Chosen- Started.

Spoiler

sorry I haven't written in so long- I was on a road trip.

Stanley

"Alrigh', who's next?" Dharius asks when he finishes with Ree and Ava.
"I'll go." Arcadia's voice is hardly more than a whimper.

Dharius nods, drawing blood from his arm. It's kind of odd how he's suddenly acting so helpful.

"I'm not keen on this idea," Arcadia murmurs to me. "Maybe I don't even need to do this. I mean, don't cats always land on their feet?"

I open my mouth to tell her that if a cat fell ten miles it would be a smear no matter which side it lands on, but instead I surprise myself by reaching out and grabbing her hand. "It'll be okay. I'm right here, so go ahead and squeeze my hand as tightly as you need to."

Wow, I am smooth!

Dharius wipes the cotton on Miss Arcadia's arm, disinfecting it.

"You ready?" The needle hands poised above her wrist.

Arcadia nods, making good of my offer.

Dharius plunges the needle into her arm. She yelps and lets go of me, trying to knock the needle out of her skin. I catch her arm and pull it back.

"It's almost over," I say quietly, as if calming a frightened mustang or something. "No need to panic."

Arcadia stops struggling, but she keeps breathing hard. When Dharius is finished with his work on her, he turns his intimidating gaze to me. "Your turn."

I hold out my wrist, trying not to tense. He's putting his blood into me- is that even legal? I try to imagine it just being the serum that's being inserted into me, with no blood. That makes it better and I am able to sit still through the whole thing.

"Next."

Vega comes up, looking thoroughly fascinated by the whole procedure, then Allie, who looks bored. Leo is the last, and he takes the injection almost cheerfully.

"Is that everyone?" Dharius asks, putting all the equipment away. I look around. Now what?

"There's only five minutes left!" Vega calls. For once she looks nervous.

Leo

Being the last one getting the injection was an advantage. I had enough time to get ready. Before he had put the needle in my arm, I had loosened the muscles and smile not feeling anything.

"Is that everyone?" Dharius asks. Stanley is looking around.

"There's only five minutes left!" Vega calls.

"Five minutes? Ok, we need to hurry up. What's the status on the gravity? And since we have the blood, it must be for a limited amount of time, so we need to hurry," I say.

Vega

After Dharius gave me the healing-serum-blood-shot-whatever (none too gently, I might add; I'd probably get a bruise from that) I went back to the window to search for Arkyle's magnetic field. It had one, a strong one; that much was certain. There was one thing I still had to figure out, though--poles. With a small magnet, that wouldn't matter; it would just flip around if I tugged on it. Arkyle, on the other hand, was kind of a planet. It wouldn't flip around if I went for the wrong pole.

I searched for a good ten minutes or so, refusing to give up when my first attempts failed. The truth was, I hadn't had enough time to hone my powers finely enough for this. Arkyle's magnetic field, though strong for a terrestrial planet, was too dilute for me to determine which pole was which. I wasn't about to admit that, though.

After a while, I looked down at my watch. I had set an alarm--

"There's only five minutes left!" I called to the others.

"Five minutes?!" Leo exclaimed. "Okay, we need to hurry up. What's the status on the gravity? And since we have the blood, it must be for a limited amount of time, so we need to hurry."

"I have no idea about gravity," I answered. "But there is a magnetic field. I'll be able to help Alli steer." No need to tell them I'd be flying blind. ...Then again, Ava probably already knew...

Spoiler

I know I just got back on Sunday, but I'm going to Haiti for a week tomorrow. I'll try to get Ree down to Arkyle, at least.

Ree

I felt someone take my hand and knew it was Ava. I felt my hand tighten around hers to the point that I was afraid I was hurting her. What was she going to think? I hated myself for letting the fear keep radiating off of me.

Ava spoke. "I have an idea, but you have to trust me," she said gently.

I looked at her, a little confused. She looked calm. And beautiful. "Okay," I said. "I do."

She took a deep breath, staring into me. I could almost feel something piercing into my mind, my soul, even. "You are not afraid."

