Dark Awakening

By J. J. Wilder

Sue Phillips believed she was just another ordinary teenager, just trying to make it through senior year. Her brother, Tom, suggested they get a paper route for some extra money. One day, looking to collect for deliveries, the siblings found themselves falling into an underground cavern.

It was when she was trapped, face to face with an old man in the cavern, Sue found out she’s not so ordinary.

Sue is a witch and she must use her power to fight back against the dark forces who plan to take over the world.

So much for math class.

• Language: English
• Publisher: J. J. Wilder
• Release date: Apr 5, 2013
• ISBN: 9781301618774

J. J. Wilder

J. J. Wilder was born and raised in Wisconsin and still currently lives there. He makes his living doing content editing for a further education college and writes his heart out at night. Much like many other authors, he takes whatever time there is spare in the day to write. While he has not won any major awards or certificates as of yet, he continues looking forward to the future when such a time comes. He started writing at a young age, though he didn't know it at the time, just thinking it was an over active imagination. When he read 'Jurassic Park', he set out to write the sequel and still hangs on to those first six pages of single-spaced writing done on an old typewriter. In high school and college his passion became Journalism. His senior year of High School, he was presented with an award in Journalism from his local FFA Chapter, which he had been a member of since 7th grade. In college he spent the first semester of his first year writing on the newspaper staff, and soon was training with the student editor. His second year of college, J. J. Wilder became the student editor of the paper. Once graduated, he went on to focus on his fiction writing and has since published two novels, the first being 'Freaks, Geeks and Scary Things' a collection of his short stories from the last decade. Second was 'Life Coin', a fully realized novel inspired by a short story he had written.

Book preview

Dark Awakening

Evil Council:

Book One

J. J. Wilder

Dark Awakening Evil Council: Book One

Jeremy Wilder

Smashwords Edition

Copyright © 2013 Jeremy J. Wilder

Cover Art: ‘Dark Wizard Using Special Powers’

Copyright © 2009 www.cute-wallpaper.com

All rights reserved. The people, events, circumstances, and institutions depicted are fictitious and the product of the author's imagination. Any resemblance of any character to any actual person, whether living or dead, is purely coincidental.

For everyone who ever cast magic with a tree branch

Chapter One

The problem was that she was normal. Average, everyday, normal, would pretty much sum up Sue Phillips. As she sat staring at her history book, her chin resting on her hand, she had to wonder, there had to be more to her. Maybe she could be like Joan of Arc.

A puff of air escaped her lips, yeah like she could lead an army. She couldn’t even get on the cheerleading squad. The strings of her dirty blonde hair hung down into her face. She moved quickly and tied it into a small pony tail, catching her reflection in the mirror over her desk.

Her eyes were the same pale blue as her brothers. Tom was lucky though at least, his mop of hair looked good on him. Most of her classmates talked about how attractive he was much to her distain. If they only knew how it felt. Maybe one day she would show them by commenting on their own siblings.

If only she hadn’t skipped ahead a grade, that was yet another concern. Sometimes it was still hard for her to think she was in her final year. Her brother, just over eighteen, was enjoying his time. Sue wasn’t.

They had transferred to so many different schools through her life because of their fathers’ work that she had stopped trying to be the friend anyone could count on. The problem after his death, was trying to let go of the past and be the girl who could go out and do things.

After so many years she had just gotten used to trying not to be a part of the crowd, knowing that any given day she would have to move. Since their father died, she knew they weren’t going anywhere anymore. But, she couldn’t let go of the patterns she had already fallen into.

Tom made a rustling noise downstairs, moving around the kitchen chairs. Sue glanced at the clock on her desk. It was the time that normal families would be sitting down to have dinner.

They were not a normal family though, not anymore.

With their fathers’ death, their mother picked up extra hours at the hospital trying to compensate for the lost income. Now, it seemed, they had lost both parents. Their mother was hardly home to make a meal, let alone eat with them.

She heard a voice echoing up the stairs. Sighing, she picked herself off her chair. The least she could do was show up and make nice with her brother.

