Categories > Anime/Manga > Hellsing > Crimson Smiles
Running Through London: Prologue
0 reviewsIt was midnight in London when the trouble started, for the Hellsing organization at least. For the 16 year old girl running through the dark, cold, and damp London streets with blood and sweat dri...
0Unrated
Ok, this is a Hellsing story I decided to write on a whim. I don't have an editor for this story so bear with me, also I cuss so don't be shocked to see the f-word. Yes, I'm ashamed to admit it but this is a self-insert, but I promise to make it not crappy. My family and self events are all dramatized or made-up for the sake of the story. I only warn you because I don't want to be flamed later for it. Please stick around and give it a chance, I hope you will enjoy it.
Disclaimer: I don't own Hellsing or any other copyrighted items that will appear in this story. I do own all the original characters. (This is for the whole story.)
"Normal talk"
'Thoughts'
Telepathic talk
Flashback
I will be putting in songs I would recommend listening to while reading parts of my story, kind of like a soundtrack. I will also be editing my chapters constantly, trying to make them better for my beloved readers.
Timeline: These first few chapters are set when Integra would have been 19 and before Seras. This is based of the manga, but voices are from the anime.
Chapter 1: Running Through London Bleeding Your Heart Out.
(Song to listen to: My Chemical Romance, the Ghost of You.)
It was midnight in London when the trouble started, for the Hellsing organization at least. For the 16 year old girl running through the dark, cold, and damp London streets with blood and sweat dripping from her, it had started a nine seventeen p.m. She was frightened out of her mind; all she wanted was for this living nightmare to be over. For her mom and dad to hold her tight and tell her it was all a bad dream, but they couldn't, not anymore.
Lina sat in the park with her family, her parents laughing happily as they talked. She was wearing jean pants, a baggy Pink Floyd t-shirt, and comfortable running shoes. Her waist length brown hair was in six braids, standing at 5'3", her cat shaped eyes were hazel and even though she was slightly chubby, she was pretty. They had come to the park to have a picnic dinner, hoping to squeeze every last drop of family together time and fun out of Lina's summer break. Tomorrow morning she would fly back to L.A. to get ready for her upcoming school year, despite her parents urging to stay in London with them and go to the private schools there. It was past sunset but the street lamps provided some light. Lina had a bad feeling as she sat there and waited for her parents to finish eating. She swore she had heard something in the darkness, but they said she was just being paranoid.
"It's probably just a squirrel, you have to relax sweetie. Dad and I would never let anything hurt you." Lina sighed and twisted nervously on the park bench, looking around for the source of the noise. She hated sounding like a know-it-all but she knew that the sound had been a human footstep, it had been too loud and dull to be an animals.
"Yeah, I know mom, but could we please leave. This place is giving me the creeps. Besides I have to be at the airport early and I still need to pack." She had heard the sound again, but this time it wasn't a single footfall, it sounded more like twelve. She was now starting to think up plans in her head, trying to pick the best one in case the worst happened.
"Yes, you all should be at home; after all it's not safe to be out at night around here." They all turned towards the voice as a woman and man walked out from the shadows, their eyes glowing an eerie red. Both were dressed completely in black, making their pale skin stand out. Lina gulped and slowly brought her hand up to her necklace, rubbing the silver cross gratefully. She wasn't a Christian anymore, but her parents didn't know that yet. Her parents stood up quickly in front of her, not liking the way the man was eyeing Lina. She stood back slightly from her parents, and noticed the other bodies behind the man and woman.
"We don't want any trouble, I'll just leave the wallet on the table and we'll just go." Lina mentally smacked her forehead and groaned at her dad. Dad did as he said then pushed both her and mom behind him. Lina grabbed her parent's hand and slowly tried back away from the couple.
"Dad, I hate to break it to you, but those Vampires don't want our money." The woman smirked, showing off her pointed teeth.
"What a smart little girl, don't you think brother?" The man copied his sister, and the shapes behind them came into the light. Her mom screamed as the corpses walked towards them. Her dad pulled out a pocket knife and tried to look intimidating.
"Yes, a very smart girl. Shame the same can't be said about her parents. Shall we sister?"
"After you dear brother." At that they both jumped to attack them. Lina started to run, tugging her parents along.