The words reverberated in my head, echoing and seeping into everything. I heard her saying something else, but everything went numb for a moment as primitive phobia and human... something grappled for control. I couldn't breathe.

I felt something hit me and grabbed Ava before she could fall to the ground. Opening my eyes, it appeared hardly even a second had passed since Ava spoke to me.

"Of course I'm not afraid," I said, wondering why she'd even think I was. "It's just a needle. No big deal."

She smiled. I looked up and saw Dharius, still with the needle. After making sure Ava was alright, I stepped forward, walking towards Dharius. I still didn't trust the guy a bit - I frankly would rather have punched him than taken blood from him, but I didn't really have much choice, did I? So I held out my arm as he wiped it clean and put the needle in. It stung, but I held still until it was over.

I smiled at Ava. "See?" I said. "No big..." as I spoke, my subconscious remembered that I actually had a phobia and I felt blood rush from my face, taking my smile with it. "I'm going to sit down now," I said weakly, and plopped down on a seat. Ava had saved me from the fear of having the needle put in, but now, looking back on it, the thought that I hadn't even flinched was unsettling.

Finally everyone finished, we returned to the business of getting out of here. "There's only five minutes left," announced Vega. Five minutes! We spent all that time getting blood?

"Five minutes?" Leo repeated. "Okay, we need to hurry up. What's the status on the gravity? And since we have the blood, it must be for a limited amount of time, so we need to hurry."

"I have no idea about the gravity," Vega answered. "But there is a magnetic field. I'll be able to help Alli steer."

"Should I make a glass bubble? I asked. "We might freeze or burn if there's nothing between us and the air." If Arkyle was anything like Earth, the temperature up here wouldn't exactly be nice.

Ava

I smile as he says he is not afraid. I know it was not going to last long, so he needed to get it done fast. He does so, but does not flinch. I am happy it worked, for both of us. After so, I see the fear rush back into him. He comes back and sits down. I sit beside him and grip his hand. “You did it. Sorry I know that must have felt weird.” I say.

Before he can answer, Vega begins to talk. She says we are ready to go. Everyone sits, but Ree, Vega and Alli. They do what they have to do to help yes land safely. Dharius sits near me, but not next to me. His mind is telling him not to do something, but I do not know what. I smile at him. “Thank you for all that you did. I appreciate it.” I say. I feel the plane move as we begin to fly down.

Spoiler

Almost there finally! We're jumping, right?

Stanley


Everyone races to get the oxygen stuff on. At least we don't have to worry about oxygen or pressure. The only concern is, you know, being a small squish on the floor. Maybe we'll set fire like Ree is worried about, and be burned to ashes before we even hit the ground.

Five minutes left... Well, four minutes now. I look out the window at the massive expanse of blue waiting patiently for us to sink lifelessly into its depths. A flock of birds fly past, far below us.

"Will we land on land or in the water?" I venture to ask Vega.

Vega looks out the window with me. "Well, I'm pretty sure that if we do land in the ocean, we'll die."

"Oh."

Her eyes dart from the window to me to the window again. "Let's hope no Arkylians see us land, eh? That would be lame."

I shudder. "It would indeed. They'd be scarred by the grisly splatter."

She looks at me. "Stanley, we're not gonna die."

I just shake my head. Vega looks at her watch. "Oh man, we only have two minutes! Everyone except Allie, Ree, and I, hang on to each other. We need you together in case we need to protect you or something."

For a moment, this confuses me. Then I realize: Allie, Vega, and Ree are the only ones who have relevant powers. Well thank you scientists for making me a useless fox.

I take Arcadia's hand and Ree's wrist - his hand would be too weird. Everyone else awkwardly grabs hold of their neighbor until we look as if we're playing a strange game of ring-around-the-rosy. I notice a square crack randomly appear around the window. Since when was there a hatch right in the wall? The non-useless trio are standing to the side of us, talking quietly and urgently. Vega keeps glancing at her watch, mouthing how long we have left.

