Young Writers Society

"Oh yeah, you're right," Sage lowered her arm. "I haven't eaten anything from the cafeteria since then, either. I guess it's probably all out of my system...but maybe there's still some residue? Couldn't hurt to check, would it?"

Then Dawn began freaking out, vines spreading around the already messy room. Evan dodged out of the way as a tendril of red, angry-looking thorns reached for his ankle.

"Dawn!" Avery stepped in front of her, shielding her from Shiloh's view. "It's okay, you're alright, nobody's going to touch you. Maybe we can, um, figure out something else? We don't have to take any of the powder out, let's just--"

"But that's too much of a risk!" Sage interjected. "We've already tested fate with how long we've been under the Adjudicator's nose without Powder finding anything about us. We're lucky we even still have our powers! If this is a long-term solution...we can't spend any more time with that stuff inside us! We have to get it out now!"

"Maybe there's another way," Avery suggested, still trying to comfort the panicking Dawn. "One that doesn't involve getting sliced open."

"But--"

"I'm not arguing with you right now! We're not doing this!" Avery tucked Dawn under her arm, guiding her out of the room. Sage cast a glance back at Shiloh, then at Evan. After a moment's hesitation she followed the two girls, disappearing down the hallway and leaving the three of them alone.

"I don't think I've been mind-controlled yet," Evan muttered once the silence stretched taut. He looked up at Shiloh. "You could try it on me."

Shiloh watched everyone argue with each other, as did Astrid. Astrid felt pretty awkward just sitting there, but Shiloh seemed bored with it. "God, people just can't handle that our bodies are completely disgusting. Blood and guts and squishy things..." they whispered, their brow furrowed, "I mean, you're literally piloting a meatsuit around! 'Course it's gross."

Astrid coughed and Shiloh came to. "Oh, so you offer yourself up?" they said, pointing the knife at Evan. Their smile grew larger. "Great! Oh, you might wanna sit down. This will probably be the worst sensation you've ever felt and might take me an hour," they said, cheering as they grabbed their medical supplies, "Let's get this party started!"

Astrid looked at Evan with a mix of sympathy and pity. "Good luck, bro. At least you'll have me for emotional support."


Now that they were in the hallway, Dawn nervously pushed her hair behind her ear (what was left of it, anyway). "Avery," she said, scanning the area. Thankfully, it was clear. "You really didn't have to do that," she whispered, wrapping her own arms around her in placd of a hug, "I would've been fine! I'm just... not good with health stuff." More specifically, injuries. The scars from her mother and several other accidents felt itchy after being near Shiloh so long. Then, she noticed Sage had followed them. This could only end swell.

"Oh, hi, um," she stuttered. Dawn stepped in front of Avery, trying to keep the situation from esculating. Bettef to lose a bit of comfort than start a whole fuss over something so small, in the grand scheme. "Sorry. I shouldn't have reacted like that, it was kind of stupid. I can do it, maybe. I think. With enough time, I might get the courage. Probably."

Sage nodded. "Okay. Uh, good. Hopefully this works."


Back in the dorm, Evan was thinking the same thing. He shifted uncomfortably as Shiloh set up their workspace. His skin had turned a nervous shade of sickly green, but he stayed where he was.

"Maybe be a little more gentle?" he watched Shiloh sift through various knives and tubes, a wide grin on their unsettling face. "If that's not too much to ask."

Shiloh snorted. "Ha! Yeah, right," they said. After a moment of no following chuckles, they looked over at Evan with an eyebrow in the air. "Oh. You meant that, didn't you?" They scratched their neck and breathed through their teeth. "Uh, yeah, sure. I'll try. Might not be much of a difference, though."

Dawn smiled at Sage, then looked back at Avery. "Thanks for looking out for me, anyways. That was pretty nice." There was a faint pink on her cheeks as she said it. Then, she saw someone familiar from the corner of her eye. Behind Avery, a little girl with pale blue eyes and a teddy bear at her side skipped along and hummed a tune. She completely ignored the three and went about her way.

Dawn watched her intensely. "Was it just me or did Winifred seem... different? Her teddy wasn't moving around much either..."

Sage narrowed her eyes. "She's Powder's sister, right? They wouldn't do anything to her..."

"Maybe she's just in a good mood today," Avery suggested. Her eyes darted around the hallway, her skin prickling nervously. "Let's go back into the dorm. I don't like being out in the open."

"Yeah, sure," Dawn mumbled, watching as Winnie turned the corner with a smile on her face. Winnie wasn't one for expressions or joy, really. She's still a little girl, Dawn told herself.

She shivered when she was told that they'd be returning to that dorm. Still, it was better than Darcy Lane barging in and doing who knows what. So, Dawn wrapped her arm around Avery's, like a victorian lady being escorted down the street. She took a deep breath, and allowed herself inside with Avery next to her. As long as she didn't look at it directly and she still had Avery beside her, everything would be fine.

"Oh, welcome back!" Shiloh waved at them with his knife in the air and a big smile. Then, without warning, they quickly made a slice along Evan's forearm up to his wrist. Shiloh kept a tight hold on Evan's arm, not allowing him to jerk away. "You made it for the fireworks!"

In an instant, Dawn's confidence vanished, her stomach dropped, and she felt like fainting.

"Ow! What the hell!?" Evan snapped, turning an angry shade of crimson. "You've gotta give me a warning first!"

"That cut is huge!" Sage's eyes were wide as Evan's blank, colorless blood dripped onto the floor. "You'll bleed him out!"

"Shut up," they spat, holding Evan's arm even tighter. Shiloh took a deep breath and closed their eyes. "Just let me concentrate, and it'll be fine."