The memory brought more tears to her eyes that easily followed the path down her cheeks left from previous ones. She heard the groaning behind her, and letting out a choked sob she pressed her exhausted body to keep running. She couldn't stop, not yet, she had to get away. Unfortunately she didn't see the small hole in the paved street. She hit the pavement hard, skidding slightly, feeling her skin tear open where it scraped the street. Screaming out in pain and terror as she fell, she scrambled to get to her feet, her heart beating out of control.
Suddenly she felt her shirt being grabbed; she didn't have to look to know it was a ghoul. She kicked at it and turned in its grasp, leaving more tears in her shirt and bloody gashes in her skin. Placing her hand in front the ghouls' mouth she concentrated on the spell and spoke in an ancient language. A small purple light burst out of her hand and blew the ghoul off of her. Regaining her freedom she started to run yet again, seeing the fog covered bridge over the Thames River a few meters a head.
(End song)
'I'm almost there, I just have to get across that bridge and then I'm home free.' She sighed in relief as this thought crossed her mind. She slowed down, feeling the effects of four hours of straight running and blood loss catching up to her mortal body. Suddenly she felt a chill run up her spine, making her stop in her tracks, confused as to what that chill had been.
"And you were so close to being safe to, not that I'm one to complain about a meal." The man that had been chasing her landed in front of her, grabbing her around the throat he lifted her off her feet. Dangling her like a doll in the air, he shook her and tightened his grip, making it harder for her to breath.
"Now, now little girl, you've been quit the pain in my ass, making me chase you all over London. I'll admit it was smart to use your parents as human shields, but that only bought you so much time, you had to know it would end like this." He ran his hand over her tattered shirt, some of her blood gathering on his fingers and he brought them to him lips to taste it. She heard the ghouls getting closer and she reached up to try to pry his hand from her neck. Under her small droplets of blood started to gather.
"I didn't use them like that, they stayed behind to make sure you two lame excesses for vampires didn't get me, and I don't plan on making their deaths in vain." She slid her hand to grab her cross without him noticing, ripping the chain off her neck. The fog on the bridge cleared away to reveal a extremely tall man clad in a long red trench coat, wide brimmed red hat and sunglasses walking quietly across with a large gun in his hand. Behind him were three swat cars that had the word Hellsing written on the sides, people were jumping out the back of them in full combat gear, and some had medical supplies. She looked away quickly, so to keep the guy with his hand around her throat from noticing.
/I must say, you're doing well for a human girl./Lina heard a male voice say in her head, she felt another chill run up her spine, relaxing as she realized who it was. She looked down to the guy holding her and smirked.
"Your right, this is about to end, but I'm not going to die yet." He looked at her confused, and she took that time to shove the sliver cross down his throat. He dropped her instantly, desperately trying to remove the cross from his windpipe. She fell to the floor and rolled away from him as he was shot by the red clad man, turning into ash along with the ghouls behind her. At that she heard the thundering of boots as the people ran over towards her, she stood up slowly and spit into the pile of ashes that had been the man a few seconds ago.
"Stupid asshole, you didn't even deserve to be called a vampire, you were at best a giant two legged tick."
"I couldn't agree with you more, weakling." She turned to see the man that had saved her life standing next to her. She quickly bowed her head as she gave a response.
"Now you say that like it's a bad thing. Oh, and thanks for saving my life N.L.K." He tilted his head slightly so his glasses no longer blocked his crimson eyes, looking her over carefully with a somewhat amused look on his face.
"What would that mean young lady?" She looked up at him, which was hard considering that he was at least a foot taller than her and stared him in the eyes and giving him a small smile.
"I mean that you're the No Life King." He raised an eyebrow at her but didn't say anything as the paramedics came over and practically carried her back to their mini-emergency room in the back of one of the swat vans. The rest of the Hellsing troops were busy with cleaning up the piles of ashes and scanning the area for more ghouls or vampires.
"Alucard, what did that girl speak to you about?" The man turned around to see his master waiting for his response. The young blonde standing before him gave him a glare with her icy blue eyes, crossing her suit clad arms and tapping her foot.
