Mindstrike, Part Two

Chapter Two-- Answers, Sort Of

I stand openmouthed for a second, shocked. I run outside, looking around. Long-distance transportation just isn't possible. She's around here somewhere.

"Looking for me?"

Cadence is leaning against my front door.

"How?" I demand. "How did you do that?"
She takes two quick steps forward, placing her hands firmly on my shoulders.

"You wouldn't understand if I explained it."

I step back, pushing her hands away. "What about everything else?"

She sighs. "You don't give up easily, do you?"

I cross my arms and shake my head. 

"Inside."

I follow her back into my living room, where we both sit back down where we were before.

"Your family misses you, Rhea," she begins, softly. 

I narrow my eyes, feeling all the pain of leaving them over again. 

"Did they..."

"No, they didn't ask me to find you."

I nod. "Good."

"Your daughter is all grown up now. She's the prettiest eleven-year-old you'll ever see."

"What did he name her?" 

"Faith."

I bite my lip. That's one of the names we'd discussed before I had to go. 

"He told her why you left."

"Has she shown any signs of--"

"She did not inherit anything from you."

A sigh of relief escapes me. 

"Why are you here?"

"They deserve to see you again."

I shake my head. "I can't. Ever again. It's far too dangerous."

Cadence leans forward, looking deep into my eyes, reading my thoughts. 

"Not anymore."

"I can't be sure of that. He... that... that monster can't be dead like they say. He's hiding."

"You don't have to be afraid anymore, Rhea." 

I struggle to breathe, frustration and sadness choking me. 

"If I go to see them, they'll get hurt."

"And if they come to see you?"

She asks the question in such a way that makes me look up sharply.

"You didn't..."

"They know where you are. But they won't come until you're ready."

I fall back into the deep softness of the chair. 

"Okay."

To Be Continued....

Mindstrike, Part One

                                                    Chapter One-- Questions

I am a mind reader.

No, I cannot read your mind. I have to be able to see you in order to read your mind, you know. And you're not looking at me, but the words on your screen. 

Anyway, that's not what this is about. This story is about how one day I met someone different and how it changed everything.

  Everything started on a completely normal Saturday. I had gone to the store for milk and sandwich meat. As usual, I was idly listening to everyone else's thoughts. Which isn't as creepy as it sounds, by the way. Anyway, it's usually all normal stuff.

Is he ever going to text back??

I hope she gets home ok.

All I have left is to pick up that medicine.

I know you're reading my thoughts.

I stop in my tracks.

Hello, Rhea.

Glancing around in alarm, I see a woman staring at me from the other end of the aisle. She looks only a year or two older than I, with a soft black baseball cap pulled over a mass of red curls. She's taller than me and is dressed in a black tee and dark jeans. Whoever she is, she doesn't want too much attention. 

I've been looking for you.

Stifling the urge to run away, I walk quickly to the woman.

"Who are you?" I whisper.

"Someone who needs to talk to you," she replies quietly. 

"Why?" I narrow my eyes slightly. 

Meet me outside in the parking lot.

The woman walks away swiftly. I finish getting my items and pay for them as quickly as I can. But instead of going out to the parking lot, I head to the other end of the store, to the gardening center. Nobody's here, considering it's November, and I'm free to slip out through one of the employee doors and avoid the parking lot altogether. 

Walking briskly to my house, I feel the tension leaving my shoulders. Whoever that woman was, she can't possibly know where I live. Nobody knows that.

I spoke too soon.

The woman is standing on my front porch when I arrive, waiting for me. 

Thought you could lose me, right? I'm a bit smarter than that.

I march up the steps. "Who are you?" 

"My name is Cadence Bellmonger. I've been looking for you, Rhea Silva." 

I set my jaw and open the door. "Inside.'

She follows me into the living room and takes a seat on the couch while I set my bags down on the counter. 

"What else do you know about me?" I demand, returning to pace in front of her.

"Your name is Rhea Silva. You can read minds. You've just turned forty-two years old. You used to have a family. And you're hiding from something... or someone."

I scowl at the mention of my family. "Why have you been looking for me?"

She meets my eyes steadily. "I can't tell you yet." 

"Then why are you here?" I'm trying to read her thoughts, but she's blocking all of my attempts with an image of calm ocean waves. 

You can't do that, you know. I've been trained to avoid mind reading.

I frown. "Who are you?"

"You've already asked that. In fact, you keep asking a lot of the same questions."

