Young Writers Society

Kirsten

"No." Tybalt said as I opened my mouth to explain. "I knew you'd want to leave. That 'I'm Okay act wasn't fooling anyone just, No."

"Kir, this is a bad idea. If you want to figure yourself out, we could help you. Going out by yourself could be dangerous." Carlos's statement surprised me. I had kind of expected him to side with me. This guy was cirtainly full of surprises.

"I need to do this,guys. I finally have a lead that could bring me back my memories after two years. you can't expect me to just ignore this."

"we don't have a problem with you wanting to find your memories, what bothers us is you wanting to go alone."

"I won't be alone for long. I'm going to find the boy from my flashbacks. I must have known him before everything happened, he could help me."

The others were silent for a moment. "I..guess that solves the problem, but just in case" Tybalt took a cell phone out of his pocket. "I have a few friends who can help you out, I'll give them a call."
I thought about this for a moment. I wasn't too sure about having someone tagging along with me, but this could be my only chance at getting off this island and finding the apartment. "Okay." I said.
.......................................................................................................
The portal opened on a city lit up like an arkade. New York. I adjusted my backpack on one shoulder, and looked over at my friends. "I'll be back soon. I promise. Stay together, guys. Keep each other safe." And with that, I stepped through the portal and it closed behind me with the finality of a tomb.

Tybalt

He dialed up Zandra's phone number and put the phone to his ear.

"Hello?" A girly voice asked when someone answered the phone.

Tybalt smiled, "Hey Zandra."

"Tybear! How you doing? You miss me already?"

Tybalt blushed, Tybear had been the name she had given him when he had first entered their life. She used it a lot more now that they were a couple, but it still made him blush. "Of course I miss you! You make everything a lot better!"

Zandra laughed, "Awwwwwww Thank you Tybear." Tybalt could practically hear her smirking. "Anyway we both know you need something. What is it?"

She had done it again. Sensed his motive and left no room for small talk. Kind of like her dad... "You got me. I need a favor, I have a friend who needs some help. She is trying to find a boy from her dreams. I am gonna let her borrow my ATV, but I am not gonna go with her. Think you can be of assistance?"

Zandra chuckled, "A girl trying to find the boy of her dreams? How pathetic. I am guessing if I say yes you'll need the nerdy fox too?"

Tybalt could hear Kevin, who was handcuffed to Zandra mutter, "Not nice to make fun..."

He could hear Zandra chuckle, "Don't worry kid. Your a cute nerd. Girls like cute nerds."

Tybalt laughed, "Yeah." He spoke a little louder so Kevin could hear him. "Kevin. I need you to track the ATV then go find her. Her name is Kirsten."

He heard Kevin tapping at his keyboard. "Okay. We're on it."

Tybalt hung up the phone. "Kirsten. You're good to go..." He smiled sadly at her.

Leon

I reached quietly out and grabbed Matt's breifcase from under his coat. Matt rolled over in his sleep and I froze. He didn't wake up. I passed my hand over the lock and it clicked open. Amazing thing, Magic. The lid flipped open and I withdrew two files from the inside. Mine and Kirsten's. I have no idea why I took hers, but I did. I slipped away from the camp, and trotted silently through the forested mountain.
'Your just leaving Mattie all alone? That doesn't seem like you.' Blak purred.
"Yeah? Well, he's safer alone than he is with you. I'd rather not have to throw two people off a mountain in the same week." I whispered.
'Oh, Leon. You're such a killjoy. And besides, throwing Mattie off a cliff wouldn't be as fun.' Blak laughed to himself. Oh. The look on that pathetic whelp's face! Priceless!' I shook my head as if I could just fling Blak out my ear. He was a sick, twisted monster. Talking about something like that as if were some harmless prank. I swept the leaves of the bushes away from the snowmobile, and inserted the stolen keys into the ignition. Soon I was speeding down the mountain, the cool wind whipping through my dark hair and making my eyes water.
when I was well away from the mountain, I hopped off the vehicle I took the mask off of my face and examined it. I had never liked it all that much.
I set it down in a drift of snow, then swung myself back on the snowmobile and drove off.
I had to find Kirsten. I knew her for years, even if she wouldn't remember me. I had made sure of that. But maybe, If I could help her remember who I was, she wouldn't be ashamed of who I had become.