"Why Integra, she only wished to give me thanks for shooting that scum that was about to kill her." His usually smirk came to his face, Integra sighed. She knew he wasn't telling her something, but she wasn't in the mood to deal with it, right now she had to check on the survivor of the vampire attack. As she walked over she noticed that the girl was a few years younger then herself, and looking closely Integra softened her face as she saw that they had given the girl an I.V. to replace the blood that was now on the street and had her bandaged up in multiple rolls of gauze. Integra waited for the paramedic's to finish before ordering the troops to pack up and get back to headquarters. Climbing into the back to sit with the girl, Integra took a deep breath trying to find a delicate way to ask her questions. When she finally looked over to the girl she had fallen asleep, Integra sighed and leaned back, deciding to catch a quick nap.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Alucard was wondering around the Hellsing Manor/Headquarters, looking for something or someone to entertain him. His master still wasn't back with that girl; he still wanted to know how she had known who he was. Only the people in the top ranks of Hellsing and the Queen were aware of his title, so how could a teenage girl know? He went to find where Walter hid the blood packets, needing a drink.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Lina woke up in the back of the Hellsing van, looking around groggily she noticed the blonde woman sitting in the back with her in a green pin stripe suit and glasses. Lina sat up in the bed and lightly tapped the woman's shoulder. Integra woke up and turned with an angry glare to Lina, she just smiled and started speaking in the sweetest and politest voice she could muster.
"Excuse me Miss., could you please tell me where you are taking me?" Integra was shaken slightly at the sweetness in the girls' voice.
"Well for starters you are to call me Sir. Hellsing and you are coming back to the Hellsing Manor for questioning." Lina nodded and stretched, rubbing her head.
"Well Sir. Hellsing, if you want you can call me Lina." The van came to a stop and the back doors opened up and Integra stepped out first, addressing a few of the Hellsing troops. "I want Miss Lina taken to the infirmary and get the cook to make her some soup. I'm sure she's in need of it." Lina tried to tell them to let her walk, but the men just continued with their orders, rolling her on the roller bed to the infirmary. She sat there and grumbled about being treated like a baby. Once they got her there they left to go about their other tasks. After they all had left the room Lina got out of the bed and went in search of a mirror, wanting to see how she looked. She found the mirror and looked her self over, sighing as she came across a few scratches that would leave scars.
"Like I wasn't ugly enough, now I have to add scars." As she spoke Alucard had materialized in the dark corner of the room, he saw her and stayed hidden, plotting on how to scare the girl. Lina made an annoyed sound and turned to face the room. "Hello N.L.K., is there anything I could assist you with?" Alucard was surprised to say the least, no one except his master could sense him if he didn't want them to. He solidified out of the shadows and stood towering above her, having left his hat and glasses somewhere. He twisted his face into his trademark grin, bending down to be eye level with the girl, their faces mere inches apart.
"How do you know my title, and how did you sense me just now?" He extended his mind to try and read hers, and found that she blocked him.
"First, please do not read my mind, you just need to ask and I shall answer you. Second, I know and can sense you because I'm studying to become a sorceress. Any other questions, N.L.K.?" She looked at him, and then she leaned in and lightly pressed her lips to his. He stood still in shock, although the shock only showed internally. When she pulled away they both acted as if nothing had happened, she walked back over to her bed, sitting down before Sir Hellsing and Walter walked in. "Hello Sir Hellsing, I suppose you came here to ask me some questions." Integra nodded and sat on a chair near Lina's bed, Walter sat near as well, opening a note pad and testing his pen. Alucard simply leaned against the opposite wall from her, his glasses now in place. Integra cleared her throat.
"The man that will be taking notes on your answers name is Walter." Walter gave Lina a warm smile and hello. "The man that saved you over there's name is Alucard." He nodded his head slightly to acknowledge them. "Now if at any point in time during the questioning you feel you can't continue just say so and we'll pick it up again later, understood?" Lina nodded her head yes. "Wonderful, my first question is when and where did the vampire attack on you start?"
"It started somewhere around 9'o'clock in Rose park and ended when you guys saved me." All three heads in the room snapped up at hearing this.
"You mean to tell me that you where running from that vampire and his ghouls for four hours non-stop." Integra said in a somewhat strained voice.
"No, I stopped a couple times when I tripped or a ghoul grabbed me."
"I see, well is there anything important we should know about this attack?" Lina nodded and swallowed the lump in her throat.
