Young Writers Society

Tim


I was not about to let Echo distract me from my goal. I was exactly where I wanted to be.

"I wasn't asking" she growled pushing the knife closer to my neck.

I laughed and blew my hair out of my eyes.

"Please Echo you don't actually believe you can force me to do anything?" I asked curious to see how far she would go.

She hung her head in defeat and removed the knife from my neck.

"Sorry Echo my turn!" I said like a five year old.

Shut up Tim! We aren't children anymore. I screamed internally,

"You still can't keep it together Tim! One minute you seem normal then you do something like that. You need to learn how to function normally." She lectured me,

Before either of us could continue taunting the other we were interrupted by a dark figure stalking toward us. Echo fell silent as Leon stood in front of me and frowned.

"What are you still doing here!" He hissed to Echo,

Great job Tim you really did it this time!

"You know what I don't want to hear another one of your excuses, just take Tim and leave." He sighed wearily all anger gone from his voice.

No no no no no!!!!!!!!!

Echo smirked at me until she realized that now neither of us would be allowed to stay. Leon stepped toward us.

"Please just go Echo. There's nothing you can do, just go"

Something about his words struck a chord in me.
I've heard those words!!! Where have I heard those words? I thought desperately.
Wait a minute. I remember now, I was in the lab surrounded by the other test subjects, I saw Raydon and Ebony standing at the front of the room. Ebony was crying and clutching teddy bear made from old clothing.
"Why am I up here?" she whimpered probably thinking she was about to be punished. "Where did you get that bear?" He asked sneering at her. A horrible feeling came over me twisting my stomach and making me feel queasy. She said my name barely loud enough to be heard and I was escorted to the front of the room. Before I had the chance to explain that she had been upset by the training and that I had made the bear to comfort her Raydon slapped me across the face. He engaged the chip planted in my head and watched with satisfaction as I stumbled to my knees.
"What did I tell you about leaving her alone?" he asked softly, "if she can't learn to kill a man without crying she should be shunned!" He exclaimed answering himself.
My memory jumped forward, I was lying on my side blood streaming from a fresh cut across my face. My body ached and dragged myself to my feet leaning against a wall for support. I saw Ebony approaching tears running down her face, I winced and pulled her into a hug "there's nothing you can do, just go." I whispered emotionlessly. I felt absolutely nothing, the queasy feeling from before was gone. I had no emotions.

I felt it again, the chip kicking in. I closed my eyes and screwed up my face trying to stop my instincts from taking control of my body again. Heat radiated from my brain and I drew my knees to my chest breathing hard. I strained against the ropes until they broke away from me and I lay in the fetal position on the wet grass. Without even thinking about it I used my own energy and created a shield around myself. Once I was certain I wouldn't be controlled by the lab again and my head had cooled down I opened my eyes and stood up. Both Echo and Leon stared at me.

Be careful how you respond Tim don't say anything stupid.
They look funny what emotion is that? Anger? Leon was angry before I think. Is he still angry? Probably, how do I calm him down? I know! I'll tell a joke.

"What do you call a cow with no legs? Ground beef."

Both Echo and Leon continued to look at me funny.

Well that didn't work... Maybe they are surprised? What should I do? Ahhhhhhh!!!!!

"What the heck Tim!" Echo shouted,

"Are you alright?" Leon asked glaring at Echo.

"I remembered something" I said simply. I hadn't been expecting that at all, I never remember things.

Leon shot Echo a look. I think that meant he was confused.

"His memory has been wiped a lot because he doesn't cooperate." She explained quickly.

"What does this mean?" Leon asked turning to me.

"It means I am in danger," I said quietly.

Leon Rhett
I stood there in silence. The only sound that could be heard was the chittering of night insects as Tim and I stared at each other. He stood rigid, as if someone was forcing him to stand that certain way. Back straight, shoulders tense. I could still see all his fear of what had happened only a few seconds before, but he held my gaze steadily.

"Leon," Echo decided to break the silence. "If he goes back, it will only get worse for him." She fixed me with a pleading gaze. "You know as well as I do how much the whitecoats hate rule breakers. Tim isn't one of they're favorite people. If I go back, they'll let me off easy. This is only the first time I've done something like this as far as they know. But Tim..." The two exchanged a glance, both their expressions unreadable. "Leon, they'll kill him." Echo finished quietly. I looked from Echo to Tim. His gaze had dropped to the grass. "Please." Echo pleaded again. "I'll go, just don't send Tim back too."

I chewed my lip. This was the guy who had most likely been spying on us, and someone I wouldn't put it past to murder me in my sleep. "I'm going to regret this..." I I sighed under my breath. "I am going to regret this." Echo and Tim were both watching me hopefully. I jerked my head at Tim. "Come on." His eyes lit up at once and he frisked over to my side like an overly exited puppy. Echo shook her head at him a little as his boots slipped in the wet grass and he had to come to an awkward half hopping, half running stop to keep himself from falling on his face. I turned and began to walk back over to our campsite not far off, Tim tagging along three steps behind.

