Heroes: The story of Harlow and Annora

This is a collaboration between Nkurle and Akurle.

Credit to BlackDragonKid for the idea of the phantoms.

This story will contain some gore.

Prologue
Written by Akurle.

A phantom with a scar on his tentacle hurried through the huge building known as the phantom factory. He slipped into a room with large tubes of green liquid lined on the far wall. Inside were vague shapes of animals.

"Bolt!" Someone shouted. The phantom turned around just as a large, bulky phantom burst in. "Have they reported yet?" The bulky phantom asked.

"Yes. They have found two that would be perfect for the job," the phantom, Bolt, answered.

"Only two? What about the third?"

"Would't be needed. Plus, we already have the three beasts that are in the making. If everything goes well, they will be almost as powerful as the two that have been chosen."

"There should be a third. It's what the kings requested," the bulky phantom said gruffly.

Bolt sighed. "They said that they could only find two. Plus, I gave them orders to bring them here, that there is no need for a third."

"Then tell them to find a third."

"I can't. If we continue to communicate so often, they will be found."

The bulky phantom pressed one of his stubby tentacles to his head. "Arrrgh, fine. The kings won't be pleased."

"Well, tell the kings to deal with it. The others have their orders, and the two will be arriving soon. We can't risk going back to change their orders yet again."

The bulky phantom grumbled something and floated out of the room, leaving Bolt with the animals in the test tubes. He turned around and looked at the three tubes in the middle, which were the largest. The shapes inside wiggled and flinched every now and then.

But the vague shapes inside the test tubes were all but animals.

Chapter 1: Harlow
Written by Nkurle.

All Harlow the fox remembered before the phantoms came was walking around the cliffs of Coral Canyons after a hard day of school work.

Harlow loved walking around the cliffs of Coral Canyons. The wind would always blow through her gold and black fur. A group of eagles would fly together in the distance. Harlow had always wished to soar through the sky like them. And best of all Harlow would dream in the setting sun of flying past Jamaa with Mira and bring life back to the Badlands.

Today was just like all the other days. In the sunset she dreamed of all the animals gathering around her after she killed a phantom king. Harlow was so into her dream she didn't hear one of her many brothers calling her name. Once the dream ended she looked down the hill and her brother was running up it. Her brother made it to the top with a frown on his face.

"I was screaming your name for like, 50 years," he said as he whipped back the tuft of brown fur on his head.

"Oh, sorry. I didn't hear," she said freely. This happened so much that she didn't even feel one bit sorry. It had soon become a thing that she would constantly say to her 2 sisters, 3 brothers, parents, grandparents, friends, and everyone she had ever met.

"Well, Mom wants you to come home for dinner," her brother said as he turned around and started walking down the dusty hill. Harlow followed.

Harlow and her brother where almost to the main grounds of Coral Canyons when they started to hear electricity crackle through the air. Harlow and her brother Ryan stopped walking. "Do you hear that?" she asked.

"Yep. The sound and smell of Phantoms," Ryan said, tensing his legs.

"Why would phantoms be in Jamaa?" Harlow asked as she looked around.

"To attack," Ryan answered.

"But Jamaa is so well guarded. Why would they attack? I just don't get it. What would they want?" Harlow said as worry filled her voice.

"Stop being such a worry fox like you always are. Lets fight away the phantoms!" Ryan said with a loud ring to the last word. As if on cue, a lightning bolt shot through the air and hit a rock.

Harlow yelped and started running away but only to find that Phantoms had surrounded them. The phantoms started closing in on them. Harlow backed up until her tail hit Ryan's.

"Come on Harlow. Lets fight back the phantoms!" Ryan said, then jumped at one of the phantoms only to get zapped mid-air and fall over, paralyzed.

Harlow yelped when she saw Ryan fall. She wanted to run to him and help but the phantoms threw a net on her. She tripped and rolled around in the net that was made of strings of goop. A phantom grabbed the net and threw it into a cage that came out of nowhere. She hit the ground with a thud and her vision blurred.

She felt the cage move along the rocky ground. Her head banged on the floor of the cage. Slowly her sight faded into darkness. The last thing she saw was the eye of the phantom behind the cage.

Little did she know that she would never be the same. Her life was about to change forever...

Chapter 2: Annora
Written by Akurle

Annora rolled out of bed and yawned. A small ray of sunlight was shining through the curtains. Annora blinked several times and opened to curtains to let the sunshine in. She did her usual morning routine, and then sat down on the living room cough with a bowl of cereal in her paws. She wasn't your ordinary snow leopard. She had light blue fur with a bluish purple stomach and paws. She had bright green eyes and a long fluffy tail, but that wasn't what set her apart. She had golden spots that turned into her distinctive gold stripes on her wrists, cheeks, tail and on her nose. She also has beautiful gold spots under her eyes that were mostly seen on Alphas.

Other than that, Annora had the average life any high-schooler in Jamaa had. She had a kind mother, a funny father, and they all lived in a small, comfy house on the edge of Sarepia forest, right next to Coral Canyons. Annora didn't have any siblings, and she had few friends, but that didn't keep her from being happy. Her best friend that she had met in school was a cheetah named Finn. He was the closest she had to a brother, even though they had only known each other for a year.

Annora grabbed the remote and turned on the TV. It automatically turned on to Jamaa News Daily. Annora was about to change the channel when something popped up.

"Breaking News! High-schooled fox is believed to have been captured by phantoms in Coral Canyons!"

Annora set down the remote, instantly interested. She had always been fascinated by phantoms, and loved learning about them. They were odd, mysterious creatures, and scientists were always learning more about them. Annora started munching on her cereal as she watched the news.

"A young fox by the name of Harlow mysteriously disappeared just before 5:30 along with her brother Ryan in Coral Canyons. Their parents started to worry and started searching for them, only to find the brother Ryan, alone and unconscious. After waking an hour later, Ryan stated that he and his sister had been attacked by-"

"ANNORA!"

Annora turned off the TV. "Yes, Mom!?"

Annora's mother, a light blue leopard with dark blue spots, came into the living room. "Annora, it's time to go to school!"

"Okay," Annora grumbled. She finished her cereal in a big gulp and grabbed her backpack. Then she rushed out the door and started down the path to school. She decided to take the long route, which had more nature and was used much less. Her school was in Coral Canyons, but the long route went through part of the forest.

Annora started down the path, which wasn't worn down like the other paths. This path was rarely used, meaning it would be nice and quiet. Annora didn't really care if she was late to school, she just loved admiring the trees and embracing the still silence.

Annora saw a shadow across the path as a butterfly flew just over her head. The butterfly landed on a flower on the side of the path and started sipping the nectar.