I hated that Kirsten left. I hated it so much. I mean, weren't we all in this together? Why couldn't we go with her? What was the point of staying here anyway?
At my side, Scar was asleep. It took a whole debate and winning a bet to get her to close her eyes and then falling asleep happened seconds after. I knew she was having nightmares but I didn't want to tell her that everyone knew, she's not as good at hiding secrets as she thinks she is. Ty was outside cleaning his gun while humming to a Christmas song and I walked towards him.
“Hey” I said sitting next to him.
“Hi Carlos” he said, not looking up from what he was doing.
“I have a question.” he only nodded. “Why didn't we go with Kirsten? Why do we have to stay here ont this stupid island?”
“Well, Carlos, maybe we just don't want a fire breather in New York” he grinned.
“Hey! I can control my powers! Fire breathing is easy!” I say before taking a deep breathe.
“No! No! We're in a forest! With trees!” he protested.
“Fine.” I muttered angry. I mean, it wasn't like I was going to aim right to the trees.
“You know, you shouldn't depend so much on your abilities...”
“I...”
“I could teach you to fight.” he said and stood up. Ty wants to teach me to fight?
“Okay.”
“Stand up!” he ordered. “ Just spread your legs about shoulder's width apart and bend your knees slightly so you're not standing completely upright.”
“ Like this?” I asked.
“ Yeah, just stay balanced so you don't get thrown to the ground and keep your hands up to shield your face.”
I held up my fists to protect myself and my feet apart like he told me to. He held out his palms in front of his face.
“ Punch” he ordered. I punched his left palm and then the right one twice.
“ Place your thumb on the outside of your fist. If its in the inside, you could break it.”
“ Okay.” I said, holding her fist the right way.
“ Remember, never take your eyes of your opponent.” Ty said. “ Again”
We spent about half an hour like that, before we ran around the jungle to loose more energy. He kept saying “If you can still feel tiredness, it means you still have energy.” and then of course I would tell him that wasn't true and he made me run faster. Twenty minutes in and I was ready to die.
“Please...can we please stop?” I begged. The inside of my mouth felt drier than the desert I was in...last week? That had been last week? How?
“Fine, I see a stream over there. We could have some water and bring some back for Scar too.”
“Good idea. I pushed my feet towards the water and basically fell inside of it. The fresh water over my boiling face felt quite amazing. I took deep breathes and tried to vacuum as much water into my mouth as possible, since my arms were too tired to bring it to my face. Yes, I was liking water like a dog. Get over it.
“So? What's up with you and Scar? I heard you guys chatting that night before Kirs left.”
“Umh..nothing. Well, I don't think so.” I said confused. I never understood...females.
“You guys would make a cute couple.” he tells me. I roll my eyes and look towards him.
“What about you and that girl you mentioned that night? What was her name?”
“Zandra. Shes...something alright.”
“What does that mean?”
“Means she could probably kill you and make sure no one would ever find your body in under seven seconds.” he said proudly. Well.... I... How... I can't even comment on that.
“Well she seems delightful.” I said sarcastically but Ty didn't notice.
“I know.” It was weird to see army Ty go into love sick Ty. His whole face seemed to change, instead of the I-have-seem-dark-things face, it had now turned into someone who was about to burst hearts from his eyes. “We should get back, Scar might wake up.” And with that, we ran back to the cave way too quickly if you ask me and found Scar wide awake yelling for us.

Scarlette Fawn

The dreams all start the same. I am walking down this long gray hallway, and no matter how far I walk I never seem to reach the end. The hall is familiar, but so hazy. A door stays shut in front of me. I try to reach out, but everytime I raise my arm I seem to fall back down the hall again. Someone, a child perhaps, is yelling behind the door. The voice feels so far away. Further than the door in front of me, but the sounds echo through me as though the words were my own thoughts.

As I continue down the never ending strip I notice that I can't turn back. No matter what I tell my feet to do they continue going straight. Besides, a part of me knows that if I try to fight what my mind wants me to see I won't succeed. So I just keep treking and hope that I will get out of this.

The walls begin to change. They darken in color, rot, and become soaked with red liquid.

"Blood..." I close my eyes and clutch my head.

"It's just a dream...just a dream." I assure myself.

I open my eyes to see that the door has disappeared.

"Why did you kill me?" My eyes go wide as I turn to see that male scientist. "Why did you kill me?" He asks again.

"I...I never meant-"

"Why did you kill me?" My stomach drops as a female voice interrupts me. I turn the other direction now facing the women scientist.

"Why did you kill me?" She asks again.

"Why did you kill me?" The male.

"Why did you kill me?" The female.

Eventually they both begin asking the question over and over in unison.

"No! Stay away!" I yell as the begin to circle me intensifying their question.

"Please! Stop!" I yell. I crouch down brining my head to my knees. I scratch at my ears till

I feel the warm trickle of blood run down my cheek.

"Stop!....I SAID STOP!" For a moment the world goes silent. The chanting stops and I am in
a new room. This time it's dark except for one dimmed light hanging from the ceiling. My clothing is covered in blood, and both victims lay before me. There eyes are wide open. Lifeless. The same dream every night. Only now something's different. Along with the two scientists more victims now lay in the lifeless pile. I scan each of their faces as tears fill my eyes.

Kirsten...

Tybalt...

Leon...

Carlos...

"What have you done?" I look up from the bodies to see my brother standing at the edge of the room. He stares at me with horrified eyes.

"Mattie!" I reach out, but he takes a step back.

"You...you monster!" He yells.

"Mattie...no. I thought you were dead." I say.

"Stay away from me you freak!"

"Mattie..." I plead. He continues to stay as far from me as he can.
The sound of an intercom fills the tiny room.

"Hello Scarlette. Let's begin shall we? You've done so well. Look at all the mess you've made. And to think, this is only the beggining." A mans voice. Cold and heartless.

"No! This isn't real!" I yell.

"Is it? I can't tell anymore." He laughs.

"Stop this." I beg.

"I'm not finished yet though...Matthew step forward." Matt then stepped forward torwards me.

"Now, Scarlette. Shoot him." He directs.

"Wait...what? I won't!" It isn't until that moment that I notice the handgun in my right hand.

"Shoot him!" My arm begins to raise without my consent.

"What is happening? No! Mattie run!" I yell. "Please don't make me do this. Please!" I struggle to lose the tight grip on the gun.

"Oh Scarlette. I'm only showing you your future. Best not to fight it." The voice assures.

"No I refuse to accept this!"

"Shoot him." He demands.

"Matt run!" But he stays still staring at me.

"Go back to hell where you belong monster!" And those are Matts last words before I pull the trigger.

Screams fill my ears. It takes me a minute to realize that those screams are my own. Tears rush down my face, and my hands shake in fury.

"No..." I fall to my knees and break into uncontrollable sobs.

"You are the demise of everything you love. I'm only preparing you for what's yet to come."

"No!" I start screaming again I kick and punch the walls of the small room.

"Aaaahhhh!!" The room suddenly shatters to pieces sending me back into reality. Carlos is holding me soothing down my hair as Tybalt holds tightly to my shaking hand. Bruises will be left on his knuckles for sure.

"Shh it's okay. You're okay. It's over now. I promise." Carlos assures. I continue to sob staining his shirt with tear marks.

