An Author's OdysseyA Grimm Warning

Feet ran frantically towards the operating room. The Masked Man put down his arm. Bree breathed a sigh of relief. She collected herself and stood up, stubbornly wiping tears from her eyes. She gave Emmerich a quick hug as the Masked Man listened attentively.

As the footsteps came near, all four of them became even tenser. Cornelia, Bree and Emmerich because more people meant that they might be rescued, but it might also mean getting more people in danger. The Masked Man's heart was thumping loudly; if Charlotte Bailey came, his whole plan would be complete.

The door banged open, and Bree and Emmerich watched in amazement as Charlotte, Goldilocks, Jack, Red, and Conner entered the room. Charlotte was pushing Goldilocks in a wheelchair. Cornelia had never seen people like them, but instantly knew some of them were from the Land of Stories. It was the magic in her blood.

Bree's head spun. What was Conner doing here? He should be in the Land of Stories with Alex! And all those fairy tale characters were there too!

"Bree? Emmerich?" Conner asked, shocked. "What are you doing here?"

Bree couldn't think. Suddenly, a lot more people joined the fray. From the looks of it, Goldilocks was about to give birth. And Mrs. Bailey was there too... and she was who the Masked Man wanted.

Guilt punched her in the stomach. Seeing Conner made a dam of emotions break inside of her.

"Conner!" Bree cried. "I didn't know you would be here, too!"

"Bree, what are you guys doing here?" Conner asked, a worried expression on his face. "Is something wrong?"

If you only knew, Bree thought sadly. Then she saw the Masked Man holding his gun and an insane glint in his eye.

I'm sorry Emmerich. I'm sorry Conner.

"I'm so sorry." Tears slipped out of her cheeks rapidly. She didn't even bother to wipe them away. It was all a person could take. "I didn't want to bring him, but I had no choice."

Everybody turned back to look at the Masked Man, pointing the gun at them. Bree could hear their gasps of shock.

"They said you were dead." Conner said stonily. Bree looked up, there was something different in his voice.

"I've lived to seize another day," the Masked Man replied. "Sorry to disappoint you."

Conner looked between the Masked Man and Charlotte nervously. "Mom, this man isn't Dad," he tried to explain. "It's his younger brother, Lloyd. He's a criminal from the fairy-tale world, don't believe a word he-"

"I know who he is, Conner," Charlotte interrupted her son softly. "Your father told me all about him before you were born. I'm sorry you know how about him. Your father never wanted you to find out you were related to such a horrible person."

"You're not the only person he's related to, Conner," Bree couldn't help but say. "Emmerich is the Masked Man's son- he's the child the Masked Man had with Bo Peep!"

Conner's face turned deathly white. It reminded Bree of the face he made when he found out an army was going to attack the Land of Stories back in that cemetery in Germany. But this is no time to reminisce, Bree told herself firmly.

"I guess that makes us cousins," Emmerich said, staring wide-eyed at Conner. The whole ordeal had surprised him as well.

"This has turned into quite the family affair," the Masked Man snarled. "But I'm afraid it won't be remembered as a pleasant reunion."

"What do you want from us?" Conner demanded, fists clenched.

"Teenagers," the Masked Man sneered as if the word was a disease. "You always think both worlds revolve around you. To be frank, dear nephew, you're quite useless to me."

Conner flinched visibly when the Masked Man said "dear nephew". "Then want do you want with Alex?" he asked, a fierce sense of protectiveness rising inside him.

Bree thought he needed to have some facts straight. She never beat around the bush and was exact to the point. "He's not here for your sister, either. He's come to the hospital to take your mom!"

"Me?" Charlotte asked, confused. "What could you possibly want with me?"

"I'm in need of an Otherworld nurse," the Masked Man said. "You see, the medical knowledge of the fairy-tale world isn't as advanced as it is here, and I'm in the market for a complicated procedure."

Bree gnashed her teeth together. Well, why don't get a random nurse from Germany? Why take the trouble to get Mrs. Bailey when Alex and Conner could defeat him using magic? That's one of the stupidest things I've ever heard. It even beats Buckinghamshirevilleton or whatever Conner said back then.

"This woman is about to have a baby," Charlotte said. "Please, we need to get her to a doctor immediately."

Bree almost laughed. The day the Masked Man showed mercy would be the day hell froze over.

"What a coincidence- I'm going to need a lift out of the hospital," the Masked Man said, his voice as smooth as silk, which Bree interpreted as his most dangerous voice. "I thought I'd have to give the old woman here a bullet wound to do it, but the mother-to-be is even more convenient."

Everyone gulped, while fire blazed in Jack's eyes. "You won't lay a finger on her!" Jack yelled furiously, charging towards the Masked Man. The Masked Man fired a bullet in the air and everyone flinched.

"That was my only warning," the Masked Man growled. "I will not waste another bullet- that goes for all of you."