"Hey, Annora! Getting distracted by butterflies again?" someone called.

Annora spun around and saw Finn running down the path. He stopped just in front of her, kicking up some dust. He was a golden-brown cheetah with a light yellow underside, a green ribbon scarf, green ice sword, green arm cuffs, and dark green spots. He had startling lime green eyes. "Oh, hey Finn!" Annora said, smiling.

"Hello! Did you ever hear me when I said that getting distracted by nature will make you late to school?" he joked.

"I know, I know. But I can't help it!"

"Oh, yeah you can. You just don't want to admit it." He laughed and nudged her shoulder.

Annora couldn't help but smiling. Finn was a handsome cheetah, that was no doubt. Her parents always joked that she was in love with him, even though she said he wasn't. She liked to think of him as the brother she never had, but if she had to admit it, she did love him a little bit. He was kind, funny, good-looking, and a great athlete.

"Hey, we should get going. Race you there?" he asked.

"What? You know I can't-" she started, but it was too late. Finn had already started running. He was going considerably slow for a cheetah, but still too fast for Annora. She started to chase after him when she heard a rustle in the bushes. She slowed down and looked around, but nothing was there. She was about to speed up when a foul scent hit her nose.

Annora froze and looked around. She didn't see anything, but she could hear rustles in the bushes every now and then.

"Finn? Finn!" she called. No response. Finn was nowhere in sight.

Suddenly, something shot out of the trees and soared right over her head. It hit the tree behind her with a loud thunk. When Annora looked at it, she gasped.

It was an arrow. And it was tipped with some sort of poison.

Annora started running as fast as she could. "Finn?! FINN!!" she screamed. Still no response. Something flung out of the trees and expanded into a net made of hardened phantom goop. The net didn't get Annora completely, but caught her bottom half and tangled around her back legs. She collapsed to the ground, but adrenaline blocked out most of the pain. She had a deep cut on her upper leg that was starting to bleed.

Annora scraped at the net with her claws. The goop simply stretched instead of breaking. There was more rustling and three phantoms came out of the forest. They grabbed another net and tried to wrap it around Annora's whole body. She hissed and slashed at the phantom, but ended up shocking herself. The phantom swung the net over her tightly so she couldn't move her legs. Annora tried to call for help, but a gag was shoved in her mouth.

She could hear faint footsteps coming closer. It had to be Finn. The phantoms froze, then grabbed the net Annora was in and dragged it into the bushes. Something hit Annora in the head, and her vision went blurry.

Then, she was plunged into darkness.

Chapter 3:Harlow
Written by Nkurle.

Harlow awoke in a gray cell. There was a window on the cell door with bars made of dark purple goop. There was a window on the right and left wall. There was a wolf in one cell and the other cell was empty. There was a pillow and rag in the back of the cell and a water and food bowl too. The food in the bowl was a rotting chunk of meat and the water was brown from all the dirt inside the bowl.

Harlow looked around then curled up on the rag. She closed her eyes and began to dream of what happened to her brother. In her dream she was saved by Mira and her brothers. A smile spread across her face as she began to fall asleep. Her dream began to change and she soon started to save others. Finding Heartstones of lost animals. Finding old and lost Alphas...

A loud thud woke up Harlow. She shot up her head and looked around. A phantom had opened the door and was floating to her. The phantom was holding a black long collar in it's hand. The phantom grabbed her snout and forced her to look upward. She tried to pull away but couldn't. The phantom stuck the black long over her head and onto her neck. The phantom grabbed a chain and attached it to the long.

A phantom appeared behind the phantom that was still holding Harlow's snout. "Why did you put the spikey ring on the animal" The phantom asked.

The phantom holding Harlow's snout grumbled. "We found it on an animal. We can use it as a lead. Just click a chain onto it and you can lead the animal anywhere. The King also wants us to use the animal's items because we are getting too many of them." The phantom let go of Harlow's snout and grabbed the chain and lead her out of the cell with the other phantom behind.

Harlow was having a hard time finding the right pace. The phantom would either be super slow then get super fast. She kept bumping into the phantoms front and back and would get a little zap. The phantom led Harlow to a large metal room with giant glass tubes that had green liquid running through them. On small metal tables where many computers and weird science equipment.

The phantom clipped the chain to a metal post. "Call in Bolt. Tell him we need to test this animal, to see if it is the right one." One phantom said to the other. Both phantoms went out the door then closed it. A click echoed through the room as the door locked.

Harlow sat in the room. She felt the spike across her neck. It was weird to have on at first but she was slowly getting used to it. It felt weird to know she had such a rare item around her neck. The thoughts of how rare the spike was where pushed away by the many worries. Harlow had never been a strong-willed, brave, and awesome fox that she dreamed of. She couldn't even watch certain movies because they had to much action. Now Harlow felt so alone. She felt weaker then she had ever been. Being captured by phantoms. She had always thought of what might happen if she was. But this right here was no dream, it was real.

A tear slowly dripped onto the ground. Moments later, the sound of a door being swung open echoed in the room. A large phantom with a scar on his tentacle came over to Harlow. The phantom looked at her very closely. Harlow started to back up until her back hit the post. The phantom looked away.

"How does this one act?" The phantom asked.

A small phantom came into the doorway. "This is vulpes róka mway hkhaayy. The phantoms that captured her said she does care for others and does not fight." The small phantom said to the large phantom that Harlow thought was named Bolt.

"Umm" Harlow said. The phantoms turned to her. "My name is Harlow. Not whatever you just said" Harlow was surprised to see that the phantoms heard what she had said, even though she talked so quiet.

"Alright. Test Harlow's blood." Bolt said.

"Yes, master Bolt," the small phantom answered.

The small phantom grabbed a needle and poked it into Harlow's skin. The phantom put the needle into a cup and hooked up the cup to a computer. After a few seconds, the small phantom whispered something to Bolt. Bolt nodded.

"Alright, she will be one of them."

Chapter 4: Annora
Written by Akurle

Annora woke up groggily. She opened her eyes to find herself in some sort of dungeon. Her arm was stinging, and she felt dizzy and sick. When she looked at her arm, she saw it stained with blood from the cut she had gotten.

Her first reaction would be to scream, but she managed to force it down. The cut had scabbed over already, and the pain was lessening.

Annora sat up and looked around, blinking away the dizziness. She was in a prison cell. On the right side was a rotting wooden bed with a large rag and a pillow lacking stuffing on top of it. There was also a barred window. On the far was another barred window with a metal door. In the corner were two shelves attached to the wall, each with a rusting metal bowl on it. The top had a chunk of rotting, stale meat, and the bottom bowl was filled with brownish green water. On the left wall was another barred window.