"I wasn't the only one attacked tonight. My mom and dad didn't survive very long against both of the vampires. You guys only got one of the two that attacked us. His sister is probably waiting somewhere safe right now. They were targeting me and my parents where in their way, so they turned them into ghouls." Integra looked up at her and cussed under her breath.
"So this vampire is still targeting you?"
"Yes, but.." Integra cut her off.
"Then you are under our protection till this other vampire is eliminated."
Disclaimer: I don't own Hellsing or any other copyrighted items that will appear in this story. I do own all the original characters. (This is for the whole story.)
"Normal talk"
'Thoughts'
Telepathic talk
Flashback
I will be putting in songs I would recommend listening to while reading parts of my story, kind of like a soundtrack. I will also be editing my chapters constantly, trying to make them better for my beloved readers.
Timeline: These first few chapters are set when Integra would have been 19 and before Seras. This is based of the manga, but voices are from the anime.
Chapter 1: Running Through London Bleeding Your Heart Out.
(Song to listen to: My Chemical Romance, the Ghost of You.)
It was midnight in London when the trouble started, for the Hellsing organization at least. For the 16 year old girl running through the dark, cold, and damp London streets with blood and sweat dripping from her, it had started a nine seventeen p.m. She was frightened out of her mind; all she wanted was for this living nightmare to be over. For her mom and dad to hold her tight and tell her it was all a bad dream, but they couldn't, not anymore.
Lina sat in the park with her family, her parents laughing happily as they talked. She was wearing jean pants, a baggy Pink Floyd t-shirt, and comfortable running shoes. Her waist length brown hair was in six braids, standing at 5'3", her cat shaped eyes were hazel and even though she was slightly chubby, she was pretty. They had come to the park to have a picnic dinner, hoping to squeeze every last drop of family together time and fun out of Lina's summer break. Tomorrow morning she would fly back to L.A. to get ready for her upcoming school year, despite her parents urging to stay in London with them and go to the private schools there. It was past sunset but the street lamps provided some light. Lina had a bad feeling as she sat there and waited for her parents to finish eating. She swore she had heard something in the darkness, but they said she was just being paranoid.
"It's probably just a squirrel, you have to relax sweetie. Dad and I would never let anything hurt you." Lina sighed and twisted nervously on the park bench, looking around for the source of the noise. She hated sounding like a know-it-all but she knew that the sound had been a human footstep, it had been too loud and dull to be an animals.
"Yeah, I know mom, but could we please leave. This place is giving me the creeps. Besides I have to be at the airport early and I still need to pack." She had heard the sound again, but this time it wasn't a single footfall, it sounded more like twelve. She was now starting to think up plans in her head, trying to pick the best one in case the worst happened.
"Yes, you all should be at home; after all it's not safe to be out at night around here." They all turned towards the voice as a woman and man walked out from the shadows, their eyes glowing an eerie red. Both were dressed completely in black, making their pale skin stand out. Lina gulped and slowly brought her hand up to her necklace, rubbing the silver cross gratefully. She wasn't a Christian anymore, but her parents didn't know that yet. Her parents stood up quickly in front of her, not liking the way the man was eyeing Lina. She stood back slightly from her parents, and noticed the other bodies behind the man and woman.
"We don't want any trouble, I'll just leave the wallet on the table and we'll just go." Lina mentally smacked her forehead and groaned at her dad. Dad did as he said then pushed both her and mom behind him. Lina grabbed her parent's hand and slowly tried back away from the couple.
"Dad, I hate to break it to you, but those Vampires don't want our money." The woman smirked, showing off her pointed teeth.
"What a smart little girl, don't you think brother?" The man copied his sister, and the shapes behind them came into the light. Her mom screamed as the corpses walked towards them. Her dad pulled out a pocket knife and tried to look intimidating.
"Yes, a very smart girl. Shame the same can't be said about her parents. Shall we sister?"
"After you dear brother." At that they both jumped to attack them. Lina started to run, tugging her parents along.
The memory brought more tears to her eyes that easily followed the path down her cheeks left from previous ones. She heard the groaning behind her, and letting out a choked sob she pressed her exhausted body to keep running. She couldn't stop, not yet, she had to get away. Unfortunately she didn't see the small hole in the paved street. She hit the pavement hard, skidding slightly, feeling her skin tear open where it scraped the street. Screaming out in pain and terror as she fell, she scrambled to get to her feet, her heart beating out of control.