It was a weird sensation for both parties. The blank blood stayed within the body, moving as if everything were normal, and slowly after that, two heartbeats became one. It was much easier to sync up then to try this without steady heartrates. "Shit," Shiloh whispered, "That's a lot of tiny particles..."

Dawn was holding onto Avery and the wall behind her for dear life. "Well, um, I think this my cue to turn around. Haha!" At the same time, she spun on her heel and stared at the wall, trying to stop her stomach from doing backflips.

Evan calmed down after a moment, watching as the blood stopped flowing out, instead weaving back and forth under his slashed skin.

"Whoa," he breathed. "That's cool!"

Shiloh grunted angrily.

"Right, sorry. I'll stay quiet."

It took upwards of an hour to build up a large clump of the black goo, but thankfully, due to Evan's colorless blood, it was much easier to locate and build.

Shiloh delicately opened their eyes to see the blob come together by the wound on Evan. They breathed in sync with Evan, feeling the bloodstream and how the clumping goo fought against it. Shiloh tried not to wince. "This is gonna hurt. Someone should get some bandages for him."

Then, they grimaced and began pulling it out, slipping through the flesh until flopped out onto the floor with a wet smack. It was... more than painful, to say the least. Especially when Shiloh let go of Evan. That tranquil moment of heart and body beating as one was instantly ripped away. It was jarring for Shiloh, at least.

The sound of a wet slap hitting the wood floor made Dawn cringe and wrap herself in vine even more. "Eugh, is it over?"

"God damn!" Evan wrenched his arm back, cradling it as blank blood soaked his hoodie. He looked at Shiloh. "You weren't kidding--it was like my veins were on fire!"

"Here, hold out your wrist," Avery pulled a bandage from her canister and began wrapping it hurriedly around her brother's rapidly bleeding forearm. "How does that feel?"

"Better than before," Evan glanced down at himself. "Eugh. I'm gonna have to wash my clothes."

"So...that's the powder, huh?" Sage pointed to the little black blob on the floor. It shifted strangely as it settled into the carpet, the little granules moving as if they were alive. She clutched her stomach, choking a little. "Disgusting."

"Hey, at least it's not in my body anymore," Evan pointed out. He looked around at the others. "Who wants to go next?"

Shiloh rubbed their head. "You may want to lie down for a bit. Heavy blood loss causes dizziness and may make you feel light-headed." Once Shiloh regained their composure, they easily looked over the group once again. "Oh, yes! Who's next? I want to see if anyone else has strange colored blood!" they said, reaching for a cloth to wipe up some of Evan's colorless blood. Shiloh put it on their desk for safekeeping. They were certain they'd have a fun time studying that later.

Astrid and Dawn glanced at each other. Then Dawn looked down at the powder. "What the f-" she cut herself off with a cough, "That's just in me!? Right now!?"

Shiloh was cleaning and polishing their knife as they awaited their next subject. "Well, now that you've digested it, yes. But you keep calling it a powder, so my best guess is that it was more like sand when you first consumed it." Then, Shiloh turned to Avery and Evan. "Don't worry! Once this is all done, I can make it heal quicker! It's just about moving the white blood cells and to take care of the scabbing. There shouldn't be a scar, if I can do it right!"

"Still not comforting," Astrid replied. Then, with a sigh, they reached into their closet and put on a hoodie they didn't really care about. She was wearing a nice dress! She didn't want it ruined! "I guess I'm up next. Spare a certain someone more time." Astrid then sat next to Shiloh and offered her arm. "I don't care if it hurts, just make it quick."

Dawn took in a deep, shaky breath. Maybe, just maybe, it'd be better to get mind-controlled then have her arm spilt open. The Adjudicator made she that this same wound already happened far too many times. She was trembling in her vines, trying not to heave as she stared at the gooey, slimy black mass on the floor.

Yep. She was sure of it. Someone would have to force her to do this procedure, tie her down and gag her, too. No way in hell was she doing this willingly.

Evan nodded at Shiloh's advice, moving over to the bed. He almost tripped on some loose clothing on the way, but managed to catch himself on the bunk railing.

"Maybe it's the dizziness, but I feel...lighter," he murmured, settling carefully on the bed. He rested his arm beside him, positioning it as comfortably as possible. "Like my limbs were filled with lead but now it's been sucked out. My body's kinda...cleaner, I guess."

"Well that's interesting," Sage sat down beside him, peering curiously at his wound. "Do you feel emptier, too? Like there was someone in your head but now it's gone? Ooh, was there like, a little Powder whispering things in your ear before?"

"No," Evan shook his head. "I just feel less weighed down And besides, if there was a tiny Powder in my head I think we all would have noticed it. We are all infected, you know."

Dawn nodded along with them. "Indeed, but I think I'm just, um, gonna let this one flush itself out..." she murmured, trying not to catch anyone's attention. She assured Sage she'd gain courage for the act, but that was an obvious lie. She just couldn't handle it. After everything they'd been through, she was still as squeamish as can be.

It didn't help that moments later, Astrid screamed so loud it was at risk of breaking the window. Shiloh truly showed no mercy in cutting people open. Astrid had to bite her own tongue to shut up, and then she complained about how her tongue hurt.

Shiloh nodded, focused as they kept the blood inside their roommate. "I'll make sure to give the next one something to bite on before I cut. Thanks for the idea, Astrid," he groaned.

"It's not my fault! You were too hard with it!" she said, "I don't even know why you were trusted with knives in this school."

Avery flinched, looking away. It was a gruesome process, and her stomach was starting to churn. After a moment, she realized she hadn't eaten anything in quite a while. All the excitement with filming the video and everything had distracted her, but now that she was just standing here she was painfully aware of the loud grumbling coming from her abdomen.

"You know, I just realized," she spoke suddenly. "...If we can't get food from the cafeteria, what are we supposed to eat?"