"Hey." Echo called after me. I stopped and looked over my shoulder at her. She smiled. "Thanks." I stared at her for a moment. The smile was genuine, one that spread freely across her face and lit up her eyes.
Kirsten used to smile like that...
I kept my expression blank. Turned my gaze ahead of me again. "Goodbye, Echo."

Tim

I followed Leon away from Echo carefully.

What do I do? What do I do? What do I do? Stay calm and work through this.


Leon stopped right outside the camp and turned to face me.
"You sure you don't want to just wait here? Kir might not be too friendly with you."
I shook my head. I needed to be there for this.
"I should come"
He looked at me with what I thought was concern. Probably trying to determine if he would let me come.
"Well alright..." he answered leading me into camp.
It didn't take long for Kirsten to notice us. When she did she looked about ready to feed me my own intestines. She gave Leon a look and crossed her arms.
"What is happening?" Kirsten demanded. Her glare pierced me like a knife.

Why do I feel guilty? When's the last time I felt this?

"Well..." Leon started. His eyes darted from me to Kirsten a few times then he sighed deeply. "Echo's gone. Tim's staying."
"Good riddance!" She whooped. Then she just stared at me. I tried to understand why this sent the dormant butterflies flapping but my stupid brain yielded no answers.
"Why is that one still here?" She asked not bothering to look at Leon.
"Because I told him he could." Leon answered.
Kirsten now turned her deadly stare on him causing him to sigh.
"I know, I know. But what was I supposed to do?"
"Get rid of him!"
"They would have killed him!"
"Not our problem" Kirsten spat "he's one of them! Those government mutts!"
"Kir, we're technically government mutts"
"But he doesn't deserve our protection!" She shouted.
"What difference does it make?" Leon countered.
"He isn't like us. He is loyal to them!"
"Which means he could know where Carlos is."
"Or exactly how to lure us into a trap!"
Leon grimaced
"We lost Carlos... we can't lose anyone else" Kirsten whispered.
"And you aren't willing to take that risk?" Leon asked, "Kirsten, Carlos isn't gone. We just need to find him."
"If he can help us he can stay" Kirsten mumbled.
Now both of them were looking at me.
"So, what can you tell us?" Leon finally asked.

Crap crap crap crap crap!!!!!! What do I do? I don't know anything! They are waiting on you! Just make something up!

"I know where they are based and where Raydon is keeping prisoners. However shouldn't we discuss it with the rest of your team?"

Please say something! Ahhhhh!

All they did was stare at each other for a few moments. I began to sweat a little and I did my very best not to look concerned.
"Alright we'll discuss it in the morning" Kirsten sighed.
I let out the breathe I didn't realize I had been holding in and quickly followed Leon over to the fire. To avoid anymore human interaction I immediately pretended to sleep. I was careful not to let my mind relax or I knew I would be plagued with dreams again.
What am I going to do now?

Tybalt
I am pacing around HQ, having no idea what i should do. I can feel Kevin and Zandra watching me. Waiting for me to say what they know is going to come. So i just say it. "We shouldn't have left them."

Kevin bristled, "There was nothing we could've done! We had our orders!"

Zandra sighed, "Oh sure. Like you follow all the rules, or are you going to tell me that i am not going to find any government secrets on that fox laptop of yours." Her cuffs jingled as she laid her arms on her lap.

Tybalt sighed. "We need to go back."

Kevin shook his head. " No. Blaze would destroy us!"

Zandra put her hand over Kevin's mouth. We'll follow your lead." She glared at Kevin. "WONT WE?"

Kevin said something mudfles and nodded as Zandra removed her hand from his mouth.

Tybalt nodded, "okay. We can find them using the tracker i gave Kirsten. We send out a signal that alerts them that we're looking and then all they have to do is transmitthe coordinates." He nodded. "I'll go get everything ready. You two send out the signal." He walked out of the room to prepare for their trip.

Zandra

I chuckled as Kevin, or Foxboy as I nowlike to call him, glared up at me. "I should've bit you."

I smirked. "Try it foxyboy. I will snap your neck."

Kevin sighed and went back to typing trying to send the signal. "Okay. I sent it... all weneed to do is wait..."

Leon Rhett
"Are you sure about this?" Scarlette asked quietly, scowling slightly at Tim from where she and the rest of us sat. As far away from the guy as possible. I raised my eyebrows at her.

"Not in the slightest. But we need any information he may have."

Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Tim shift around on his log. We all turned our attention toward him.

"Well?" Kirsten prompted impatiently. Tim swallowed, cringing under her keen golden glare.

"I...Well..." He cleared his throat. "Like I told you two guys before, I know pretty much where they are based on where Raydon keeps his prisoners."

"Which is where?"

"Right. That's...uh..."

Kirsten shot me a dubious look. I shrugged.

"The base!" Tim burst out, making us both jump. "That's the place he keeps his prisoners." He explained in a quieter tone. "The base."

Silence.

"Where is it?" Scarlette piped up.