"And you keep not answering them." 

"I'll explain everything if you'll only answer a few of my own questions."

I sit in the big chair across from the couch. "Why--"

Cadence holds up a finger. "I told you I'd explain. Just answer my questions and I'll answer yours."

"And if I don't?" I lean forward, resting my arms on my knees.

"I have my own ways of finding out," she replies coolly. 

I sit back and cross my arms. "I'm not telling you anything." I look away, scowling at the floor.

Cadence says nothing. Eventually, the silence begins to bother me and I look back at her. Then I'm unable to look away.

Cadence is staring straight at me. Her piercing blue eyes are slowly changing from blue to light lavender to an impossibly deep violet. The air around her seems to darken with the intensity of her gaze. I find that I'm paralyzed, unable to move anything but my eyes. After what seems like forever, but in actuality is only a few minutes, Cadence sits back and the strange state dissipates. 

"I have my information," she says quietly. 

"What... what did you just do?" 

"I mindsearched you. I enjoyed it much less than you did." 

I bite my lip. "What did you find?"

"The answers to my questions."

"Are you going to answer any of my questions?" 

"Our deal was that if you answer my questions, I'll answer yours. You did not answer my questions of your own accord."

I stand up quickly, clenching my fists. "You know what I'm capable of. Answer me."

Cadence smirks-- and disappears.

To be continued.....

Sharing Graphics And Art

Hello, dear readers!

Today was a pretty productive day: I started a new graphic novel (I'll talk about that in a later post possibly) and finished a couple different stories. But now my brain is empty and I'm having trouble coming up with a good subject for a blog post. Therefore, to the backup plan: Sharing art!  Here's some graphics that I've designed (mostly book covers for books that don't exist) and some of my recent art.

A New Book, Maybe

Hello, dear readers!

I know I already posted this weekend, but this is just a quick note to mention the possibility of a brand-new book.
It's called Cabin Fever, and it's about three boys and two girls who each separately explore a stretch of mysterious woods. One by one, they discover an old cabin stocked with food and supplies. As soon as all five have arrived, a fierce snowstorm begins, trapping them inside the cabin.
Will they survive?

I've designed the cover already, although it might change along with the title. I'm pretty excited about this new story. I hope it takes off! I'll keep my beloved readers updated :D

My Mission Arlington Experience

Last summer, I went with my church's youth group to Mission Arlington. For a week, we worked in the heat and humidity to share Jesus's love with people. In the mornings we did volunteer work; distributing free sodas and chips in apartment complexes, carrying furniture, and putting out flyers for next week's Rainbow Express. In the afternoons, we ran a VBS for children in two different apartment complexes called Rainbow Express, where we sang songs, did crafts, and told Bible stories.

In all honesty, my personal experience didn't matter much. My opinions weren't important when it came to what we were doing. How I felt wasn't a big deal. And to be completely truthful, I probably acted like a terrible person, or at least, I felt like one. I had gone to a different week-long camp called NYLT (National Youth Leadership Training) and my introvert self was stretched thin. I was probably over dramatic and closed off. I probably could have done better. 

Here's the thing. There were really two different sides to Mission Arlington; when we were working and when we were all together. 

There were two buses, and usually, the buses got split up when we were working. The buses went to different apartments when we were doing Rainbow Express. We were generally split into two groups when we did volunteer work. I was with a smaller group of people when we worked. And honestly, doing the work was fun. I was the song leader for our Rainbow Express group and I had a ton of fun doing that. I helped tell Bible stories. I helped distribute craft supplies. I loved playing the games with the kids (except that one time when I slipped in the grass and twisted my ankle and had to wear my wrap for the rest of the day (I twist my ankles a lot, by the way)). I had fun carrying boxes of chips and super heavy six-packs of soda up and down and up and down stairs and knocking on doors. I really liked the working side of Mission Arlington.

But the personal side... I kind of failed at. 

I blame Mafia. Mafia was the popular game to play while we were waiting for supper or while we had free time or before lunch. And I'm a really good Mafia player, but the thing is, people didn't really know that about me. I never got picked to be anything, much less the Mafia which is what I really wanted. And I really wanted to be the storyteller, because hey, I'm a writer and I'm good at stories and I would be great at picking people to be Mafia or doctor or sheriff because I can read people. But like I said, people didn't really know me and all I got was frustrated. 

