Young Writers Society

Avery rubbed her forehead in exasperation. Of course they need Evan to go along with this...what was she thinking? They literally decided on that five minutes ago! I guess the nerves are already getting to me...
Evan nodded. "What do you need me to do?"
"We need you to accompany Dawn while she goes to talk to the Adjudicator," Sage explained. "Invisible, obviously. It's just a precaution, but if anything goes wrong..."
"It'll be good to have a second person on the inside," Avery finished. "That way the odds are more...balanced. I hope."
"What exactly are you expecting to happen?" Evan asked.
"If everything goes well, nothing," Sage muttered, rubbing the back of her neck nervously. "But just in case, we'll need you to help Dawn if someone tries to attack her."
"Do I get a weapon, then?" Evan wondered.
"...Yes..." Avery murmured, reaching into her canister. Soon another long knife appeared in her hand, identical to Dawn's. "Here."
"This seems a little...I don't know," Evan took the knife, holding it up to the light. "Shouldn't we get something more deadly? Like a handgun?"
"I can't make anything with mechanical parts yet," Avery sighed. "It'd take weeks to learn, and we don't have that kind of time."
"Are we going now?" Evan asked, sliding the knife into his belt.

Dawn's stomach was twisting and turning at every word they said. She was actively conspiring against her own mother! She bit her lip and looked at the knife. She bit her tongue when Evan brought up the idea of a gun. A gun! Against her mom! The woman who raised her and bathed her and everything... The churning in her stomach got worse. If this was for the best, it's best she do it, then.
"Well, I guess it's better to get it over with, right?" Dawn stood up shakily. She couldn't tell if her shakes were from the fear of hurting someone or getting hurt herself.

Evan didn't like this. Avery didn't like this. Sage definitely, definitely did not like this. What if something went wrong? What if someone got hurt? Or...killed?
Why are we doing this? Sage asked herself, curling into a ball with her throbbing head in her hands. She knew the answer, of course, but she didn't want to think about it. The idea that they could be in danger...mortal danger, in fact--was too much for her. I thought that, when I came here, I'd finally be free of the fear. But so far...this place is just like my old school.
"You okay, Sage?" It was Avery.
"I'm fine," Sage replied, an audible quiver in her voice. Avery extended a hand, helping her to her feet.
"I'm nervous, too," the taller girl said softly. "I...don't want to do this. But it has to be done. We need to know what's going on. Besides, it's just some information, right?"
"Right." Sage nodded. Her stomach twisted with dread as she glanced over at Evan and Dawn. The knife in Evan's belt caught in the sunlight, glinting into her eyes. The fact it was even there made it clear that this wasn't 'just some information'. This...was going to be a fight for survival. Going up against the Adjudicator...oh man. I think I'm gonna be sick. I can only imagine how Dawn must feel about all this...

Dawn didn't just not like this. She hated it. It was still hard to get it through her head that maybe her mom wasn't the amazing, thoughtful woman she was supposed to be. She did always seem... different after her brother's death. Her stomach was in her throat. She listened to Sage and Avery's conversation carefully as she moved next to Evan. Well, at least someone else here mirrored her fears. When it ended, Dawn only had one comment to add. "You guys will be fine, I can promise that." She wasn't about to speak for herself, though. "Welp. Now or never, right?"

Evan nodded slowly. "Right. So...what do we do?"
The group looked at Dawn, waiting for an answer. She was the Adjudicator's daughter, after all. She knew the most about their situation.

Dawn looked over all of them. After what happened to Sam, she feared what would happen next. She didn't want anyone else to get hurt... Especially them. This was all too stressful. Dawn's heart was twisted into a strange pulp and ached every second. Each beat caused her to sweat and hold back all the stress as best she could. She was just so cold.

She took a deep breath, then looked at them with determination. "Evan, you'll go invisible and come inside with me, just in case. Avery and Dawn will wait outside. If anyone walks by, just say you're waiting for a friend to get out. And... I guess we just hope from there." With that, Dawn moved past them and down the stairs. She placed a hand on the door, before turning back to the group. She gazed at each of their faces. "We might make the entire staff our enemy after this, so only come if you're completely sure you can deal with that." Then, she walked through doors and made the journey to her mother's office.

Sage, Avery, and Evan exchanged glances. Each look held a question; Are you coming? As much as none of them wanted to, they knew the answer was yes. It was the only way to figure out what was going on.
"Well, you heard the lady," Avery stepped forward, taking a deep breath. "Let's do this."


About five minutes later, all four students were gathered at the Adjudicator's door. Sage and Avery took their posts on either side of it, watching as Dawn and Evan got ready to go inside. Evan reached out and touched the wall, its colors melting from the paint and into his hand. It traveled up his arm and around his shoulders, trickling all the way down to his feet. Sage watched the whole thing with a mixture of fascination and uneasiness. She felt as if she was watching him dissolve, like a bar of soap in hot water.
This may be the last time I see them, she thought, clicking her chain fearfully. Both of them.
Her eyes met Avery's across the door. The tall, brown-eyed girl gave her a reassuring smile.
It's gonna be fine, Sage told herself, trying to block out the nagging buzz of panic that was building in the back of her mind. Dawn's just gonna go in, ask a few questions, and get out. It's gonna be okay.

