Outside Tarragon College- we need new people!!

Sonnet

Sonnet's eyes lifted slightly, as her brain began to stir. A strong scent came to her nose, making it wrinkle in disgust. Bleach. Urgh. That too-clean smell of a hospital. She tried to open her eyes further, but found that a thick bandage wrapped around her head was preventing her from doing so.

With a jolt, all the horrible memories of the blast came back. The giant boom as it shook the fair, the burning on her body as the flames rose, and the terrible pain of her skull. But after that... nothing. How had she gotten here? Raising a bandaged arm to her head and pushing the other bandage out of her eyes, she shuddered when she noticed the wire protruding from the back of her hand. Needles. Not to mention the continual beeping of a machine right next to her, pacing her heart.

Now with her eyes free, she wearily looked up. She saw a man in a white coat, with thin balding hair and thick glasses talking to...

"Quin," she mumbled. She pushed the bandage away from her eyes again, attempting to speak up. He hadn't heard him, and was instead speaking in a slightly raised voice to a stranger. Her brain stirred slowly again, as if reacting somehow to the stranger's voice. But then it stopped.

"He doesn't even know her-" Quin was arguing to the doctor, waving a hand at Stranger.

The doctor looked at him calmly. "Well, how are you in relation to the patient?" he said curtly.

"I'm her boyfriend. I'm allowed to be here."

"And I'm her... good friend."

"Liar!"

Sonnet tried to raise her voice and make her consciousness known but every part of her body was weak and drowsy. Instead, she reached for the cables that were attached to her chest and yanked them out irritatedly.

Beep, beep beep..... beeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeep.

The doctor spun around in an alarmed fashion, Quin and Stranger both near jumping out of their skins in panic.

"Code blue!" cried the doctor, and Sonnet's eyes widened.

"I'm alive!" she waved at the doctor with her bandaged hand. "You just couldn't hear me..."

The colour slowly returned to Quin's face and the doctor looked at her sternly, turning off the machine.

"You're awake," Quin smiled and sat down beside her, his eyes still filled with fear. "Don't ever do that again, ever ever..." he spluttered, grasping her hand.

Sonnet could have laughed, if she hadn't have scared him so much. "We'll look back on it one day and laugh about it." She smiled weakly, squeezing his hand.

The Stranger sat down on her other side and grinned at her. She turned her head confusedly, but suddenly the doctor was speaking to her.

"Glad to see you're awake," he began, not really looking glad at all. "You suffered severe trauma to the head, causing a subdural hematoma. This may have caused the weakness in your left arm, but function should return with time. You also suffered some burns, though none of them severe."

"Blood gathering in the outer layer of the brain," she muttered quietly, thinking back to her hospital drama obsession and remembering in one episode a patient had died from a subdural hematoma. She shuddered.

"Thankfully, yours was not serious. We will be monitoring you in the mean time." With that he briskly walked off.

She turned to look at the stranger, still weakly holding Quin's hand. "Uh, hi?"

"Howdy," he said with a grin, and she blinked curiously at him. "I'm Evan." She attempted to wave at him with her left arm, but remembered with a little shock that it still wasn't working properly. She looked down at it sadly, watching her fingers move but her arm remain still.

"You'll be okay." She turned to smile at Quin and nod again. "Try to stay awake, Stilts. Then you can heal faster." She wanted to talk to him but couldn't ignore the presence of the other guy seated beside her. She thought it best to find out who he was.

She returned to Evan. "So, uh... why are you here Evan?" she said a little awkwardly.

Sorry about the mistake there. Wont happen again!

Evan

"So, uh... why are you here Evan?" Sonnet asked.

Evan smiled. "Well I rescued you of course," he said.

"Liar!" Quin shouted.

Evan rolled his eyes. "Cool it, Quin. I'm not after your girlfriend." Sonnet blushed a little at the word girlfriend. "Oh, by the way. I've got a little something for you that would better be exchanged in private." Evan said, winking at Quin.