"Five... Four... Three..." She counts aloud now, eyes widening with each passing second. "Two... One... Whatever is about to happen, it's happening now."

I swallow hard, tightening my grip on Miss Arcadia's hand, and, unfortunately, Ree's wrist. Taking a deep breath to test the oxygen tank, I hear a hiss and look up. Yellow gas is seeping in through what I thought were sprinklers on the ceiling. Ava gives a small squeak, shutting her eyes tightly. At the same time, the hatch opens, folding out into a perfect platform. Or a plank. Gee, that gas smells kinda like garlic bread; it must be mustard gas. Oh crap, mustard gas!

Panicking, I drop out the hatch, dragging the others with me in a vice-like grip. Vega yells, and the helpful three jump after us.

The cold air hits me like an anvil, and I find it hard to breathe even with the oxygen tank. The only thing I can see is a blur of flying hair here, a terrified face there. If we're spinning, I can't tell. Please, spare us somehow. I beg. Let them know what they're doing. Please let us live.

Even with my prayers, I'm pretty sure that this time, we really are going to die.

Alli

We grab our oxygen tanks and get geared up for the jump; anxiously watching the minutes count down on the clock. Everyone then holds hands to make a circle, leaving me, Vega, and Ree in the middle. I take a deep breath testing the oxygen tank and am relieved to find that it works.

I see Vega mouthing the numbers as the final ten seconds begin. Ree is starting to cut squares in the glass, preparing the windows for our descent. Vega starts counting aloud now. "Five... Four... Three.... Two..."

A tangy smelling gas starts filling the chamber and panicked looks cross everyone's faces. A hatch opens up from the floor and Stanley panics. I begin to cry out a frantic no but it's too late. Stanley takes the circle out towards the hatch and I have no choice but to follow.

"We're not ready," I keep thinking. Ree hasn't even pulled the glass from the windows and Vega's mouth is still formed in the gentle 'o' of "one".

And suddenly, we are flying as the icy air digs into our skin. Each icy tooth rubs my skin raw as we begin our deadly descent. Even with the oxygen tank, I'm struggling for breath, all thoughts of slowing us down replaced by my silent screams.

I look around and see that our circle is holding tight, suddenly feeling rather insecure without the grip of the others. I feel blindingly through the rushing winds for Vega. I grab her hand and she grabs Ree's. We then make our own little circle of our own.

I finally look up at the small shape of our ship, saying one final goodbye to all I've ever known. "I'll miss you," I whisper, but I'm not sure who exactly I'm saying it too. Really, I never expected things to end like this, but that's what happens when you're one of the Chosen...







I sharp and sudden ache pulls me out of my goodbyes as my back is slammed into something cool and hard. I look towards Ree and see a devilish smile on his face and realise that we managed to bring the glass with us and finally form it into a globe.

This kicks my instincts in and I look to the air to try and slow us down. I peer out of our bubble and find that the grounding isn't coming towards us as fast as it was before. I almost cry out in joy, then I notice a deep orange hue spreading over the bottom.

"Cool it down!" I shout to Ree, but I doubt he's listening. A deep look of concentration tenses his face. Luckily, we've been pushed up against the top of the bubble because it's falling faster, but due to my efforts, the bubble's slowing down.

I put as much effort as I can into cooling the bubble while still slowing us down. I feel Ree trying to pull the bubble up while still keeping it solid, too. Even though I can't feel it, I'm also sure that Vega's doing her best to steer us to safety.

As we slow down, we finally fall to the bottom of the bubble. Thankfully, Ree has taken some of the thickness from the top of the bubble and made a platform for us to keep us off the bottom which despite our efforts is still a bit hot.

The ground is still approaching us, but at a much more gentle pace. We now stand there, breathing deeply as we start to come off of our adrenaline high. Even with the bright feeling in the air, the using of my powers is taking its toll on me. I stand slightly stooped, my legs feeling weak and like jelly. I also feel slightly light-headed, but I push through the pain, knowing that I have to hold on for as long as possible.

