February 2012
42 posts
a brief preface
This is the story of a young woman named Rosalie and her sudden acquisition of certain abilities, and her attempt to save her friends, herself, and ultimately an entire city, from a horrible fate. I hope you enjoy.
If you’d like to obtain a better-formatted copy of the story, simply contact me (not anonymously, please - I won’t answer anonymous questions here) and provide an email...
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Chapter 1 - Thursday Morning
Rosalie Grace stood on top of the wedding cake. At twenty feet high, it was by far the largest cake she’d ever created. She felt like singing – nothing in the world could possibly be as wonderful as what she was doing now.
So she sang, one of her favorite songs. She did so love music. If only she could bring a guitar or piano with her while she worked…
“Shadows all around you as you...
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Chapter 2 - Computer Virus
Furiously he pounded the keys, as if it was the only way to stay alive, and every breath depended on the rat-a-tat of the keyboard.
Suddenly something obscured his vision.
Instantly jolted out of the “zone”, Kyle leaned back as if to see better, and his eyes adjusted from code-mode as he focused on the window that was blocking his view.
“Click here...
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Chapter 3 - Rosaliegrace's Bakery
Kyle sat idly at his laptop, looking through all the different questions people wanted answered. Why did he like helping people so much? He never could find out.
Hmm… This was interesting… An unusual number of people were asking questions about computers – the section he usually chose to work with. He scrolled through the questions, and let out a little yelp of...
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Chapter 4 - Mysterious Voices
Kyle stared blankly at his laptop, back in his tiny living room. He didn’t really feel like programming anymore. He just wasn’t in the mood – too much had happened today. He needed some time to think it over. So, he did what many guys do when they feel like this – he played a game. He decided on Halo, as it wasn’t a very thought-consuming game, and started it...
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Chapter 5 - Video Call
Rosalie was stunned. She was beginning to understand what was going on. Somehow, they were communicating with each other – without talking. Telepathy? She’d heard of it, but never thought it was possible. It just sounded like sci-fi. But for it to actually happen to her?
Wait – if he was sending her his thoughts, might he be able to hear hers?
Kyle shifted...
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Chapter 6 - An Accident
For a moment, Kyle sat there, staring at the screen like he had while he’d talked to Rosalie. He felt a deep sense of disappointment for some reason. After thinking about it, he knew why, too – he was wishing the call didn’t have to end. For some reason, he liked talking to her. She wasn’t an easy person to talk to – not for him, anyway. But he liked it.
His eyes began to...
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Chapter 7 - An Experiment
Slowly, so slowly, Rosalie came to from the darkness that enveloped her. Oh!!! What a headache she had! It was awful – like nothing she had ever dreamed was possible!
But where was she? She didn’t dare open her eyes.
She could feel a blanket over her… Her head was on a pillow… Oh, it was all so soft; a tiny ray of sunshine amidst a blackened...
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Chapter 8 - Strawberry Popsicle
Rosalie awoke early the next morning to the sound of birds. She rolled over and looked at her alarm clock – it was only five. Hmm… Maybe super hearing wasn’t always a good thing to have… She covered her head with her blanket and went back to sleep.
And awoke thirty minutes later – one of her neighbors was singing in the shower. She was going to have to...
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Chapter 9 - Before Hours
It was 8:30 in the morning, and Rosalie was dressed and ready to go. She’d taken care of Tank, and all the doors were locked.
It took her a few tries to get her car to start, but it was running. What a relief. It was a nice change after how badly yesterday morning had gone. She pulled out of the garage and down the driveway, headed for Rosaliegrace’s Bakery.
...
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Chapter 10 - Baking 101
Rosaliegrace’s bakery was beginning to fill with customers, just like it did every day. Molly had her hands more than full. She deserved every cent of what Rosalie paid her. She had to handle the cash registers, put out whatever Rosalie finished, and make sure nobody tried to run off with something without paying – because occasionally, someone would try. But usually she didn’t have...
