The Gifted (Take two of 'A New World')

Chapter 25

The GRAIL Gifted were on a rota. Two of them watched over Illianna and Allyssianne at any given time. Marny and Jamie were on duty when Blade made his move on the two he thought were under his control.

Allyssianne rubbed the back of her neck, feeling the chip activate. Illianna flinched. Then the realisation dawned on them as the voltage increased. Jamie sprinted to find help as the two girls collapsed, trying not to scream. Marny knelt beside Allyssianne, reaching out to stop her thrashing. On contact with her friend, the electricity shot up her arm. She tried desperately to pull away, but she couldn’t. Jamie ran back into the room, closely followed by Jack and two soldiers. Jack grabbed Marny, pulling her away while the two soldiers tied up Allyssianne and Illianna to limit their thrashing. Marny lay trembling on the ground, watching the two soldiers pick up her friends and stride away. Jack swiftly picked Marny up, following them.

The soldiers led them into a small room with four beds, almost like the medical bay in the complex. As soon as Jack had shut the door, the two girls stopped twitching, their eye half closed. Jack put Marny down, and the girl blushed slightly. Had this been a normal guy, she would have punched his lights out, but Jack happened to be rather good looking, so being carried by him wasn’t all that bad...

They both looked at the two semi-conscious girls, and Marny wondered what had happened. Jack knew. He glanced at Marny, meaning in his gaze. The teenager realised what he was saying.
“Oh no, I didn’t take the full force of the shock, I don’t need to be hospitalised!”
“Marny, I don’t know if there are any secondary effects from this. I just want you in observation.” His tone demanded obedience, and Marny reluctantly lay down on one of the beds, her face betraying how annoyed she was. Jack ignored this face, walking over to Allyssianne. Drawing back her black hair, he looked at her neck, where the small scar was visible. With a scowl, he checked Illianna’s neck too, seeing the same mark.
“What’s that?” Marny asked, having seen the cut on Allyssianne’s neck.
“It’s nothing you need to worry about,” Jack assured her. “Just lie down, and try to relax.” He seemed to think for a moment before he left.

Marny laid her head back, trying to get her head around what had just happened. It seemed to be so surreal, so out of place. What was she doing here, in this mad world of prisons and escapes and fights. This wasn’t where she wanted to be! She wanted to go back to her life of getting up at half-past six in the morning to go to school and fall asleep again! Was this just a dream? No, it wasn’t a dream.

Ooh, that is so cute!
Anyway, there are a few things you need to work on though.
First, seeing as you eddited the first part making it only Marny and Allyssianne, some of the vocab still hints to the fact that there was actually a group and not just two girls. Also, you need to explain more. For example, you suddenly come up with something about a manticore when you havn't said anything about it before. Im guessing this is just the first draft and nowhere neer finished, but im telling you all the same.
Apart from that, I love it! lol
Can't wait for the rest, may it come soon! lol

Alba xx

Good piece of writing, Ally, I have to admit.
But, as Alba said, there are a few errors in the first posts, but then it gets changed. Also, it seems it has some not-really-human-like reactions to it, such as... Well, basically, by the way I read it, it seemed that Allyssianne hugged Jamie the first time she saw him in real life, and not through the television screen. From what I saw of the first posts, I only read that Ally and Marny were the ones taken away.
If Ally knew Jamie before, which would then make her reaction understandable once she saw him, why didn't she recognize him on the television screen? And what about Marny and Killian? I mean, if they knew each other before, also, that would make the 'both hand in hand' thing comprehensible, but here, if it's their first day/night together, I don't think it would be like that Marny would react, and I think that by now you should know that, eh, Jenn? =w=
BUT, then again, I don't know the whole story, and you have been working on it for more time then I can imagine. If possible, would it be plausible to make a short BIO of each character, on the first post? Or maybe, just add more precisions.
Anyways, good piece of work, it just goes a little too fast (in my opinion) without much description, which would make the story -and you know it- infinitely better.

Long post.

Lol, thanks for the views CnP. I'm still working on it, and before, there were a lot more characters in it, and I'm still switching around the roles to accomodate the loss of those characters.
BTW, I do have bios for them, lol. I'll put them up on a separate thread so that we don't get confused.