Ree's face is red and Vega looks like she's about to vomit. This really is putting quite a toll on us. It'd be so much nicer to be one of the inactive passengers, not having to worry about keeping everyone alive, even though it seems to be killing me.

I look down once more. Only about five more miles to go. I close my eyes and push harder, hoping to shave a few more miles an hour off of our speed. I relax my muscles as much as I can as I feel a searing pain pulse through my mind. I'm holding us. I'm still holding us. And then I'm gone. Suddenly, we're falling again, no longer on the gentle descent of before.

Everyone screams and I feel myself slumping to the floor. I look down at the fast approaching land and try to push myself up, but I miserably fall back down. I try one more time, every part of me screaming to stay down, but I manage to break through that invisible barrier and then I'm up again.

I let go of everything but the feeling of falling and focus on the air around us. Each little particle is so far away from the others, creating an openness that we fall through. I put every ounce of my strength into bringing those particles together. It's like trying to push the same polarities of a magnet together, but somehow I manage to do it.

We’ve almost reach a full stop now, only about ten yards to go. Amazement, relief, and sheer joy all rush through me and I stand a little straighter. My fist pumps into the air as our cheers fill the bubble. “I’m Allie Nite,” I shout, “and we are the Chosen!” Another roar fills the bubble.

Then Ree, Vega, and I all loose it. We are all left to spend those last five yards plummeting to the ground. All the air is forced out of my lungs and bruises start to form where I hit the ground. But I just can’t shake the feeling of happiness that surrounds me. We did it! We finally made it to Arkyle! Nothing can stop us now, not even plummeting hundreds of miles to the ground in a glass bubble.

I lay my head against the hard dirt in relief and feel everything fading to black…

Dharius

We're finally in Arkyle. My blood wasn't even necessary and Vega, Alli, and Ree managed to get ourselves on a safe land. I can't avoid it, but a lot of joy fills my heart. Yeah, joy isn't one of the emotions I show, but this time I have a big smile on my face, making myself to feel stupid.

I think the Government chose the right people for this. Yes, they were scared, but somehow they did it... But I should stop this crap. Why am I even thinking this? It was only luck, and I don't think the others are that great. They're just a bunch of cowards who act under fear... and I hate that. I feel like if I was about to vomit, due to the bunch of good feelings that got on me towards the rest of the Chosen.

However, I'm pretty nervous too. My mission goes beyond negotiating peace with the lord of Arkyle. I have to start a war and change the world, save Earth from the putrefaction in which it is getting into. But I must stop thinking about this. Ava can read my mind and I'm sure she would tell the others ... So I try to move my mind elsewhere. And tell the others to stop that happy-team garbage.

"Hey, stop it. We should move on, what should we do now?", I ask loudly, trying to shut them out.

Ava

I open my eyes and see we have landed. I try to regain my breath and stay calm. I am so nerves, I can't move. I just stand there and try not to panic.

Ree walks over to me and grips my hand. I quickly regain my self and smile at him. “Are you okay?” he asks.

“Yes, I am just a little shaken up.” I say to him.

“Everything will be fine.” He says gripping my hand tighter.

I smile and step closer to him.

Dharius asks what we need to do next and I shrug my shoulders. “Um good question.” I say. “One I do not know the answer to.” I say. “The only thing I do know, it that the spies need to stay in animal form. It would be a huge give away if they saw you change, so you better do it here.” I say.

Spoiler

Alright, I'm back in business! This is awesome... thanks for keeping Ree in.

Ree

Once my oxygen mask was ready, I sat there for a moment as everyone started talking. I felt a twisting in my gut that I couldn't get rid of as the tension of being five minutes away from almost certain death took over. What was the last thing I said to my family? Suddenly that became the most important thought. That and Ava. Oh, Ava... what was I going to do?

"Oh, man, we only have two minutes!" Vega announced, and my mind snapped back to the present. I was going to get us a glass bubble, that's what I was going to do. I still felt my insides wrenching in near-panic, but I had to do this. "Everyone except Allie, Ree and I, hang on to each other. We need you together in case we need to protect you or something." Protect us from what? Doubts began filling my mind again, and fear, but I started willing glass to come out of the windows, praying there would be enough for all of us. I tried to figure out how much glass there was by my sense of it, but it was nearly impossible.

