Creating Kain Ryder

Kain Ryder thrashed through overgrown bushes and muddied puddles of water as he raced down a sloped pathway toward a moving jeep, adjacent to his path. His light brown eyes were determined, his jaw was clenched tightly, and a deep growl came from the back of his throat, a sound that meant he would not lose his target.

In the moving jeep, yards ahead, sat Dr. Kim Lee, an evil scientist with a ruthless agenda, but Kain could care less about Dr. Kim Lee. It was the woman in his passenger seat he was after.

Her name was Lolaine Clearwater, a red-headed, classic beauty, and she screamed loud for Kain to rescue her from whatever deed Dr. Kim Lee had in mind.

The slope ahead of Kain took a sudden drop into a bottomless pit that stretched 4 feet wide. If he kept his pace, he could jump over the opening and land on top of jeep just as it passed by.

Seven more steps.

Kain focused on the dark green jeep, taking deep breaths as he timed his jump just right.

Four more steps.

The trees, belonging to the tropical rainforest that surrounded Kain, blurred past him as he prepared himself to jump.

Two more steps.

And Kain was in the air…

Waves of laughter crashed into my daydream, alerting me to the suspicious activity going on in my sex-ed class. I turned my head in the direction of the snickering and found Tyler, a football jerk who always dabbed at the worse times, and Jessie the Drama Queen, staring at a person behind me while trying to contain her laughter. I didn’t have to turn around to know that Courtney Phillips sat right behind me, most likely teasing me the way she always did.

I looked up at Ms. Landers, who was completely oblivious to the laughter as she carried on about sexual education in an old fashioned manor. Three words had been written on the board:

Condoms.Babies.STIs.

I was a sophomore in high school, who had been learning about the birds and the bees since the fifth grade. So was so tired of the lectures. I wasn’t having sex until I was married. If I ever got married, that is.

Sighing, I glanced at the clock, thankful that I only had two minutes left until I was able to go to lunch. I couldn’t wait to post a new chapter of my online story to my thousands of readers, eager to know what will happen to Kain Ryder next. Thankfully, my mind was always creating new ways for him to save whatever damsel in distress happened to need saving. LoLain Clearwater was always the crowd’s favorite.

LoLaine was my alter ego, except she was tall and curvey, and her red hair was more pigmented, whereas my own, red-brown, stringy hair was bland. Not to mention I was short. Emphasis on the short.

The snickering around the room grew louder, and I turned in my seat, daring to look at the source of the foolery. I was met by a pair of bright, blue eyes…or should I say, a pair of devilish eyes that burned holes into my soul?

Courtney was the reason I sometimes hated life and preferred to stay locked up in my room writing, rather than socializing at gatherings like a normal 16-year-old girl. Sometimes I understood why she picked on me. I was only 5’1 and yet wore oversized, unstylish clothes. I always covered my head of tangled curls with a Fedora hat, and I had plain features - although my Aunt Myra would’ve begged to differ. To her, I was my older sister’s twin, and that was a huge compliment, seeing as how Chloe - my sister - just signed to a huge modeling agency here in New York City. Soon, her beautiful blue eyes and auburn hair would be seen on billboards all over the city. However, we looked nothing alike, and while she was beauty, I was art.

My talent consisted of writing a very popular online fiction series that had over a million views on InkBlott. My character, Kain Ryder, was the most sought-after male protagonist, with girls who even wrote their own fanfiction stories surrounding his love life. It put me in a position to possibly gain a future book deal and become a well-known author.

Soon, I’d be bigger than my high school misery. Soon, I’d be like Lolaine Clearwater.

“Daydreaming again, Gracie?” Courtney asked, as sweet as can be, but I knew better than to believe her sincerity. “Or do you just always look dumb and spacey?”

I met her eyes as my face flushed crimson. I had been gawking like an idiot!

Thankfully, the bell quickly put me out of my misery, signaling that fourth period was over. I gathered my books and left behind the pestering.

Within seconds, I was free and clear of Courtney and her entourage, but I soon realized that I stepped into a new challenge: the flooded hallways of Middletown High.

