Kariata

Shreya Rose would have never thought in a million years that she'd go to the Kariata (Ka-REE-ta) without her big brother, Roshen, but here she was. In the worst part of town, with the shadiest vendors, where Shreya had often had nightmares about. And it was all thanks to Cousin Geroid. Stupid Geroid.

Ger and Shrey never met eye-to-eye. While Shreya read Alexander Dumas's books and did well in school, Geroid rather call him Alexander Dumbass and ditch school. Shreya was quiet and Geroid was loud. Shreya was polite and Geroid was rude, and yet she kept on saving his butt. Why? No clue. Ger was now in trouble because Shreya wasn't there to save him from his mom, Aunt Margarete. Now Shreya had to do his chore of getting the groceries and, surprise surprise, most of the foods were in the Kariata. Stupid, stupid Geroid! Shrey thought angrily.
Roshen was at Larry's house, Momma and Papi were at work, and Aunt Margarete was keeping a hawk's eye on Geroid, so Shreya was here alone.

"Hmmm…" she said. The tomatoes were ripe, but were they worth their price?

"The finest tomatoes in the Kariata, girl." Shrey looked at the vendor.

"10 dollars." Shreya told him.

The vendor looked startled, then stared intently at her. "30."

"15."

"25."

"20!"

"Deal!" The vendor shook Shreya's hand. "Clay Tollen."

"Shreya Rose."

Clay gave her a toothy smile. "Roshen's little sister?"

"How could you tell?" she asked.

Clay laughed. "Only Roshen would pull a stunt like that on me, and it looks like he passed it on, little lady." Shreya grinned. She liked Clay already.

"So, what are you doing here?" Clay asked.

Shreya scowled. "My cousin, Geroid Garrison, finally got caught, so now I've got to make the errands."

Clay shook his head. "Ger finally got caught, eh? What'd he do this time?"

"Margarete 'found' beer in his room." Shrey explained.

Mr. Tollen's eyes widened. "Not Margarete Garrison!"

"The very same." He groaned.

"Ever since Froid drank a little beer and got a little drunk, Margarete has been on her little brother and her." Shreya remembered the night Froid came home from the bar. Aunt Margarete's screams could be heard from Cape! Froid's own mother put her into rehab!

Suddenly, Clay's voice became soft. "I'd watch out, miss. I may be the most peaceful dealer here, but Francis Taylor is not going to be happy when he finds out Geroid's your cousin. He owes him 15 hundred dollars!"

Shreya's jaw dropped. "15 hundred?! Geroid's only 14! How can he pay all that? He doesn't even have 1 hundred!"

Clay shrugged. "I dunno, little lady. All I know is that Geroid's bitten off more than he can chew. I'd also be careful if I had your face. Who knows what these guys can do to a cutie like you."

Shreya blushed, but Clay was right. Who knows what these guys can do to her. Clay gave her the tomatoes.

"Be careful, little lady! There's a rumor or two around these parts about a vampire and a werewolf!"

Shreya smiled a little. "Vampire and a werewolf. Right." Shreya waved good-bye to Clay.

The rest of the sellers weren't as friendly, and were ten times as sneaky as Mr. Tollen. The streets were filled of the rumors of a vampire and the werewolf.

"Did you hear? Howard Long saw a vampire bite Joe Greenly!"

"Well, if I was a vampire, I'd bite Joe Greenly!"

"Dalton saw a werewolf lurking in the streets last night."

"Did you hear those howls, man? They, like, sent shivers down my spine!"

"Don't I know it!" With each rumor, Shreya doubted less and less.

"You shouldn't believe everything you hear," Someone said. Shreya turned around to find a guy staring at her. He was exceptionally handsome with light brown hair and ocean blue eyes. He wore a long New Yorker coat, making him seem rather mysterious. He turned and whisked away.

"What did you do to Damian?" a girl asked roughly. Shreya shrugged. The girl looked her up and down, but seemed satisfied with the answer. Shrey quickly walked away.

It was almost sunset and Shreya was almost done with her errands. She walked down the streets of the Kariata. The New Yorker coat guy echoed in her thoughts. (He was a little creepy) A little fly zoomed by and hovered around her. Its buzzing sounded urgent. A high-pitched voice crept into her thoughts. Someone is following you, milady!

Shreya slowly turned her head, and she snapped it back. There was a guy following her. Shoot! She thought. (-She doesn't curse, but can tolerate it.) Shreya tucked her strawberry blond hair behind her ear as she quickened her pace.