I felt someone grab my wrist and saw Stanley out of the corner of my eye. Was I supposed to grab someone too? No, Vega had said not to... but then, Stanley had grabbed me. I wished it had been Ava. I looked for her among the crowd and saw her, her golden hair glistening and her eyes gleaming above her mask.

"Five..." Vega shouted, "Four..." This was it. "Three..." Oh, gosh, we were going to die! "Two..." I locked eyes with Ava, not even caring if she saw the fear in my gaze. "One. Whatever is..."

Her words were interrupted by a hiss as gas started pouring out of the top of the cabin. Panic laced through me. Everyone was looking around, and out of nowhere it hit my that I was supposed to be getting the glass together. As the hatch opened, I refocused.

There was a wrench, and I felt myself stagger forward as Stanley yanked me towards the edge. "No, Stanley!" I tried to scream as I stumbled, but it was too late and my oxygen mask muffled the sound. I screamed anyways as we fell off.

Cold. That was the only word in my head for a moment. It was literally freezing up here, and I was wearing a hoodie and cargo pants against it. I couldn't breathe, despite the mask I had, and it was all I could do to even keep the glass in my mind, trying to call it towards us, trying to make it morph like a liquid.

It was so far away, though! As we fell, my mental grip on it weakened as the distance made everything fuzzy and difficult. I squeezed my eyes shut, focusing. Come on! I had to do this! The glass was almost gone from my mind. I felt all my muscles tense with focus and felt a brief scream of effort and mental pain tear from my throat, and suddenly the glass came.

Desperately, I fumbled with it, trying to form a sphere. It formed one for a moment, and then shattered under the force of our fall. Not good. I tried again, forcing it to stay in place.

My back touched solid glass, and I felt a half-crazed grin spread across my face. I'd done it. Now to keep it in place.

The glass cracked a little bit as Alli pushed the air up, trying to slow us. Shoot. I held it. Then the air pressure outside began to change, pushing down on the bubble. I felt it trying to shatter into a thousand pieces like a popping balloon, and forced it to stay whole, closing my eyes again.

I thought I heard someone saying, "Cool it down!" but ignored it. I couldn't control temperature. I pulled some of the glass from the top to make a platform at the bottom, though, to make it a little better.

I felt my head pounding in pain as my power was pushed past its limit. The glass was straining to shatter all over us, to drop us into Arkyle. I shoved back, sweat beading at my forehead, my face turning red from the strain. For Ava. Keep it for Ava! Come on!

Suddenly, I felt myself leave the bottom of the bubble, floating up. We were falling. Vaguely, I heard screams. I sensed as well as heard cracks snaking all over the glass, and furiously panting, I shoved myself even harder to keep it whole. Alli! What are you doing? There was physical agony in my head now, but I forced myself on.

I hit the bottom again as we slowed to a near stop. The cracks had widened, but now the air was thickening around us. Of course, it had thickened too much, but the cracks were healed now, and although now the bubble wanted to shatter outwards, I could hold it without nearly killing myself. I opened my eyes and saw the ground about ten yards below us. My heard stopped for a moment as I realized how close we were, and then I felt another clammy smile split my face.

Alli hoisted her fist into the air. "I'm Alli Nite," she cried, "And we are the Chosen!" Cheers filled the air, cheers of celebration, cheers of relief, and although I didn't have the energy to shout, I felt pride and wonder and joy course through me.

I felt myself slam against the top of the bubble as we plummeted. The ground rushed up at us, unyielding.

There was a resounding crash as the glass shattered into a thousand pieces. A whoosh-thud filled my ears and pain jolted me as my back and head slammed into the ground, and I felt my skin pierced by the glass shards I'd landed on. I realized that mroe glass was raining down on us and with the last of my ability, I tossed it away from us so it formed a ring around us.