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Chapter 11 - Awkward Situations
Rosalie sighed. She had known she wasn’t going to be able to keep it a secret forever. “Let her in,” she told Kyle resignedly.
“What?! Won’t she go crazy?”
“Yeah, probably, but it’d be better to tell her now than later.”
“Rosalie!!” Molly said again, her voice muffled by the door. She rattled the knob a little. Kyle was glad he’d locked it.
“And...
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Chapter 12 - Learning Curve
Rosalie and Kyle stopped for a quick lunch break, as it was already one o’ clock. They munched on sandwiches and muffins, talking occasionally about topics that were completely neutral in nature, and thus safe – such as allergies.
“I’m allergic to pecans,” Rosalie said, munching a sweet corn muffin.
“I’m not allergic to anything that I know of,” Kyle admitted,...
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Chapter 13 - Impromptu Battle
Kyle was stunned.
Rosalie sat up in her bed.
Charles was mad.
Kyle processed everything as quickly as he could, rapidly glancing back and forth between the other two people in the room. “Wait a minute… Are you married?!” he asked Rosalie incredulously, jumping to conclusions. Then it started to sink in – he’d been in many close scrapes, but this one was...
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Chapter 14 - Explanations
Rosalie and Caroline managed (with quite a bit of effort) to move Charles onto the sofa in the living room. After they had positioned his cold packs carefully on the face of the hulking quarterback, they brought Kyle over to the loveseat. It was considerably easier than it had been to carry Charles – the young programmer wasn’t nearly as heavy. Instead of a few cold packs, they placed...
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Chapter 15 - The Media
Rosalie awoke to the sound of birds chirping at the birdfeeder hanging outside her window. She could remember her dream – a thing that didn’t happen often. She wouldn’t be able to remember it in a few minutes, though – she knew that from experience. It had been a great dream as far as dreams go, and she was happy. She glanced downwards. She was invisible, too. She was going to have to...
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Chapter 16 - Flashes Explained
“What!?!” Rosalie couldn’t believe it. How had Carly found out what it was so quickly? She thought back a couple days…
She had been standing in the break room off the kitchen in her bakery… Kyle stood up, and reached for a bag of mini-muffins she had baked, and their hands touched… A bright flash of blue-white light blinded them… And then it was gone, just like...
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Chapter 17 - A Kidnapping
Rosalie shook silently, and the tears streamed down her face. She wasn’t sad, there was just too much for her to handle at once. Besides, she tended to cry easily, though that fact embarrassed her.
She was being attacked from all sides, and she couldn’t find a way to escape. But her friends – her friends were there for her. She felt safe; warm; protected. As long as her...
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Chapter 18 - Enemy Territory
As he turned out of the neighborhood and onto the main roads, Kyle was already coming up with solutions to different possible scenarios in his mind – but then he realized he was going to have to find Rosalie first.
Taking out his cell phone, he hooked the charger into the cigarette lighter in his car, and then hooked his phone up to the charger. Removing his laptop from his bag (still driving with...
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Chapter 19 - Rat's Escape
Kyle was careful to check ahead and behind for anyone who might be watching. Why was this so easy? Nobody had approached him, even once.
Then he had an unpleasant thought: maybe this was a trick – was it possible Rosalie wasn’t down here at all? Maybe they were simply trapping him inside… Did they know he was here?
Fear gripped Kyle’s mind, and he struggled...
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Chapter 20 - Breaking Out
Rosalie was panicking. “I can’t find him anywhere!” she said, searching for his mind. Usually she could pick out exactly where Kyle was, even in a sea of minds like this.
“You can’t find who?” Caroline asked innocently, trying to get her to calm down enough to be coherent.
“Kyle! I can’t find Kyle!”
“Is he missing?”
“I can’t find him! I was keeping track of his mind, and now I can’t find him!” Why...