Annora slowly stood up, shaking slightly. It was awfully dark, and one of the corners of the room was almost pitch black. She peeked through the window on the left wall. It was another cell, but it was empty. Annora was about to look inside the cell on the right when she heard a click. The metal door swung open and a phantom hovered in.

Annora backed up, hissing. The phantom didn't look impressed. He held a metal band in his tentacle, along with a chain.

"W-why am I here?" Annora stammered.

The phantom didn't answer, instead hovered straight toward her. He reached out and grabbed her snout in his tentacle and forced her head upward. Annora made a muffled scream and tried to squeeze out. She unsheathed her claws and lashed out at him, causing a long scratch down his bottom tentacle.

The phantom let go and backed up, looking very annoyed and angry. He called something in Phantom, and another phantom came into the cell. The other phantom had thick metal armor. It grabbed Annora and held her still while the first phantom put the metal band around her neck. There was a little hook coming off the front, which the first phantom attached the chain to.

The moment the second phantom let go, Annora lashed out and tried grabbing the chain away from the first phantom. He jumped to the side and shocked the chain, and the electricity traveled across the chain and shocked Annora.

"Agh! What do you want from me? WHY AM I HERE?!" Annora demanded. The phantom didn't answer and pulled on the chain, making Annora stumble forward. He dragged her out of the cell, shocking her whenever she stopped. He lead her through several long, dark hallways, some of which had prison cells on the sides. Finally, they entered a large room that was brightly lit. There were tubes filled with green liquid on one wall, tables with odd science equipment scattered around, computers on another wall, and diagrams and weird looking things floating in liquid on another wall.

On the fourth wall, the only empty one, there were hooks attached to the wall. There was a golden and black fox chained to one of the hooks. The phantom pulled Annora over and chained her to one of the hooks.

There was another phantom in the room, a large, burly one with a scar on his tentacle. There was also a small phantom looking at a computer.

The large phantom started observing Annora. He glanced at he gold fox.

"Alright, do the test," he muttered. The small phantom came over and drew some blood from Annora with a needle, then emptied it into a cup. Annora turned toward the gold and black fox.

"Hey, who are you?" Annora whispered to her.

The gold fox glanced at Annora and started fiddling with a black spiked collar on her neck. "Erm", the fox said with such a quiet voice. "My name is Harlow. Who are you?"

Annora gasped. "Your that girl on the news! The girl who disappeared!"

"The news?" Suddenly her eyes widened. "Is my brother okay?"

"I don't know. But my name is Annora." Annora glared at the phantom that had dragged her in here, who was watching them closely. "Do you know what they are doing to us?" she said quieter so the phantom wouldn't hear.

"I don't know. Bolt- the one with the scar- said that I was going to be part of something. Maybe-"

"Okay, bring the fox out," Bolt interrupted. He hovered over to her and unhooked the chain, then handed it to the phantom that brought Annora in. The phantom dragged her out of the room.

Annora looked up at Bolt and bared her teeth. He snorted and turned to the small phantom.

"So, what did he say about her?" Bolt asked the small phantom.

"Wait, do you mean the-"

"Yes, I mean him." Bolt glared at Annora, then turned back to the small phantom. "How does she usually act?"

"Her name is Annora. She likes nature and science, easily distracted, gets angry fairy easily, likes to have her way. She likes to learn about us, but doesn't necessarily like us."

Bolt observed Annora again and eyed the wound on her leg. "Gets angry easily? That should be easy to work with. Take a scan on the wound and try to treat it. I want her in good condition before we start." With that, he hovered over to a weird machine attached to one of the large tubes and started pressing buttons on it.

The small phantom put a small device on her leg and waited a few seconds, then wrapped a badly made bandage around her leg. He gave her several shots, despite her struggling and attempts to escape. One of them made her awfully queasy and dizzy, but it had started to fade by the time the phantom that had taken Harlow out came back and brought Annora back to her cell.

As she was going, she passed by a door that had been heavily locked. A phantom came by and opened the door to go inside, and Annora got a peek of what was in there.

It looked like another laboratory, but with less tables and more tubes. Inside, Annora saw one opening and something crawled out. It looked like a phantom with legs and fangs.

"Yes, it finally worked! Jamaa will never know what hit them..."Was the last thing Annora heard before the door closed. Then she was thrown in her cell and locked inside.

Questions flooded her head. What were the phantoms doing to her and Harlow? Who was the mysterious 'he' that seemed to know everything about Annora? What was that horrible creature that had crawled out of the tube?

But among all these questions, Annora knew one thing:

Jamaa was in danger.

Chapter 5: Harlow
Written by Nkurle.

Harlow was thrown into her cell by a phantom after the chain was unhooked from the spike. Harlow sat on the rag in her cell. Everything felt so hopeless. Harlow was thinking about the strange colorful leopard named Annora when she heard a "Psst". Harlow looked around. In one of the cell windows was a gray wolf.

"Hey, who are you?" the wolf said.

"I'm Harlow," Harlow answered.

The wolf smiled. "How long have you been here?" he asked.

"Only a few days," Harlow said as she got up and stood face to face with the wolf in the window.

"I have been here for a year or two," he said as his head turned around to look at his cell.

"Have the phantoms done anything to you?" Harlow asked.

"No. They only tested my blood once. After that they had me do slave work." He said it so casually, it sounded like this happened everyday. "But I have been here so long that I was able to make an escape plan," he said quietly.

"An escape plan? Wouldn't the phantoms catch you making it?" Harlow asked.

"Sometimes, you've just got to hope. It's not that hopeless here, ya know. Others have escaped before, all because they didn't give up and lose hope," the wolf said proudly.

I thought for a little bit. Whatever the phantoms had planned for her, it would not be nice. Maybe she could escape. "Alright, tell me your plan," Harlow asked. But before the wolf could even say a word, a phantom opened the door to her cell. The wolf backed away and acted like nothing was wrong. Harlow moved away from the window as fast as she could only to trip and fall. The phantom came over and hooked a chain to her spike. The phantom forced her up and led her out of the cell.

Harlow was being dragged along the halls of the fortress. The phantom was going so fast that every time Harlow tried to get up she would trip and fall again. Soon Harlow did end up standing up and was led into the room that she was lead into before.

The room was darker now and gave Harlow the shivers. Many phantoms floated around the room. Some of the tubes now had green liquid in them, but others didn't. But what freaked Harlow out the most was that a tube filled with green liquid had a phantom in it and one other tube had a falcon with mask on that gave it air.