The guy quickened his pace too. More people started to join him. Shreya sharply turned left into an alley. The boys did the same. She was on the verge of running, but was would the Musketeers do? Stand and fight, even though 1) Shreya could barely pick up the lawn mower 2) Shreya sucked at Tai-kwon-doe and 3) Shreya was not a Musketeer and these guys were more than likely gangsters and not Cardinal Richelieu's men.
Shreya started running. Guess what the people did? Run after her, of course! Shrey weaved in-between shoppers, vendors, and stands. The men pushed everyone out of their way. Shrey started tossing trash cans behind her. The men jumped over them in their pursuit. She vanished into an alley. She glanced behind her. They started to fall behind. Yes, yes, yes!

Oh no, no, no! Shrey skidded to a stop. Dead end.

"Think you could've out run us, eh?" Shreya slowly turned around. The guys were right behind her. They started to taunt her. The biggest guy put out his arm, and they all became quiet. This guy was the definition of old school gangster. He wore a strange suit, but the shirt underneath seemed to be a logo of some kind. The one thing that sent chills done Shrey's spine was the thin, linear scar reaching from his right eyebrow to the tip of his chin. He looked down on her.

"You are Mr. Garrison's cousin, are you not?" he asked. Shreya glared at him.

"What's it to you?" she snarled.

The guy smirked. "Oh my! We have a fiery one here!" The goons laughed. He put his attention back to Shrey.

"Allow me to introduce myself. I am Francis Taylor. You must be his pretty cousin, Shreya Rose." Shreya bit her lip to keep herself from yelping.
Francis glowered now. "Mr. Garrison owes me 15 hundred. I suppose you don't know where he is?" Shreya shook her head. Francis smiled.

"But why do I need money from him, when I can have his cousin?" Shreya's body froze in time. The gang started to close in on her. Shreya's heart beat until it was a low hum. She backed into the wall.

Francis was thrown into the ground. A girl stood right in front of Shreya, holding a fist. He sat up, holding his face. He scowled. "Get her!" he growled.

The goons launched at the girl. Her long sleeved side punched a guy in the face, while the tank top side elbowed someone in the stomach. She dodged a punched and kicked the person on the side of their face. This girl soon became a black blur, beating people left and right. Shreya watched her in fascination as she defeated the goons.

BANG!! A gunshot rang in the air. Everyone stopped. Francis held a gun in the air. His left side of his face was a deep purple. His remaining men backed away. "Now," he said, "I don't know who the Hell you are, but you're going to pay." He pointed his gun at the dark haired girl. Shreya shielded her eyes, and waited for the sound of death from her savior.

It didn't come. A fly landed on her shoulder, and buzzed softly. Look, milady. Shreya peeked through her hands. Right before he squeezed the trigger, the gun flew out of his hands. The girl was right in front of him. Shadow began to cover Francis's arm. He looked in shock at his arm. The darkness started to engulf his body. Francis started to scream.

"WHAT ARE YOU DOING?! STOP!! STOP!!" he screeched. He screamed. His scream was a scream Shreya never heard before. A scream of true, pure, fear.

His followers started in shock. He only stopped screaming this terrible scream when the black covered his face. The shadow engulfed him and soon he became nothing. The girl turned to face the rest of them. Her eyes were as black as coal.

"Let's get outta here!" one yelled. He blasted from the alley. The rest followed his lead. She stared at Shreya and Shrey stared back.

When everyone was gone, the girl's eyes turned into a dark brown. Shreya had never seen anyone so pretty, yet intimidating. Her hair was almost black, but in the sun, Shrey could see brown. She looked about 16. She analyzed Shreya with her earthy eyes then swiftly turned and walked away. Shreya stood there for a second.

"Wait!" she yelled. Shreya ran after the mysterious girl. The girl walked on. No matter how fast she ran, the girl was still in front of her. "Wait!" Shreya yelled again. "Wait! WHO ARE YOU?!" The girl turned into another alley. Shrey followed her and stopped. Shrey looked everywhere. The girl was gone. Into thin air.

Shreya Mitsuki Emelia Rose's lists:

The Roses

(Momma's side)

Dylan Maximilian Rose (Grandpa): wife: Nanami age: 57

Nanami Manami Makahashi Rose (Grandma): husband: Dylan age: 56

Taylor-Natsuki Kayla Rose Jackson (Aunt): husband: Clarence kids: Joe- Kouhei age: 38

Lily-Sakura Blossom Rose (Momma): husband: Miguel kids: Roshen, Shreya (me!) age: 37

Matt-Ryuu Patrick Rose (1st uncle): wife: Shiori kids: Haiku, Tokyo age: 36

6. Dylan-Tatsuya Maximilian Rose (2nd uncle): wife: Kris kids: Dylan-Tatsuya Jr., Mary, Jake, Lila, Cary, Robbie& Tommy (twins) age: 35