Sleep is a diabolical thing.

Matt

I angrily kicked the bush where I hid the snowmobile. That sneaky son of a whore, I thought angrily. I sat down when I noticed something. He hadn't put the gear on the snowmobile. And all I needed was the backpack... And the other stuff but my backpack had what I needed. Eagerly I searched through the bag. I kissed it in excitement. This would make the fight easier. Especially with all these powers going around. I placed it back in its styrofoam bag and began as sorting my gear.

Since I didn't have a snowmobile to carry the bulk of this stuff, I had to throw some stuff off. Than I began my trek around the mountain. The backpack carried mainly electric equipment and my cash. And my special you. I froze when I saw all the blood. I quickly got down and assessed the situation. No noise. I wasn't being stalked. I approached the blood stains and than realized they made a word. I walked around and read, my blood chilling. "If not a king, than a god." What the hell was that supposed to mean? I searched the area again. That's when I heard the chopper. Finding a place to hunker down, I stared in astonishment as a U.S. Bird landed and three soldiers stepped out. And I knew who they were. And the man with them. My father.

"I made a terrible mistake that day." He said.he leaned heavily on his cane as he took a sip of coffee. We were aboard the U.S.S Obama, a super carrier. He sighed and shuffled the papers from the briefcase. He sighed and sat down." My son, I made a terrible mistake. And now, I must redeem myself, but I need your help. I must reunite our family, and I need your help with that. Commander Speel will take over from here." An aged African man stepped forward." Thank you mister Fawn. Son, your team was all found dead. We didn't know where you were. But an anomaly happened the other day in the Andes, and we had to check it out. Turns out you were there. Anyways, a similar anomaly was detected on and island, 300 miles from here."

"To the world, you are dead. But to the government, you are now a Black Ops agent, if you are willing to accept this assignment. If you'd do, you'll find your sister. And we want to help. Are you willing to accept your new role in the U.S. Mitary?" I nodded slowly. He shoved some papers towards me." I'm promoting you to a captain than. Out of anyone here, you know more about these... Children more than anyone. And it'll be your job to... Secure them and ensure there safety. We can't let anyone else have access to the children." Than it dawned on me.

"You don't want them to save them. You want to use them." My father looked at the commander." I told you he was smart." He chuckled sickly, coughing into a napkin. I stared at the commander." I will command a team of my own choice. You will give me whatever I need. However, you will not use them. I and my team will protect them until they no longer need it. Or I will stay with them indefinitely. Your choice, but I will make sure no one, even the government, manages to use them. Understand this?" He stiffened." Boy, you don't give me orders." My father stepped forward." Commander... This may actually be a good idea. We'll be able to pick up the kids anytime we want. Just keep track of my son and his team. Anyone makes a move on those children, we move in." He whispered. The commander nodded slowly. He nodded at me and saluted." You have yourself a deal Captain. Gather your team, and list anything you need. You'll be suiting into the island at 1300 tommrow." When I returned the salute he marched out of the room.

My father smiled. "It's good to see you again son." I grabbed him by the collar." I am no longer your son. You lost that opportunity when you sold off my sister to be a freaking labrat!" I threw him against the wall. He collapsed with a groan. "Who the hell do you think you are?! To be god? To sell a child?! To decide wether or not she gets to grow up and have a husband and a family! She didn't get anything because mom was dead, and you completely ignored us. All she was asking was where's dad! And you know where he was!? In a freaking lab, instead of seeing to your daughter, who watched her mother get a bullet through her brain." I moved to walk out the door, than paused." You even dream about touching her again, or even seeing her, I swear to god, it won't be a leg I shoot." Than I walked out on the man I once called dad.

Kirsten

Times square was breathtakingly bright, even in the daylight. now that it was nighttime, the flourecent glow was so bright I had to squint my eyes. I craned my neck to se the tops of the enormous buildings. "You Kirsten?" I heard a female voice ask behind me. must be Tybalt's friends. I turned around. Two figures stood in front of me. The one that caught my attention first was the one that wasn't human. A fox roughly my size with round brown eyes. His dark ginger pelt looked like flames as the lights caught his fur. He had on a grey sweater vest, khaki shorts, and golden wire rimmed glasses. The fox boy was staring at me with a dumbfounded look on his face. He pushed his glasses up his long snout. "Ty never told us we'd be meeting a girl!" He said, self conciously straigtening his sweater vest and smoothing down his well groomed pelt. The other person snorted. A girl with dusky blue hair. "Yes he did, you just weren't listening. And plus, have you ever heard of a guy named Kirsten? If I was a dude and my parents named me something like that, I'd hate their guts." The fox muttered something I didn't catch, and the girl looked me up and down. "Wasn't expecting a friend of my boyfriend to be so scrawny."
I gave her a withering look "You also would't expect a fifteen year old girl to walk around in a tuxedo, and yet here I am."
The girl, presumably Zandra, said "Yes here you are, and here I am on babysitting duty while you go find this dream boy."
The fox boy chimed in here. "Can I say something?"
"No." Zandra answered, then seemed to remember that she hadn't introduced herself or her companion. "Name's Zandra. Zandra Hayes. The nerd here is-"
"Bevin Kowman! I-I mean Kevin Bowman!" He faltered, sticking out his hand for me to shake. I took it, trying to conceal my confusion. What had this guy so riled up? Was he drunk? I've never seen a drunk person before...
"Hi..." I said cautiously. I kept a close eye on Ty's ATV. I din't want anyone stealing it, and I kept getting an odd feeling that someone was watching me.
I looked over at Zandra, becoming akwardly aware that Kevin was still holding onto my hand. I slipped it out and I almost saw the blush through his thick fur.
"Where'd you get that whole 'dream boy' thing?" I asked Zandra.
"Tybear said you were looking for a boy from your dreams."