Harlow was lead to a empty tube with no liquid in it. A phantom opened the door to the tube and took off the spike and chain. A phantom grabbed a mask and shoved it on Harlow. Air was forced into Harlow's lungs that made her dizzy. She was put into the tube and green liquid poured into the tube from the top. The door to the tube was locked shut and Harlow started to fall asleep. The phantoms started to look at computers and report to each other.

Then the colorful leopard Harlow had seen before came into the room being lead by two large phantoms. She was trying to fight back, but the phantoms didn't loosen their grip. They were bringing her to different tube.

Then a sharp pain made it's way into Harlow's bones. With that, Harlow then gave up and let sleep take over.

...

...

"Silence, child. I give all to me. Follow me. I lead you now. Give up. I know what's best for you."

The word silence echoed across the cavern Harlow now stood in.

"Silence," the weird woman's voice echoed again. Then Harlow was ripped out of the dream into another one.

Chapter 6: Annora
Written by Akurle

The last thing Annora remembered before being shoved in the tube of green liquid was sitting alone in her cell, thinking about how horrible her life had gotten in the last few hours. The bed she was given was horrible, as the mattress was simply a rag that was draped over the hard, wooden frame. The pillow was also devoid of any stuffing, apart from clumps of dust. When Harlow had removed the rag, she discovered 6 or 7 dead bugs.

After seeing that, Harlow decided she would rather sleep on the floor which was, surprisingly, more comfortable than her bed. But after laying there in pure boredom for what felt like hours, hunger started to gnaw at her stomach. She didn't want to even look at the food she was given, but soon her hunger got the best of her.

She took a small chunk of the meat she had been given and tasted it. It tasted even worse than it looked. She had spit it out instantly, and took a drink instead from the muddy water. It tasted just as bad, but at least her throat wasn't dry. Annora tried another bit of meat, but it wasn't any better. She ended up swallowing it so her stomach would stop growling, but it probably wasn't worth it. Annora soon fell asleep.

Annora wasn't sure how long it had been, but she was no longer tired. She decided to check out the cell to her left, which she hadn't seen before. To her surprise, it was also empty. The bed sheets had been thrown off, and it looked recent. There was also a little bit of food inside the top bowl, and the water was empty.

Without warning, the door to her cell swung open. There was one, large phantoms outside. He came in hurriedly, preparing to hook the chain to the metal collar around her neck. Bad news for him, though, as Annora was also prepared.

Once the phantom got close enough, Annora ran to her bed and jumped on top. The phantom changed course, heading straight toward her, making him no longer blocking the exit. When he got within range, Annora jumped forward, landing on top of him. He landed on the ground hard, but Annora didn't waste any time. She jumped off and charged toward the exit.

"PRISONER #109 HAS ESCAPED! GET HER!!" the phantom screamed. Annora stopped for a split second to slam the door shut and shove a loose piece of metal in the lock so he wouldn't be able to get out. Then she ran through the halls as fast as her legs could carry her. She could hear the phantom in her cell screaming for help and demanding that the alarms be set off.

It wasn't long before they did. Green, flashing lights on the ceiling started flashing and sirens wailed. Annora blocked out the noise and focused on the phantoms charging toward her. Annora waited until she was close enough before she made a flying leap right over them. They started shooting bolts of electricity in every direction. One hit a glass pipe in the ceiling filled with what appeared to be acid, making glass and acid spray everywhere. Unfortunately, a few drops hit Annora's shoulder.

She yowled in pain and stumbled, almost falling, but managed to catch herself. The acid on her shoulder stung like crazy, making her slow down. Eventually, she slowed to stop and fell on the floor in exhaustion. She had no idea where she was or where she was going, and the only thing she was finding where seemingly endless hallways. Annora looked around for a map somewhere, but all she found was a small window.

Realization hit Annora. She got to her paws, very slowly, and ran over to the window, panting. It was barred, just her luck. But outside she could see the Phantom Badlands, and a few carts full of pipes and scrap metal. It would be the perfect place to hide.

Annora slammed her paw on the metal bars as hard as she could, but it only gave her more pain. She was exhausted and in pain, and the stinging on her shoulder only got worse. Annora looked around for something to use that would be able to break the bars.

She looked up and saw the pipe of acid. It was perfect. The acid was slowly emptying from being broken, meaning Annora would have to work fast.

She grabbed a loose piece of metal from the wall and threw it at the pipe. She ran away as fast as she could and watched as acid sprayed all over the window. The acid eventually stopped spraying everywhere and turned into a steady drizzle dripping from the crack in the tube. The bars of the window had melted away and even part of the wall, making the opening wider.

"PRISONER #109, WE HAVE LOCKED ONTO YOUR LOCATION. WE RECOMMEND THAT YOU SURRENDER NOW, AS ESCAPE IS FUTILE AND ANY ATTEMPT IS USELESS. WE ARE SENDING IN MULTIPLE GUARDS FROM BOTH SIDES TO ASSURE THAT YOU WILL HAVE NO ESCAPE. PLEASE SURRENDER YOURSELF AND THERE WILL BE NO BLOODSHED," blared from speakers above Annora. She snorted and ignored it.

Using the piece of metal from before, she wiped most of the acid off the window. Then she hauled herself up and squeezed through. A sharp bit of metal scraped her stomach, making her falter. That was her mistake.

A phantom tentacle wrapped itself around her tail just before she came out the other side. She immediately pushed herself out, but not before she was badly shocked. She fell to the rocky ground of the Badlands, partially stunned.

"Prisoner #109, stop right there! We have you cornered!" one of the phantoms yelled. He floated out of the window and pointed a long spear at Annora. Several other phantoms came out of the window and surrounded her.

Annora stood up shakily and snarled at the phantoms, trying to ignore the pain. "I refuse be stuck in a prison for the rest of my life! I won't stand down!"

The phantom with the spear huffed. "No, no, that's not what we have planned for you at all." He extended his spear so it was almost touching Annora's chest. The phantoms around her started to close in.

Annora was too weak to fight. She didn't know how much more she could take. But she was so close- too close, to surrender now. With lightning speed, she reached out and grabbed the part of spear just behind the blade. She didn't pull, instead swung the spear to the side, dragging the phantom with it. The phantom smacked into another phantom before he could react and shock her. With that, Annora jumped out of the gap and charged across the flat, rocky grounds of the Phantom Badlands.

The phantoms behind her started blasting small bolts of electricity on every direction, trying to hit Annora. She swerved to the side and jumped onto one of the carts of weird supplies.

She felt a gust of wind on her flank and a loud chink beside her. One of the phantoms had thrown a spear at her, and it had almost hit its mark. It had grazed her side and now lay lodged in the cart. The cart tilted to the side from the force. Annora was about to jump when she realized she was making a huge mistake.

