werewolf, as it is more commonly known.” he clarifies.

“Oh,” I said slowly, trying to come across as calm and collected. He started rattling on about the myths, explaining it all to me, making sure I understood. I nodded in the key points, growing numb with shock. Suddenly, he fell silent, waiting for my reply.

“How did this happen?” I wondered aloud.

“I was bitten.” he said calmly, though I saw the anger flash through his eyes.

“By who?” I whisper, my skin tingling with dread.

“Daniel,” the name falling from his lips like acid. My mouth popped open. I went cold with alarm, was this Grace’s Daniel?

“Are you sure?” I asked faintly.

“Certain,” his confidence echoed through every syllable. If Daniel was the true Urbat, then Grace was in danger.

“Does Grace know?”

“Yes, he told her himself,” scorn dripping from his every word. I was startled; Grace and I were best friends, why wouldn’t she confide in me? She obviously didn’t trust me, or thought I couldn’t handle it. I felt completely betrayed, how could she do this?

“Let me carry some of your burden,” I demanded of Jude. He smiled with relief.

“I knew I could count on you.” He gently took my hand, we gazed into each other’s eyes, and a profound understanding passed between us.

Talentmania Fan Fiction Entry #14

Face Your Fears, Give In To Your Temptation
By Tammy-Louise Wilkins

Saturday Afternoon – The Warehouse_____________________________________________________________________

It took all my will power and expertly heightened skilled senses to sneak out unheard or seen by anyone, I had to do this. If I’m the only one who can truly battle the twisted mind of Caleb then I needed to face the unpleasant memories created in his bitter, sinister layer . . . the warehouse.



Standing outside the steel door where Daniel & I spent our first night together my heart pounded uncontrollably matching my ragged breathing.
“You can do this.” I whispered to myself. Before I opened the door, a room close by caught my attention. The door open, revealing the scratch marks trailing down, the walls inside almost looked nice in it’s pale blue coat.
Go to it. The wolf said softly in my head. You might find an answer to one of your many questions.

Unable to contain my desire to explore the hallow room I cautiously walked towards it. The room only had a simple single bed with a pale white sheet with scattered photos and…a diary. I rushed towards the bed, sitting on it looking frantically at the photos. Who’s room was this? The photos were faded and distorted except for one peaking out of the diary; I opened the diary pinning my finger on the page whilst I looked at the photo…it was a photo of me and Talbot. He’d taken it after one of our training sessions. When I glanced at the diary page I soon realized Talbot’s feelings for me weren't false, the way he described me as if I was a royal queen. ‘Pale smooth skin with red rosy lips that just died to caressed by mine.’ The words created a disturbingly warm feeling inside of me, it shocked me to the core yet excited me at the same time. The photo was artistic; the texture of Talbot’s lightly tanned skin complimented my light pale skin. By the way our bodies became one; you’d think we were a young couple in love.
“Weren’t expecting that were you?” A deep voice by the door softly said.
I sighed “You really loved me Talbot?” I turned around and stood facing him.
“You weren’t meant to read that.” Talbot paused “…Yes I did and I still do.” He started towards me, I backed away hitting my back against the wall. “You make me feel wanted…needed…loved.” He whispered gently resting his forehead against mine.
“Talbot stop, you knew from the beginning I love Daniel and we have much bigger problems to sort out.” My sudden dry lips spoke the right words but my head spoke the wrong words.
“But Daniel isn’t here is he? He’s off in the woods doing god knows what!” The anger in Talbot’s voice sent chills through me.
“Tal-” I couldn’t finish my sentence as warm eager lips pressed on mine. I fought against Talbot’s touch forcing him to break away from me but he didn’t move away.
“Stop fighting it Grace, you want this.” He said between gasps.
Yes Grace, listen to Tal. You need this release now stop thinking, the seductive voice of the wolf whispered.
It was true, I needed this. Talbot sensed my doubts, his callused hand cradled my face whist his free arm gently pressed the small of my back. My heart raced in both anticipation and pain of what was happening. I was facing my fears and giving in to temptation. Everything melted ‘till it was only me & Talbot, a low moan escaped from his lips into mine.
“We need to stop.” I tried to say between gasps as Talbot’s lips trailed down my neck, I opened my eyes to start pushing him away yet the intensity of his kiss made me weak. My eyes gazed at the door in horror as they caught the sight of a young boy leaning against it revealing the letters S K on his shoulder. . .

Talentmania Fan Fiction Entry #15

By Jennifer Hickey

“I’ll be back by eight!” I called over my shoulder as I opened the door, but my words fell on deaf ears. Mom was still fussing over Jude’s return; dad and Charity were no better. The only one who wasn’t completely obsessed with my brother was Baby James. As the door swung shut behind me I started jogging away from the house.

I ran out of my neighborhood, my backpack bouncing against my back. My feet pounded on the ground as I made my first stop of the night at Maryanne Duke’s, I wasn’t entirely sure why I was here, I knew that Daniel was waiting for me elsewhere, but I was sick of not being able to do anything. I jimmied the lock and made my way into Daniel’s apartment.

On the table beside his bed was a sketch pad, I scooped it up, along with an assortment of paint and threw them in my bag. I left quickly, breaking into a sprint again. I curved around the neighborhood and ran into the woods that surrounded the area, avoiding the area near my house. Daniel was waiting for me somewhere out here.

After running for several miles I slowed my pace to a halt and closed my eyes. Daniel. I chanted his name in my head, clearing my mind of anything else. I turned my head to the left and caught a miniscule whiff of almonds mixed with dirt and the barest hint of varnish. My eyes shot open and I took off running in that direction, constantly sniffing and searching the air for Daniel’s scent, I ended up running straight through his path and had to skid to an abrupt stop and make a sharp right.