Tybear?

I barely supressed a snigger, but couldn't keep myself from smiling a little. Zandra saw the look and scowled.

"Well, Zandra, I'm afraid your sadly confused. Tybalt didn't mention to you I'm an Amnesiac. I kept seeing the same boy in a series of flashbacks, and I know he's somehow tied to my past. If I find him, he could help me discover what happened to me. who I was before the experiment."
Kevin's big brown eyes became wider behind his glasses. "Experiment?"
"Yep. Me and a few others were a part of an experiment apperantly. I don't know what or why, and that's part of the reason I'm here."
Kevin continued to stare at me, and I shifted a little uncomfortably. Kevin seemed to noticed my discomfort and cleared his throat. "Er, so, why New York? Not the safest place to go around all alone."

I shrugged. "The portal goes where it wants to go. I cant really control where it takes me, but it always dumps me somewhere for a reason."
Zandra stared at me with raised eyebrows. "So, let me get this straight. Your here in New York City, with no plan, no leads, and no way to protect yourself?"

"I can protect myself just fine. and I do have sort of a lead. I'm just not sure it's here...I guess I don't have much of a plan."

"Idiot!"
I'm not sure I was fond of these friends.

Scar had also joined the training with me and Ty. We had spent the morning “fighting” super slowly and it wasn't actually that much fun. After, we did the same run to the river.
“So, what are we doing today?” I asked.
“We need to find a way off this island.” Ty said looking out into the forest.
“We're leaving today?” Scar asked. Ty took a few moments to reply before his dark tired face turned into a fake smile to keep us from worrying.
“No, of course not.” he said. This guy was easier to read than a book. But then again, so am I.“Any ideas? Scar?”
“Umh..we could...” she started
“Oh! We could train with our powers! I haven't gotten much of a chance since we got here and have any of you guys seen my fire breathing yet?” They both nodded. Honestly, It didn't matter that they had seen it, they were going to see me show that baby off a couple of times more! And then, of course, I breathed fire. “Tadaaa!”
“That seems like a good idea.” Ty said.
We all sat in a circle and I started the “show and tell” by becoming invisible and tickling Ty. Bad idea. I was punched the second I touched his neck and I got a black eye.
“Sorry! I...just don't do that. That's not okay.” he scowled me but then grinned a little. I made a mental note to only tickle Scar from now on, how badly could she hurt me?
“Want to go now Scar?” I ask.
“Nah, I'll wait a little. You go Ty. Show us something.” Ty showed us how he could throw a knife twenty meters into a target area right threw the middle. Some scary stuff and then sat back down because he wasn't going to show us all his moves just in case someone was watching. I think he was just being lazy, but okay then...
“Scar?” Scar nods and stands up. She turns to the same tree that was a target of Ty's knife and lifts it up in a single hand lift. Taking deep breathes, she snaps every branch off into a million pieces at the same time. Ty and I gasped in amazement. She dropped the tree and looked pretty happy with herself, up until the moment the tree lost balance and was centimeters away from crushing Ty. Because of his quick reflexes, nothing happened and Ty ducked quickly, but Scar was torn. She kept apologizing and looked awful. As if guilt was eating her up from the inside out. Ty told her it was good practice and even said thank you. Guess that made her feel a little better. After that incident, Ty asked me to breathe fire again and we awkwardly all sat back down.

Leon

I watched the dark haired girl looking out at the bright lights of New York. She was so much older now. After all these years...
I was perched on a roof behind her, carefully staying hidden until I could make myself known to her. Kirsten was talking with two people. Oddly enough, they were both handcuffed to each other. I kept my eye on the fox, not exactly sure if I should be amused or annoyed at his attraction to my partner.
'The fox boy is fifteen, Leon. He's still in that stage where any person whose a different gender to him is cute.' Blak explained to me wearily, as if this was information that I should have already known. Kirsten was now talking with the girl. she looked annoyed. I prepared to climb down the fire escape, best not to just jump down, I wouldn't want to scare them. But right as I was about to stand, I felt the cold metal of a gun barrel on the back of my head. "Careful with that one, Commander, he's one of the most unstable." An aged sounding voice said.
"Son, I'll only ask you once. Stand up." I slowly rose, praying that Blak wouldn't choose this moment to take control. I turned around, lifting my hands above my head. There were two men on the rooftop, and aged African American man, and a blonde man who was leaning heavily on a brass tipped cane.
'Oh! What a surprise. They finally found us.' Blak scoffed. And with that, he shoved his way into my conciousness. I felt my mouth curl up in in a sneering smile. "So, your Commander Speel. Consider me underwhealmed."
My hands dropped to my sides, and Black chuckled softly. Commander Speel's grip tightened on his gun.
"Oh, you won't be needing that." Blak purred. With an Idle flick of his hand, he sent the commander's gun spinning across the roof. Commander Speel, now unarmed, stood his ground, but I could see the fear in his eyes. So could Blak. He laughed. "Your nothing like Mattie, now are you are you, Commander?"
"How do you know about Captain Fawn?" The Commander demanded. Blak surged forward, my hands began glowing black.
"I know everything." He hissed. "I know your planning to catch us once his back is turned. I know your planning to use us as weapons. Now, let me ask you this, Commander. If you can't even fend off this scrawny malcontent that i'm stuck inside, how do you expect to take Astral? or Scarlette? I am only the beginning, Commander Speel. And if you want to live to see the end, I'd suggest running back to where you came from before I convince myself that crushing your lungs isn't such a bad idea after all."