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Chapter 21 - Observation Room
Charles awoke, and opened his eyes. Wherever he was, it was excessively well-lit, and he shut his eyes back quickly, resolving to allow them to adjust before he took a good look around.
What had happened? Why wasn’t he at home? Slowly it came back to him as his mind groped for answers. He remembered the attack on Rosalie’s house, swinging his fists at the suited men. Almost as if in response to...
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Chapter 22 - Betrayal
Kyle was dimly aware of a sharp pain in his leg, and the sensation of being carried. He opened his eyes slightly, and saw an overcast sky. The last he remembered was running down a dark hallway towards a group of men, and a gunshot… What were they doing with him?
With the view provided from between his barely-parted eyelids, Kyle could see the three men who were carrying him. Where they were...
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Chapter 23 - Serendipity
“I’m trying, I’m trying!” Rosalie whispered back. Caroline was instructing her on how to use the power of teleportation, and they’d been trying for what seemed like hours. “Maybe I simply don’t have it.”
“Maybe you don’t…” her friend replied with a hint of disappointment. She crossed her arms. “There has to be some way to get it to work, if you do have it… I don’t remember exactly how...
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Chapter 24 - Running Blind
“I’m all right, Carly,” Rosalie sent. “Don’t worry; I think I’ll be there soon.” She wasn’t quite sure what all was going on, but for the moment everything seemed safe, and she continued following her new companion down the hallway, hoping she didn’t become visible anytime soon.
Smith raised a hand to his head and tapped his temple with his index finger ostentatiously. Grasping at what...
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Chapter 25 - An Escape
Kyle was awestruck by the thickness of the concrete between the levels, the immense columns holding everything in place, and the supports extending from the stony walls, deferring the upper weight of the complex – cars and all – upon themselves.
There were two paths to take, as far as he could see, and of course, he chose the lower floor – just one below the massive parking lot he’d been in...
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Chapter 26 - Unfamiliar Roads
Kyle grinned as the blast lit up everything nearby, and got to his feet. “Yeah!” he yelled, raising his fist, hooting in excitement, and letting out a long, loud whoop. It was over! They were safe! …For the moment, anyway.
Sprinting forwards towards the speeding car, he sent out, “Rosalie, it’s done! Have Caroline pull the car over so I can get in!”
But the car sped away into the...
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Chapter 27 - The Government
“The IOA,” Hanson explained, “is what the people you just came in contact with call themselves. It’s an abbreviation of ‘International Organization of Assassins’. In reality, they’re closer to terrorists than they are assassins. They were behind the man behind the attack on 9/11. They killed John F. Kennedy. It was they who killed Princess Diana. Their favorite pastime appears to be blackmail, and...
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Chapter 28 - A Change of Heart
Kyle left the lobby of the Lauderdale Inn at a brisk pace, mindful that somewhere, someone was watching him. In short… he was being followed.
Walking outside in the sunshine, he looked around. Cars drove past on the busy streets, small flocks of birds fluttered about and came to rest on rooftops, and trees waved gently in a light breeze. It was a beautiful day, and only nine o’ clock. The sky was...
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Chapter 29 - Debugging Spree
As Rosalie listened, she began to understand the events of the past several days. Everything was linked together: the flash, the computer viruses, the kidnappers, Caroline’s disappearance, and so many more things that fluttered through her mind. Just a week before, if someone had told her about an organization trying to take over the world like this, she would’ve laughed, dismissing it as...
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Chapter 30 - Two and a Half Meals
Rosalie and Kyle returned to her house. After she made them lunch – foot-long sandwiches (which Kyle loved, practically worshipping her for her cooking), they spent the rest of the day getting to know each other a little better. After all, they’d known each other for less than a week.
Rosalie showed him her piano playing, and he absolutely loved it. She let him borrow her...
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Chapter 31 - Into the Depths
Rosalie wished the helicopter had windows.
She sat beside Kyle, with Hanson directly across from them. The noise of the whirring blades above them was dampened considerably by whatever was in the hull, and seemed almost distant.