The cart flipped to the side and landed on the hard ground. Annora couldn't get any momentum and ended up falling pathetically to the ground. The metal objects in the cart poured on top of her. On hit her in the head, making her vision blur and darken.

She tried to stand up and shake the stuff off her, but she was far too tired. Then, a spear was pressed against her neck as the phantoms pulled her up and dragged her back to the prison. She was still dazed and wasn't exactly sure what happened next, but she soon found herself back in that horrible lab where she had met the fox Harlow.

Annora managed to pull free from the guards, only to be held down by the large phantom named Bolt. Bolt looked at the burn mark on her shoulder and sighed.

"Acid, huh? And just when I was trying to get you in good shape! You better be careful what you do around here, miss." Bolt lifted her by her scruff and tossed her to the guards, who grabbed her and held her still.

Annora was about to retort when she saw what was going on behind Bolt. Four tubes had been filled with green goop, and had an empty one beside the first two and second two. The first two had a peregrine falcon and a phantom in them. The second two had a micro-bat and a phantom.

But that wasn't was scared her. It was the fact that phantoms were shoving Harlow the fox inside the empty tube beside the falcon and the bat. She was thrown inside and forced to wear a mask, then the tube closed and filled with green liquid.

Then, it slowly fit together. The other empty tube. The blood test Harlow and Annora had been given. The fact that Bolt wanted Annora in 'good' shape. Why the phantom with the spear said Annora wasn't going to be stuck in a prison all her life.

Bolt ripped the bandages off Annora's leg and forced her toward the second empty tube. He pushed her in and shoved a weird mask on her face, despite all her struggling. He backed up and the tube closed just before Annora could get out.

The mask forced air into her lungs that made her feel dizzy and sleepy. She slumped down, trying to fight back the tired feeling. But it was useless. She tried taking the mask off, but before she could, something dripped onto her head.

Then, green liquid started pouring into the tube. It was thick and sticky like syrup, restraining Annora's movements. Soon it was above her head, then seconds later the tube was full. Annora squirmed and wiggled, but the sleepy feeling was taking over. Everything was turning dark. Black spots danced in front of her eyes, everything started spinning....

And then it all went black.

Chapter 7: Harlow
Written by Nkurle.

Harlow had so many weird dreams. Most of them where ones where she would be rolling on the ground as spikes grew out of her. She was ripped out of every dream with a flash of pain. Harlow could tell what stomach ache she had by the type of pain and where the pain was. But Harlow had not felt like this before. It was like growing-pain, but much worse. She felt like her shoulder blades were being ripped out her body, or growing super fast.

Harlow tried to scream in one dream as pain filled up her body. Harlow could sometimes tell she was asleep and tried to use her trick to wake herself up, But she was only pulled into a deeper sleep and found out again she was dreaming.

Soon Harlow found out she was dreaming for the tenth time. She use her trick she used to wake up. Slowly she felt herself wake.

Harlow gasped and flung her eyes open as she entered the world again. Everything was tinted green. Then it all came back to her. She had been thrown into the tube and green liquid had poured into it. That's why everything was green

Harlow looked at the table with the computers on them. Many phantoms hirried across the room. One went over to Harlow and put its tentacle on the glass of the tube. Harlow looked down and put her paw where its tentacle was. The phantom seemed to be watching something on Harlow's back. Harlow turned around but couldn't find out what was on her back. Then she saw a mirror on the wall. Through the green liquid Harlow saw herself in the mirror. She saw what was on her back. A lump of dark brown feathers that were wrinkled like a butterfly's wings when it comes out of the chrysalis. Harlow slowly moved the lump and it took a shape. The phantoms had given her wings. Soon all the green liquid was drained out of the tube and a phantom pulled Harlow out of the tube and ripped the breathing mask off. The phantoms forced Harlow to stand. Harlow's legs where tired and she felt no will to stand. But she managed to. The phantoms opened her wings for her and looked at Harlow. Harlow turned her heavy head to the mirror. The phantoms didn't just give her wings. They made her colors darker. Her black feet where now very, very, dark, muddy purple. Her golden body and face was now a chocolate brown. Her wings had that muddy purple colored stripes.

Harlow looked at what one of the papers a phantom several feet away from her was holding. The letters where written in phantom but Harlow could tell they made a list. One part of the list had a check mark on it. The other parts didn't. But Harlow could tell now that the wings where only one part of what they added to her after looking at the list. And Harlow now knew that she was the phantoms new tool, new toy. But then shock hit Harlow right after she looked away from the paper. How had she seen the paper from that far away? She could see every detail.

Harlow's old spike collar was shoved back on. Rage filled her for a second. Why dare do that to her without asking? Harlow pushed away the rage. The phantoms where the ones that controlled her now. If she did something wrong they would hurt her. But she had her OWN will. They should NOT tell her what to do. NO ONE could tell her what to do now. Soon a battle of thoughts filled her head. Her calm, always letting people push her around, normal self was gone. Now rage filled her thoughts.

Harlow was so into the battle of thoughts she didn't know she was being dragged away from the room. She looked up and saw the door of the room be shut closed. But before the door was closed, she saw with her weird, awesome new eyesight, Annora in a tube.

Harlow was dragged into a dark hallway. At the end of the hallway was a iron door. One of the 4 phantoms dragging Harlow went up to the door and started spinning a huge metal wheel on the door. The door soon unlocked and Harlow was dragged inside.

The room she was now in was HUGE. It was made out of metal. The room was very empty and dark with only one bit light in the middle. Huge shelves lined one wall and on the opposite wall where 5 huge cages. In one corner were a few test tubes with green liquid in them that cast a green light around that corner. There were also tables with computers and all the things that where in the other room. But the only thing that was weird was there there where chains piled next to a test tube. One test tube had something wiggling inside.

The room more looked like a storage room. Random boxes laid around and the lab in the corner seemed to have been put there for a one-time thing. The ceiling was made out of pipes and smaller pipes crossing over those pipes that crossed over even more pipes. Harlow was dragged over to the darkest cell that was in the far corner. One phantom spun a huge wheel that was like the one on the other door. The door to the cell soon opened. The inside was so dark that with her new eyesight she could only see the dark shapes of objects inside. Just before she was shoved into the cell, the new rage-filled thoughts filled her head. Only one thought was the clearest.

Kill them.

Harlow screamed and her vision dimmed. She felt her body change. Her fur become more stiff. Her new wings become more powerful. her back legs seemed to change. Large, sharp and deadly claws grew from her front paws. The muscles moved around her back legs and then clicked back into place in other spots. She opened her eyes and then everything became clear again. Every small nail in the wall she could see. Her eyesight was even better then before. All the sleepiness from before faded. Rage filled her head and only one thought stayed clear.