I leaned my head back, panting. My back stung, I was bleeding, and I was almost positive my skull had shattered along with the glass bubble. I could hardly move, and I felt sick. Really sick. Too sick! I rolled over and felt myself heaving, and whatever I'd had to eat before our descent was gone from my stomach. I rolled back over and laid down, closing my eyes. Everything hurt so bad...

It struck me that I started hurting less. Oh, right... Dharius's blood. I remembered that. Sort of. I hauled myself to my feet, trying to clear my head. Everything looked kind of blurry, and I still had the biggest headache I'd ever felt. It was like my brain was trying to shrink in on itself and cease existing.

I saw a vague shape and somehow knew it was Ava. I tried not to stagger as I went over to her, and I grabbed her hand, just in case I fell. And because it felt so nice to have her hand in mine. "Are you okay?" I asked her. I had to know if I'd kept her safe. If I'd let her get hurt... I didn't know. I was too tired to finish the question in my head.

"Yes, I am just a little shaken up."

"Everything will be fine," I said. I didn't want her to worry. I gripped her hand a little tighter as I nearly fell. I felt Ava step closer. I guess she wasn't reading my mind, because if she was reading it she'd probably have made me sit down.

"Hey, stop it," came a voice I knew to be Dharius's, yelling at everyone as they celebrated. "We should move on. What should we do now?"

"Um, good question," Ava replied. "One I do not know the answer to. The only thing I do know is that the spied need ot stay in animal form. It would be a huge giveaway if they saw you change, so you better do it here."

"Where are we?" I said. I swayed a little, and tried to regain my balance. "Can I sit down?" I asked Ava. My vision was still blurring in and out of focus, and I felt like I was about to collapse whether she said I could or not. In fact, I did a little bit, staggering onto a rock conveniently nearby. I tried to sit up instead of slouching forward and onto the ground like gravity wanted. Maybe after a little rest I'd be alright... like, maybe a month or so...

Spoiler

Okay, MASSIVE back-from-Haiti post. So sorry!

Ava

Ree looks like he is going to pass out. “Can I sit down?” he asks me.

I nod and he goes to a rock and sits down. He is forcing himself to stay sitting up. I run over to the rock and sit close to him. I grip his hand tight again. He falls back, pulling me down with him. I laugh a little and turn my head to look at him. His eyes are shut and I think he is knocked out.

He is thinking about me in his mind. He wanted to protect me. I smile at the thought and sit up. I let go of his hand and walk to the rest of the group. I stand next to Dharius and Vega as they try to figure out the next move.

Stanley



I stagger to my feet, dusting little shards of glass off my shoulders as I do so, and look around. We're at the edge of a grove of pine trees, and about a hundred yards off is the ocean, a pale blue in the sunrise. Or sunset, maybe? I can't tell.

Allie is panting and looking both enthralled and half-dead. Vega is trebling slightly, her face ash-white save for a bright red patch on each cheek. Ree is sinking to the ground, Ava hovering by his side. Everyone is smiling and looking quite pleased - I even catch Dharius grinning for the briefest of seconds before he wipes it off.

"Hallelujah," I murmur to myself, wanting to dance around or something but feeling too queasy to do so. I stare at my hands, tightly clasped together, instead. "Haleujah..."

"What do we do next?" Dharius asks.

"Good question," Ava replies, still tending to Ree. "All I know is that the spies need to stay in animal form. It would be a huge giveaway if you were caught shifting, so you better do so here."

Not a bad idea, especially since I am kind of curious to explore the area through the senses of a fox.

I turn around to say something to Arcadia, and my heart leaps to my throat when I don't find her standing behind me. I swallow hard, fighting back panic. Where could she have gone? She's probably just exploring the woods. She just meander out of sight... But Arcadia doesn't seem the type to get distracted and wander off. I look to where Vega and Allie are talking to Dharius.

"They said we would receive further instructions upon reaching the island," Dharius is saying.

"I'm pretty sure they meant about the jumping-out-of-the-ship thing." Vega retorts. "Maybe we need to find our way to the nearest village and, I don't know, ask to be taken in by someone."