It was 1:00 in the afternoon of the same day. Hanson had explained that they needed to strike quickly – Agent Jackson (aka Smith) would most likely be...
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Chapter 32 - Hostage Situation
Someone screamed in his ear – loud.
Kyle jumped what felt like six feet, startled half to death. He wasn’t easy to scare, but he’d been concentrating so hard on his efforts that it made it easy.
A huge swath of flame disappeared, replaced with rapidly-melting ice.
Smith whooped, having run back to see why Rosalie screamed. “Woot! Do that again, Blue, and...
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Chapter 33 - Mission's End
Kyle reasoned with himself. If – as he assumed – there were powers that he had, but didn’t know about yet, how would he find a new one?
What was it Caroline had said… his powers were basically him having direct control over ghosts? It was something like that, he knew.
He called on Rosalie, hoping they could conference in his mind and figure this out together. “Rosalie, help…”
Rosalie scanned...
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Chapter 34 - Tender Subjects
On the flight back, Kyle discussed with the agents what Rosalie had told him. Hanson understood.
“One lone chopper flew out while you were inside,” he began. His face was once again emotionless, and his voice as deep as ever. “They radioed that they had hostages aboard and wouldn’t hesitate to kill. We made a visual confirmation of that fact and let it go, though we tried...
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Chapter 35 - Unexpected Allies
Kyle followed the sidewalk, head down. He didn’t feel like shedding tears – he felt crushed and defeated. He knew Rosalie had known what he was thinking – he had been thinking of asking her out; of having her as a girlfriend. He wanted to be with her. Right as she peeked, he had been briefly, idly speculating about marriage.
And why not? Their powers were too sensitive of...
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Chapter 36 - The Final Battle
The man gave a little causal salute. “Ty Jackson – well, just call me Ty, now that we’re outta there,” he said, then smiled. “You’re not gonna kill me, are you?”
Kyle laughed, lowering his arm and relaxing. “No, of course not, we just didn’t expect you to be here.”
“I woulda called ahead, but you know… the lady never gave me her number,” Ty said with a chuckle.
...
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Chapter 37 - Hope Abandoned
Kyle was rapidly running out of energy, and he knew it. Every bullet weakened him further, the exertion draining him dry. He couldn’t stand – the hail of gunfire was keeping him pinned to the floor, despite the shield. He had to do something, and he decided to do it while he still could.
With his right arm still in front of him, he threw his left forwards with the now...
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Chapter 38 - In Pursuit
Everything was dark, and she felt as if she was rising to the surface of a deep ocean. The echoing sounds of gunfire, and explosions, and yelling men seemed muffled by the murky veil that enveloped her.
The song continued – it was in her mind, and now she found that she could shut it on or off at will. She was in control again.
The darkness withdrew, and she was holding a smoking...
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Chapter 39 - A Confrontation
The downtown area was a warzone. Soldiers of the IOA – both in and out of uniform – stormed out of buildings, guns blazing and throwing grenades. Their leaders had told them to do whatever it took to cause as much chaos as possible.
Civilians ran screaming and crying from their attackers, not knowing why they were being targeted. Kyle knew that despite all he could do, he...
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Chapter 40 - Wednesday Evening
As Rosalie drove home, she thought over the events of the day. So much had happened in the past week, it hardly seemed real, and so much of it flew in the face of what she’d believed to be impossible. But she accepted it, and was satisfied with the results.
Earlier that day, she’d started a new charity fund for repairing the destruction in downtown Talvis. The story of the...
About the story
“Rosalie Grace and the Internet Assassins” is the brainchild of myself and a close friend of mine, who here I will call “Bethany”. The character “Rosalie” in the book is actually loosely based on her, though Rosalie kind of developed a personality of her own in the end. It’s heavily based on supernatural/superhuman stuff of the superhero genre, which is the only genre I’ve...