KILL THEM ALL.

Harlow did a 14-foot jump right over the phantoms and landed about 4 feet away from them. The phantoms started screaming orders to the phantoms over at the lab. But Harlow would not let them come up with a plan to stop her. She jumped right at a phantom. Her new, sharper claws dug right into the phantoms goop-like skin. Harlow flung the phantom at one other phantom and they both fell to the ground. Harlow jumped into the path of one more phantom. her claws dug into the metal floor as she slowly skidded to a stop in front of the phantom. Long claw marks lined the floor.

Harlow growled. The phantom screamed and turned the other way and ran. But Harlow was faster. She ran and bit into the phantom and smashed him on the floor. The phantom, before he died, zapped Harlow. Harlow jumped back in fear. But the fear was drowned out by rage. The zap didn't even hurt Harlow much because her fur was now so thick. Harlow, in rage that the phantom zapped her, jumped on the phantom but before she could do anything She remembered the other phantom. She turned and saw about 20 phantoms with spears and chains coming to her. Harlow wanted to rip them up but they started shooting lightning. Harlow jumped from side to side. The lightning didn't hit her yet. She was then hit in the leg.

Harlow almost fell over but managed to catch herself. Many other lightning bolts started being shot at her. She soon was hit by about 8 lightning bolts. It was not safe down here. The phantoms were getting closer. Harlow looked up at the ceiling. She jumped. She made it about half way to the ceiling before she started to fall. She felt her wings start to flap and soon she was in the air. A lightning bolt hit her wing and she almost fell, but then used all her might and in one strong flap her claws where around a pipe in the ceiling.

Harlow pulled herself up. She was in a dark, empty space. There were three rows of crisscrossing pipes covering a dark, empty space between the pipes and the ceiling above. The only light was the light from the under side of the pipes. Harlow looked down. The phantoms had stopped shooting. It was now time to attack. Harlow walked along the pipes until she was under a small group of phantoms. Harlow then jumped off the pipe and landed on a phantom.

She killed all the phantoms very fast with only a few slashes. They had not been ready for her attack. Harlow then flew back onto the pipe on the ceiling before being spotted. Then she jumped down and attacked, then flew back up. Harlow did this many times until only one group of phantoms were left. They were next to the small lab in the corner of the room.

Harlow was going to jump down when she slipped and a small pipe that fell down with a sound that echoed across the quiet room. A phantom looked up and shot a bolt right at Harlow. Harlow jumped to another pipe, but that was shot down too. Soon there was only one nearby pipe left to stand on. Harlow jumped onto the pipe, but in mid-jump it was shot with lightning. Harlow started to fall to the ground. She used her wings to slow the fall but couldn't stop it. Harlow landed on the tube with the wriggling creature in it. Her wing hit the glass the of the tube, and green goop and glass shattered everywhere. A deformed reddish-purple creature with three tails fell out of the tube and landed in the green goop. Harlow landed on the ground with a thud and her vision dimmed.

Phantoms surrounded Harlow, but were too afraid too get very close. Harlow stayed still, slumped on the hard, metal ground. A phantom grabbed a shard of glass and poked Harlow with it so see if she was alive. Harlow's head shot up and she opened her mouth wide. Out came a loud, ear-piercing scream. All the phantoms covered their ears and backed away.

After the long scream, Harlow stood up slowly. She looked around, then saw a large phantom come into the room. Before Harlow could do anything, she was shot with a lightning bolt from him.

Harlow fell over and her vision faded into darkness.

Chapter 8: Annora
Written by Akurle

The pain never ended.

The whole time she was asleep, she felt never-ending pain. It was almost to the point of unbearable. It was mostly her back and her head that hurt, and she heard a constant ringing in her ears. She also had a ton of weird dreams. She saw flashes of the phantom badlands, and had several weird dreams that she instantly forgot. It seemed forever before the pain in her back started to fade and the ringing in her ears dissipated.

Annora opened her eyes, very slowly. She saw the blurry image of the phantom lab. Everything was tinted green. There were few phantoms in the lab, but suddenly the door swung open and a few phantoms came in, covered in claw marks. One was missing a tentacle.

There were three phantoms huddled together, but Annora soon realized that they were holding an injured snow leopard. One of the phantoms turned toward Annora, and she quickly closed her eyes so they wouldn't know she was awake.

Annora heard one of the phantoms talking. She could hear him surprisingly well. "Master Bolt, we found the escapee. Should we put him in Annora's cell, since his is still in need of repair after he broke out?"

"No. Put him in the room with the beasts. That should scare him into being obedient again." Annora guessed that that was Bolt.

"But aren't they occupied for the two mutants and the three beasts?" the phantom from before questioned.

"The mutant- the one who called herself Harlow, broke the tube that the first beast was in. It didn't survive."

Annora heard something heavy being dragged and guessed the phantoms were dragging the leopard away. Then Annora heard another voice, coming from the left, where the computers were. "Sir, the subject's breathing rate has regulated. She must be awake by now, or pretending to still be asleep."

Annora flinched, and instantly regretted it. She hoped the phantoms didn't notice. She heard a knock on her tube. She tried her best not to move or flinch.

"The transformation is complete, she should be awake. Open the tube."

Annora felt the liquid around her empty from the tube she was in. Once it was empty, she realized how sticky her fur was. Annora heard the tube door open, and she tumbled out.

Annora snapped her eyes open and charged. It didn't go as planned. She stumbled and fell, smashing her face on the metal floor. She groaned and ripped the mask off her face. She had been moving so little in the tube that her legs were weak, and the sticky green goop was heavy in her fur. There was also something floppy on her back. Annora tried to shake it off, but it had attached itself to her back. She managed to stand up and look at what was on her back.

She gasped. There was a pair of bat wings on her back. It felt so weird to have extra limbs. She tried to move them, which was easier than she thought, but felt very weird. When she looked up, she saw a dusty mirror on the wall. Inside, she could see herself. Not only did she have a pair of huge wings on her back, but she also seemed a bit larger and had two large bat ears on her head. Before she could do anything more, several phantoms hurried over and grabbed Annora. She yowled and tried to pull away, but the phantoms kept her still. Annora had a sudden burst of anger and started shaking, trying to get the phantoms off. She had never felt so angry. More phantoms came over and grabbed Annora. She swung her tail around and flapped her wings, knocking several off.

"Don't let her go into a rage!" Bolt screamed in her ear. Annora looked up and realized that he was several feet away. She was amazed at how much her hearing had improved.

