Difficult Life: Total Disaster

By Abby Nield

Tilda might look like an ordinary girl, but she is a powerful Elemental. In Total Disaster, the sequel to teen author Abby Nields Difficult Life, Tilda is on the run from her own father, a power-hungry despot who wants to use her skills for his own plans of conquest.

When she is captured, along with her shapeshifter friends, and forced into a school for the gifted, she must learn to use her own powers before time runs out and her father finally hunts her down.

Will she be ready to face him? Will she be able to save her friends? Will it be a total disaster?

• Language: English
• Publisher: Xlibris AU
• Release date: Nov 21, 2014
• ISBN: 9781493129201

Abby Nield

Abby Nield is a 15-year-old school student from a country town on the Eyre Peninsula. She lives on a farm where she enjoys the open spaces and the chance to help her Dad with sheep work. Abby attends church regularly, enjoys going on Christian youth camps and loves her sport. This ambitious young author is an avid reader of fiction filled with a wild imagination and an insatiable desire to write.

Book preview

LAST TIME: KIDNAPPED

Chapter 34

TILDA

‘Tilda! Get up! Run go quickly!’

My eyes snapped open, and I saw Chase being pulled out the door, struggling against two men in suits. My heart raced as I flew out of bed. Thankfully, having been knocked out for a week, my wounds have almost healed, and I could move a lot better than yesterday.

‘Run,’ I heard Chase scream from outside.

I snapped into action and ran out of the room, only to find myself surrounded by armed men with guns. My heart started beating in my ears. I stopped in my tracks as they all pointed their weapons at me.

‘Tilda, don’t move, we won’t hurt you.’ I heard a loud voice boom as if it was from a speaker. I looked around for my friends but couldn’t find any of them. I started to panic.

‘Where are my friends?’ I yelled at them. My anger grew fierce

‘Calm down. They’re fine. We’ve taken them to a special school, you’ll see them soon.’

A shiver ran down my spine. That didn’t sound good.

‘I don’t want to leave and neither do they. So let them go!’ I yelled at the thug.

I heard a laugh echo from nowhere. ‘I’m sorry, but you don’t have a choice. You will come with us no matter what.’

I heard a click and felt something flying towards me. In the last second, I pulled out of the way. Looking back, I saw the needle I had barely escaped. I felt my heart freeze as multiple clicks sounded. Sensing them coming for me, I tried to dodge them all, but a sharp jab stung my back. I fell to the ground, feeling queasy and unstable. My eyes started to mist as I felt the needle drop from my back.

‘Don’t worry, Tilda. You will be safe at Saviour Gifted School.’

My chest knotted inwards as my eyelids closed, and I fell backwards into the foetal position. The last thing I saw was a tall blonde woman in a suit standing over me with a too large smile on her face. I knew this wasn’t going to be good, but I couldn’t stop myself from slipping into complete blackness …

MOVED AGAIN!

Chapter 1

TILDA

I felt groggy but surprisingly not sore any more. I opened my eyes to bright light and blinked a couple of times to get used to it. Sitting up slowly, making sure no one else was with me, I studied the room. There was nothing on the crisp white walls, and there was almost nothing in the room—only a bed, which I was sitting on, and a few chairs.

Standing up, I crept silently to the door and tugged gently on the handle, expecting it to be locked. Silence filled the air, and my blood shuddered in my veins as the door swung open without a noise. I peeped into a large room that was covered in padding from floor to ceiling. My curiosity got the better of me, and I walked out into the large space.

My mind had cleared, and my thoughts started coming back to me: the fight against Brock, the strange people in the camp that kidnapped us, the mention of a gifted school, and my dad coming after me himself! My mind raced as I tried to think of a way out. Running to the door at the other end of the room, I was panting with fear by the time I reached it.

‘She’s smart, athletic, and looks very strong. Do you reckon she’s stronger than the boys?’

I snapped my head around towards the sound of voices. Listening for any sign of movement or even another word, I tried to get a hold of myself.

‘Sensitive hearing as well as sharp senses, but she seems one step ahead of the boys. Very impressive! Do you think she can see in the dark too?’

I clenched my fists and stepped back into the open space… towards the voices.

‘Yes, I can hear you. Yes, I can see in the dark, and yes, I’m standing right in front of you. I know you’re in here. I can feel it. Where are my friends?’ My voice bounced off the walls as I looked into the empty room in front of me. I stood there not moving, knowing that the two people were watching me carefully. Feeling them moving forwards, I started talking again.

‘Who are you? What do you want? Stop moving around when I can’t see you,’ I said. The shuffling stopped, and I could hear the sound of zipping. Still holding my ground, I prepared myself for an attack. The noise kept going and then, as if they were coming out of a door made of air, two women dressed in suits stepped out in front of me. My mouth fell open, and I stared. But I was still on guard.

‘They’re invisible suits that we wear for—oh, never mind. Don’t be afraid, we’re not here to hurt you. We just want to asses you, find out information abo—’

‘I know what it means!’ Annoyed, I cut the tall, brunette lady off. ‘Why do you need to do that? And where are my friends?’ I kept my voice level; they looked stunned and glanced at each other before looking back to me. I could feel somehow that they were communicating with each other.

‘Your friends are fine. They were assessed a few hours ago and are now being transferred into the boys’ dorms. As for you, well you still need to be assessed, and then we can move you into your room as well.’

I stood up straight, watching them for any suspicious movements.

‘What’s going on?’ I knew it sounded stupid and the question was too huge to answer, but they got it. My heart skipped a beat when a voice started talking to me inside my head.