Dawn made sure to give her friends one last goodbye. For Sage, it meant a pat on the back and a kind smile. For Avery, it was a terriblly hard grip on her hand the entire way down the hall and one last hug before she put her hand on the doorknob.
"See you on the other side," she said. Dawn grinned one last time, then reached into her pocket and pulled out a key.

She jammed it into the door. "Mother?" she said as the door unlocked.
"Yes?" the Adjudicator's voice was clear as day. "Is there something you need?"
Dawn left the door open long enough for Evan to sneak inside, before entering and shutting it. "Well, um, I... I do have something to talk about."

The Adjudicator's room was dimly lit. Dawn could barely see into the corners of the room, though she could clearly tell that the tapping pencil must've been Darcy Lane in the corner, checking over supplies or something of that like. Only the window behind her desk provided the any sort of light. Dawn's felt a purely intimadating aura from such a familiar sight- her mother at a desk, going through papers. She tried her hardest not to glance over at Evan. She patted the pocket she hid her knife in. "It's... about the, um, safety of the school. I've noticed a few things."

Evan stared around the room, taking in as much as possible. He could tell from the furnishings that the Adjudicator was a terribly practical person. Her office didn't hold more than a couple of decorations and just a few pieces of furniture, like her desk. The shape of the Adjudicator herself was silhouetted in the center, backlit by the window.
Evan stepped carefully as he explored the rest of the sparse room, careful not to let his weight creak the floorboards. He kept one eye on Dawn as he moved toward the corner, peering over Darcy's shoulder. Unfortunately, she didn't seem to be doing anything of interest. Just marking down shipments of food and supplies to the school.

Dawn shakily took her seat in front of the Adjudicator's desk, one she had been all too familiar with. She had to wonder if Sam was in it once, when they blew up a glass jar.
The Adjudicator didn't spare the effort to even catch a glimpse of her daughter as she put down numbers and comments next to a list of students' names. The handwriting was almost unreadable, though it was clear she was scoring... something. She let out a quick chuckle when Dawn brought up a safety issue.

"Please," she responded, "this is a high-end facility. The worst that's going to happen is a student trips. Even then, our nurses will be on it."
Dawn tried to chuckle with her mom. "I know that! I'm talking about something else. It's..." Oh, gosh, why was she hesitating now?
The Adjudicator finally raised her gaze and eyed her daughter quizzically. "It's..?"
"Well, um, my friend got food poisoning the other day. I-I think someone's been tampering with the food."
Finally, the Adjudicator's pen stopped. Her eyes widened just the tiniest bit. Dawn had never seen her taken off-guard before.
"I... see." She never hesitated before, either. Dawn's heart sank. "That's unfortunate. And you are sure they aren't allergic to something?"
"Nope. No allergies that I know of, but I think she would've told me."

The Adjudicator let out a long sigh and leaned back into her wheelchair, squinting her eyes and holding her chin up with her hand. Dawn could never tell what was going on through her mother's mind and it frightened her.

It felt like centuries before she responded. "Dear." It had been a long while since Dawn heard her use a term of endearment. She started trembling, but held herself as best she could. "You know what my powers are, correct? I can tell right and wrong in every situation. A moral compass courses through my skin."

"Um, yes, I-I know that."

"It means I've gotten pretty good at spotting liars," she said. She leaned on her desk. There was no emotion behind her eyes. "Though, I suppose I'm still uncertain if that's apart of my powerset or a skill that came with such a useful thing.
"Now, tell me the truth, will you?"

Evan stiffened immediately. The air had gone sharp, buzzing like TV static. He looked over to see the Adjudicator leaning over her desk, staring intensely at Dawn, who looked like she was about to melt into the seat.
She knows.
Evan backed away from Darcy, keeping close to the wall as he rounded the corner toward the Adjudicator. He pulled his knife slowly, silently out of his belt, stopping just a few yards away from her. That way if she tried to attack Dawn, he would be able to stop her. Hopefully.

Dawn shrank in her seat. Of course, the Adjudicator found this a perfect time to roll away from her desk, placing the documents in a vanilla folder, and move right next to her daughter. A lot of firsts were happening for Dawn, especially seeing her mother a level near identical to her's. She was always higher or hidden behind a desk. She couldn't remember the last time they embraced each other.

"I... Mother, I found evidence that someone is putting some sort of mind control stuff in the food!" she blurted out, turning to face her mom. Her fellow redhead simply stared at her with no readable emotion. Dawn scratched her neck. "I think someone... in admin must be allowing it to happen. It's too widespread, too noticable." That was the statement that caught Darcy's attention, though it was only a quick glance above her tablet. "I mean, the cafeteria food! Someone, somewhere down the line had to notice it! I just think it's suspicious. It's... just something to look into."