"Oh, that's not suspicious at all," Allie mutters.

Nothing interesting to see here. Slipping into the trees - I don't like shifting in front of other people; it's like changing your clothes - I switch into Par and sniff around. I sense her instantly. She smells like cherry Jolly Ranchers. Sniffing the air, I circle around and walk deeper into the trees. Did she walk off? Where the heck is she?

Then I see her, crumpled in the pine needles that litter the ground, her long golden hair caught in a bush. The fur all along my spine rises as I smell blood. Slinking closer, I can see a long gash on her forehead. Her eyes are closed, though at least she's still breathing. A whimper escapes me; I nudge her arm, which
effects in absolutely nothing.

God, I'm kinda freaking out right now... What am I supposed to do now? That's not much of a prayer, but its the best I can do when it's all I can do not to hyperventilate. Shifting back into Stanley, I gently untangle her hair and lift her up. Even though I haven't bench-pressed anything since last summer, Miss Arcadia is as light as a feather pillow to me.

"Hey, guys..." I carry the unconscious girl back to the group. Blood from her head is dripping onto my blazer sleeve. Why isn't she healing? Did the healing stuff that Dharius gave her expire or something? Why won't she wake up?

The girls drop what they're doing like a hot potato and rush over to me. The guys look on curiously, but hang back.

"What happened?" Vega puts a finger to Arcadia's wound, frowning. "Did she hit her head on a rock or something?"

I shake my head. "I didn't see anything where I found her. Maybe an animal attacked her or something."

"Were you a fox?" Allie wonders. "Did you smell any animals or Arkylians?"

"I got a little distracted from scenting things when I saw her just lying there." I snap.

"At least she stopped bleeding," Vega says, not that it makes me feel any better.

"What do we do?" I feel panic rising again and I force it down. What if she dies or something? Why does it have to be Arcadia? Don't think like that, I chastise myself. You'd be just as upset if any of your teammates was found all bloody in the woods. Right?

Ava

Stanley's thoughts scream in my head. It is like the worry he feels is taking over his body. I quickly grab one of the relaxation shots out of my pocket and put it in his arm. "You need to calm down." I say. "Worrying about it is not going to help." I whisper to him.

He nods after his body and mind relaxes.

"Okay what do we do?" Alli asks.

"Dharius should heal her." Vega says.

"Oh because that worked so well." Stanley says.

I glare at him and shake my head. "I could have worn off." I say. "We also need to figure out how this happened. Leo can you shift and see if anyone is out there?" I ask.

He nods and does so. I walk over to Dharius and stand I front of him. "Can you please give her your blood?" I ask

He does not respond and turns his head away.

I sigh and place my hand on his shoulder. "Please. You are the only one that can help her." I say.

(Sorry I haven't been on much! I've been working on publishing a book )

Arcadia

As the gas fills the plane, Stanley panics. I squeeze his hand and try to calm him (and myself) down, but he still looks nervous. I watch him grab Ree's hand as well, and getting a firm grasp on both of us, he steps towards the hole. With horror, I watch him crouch down, ready to jump and bring us with him.

"No, it's too soon!" I start to say.

But it's too late, and suddenly I'm dragged down through the hole, the wind blowing back my hair and making the skirt of my dress snap painfully across my thighs. The wind is freezing and so strong it takes my breath away, even with the oxygen mask. I close my eyes against the wind, trying not to focus on the ground below us.

Suddenly, we're slowing down. Not a lot, but enough to make me notice, opening my eyes, I see Ree, Vega, and Allie concentrating hard on slowing us down and keeping us in the glass bubble that now surrounds us. We're slowly decelerating, and I feel comfortable enough to glance down at the trees beneath us, leaning against the glass as we float down to Arkyle.

With a loud crash, the bubble bursts, and suddenly I am plummeting towards the ground face first, falling several yards away from everyone else, towards the woods. The glass shards scratch me as I fall, and I have just enough time to scream before I land head first onto the ground, blacking out almost immediately.