Sue found Tom hunched over the kitchen table, the daily newspaper sprawled open. He glanced over his shoulder and motioned towards the chair next to him.

She made her way to him and stopped standing just over his shoulder.

What?

Tom looked back to her. I have something I want to show you.

Okay.

It’s in the paper.

What is it?

Tom shook his head and stared back towards her. Will you just sit down?

No.

Tom sighed and shoved the paper into her hand. Read what I circled.

Sue scanned over the section and found the small red circle of ink.

Needed: One or two persons for daily delivery of newspapers to subscribers in a 13-block area. Paid monthly, no selling involved.

Contact Ben Robinson at Suburban News

1304 N. 5th street. No phone calls please.

Aren’t you a little old to be a paperboy?

Har, har.

So what is this about?

I know it’s not much, but I figured with the two of us, we could cover that area and get some extra money. We both know mom doesn’t have anything to give.

But a paper route?

Tom leaned back in the chair. You rather wear a paper hat and ask people if they want fries with that?

Sue shuddered. It wasn’t that she disliked working, she loved to. She just couldn’t imagine working inside, stuck there for eight or more hours a day. It was so nice outside, why coop yourself up in a box?

Part of it came from her father, she figured. The man worked outside in construction zones for most of his life. She just loved the idea of being outside, in the sun, in nature. It almost felt better than home.

Yeah, I suppose.

Cool. Let’s head over after school tomorrow and see if we can get the job. Tom took the paper back and folded it to show the ad.

Sue still found it strange to have her brother talk about school as something they both did. The last town they lived in, there were separate schools for the differing years. Of course that was before she skipped ahead a year.

When they first moved to Sonnetsview, everyone thought they were twins. Sue could understand where they saw it. Both had the same hair, the same eyes, they were even nearly the same height which mostly ended with Sue being teased by other girls and shunned by most boys. Not that she could blame them, high school politics were worse than national politics.

Sue glanced at the clock above the stove. It’s the normal peoples time. You hungry?

Tom grunted as he put the rest of paper back together in some arrangement. I could eat, had something after school. How about you?

Let’s just have something.

Sue walked over to the fridge and started digging around inside. She was the one who made dinner usually, then wrapped up some for their mother to eat whenever she got home from the hospital.

You want to just heat some of this up tonight? she asked holding up a large plastic container of leftover lasagna.

Yeah, that’ll be fine.

They took turns using the microwave and sat down at the dining table. Tom opened one of his further education books.

Always looking ahead to the future, he was taking a couple pre-college courses. Sue began to read her homework assignment, while another part of her wondered how much it was going to cost in loans for the both of them to attend some type of college.

As they finished, Sue got up and cleaned their plates. She looked over her shoulder at Tom from the kitchen sink.

Do you think we’ll get that job?

Tom looked up from his book. I hope so. We need some spending money and we both know mom doesn’t have much to go around, especially for the two of us.

Ain’t that the truth.

I’m going to try and get a head start on this homework. Tom moved towards the archway to the living room. You got much?

Not a lot. Probably finish it up and crash.

Sue pulled off the last sheet of paper from the ‘errands’ tablet hanging on the refrigerator and wrote a note for their mother.

Mom, ate leftover lasagna. Some left for you in fridge. See you after school, hopefully.

P.S. Need another tablet

As she cleaned up her school books from the table, she felt a sudden uneasiness come over her. She had felt something like it the night before their father died. Part of her just pushed it aside and tried to ignore it this time, but another small part kept nagging about it as she made her way up the stairs.

She couldn’t pinpoint why or what it was, but something was causing her survival instinct to kick in. The fight or flight automatic response seemed to be buzzing in her mind.

At the top of the stairs she stopped and looked back down to the living room. Tom sat in one of the oversized recliners that had been their fathers’. She didn’t want to bug him with this. It wasn’t that important.

She shrugged her shoulders trying to work out the kinks as she entered her bedroom and slowly closed the door.