Suddenly she felt her shirt being grabbed; she didn't have to look to know it was a ghoul. She kicked at it and turned in its grasp, leaving more tears in her shirt and bloody gashes in her skin. Placing her hand in front the ghouls' mouth she concentrated on the spell and spoke in an ancient language. A small purple light burst out of her hand and blew the ghoul off of her. Regaining her freedom she started to run yet again, seeing the fog covered bridge over the Thames River a few meters a head.
(End song)
'I'm almost there, I just have to get across that bridge and then I'm home free.' She sighed in relief as this thought crossed her mind. She slowed down, feeling the effects of four hours of straight running and blood loss catching up to her mortal body. Suddenly she felt a chill run up her spine, making her stop in her tracks, confused as to what that chill had been.
"And you were so close to being safe to, not that I'm one to complain about a meal." The man that had been chasing her landed in front of her, grabbing her around the throat he lifted her off her feet. Dangling her like a doll in the air, he shook her and tightened his grip, making it harder for her to breath.
"Now, now little girl, you've been quit the pain in my ass, making me chase you all over London. I'll admit it was smart to use your parents as human shields, but that only bought you so much time, you had to know it would end like this." He ran his hand over her tattered shirt, some of her blood gathering on his fingers and he brought them to him lips to taste it. She heard the ghouls getting closer and she reached up to try to pry his hand from her neck. Under her small droplets of blood started to gather.
"I didn't use them like that, they stayed behind to make sure you two lame excesses for vampires didn't get me, and I don't plan on making their deaths in vain." She slid her hand to grab her cross without him noticing, ripping the chain off her neck. The fog on the bridge cleared away to reveal a extremely tall man clad in a long red trench coat, wide brimmed red hat and sunglasses walking quietly across with a large gun in his hand. Behind him were three swat cars that had the word Hellsing written on the sides, people were jumping out the back of them in full combat gear, and some had medical supplies. She looked away quickly, so to keep the guy with his hand around her throat from noticing.
/I must say, you're doing well for a human girl./Lina heard a male voice say in her head, she felt another chill run up her spine, relaxing as she realized who it was. She looked down to the guy holding her and smirked.
"Your right, this is about to end, but I'm not going to die yet." He looked at her confused, and she took that time to shove the sliver cross down his throat. He dropped her instantly, desperately trying to remove the cross from his windpipe. She fell to the floor and rolled away from him as he was shot by the red clad man, turning into ash along with the ghouls behind her. At that she heard the thundering of boots as the people ran over towards her, she stood up slowly and spit into the pile of ashes that had been the man a few seconds ago.
"Stupid asshole, you didn't even deserve to be called a vampire, you were at best a giant two legged tick."
"I couldn't agree with you more, weakling." She turned to see the man that had saved her life standing next to her. She quickly bowed her head as she gave a response.
"Now you say that like it's a bad thing. Oh, and thanks for saving my life N.L.K." He tilted his head slightly so his glasses no longer blocked his crimson eyes, looking her over carefully with a somewhat amused look on his face.
"What would that mean young lady?" She looked up at him, which was hard considering that he was at least a foot taller than her and stared him in the eyes and giving him a small smile.
"I mean that you're the No Life King." He raised an eyebrow at her but didn't say anything as the paramedics came over and practically carried her back to their mini-emergency room in the back of one of the swat vans. The rest of the Hellsing troops were busy with cleaning up the piles of ashes and scanning the area for more ghouls or vampires.
"Alucard, what did that girl speak to you about?" The man turned around to see his master waiting for his response. The young blonde standing before him gave him a glare with her icy blue eyes, crossing her suit clad arms and tapping her foot.