Commander Speel and his friend both turned and fled. Blak didn't watch them leave. he turned away, and receded to the back of my mind. I made my way quietly down the fire escape's ladder, but remained in the shadows. Blak could have killed them both. Why didn't he? There were many words I would use to describe my other personality, but merciful is not one of them. The only reason he would willingly spare any life would be so he could do something worse to them later on. Then something occured to me. Blak hadn't gone after Kirsten for two years. As I thought this, dread filled the pit of my stomach. What did this monster have planned for my friend?

Kevin Bowman

Kevin straightened out his shirt again. His mind was rushing as he tried to avoid staring at Kirsten. "Oh my gosh... It's a girl... A very pretty girl... I probably look terrible right now. What a day for running out of conditioner..." He looked back up at Kirsten and gave her a nervous smile and a wave. However, he forgot that his arm was handcuffed to Zandra's and yelped when she yanked it down.

"Cut it out, Bowman." Zandra nudged him with her arm. "You're making a fool of yourself.

Kevin chuckled nervously and whispered, "But it's a girl, Zandra... A pretty one. I haven't seen one of those in a while..."

Zandra gave him a side glare, "What's wrong with me, punk?"

Kevin shrunk back, "I didn't mean you weren't pretty... I just said she was pretty... And besides the fact that you already have a boyfriend, You are just plain mean!"

Zandra smiled menacingly, "As long as I am consistant."

Kevin rolled his eyes but then his ear twitched and he looked around, mainly to the tops of the buildings. He had heard something... He sniffed the air and his eyes narrowed, he smelled human... but not just that... he smelled cold metallic sweat... Someone was afraid, and his guess was it wasn't any of them.

He took out his heat seeking instrument. and aimed it at the other buildings until he saw three signatures. Two were retreating, but the other one was standing still. He looked up at the building and narrowed his eyes.

He turned to Zandra and nudged her, pointing at the building and then holding up one finger. She looked up and nodded. "Hey... Why don't we move along somewhere else... Where there are less hiding places..."

Kirsten

I woke from a confusing dream as the feeling of being watched jabbed at me. I looked quietly around the warehouse's empty room, but there was no one there but me, Zandra, and Kevin. Kevin was on watch right now, sitting as far from Zandra as the chain between them would allow, which wasn't much.
I sighed and laid back down, but I knew I'd never get to sleep without knowing who was following me. I rose from the ground, shaking the ache out of my joints. As I passed Kevin I whispered "I'm going out to look for someone. If I'm not back in a few minutes, wake Zandra up and come looking for me."

"Zandra won't like me waking her up.." Kevin muttered. His way of telling me to stay.

"Then I'll try not to be gone too long."

Before Kevin could make any more protests, I was out the door and into the chill winter night.
I looked around the street. Even this late at night, the city was busy and loud. I felt eyes on me, and turned to my right. Someone was peering around the side of the building at me. I whispered a greeting and came towards the figure, but he took a few steps back as I approached him.
"It's okay. I won't hurt you, I promise."
This did nothing to console the person, and he turned tail and ran. For some reason I found myself chasing after him.
To my surprise, as I began to close the gap between us, the person disappeared. Literally disappeared. In a cloud of smoke. He reappeared on the roof of the warehouse. I jumped, and much more to my confusion than to his, found that I had landed squarely in the center of the roof. What happened? He did his disappearing trick again, and this time came back again on the next roof. partly out of curiosity, and partly because it seemed the quickest possible way, I jumped again, landing beside the boy. This went on for a while, The boy disappearing, and me jumping from rooftop to rooftop after him. The boy decided to forgo the roof chase and dropped bck to the ground, and I jumped down after him, rappelling off the wals until I reached the ground. How did I do that? I shouldn't have been able to do that. I had the boy backed against a wall. His hands started to glow black. I stared at them. He was like me. Maybe...
I let my golden magic glow in my palms. He didn't relax. I slowly, crept towards him, the same way you would approach a spooked horse. I reached out and took one of his hands. He flinched away first, but the warmth of the glow seemed calming. he let his light fade away and grasped my hand. Now that I was closer to min, I could finally get a better look at him. He was pale, and had long, sleek black hair. His bangs were long, and covered up his right eye. He wore a long black denim coat, and a black shirt and jeans. He looked a lot like me if I had shorter hair, and if I had red eyes...

The face of the boy smiling at me, passed into my memory.
"I..I know you, don't I?" I whispered.
"You're...I saw you in my flashbacks."
The boy nodded. "Yes. We knew each other."
Suddenly, a name came to my mind. "Leon?" I whispered. Carlos had said I had talked about him when I had passed out during my first flashback, but I didn't know where it could have come from.
Then why, when I spoke it, did I feel such a warm thrill go through me? Who was he, before I had lost my memory?
Leon looked alarmed for a moment, and I was afraid he might run away again. I clutched his hand tighter. "Please don't run off again! I-I need your help. You knew me. You knew about where I came from, and I can't remember it."
somehow confessing it to this boy made me realize how terrifying all of this was. I blinked away tears "I can't remember any of it." I whispered.
The hunted look melted from Leon's eyes, and he nodded.
"Okay." He whispered sympathetically. "Okay, I'll help you, Kir."

Matt Fawn

"All right ladies, we're dropping off here and than we'll be wing suiting in. Gear all in check?" My two childhood friends, Ian McHaddish, and Davit Hass, gave me the this up. They had both played football with me in high school. Another reason I picked them was because of my sister. When ever dad had a dribbled rage, we'd go over to one of these guy's house. They loved her like a sister. Both marines as well, and now members of my Black-ops team. I nodded at the pilot who let the planes bay door open. Tightening my straps one last time, I smiled at my friends from behinds mask. I have them a thumbs up and fell out of the plane, and began to rapidly descend.