Tim blinked. "I'm not too great with directions." Tim mumbled.

"Try your best." I sighed. Frisky's head shot up. His tail flicked suddenly, catching me on the side of the head.

"Ouch! Frisky, what are you doing?" Frisky ignored me. He rose to his paws and padded a little distance off, eyes turned to the sky. Rubbing my head tenderly, I turned my attention back to Tim.

"Well...It's a little bit to the west--no! east I think.--Wait! North. definitely North.--And then you go this way," He made a large sweeping gesture with his arm. I felt the air beside me start to warm up and I glanced over at Kirsten, who looked just about ready to throttle someone.

"Excuse me." A polite, mechanical voice resonated behind us. "I think I have something that may help."

Kirsten and Scarlette looked at each other, then at me. We all looked over our shoulders at Frisky.

"Its a signal. Coming from somewhere in the north." Frisky pointed skyward with his muzzle. We all looked over at Tim. He nodded quickly.

"Yep. Yes, definitely sounds about right to me. Lets go!"

"Says the guy who's 'no good at directions'." Kirsten muttered in my ear.

"Do you have another plan?" I pointed out, raising an eyebrow.

Kirsten sighed. "I blame you for this." Giving me one final glare, she jumped up to land lightly on the hairline edge of Frisky's spine. I hoisted myself up after her, followed by Scarlette and Tim.

"Let's go."

Frisky nodded wordlessly at me, and with a slight twitch of his tail, he snapped out his wings and shot off into the air. Tim yelped in surprise and wrapped his arms tightly around Kirsten's waist. Her head slowly turned until she was looking down over her shoulder at his hunched form. Her golden eyes seemed to burn right through his skull. He smiled sheepishly. Her eyes flashed dangerously.

"Get off me."

"Right. Right. Yeah. Sorry."

Tim let his hands drop to his sides, and scooted back for good measure. Kirsten turned her scowl back to the sky. Frisky's engines sputtered slightly. Scarlette patted his side.

"Are you alright?"

"Yes, I just seem to be having a slight problem with my engines."

My brow creased. "Maybe we should land."

Frisky's engines flickered again, cutting out just long enough for him to drop a few feet in altitude. The giant lion stared up at me with luminescent eyes.

"Yes, perhaps your--"

The phrase was interrupted with a loud bang as Frisky's engines blew. His eyes flicked dark, and the air tore around us as we plummeted toward earth.

Carlos

Where am I? I woke up again, after the gas had set me to sleep, for the millionth, but this time I wasn't in my cell. My body ached, my head was fuzzy, and I was shaking from the cold. The room was white—white desk, white ceiling, white floor, I was sitting on a white chair.
“Hey Carlos, how are you?”, a kind voice said. The woman in front of me was short, with brown hair tucked behind her and blue eyes.
“Where am I?”, I managed to mutter.
“You're safe here. It's okay. It's okay.”, she smiled.
“Where am I?”, I said again, looking right at her.
“This is my office.”
“What country? What area? What building? What floor of the building?”, I said. I was not taking any sweet talk anymore.
“Carlos, you know I can't tell you that.” she said, looking down.
No. No. She could not pretend she was sad. She could not fool me like that. She could not say I was safe and okay and then refuse to tell me where I was.
“Can you at least tell me the day?”
“Carlos...”, her face less upset than before. This place should get better actors because right now I wasn't buying any of this.
“What do you want? Why am I here?”
“Well, Honey, I just had a question. Do you maybe know where your friends are?” she smiled, her pink lip gloss sparkling towards me.
I did not say a word. I would never say a word.
“Carlos?” she asked, “We want to help them. They are in danger.”
“This is your office?” I finally said after a minute of full silence.
“Yes, do you like it?”, she smiled. I was already starting to hate that fake smile she kept plastering on her face.
“You must be a big deal to have an office like this. What's your job?”, I asked, standing up, looking around.
“I work at a pharmacy company.”
“The one that has been torturing me?”, I smiled, returning the same fakeness she had been giving me. “Honey”, my voice dripping with hate, “I already know the answer, no point staying silent.”
“Carlos this isn't torture, we are trying to help you.”
“I didn't know helping me meant scarring my entire body.” I muttered. These people were crazy.
My eye noticed a pretty pen in a pretty box, shining the name, “Grace Klot”.
“So, Grace, how did you come into the line of Pharmacy?”
“My dad was a doctor. So was my mum.” she smiled, thinking back.
“They must be proud, I mean, you can't be more than twenty five, and already you've made such a name for yourself.”, I smiled and she stared at me. We were face to face now, both our hands on the desk, staring each other down. She smiled, but beneath it I could see hate dripping.
“Carlos, this talk isn't about me. It's about you.” She said, I came closer, my hands moving towards the pen.
“I thought this talk was about my friends. Weren't they in danger?”
“We just want to keep everyone safe. You're only kids. All of you. You shouldn't be alone in the streets.”
“So instead we should be in a cell in a basement?”
“That isn't a cell.” she snapped.
“What is it then?”, my hands were on the pen now.
“It's a—” Two. Three.
I grabbed the pen and stabbed it in her neck. She screamed, thick blood coming out of her veins, ruining the perfect white desk.
“You little—“, she screamed and I digged it deeper. She screamed as I cried. Hot tears spilling my face as I covered her mouth. She screamed louder, biting my finger. I wouldn't budge. I would never quit. Not now. Not ever. I couldn't.
Grace closed her eyes, her knees becoming weak, and she fell to the floor. Her head hitting the white tiles. She was dead.
I stepped back. I killed someone. I killed someone. I killed someone. The words wouldn't let go of me. They repeated in my head like a broken record player. I killed someone. I killed someone.
I ran out the office, I had to leave, I had to, and saw a giant window looking out to the streets. We were high up, ten floors at least. I had to get upstairs, to the roof, before anyone noticed.
I killed someone.
My feet ran and ran, never stopping. If anyone saw me, covered in blood, they would stop me. They would know.
I killed someone.
Finally, the exit sign showed it self, and I ran against it. It was locked. Oh no. oh no. This couldn't be happening. I stepped back, took a deep breath, and calmed myself. Closing my eyes, I felt the heat come up my throat, the beautiful sensation of passion, and it burst out—red flames. Graceful and vivid red and yellow fire.