My anxiety always peaked whenever I had to push through the greatest obstacle course known to man. Students were everywhere! Someone bumped in to me from behind, causing me to fall forward and land on my stomach. Others joked around and caused childish scenes. I simply kept my head low, moving through the wave.

“Get out the way, Disgracie,” Tyler spat, as he passed by me, bumping my shoulder. I instantly feel, and dropped every last one of my books.

Great, I thought.

Tyler had been the one to start the nickname ‘Disgracie’ in the eighth grade, and the name still lived on because he made sure everyone in the entire school heard him whenever he said it. And I had to admit it, Disgracie was a clever nickname. Extremely funny. Hilarious. And I almost give him credit for it. Please note the sarcasm...

“Ew! Look,” a female voice chimed in. “There is a thing on the floor. Ty-Ty please make it move.”

“Okay, babe,” Tyler obliged, coming to a halt near my face. “Get up Disgracie! Courtney needs to get to the lunch room and you’re blocking the hallway!”

Instead of arguing, I clumsily stood to my feet, thankful I hadn’t been trotted on, and picked up my fallen books. I didn’t move again until they were down the hall.

“Hey, Gracelynn!” a voice called to me from behind, distracting me from my enemies. The only person who called me by my full name was Tommy Parker, my extremely hot next door neighbor who also happened to date Jessie the Drama Queen.

Tommy, who was way too sincere to date a rabid dog, was once my biggest crush. That is, until Jessie caught me drooling at him while he played basketball during gym last year. She called me out in front of the entire class, and everyone laughed and teased me like the fangirl-weirdo that I truly was. Let’s not forget to mention the shy laughter that came from Tommy’s own mouth when he had learned that I was staring. Horrifically embarrassed for life, I stayed away from him that entire ninth grade year.

Tenth grade was an entirely different story. I had decided to start this year off with optimism, leaving everything in the past. Thankfully, Tommy seemed to have forgotten about the whole ordeal and began carrying on as if we were associates. He was one of the only people in high school who actually treated me like a human being from time to time, especially with Jessie and Courtney so bent on ruining me.

I turned toward Tommy with a smile and pushed my lowered glasses up the brim of my nose. My smile instantly fell when I noticed his returning frown.

“I saw you fall, are you okay?” he asked, examining my body. I nodded and quickly glanced over at Jessie, who’d just walked out of the classroom, left behind by her friends. Just as I’d expected, I could almost feel the amount of hate being directed at me from those eyes.

“Uh...” was all I said to Tommy, knowing I’d regret this conversation once Jessie found me alone in the hallway.

“Turn around,” Tommy said, and when I didn’t react quickly enough, he spun me around and pulled something off of my back. He then turned me again, so that I was facing him. His frown deepened.

“You should pay more attention to what people do to you behind your back,” he said while grabbing my arm and placing a sticky note in my hand. I opened my palm and read the message:

Freaking ugly whore!

I frowned and glared at Jessie, who innocently batted her eyes at me. Now I understood why they’d all been laughing. Courtney had pulled a freaking prank on me!

“Thank you,” I murmured to Tommy and began stalking away, just before Jessie could intrude.

I pushed and shoved my way down the seemingly never-ending hallways until I reached the final hall. Thankfully, only a few kids stood against lockers, talking quietly with each other. The double doors to the lunchroom never made me happier. Time to give Kain another visit…

An hour later, I lifted my head from my laptop and looked around at the empty cafeteria. Everyone had gone off to class, and I had been too focused on my story to hear the lunch bell ring. Groaning, I jumped out of my seat and made my way to my next classroom.

Mr. Morris stood right at the door, most likely waiting to greet any late passerby. I took a step back and looked up into his hard, gray eyes, finding no traces of mercy.

“I believe this makes three tardys this month, Ms. Evans,” his melodic voice sang. His lips then set in a barely visible line. “Head to the Principal’s office.”

“But-”

"Now, Ms. Evans.”

“Fine.” My shoulders sank as I nodded and turned away. Great, I thought to myself. My bad luck strikes again.

Go figure.