"Why Integra, she only wished to give me thanks for shooting that scum that was about to kill her." His usually smirk came to his face, Integra sighed. She knew he wasn't telling her something, but she wasn't in the mood to deal with it, right now she had to check on the survivor of the vampire attack. As she walked over she noticed that the girl was a few years younger then herself, and looking closely Integra softened her face as she saw that they had given the girl an I.V. to replace the blood that was now on the street and had her bandaged up in multiple rolls of gauze. Integra waited for the paramedic's to finish before ordering the troops to pack up and get back to headquarters. Climbing into the back to sit with the girl, Integra took a deep breath trying to find a delicate way to ask her questions. When she finally looked over to the girl she had fallen asleep, Integra sighed and leaned back, deciding to catch a quick nap.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Alucard was wondering around the Hellsing Manor/Headquarters, looking for something or someone to entertain him. His master still wasn't back with that girl; he still wanted to know how she had known who he was. Only the people in the top ranks of Hellsing and the Queen were aware of his title, so how could a teenage girl know? He went to find where Walter hid the blood packets, needing a drink.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Lina woke up in the back of the Hellsing van, looking around groggily she noticed the blonde woman sitting in the back with her in a green pin stripe suit and glasses. Lina sat up in the bed and lightly tapped the woman's shoulder. Integra woke up and turned with an angry glare to Lina, she just smiled and started speaking in the sweetest and politest voice she could muster.
"Excuse me Miss., could you please tell me where you are taking me?" Integra was shaken slightly at the sweetness in the girls' voice.
"Well for starters you are to call me Sir. Hellsing and you are coming back to the Hellsing Manor for questioning." Lina nodded and stretched, rubbing her head.
"Well Sir. Hellsing, if you want you can call me Lina." The van came to a stop and the back doors opened up and Integra stepped out first, addressing a few of the Hellsing troops. "I want Miss Lina taken to the infirmary and get the cook to make her some soup. I'm sure she's in need of it." Lina tried to tell them to let her walk, but the men just continued with their orders, rolling her on the roller bed to the infirmary. She sat there and grumbled about being treated like a baby. Once they got her there they left to go about their other tasks. After they all had left the room Lina got out of the bed and went in search of a mirror, wanting to see how she looked. She found the mirror and looked her self over, sighing as she came across a few scratches that would leave scars.
"Like I wasn't ugly enough, now I have to add scars." As she spoke Alucard had materialized in the dark corner of the room, he saw her and stayed hidden, plotting on how to scare the girl. Lina made an annoyed sound and turned to face the room. "Hello N.L.K., is there anything I could assist you with?" Alucard was surprised to say the least, no one except his master could sense him if he didn't want them to. He solidified out of the shadows and stood towering above her, having left his hat and glasses somewhere. He twisted his face into his trademark grin, bending down to be eye level with the girl, their faces mere inches apart.
"How do you know my title, and how did you sense me just now?" He extended his mind to try and read hers, and found that she blocked him.
"First, please do not read my mind, you just need to ask and I shall answer you. Second, I know and can sense you because I'm studying to become a sorceress. Any other questions, N.L.K.?" She looked at him, and then she leaned in and lightly pressed her lips to his. He stood still in shock, although the shock only showed internally. When she pulled away they both acted as if nothing had happened, she walked back over to her bed, sitting down before Sir Hellsing and Walter walked in. "Hello Sir Hellsing, I suppose you came here to ask me some questions." Integra nodded and sat on a chair near Lina's bed, Walter sat near as well, opening a note pad and testing his pen. Alucard simply leaned against the opposite wall from her, his glasses now in place. Integra cleared her throat.
"The man that will be taking notes on your answers name is Walter." Walter gave Lina a warm smile and hello. "The man that saved you over there's name is Alucard." He nodded his head slightly to acknowledge them. "Now if at any point in time during the questioning you feel you can't continue just say so and we'll pick it up again later, understood?" Lina nodded her head yes. "Wonderful, my first question is when and where did the vampire attack on you start?"
"It started somewhere around 9'o'clock in Rose park and ended when you guys saved me." All three heads in the room snapped up at hearing this.
"You mean to tell me that you where running from that vampire and his ghouls for four hours non-stop." Integra said in a somewhat strained voice.
"No, I stopped a couple times when I tripped or a ghoul grabbed me."
"I see, well is there anything important we should know about this attack?" Lina nodded and swallowed the lump in her throat.
"I wasn't the only one attacked tonight. My mom and dad didn't survive very long against both of the vampires. You guys only got one of the two that attacked us. His sister is probably waiting somewhere safe right now. They were targeting me and my parents where in their way, so they turned them into ghouls." Integra looked up at her and cussed under her breath.
"So this vampire is still targeting you?"
"Yes, but.." Integra cut her off.
"Then you are under our protection till this other vampire is eliminated."
Sign up to rate and review this story