The view of the island was beautiful. Pretty large, but not large enough to get too much interest from anyone else. I deployed my wing suit and began to glide towards the island, Ian and Davit on my flanks. As we neared the island, we hit our parachutes. Slowly gliding to the ground, we checked the surrounding area. And we'd have to be blind to not see the smokestack slowly rising towards the sky. Who was there, I didn't know, but whoever it was, that was our destination. On the ground, we quickly rolled up our parachute sand began doing ammo and gear checks.

"Everything's good boss." Davit said. He checked his GPS and ran some diagnostics. We all carried basic survival gear, as well as food and water rations, and our ammo and weaponry. I had the collar in my bag. I would know when to use it... Or at least that's what the note said. Locked and loaded, we began our trek, silently traversing across the island toward the smoke."I hope they don't have snakes here. I hate snakes." Ian said, shivering. Davit snickered." You're Irish. Doesn't your mythology say St. Patrick chased out all the snakes?" Ian nodded." Which is why we hate snakes."

I held my fist up and they froze. I surveyed the area... The trees had fallen recently." Spread out." They immediately left the area seemingly. Not only were they my friends... But they were good at what they did. I got down on a knee, seemingly oblivious to my surroundings. I started looking for my canteen. I froze when I felt the cold metal of a gun barrel. "Give me a reason." The voice snarled. Male. Slowly I lifted my hands. And stood. Than grinned as Ian and Davit came out of the brush, rifles aimed at the intruder. "Is this the big bad wolf?" Ian commented, rifle not wavering a bit.


Turning around I froze. This... Person was going against everything humanely impossible. I shook my head clear. Mission first. I took the gun out of the mans hand and turned it around to him. Before I could speak he yelled," Get out of here!" To nobody it seemed than I heard Davit yell," Cover!!" I hit the ground watching as flame speared past me. Turning around I turned to see a young guy close his mouth and the flames ceased. I aimed my gun." On the ground kid!" I ordered. Instead of listening the boy... Dissapeared. I froze than recovered. This must be Carlos. Grabbing some mud, I threw it in the direction the kid was.

I heard an angrily yelp as the kid glared at me angrily. He opened his mouth and I prepared to pull the trigger when the most unexpected thing happened. I saw Davit sailing through the air and smacked into a tree. He got up groggily. Turning I saw the wolf man wrestling with Ian for his rifle. I turned back to the kid, prepared to fire when I heard a voice I never thought I would hear again."Matt! Don't shoot!" I turned around.

Scarlette Fawn

That afternoon after training the island was pretty quiet. The sun was shining, and the sky was a vibrant blue. Tybalt, Carlos, and I sit in a circle by the fire watching our dinner cook.

"I wonder how Kirsten is." Carlos says.

"I'm sure she is fine. She's a fighter." Tybalt replies.

"We all are." I say. They both smile at me as a strong wind shakes the trees.

"What was that?!" I yell.

"It's...it's a jet!" Carlos yells over the loud noises of the jet.

"Tybalt?" I ask curious.

"Nope that's not mine!" Tybalt answers. He quickly turns towards me and Carlos with wide eyes.

"Hide" he mouths.

"No we won't let you go. We don't know who these people are!" I argue.

"You guys will get taken and tortured. As for me. I'm nothing to them. Now go!" We back off a little as we watch the jet land.

"Stay safe." Carlos says. Tybalt doesn't answer but runs off.

"Come on!" Carlos starts torwards the cave. "Scarlette! What are you doing we have to go."

"No Carlos we can't! We already lost Kirsten. No one else is getting split from this group!"
He stops and thinks for a moment, then nods in agreement. We slowly stalk torwards the jet hidden from the enemies sights. We spot Tybalt across the field hiding as the hatch door opens. Two soldiers step down onto the island. They have masks on so I don't recognize them. Behind them a third member steps down. His face is also hidden. Tybalt draws his handgun at the third soldier. Quickly the soldier disarms him alerting his friends.

"Carlos now!" I yell. He runs out attacking the one about to shoot Tybalt, when another one notices me. At first he aims his gun but slowly backs off.

"Scar-" Before he can finish his sentence I throw him across the clearing into the trees.
I see Tybalt and the third soldier battling it out. In the process his mask gets ripped off. At first his blonde hair catches me off guard, but it isn't until he turns around that all the breath in my lungs rush out.

Matt

Mattie.

My brother.

He's alive...

Only now he is aiming a gun at one of my friends. I shake my head bringing myself back to reality.

"Matt! Don't shoot!" I yell. He quickly turns his head to me.
We both stare at eachother for a long moment. Both of us afraid that if we look away the other will disappear. He drops his gun, and tears fall from my eyes.

"I thought you were dead..." I say.

"Scar?....Scar!" He quickly runs torwards me and wraps his arms around me. I hug him tightly back as my legs collapse and we fall to our knees. He kisses the top of my head as I sob into his chest. I feel his tears fall onto my forehead.

"Tell me this isn't a dream!" I yell as I clutch his arms tightly. "Please tell me this is really you." I keep my eyes closed tight waiting for his answer.

"Yes Scar! I'm here I promise. It's me. Oh my god it's me." I open my eyes as he grabs my face. I smile tears streaming from my face. Tears also streamed his face. He hugs me tightly.

"Mattie I thought you were dead! I heard them kill you. There were gun shots, and screaming.They took me away. I couldn't-" He quickly interrupts me.

"Scar. Stop. It's okay. I'm here now and that's all that matters. I promise you that I will never let anyone take you away from me again. I'm so sorry." (Foreshadowing muwahaha)

"No. I'm sorry. I should have fought harder."

"Don't you dare say that. There was nothing you could do. It wasn't your fault."
I stared at him silently as flashbacks filled my mind.

"Uh...not to ruin the beautiful moment or anything, but can someone please explain to me what the heck is going on!?" Carlos asks.
I hug Matt one more time before standing.

"Carlos. Tybalt. This is my brother Matt...Matt, this is Tybalt, and Carlos. They sort of saved my life."