"Well why are you still here then?" Sonnet asked.

Evan shrugged. "Not sure completely, myself. I just felt that I needed to stay with you - still need to stay with you."

"She's fine without you," Quin mumbled.

Evan leaned in and whispered in Sonnet's ear. "You've got a hero on your hands don't you?"

Quin

"You got a hero on your hands don't you?"

Quin flinched as Evan got so close to Sonnet's face, he wanted to throw himself in front of her and growl "She's mine" but maybe that was just part of being a shape shifter, he wasn't sure. He'd never had to see someone that close to Sonnet before, holding her hand, even if she had been unconscious.

And then, to Quin's absuloute horror, she laughed back. It was a small, normal reaction, but it wasn't like when she laughed with Mikael, he didn't mind it when she laughed with Mikael.

"Quin, are you alright?" asked Sonnet anxiously, turning back to him "You've gone red."

Then he had to remember that Sonnet was still her, sick, with a bandage over most of her beautiful face and that it was stupid to be jealous. Obscenely stupid. But it still didn't change the twisting feeling in his gut.

"You don't need to worry about me" he said quietly, reaching out to stroke her cheek. It was scratched, and a nasty gash stretched from her brow to her nose. It felt strange under his hands, not how her skin usually felt.

I've caused this, he thought to himself. I could have stopped this, I could have stopped her getting hurt. But she alive, that was something, she was breathing and right in front of him.

"Do you think you could give us a minute" he whispered to Evan, still staring in to Sonnet's eyes.

"I think I'm fine where I am actually." said Evan smartly, pulling his feet up on to a chair.

Quin shrugged "Fine then"

He found some satisfaction in Evan's cringe as he kissed her.


*haha, Quin's all jelous

you just gotta like the love triangle :]

Sonnet

Sonnet felt strangely giggly as Quin pulled back from the kiss with a grin on his face. Here she was, bloodied and bruised in a hospital bed; and two guys seemed to be fighting over her. Quin's kiss was not only a symbol of affection but she felt that it was also a sign for Evan to back off. She smiled and squeezed Quin's hand, looking down and blushing, not knowing how else to deal with the situation.

Quin's smile was quickly wiped from his face by Evan making puking noises from behind their backs.

"It's okay... chill," she laughed softly, satisfied to see that it calmed Quin down slightly. Sonnet looked around her bedside and realised that two of her most important friends were not around. "Where is Mikael and Ashlyn?" she wondered.

"They don't know where Ashlyn is," Quin said softly after a pause. Sonnet held back the urge to gasp in horror. She must have disappeared during the explosion...

"Hey," she spluttered suddenly, her green eyes still wide. "How about you and Evan go and sort that private exchange of whatever it is, and I'll phone Mikael and ask if he's got her with him?"

Quin looked at her strangely for a moment, but then shook his head. "I don't want to leave you-"

Evan got up suddenly and dragged Quin away by the arm. "Jeez, give the lady a little freedom..." was what Sonnet heard before they disappeared through the swinging doors at the end of her ward. She quickly dialed Mikael's mobile number on the hospital phone beside her bed, but found that he didn't answer.

Suddenly having no intention of hanging around any longer, she dragged herself out of the bed and pulled the tube of the drip out of her wrist, deciding that pulling the needle out that was still sello taped to her wrist was probably not a good idea. Shapeshifters could heal their injuries faster than usual if they were conscious, and she had been awake for a long while now. Already she could feel her wounds beginning to knit together, but knew it would probably take a couple of days to fully heal.

She wobbled a little, finding herself having to hold the bedside cabinet for support for a few seconds, before drawing the curtains around her and getting changed into some spare clothes Quin had brought from home. She cursed her limp arm, trying with all her might to at least get a little movement out of it, but found she could still just about move her fingers.

