Peter

Peter wasted no time after finding the adults and older students gone to leave Perdido Beach's High School. He needed to see if his aunt and uncle were okay. There was no phone service, either. He had tried about ten times already without success. He swallowed hard, his backpack swinging obnoxiously, and quickly freed his phone from the bike raked. His t shirt nearly caught on the side of it, making him scowl. Turning his attention back, he jumped on his bike fast and peddled with all his might - an easy feat for him. Peter made sure he remained fit and conditioned, mostly as a distraction from his background. The memories haunted him daily, but he tried his best not to think of it. On his way, he passed children running around, teenagers gathered together and discussing what was happening. The loud boom from earlier was a topic of discussion, though he had no way of responding. There was black smoke miles away, with what appeared to be a plane. Due to the smoke, it was hard to make it out, but he added it to his to-do list of finding out what was going on that day. Cars were abandoned on the road, a few alarms blaring hysterically throughout the street. Peter groaned, the noise aggravating him. None of this made sense. It was as if their town had just become a real life movie. Where was everyone eighteen and over?

Fortunately he didn't live far from the school, so he arrived minutes later. What made it even better was that his best friend, Emma Remington and her older brother Alexander, lived a few streets away. He quickly stopped and jumped off his bike, breaking into a run and catching himself before he fell. He looked around. The front door was unlocked - but why? Their car was in the garage, too, he noticed as he looked through its' window. Without pausing, Peter burst into his house. It was eerily silent. His heart began to race uncontrollably, while his tongue went dry, despite him feeling clammy. "Aunt Hanna?" He called, his voice low but consumed by worry. There was no response, when he should have received one. "Uncle Aaron? Are you guys home?"

Silence. The silence normally was welcomed but now it filled him with dread. He had no idea what was going on, but it was frightening. He quickly discarded his backpack and stuck his house key in his jeans pocket. Peter left the house intact and locked the door after leaving. Lifting his bike up and then pushing his spiky brown hair out of his eyes, he quickly jumped back on his bike. He began peddling towards Emma's house, tightly gripping the handlebars. He rode as fast as he could to the Remington's house, having recalled Emma being absent from class. Was she sick? He hoped not. That was his best friend. The thought of her caused him to smile. She was so kind and sweet, and her humor made him laugh. On top of that, as a bonus, she was gorgeous. To describe her would do her injustice. There was no way to explain coherently how beautiful Emma Remington was,and he wouldn't dare try. He would not insult her or her name. Peter had befriended Emma almost immediately. The girls' friendly and bubbly nature cheered him up when he himself had the most difficult time in doing so.

After what had to be twenty minutes, he finally arrived. Peter coughed into his arm as he neared the house and set his bike down neatly. He knocked politely, despite seeing Alex, Emma, and an Asian boy named Noah. He briefly recalled seeing him around school but hadn't spoken to him much. Well, they were all here now, so this was as good time as any. "I'm sorry to bother everyone," He commented as he looked around and then smiled crookedly. "But could I come in please? I think we've all gathered the fact that everyone eighteen and over disappeared. But, also, Em, you weren't in school today so I came to check on you after all teachers disappeared, of course. And hey, Alex, hey Noah. How's you?"

_____________________________________________________________________________________

Shay

The boy let out a chuckle at her question. She gazed over at him, eyebrows raised, but remained silent when he said "I guess, I need to try harder on my rep. James. James DiAndre." She smiled mildly at him and wondered why the hell anyone cared about their reputation. They were at an academy for the disturbed and troubled. If that wasn't blatant enough, Shay didn't know what was anymore.

"Well, James," Shay smirked. "It's nice to meet you." She didn't bother introducing herself since he seemed to know her already. The new girl news must have spread around the damn place already. She wasn't sure if she liked it or not. If there were troubled and/or disturbed people, then she wanted to stay away. However, she managed to recall entering the academy and seeing him; though she didn't remember speaking to him directly. When the ground shook and she fell, James protected her with his body. She stared, astonished. However, in the split second he was there, she met his gaze to see how much he was longing for her. She blinked, wondering if she had imagined it. However as soon as it was over, he let go and moved away.