Chapter Two

Sue spent the next day at school trying to forget about the feeling the night before. It almost worked until she went to leave her last class and get to the bike racks.

All she had to do was ignore them, usually it worked, this time they had a mission. Lacie leaned on the doorway blocking Sues exit.

Too good for us now, Susie-Q? Lacie smacked her lips and gum at the same time.

Not the only oral trick Lacie had, Sue figured, but would never say aloud.

Thought you would try again this year to be on the squad. We so enjoy your tryouts.

Two nameless friends of Lacie giggled behind Sue.

I need to go. Please let me through.

Answer the question first, Susie-Q. Lacie said again with a smack of lip and gum.

I just want to finish and leave. I don’t care about cheering.

Well, well. It speaks. Though I couldn’t quite hear that. Speak up, Susie-Q.

Stop calling me that.

Lacies’ friends ‘oohed’ simultaneously which encouraged the head cheerleader.

Lacie eased off the doorway and stuck her gum onto the metal edge. What was that? You trying to tell me something, Susie-Q?

I said stop calling me that. Sue glanced into Lacies’ eyes for the first time since their encounter started.

And if I don’t, what you gonna do? Go tell your daddy? Oh, wait, he’s dead.

Sue had never struck a person in anger before and she wasn’t quite sure, when the dust cleared, if she had this time. Things went blurry for a moment and she felt a great surge of energy flow to her hands as she reached out to punch Lacie. Her hand didn’t hurt, not like she had connected, but figured she had since Lacie was lying on the floor just outside the door.

Lacie stared up at Sue and tried to say something, and then she glanced over Sues’ shoulder to her friends. Neither of them moved. Sue gathered herself and stepped over Lacie.

Sorry, I’m sure you have something you want to say, but I’m late.

Sue shoved her way through a crowd of underclassmen as she reached the school exit. She ignored their taunts and grabbed her bike, nearly forgetting the bike chain and almost tearing off the seat. Tom was on his and nearly a block away from the school as the combination finally clicked on her third try.

She pedaled hard, breathing like she was in a marathon race. Finally she caught up to him at the bus stop. It was lucky for them that he did get there sooner and held up the driver while trying to attach his bike to the rack on the front of the bus.

Sue hit her brake hard, popped her bike onto the rack next to Toms, and leapt into the bus as she tossed down her bus coin. She collapsed into the hard plastic seat next to her brother, sweat glistening on her forehead.

Please say we are gonna get this job.

We will.

Why does part of me not believe you?

Tom smiled as he leaned back in the seat. Because I’m your brother and it’s so ingrained in your sister DNA to not trust a brother.

Sue shook her head. Jerk.

Brat.

Troglodyte.

Tom held a hand over his chest. Now that one hurt.

Sue grinned and settled into her seat. She had finally forgotten about the foreboding feeling she had the night before, but as the news building rolled up, it came back with a vengeance.

She couldn’t stop herself from pacing in the hallway waiting for the delivery supervisor to call them in, or when she did sit down, her leg would keep bouncing.

Tom stared at her with a look like a scientist observing a rat that had been given an experimental caffeine patch.

Would you just sit still? They’re gonna think you’re on drugs or something.

Shut it.

Well it’s true.

I’m fine.

Tom sighed and stood next to her. You’re about to make us pay for them to replace the carpet out here you keep pacing in the same spot.

They can take it out of our pay then.

Oh, so now you believe me.

No. But I believe myself and I say we’re getting this damn job.

There’s the ole Phillips spunk! Tom slapped a hand hard on her back.

Don’t ever do that again. Sue said as she tried to ignore the looks from the people walking through and working in cubicles nearby.

Tom Phillips? Sue Phillips?

Sue turned around to see the small secretary of the delivery supervisor waving to them.

You can go on in now.

Thank you. Tom said with a wide smile. Sue had to give him some credit, when it came to charm and persona, he could pull it off.

The delivery supervisor Ben Robinson sat behind a medium sized, finished desk that Sue was certain she had seen at a discount box store. His hair was retreating on his head, but