By the way, why did you take out the other girls? I thought it was quite good with the idea of a group.

Alba xx

Ok, there was a whole huge editing of the whole text up there, so those comments should actuallybe further down. Here's the rest of it...

Chapter 26

Jack returned a couple of minutes after leaving followed by Jamie, and another boy she hadn’t seen before. His reddish brown hair flopped into his sea green eyes, and he seemed so much older than his sixteen year old face suggested. His eyes drifted dully over the three girls in the room, until he locked gazes with Marny. Ocean green locked with emerald as they stared at each other.
“Girls,” Jack said quietly, “this is Killian. He’ll be protecting you for now. Killian, these girls are Marny, Allyssianne and Illianna.”
Killian stared at Marny, and one corner of his lips pulled up in a half smile. Jamie, sitting next to Allyssianne, watched them. Allyssianne leant her head against his chest, slowly drifting into sleep. Illianna turned her back on the others, hugging herself as she tried not to cry. Killian sat next to Marny, his eyes still locked with hers. Marny could feel her heart melting

The five Gifted stayed silent for a few moments, no one speaking. Marny slowly drifted off to sleep, Killian’s hand on hers. Jack poked his head round the door, beckoning to the boys. Jamie left, but Killian hesitated.

Reaching into his pocket, the teenager pulled out a single seed. Focusing slightly, he willed the seed to grow and take shape. The small seed grew into a white-petaled rose. He placed it into Marny’s hand before he followed Jamie.

The boys were all watching Killian as he sat in the corner of the room that Jack had put aside for them in the hotel-like section they lived in. It was supposed to be for relaxing, but it was used more for giving announcements. Jack was standing in the rather deformed semi circle the boys formed. Killian was sitting under the shadows cast by the leaves on a potted plant, and the other boys were on the other side of the room, sitting on the two couches or leaning against the walls. Everyone looked at Jack, apart from Killian, who was glaring at the floor, wondering why on Earth Jack had to put him through this now.
“Ok everyone,” Jack said, “First thing, I’m going to introduce Killian to the team. He manipulates Nature.” Killian gave a bored sort of wave, not taking his gaze off the floor.
“Second thing,” Jack continued, “is that I want you all to be on alert. Now that the GH know where we’re based, and that we have the whole team as far as I know, they’re not going to just let us get away with you being here. Blade will have a plan that he needs your help to complete. Just be on your guard until we can get you back to your home countries, ok?”
The boys all murmured agreements before they dispersed, most of them going to their separate rooms. Killian glanced at Jack before leaving the room, heading back to the infirmary.

Chapter 27

Marny was awake, staring at the rose in her hand. She looked up as Killian silently let himself into the room, not wanting to disturb the other two girl’s sleep.
“I’ve been posted here to try and protect you.” He murmured, gently laying one hand on hers. Marny managed a small smile at the boy, her body still tired out after the electric shock. She rested her head back against the pillow, half closing her eyes. She didn’t want to be lying there while there was an attack on the base, but she was just so tired, sore. She sighed, wishing she was out there on the front line, ripping out the throats of anyone who dared to invade the place she chose to call her home.

Killian watched Marny as she started to drift off to sleep, his face relaxing. He liked to see people sleeping. It gave them a peaceful look, as if there was nothing wrong with their lives. He knew that it was the complete opposite with Marny. He knew that the complications in her life were only just beginning. He slowly reached out a hand, touching the sleeping hypnotist’s hair, just gently stroking it. It had long grown out of the bob Marny had liked to keep it in, and it now reached down just past her shoulders. Killian sighed silently, withdrawing his hand.

He reached into this pocket, pulling out a seed. He examined it in the light before placing it on the ground. He concentrated on it for a moment, and watched as a small green shoot sprang from the seed, growing quickly, separating into multiple branches. A small smile crept over his face as he watched the first flower start to grow on the vines of the climbing rose. He sighed quietly, leaning back in his seat as he watched the climbing rose start to make its own way around the room, only lightly prompted by him to curl itself around various things, but he made sure that it kept away from the medical equipment. He enjoyed these moments of quiet, where he could just forget that his control over plant life was putting his life in danger from the GH.