She crept out of the doors, stopping in her tracks as she caught the reflection of herself on the shiny surface of a photo frame on the wall. She traced a finger tip down the cut that ran down her face for a moment, not quite believing it was there.

No, stay focused, she scolded herself, shaking her head and turning herself away from her reflection sadly. She managed to trip over her own feet as she turned around, still slightly drowsy from the pain meds she had been given for her head.

She suddenly felt someone catch her from behind, and pull her back onto her feet.

"Where are you going? You're hurt Sonnet-" Quin began, Evan standing smugly behind him.

"Ashlyn is missing Quin, I have to find her." She began to attempt and drag Quin down the hall with one arm, but found she couldn't shift him one inch.

"Bird boy is right," Evan agreed, but looking quite sorry for himself upon actually having to.

"I'm a shapeshifter, I heal faster than a normal human," Sonnet argued, wincing slightly as the pain in her head began to return as the meds wore off.

"But it might take you a day or two," Quin said, looking at her worriedly. Sonnet dropped his hand and attempted to fold her arms in a fake huff, but scowled again as her left arm twitched upwards slightly but didn't move much otherwise.

"Come on. Please, Quin, she's one of my closest friends and what if she's hurt out there, alone?" she said, feeling her stomach twist with the very thought of it.

**Well, I was going to wait for Lizzifer to post, but I suppose I will again ^_^**

Ashlyn

"Alrigh," April said, unsure.

"You have to really believe this will work," Ashlyn encouraged. "That's what I learned at Tarragon and my powers expanded so much."

"I was there too, you know," April sighed.

"Sorry," she shrugged. It wasn't like Ashlyn was trying to be rude or anything.

"Look let's just do this and get out of here safely," Ashlyn sighed. "Now on my count I'm going to use my powers and the...whatever it is that's giving me a haedache will focus in on me."

"Got it," April said. "And that's when I produce the tree?" she asked, holding up the acorn.

"Right," she said, nervously. Despite her 'brave' attitude, she was frightened.

I love you Mikael, she thought, trying hard to send it to him. I truely do, you were a friend to me when no one else was, she thought that last part on the verge of tears.

She knew it wouldn't go to him. As much as she tried in Tarragon, she had never managed to 'send' thoughts. She could only pick them up and occasionaly, if they were close enough, they would feel her in their mind.

If she died here, Mikael would never knew how she felt. Ever. Sonnet...she would never know how great of a friend she was to her. Quin would never realize how much of a big brother he was to her, even if he didn't believe they were close. Everyone...they were like family to her. Family when she had none.

"We will make it out of here," Ashlyn insisted, turning her sadness into anger. "We will."

"We will," April repeated, half as a question.

"Alright, ready?" She asked. April nodded. "One, two...I'm going!"

Ashlyn used her mind and tried to control for someone to go unlock the door. Then, just as she thought, the 'machine' that was giving her headache's saw her as the greatest threat and zoomed in on her.

"Keep going!" Ashlyn screamed through the pain, still managing to control the guy who was unlocking the door to get out of the whole building, while April's tree was busy crushing what was left of the door to get out of this single room.

"Run!" April yelled, helping Ashlyn up. The girl's ran as five men followed. The pain was growing worse now and Ashlyn couldn't control all of these men through the headache.

"Keep going!" Ashlyn yelled to her, slowing.

"No," she insisted. "We're getting out of here together."

"Listen to me," Ashlyn growled. "I can't keep going on. You can't use your gift either because this...this machine will zoom in on you as well. It just saw me as the bigger threat before."

"We can do this," she insisted, still.

"No we can't!" Ashlyn cried. "Keep going. Find Mikael, Sonnet or Quin. They should be at the hospital! Find them and tell them what's happened. Tell Mikael..." Ashlyn stopped. "Tell them to be safe, and tell them I'll find a way out. Just make sure they know where I am."

Ashlyn turned and ran back towards the men, giving herself up to them.