A phantom came over from the table with computers, holding a syringe filled with milky white liquid. He came over to Annora, who struggled and struggled but couldn't get away. He aimed the syringe at her leg.

Annora suddenly flapped her wings as hard as she could. It came almost naturally to her- as if she had done this so many times before. She jumped as high into the air as she could started flapping her wings. She pushed them back a little as if she were swimming, and she was soon flying through the air. The phantoms below her started to panic and throw bolts of lightning at her.

Annora easily dodged and landed on the top of a tube, digging her claws into the metal. Bunching up her muscles, she leaped forward and landed right on top of bolt, pinning him down with her claws. Rage was boiling inside her.

Suddenly, something pricked her leg and all the rage dissipated. Annora lashed her tail, smacking the phantom behind her that held the syringe. Underneath her, Bolt gave her a strong shock and squeezed out of her grasp.

Annora staggered back, swaying. That sudden rage that she felt had disappeared, along with her will to fight. Suddenly, her whole body went numb and she collapsed to the ground. She had been paralyzed. On the ground beside her was the syringe that had been filled with white liquid. Now it was empty.

Several of the phantoms had recovered and hovered over to Annora. They each grabbed onto one of Annora's limbs and dragged her through the halls of the phantom factory. They brought her into a large room with crisscrossing pipes lining the ceiling. In the corner was a small laboratory, and one of the walls was covered with tall shelves. The third wall had five huge metal cages. On the forth wall, next to the lab, had several test tubes near thick metal chains.

Annora was shoved into one of the large cages. She felt the paralyzation wearing off and tried to stand up or slash at one of the phantoms. The most she could do was flop her right arm around, which wasn't very intimidating. The phantoms backed out of the cage and slammed it shut.

Annora waited for the paralyzation to wear off completely and slowly stood up. The cage didn't have anything in it, apart from a tiny slot in the bottom of the wall where they probably shoved food in. Next to that was a large bowl with a small bit of dirty water in it. It was awfully dark, but with her leopard night vision she was able to make out most of the details.

Annora looked around the empty cage again. In the phantoms eyes, she was no longer an animal. She was a monster. A test subject. They didn't even treat her like a living thing, or even give her a measly bed, for crying out loud!

Annora slammed herself against the metal door as hard as she could. It didn't budge. She sat down and rubbed her sore shoulder and sighed. There were small windows on each side of her, covered with thick, metal bars. Annora stood up and looked through the one on the right. She saw the injured leopard she had seen before, lying unconcious on the ground. He was covered in scratches and buises, and had a particularily large scrape on his back leg. He was green with a yellow secondary color and orange leaf pattern.

"Hey, you okay in there?" Annora asked. She didn't get a response. Annora waited for a few minutes before getting impatient. She backed away from the window a peered through the one on her left. She saw some sort of feathered animal slumped on the floor of the cage. At first sight, it looked like a large eagle. But upon closer inspection, it was actually a fox. But it was no ordinary fox.

Annora's mouth gaped open. It was Harlow. Harlow's fur had darkened to brown, and her black legs had turned into a very dark purple. But that wasn't what surprised Annora. It was the wings.

Harlow had beautiful golden-brown falcon wings with dark purple tips. Among the brown feathers, Annora spotted a few golden-tipped feathers. There were a few specks of gold among Harlow's fur as well. It was a crazy mix of beautiful and creepy.

The peices slowly clicked together in Annora's mind. The experiment, the blood testing, the weird tubes. The phantoms had captured Harlow and Annora to create monsters. The falcon and the bat in the tubes that Annora had seen before getting shoved in the tube were the animals that the phantoms used to give Harlow and Annora wings. And why Bolt had called Harlow a mutant... but what were the three beasts? What was the weird phantom with legs Annora had seen? And why were the phantoms doing this?

A phantom knocked on her door suddenly, scaring Annora. She recovered from her shock quickly and peeked through the tiny barred window high on the wall where the door was. She saw a phantom staring up at her.

"What do you want?! Is my torture still not enough to please you?" Annora screamed angrily through the bars.

The phantom gave her a look that seemed to say You've only seen half of it. "Is the fox awake?"

"Why do you care?"

"I'll take that as a no." The phantom turned toward a large phantom hovering several feet away. "Hey Corrupt, can you help me get the leopard out of here? She's ready to be tested."

The phantom named Corrupt nodded and started gathering phantoms. The first phantom looked up at Annora, smirking.

"Let's see how angry you can get."

The door swung open, and a huge net was flung over Annora. Before she could react, something hit her in the head and knocked her out.

Chapter 9: Harlow
Written by Nkurle

Harlow awoke to the sound of a large bag being slid across the floor. She looked out a small cell window on the cell door and saw Annora being dragged away in a large net. Harlow sighed and sat down. Her head hurt SUPER bad. It felt as if a phantoms was running around her head hitting her skull. Harlow had been knocked out so many times by the phantoms she and a right to blame them for the headache.

So many things had happened within a day Harlow would expect a winged pig to fly in her cell and give her cake. Harlow's fear of the phantoms had left her now because she had been around them so much. Everything in her cell now started to wave around and change colors. Harlow knew that she NEEDED some sleep. Not the sleep you get from being knocked out. Harlow layed down and closed her eyes and let her head rest.

Harlow's dreams were weird. There was a dragon flying at Harlow holding a watermelon. For some reason in her dream that was normal and it happened everyday. Harlow had other weird dreams to weird to even talk about. She was then woken up by a giant phantom zapping her to death.

Harlow bolted upright. Once she found out that everything was a dream she stood up and looked out the window on the cell door. What she saw reminded her of why she feared the phantoms. There was about 8 phantoms hovering around a metal rod that was sticking out of the ground near the lab. A chain was attached to the rod. The chain led to a creature that made Harlow want to rip out her eyes. The creature had strong and lean body. It's legs where long and ripped with muscle. The creature had only two fingers on each paw. It had 2 shorter tails and in the middle was a longer, bigger tail. It's head was a bit short with small red eyes. It's teeth where long and large. The creature had 4 black and long spikes that shot out of the back of its head. It had small black spikes down it's back. The creature had 3 large spikes on the side of it's front legs. It had small spike like things on the 2 side tails and one large one on the middle. (Picture coming soon! Sorry for the long and bad explanation)

What shocked Harlow most about the creature was it's color. It was bright shiny purple that faded into bright blue on the legs and tail. The creature could only go so far with the chain around it's neck. The creature would hop to one side with crazy agility and balance. Because it keep hopping to other sides and doing little spins it looked like it was dancing.