Killian guessed that he must have fallen asleep, but he was suddenly on his feet as he heard someone shouting commands near the door. He jumped to his feet, listening intently. He looked round behind him sharply, frowning as he saw that the three girls were on their feet, ready to fight. He was about to open his mouth to say something, but Allyssianne interrupted him.
“There’s no way you’re fighting on your own.” She said firmly, a few sparks of dark energy appearing around her. Killian frowned, how could this girl suddenly relish the thought of a fight after all that the GH had put her through. He shook his head mentally, turning to face the door just as it burst open. The climbing roses reared up, cobra like, seemingly ready to attack, but they soon went limp as Killian fell, closely followed by the girls.

Blade himself walked into the room, looking at the four Gifted on the ground. A triumphant smile twisted his face as the soldiers that had shot them walked in, tying their arms and legs before carrying them to the waiting Black Hawk.

Marny came round slowly, rubbing her head, not quite able to pull herself out of the fog. Something tingled at the back of her neck. She reached up to scratch it, thinking that it was just an itch, but her hand met a small incision, held together with one stitch. Her eyes widened. She remembered seeing the half healed cut on Allyssianne’s neck, and remembered the effects of it. She looked around to find herself inside some sort of aircraft, judging by the curved shape of the walls and roof. It had been separated into small cells, except for an open area at what she guessed to be the cockpit end of the aircraft and a corridor like space separating the cells into two rows.

Marny looked out, hearing a scuffle in the open area. She saw Blade there, watching over something. She recognised the dark green jumper. Killian. Two soldiers were holding him down, forced onto his knees with his head twisted to one side, his reddish brown hair falling over his face. He was struggling, but the soldiers were too experienced in their holds for him to be able to escape their grasp.

Killian wriggled, unable to use any of the escape methods Jack had drilled into him to free himself from the soldier’s grasp. He heard something metallic being picked up from a metallic plate, and his efforts doubled, but in vain. There was no escaping this. He froze as something cold and sharp touched the back of his neck, just next to his spine. He could feel it as it penetrated his skin. He tried hard not to flinch, knowing that it would only make the minimal wound worse. He opened his eyes, which had previously been squeezed shut, looking around frantically. He saw Marny there, looking horrified, with one hand on her neck. He knew what had happened to her, and he felt a sudden rage boil up within his mind. He started to struggle furiously again, just as he felt the cold point of the needle to sew up the wound on the point of digging into the skin. One of the soldiers lashed out with the butt of his rifle, hitting Killian in the temple just hard enough to daze the teenage Gifted. The needle slid through his skin, finalising the implantation of the chip. Blade nodded once, satisfied with the work. All the Gifted had been chipped. All that was left to do was to separate them until the time they were needed.

Blade moved to stand in front of Allyssianne and Illianna, who’s cells were side by side. His gaze was cold and hard. Fear started to creep its icy path into the hearts of the two girls, who knew what was coming for the way they had lost the fight.
“Traitors do not live under my rule,” He snapped, “but you are a vital part of my plan, so we’ll just have to settle for a little punishment.”

The two girls braced themselves for the attack, knowing that Blade would only turn up the voltage so that it was just under the point that would kill them. The rest of the team watched in silence or looked away as the pair tried to fight the urge to writhe and scream. They sat with tensed muscles and pain filled eyes while Blade watched them with a perverse look of pleasure on his face. He stopped it a few moments later, turning to look at the rest of the Gifted.
“There will be no more disobedience,” He said, glaring at each and every one of the teenagers before him. No one answered him, lowering their gazes to the ground, cursing the man within the confines of their own minds.