Stanley



"You need to calm down Stanley." Ava says firmly. "There's no sense in worrying."

"No I don't!" I snap at the girl, then force myself to calm down a bit. There's no sense in panicking. Again. I am sure as heck going to worry, however.

"Lay her down here," Vega instructs, pointing to a spot on the ground cleared of glass. I obey, putting her down gently. Blood has never made me queasy before, but the sight of so much blood all over her perfect face nearly causes me to hurl. Calm down Stanley. Stop freaking out! I push a strand of hair off her forehead, out of the gash.

"So, are we going to do something or what?" Allie shoots a glance at Dharius as she talks.

"Dharius should heal her," Vega suggests.

"Oh, because that worked so well," I mutter, ignoring Ava's glare.

She ignores me right back. "We need to figure out how this happened. Leo, can you shift into a wolf and see if anyone's out there?"

Leo nods, and collapses into a canine that looks far cooler than shrimpy Par. He lopes off, nose to the ground. I sink to my knees, feeling a flash of embarrassment. If only I had thought to sniff around instead of losing my head...

"What's wrong with you?" I mumble to myself, noticing that my hands are trembling. I raise one of them to my temples, feeling dizzy. Taking a deep breath, I push myself back to my feet. Surely the helpful trio are feeling far worse than I do.

"Dharius, you're the only one who can help her right now." I listen to Ava trying unsuccessfully to convince the young man. I have half the mind to go over there and demand he help her, but if I stand up I might also throw up, so instead I stare at Arcadia's still form as the light wanes. It must really be sunset.

Suddenly Allie is pushing me to the side. "Get out of the way please." Her voice sounds tinny, like things did when I had the concussion. I flop a few feet away and lean against the base of a tree; for some reason my legs are like jelly.

"Are you all right?" someone asks, I don't know who. It's getting pretty dark. I hope we don't get stuck here all night.

A flower stands next to my foot, weaving and bobbing in the breeze. It's pretty - I want it for my own. Reaching out with my shaky hands, I wrap my fingers around it and notice a burr sticking out of my wrist. I yank it out, surprised that I hadn't noticed it before. Instantly the world brightens again and the dizzyness clears.

"Always drugging and poisoning myself..." I flick the small black thorn away, taking a mental note to tell someone about the dangerous little burrs. Maybe there are lots of crazy things on this planet that we need to watch out for. Maybe that's what -

"Arcadia!" I jump up and stagger over to the clearing with everyone else. Arcadia is sitting up, awake. Dried blood covers her face, her head, and her dress, but at least her eyes are open. Dharius looks very ticked: Ava must have used her mind control stuff on him.

"Are you okay?" I ask, trotting over and sitting next to her.

"I guess so," she replies, rather quietly. "Where were you?"

"Huh?"

"Well, I've been awake for twenty minutes." She drags her finger along the pine needles. "Vega said you were gone for almost forty five minutes."

I frown. "I walked away for, like, five."

"You were gone for way longer than that." Vega interjects from a few feet away.

This makes no sense. I rub my my chin thoughtfully, wondering what the heck they were talking about. "Maybe the poison-burr skewered my sense of time."

Now it's Arcadia's turn to say, "Huh?"

I shake my head. "It's nothing. I'm just glad you're alright."

She smiles weakly.

Out of nowhere, Leo comes racing into the clearing and changes out of his wolfy self. "People are coming!"

Instantly, all us spies shift into our respective animal forms and face the bushes, bristling. Every defender stands up, their hands inching towards whatever weapon they may have.

"Three humans, two men and a woman." Leo explains.

Sniffing the air, I can sense them too. "I don't scent any weapons on them."

"They smell nice," Arcadia agrees, turning her head to give her blood-soaked fur a quick lick. I don't say anything. After the evil thorn, I'm not so sure if things on this planet are as similar to earth as we were told.

The bushes rustle, and we all hold our breath as three people step into the clearing, smiling as they do so.

Spoiler

Sorry for two monster posts in one day :/
I'm thinking maybe these can be people who were sent to pick us up but anything goes.