Bolt the phantom came into the room and looked at the creature. The phantoms said things that Harlow could not understand because she was to far away. But Harlow didn't need to know what they where saying to know this was also part of the plan that involved Harlow and Annora growing wings.

Seeing the creature and seeing Annora being dragged away, Harlow could not stand being in this place. She NEEDED to tell everyone in Jamaa. The fact that so many would suffer to the phantoms if she didn't tell, gave her the strength to want to. Also, she had crazy mad power that could kill many, many phantoms.

The phantoms right now only cared for the creature so Harlow would have some time to escape. Harlow backed away from the door. She closed her eyes. It was now time to be the great hero she always dreamed of being. Well, she would be the great hero if she didn't die just trying to break down the door.

Harlow used her great falcon eyesight to look for lose screws in the door. She found one and started to unscrew it with great trouble. Soon there was a large screw on the floor. After about what felt like 45 hours due to unscrewing screws without the right tools, there was then 6 large screws on the floor. Harlow backed up away from the door until she hit the back wall of the cell. She got ready to pounce. Leaning down to the floor Harlow looked at the door. "Here i come. Stronger because of what you did to me". Harlow smiled as new faith filled her bones. This was the true Harlow, the one who didn't hide, the one who will fight for the right.

Harlow jumped up and landed in the middle of the cell then pounced again at the door. Harlow felt her paws hit the hard metal as she closed her eyes. She heard cracking and metal hitting metal. Harlow opened her eyes. She had fell backward but the door had been pushed out of place and light was sneaking through the parts that where no longer attached to the door frame.

Harlow jumped at the door again and with a loud creak the door fell down. Harlow was standing on the broken door looking at the many phantoms who where staring at her, along with the fiendish phantom monster. The room was silent for about 5 seconds before bolt, the phantom started screaming at other phantoms who where ramming into each other as they failed to grab spears.

Harlow's burst of faith started to fade. But the fact that she didn't want to get knocked out again brought it back. Harlow jumped and started flapping her wings hard. She fell down with a thud. She got up again and shook herself. The phantoms had regrouped and where ready to face her.

Harlow tried again. This time she let the instincts take over. She jumped high and flapped slow but hard. Soon Harlow felt herself lift up. Harlow grabbed a large pipe and pulled herself up. Her wings where sore. Why was flying now so hard and painful. Before she felt like it all come to her. The rage that had filled her maybe was the thing that made her better and fighting, but then why has she felt like she had changed, what if she did.

Harlow looked down. The phantoms where getting ready to throw the spears. Harlow started running across the pipes. She jumped from large pipe to a smaller then another. She felt the adrenaline running through her. For once she never felt stronger. She felt like the beast. Jumping lightly on every paw till it looked like a dance. She felt like she was dancing. Pipe hoping is what it should be called.

Harlow make it as close to the door as she could. She then jumped down from the pipe and used her wings to slow her fall. She hit the ground and started turning the pipe as fast as she could. Spears hit the walls next to her. In a panic she opened the door and ran out. She ran past phantoms who where just caring things around the halls. Harlow just ran around the halls that didn't seem to have many phantoms. Soon she came across a large door. She turned around knowing she would never be able to open it. She ran out of that hallway and saw many large and armored phantoms coming down one hall. Harlow ran the other way.

Soon bolts would shoot past her along with spears. Harlow turned and saw a larger brighter hallway. She ran down it. Sounds of metal being thrown around filled her ears. The hallway turned and Harlow tried to but she just slid into the wall.

Harlow looked up and once her eyes adjusted to the light, she saw a huge room bigger then the one before. This one looked like a factory. Pipes coming out of walls into other walls. A huge pipe in the middle of the room. Piles of tubes here and there. A wall with tables against it with computers on the tables. The only thing that shocked Harlow was there was hardly any phantoms, the rest where sick looking animals that had chains or spikes with chains around there necks.

Harlow touched the black long on her neck. A few others had a black long. But the joy of having one around your neck was overpowered by the pain the animal where put in. The animals where working for the phantoms. Harlow might have been in this room if she had not been chosen for the test.

Harlow looked around the corner. The phantoms where getting closer. Harlow turned and ran into the factory. A voice boomed from the speakers on the sides of the wall. "TEST 5,0,1 HAS ESCAPED. BEWARE, DO NOT KILL, TEST 5,0,1 HAS ESCAPED. BEWARE, DO NOT KILL".

All the animals in the room start looking around and all the phantoms forced them to work. "FOUND YOU" Bolts voice boomed behind Harlow. Harlow turned. Bolt and many other phantoms where behind him. Harlow turned and ran. "GET IT" Bolt screamed.

Harlow jumped and flew to the top of the large pipe in the middle of the room. From atop there she spotted another exit. She ran and jumped off the pipe. Animal looked at Harlow with wide smiles. Harlow opened her wings and soared over to the exit. She opened the door and ran hearing bolt scream angrily from behind.

before Harlow ran down the hall she closed the door hoping it would slow them down. She didn't make it far down the hall because phantoms watchers opened up on the side of the walls. Harlow stopped quickly. She didn't have time for this. She started jumped over the watchers. It was hard because they slowly moved as if inspecting the room for dust. Harlow looked back but then slipped. As she slid she flatted herself to the floor hoping to slide under the next watcher. Most of her body did but the tip of her wing was hit along with some of her back.

Numbing pain filled the spots that where hit. Harlow felt like she wanted to fall asleep forever. The numbing pain spread to her legs, tail and slowly to her wings. Harlow kept her eyes open with much pain. She struggled to get up but couldn't. Slimy tentacles wrapped around her neck and legs. "If i could count how many animals these watchers have put down, it would be more then every drop on this earth" A phantom voice said from above her. "There is not even that many animals on this earth, Black bolt!" a higher voice shouted back. The phantom who Harlow guessed was named Black bolt sighed.

Harlow felt herself being lifted and up and being dragged away. "You can't give up now!" The voice of one of her many brothers Ryan said in her mind. She smiled as the memory came back to her. She was coloring a picture fir her dad but it didn't turn out as awesome as Ryan's did. "Yours is better. I am so bad at art and you so good and your even younger then me!" Harlow cried as she was about to throw away her picture. "I work hard on me art" Ryan said smiling. He was only 5 at the time and Harlow was 7. "You cant give up now! Daddy say that many time. He say it true. I believe it true". And after that day Harlow loved drawing with Ryan and loved her art even when he was way better then her. Now what Ryan said filled Harlow's mind even when she was not drawing. The saying can even compare when your running away from phantoms that gave you wings.

Harlow looked down. She would NOT let the phantoms take her like this. She would NOT fail now. The rage she felt before boiled up again.