Only a few people looked up as the Chinook landed a while later. No one knew how long they had been in the air for before landing. The Gifted looked at each other, wondering what was going to happen to them. Confusion was clear on their faces, although they weren’t sure if the confusion they felt was their own or the confusion of the two emotional manipulators. The door clanged against the metal sides of the helicopter as a tall man stepped into the helicopter. His face told the teenagers that he was most probably Japanese or Chinese, but either way, they knew that he couldn’t be good news as they saw him exchange quick nods with Blade. The man’s eyes glided over the nine teenagers with a scrutinising look as four soldiers stepped into the helicopter, waiting for orders.
“We have been given custody of one ‘Foxy’ and one ‘Iceberg’,” The leader said, his voice frosty and emotionless. Blade wordlessly pointed to Illianna and James, and the four soldiers moved forwards to lead (drag) the two out of the helicopter. Almost immediately Daniel was at the front of his, cell, shouting after James even after he was out of sight. He was only silenced when one of Blade’s own soldiers knocked the pyrokenetic unconscious. The remaining Gifted looked at each other again, starting to feel afraid, but this time, they knew that it was their own fear.

Once again, it was impossible to determine the time it took on the next stretch of the flight, nor did they have any idea where it was. The only clue they had at the beginning was the wave of baking heat that rushed into the Chinook as soon as the door was opened. Daniel, who had been sitting in a corner muttering to himself since he had come round again, looked up. He seemed to be enjoying the momentary heat, the fire in his soul welcoming it. It was a small comfort to the feeling of having been ripped in half as soon as James had been taken away.

Another man stepped into the helicopter. None of the Gifted could place his origins until he spoke with a clearly Australian accent.
“Blackie and Antler,” He said, not even bothering to greet Blade. The Moscow GH leader once again pointed out the unfortunate Gifted to the four soldiers that had come in with the seemingly Australian version of Blade. Killian used his last moment in the helicopter to throw what he hoped looked like a comforting look at Marny, but as soon as the door closed and the engines started up again, a tear crawled down her cheek. The one good thing that had come to her because of her hypnotism, and he had just been taken away from her.

Marny guessed that she must have somehow fallen asleep because when she woke up, they were coming in to land in yet another different place. Her heart sank. Who was she going to lose this time? She took a deep breath. Wherever the others were, she was sure that neither Blade nor his pals wanted one of the Gifted dead. Somewhat comforted by this thought, the hypnotist sat up to see what was going on.

A gust of wind brought a sheet of sand into the helicopter, and five figures stepped inside, silhouetted against the bright sand, pulling the door shut quickly.
“There is a sand storm brewing, it would be wise to be on your way quickly.” One figure told Blade as he half unwrapped a scarf from over his face. Marny’s eyes widened, recognising the head scarf from when she had been on holiday once, while she had still been blissfully unaware of her hypnotism. Between the scarf and the slight accent of the man’s voice, Marny could guess that they were in Egypt.
“Which Gifted have been assigned to you?” Blade snapped, his teeth gritted.
“Spinetail and Panzer.”

Blade nodded once, pointing out the two Gifted. The four soldiers stepped forwards to drag them out of the cells, pulling rough sacks over their heads with all the carefulness and grace of a raging bull. Marny guessed that it was to protect them from the oncoming sandstorm, but she also thought that they could have been a bit gentler than that.

Caleb sat in the middle of his cell, not paying attention to anything that was going on around him. He opened his dark eyes, looking around the room. There were only two others there now, Daniel and Alex.

More time passed, and once more they didn’t know where they were headed or exactly how long the journey was taking. This was all explained as two more names were called out in an American accent at their next stop. Caleb watched as Daniel and Alex were led away, leaving the dark teenager alone in his cell. Caleb made no move as to suggest that he was affected by the parting, but he made a silent vow to himself that he would have his revenge on Blade for all the suffering inflicted on his newly acquired teammates.