‘My name is Eva. You are now a student at Saviour Gifted School. You will not be allowed to leave the school grounds. This school is special because every student here has a power. Invisibility, speed, strength, shifting, wings, and mind reading are just some of the hundreds of gifts the students may possess. As you can tell, I’m a mind reader, and Kathy here can move things with her thoughts.’

Just on cue, Kathy raised her arm, and her clipboard floated in the air. Lowering her hand, she grabbed the clipboard and looked back at me with a smile. My mouth fell open. Suddenly, there were a few clicks, and a robotic voice echoed through the room.

‘Student Tilda has now been fully examined. Elemental, a shifter of two animals as well as elemental control, strong, powerful, smart; we do not have a ranking for this ability.’

I felt myself go stiff. What? How did they know all that? Looking back at Kathy and Eva, I saw they were looking at their clipboards with shocked faces. I felt my heart pick up speed; something was about to happen.

‘Bring in six guards immediately. We have a strong one on our hands.’ Eva held what looked like a high tech walkie-talkie. Her voice sounded a little panicky, and I knew that would make everyone else attack as soon as they saw me. Now it was time to move. Turning back to the door, I yanked on the stiff handle. My heartbeat quickened as I heard the sound of running men. Looking up at the plastic, I took a step back.

‘Tilda, don’t. We’re sending you to your room now. Don’t run, it will make things worse.’ Kathy’s voice rang through my ears.

‘What, so you can study me more easily or something? I’m not going to use my elements or shift unless it’s necessary, so don’t think you will get a demonstration any time soon! If I stay here, then my dad will somehow get to me even through all of you,’ I spat. Swinging around, I kicked my leg as hard as I could against the plastic.

Smash.

It gave way easily. Looking back at the six huge men who were looking at me with stern faces from the door, I knew I had to get out of here fast. Jumping through, I landed on my feet in a long corridor. My heart slammed against my chest and I heard the yelling from behind me. Quickly moving down a corridor, I heard their heavy boots pursuing me—just like in the forest. Flashbacks of Brock’s face appeared in my mind. I had to get out.

Sprinting down another empty corridor, I started to wonder where all the other kids were.

‘Stop running, you’ll only succeed in getting yourself lost. Please, we don’t want to hurt you. Just stop.’

I ignored Eva’s voice in my head and ran around a corner. I almost stopped in my tracks when I came face to face with the Wolves. My mouth went dry, and I was having trouble breathing. They were all walking away from me, talking casually.

‘We have to find Tilda and get out of here. I don’t like being trapped in a school,’ Hunter said, all too annoyed. I stood there watching as they kept walking.

‘Guys?’ It was all I managed, but they heard and spun around with excited faces.

‘Tilda. What are you doing here? Are you okay?’ Chase’s voice sounded worried yet relieved.

I heard the heavy sounds of the guards coming around the corner. ‘I’m fine. How do we get out of here?’

They were just about to answer when a group of tall, muscular guys came out of the door next to them. They were all dressed in suits and looked terrifying.

‘All available officers, we need back up. New student Tilda must be caught and contained. She’s considered dangerous.

I looked at the first guy’s walkie-talkie which just spread the news about me. I smiled a little guiltily, looking into the eyes of the big scary-looking dude who was now walking towards me. I knew he would strike when he thought he was close enough, so I waited. Our eyes didn’t move from each other’s, but at two metres away from me, he stopped.

‘Uh … we have found Tilda.’ I heard another guard say into the walkie-talkie.

The guard in front of me gave a sideways smile as if he’d already won. I raised my eyebrow, he lunged towards me. I barely saw him move, just a blur of black zooming past me. I was about to start running, but two strong hands grabbed my wrists and forced me to my knees.

I looked up at the Wolves to find them struggling against some other guards with gags in their mouths. My heart jumped as I felt the rough rope tighten around my hands. The guard behind me finished tying the knot, and I felt him loosen his grip. I gave a small smile.

‘We have her here waiting.’ He loosened a little more, and I knew this was the perfect opportunity. With a single roundhouse kick, I knocked the feet out from under the guard and returned to standing as he toppled over. By the time I turned to face them, the wolves were all disentangling themselves from their own escorts.

‘Come on, I think I saw a door around that corner,’ Ty yelled, running off.

I sighed and ran after him. We gained time as the guards slowly recovered.

‘Do you want me to untie you?’

I looked to my side and saw Chase running along next to me.

I shook my head. ‘It would only slow us down.’

He glanced behind us. ‘Uh … they’re coming up fast.’

I could hear the urgency in his voice and knew they were doing more than coming up fast.

‘Squad two, I repeat, they have a way with fighting, so watch yourselves.’

I could hear the crackling of the walkie-talkie, I knew we’d be in for a rollercoaster of a ride. I steadied my breathing and turned sharply around the corner.

Crash.

I fell to the ground, and Hunter collapsed on top of me winding me as he dropped on my stomach. Opening my eyes, I looked up at the smirking guards. How on earth could they withstand that force? I turned to look behind us and saw the other guard squad standing there too, with matching smirks.

‘Sorry, Tilda, I—’ Hunter got tugged off me and gagged as I felt myself ripped up and held by two huge men. I felt like screaming as the foul gag was stuffed into my mouth.

‘We were going to put Tilda here in your dorm, boys, but now I’m reconsidering it. You guys will stay together in the boys’ dorms, but I think you, missy, will have to be put somewhere else.’

My eyes fell on to a hawkish little woman with bony fingers and a face caked with make-up. I scowled.

‘Tilda, you will be having the torture test tomorrow, so rest up and gather as much