I killed someone.

The doors melted down, and I stepped into the outside. The outside. The outside. I was outside. Oxygen filled my lungs, and I screamed. I was alive. I was free. Nearly. The building next to the one I was on was close. Maybe I could jump it? It was wide and a long way down, but I did not care. I mean, who cares if I die? Death was better than going back. Anything was better than going back.

I killed someone.

I took a big step back, breathed in, smiled, and made a leap. I felt the wind through my hair, my feet dangling into nothingness and suddenly, I knew I wasn't going to make it. My arms grasped for the edge, please please, and failed by inches.
And then I fell.

Tim

Wind whipped past my face as I plummeted, screaming to my death.

Lovely.

I felt the chip in my brain take over my body. I thought of what it would do to them if I survived the fall. Probably wipe them out. Then again that is my mission.

Tim you can't just allow them to kill innocent people, my conscience objected.

Shut up!

No too many people have died because of you. What if this is your chance to redeem yourself?

I can never redeem myself after all I have done.

My mental battle had gone on long enough.
I consigned myself to oblivion. There was no point in fighting another losing battle against the machine that was my brain.

That's when I felt a hand grab my own. Scarlette wrapped her fingers around mine and began to reverse my fall. I stared into her brilliant blue eyes just as I lost vision in my dull green ones. I felt someone hit me and I took that as my cue to stop screaming.

What is she doing she hardly even knows me! I am the enemy what would she save me? Does she care about me? How could anyone possibly care about me?

All of these questions plagued my mind but one thing I knew for certain was that I could not allow my chip to take over. I had to fight.

"I don't want to die" I lied to myself.

I don't want them to die. I silently corrected myself.

"I'm sorry" I whispered before I let go of her hand.

I tumbled blindly through the air now fighting myself. The chip forced me to save myself by using my own energy to slow my fall.

Despite this I hit the ground with an intense thud.

I scrambled into the trees but I didn't get far before a shock went through my body. Groaning I leaned against a tree and sunk to the ground. I was hardly aware of the world around me now. I focused on breathing and I concentrated on the grass at my feet.

I don't know when but at some point Leon crouched beside me and tried to calm me down. Now I realized I had tears running down my cheeks. "It's going to be okay just hang on Tim" Leon said soothingly.

I would have nodded or shown any sign I had heard him but breaking my concentration was dangerous. I felt electricity flow through my body like fire.

I thought of all the ways the beautiful boy in front of me could die at my hand and sobbed.

"Comply!" The chip screamed.

I gave no response.

"Please please don't hurt them" I muttered to myself like a mantra. Maybe if I could remember that I could call off the chip.

I felt Leon's hands on my back rubbing small circles.

"It's okay Tim" he whispered.

I looked up at him and tried to make him understand with my eyes all that was happening.
Somebody actually cared about me. This had never happened before. I could hardly believe it, both fear and joy raced through me as I tried to control my own body. Blood flowed into my eyes from a cut on my head and gave everything a red tinge.
Another burst of electricity burned through my brain making me hang my head in pain. I dug my fingers into my skull trying to make it stop. I wanted to claw out my brain.
Leon's touch made me stop and after a while I was breathing consistently.

I looked up at him again finally feeling under control.

"Sorry so sorry I sorry" I sputtered stumbling over my words. Tears streamed down my face as I remembered what Scarlette had done.

Why?