Allyssianne paced around her new cell, dark energy flying around her as she made no attempt to control her emotions. Killian sat in a corner, staying out of the way of the pissed-off sorceress. He gazed at the ceiling, wondering where Marny was. Would he ever see her again? Would he ever see his dad again? His eyes started to track Allyssianne’s furious stride, watching her circling the room.
“Er, Blackie, could you possibly stop pacing for a bit? You’re making my head spin...” He said quietly. Allyssianne shot a glare in his direction before flopping down with an agitated sigh. The magic that had been coursing around her in her pacing started to flow into an orb over her outstretched palm. Both of the Gifted watched it swirling around the cell in a vague attempt to amuse themselves. Allyssianne sighed, allowing the orb to shape shift into various forms as her mind wandered. Killian’s eyes widened as the magic started to grow into a figure, a man. This man drew a bow from his back, followed by an arrow.
“Er, Blackie?” Killian said quietly, his eyes locked on the man as he drew back the bow string, aiming for Killian’s heart. “Blackie?” He said, panic starting to edge his voice. He hadn’t really seen Allyssianne’s full magical capabilities, but he didn’t want to find out this way. “ALLY!”
“Huh?” Allyssianne grunted, looking up. As she saw the magical figure, she leapt to her feet, throwing her hands outwards. The figure burst into dozens of birds formed by her magic before slowly fading. The sorceress ran a hand through her coal black hair, taking a shaky breath.
“Sorry, Killian, I let my mind wander too far.” She said apologetically as she sat down again, drawing her knew up to her chest. Killian nodded, accepting the apology.
“S’ok Ally,” He murmured before looking up at the girl. “Who was he?”
“He’s a nightmare, nothing more,” She said bitterly.

Killian nodded, letting the subject fall. He knew that Allyssianne could bear grudges for a long time, and she hadn’t been trained enough to be able to cooperate with someone she didn’t want to. He knew that she was a hothead, and the last thing he needed with her was an argument. In short, it was best to keep his mouth shut.

Illianna and James were running around a fenced in training area on the surface of the underground base they were stuck in. One of the soldiers was shouting at them in a language Illianna didn’t understand, but the redhead guessed that James understood it given the muscle twitching in his jaw. Neither of the Gifted spoke in an attempt to save their breath for running, but James sensed Illianna looking at him and turned his gaze to her, watching the dull, cloud-filtered sun reflecting off her copper-coloured hair. He could see the pain and sorrow hidden deep within her brown eyes, but he imagined laughter radiating from them, and then love...

James wrenched his gaze away from Illianna’s, extending his stride to put a few metres between himself and the girl that he knew was going to haunt his nights for a long time.
You’re a Gifted!
So’s she...
She’s off limits! She’s a teammate!
Doesn’t bother some of the rest of the team.
I’m an ice manipulator! Heart of ice an all that!
Not necessarily...

James couldn’t believe himself. He didn’t know what was more embarrassing. The fact that he was actually arguing with a voice in his head, or the fact that the voice was winning... He sighed, getting on with his running.

Illianna ran behind James, confused. One minute, she had clearly felt hope coming off him in waves, but then nothing. There had been a definite warmth in his almost red eyes, then he had run further ahead. She closed her eyes briefly, controlling her emotions before concentrating on the task and her increasingly laboured breathing.

Marny watched the millions of grains of sand swirling outside the small window of their cell. Jamie was sitting in a corner, trying to think of something to amuse himself. The regenerator sighed, bored.
“Marn?” He said.
“Hm?” The hypnotist looked away from finding patterns in the sand storm.
“I spy...”
“Jamie, no,” She interrupted. “I’m not going to play I-spy.”
“Have you got any better ideas?”
Marny remained silent, having turned her eyes back to the sand storm.
“Well?”
“SHUT UP JAMIE!”
“Ok! I get the point!”

Marny took a deep breath, calming herself down. She was seriously considering hypnotising the boy, but she restrained herself, trying to remain in control over her anger. She snorted softly to herself. Marny had often wondered before as to why Allyssianne had never shown a lot of emotion in anything that she did, but now the hypnotist knew. She discreetly glanced at Jamie, making a solemn promise to herself to kick his butt around the world and back again if he ever did anything to her friend.

Alex scowled at Daniel. Daniel glared back. Neither boy blinked. Beads of sweat were starting to creep down Alex’s forehead. Daniel began to tremble. Alex’s brow creased slightly in a frown of concentration. Daniel broke eye contact.
“Not fair! You cheated!”He laughed, shaking his head.
“Like you weren’t?!” Alex snorted, trying desperately not to laugh, “Any idiot could tell that you were cranking the temperature up in here!”
“So you’re calling yourself an idiot, are you?” Daniel asked, feigning an innocent smile. Alex mimed hitting the other boy round the head before they both leaned their heads back against the walls, their grins slowly fading. Alex wondered if Illianna was ok, if she was safe. Was James looking after her? He shook his head mentally. Illianna was perfectly capable of looking after herself.