I sat at the dinner table, surrounded by two stern faces, clearly aware of my visit to the principal’s office today. Instead of focusing on my parent’s expressions, I kept my eyes downcast at my plate of barely eaten three-cheese pasta. It wasn’t my most favorite dish, but I sure pretended to be very interested in it.

“Hm,” I moaned, between each fork full of angel hair noodles. “So good. Chloe, did you help mom make this?”

“I don’t eat cheese,” Chloe replied, with a smirk on her face. It was the expression she always wore when she knew something interesting was about to take place. In this case, it was the fact that I was about to get into some serious trouble.

“How is your food, then?” I asked, trying to keep the conversation going.

“It’s very…salady.” She forked a piece of bare lettuce.

“Are the tomatoes fresh?”

“Cut the act, Grace. We got a call from the principal today,” mother began.

“I can explain-”

“Why were you late to class?” My father barked, cutting me off.

I dropped my fork on the plate in front of me. “Gee, father. I was just getting to that, right before you decided to cut me off to tell me to explain what I was already about to explain!”

“She gets that smart mouth from you, Cheryl,” my father grunted and sat back in his seat, folding his arms as he stared at me. “Well go on then.”

“My classes are too far apart to make it from point A to point B in enough time! The hallways are too crowded to run to class, and I always seem to be seconds behind the bell! Let’s not forget how much of a pain my teacher is! It’s not my fault!” I explained.

“Your teacher seems to think that you have enough time to get to class but that you like to lolligag around in the hallway! I’m not buying your excuse,” my mother told me. “You’re grounded.”

“What?” My mouth hung open and I heard Chloe laugh quietly.

“You heard your mother,” my father chimed in. “No laptop for a week.”

“You can’t do that!” I told him, accidentally slamming my hands down on the table, shaking everyone’s drink. I was in the heat of the moment.

My father fumed as his eyes narrowed at me. Slowly standing from his seat, he said, “Make it two weeks.”

“But I have to update my story! Kain Ryder-”

“Here we go with this Kain Ryder, crap,” my mother said, throwing her napkin on the table as if I’d spoiled her food. “This fictional character is the reason your grades have been dropping. It’ll do you good to stop obsessing over him every single day.”

I felt defeated and knew arguing back would not help the situation I was in. Unlike Chloe, I could never win with my parents. They always believed everyone else over their own daughter, and that hurt more than the bullying.

I really felt alone in the world. Seriously.

Most days, I felt like all I had was my online presence. Without my reader’s support...without Kain, I’d drive myself crazy. I’d start to get depressed and think bad things; thoughts my old therapist helped me to overcome.

I started crying. Like, snotty nose, wavy eyebrows, crying.

“Oh god,” my mother began. “Grace, crying isn’t going to change your punishment. You are still grounded from your laptop.” She sighed, when I didn’t let us, her face softening. “Look, you can keep it until bedtime. Let your readers know what’s going on and post whatever you need to. But after tonight, no more writing.”

“I hate this family,” I said, pushing my plate away. “When I’m a well-known author making millions, I won’t give any of you a penny.”

“It’s okay,” Chloe laughed. “I’ll have my modeling career.”

“Grace, why must you behave so dramatically?” my mother asked me, her voice softening just a fraction. “In two years, you will be an adult. Is this how you’ll react to the corrective actions of your management? What about your future husband? Will you be so rash, then?”

“Only in the face of injustice!” I argued. “You guys never believe me! How am I going to be a confident adult when I’m always second guessed by everyone in my life? You are not helping me!”

“That’s enough, Grace, just go to your room,” my agitated father roared. With a sigh, I stood from the table and stormed away.

“Screw them!” I slammed my bedroom door shut and started pacing the length of my room. I hated my parents. I hated my sister. I hated my school. I hated my peers. I hated my life. The only thing that gave me peace was writing.

I walked over to my desk and flopped down in my seat. I then opened my laptop and logged into my desktop. Within minutes, I was writing the last chapter of D.E.S.E.R.T MISSION, a story in which my protagonist, Kain Ryder is called on a mission to stop a glorious, middle eastern city from being destroyed by bat-like creatures.