Leon Rhett
The world seems eerily quiet so high up. With the wind rushing in my ears , even Tim's screaming seemed muted. Frisky plummeted past us and disappeared into the atmosphere.
It was strange. I could feel the air against my face, and tearing at my jacket. It was everywhere and yet I couldn't seem to breathe any of it in. Tim went flailing past me, wailing something incoherent. Scarlette was chasing after him, hand outstretched. I doubted the tears in her eyes were because of the wind. I couldn't see Kirsten. The breath I tried to take searing my throat. It was so cold up there...and yet I felt as if I were burning from the inside out. Someone grabbed me around the waist. I went rigid until I heard her voice. "It's alright. Just me." My body seemed to cool down then and for the first time I felt the cold. "Kirsten." I sighed.

"Where's Scar?" She shouted over the wind. I pointed down. Kirsten muttered something I didn't hear over the wind and slashed at the air with one hand. We went shooting through the air in a steak of gold, flipped sideways by the force of the blast. We heard Tim screaming before we saw them. Scarlette had managed to grab him. Kir put on another burst of speed. I reached out. Scarlett's grabbed my hand. I pulled her up and held on with both arms. Tim was still screaming. Kirsten reached down and hit him. He stopped screaming and took a few deep breaths. The ground was leaping closer.

"I don't want to die..." Tim whimpered, eyes closed. I stared down. All I could see below us was cold cement. I felt Kirsten's arm jerk around my waist. She swiped at the air again with her free hand and we went hurtling. Everything blurred for a second. I got a small glimpse of green before Kir pushed against the air, light blasting from her palm. We rose, flipping though the air until I was staring up at a clear sky. I took a deep breath...And suddenly my vision was enveloped in a haze of green and branches. We crashed through the leaves, a bundle of bodies and tangled limbs. Branches whipped my face. I tightened my grip around Scarlette. Kirsten grunted. The noise was so sharp and deep in her throat that it sounded more like a snarl. We crashed to the ground. A lady walking her dog leaped back, staring. Her dog growled. I let my arms fall limply to the grass. Scarlette rolled off my chest.

"Leon..." Kirsten wheezed from somewhere. "Hard to breathe...when your on top of me..."

"Sorry!" I scrambled off and knealed over her. A few bruises were already starting to appear. My heart twisted. The glimpse of blue sky...she'd flipped us over on purpose."Is anything broken?" My hands began moving on their own over her face. Her body. Her limbs. Kirsten shook her head.

"I got lucky."

"Good. Now don't ever do that again!"

The only response Kirsten offered was a grunt as she pushed herself into a sitting position. "Is everyone else okay?"

I moved my limbs experimentally. "Nothing hurts. Scarlette?"

She stood up slowly. "I'm fine."

"Good. That just leaves..." I glanced around. "Where's Tim?"

Scarlette dropped her gaze. "I don't know...I lost my grip on him while we were falling."

I glanced over at Kirsten. She was staring ahead of her, eyes fixed on some point in the distance only she seemed to see. The unmistakable sound of a sob wavered from behind the tree. I pushed myself to my feet. "I think I just found him. Scar, would you mind staying here with Kirsten?" Scarlette nodded and I crept closer to the sound.
Tim was pressed against the trunk of the tree, quivering with his head between his knees. "Tim?" I slunk closer and crouched beside him. I leaned down so my eyes met his. "It's going to be okay. Just hang on, Tim"
Tim squeezed his eyes shut. His hands clutched at his head, fingers tangled wildly in his hair. He opened his eyes and looked up at me. Another cry tore from his throat. He started muttering something that sounded almost like a prayer. His voice was breathy, and still raspy from his screaming. I reached out, stopped, and dropped my hands a little. Tim seemed to have lost the last shred of awareness he had, staring down at the grass. Tears still dripped from the end of his nose.
I leaned in and laced my arms around his shoulders. "It's okay, Tim."
Tim stared up at me, green eyes wide, reflecting fear I was all too familiar with. Another tremor wracked his body and her jerked away from me, eyes once again squeezed shut and mouth open in a silent scream. He clawed at his head, fingers tearing ferociously at his scalp. I touched his shoulder gently with my fingertips. He trembled harder, and his hands froze. Slowly, I pressed the rest of my hand down on his arm. Tim took a few deep breaths. With each one, I felt the tension leave his body. He let his hands fall away from his head. They came away tinged red with his own blood. He stared at me, still hunched over. The air suddenly spiked in temperature and I heard Scarlette call my name. My heart dropped a few feet in my chest. "I need to go, okay?" Tim nodded and I leaped up and raced around the edge of the tree just in time to see a blinding flash of gold. Scarlette's vision must have cleared before mine, because I heard her whisper "Leon..." before the lights cleared from my eyes.
Where Kirsten had been seconds before was only a patch of charred earth.

Scarlette Fawn

“Where-Where is she?” Leon asked walking towards the charred earth.

“I dont know. One minute she was there and the next she was gone…”

“I have to find her.” He said turning away from the spot.

“Where would she even be?” I ask closing my eyes. “Everytime I try to track her down it's blurry. Almost like she doesn't want me to see.”

“I’ll find her. I always do.” He sighs. “Please stay here will Frisk and Tim. I promise to return before sundown whether I find her or not. Then, we’ll go from there.”