But in spite of me probably acting like a horrible person, I made a friend, and I'm really glad I did. 

I'm also glad neither of us like baseball. 

We went to a baseball game on Wednesday cause that was dollar hot dog night so we could buy our own food. Me and Will, my newest friend, spent pretty much the entire time walking around the stadium and talking because neither of us cared about what was going on. I'm still not even sure who won. 

And on Saturday, when we went to Hurricane Harbor as kind of payoff for all the work, I buddied up with him, another kid named Nick, and my brother, and they convinced me to get out of my comfort zone a little and do some of the bigger waterslides. Even though I almost died, like, twice (not because of them), I had a ton of fun. 

So all in all, I did have fun doing Mission Arlington. I might have been emotional and people-hating for maybe forty percent of the time,  but I truly enjoyed everything else. And I'm really looking forward to doing it this year, which I'm sure is going to be way better. For one thing, I won't have camp before it again, which should help a lot. And I'm an old-timer now, so I'll know what to expect. Some things I'll do the same, like not getting involved in girl drama. Plus, I will know to never, ever, buy coffee on a road trip, even if sleeping in the car makes me carsick and I need something to keep me awake. (There are people who hate me now simply because of that terrible choice.)

Anyway, I can't wait till next year!

--Kaytie

The Death Of An Old Friend

Sofie the Dreaded Jungle Basset Hound. She was almost eight years old. She was a spoiled rotten princess with terrible manners and a classic hound smell that made you regret petting her. She was a sweet, lovable, and patient dog, a wearer of tutus and wigs, a gobbler of Cheez-its and anything else you threw her way. She stole countless sandwiches-- and once, an entire piece of chocolate cake-- from the table. She endured many tail-pullings and lots of rough love from the toddler. She's acted in our plays. She's worn thousands of costumes. She took part in parades. She grudgingly let us take pictures of her.
And she lay on a soft blanket on the floor of a vet's office, wagging her tail as we said goodbye.
She's the first dog I really remember. We had Oreo the Jack Russel/Snouzer, but I was really little when he died from parvo so I honestly don't remember much about him. We got Sophie when I was seven.
She used to come lie on my bed in the mornings, curling right up in the bend of my legs. She'd keep me warm when it got really cold. I think she mostly liked the soft bed and the blankets I'd put over her.
She was the laziest dog ever. If you were in her spot on the couch, she'd sit on you. She loved cuddling.
Part of me is saying maybe there's something good in this. Because now we might possibly be able to give a good home to a Basset puppy who needs a good place to live.
Part of me is twisted into a big knot that won't come undone.
I'm not really sure why I'm writing a blog post. A blog post, of all things. It just seems kind of impersonal. I guess this is for me more than it is for other people to know what happened. This is me saying goodbye.
Goodbye, Dreaded Jungle Basset. 
I miss you.

--Kaytie


For a dog who hated having her picture taken, there are quite a lot of them.

A Rededication, A New Name, And A Brand-New Introduction

Hello beloved readers!

 I basically abandoned this blog for awhile. I guess I eventually stopped being 'crafty' and focused mostly on drawing, and therefore I didn't really have any 'creations' to show off.
Well, now I'm rededicating this blog. I've renamed it from "Creations By Kaytie" to "The Writer Artist Nerd". I'll be putting anything from random ramblings and/or thoughts to short stories to poetry to art tutorials to writing tips on this blog. I'm keeping the old posts, but from this post hereafter, it's going to be something brand-new. Also, I'm going to really try to keep up with posting here. My goal is to post something new every weekend.

