Chapter 11- Martha Returns

CHAPTER 11-MARTHA RETURNS

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Red sat on her bed, blasting Thousand Foot Krutch, her favorite rock band, through the sterio. Hearing a whine outside the door, she opened it to let in Captain. He was a very prissy dog. He had white fluffy fur, liked to chew on ice, and would cross his front paws whenever he laid down. If you stopped petting him before he was done with you, he would force his dainty little snout under your hand and snort at you. He hopped up on the bed, laying his head on the little red pillow with the crown on it like he was royalty.
After a few minutes of contentedly being petted, he heard something. He perked up his ears, cocked his head, and started whining. He ran to the windowsill and climbed up on it like a cat, and then started barking at something outside the window. He started growing and scratching, like something was right outside.
'That's crazy,' Red thought. 'I'm on the second floor. You'd have to be a ghost to be out there...'
More barking, more whining, more scratching. He suddenly fell backwards with a yelp as if he had just been hit my something big, then ran to the closed door. He jumped and scratched and barked, then ran to Red. He ran his paws over her jeans, almost scratching her. He whined and whined, still barking, obviously upset, as if screaming 'GET OUT! GET OUT NOW WHILE YOU STILL CAN!'
Red jumped up from her bed, running to the door. She opened it and Captain ran out. A strong wind blew through the room, and the door slammed shut before she could leave. The lights flickered before going out completely. The room started shaking and the sky turned black, revealing an old woman sitting on air right outside her window. She had bangles and bracelets and colorful scarves and big hoop earings and a colorful bandana around her head. she looked like a fortune-teller meets gypsie type of thing. She was giving off a wierd glow, a mix of sliver and purple. She was actually glowing!
"Hello, Red. Oh my, you look so much like your mother."
She floated forward menacingly. She pulled a knife out and held it secretly behind her back.
"Let me introduce myself. My name is Martha..."
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Red shrank back into a corner by the dresser. Who in the world is Martha? Martha floated through the window into the room. Red tried to scream but it stuck in her throat, taunting her. Martha laughed. "Oh, Reeeed, deeeaaad...I meeeaaan, deeeaaar.... There's no reeeaaason to be afraid of meeee. I want to talk to you, heeeelp you uncover your past. Pleeeeaaaase, come back with meeeee! Weeeee reeeeaaaally could be the beeeeest of friends." she said with a very heavy accent. "No! Whatever you are, I'm not going with you!" "I thought you might say that." She pulled the knife from behind her back. "One scream and this goes right through you, okay? I suggest you come quietly. You know how much damage this knife would suffer from piercing your little heart?" "How much?" Red asked, trying to hide her fear. "None whatsoeeeeeveeeeer." Red let out a yelp and shrank farther back into her corner as Martha came closer, closer, closer. She put out a hand to stop her. Out of nowhere a bolt of fire shot through her, sending Martha reeling back through the window. Martha looked down at her singed purple dress and her half-melted bangles. "No!" she screamed. "No no no! Eeeeeverythiiiiing is ruined!" She turned to Red "Surprised? So am I. How did you do that?" she snarled. "I don't know!" Red replied. "Oh well. No matter how you did it. What matters is that you tell NO ONE! Not eeeeven your friends." Like that's gonna happen, Red thought. They were the first ones she planned on telling. "You are going to neeeeed help controlliiiiing this fire, eh? When you do, come seeeee meeee." She pointed to the bed where a little card appeared in a purple puff of smoke, then turned and flew away.

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