The Pens of Fate (Chapters 1 remake)

Hey guys, sorry that I haven’t been writing lately. I have been rewriting the Pens of Fate sage starting from the beginning. There are new characters, new relationships, and a new enemy. I will be deleting the old stories because of this. 

This book contains and mentions sensitive material relating to mental illnesses, several personality disorders, suicide, suicidal thoughts, post-traumatic stress disorder, murder, death, alcoholism, self-harm, and depression. Reader discretion is highly advised and it is important to practice self-care during and after reading. There is foul language as well. Some of the events, people, and timelines are based on true aspects of my life, so keep a clear mindset… 

If you had the power to change reality, would you use it even if that meant hurting the people you love or would you protect that power from others who would use it for their selfish purposes? That is the choice that a young group of teenagers has to make to save everything they knew from a horrific end. 

As Ethan walked home from school, a cold October breeze blew through his long black hair causing it to get in his light green eyes. Ethan walked onto the bridge that he always took to get home, but this time was different. The bridge was usually deserted, but a girl was standing by the railing, looking out into the river. She looked out with brown eyes that appeared to glaze over like newly cut glass. Ethan stood still to watch the girl in awe, deep down he felt like there was something familiar about her, but he couldn’t figure out what. The girl turned and ran into Ethan, causing both of them to hit the pavement hard.

"Sorry. I did see you there," she stumbled with her words. Before Ethan could say anything, she stood up and took off.

Ethan looked down to brush off the dirt only to find a small box that must have been in the girl's pocket laying on the ground. She must have dropped it when I bumped into her, he thought as he bent down to pick it up. A sinister vibe was coming from the box. When Ethan opened the box, a strong perfume met his nose. “Why do girls wear this stuff? Are you trying to kill off the male population?” Ethan cursed under his breath. In the box were a gothic-looking pen and folded-up note. The note had ink that was a bit faded but it was legible. On the note read in red ink, “This is the Pen of Death, a weapon used by grim reapers. It can save someone in the midst of death or kill someone.”  

At that moment fear was all Ethan could feel because the red ink started to form a skull at the end of the sentence.

Adaline, the girl who had lost the pen, trashed her bedroom looking for the pen. She sighed, now knowing how dire the situation had become as she pulled out five other small boxes from her backpack. “You are so stupid. How can you let the pain of life and death out of your hands? Now, you have to save the worlds again. This is exacting like the ‘Anne Angle fiasco’ back in 4th grade,” she cursed to herself as a brown leather book on her nightstand started to light up. Adaline flipped through the book to a world where high school life was a murder mystery. It will be alright, she thought as a twice voice in her mind shyly chimed something that only Adaline could hear. Adaline watched Ethan through the pages of the book, I wrote Ethan to fear the pens’ powers. I was going to be the villain in this world. But it might have to wait- jeez life is a pain, I am glad Ethan was created to do the right thing. He would try to give it back. Just as she thought that Ethan rose and took the pen to his bedroom. “That was not right,” Adaline’s body stiffened as a frightened voice said. She opened the book to a world of war to find some help... 

As the sun rose behind the evergreen colored hills; two sisters stood, hand-in-hand, watching the tall grass of the valley dance in the Summer wind. The two girls’ long black hair danced in the wind as the moon and stars went to bed. 

Then, the screams of the sisters’ village broke the beautiful sounds of the Summer morning. The scene they saw was their worst nightmare; houses were burning down with flames of red and yellow reaching out towards the sky, bandits came from every direction, slaying the innocent, children were crying softly as they hid under their dead mothers who gave their lives to save their children. 

Unaware that someone else was watching the horrific scene, the two sisters picked up the swords of the fallen men and started to fight to honor the ones who had died. 

Sitting on the roof of a burning house, a girl who came from a different world with brown hair watched with a look that showed no expression. As her brown eyes reflected the light of the burning flames around her, she twirled a pen on the tips of her fingers. Who will give the other her life? the girl thought to herself. 

The younger sister was fighting one bandit when another snuck behind her. When the older sister had driven the rest off, the sound of a sword hitting the ground made her turn around. Then, it went black... 

As golden ashes fell to the ground, the cries of the younger sister echoed through the valley. She hugged the cold body of her dear loved one. She had given her life to the younger to save her. 

The sound of footsteps walking through the mud made from blood broke the sister’s cries. The girl from a different world approached her, carrying a small colorful box and a brown leather book. 