As I ran I could hear Daniel ahead of me, with a smile I let out a long howl, cutting off with a laugh as he answered me with his own deep rumble. I desperately craved the need to run faster, my legs ached with a need for power but I drowned out the thoughts with images of Daniel. I heard his footsteps stop and I rushed through the last line of trees into a clearing where my white wolf was waiting for me. Daniel licked at my face eagerly; I smiled and reached up my hands, hugging his massive head in my arms.

“Has Gabriel found out anything?” I asked softly after Daniel’s initial excitement wore off. He whimpered and lay on the ground. He had been trapped in his wolf body for over two weeks and with dad lurking over Jude’s shoulder, the only one helping us was Gabriel who was nearly impossible to get ahold of. “It’ll be okay Daniel. It has to be.” I smiled and sat down beside him.
I leaned against his furry body and we sat in silence for several minutes before he nudged my backpack. Remembering my idea I felt a blush creeping up my neck. “I had an idea. And I know it’s going to sound a little stupid but I think you can do it.” I fumbled with the zipper on my bag, taking a deep breath before I took out the sketch pad and paint. At first Daniel looked a little angry and I knew why, he was a wolf, this was going to be impossible.

“Calm down, but imagine what this could do for your Trenton application. Seeing things through your eyes, no one else could ever do that,” Daniel let out a rough breath and turned his head away. I sighed and looked away at the fading sun just past the trees, a few minutes later Daniel nosed into his paints, smearing long streaks of brown and green across the paper. It was impossible not to watch him at work; even now his mud-pie eyes were glowing with a passion for his work.

Daniel was intently focused on his work, frustrated by his wolf handicaps. But as he continued I saw his picture come to life. He painted the forest around him at high speed; I could almost feel the wind rushing past my hair, the ground flying under my feet. Even as a wolf he was still making art at a higher quality than I could even dream of accomplishing. As he sat back I continued to admire his work. I gave him a smile of approval, his face was covered in paint, but the look in his eyes was loud and clear, thank you, I love you.

Talentmania Fan Fiction Entry #16

Savage Beginnings

By LC Piper

“Hottest guy ever?”

Angel froze at the sound of the voice. She barely heard it over the ruckus of dozens of teens moving through the halls. Her ears still hurt and her mind swam in the chaotic mix of sounds.

“No way…” another voice began.

Angel eased her locker door shut just enough to see the two girls. They didn’t look familiar, but there was something about the voice of the first that dug at her inside.

The first girl dropped her backpack and a box of pastels fell to the floor. They scattered across the industrial tile of the high school hallway. Angel could hear each stick snap in slow percussion. It was almost musical. She smiled at the clarity she now found in sound. Before it would just have been a clatter and crash, but now it was a chorus of hollow thunks, crisp crackling snaps and a crescendo of chalky tinkling.

“I wouldn’t know,” she spoke. The girl knelt down to pick up her dropped art supplies. Leaning over the mess, her hair fell into her face. She pushed it back, smudging red pastel from her finger along the top of her cheek.

It was a welcome imperfection to her smooth light complexion. Like a streak of war paint it made her look primally attractive and a little dangerous, Angel noted.

“Hurry up,” painted girl’s friend said, glancing over her shoulder.

Angel ducked back behind her locker swinging it to hide her face. She had been caught staring. Her breath stalled in her throat. She waited for a moment, both fearing and expecting she’d been discovered eavesdropping. No one came. Angel relaxed her grip on her locker door and pulled her fingers free. Three spiraled silver metal filings fell to the floor from where her hand had dug into it.

“You could help.” Painted said.

Angel peeked around her locker again. Her embarrassment at being caught lingered in her face and she blushed, but curiosity compelled her to look again.

The painted girl crouched there with her friend collecting her things. Something about this one spoke to her.

Was it her voice? How she fussed over the broken colors? Her worries are so inconsequential, Angel thought.

She had felt like her before and ached to be carefree again. Overwhelmed by the desire for her past life, her heart skipped a beat. Suddenly she was short of breath and had to inhale deeply. Things would never be the same for her. She was a fallen being now. Twisted by darkness and bathed in corruption. Doubt ruled over her. It told her she was beyond redemption and she believed.

Watching painted girl, Angel was reminded of who she had been. How similar they were! She could smell the memory of it. It’s the scent of how she was right before a single bite corrupted her.

This girl’s life was about to change.

Finished, the two stood and left. Angel couldn’t resist and crept after them. A short distance later they came to a classroom door. She stopped across the hall to watch.

Angel sensed him before she saw him. Tiny hairs on the back of her neck flared. A wave of alertness fueled by adrenalin surged through her body. A growl grew under her breath. Muscles in her arms, chest and back spasmed. Angel fought back the growing change in her, searching for her calm. There was no doubt he also knew she was there, but he didn’t show it. He knew that he was being observed.

Friend of the painted girl gestured to him. He was dressed in a ragged t-shirt and jeans. Or what was left of them. His dark black hair hung down just enough to obscure his face and hide bared and gnashing teeth intended for Angel.

Painted girl’s eyes narrowed in offense. Ever more she looked dangerous and native from the red pastel on her cheek.

“Excuse me, you’re in my spot.” The painted girl said.

Instantly he soothed himself and looked up. His hair fell back from his face revealing a small, practiced smile.

The growl quieted in Angel’s throat and her limbs relaxed. She felt her inner wolf lay to rest.
“Then you must be Grace,” he said.

Deep inside a portion of hope for herself and the savage Grace failed. There was nothing she could do here. Everything was already in motion.

Oh Grace, Angel thought. You have no idea how he’ll change you.