Caleb sat with a book open in front of him. Blade had generously (he thought), given him a few books to read. Of course, they were aging classics that were about as deadly as a used tissue, but Caleb was all the same grateful for the distraction they gave him. If he had some music, the teenager would have been perfectly content, but he settled for reading.

He sighed, bringing his mind out of the relatively simple lives of the Bennets, leaning his head back against the wall. Quiet fury was boiling in the back of his mind. He had never just accepted defeat like this. He had never just stood by and let himself be a prisoner. Whatever was going on here, he wasn’t happy about it. So why wasn’t he trying to escape? Caleb put his head in his hands. The whole situation was messing with his mind.

Jack sat in front of his radio station, scribbling furiously on a pad of paper, surrounded by other crumpled bits of paper. He tore the sheet he had been writing on from the pad, crumpling it up and throwing it away. He pushed his chair away from the desk in anger, getting to his feet to pace. His face was a picture of fury. Two weeks had passed since the raid, and he hadn’t found a solution to rescuing his team. He kicked out at his chair as he passed it. This was the whole point of GRAIL! He was supposed to locate the Gifted and protect them! Now that the GH had their hands on the most recent team, Jack had failed his job. He rubbed the back of his neck, and stopped. The scars... They had a very low level telepathic field linking them so that the other Gifted were warned when one of their teammates was in danger. If he could somehow get a message through them...

Jack grabbed the chip that his engineers had put together in replica of the GH ones. He knew that Blade would have implanted the rest of the team with the chips in an attempt to keep some level of control over them. Jack sat at his desk, again, the replica in his hand, wiring it into the radio equipment before putting one finger on it. He took a deep breath before going through different frequencies in an attempt to find the right one. It took him hours before he felt the telltale shock from the chip that told him that he had found the frequency.

In Australia, Killian and Allyssianne woke with a start, looking at each other. In Japan, Illianna and James touched the scars, confusion written on their faces. In Egypt, Marny and Jamie flinched, looking fearfully at the door. In America, Alex and Daniel jumped, scrambling to the back of the cell. In Moscow, Caleb looked up in a bored manner, putting one hand on the back of his neck.

Jack crossed his finger and prayed that his plan was going to work. He spoke into the microphone of the radio.
“Attention all Gifted...” He managed to say before an explosion of voices burst out of the radio receiver.
What’s going on?
Why does that voice sound like Jack?
Dad!
No one’s coming to help you, it’s just Blade messing with your head.
I need to get out of here.
Jack spoke again. “Gifted, it’s Jack here. Try to escape. I’ll be waiting for you all in Bad Cannsatt, Stuttgart in Germany. From there, we’ll work on getting you all back to your families. Jack over and out.”

Jack sat back from the radio desk, feeling better than he had ever felt over the last two weeks. He grinned to himself. He was saving the Gifted.

Killian and Allyssianne were the first to make a move. Killian pulled a dandelion clock from the back of his jacket, sticking it in the lock on the door, grinning as it clicked. He moved aside to let Allyssianne pass. The sorceress strode out of the door, her magic called up into a fire like aura around her, ready to unleash her pent-up anger. She strode through the corridors, throwing guards down with dark scorch marks on their uniforms before Killian’s vines crept over them and tied them securely.

The two teenagers ran out of the main complex, but Killian grabbed Allyssianne’s arm before she could head towards the gates, pointing to a building off the side of the complex. Allyssianne nodded, a slight grin growing on her face. Killian used the vine that was still following him to pick the lock, allowing them to slip into the garage. Allyssianne went straight to the row of motorbikes, grabbing the keys and starting it up. She glanced at Killian, seeing him slip something into his pocket before throwing her the only helmet on the shelf.
“What about you?” She asked, frowning as she looked at the helmet.
“I’ll be fine,” He said, deciding not to say that Marny probably wouldn’t forgive him if anything happened to her best friend. Allyssianne was about to say something else, but she kept her mouth shut, jamming the helmet on and kicking the bike into gear.
“Let’s roll,” Killian said, grinning from his own purring bike.