Quin

Evan half dragged him out of the room "For god sake, you didn't have to snog her face off, I was still in the room!"

Quin shrugged casually, being close to Sonnet has made him more relaxed. He didn't see Evan as a big threat as much now "She didn't seem to object, anyway why do you care? You don't even know her"

"Yeh well, it doesn't feel that way" he whispered, and Quin suddenly felt uneasy. The eagerness of Evan to be near Sonnet scared him, he hoped she didn't return the affection.

"What did you even want to give me anyway." said Quin quickly, changing the subject.

"Oh" Evan fished into his jacket pocket, bringing out the small box "I found it at the fairground, figured it was something important."

He picked the box gingerly out of Evan's hand, slipping it open. The small diamond shone in the bright light "Thanks" he muttered.

"You were gonna propose?" said Evan, off hand.

"Yeh, at the fair...only things didn't quite go to plan"

"Your still going to though?"

Quin looked up at Evan surprised "Umm. I don't know I hadn't thought about it."
He had always wanted to share his life with Sonnet, there was so question in that, it just seemed natural to take the next steps. Now, he wasn't so sure she was accept...

Sonnet suddenly appeared in the doorway and Quin quickly snapped the ring shut, shoving it deep into his pocket. She swayed slightly and Quin automatically reached his hands out to catch her.

-----

"Quin, Ashlyn's my best friend. I have to find her." said Sonnet, staring him straight in the eyes. It was a cruel trick, Sonnet new he couldn't resist her eyes.

He groaned "Awww, Sonnet. You know you have to stay in bed, your not even discharged from hospital yet."

"Please Quin" she said quietly "It's Ashlyn, she's in trouble"

"I'll find her!"

They both looked around at Evan "What? I can find her if bird boy won't!"

"I didn't say I wasn't going to look" growled Quin

"Oh thankyou guys" she said, then paused "But I'm still coming"

Evan

These two were much too stubborn for their own good.

"Listen, you need to stay here Sonnet, and as much as I would like to stay with you I know Quin here will keep you safe." he explained. "Let me find your friend."

"How do we know you'll even look for her?" Sonnet asked. Evan didn't think she was really worried about that, she just wanted to come along.

"I'll find her. Besides, I have someone I've misplaced as well. There is a chance I'll find 'em with your friend."

Sonnet sighed and Quin put his arms around her, guiding her back into the hospital room. He got her back into bed and fished through a bag and produced a picture of the girl, Ashlyn. He handed it over reluctantly. "If you endanger her in any way, I'll make you pay for it."

Evan put his hands up in front of him. "Chill out, I'm one of the good ones." He then turned and walked out of the room, pausing at the door. "If I'm not back with your friend in 24 hours, come after me," he then looked at Quin and winked. "Good luck."

The hospital had calmed down considerably, and let Evan get out much faster than he had come in. Soon enough he was in the parking lot, and to his surprise his red sports car was in the parking lot. He checked it over several times, it was his, and he was very confused on how it came to be there.

He jumped inside and found a note taped to the dash.

Evan,

It's surprising to be able to get to you this way, considering you were a loner at Tarragon. But we have you little freak friends, and if you ever want to see them again you'll have to do something for us.

The note had an address scribled at the bottom. April. They have April, and maybe even Sky. They could have the Ashlyn girl too. Even though he had only known them for a few hours it angered Evan that April and Sky were in trouble. He had to find them.

Evan turned the keys in the ignition and sped out of the parking lot, towards the address on the card.

I want to post....but I don't want to double with Moo.

Sonnet

She pouted as she sat on the white hospital sheets, a frown furrowing her brow deeply. Quin made several attempts to speak to her but she either ignored them or gave one word answers.

"What's wrong?" he asked, genuinely looking like he truly didn't know the answer.

She turned away from him and huffed. "If you didn't notice, I'm not speaking to you."

"Why? What did I do?"