Leon

Before Blak became a permanent part of my life, I would have given anything to be beside Kirsten again.
Now it was all I could do not to jump at small noises.
We made our way back to the warehouse, and I hesitated at the door, what would these people--and fox--say when they saw me? Kirsten glanced over at me. I smiled reassuringly and she blinked rapidly, as if that had reminded her of something.

Something out of memory's reach.

What had she seen in those flashbacks?

We entered the building together. The fox boy and the girl were both awake. The girl did not look happy with us.

the fox pushed his glasses up his snout.

"Oh, hi, Kirsten. We were just about to go out looking for you."

The girl scowled at the fox. "So you woke me up for nothing, Bowman?"

The unfortunate fox shrunk under the girl's glare, and I found myself realting to him a little.
"Well how was I supposed to know she was coming back?" He said.

"Leon, this is Kevin," Kirsten introduced, gesturing to the fox. "And Zandra" She indicated the girl.

I nodded a greeting.

"Kevin, Zandra, this is Leon."

Kevin looked between us, then narrowed his eyes at me.
I tensed.
Had he seen me?

"So, you're the one who was stalking us?" He accused.

I felt my cheeks warm up and knew I was blushing.

"I wasn't stalking you. I was just...I was...okay you have a point yeah. I guess I might've been stalking you."

Zandra rolled her eyes. "Yeah, yeah. Nice to meet you and all that crap. Can I go back to bed now?" She didn't wait for a reply, only stalked back to where she had been laying, dragging Kevin along with her.
.....

Kirsten was asleep. I rifled through the the files I had brought with me again. I stopped when I came to Kir's photo. she had only thirteen when the experiment happened. she looked so young. her black hair was much shorter in the photo, her face rounder and younger.

her eyes were the same though.

large and wide like a doe's. Soulful and gentle.

I stood and stretched, then came to sit beside Kevin, who was still awake on watch. Kevin angled his ears at me, but his eyes stayed fixed on the entrance.
"So, what's with the handcuffs?" I whispered to him. I believed that plesantaries were a waste of time. Better to be straight and to the point.
Kevin laughed nervously. "It's not anything I've done, if that's what you're asking. I was just unlucky enough to draw the short straw. Zandra's a little...ah...Harley
Quinn-ish."

I raised an eyebrow.
"Harley Quinn? As in the Batman villain?"

"Harley Quinn, as in...Well, crazy."

I almost said I know how that feels. but I held my tongue. "Is that why you're such a shrinking violet around her?"

Kevin shuffled his feet. "No. She bullies me. She's mean." He muttered.
I laughed a little. "You've go one too, huh?" I smiled, jerking my head back at Zandra.
Kevin nodded.
"Who's yours, then?" He asked me.

I mentally smacked my forehead. How was I supposed to explain Blak to this guy?

Oh, nice going, idiot! Blak snorted. Do you wanna tell 'im or should I?

I bit back a retort, and tried to search for the right words to explain my other personality. "Well...I...It's just--It's hard to....He's inside my head."

Kevin's eyes grew roughly to the size of golf balls. "Oh." He said, then, seemig to realize what I meant, said "Oh!" Again with more nervousness in his voice.

Blak chuckled I think I'm going to like this one. he laughed deviously.

Kevin scooted a little farther from me. "So you're uh..."

"Mentally Unstable?" I answered his partially asked question. "Why yes."

We were silent for a little, Me staring back at Kirsten, Kevin watching me nervously.I guess that friend-ship just sailed out of the harbor.

"You're always doing that." Kevin said.

"Doing what?" I asked

"Staring at Kirsten, like if you don't keep watching her, something might happen to her. Why do you do that?"

"Force of habit I guess. We were close as kids. Best friends, Then this experiment happened.
Everything's different now. I have my....My condition, and Kirsten can't even remember who I was."

I sighed, a feeling of dispair crashing down on me. I felt the energy leave my body. This whole thing was stupid. Whatever money they offered us then, it sure as heck wasn't worth it now. I shook my head. If I started thinking like that, there would be nothing left of me. I had lost my honor, my closest friend, my hope. The only thing I had now was my resiliance. If I lost that too, then I would be nothing.

"Hey, why don't you get some rest?" I suggested to Kevin "I'll take the next watch."

Scarlette and her friends lay happily on the beach, soaking in the midday sun. Matthew and Scarlette sat close together, the happiest of them all. Carlos and Tybalt apologized guiltily to the Black Ops members, who shrugged it off, saying that they’d seen worse in their careers.

Not yet, you haven’t. You couldn’t begin to imagine.

Matthew hugged Scarlette tight with one arm, pointing towards the sky. The helicopter was already circling around, called in to whisk the heroes toward their happily ever after. The clouds were fluffy, and the sky was bright.

You fools...you’ll all die…

The helicopter whirred overhead, slowly descending like a steel angel. Matthew grinned at Scarlette as a rope ladder dropped down to the sand. Carlos eagerly seized it, ready to climb to freedom. Tybalt chuckled as Scarlette beamed, smiling brighter than he’d ever seen before. All was well.

“Friskington, it’s time.”

The helicopter erupted into a hellstorm of scarlet, the explosion engulfing the craft, searing it into oblivion. Scraps of flaming metal hailed down to the beach as the remnants of the copter smashed into the waves. Carlos was left holding a blackened length of rope.

Frisky’s roar shook the sky as he shot down from the clouds, spiraling from above on iron wings. As the heroes watched, a shadow leaped from the mechanical lion’s back, jumping into the sun’s path.

Tybalt seemed to sense it before the others. “No.” He shook his head in disbelief, paws groping over his skull. “No, no, no. Not this. Anything but this.”