 A lot has changed since I began this blog. I re-read the old "Introducing Myself" post and decided I should re-introduce myself since a whole lot of things are different.
My name is Kaytie Hoggard. I'm a Marvel nerd, writer, artist, creator of superheroes, listener of music, and reader of books.
--I'm a Marvel nerd: I and two of my best friends are huge Marvel enthusiasts. Every time a new movie comes out, we go see it together. I sit next to my bestie Steph always, and we squeeze each other's hands with as much pressure needed whenever we're fangirling over something that happened. I've dozens of headcanons and own, at this given moment, five Funko Pops (Doctor Strange, Scarlet Witch, Thor, Vision, and SpiderMan). Add that to shirts, books, fangirl moments, and fanfics, and you get the Marvel fangirl side of me. (Plus all the actor crushes. I cannot get over Sebastion Stan's face. Or Tom Hiddleston, just, in general.)
--A writer: I have finally, after about twenty-five thousand (maybe not that many, but you get the point) drafts and re-writes, completed the manuscript for Story Of A Hero, a brand-new superhero story. I'm currently editing and once I'm done with that, I'm going to work on publishing it while I start on the next book. More about the main character of that book later. I also am working on a couple unrelated books, one of them a horror story for a good friend of mine (although it's not working out that well) and the other one a love story. It's sort of a toss-up as to if I'm going to finish them or not, and after that, if they'll be good enough to publish. But hopefully, I'll soon be able to call myself a 'published author'.
--An artist: It took me awhile to really 'settle down' into a particular art form (and even now I'm not sure that's where I am) but now I've really worked on and improved with drawing. I can look at a drawing I did a month ago and it'll be very different from something I just drew. I post almost all of my art on Facebook for my friends and family to enjoy. A lot of my drawings are of the two main characters of my book (because they are two of my favorite people ever). Recently, I've started working with markers, mostly because I actually have some now after Christmas. I've used Youtube and various drawing books to teach myself art. Soon, maybe, I'll be good enough to sell my art.
--Creator of superheroes: Below, after the art pictures, I'll put the basic profiles of my two main superheroes, Clair and Will. And yes, they are love interests (which was not part of the original plan but happened anyway). These two are my own children and I love them. They were originally Marvel OC's, but then Marvel seriously messed up my timeline when they released Civil War so I pulled them out (and then realized it was actually better this way). Clair's been through a lot but she's a gem. Will is slightly less developed but still amazing. I actually based Clair off of myself originally, so she's very near and dear to my heart. Will, slightly less so, but he still has certain qualities from myself. And before I get judged for being all prideful and basically making myself a superhero, it's really not like that at all. Clair's got all my flaws that I hate and she has all the qualities that I like about myself. She's my method of expressing myself. She is how I discover things about myself. She is how I can say "Look, this is something you don't know about me yet, isn't it cool?"
--Listener of music: To be honest, I don't know what kind of person I'd be without music. I listen to a bunch of 'indie pop' bands like Of Monsters And Men, Lifehouse, Owl City, and most recently (like, I've just now discovered them) a band called Daughter. I also dabble in TobyMac and Hawk Nelson, occasionally. I love dancing to Lindsey Stirling and have choreographed several one-person "ballets" to her songs, which I have not shared with people in general yet but might soon.
--And reader of books: Brandon Mull is the best author. Bottom line. But also near the top of the list are John Flanagan (Ranger's Apprentice), Eoin Colfer (Artemis Fowl and Half Moon Investigations), Wendy Mass, and Tui. T. Sutherland (Wings Of Fire series). Books are just as much a part of my life as music is. They're always in the background, no matter what kind of crazy is going on. I can always hide behind a book and a pair of earbuds when I want to. I can shut my brain off and relax completely just by listening to music and reading. Seriously, it's amazing.

And now, the previously promised profiles:


Superhero Profile: Clair Fury

Name: Clair Fury
Relations: James Eagle (adoptive father)
Superpowers: Nine-inch steel-alloy claws similar to Wolverine's, and the ability to shoot a sticky substance similar to Spider-Man's webs.
Physical Description: Auburn hair, pale skin, blue eyes
Height: 5'2
Personality: She's headstrong and independent. She's used to figuring things out on her own. She often lies to make people not worry about her. She's not afraid to question orders that she doesn't agree with or that don't make sense to her. She's sometimes sarcastic but generally says what she means. She likes making people laugh but doesn't seem to find many opportunities to do so. She tries to break free of cliches. If something's impossible, she immediately wants to do it. She's very protective of the people she loves. She has a way with people that makes them trust her and open up to her. She tends to try to run away from her problems.

Superhero Profile: Will Helado
Name: William Helado
Relations: Unknown
Superpowers: Can control temperature, make things hotter or colder. He can also shoot ice or fire out of his hands at will.
Physical Description: Blond hair, tan skin, blue eyes.
Height: 5'3
Personality: He's defensive and cautious, but he tends to open up around people he knows. He's used to depending on people. He doesn't question what he's told unless it's something he's not used to. He hides his emotions. He has a tendency to go into "worry overdrive" when he's stressed. He can be bitter, sometimes. He's often sarcastic. He can be surprisingly tender toward certain people.


I hope, beloved readers, that you enjoy this brand-new blog. I hope to see you soon!

---Kaytie