She sighed and rolled over in the bed, flinching as her head stung until her back was facing him. "One of my best friends... actually, our best friends is missing, and no one even cares but me."

She felt his hand reach over to her and gently touch her shoulder. She sniffed, suddenly incredibly worried for Ashlyn and frustrated that no one thought she was capable of helping her, injury or not.

"Hey, I care. I do. But you're my priority right now, because you're hurt," he said softly, and she slowly felt her anger subside.

"I'm fine," she mumbled, rolling over on her side again to look at him. "But I don't like you getting all protective over me." Her frown lightened and she looked earnestly up at him. "You can trust me, Quin. I'd never cheat. I love you, not some random guy I've only met. Besides, I think he was only winding you up," she finished, sighing and rolling onto her back again.

*sorry this post was late! *

Mikael

The roar of the engine and Ashlyn smiling face were all i could think of as i threw my bike round corners, ignoring every warning sign. I had to get to the fair while whatever little remained was still fresh. I slammed on the brakes when i reached the devastation that had been the fair. The place was crawling with police but most seemed to be leaving.

I pushed my bike into the undergrowth and covered it over with some branches. By the time i got back the police had left. I roamed from pile to pile looking for anything that might tell me where Ashlyn had gone. After twenty minutes of searching i began to get desperate.

Finally i cam across a clue. Shoe prints leading to what looked suspiciously like van tracks. I followed them a short way before they disappeared.

just gonna jump in :]

Quin

She sighed and rolled onto her side "Come on Sonnet, don't be like that" said Quin

She left out a loud huffing sound, he ignored it "I'm sorry I got so jelous, but you don't know what it did to me seeing him holding your hand..." he paused "That's meant to be my job"

She spun around to face him "Your job? To what, protect me from skin contact?"

He let out a laugh "Yeh well lets just say Evan's hands didn't look very clean."

She frowned "I was unconsious you know, not really much holding on my part"

"I know, I was being stupid" he said, reaching out for her hand

"You were" she agreed, then took her hand away from his.

Confused, he tucked his hand back into his pocket, coming straight into contact with the ring box. He froze.

"I'm saving my hands for Evan" smirked Sonnet, sticking her tounge out at him.

He wasn't paying enough attention to be mock jelous, all his thoughts were focused on the ring. So much had happened in the last day, in the last few hours. He couldn't believe how close he had coming to loosing everything. The phone call, the explosion, Sonnet in a coma, Ashyln...still missing.

He swallowed the lump in his though "Hey. Can I ask you something?" he said slowly.

She looked at him confused "What is it? What's wrong?"

Quin shook his head "No, nothings wrong, everythings fine"

"Okay...then what?"

He reached into his pocket and brought at the ring onto the bed, her eyes zoomed in on the box instantly. "Um..Sonnet" he whispered "Will you marry me?"


*It had to happen sometime, with Quin's old fashioned nature and all :]

*screams*

Sonnet

She stared at the little innocent diamond ring for a few moments, her hands immediately going to her mouth and cupping together in shock. At first she hadn't heard him, he had whispered the words so quietly. But the ring in front of her confirmed what he had said; he actually wanted to marry her.

She thought back to her first years at Tarragon, when she and Quin were just friends. They had joked about if they weren't married by the time they were twenty five they would marry each other.

Then she was snapped back to reality. She took a deep breath and looked into his eyes, occasionally gazing back down at the ring. She wanted so much to say yes.

"Quin..." she finally managed to say, not really sure how to respond. "I don't know what to say."

He looked at her with begging eyes. "Say yes."

She ran her hand nervously over her mouth, staring at the ring. "I really want to. But I can't." Quin, looking defeated, shut the ring box with a sudden finality, dejectedly looking at his shoes.

She held her head in her hands. "We're only seventeen Quin. I'm still practically a kid... we've got our whole lives in front of us for that stuff."