“Good luck.” I hug him feeling his shoulders clench. “You will find her I promise.” I whisper. He pulls away from me, and heads off away from our camp.

I walk back to where a lifeless Frisky sits, and I place my hand gently on the cold metal of his mane. I turn my eyes to Tim who now appears to be resting. I sigh.

“Where is everyone?” I close my eyes searching for any connection. But there is just nothing. Matt, Carlos, Kirsten, Astral. I can't find any of them. It’s been like this ever since I woke up. Everything is stronger, but at the same time I feel powerless. The power is growing faster than my ability to use it, and I feel myself slipping. I need to train, but how can I do it when there is so much be done and so many people to be found. I am the last thing I could possibly think about right now. I search deeper until the flash of bright lights and piercing screams echo in my mind. I stand quickly shocked at the abrupt vision. I know who this is.

“Astral?” Another vision appears, and the screams echo louder. “Astral!” Suddenly I am in a lab room surrounded by medical equipment and cold gray walls. I turn around till I face a chair. Astral sits there unconscious bound to the seat with thick chains. I run to him, but I feel no heat as I place my hands to his face.

“Scar...Scarlette?” His voice is quiet, but he begins to stir.

“Astral.” I say. His eyes slowly open, and he smiles. “What have they done to you?”

“Is this the end? Am I finally dead.”

“No you’re not. I’m here. It's really me tell me where you are. Tell me how to find you.” I beg.

“Find me. Find this place.” He says almost under a trance.

“I- I can't.” I say “I’m not powerful enough.”

“Find me. Find this place.” He repeats again as his eyes go to the back of his head. “Quickly…”

“No, no, no, no, no. Please stay awake! I will find you. I will find you.I promise!” The world around me begins to dissolve into a cascading darkness. For some reason I trust this void, and I begin walking into the nothingness letting it lead me to where I need to go. Leading me to the ones that I love.

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This post has been deleted my yours truly because honestly it was crap. So sorry for the inconvenience.

Kirsten Rhett
The city around us seemed to be nothing but a haze. The only thing other than me that truly existed was him. Carlos lying broken and motionless in my arms. My body still screamed in pain from the fall, but even that seemed dull now.
I kept my eyes on him, watched as his chest rose and fell faintly. The edge of the city was now faintly outlined against the pale evening sky. Walking seemed so slow. Too slow. I felt my own body heat spike up. Energy pulsed inside me, building up in my veins. Threatening to strangle me. The rate of Carlos's breathing began to slow.
Fear penetrated every inch of my body and the heat grew to an inferno. all I could see was gold. The outside haze disappeared for a moment and when my vision returned, I was well outside the reaches of the city, so near to the park I could see the tree etched against the sky. I could see, faintly, three figures hunched around its trunk. One sitting farther away from the other two, who were huddled together so close I could barely tell who's shadow was who's
I raised my voice slightly. Just enough to carry over the short distance between us.

"Leon?" His head snapped up and he shot to his feet. I didn't need to say any more. He was already running toward me, closely followed by the other three He skidded to halt as he came close enough to see what I was carrying. Scarlette peered around his shoulder and gasped. Her hand flew to he mouth. I swallowed the grief building up in the back of my throat, so potent I could almost taste its bitterness.
"He fell." My voice shook. "And he's dying. I sensed it..." My fists clenched. "I have to help him."
I laid him down, settling him as gently as I could on the cool grass.

"You can't do this, Kirsten." Leon's voice was hard. Charged with fear. "You're still not fully recovered from last time."

I splayed my hands out above his chest. "Back away, Leon."

Warm hands clasped around my shoulders. "We'll find some other way. I'm sorry Kirsten, but I can't just--"

"Get away from me." My hands began to glow golden. A strange shade. It seemed darker than before.

He tugged. "I can't let you do this!"

"Stay away from me!" I hadn't realized I had lashed out until he was tumbling backwards. The back of my hand was stinging and red hot. Everything inside me seemed to freeze at once. He lay there a moment, breathing heavily. Scarlette was staring at me. It was the same look you'd give a mad dog, but at the same time it was still soft. Laced with pity. I looked back around at Leon. He had sat up, and was touching his bruised cheek with the tips of his fingers, as if he still didn't quite believe it was actually there.
My lips parted for a moment, then I sealed them closed again and shook my head. except for a slight taint of purple, the mark on Leon's cheek was an angry red. It wasn't only a bruise. It was a burn. The hand still poised over Carlos's body began to shake. I closed my eyes tight.
"I'm sorry." Despite the deep breath I had taken before, I could only seem to manage a whisper. "I'm sorry Leon, I have to do this."
I turned back to Carlos. His breathing was shallower than ever. His chest rose and fell rapidly. Light poured from my hands again, weaving around his body. His limbs straightened as his bones reset and cracks were filled in. His eyelids flickered slightly. My vision began to blur.
Still encased in my light, Carlos stirred. His breathing was deeper. More regular. I forced myself to breath air that seemed now to be too thick. My head began to swim.
The last cracked rib shifted into place and I let my light fall. Carlos opened his eyes a little, then they shot wide. Emotions flashed in his eyes and accross his face. Shock. Relief. Disbelief.