The shadow crashed down onto the beach, denting the earth beneath him, sending up a spray of sand. Matthew went wide-eyed as he realized. “Y-you! How are you still alive!”

The shadow said nothing, kneeling in the crater, head down. Slowly, terribly, it rose, letting the sunlight shine upon its silver hair.

Carlos began to quiver, his fists clenching. “This guy…”

Frisky landed beside the shadow as it glowered at the heroes. Its eyes were a piercing, unnerving yellow; like Kirsten’s, but with none of the compassion.

The two Black Ops drew their pistols, leveling them with its head. “Matthew!” one yelled. “What the hell is this?”

The shadow laughed, a full, arrogant laugh, that resounded heavily through the air. The heroes watched in horror as it stepped forward. Finally, it spoke. “The king lives long, indeed.”

A tear fell from Scarlette’s eye as she recognized him. “Astral…”

“Correct.” Astral dashed up the beach at a blinding speed, skidding to a halt beneath a Black Op. The man’s eyes flicked downwards in a split-second, shining with terror before Astral’s fist connected with his jaw. The man flew backwards, digging a trench in the sand with his head.

“Bastard!” The other man roared, taking aim with his gun.

Matthew raised his hand. “No! Wait!”

The bullets flew from the pistol’s barrel, and each one was captured and cupped into the palm of Astral’s hand. The Black Op kept firing, as if more bullets could solve every problem he had. Astral plucked the lumps of lead from the air, his smirk unfaltering.

“Not this time, creep!” Tybalt charged up the sand, his claws gleaming. His teeth were bared in a fearsome snarl, and his eyes shone with killing intent.

And his heart was exposed. Astral pinched a bullet between two fingers, raising his hand.

“Look out!” As the projectile shot from Astral’s fingertips, Carlos rammed Tybalt aside, sending him sprawling in the sand. A heroic, but asinine effort.

Carlos howled as the bullet entered his shoulder, staining his shirt with a crimson blossom. Face contorted in pain, he collapsed in the sand.

Eyes flashing, Astral unloaded his supply of bullets into Carlos’ body. Each shot was coupled with a splatter of blood and a bellow of pain.“No!” Scarlette screamed.

Astral smirked, flinging the final bullet into the gunman’s chest. Unimpeded, he stalked towards Carlos’ body, grinning immensely.

“Stop it.” Astral’s eyes widened in pleasure. Matthew stood before him, his blond hair ragged, his face smudged with dirt. His eyes burned with fighting spirit, and his teeth were clenched tight. “You’re scaring Scarlette.”

“Oh?” Astral snorted. “I’m to blame? Please.” He chuckled, shaking his head. “And which one of us gave her reason to fear in the first place?”

A brief look of confusion crossed Matthew’s face. “What-”

“Face it, mortal,” Astral said, slipping behind Matthew’s outstretched arms. “You’re only holding her back.”

Matthew choked on pure agony as Astral’s foot connected with his leg bone, shattering it completely. Wide-eyed in disbelief, he crumpled into the sand.

“Now crawl like the insect you are,” Astral said, standing over Matthew like an executioner.

Suddenly, pain shot through Astral’s neck as Tybalt’s fangs sank in. The wolfman dug into Astral’s flesh, tearing into the back of his neck.

Astral grunted, violently shaking Tybalt from his body. His fangs cut agonizing swaths along Astral’s shoulders as they dislodged. Blood poured from the gashes, soaking Astral’s shirt.

Astral staggered a little, feeling light-headed. Tybalt stood before him, panting savagely. His fangs were dripping red.

“You,” Astral seethed, pointing angrily. “You dog!” His hand pressed against the side of his neck, feeling the blood seep over his fingers.

Tybalt grinned, shrugging callously. “Yeah, what of it?”

Astral glared furiously for a moment; then the anger defused like a summer wind. “You’re still incompetent.”

Tybalt stumbled backwards in shock as Astral’s flesh knit together, sealing shut in seconds. The wounds closed over completely as Astral removed his hand.

Astral smirked, brushing dust from his shoulder. “Now roll over,” he said, charging forward, “and die.”

“Wait!” Scarlette grabbed his arm with one hand, forcing it back. “Stop it.”

Tybalt looked alarmed. “No! Scarlette! Get out of here!”

Scarlette’s eyes met Astral’s - a knowing, powerful gaze. “It’s me you want, isn’t it?”

Astral stepped back, clapping his hands in mock congratulation. “Yes, that’s right,” he chortled maliciously. “That’s exactly it.”

Scarlette turned to face him, exhaling slowly. “Then, fine. I’ll come with you. But leave them alone.” Her voice was firm, with no sign of the weakness he had first seen.

Astral shrugged. “It’s a little late for that. But sure, I don’t see why not.” He grinned darkly. “We’re going to have a lot of fun, you and I.”

“No! Don’t do it!” Carlos yelled. Astral turned to see the plebeian fire-breather crawling towards them, hand clutching his wound. “Don’t go!”

Scarlette smiled sadly. “It’s okay, Carlos. This is something I have to do.”

“No!” Carlos repeated. “Don’t leave me!” Tears began to wet his cheeks as he pounded the earth with his fist.

Scarlette turned away hurriedly, not say a word. Head down, she began to walk towards Astral.

“No,” Carlos murmured, staring at the ground in devastation. “Don’t leave me.”

Scarlette walked up to Astral, her eyes hidden behind her golden hair. “Let’s go,” she said, in a heaving breath that might have been a sob.

Astral smirked. “As you wish.” Frisky laid down as they clambered onto his back. As the mechanical lion stood up, Astral cast one, final, dominant look to where Carlos lay defeated in the sand.

“Sorry, Carly,” he called out. “Looks like I win.” With that, Astral tapped Frisky’s back, and they took off, soaring across the sky, and taking Scarlette with them.