Then she heard the dreaded words, "I need some air." Anger coursed through her. No. She stood up suddenly, grabbing his wrist. "Stop it Quin. We're not arguing about this. I didn't say no."

He shrugged and said in a devestated voice, "You pretty much did." He ran his hand through his dark hair and sat down again slowly.

She looked down at her hands. "I'm really sorry."

He shrugged offhandedly. "It doesn't matter." She twinged with pain; she knew how much it really did matter to him. Then suddenly she found herself thrown with a feeling. She hated making him unhappy. So maybe just this once she could do something for him. After a few minutes of absolute silence she spoke.

"I'll marry you."

"What?"

She looked up. "I'll marry you," she repeated slowly, her green eyes looking up to lock with his.

Ashlyn

She screamed for the hundreth time. They had worn down her resistance and Ashlyn's head felt like it was going to explode.

"Not so tough now, little freak," they hissed. "See, we don't need 'gifts' to make us dominant. We've got science."

They turned the machine on high and Ashlyn screamed again. It seemed that this machine made her headache's get more painful each time.

"P-Please," she begged. "Please, stop." This was so unlike her. But Ashlyn didn't feel strong or confidant anymore. She felt helpless and weak.

"We'll stop once you answer our questions," the man smiled.

"Any-Anything," Ashlyn whispered, slumped over in your seat.

"Tell us about Mikael," they smiled. "I hear that you two live together."

"Yeah, so?" She asked, more alert now. Her heart thumped. Please don't let them go after Mikael.

"Yeah, so nothing," the man sighed. Ashlyn felt the machine give her another headche and she moaned. "So, he was unaffected by the bomb, correct."

"Maybe," Ashlyn wheezed.

"Tsk, Tsk," the man laughed, giving her another headache.

"Yes," she screamed. "Yes, he protected me."

"Well, then. I figured that would make you talk. So...how is it that you kill this guy. He seems...nearly invincible."

"No," Ashlyn spat. "No! Leave him alone!"

The machine tuned into her brain and Ashlyn finally started to cry.

"Please!" She screamed. "Please!"

"So," the man smiled. "How is it that you kill this Mikael you seem so fond of?"

Ashlyn looked up at him. Her blonde hair was plastered to her face and neck from the light sheen of sweat on her face. She looked sickly pale now but her eyes flared up again. The purple bruises under her eyes seemed to fade beneath the blue fire.

"Go to hell," she whispered. Ashlyn didn't scream this time when the machine tuned into her mind.

"No need to be strong and stubborn, girl," the man hissed. "Tell me or I will continue this all day."

Ashlyn leaned foward as much as she could, being tied up. "Did you not hear me? I said. Go. To. Hell!"

Her last word echoed around her. The man glared at her.

"Well, it seems you could deal with a few more hours of pain and another day without water."

Ashlyn whimpered a little as the pain started up again.

"Stay away Mikael," she said, trying to send him the thought.

If it was impossible when she had all her strength, she knew it was impossible now. Still, she tried anyway and finally the pain grew to be too much, causing her to black out.

Mikael

The tracks ended a few feet short of the road but the direction they had gone seemed obvious.
"Come on Mikael think!" I scolded myself. "Ashlyns life is on the line! Think damn it."
Ok, i thought slightly calmer, if i were a group of crazy people blowing up fairs and kidnapping people where would i hide? The warehouse district? No too obvious. Old town? Maybe, for enough money you could do whatever you wanted in Old Town and no one would have seen a thing.
Old Town. They had to be there! At least thats where i would start. I walked back to my bike and felt the still raw skin of my back stretch. Absorbing the force of the blast and using the energy to fix my wounds had been a good idea, however even i could only contain so much energy.
As i drove down the ever more rickety and unkempt roads toward old town i realised how unprepared i was. I had no plan, no back up and only my powers to keep me alive. As i drove around Old Town i noticed a few scattered houses with the lights on. I new a few were still inhabited but when i came across a row of six consecutive houses i knew id found the spot.