Love.

He inhaled sharply. His gaze was focused on mine. Heat coursed through me again, but this kind was different. Softer. My vision once again blurred. I blinked, and a few tears streamed from my eyes.
Carlos's cheeks already had shining streaks on them. A path for still more shining droplets to follow. He took a shaky breath
"Mi Corazon"
He bolted upright and the next moment his arms were around me. One head cradling the back of my head, pressing my head into his shoulder. Fingers twined in my hair. The other was pressed against the small of my back, clutching a handful of my shirt as if I'd vanish if he let go of me.
I closed my eyes and let everything fade away. The only thing that mattered now was the darkness and him. Carlos. His body shaking in my arms as we both cried.

For once, I felt no shame.

Carlos
I tightened my grip. None of this could be real. I was going to wake up soon and I’d be lying in my cell with a new scar on my body. I tore away from the embrace and held her out at arm’s length. She was almost unrecognizable. Her hair was jaggedly cut so it fell in a slant at the nape of her neck in little curls. Her eyes were faded somehow. Most of the light I’d seen in them was gone.
The sight of her sitting in front of me seemed to convince the skeptical part of my brain that this wasn’t a dream. Suddenly everything felt ten times more real. The cool breeze blowing across my face and the feel of the grass on my bare feet and Kirsten’s hands still resting on my arms. Another dam inside me burst and I felt tears prickling at the edges of my eyes. Kirsten pulled me into her again and I felt a sudden rush of adrenaline at the feeling of her body against mine, our foreheads pressed together. The bridge of her nose brushed mine. I tiled my head to the side. My heart thudded in my chest and I hesitated, then began to retreat. Come on, Carlos. This is Kirsten. You’re like a brother to her. She’d think it was weird.
Kirsten leaned in the last two centimeters.
I froze. Suddenly my mind flashed blank, as if it had shorted out trying to figure out what the heck had just happened. My skin burned, aware of every touch. Of three pairs of eyes staring at us. At Kirsten’s breath floating over my cheek. Her arms slipping around my hips. A once dormant part of my brain flicked on and whispered to me that she had it backwards. I shut it off again. My arms drifted up almost without me noticing and circled around her shoulders. My eyes slid closed and the rest of the world melted into the background as I leaned forward, only aware of Kirsten’s lips on mine and the burning seconds where I counted my pounding heartbeats.
The world flooded in with stark clarity when she pulled away. My brain woke up again, searching for something to say. I’d read plenty of books and seen movies where they just stared at each other and didn’t say anything, but all that did was make me uncomfortable. I opened my mouth. Closed it. Opened it again.
“Um…” I managed to mumble “It’s…great to see you again.”
Kirsten laughed. Last time I heard her laugh had been the first time we’d met. Sitting in the desert in the middle of the night. The memory didn’t seem real now. The little kids around the fire back then were something out of a strange dream. One that leaves you strangely empty when you wake up. I smiled, feeling lighter than I had in a long time. I wanted laugh with her. Hug her again. Skip around the grass doing a Carlos-Happy-Dance.
“What just…” The voice was unfamiliar and obviously bewildered. Instinctively I tensed, my body bracing itself for a fight.
“I’m as surprised as you are.” Leon’s voice made me relax a little. I scooted myself around until I was facing them. Leon and Scarlette were there, standing on either side of a huge mammoth of a guy I’d never seen before. Scarlette was grinning wider than I’d ever see before. I smiled back. Leon strode over to me and held a hand out to me. He was definitely nowhere close to smiling. The corners of his mouth were slightly turned down and his eyes when they met mine were stony. Completely void of any emotion. I half expected him to hit me over the head with a rolled-up newspaper and call me a bad dog. I took his hand and he helped me to my feet.
“How are you feeling?” His voice sounded cold, like feeling okay was somehow a sin of some kind. I shifted uncomfortably.
“I mean…I can stand up, so I guess I’m alright…who’s the new guy?”
“That’s Tim.” Kirsten answered from her spot on the grass. Her voice rushed from her like it couldn’t get out fast enough. The words seemed to collapse on the ground, exhausted. “He says he has information on where everyone’s being kept, so now we’re stuck with him.”
I gave him a nervous little wave. “Then I guess I have you to thank for the rescue.”
Tim’s eyes lit up like he’d received a medal.
“Hardly.” I could hear the death glare in Kirsten’s voice. “He obviously had no idea where you were. We found you out of sheer dumb luck.”
Tim cringed, the pride flooding out of him. I couldn’t help feeling a little sorry for him.
“So what now?” Scarlette changed the subject. “We still need to find Astral and we don’t have many leads”
Leon started pacing. “Not to mention Frisky’s out of commission. And even if he weren’t Kirsten would need time to recover.”
“Recover?” I looked back at her. Kirsten shrugged, suddenly becoming very interested in a beetle climbing over her fingers.
“Recover.” Leon replied. “Healing people has been taking a lot out of her lately. She nearly killed herself healing Scarlette’s arm.”
I took a closer look at her. There were dark circles under her eyes, and her skin clung to her in a way that almost made her look like a starved animal. Kirsten scowled at the beetle.
“She was dying! You wouldn’t expect me to just leave her like that.”
“Focus, guys.” Leon snapped. The commanding tone in his voice made me jump a little. “This isn’t the time for this. Help me out here.”
We were quiet for a moment, then Scarlette spoke again. “We should find a place to hide. Staying out in the open like this is too risky.”
Leon nodded and started pacing again. “We’ll have to do something about Frisky. Something tells me people won’t be willing to ignore a giant silver lion in the middle of the park.”
Another, longer pause where Leon continued to pace. Then Kirsten straightened. “Carlos, when I carried you I was still able to warp travel.”
“You were able to what whonow?”
“Travel at light speed. I might as well give it a name. My point is, you went with me. I was thinking as long as I’m touching him, maybe I could take Frisky somewhere where he won’t draw so much attention.”
Leon’s brow furrowed. “I don’t think that’s a great idea right now.”
“I’ll have to agree with Leon on this one.” Scar shyly brushed a lock of hair out of her face. “You barely have the strength to stand.”
“I can stand on my own!” Kirsten staggered to her feet and stood, trembling with the effort of keeping herself upright before collapsing again with a grunt.
“Sorry Kirsten.” Leon bent down and picked her up. “Not this time.” He looked out at the rest of us. “Any other ideas?”
Something clicked in my head. Kirsten wasn’t the only one who could travel fast. “Hey Leon. I think I have something”
He nodded at me.
“You can do that thing right?”
“What thing?”
“You know…where you just…” The words suddenly left my brain, so I made a bursting motion with my hands and said, “poof”
Leon continued to look confused.
“He’s talking about your disappearing trick, bro.” Kirsten explained.
“Oh! I see what you’re getting at, Carlos. It’s not a bad idea, but just because Kir can travel with other people doesn’t mean I can.”
“It’s worth a try, though.” Scarlette chimed in. “Carlos and I will watch over Kirsten”
Leon hesitated, his eyes meeting mine briefly before handing Kirsten to Scarlette and heading off into the trees. The world was quiet again, but this quiet was more comfortable. Kirsten closed her eyes and in seconds she was asleep. Scarlette was still smiling at me. I grinned back. “I missed you guys.”