Hearing this made something click in Bree's mind. Now she thought about it, the Masked Man should kill her the moment they arrived at the operating room, because she told him all the information and she was useless to him. That happened in her murder novels. But he allowed her to spew out the information about Emmerich being the Masked Man's son and who the Masked Man was after.

What if the Masked Man only had a few bullets? Was that why he didn't shoot at Bree, Emmerich and Cornelia earlier? He had to use his bullets wisely.

Bree felt relief. I overestimated him- he's just a fool and a jerk who thinks that he can rule the world with a couple of bullets.

Then again, he might have hidden bullets in his sling.

The Masked Man explained his bloody and cruel plan to the others. Everybody was horrified.

What hurt the most was that Emmerich seemed to be least affected. After everything that happened, he was resigned to his fate, resigned that he was going to die... the fact that he was the Masked Man's son had destroyed him.

Everybody felt a rising anger inside them, but swallowed it. They watched with the same helpless expression as Charlotte collected the medical supplies.

Anger refuelled, Bree began to think of ways to murder the Masked Man again. How about jabbing him in the heart with a syringe? Suffocate him by tying bandages over his nose and mouth?

Then, the Masked Man ordered them to lay down and get tied by Emmerich, which further supported Bree's theory that the Masked Man only had a few bullets, because if he didn't he would surely kill them or at least injure them to hinder their movements.

Even though knowing that calmed her down, Emmerich was very close to losing his life if nobody stopped the Masked Man. And she knew that only they can stop him.

Panic began to bubble inside Bree. The more she struggled against the restraints, the more desperate she became. I... have... to... save Emmerich... Bree gritted her teeth in determination, but the bandages were too tight. Even she had to admit that saving Emmerich would be hard.

Fortunately, Conner had a Swiss Army knife which they used to cut themselves free. Their hearts were all thumping loudly- that had been a close call. After staggering for a while, they rushed out of the operating room.

"Cornelia, are you coming?" Bree yelled at the old woman.

"I can't keep up!" Cornelia shouted back. "Go! Get to them before it's too late! I'll call Wanda and Frenda and let them know where we are!"

Their eyes met. Cornelia nodded determinedly at Bree. Bree gave her a faint smile which said "please stay safe". Then she dashed out of the hospital, running like she had never ran before.

Pant, pant.

She swerved around a corner, her footsteps matching her loud heartbeat, clashing together in an erratic symphony.

Emmerich...

She breathed in and out unevenly. Her legs felt heavy and made out of wet cement, but she continued to run. She was briefly aware that people were giving her strange looks, but she didn't care.

Please be safe.

She pushed past people, not bothering to apologize or to look back. Their surprised and angry shouts became white noise around her, and she only heard her footsteps thumping. She couldn't let the Masked Man destroy Emmerich's innocence further...

Please.

She reached the driveway with the others and watched helplessly as the ambulance zoomed past them. Bree's heart sank. No. "They're getting away!" she yelled.

"Oh no they're not!" Conner shouted, and he ran over the driveway, collected something and dived in front of the ambulance. Bree stared at him as if he was crazy- was he committing suicide or something?

A bright beam of light hit the ambulance and it disappeared. Bree continued to stare at it. Wow. Magic never ceases to amaze me.

"Come on!" Conner waved to the others. "Follow me!"

Bree looked dubiously at the shining binder before deciding that she could trust Conner and jumped into the light.

After being momentarily stunned by the light, they looked around at their surroundings. It must have been a portal, because this world was totally different from the Otherworld. It was an eerie place, but even with the chills in the air, Bree felt strangely connected to this place.

I feel like I've seen this place before... but I know I haven't. Was it just my imagination? Then something popped into her mind. What if this is my imagination?

A flash of red caught her eye. She turned around and saw a red fox dancing amongst the tombstones. It was very familiar... too familiar...

It was as if a wave of déjà vu hit her suddenly. Isn't... that... the fox in my short story "Cemetery of the Undead?"

Another voice nagged in the back of her mind. Nice dream, Bree, but it's time to wake up. You've probably fainted from the lack of oxygen from that run, and Conner's probably about to dump cold water on me...

But wait. This was too vivid to be a dream. It wasn't just the fox and her surroundings, but her gut feeling. She could feel it. It had to be real.

But the question was: how?

"Conner, where was that beam of light supposed to take us?" Bree asked, just to make things clear.

"It should have transported us into one of my short stories," he explained to a bewildered Bree. "We've been using a potion to travel into my writing, but I have no clue where it's taken us."

Bree had a million questions, but the only thing that managed to pierce through her confused mind was that her story was real! All her characters were here! Her brain was whirling with information, but she knew she didn't have enough time to analyze them. She automatically grinned, but stopped short.

Then she remembered that the Masked Man was on the loose, and he had captives with him. Zombies, plus a dangerous man and a creepy cemetery? Bree blanched. This is the worst coincidence EVER.

"I do," Bree said, feeling scared yet excited at visiting her own story. "This is my short story- we're in "Cemetery of the Undead!"