Marny and Jamie were the next to escape, barely five minutes after Allyssianne and Killian had sped out of the gates. Marny stood in the centre of the room, waiting for the door to open with the guard who brought them food. Jamie was standing behind her, his hands clamped over his ears. Marny took a deep breath as she heard the lock click, her song chosen. As the door opened a fraction, Marny started to sing.
“Who’s there knocking at my window, the owl and the dead boy. This night whispers my name, all the dying children...” It felt good to sing again. She and Jamie walked past the hypnotised guard, Marny still singing, bringing everyone under her control.
"Virgin snow beneath my feet, painting the world in white, I tread my way and lose myself into a tale. Come then, someone order my search, we’ll go on playing, voyage without a name...” Jamie frowned as Marny stopped in front of a guard, but was silently relieved when he handed the hypnotist the keys to something. Still singing with a renewed grin on her face, she beckoned to Jamie, leading him outside to an obviously military jeep. The teenage boy grinned.

Caleb’s hands curled into fists. He closed his eyes, taking a deep breath. He hit out at the door, smashing the lock. Almost immediately, an alarm went off and guards poured into the corridor, rifles at the ready, but the teenager was gone. In the distance, an engine started up, driving away.

Caleb, however, couldn’t resist a parting shot at his captors. As the guards piled out of the complex to search for him, he jokingly saluted from atop a purring snowmobile, grinning, before driving off.

“James, don’t believe any of your feelings right now, ok?” Illianna warned. James nodded warily, not meeting her eyes as he had avoided doing for their whole stay there. Illianna gritted her teeth, putting her issues with the boy to the back of her mind and focusing on her new task. She summoned all her negative feelings, spreading them as far as she could. Hate, fear, sorrow, jealousy, anything she could think of.

James did his best to ignore all of the emotions flooding through his system, concentrating hard on something positive, seeing his brother again. He moved forwards towards the lock, icing it over and breaking it easily. The two teenagers walked out into a midst of chaos. All the guards had been affected by Illianna’s manipulation. Fights and tears were everywhere, so James and Illianna snuck out without being noticed, up into the sunshine after the GH’s Japanese underground headquarters. James finally met Illianna’s eyes again, wrapping her in a hug before paving the way out for them in crystals, that is to say, ice crystals.

Daniel closed his eyes, concentrating hard. Alex was at the back of the room, hiding under Daniel’s favourite, fire-proof, trench coat. The pyrokenetic raised his hands to the level of his chest, as if he was praying, before throwing them out on either side of himself. Flames exploded around him, directed towards the door. Alex timidly poked his head out to see the other boy surrounded in flames. His eyes widened but Daniel turned to look at him, smiling slightly.
“Don’t worry Alex, I know what I’m doing.” He said comfortingly. Alex nodded, getting to his feet, the trench coat in his hand to give back to the pyromaniac.
“Keep it,” Daniel said, shaking his head, grinning, “It’ll protect you.” Alex grinned back at his friend.
“Let’s fry some guards,” Daniel laughed.

I have stopped posting this online as some publishers may get stingy about it being here. However, I have so far broken 30 000 words, and I'M SO CLOSE TO GETTING IT FINISHED AFTER A YEAR AND A HALF WORKING ON THE STUPID THING!!!! *breathes heavily* lol, sorry.

Shadow wrote:

I have stopped posting this online as some publishers may get stingy about it being here. However, I have so far broken 30 000 words, and I'M SO CLOSE TO GETTING IT FINISHED AFTER A YEAR AND A HALF WORKING ON THE STUPID THING!!!! *breathes heavily* lol, sorry.

30 000 words?
Puh, nothing compared to Clawmark.
*boastboast*
'Nyways. Kay, I guess I'll read it as a full when it gets published. Which I hope it does, honestly. <_<;;