Esther
She woke. She didn't know where she was. She was in another white room, but it wasn't her white room. Her white room had drawings of her friends on the walls. This white room was clean.

She didn't like it. She sat up and realized my arms were bound in the Buckle Jacket. She hated the Buckle Jacket, it didn't let her play with her friends. She struggled against her bonds.

"No Buckle Jacket!" She shouted, "Esther wants to play! Esther wants to play!" Sh started to throw herself against the walls. She screamed. Suddenly a voice over the intercom crackled to life.

"Now, Esther," it said, "We need you to cooperate. May we speak to one of your other friends?" She shook her head, her tangled hair flying everywhere.

"No Buckle Jacket, no, no, no..." She sat in the corner rocking back and forth muttering under her breath. Suddenly, a figure in a white suit came into the room. He took of Esther's jacket and quickly left the room.

"Esther?" asked the voice over the intercom, "May we speak to one of your friends?" She raised her head and in a deeper and stronger voice said;

"Ester is away. This is Pequin. How may I be of assistance?" The voice over the intercom took on a relieved tone.

"Hello, Pequin. We would like to know who all of Ester's friends are. Please give us their names and what they're like. This is for research." Esther nodded and stood up. Her posture was ramrod straight and she walked with the confidence of an adult.

"I understand this is for research. I'm glad you came to talk to me. First, there is me, Pequin. I am twenty-six years of age and my extensive vocabulary is vibrant and vast. Next, there is Esther. A cute little one who loves with all her heart. Then, May, a terribly sad and always scared little girl. You'll never hear a peep out of her. Denver, a playful soul who is into roughhousing and such. She's really close to Theodore who also loves to play in the mud. Madison is my favorite, she is always calm and focused. And then..." Esther trailed off. She stopped walking around the room and was staring at the wall.

"Pequin?" asked the voice over the intercom, "Pequin can you hear me?" Esther turned around, her body glitching in and out of existence. The sound of static filled the air and a scary, child's voice echoed throughout the room.

"Pequin is not here."

"Who are you?" asked the voice. Esther giggled a bone-chilling sound that would fit perfectly in a horror movie. She glitched and teleported to another part of the room. Bloody footprints started to appear on the floor and Esther looked up. Her eyes were black and there was blood dripping from them.

"Who are you?" the voice asked again with fear.

"Pequin is not here," she repeated and the room suddenly went dark, then the lights flickered back on.

"Who. Are. You?" asked the voice slowly. There was a bit of silence before she replied.

"Cumin."

There was a scream and everything went black.