"Are you ok?" He asked her, though ignoring her apology.

"Yes, thank you" Shay responded quickly. Who know if this boy was disturbed or not. It seemed as if he were a gentlemen - though it was too quick to tell. She wasn't trying to judge but was trying to figure out his mental state. Her cheeks were red. She had been caught off guard and wasn't sure how to respond. Was his crush that intense on her? They barely knew one another. She kept her thoughts to herself nonetheless. After asking about the earthquake, his comment about "adding it to the list of fucked up shit", failed to relax her rising tension. What was wrong with this damn place?

As if the universe were questioning her, a slab of earth detached itself and floated momentarily in the air before dropping. Shay stared at it, then at the beads of blood on the butt of Jame's hand, then up at him. He was flushed, looking ready to drop. Shay frowned at him, bewildered, and wrapped her arms around his torso to keep him standing. Though nobody knew it, she prided herself in being strong - stronger then some guys, even. She held his torso up until he seemed healthy enough to stand. Once he was, she let go of him.

"The Headmaster must have something for such emergencies." He stated moments afterwards and Shay nodded. Hopefully the headmaster knew how to respond to this, because this seemed to crazy. Had she drank something weird or been drugged? This couldn't seem real. Shay followed him towards the office and once inside, she glanced around. Everyone was gone. She bit her lip and joined James at the computer and read the mail as well.

Dear Headmaster Eric Sweets

I am pleased to inform you that your school is hereby accepted to the new Juvenile Delinquency Program of San Perdido Beach. The residents of San Perdido will be happy to know that the "trouble" students will no longer be hazard to the community. It will keep the students more protected and will have the professional help they need, in order to live a normal life. Coates Academy will turn into the respected school it deserved to be by the end of the summer. Thank you, and congratulations.

Sincerely,
Mayor Victor Hartz

Shay stared at it, agape. "What the hell?" she snarled as James spoke moments later.

"They are sending us off," His voice was etched with hatred and she couldn't blame him. She stared down the list to find her parent's name and glared with hatred. What had she done to deserve being in a juvenile delinquency program - not serve in the goddamn military? Her attitude was not out of control as her parent's mentioned, although it mentioned her extensive training. Well, that was their fault, not hers. She hadn't asked to be trained for the shit they put her through. This was ridiculous! "We have been sold like cattle."

"Yeah," Shay growled in reply, clenching her fists. Genuine anger rose inside of her but she wasn't sure what to do - yell at her parents? That would work out. Maybe she could hide somewhere - then again, she was known by government and state officials all over rude to her parents. "We have been. What the hell is wrong with people?" She turned to face James, whose silence only relied a sense of foreboding. Visibly, Shay could see the gears in his head turning. Was she in the room with a psychopath? The slow dark smile crossing his lips seemed to answer her question. Shay looked around, but he quickly left. She swallowed and followed him out.

Screams echoed, causing her to jump and inhale. She turned in the direction, figuring out quickly it was coming from the cafeteria. James looked at her and then broke into a sprint. Shay ran after him fast, though pausing. She saw her locker and quickly went over to it. Turning the lock hastily, she looked inside her locker and gently puled the backside of it off to reveal a shotgun hoisted against the wall. Shay had gone to her locker the first day and realized the backboard of it was broke. It wasn't easily noticeable, either, but she had a knack for finding what others could not. She had used gloves to store her gun and ammo behind it as well so the DNA wasn't traced back to her. She could pull off the innocent act well enough that she didn't worry about it. The gun was also not in her name. After extracting her gun, she knelt down and reached behind it, puling out the small bag. Shay quickly loaded it, secured her locker back to its' normal state, and then stood up. The cocking of her gun bounced off the walls, but was drowned by the screams and yells of the students in the cafeteria.