Kain Ryder was a seventeen-year-old secret agent sent on adventurous missions to kill bad guys and destroy manmade evil villains. He was always accompanied by his backpack, which was home to thousands of specialized gadgets, and a skateboard, which happened to be faster than the average car. His other favorite toy happened to be his motorcycle.

Kain had dark brown, low cut hair and always wore a black tank, black pants and combat boots. He also had a serious, yet cocky personality and his signature traits were his intense, passionate eyes and sexy wink. And even thought Kain was tough, his romantic side always made my readers gush with excitement.

I had created the blueprint for a successful story, and my parents were trying to sabotage me! With a sigh, I began writing.

Kain Ryder stood amid sand and destruction. A ruined city burned in the background - the aftermath of a battle in which he’d won, however the lives lost in the midst of chaos hadn’t been without notice. Kain’s boots sunk into the sand as he kneeled down, feeling the weight of the last hour catch up to him. Ten Legerers had attacked the city of Coros aiming to claim as many humans as possible. If it hadn’t been for him, the Legeres would’ve succeeded.

A soft murmur caused Kain’s body to become alert as he shifted his head in the direction of the sound. He knew that voice...

Kain saw LoLaine laying yards away in the desert heat as her blood stained the sand beneath her. The light in her beautiful, brown eyes had dimmed, and the sight of her life slipping out of her body caused him to run to her side.

How had she gotten hurt? He’d told her to stand far away in case something had happened. Had she not listened and gotten close enough to the fight to get hurt? Kain collapsed on the ground by her side and examined her frail body. When he moved LoLaine’s hand away from her stomach, he discovered a small piece of metal sticking out of her side. She had been hit with fallen debris.

“You’re going to be okay,” he said, looking into her eyes while caressing her paling face. She weakly smiled up at him, but her mouth was covered in blood, a sight that only pained him more. “Hold on, Lola. You aren’t going to die here!”

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“Mittens!” I yelled, watching my cat walk across my key board.

Oh yeah, I forgot to tell you about my cat, mittens. He’s a cat. (Sarcasm intended)

I picked Mittens up and placed him on the ground and he hissed as he walked away. Sighing, I returned to typing...

LoLaine’s eyes closed, and Kain cried out. His let his tears freely spill onto her bloodless cheeks. He lowered a hand to her neck and felt for a pulse.

Nothing.

She was dead...

My bedroom door burst open. “Gracie, mom decided that she wants the laptop right now.” Chloe’s irritating, high-pitched voice slammed into my thoughts and instantly frustrated me. I spun in my chair and faced my older sister.

“No way,” I told her. “I need to finish this scene I’m writing! Get out of my room.”

Chloe ignored my protest and stormed over to where I sat, reaching behind me to unplug the laptop. I began pushing at her, but she wouldn’t budge.

“Leave my laptop alone!” I cried, standing up and pulling at her waist. Chloe yanked the laptop loose and stumbled away from me.

“Stop fighting me,” she yelled and started walking away.

“Oh no, you don’t!” I grabbed the laptop in her hands and begin pulling at it, but Chloe gripped the other side, yanking it free from my hands. She then smashed it against her chest and ran from my room.

I followed behind, screaming at the top of my lungs, knowing that all of the commotion would get me into even more trouble, but I didn’t care.

Chloe reached the steps, ready to dart down them, but I managed to grab a lock of her hair, causing her to fall backward. The laptop slipped out of her hands and began falling down the stairs until it smacked against the ground, cracking, like my broken heart.

My computer…Kain…

Chloe sat up and gasped. We’d broken the very same laptop my parents had bought me for Christmas. Which happened to be two months ago. It was practically brand new.

My heart sank as my father came into view, staring down at the broken laptop at his feet. His eyes lifted to where we sat at the top of the stairs and his fist balled in anger.

“It was Gracie’s fault!” Chloe chimed, and I groaned inwardly.

Two weeks of punishment? Ha! After I broke the laptop, I got a whole month, plus kitchen duty for three weeks straight.

Go figure.