The Adjudicator sighed sorrowfully. "Oh, you are very smart, Dawn. I love that about you." She reached her hand out to cup her daughter's cheek.

Love?
Dawn's heart swelled. She didn't know much about love. All she knew as it made her feel warm and fuzzy and it happened a lot in movies. She leaned into her mother's palm, but before she could say anything, that same loving touch turned into a harsh punishment.

A sharp slap went through the room. Even Darcy stifled herself awkwardly. A red mark in the shape of a hand was on that same cheek, with Dawn's head turned straight in the other direction. Her breath stopped as it set in what happened. The worst part, when Dawn went to touch it with shaken eyes, she realized just how sharp her mother's nails were as she felt a cut just below her eyes. Dawn was shaking from then on, but she didn't cry.

"Which is why I find it so painful that you'd think something like that," the Adjudicator stated, quickly taking that same cheek back with the gentle caress of her hand. Dawn grasped the knife in her pocket, but knew she was too cowardly to hurt her mother. The Adjudicator sighed heavily once more. "Whatever this problem is, it is already being handled. It's... appalling that you would doubt me. You should know by now, I have everything under control. You understand this, yes?"

Dawn, wordlessly, let go of the knife and nodded.

"And that you have no grounds to question my ability on matters like this?"

Dawn nodded again, slowly.

"I am in a position of authority, correct? You know why I would handle this in private, right?"

Dawn nodded on cue, as if it were a natural instinct.

The Adjudicator smiled. "And you know I love you very much, okay? I'm doing this for your sake."

Dawn hesitated this time. She stared her mother straight in the eyes. Her gaze lowered to the floor.
Then she nodded.

Evan gripped the knife with shaking hands. If he were visible, he was pretty sure his knuckles would have been white. The Adjudicator hit Dawn--hit her--and now she was telling her that she loved her?! He'd never seen such a blatant lie in his entire life.
Evan didn't know Dawn super well. They'd spent a decent amount of time together, but they'd never really talked. However, he did know her well enough to believe that she was one of the nicest people he'd ever met. So seeing her hurt--by her own mother, no less--made his blood boil.
Evan crept slowly around the desk, behind the Adjudicator. He raised the knife, and--
What am I doing? he stopped himself before he plunged the weapon into Dawn's mother's unprotected back. He took a step away, feeling the blood draining from his face. No no no no...you can't just...what are...eugh!
He covered his face with his hands, gritting his teeth. I-I was about to kill her...I was about to kill the Adjudicator!
Evan lowered his hands from his face, shocked at just how white they'd turned.
...White...
I'm visible! In his distress, the camouflage had partially melted from his skin, making his outline discernible from the wall. Quickly he slammed his palm against it, disappearing once more. But maybe not fast enough...

Dawn wasn't thinking from that moment on. Her brain put her in an autopilot state, where she only responded to the most crucial of stimuli. Her mother gently placing a kiss on her head couldn't break through that barrier.

But a soft thump against the wall did. Both Dawn and the Adjudicator whipped their heads toward the noise. Her autopilot mode instantly shut off and she felt her stomach drop. The Adjudicator squinted hard, but for once, the dim lighting was a blessing. While she was still suspicious, the Adjudicator shrugged it off for the time being and put her full attention on her daughter.

"Well, is there anything else troubling you?" she asked.

Dawn was silent for a minute or two, her mother's gaze unrelenting, then... "Well, um, actually, yeah."

"Go on."

Dawn's heart beat in her ears when she looked at her mom's face again. So kind and so cruel and it was all so messy how she felt. Though, it was only now she was beginning to wonder why the room was so dark. Dawn hated the dark, feared it... "Is Sam going to be alright?"

The Adjudicator's brow raised. "Who's Sam again?"

"The kid that, um, burned that one girl. Just a few days ago?"

"Ah, right," she said, "They have been handled."

Dawn had to choose her words carefully. She was well aware of the lingering pain that that slap came with. "I know that, it's just... They weren't themselves when they were leaving, and I'm just worried for them. What if they burn more people and we can't stop it?" Hopefully that was acceptable. Better than saying: why would you let them loose?!

The Adjudicator rubbed the top of Dawn's head, easing her tense position just slightly. She smiled softly, "Don't concern yourself with that. Sam will never hurt anyone ever again. Or, I suppose burn is a superior way to word that."

Dawn couldn't find the will to question her further.
"... okay."

"Um... what'cha guys doing here?" Izzy asked as she noticed Sage and Avery in front of the dean's office. Powder was hidden behind her as usual. Izzy eyed the pair up and down, judgingly. Clearly, she was suspicious of their intentions. After all, Avery was Evan's sister, and they weren't exactly on the best of terms.

Avery narrowed her eyes. It was all very hazy, but she had a vague idea of who this girl was. The burns on her face confirmed her suspicions.
"I remember you," Avery said slowly, lowering a finger at Izzy. "You're the girl that burned my brother."
"What we're doing here is none of your business," Sage snapped, arms crossed. Semavry wound up her legs, arching threateningly over her shoulders. "Get lost, Sonic."