“Who are you?” the sister asked in between her sobs. 

“I am Adaline, the Writer of Worlds, and I have a gift for you.”

As the girl opened both the box and the book, the sister’s ice-blue eyes widened with awe. 

“This book holds all the worlds that I have written. I can’t change the past with this pen,” she said gesturing at the pen in the box as she continued, “ but I can take back the pain and memories of this night.” The girl looked at Adaline, “May I see this place one last time?” Adaline nodded. The girl went to the lake where she then buried her older sister. The moon shined above the lake on that starless night. Adaline stood back, looking out into the night as the girl started to sing a lullaby,

“Let the waters guide your soul home, back to me.

Let the stars be your light- ooh.

Let the moon be your resting place while I wait for you to come home, back to me.”

Adaline looked back at her, “I made the pens as parts of me to fight my inner demons, while I hid in my old bedroom fighting depression and trying to learn how to love myself. Now, I need to help you, but only if you want to.” She looked at Adaline and nodded, “I will help you get the pen back if you take the pain away.” 

“You know that there is no going back.”

The girl nodded as Adaline pulled out the pen which then turned into a mask, “Where this and the pain will be gone, but if and when it is off the memories will come back. So when you are ready to move on it will help you.”

That girl was now named the Forgotten and now changes her fate with Adaline in hopes of saving all the story worlds...  

Adaline then turned to go get more allies for the upcoming war to fight alongside... 

“It doesn't count as a victory if you are already planning your demise. You can’t give up. You have already worked so hard to make this world a better place,” Artie’s best friend Tina continued to ramble on as she pushed his wheelchair on their way to the children’s center for kids who are in bad situations like at home.

 Artie Adams is the student body president of Phoenix Mountain High School and a part-time employee at the center. Dream jobs come easy to some teenagers, but that’s not the case for him. For Artie, it is hard because he lost his ability to walk when he was five years old trying to save a classmate from an abusive situation. He couldn’t save her and her mom tried to run him over because he got the cops and CPS on her. She was put in jail, but after the death of his classmate, Artie was diagnosed with depression and has suicidal tendencies. He tries to have a positive outlook, but the past still haunts him. If it wasn’t for Tina showing up at the park when she did he would have died. His dream job is to become a hero of justice and he has the chance to do just that... 

“Are you still listening to me?” Tina’s voice pulled Artie out of his thoughts. “I said that you shouldn’t give up just because your mom is sick and you can’t keep taking care of her and your job. When a person has a child, they forget about their dreams because their kid’s dreams become their dreams, plus those kids love you, so you can’t give up.” 

“It’s not just that, Tina. Changing the world is hard and impossible for someone like me." The truth is that he hadn't given up; Artie just needed to go home and use his pen...

When Tina carried him on her back when they were five to the hospital, they came across a girl with a pencil box. She looked about fifteen and had half of her head shaved. When she looked over to them and smiled. Then, she walked over and put Artie on her back. 

“He needs a hospital,” Tina sobbed between words. 

“I can get you guys there faster. Plus, I think you, Artie, can help me with something.”

“How do you know my name?” She could tell that he was slowly blacking out. The last thing he heard was the girl’s voice, “I know a lot more than just your name, Artie Adams.” 

When Artie woke up, he was in a white hospital room. Sitting by the bed was the girl. 

“Oh good, you’re up. Now, I can ask you for your help.”

She pulled out her pencil box with a smile on her face. “What I’m gonna show you is very important. Only a few people know and some will do anything to get their hands on this power.” She pulled out a white pen with the word fate on it. “This is one of the pens of fate. It has the power to rewrite the personality of a person in hopes of changing the future. Its power is limited though. It can only change the way a person thinks in the situation as well as the person's character. It cannot change the person entirely, and it only works for certain people. A great enemy is approaching and only you and four others can change the world to stop him, and I cannot help you besides preparing you for what's to come. The enemy has taken one of the pens of fate. Right now he doesn't know its true power, and it won't be long until he finds out.” Artie was just a 5-year old kid and he didn't quite understand what she was telling him at the time until she proved the pen was real and this was a joke. As she turned to leave after setting the pen on the nightstand Artie called out, “Who are you?” She stopped. 

“It doesn’t matter if you know my name. You must remember that only you have the power to save us all.” Then, he didn’t see her again till many years later.