She stood up and ran towards the cafeteria, holding her shotgun underneath her arm with her other hand near the front of it. The scene she arrived in was not what she expected - Atlas, the disturbed boy from earlier, was covered in dirt all around him. A girl was tied to a chair by Atlas, her pinky finger missing. Her friend, or acquaintance, James, stood there, eyes having turned to orange. She rubbed her eyes and wondered what kind of drug she was on. The reality of the situation wasn't registering in her mind - this couldn't be real, could it? It seemed as if it was true. James' voice reached her ears, though it took her a second to register whilst his eyes returned to their normal brown. "What the fuck is going on?" His tone, irritated, bounced off the marble walls, though he looked determined. Shay cleared her throat, entering the fray and carefully holding her shotgun away from students. People turned to stare at her and back away, whispering, inhaling, or hiding behind tables and chairs.

"Yeah, what the hell is going on? I thought this was an academy for disturbed and troubled teenagers, not people out of Heroe's TV show." She looked at Atlas and Jame,s then moved forward. She smiled kindly at the girl who looked too be around fifteen and terrified out of her mind. "It's okay, don't worry. I won't hurt you." Her voice was compassionate and warm. She wrapped the gun around her back and untied her fast, glaring at anyone who came close. "Don't even try stealing my gun, people. I wouldn't recommend it." After untying the girl, Shay backed away and faced James and Atlas. "So, tell me, what the bloody hell is going on?" She moved the gun closer to her front body so she could grab it fast in case she had to defend herself. Pulling out the gun fast and aiming it, was one of her specialties, her mother said.

Sudden, sharp pain in her back caused her to jolt sideways and inhale. She felt her back with her free hand and frowned, feeling stubs. Had she injured herself without realizing it? She didn't know anymore. Turning her attention back to the others, she gritted her teeth and returned her hands back to her gun.

Ming Hua shook his head slowly at Alex. Adults disappearing - there was a baby by the beach, orphaned in a second - planes crashing. "None of this makes sense," he murmured, as Emma reemerged from the top of her stairway.

Playing with a lock of her hair, she asked, "How can that be...?" Ming Hua could only shrug. "Your guess is as good as mine," he chimed, when a boy appeared in the door.

Ming Hua turned to take him in properly. A bicycle lay on the lawn behind him; Ming Hua could see it over his shoulder. Politely, Peter greeted the three teenagers, even tossing a courteous salutation Ming Hua's way, even if Ming Hua couldn't recall the boy from Adam.

But he and Emma seemed friendly, so even if Ming Hua was inclined to be wary, he tilted his head to the boy to reply, "All right, thanks." He was confused, to say the least, and not just because the boy persisted with courtesies when the world had been turned on its ear.

"You know," he mused, feeling his eyes glazing over and speaking to no one in particular. "With the adults all gone, how long before you reckon things start getting wild?" He shuddered, and his gaze focused on Peter, blinking in what almost felt like bewilderment, as though realising suddenly that he, Alex and Emma were all before him. Shrugging to cover it up, Ming Hua felt his arms wrap around himself, fingers curling possessively over the bag that now contained his spoils. It was safe to say Mrs Rochester wasn't coming back tonight to chastise him over pilfered goods from the pantry.

The wide-eyed boy inside him - reproachful in his stare, starved in his clutches, childish and distant, but unmistakably him - ran his scrabbling fingernails under Ming Hua's skin, shaking his shoulders again. "I mean, now there's no one to enforce their rules on you." Ming Hua's eyes skittered on the streets that lay beyond the door, idyllic and peaceful for now. "It doesn't take a lot for us to descend into chaos. And most of us..." A chill ran through Ming Hua, "...we crave it." His eyes flickered back to the three, slowly becoming aware of how crazed he must sound. Clearing his throat, he added hesitantly, "Living now is going to be a lot harder if people go crazy with newfound freedom. It'll spread like a contagion, and become pandemonium."

Sorin had made it to Emma’s house. He could see it down the street, but something told him that with what's going on she would not be alone in this situation. She was the type to surround herself with friends and from what he remembered, she had an older brother, He calmly continued to the house. That was when he saw three others in the window. Sorin knew he could not handle four people, especially if they had powers like him. He needed to draw them out of the house to split them up and it wouldn’t be so hard once they were outside.

Sorin then shifted his hand into a blade slicing the metal door slowly, imitating the screeching noise one would make with their nails on a chalkboard. He could hear the worry and panic start to rise from inside of the house. Sorin then shouted at the closed door, "Emma come outside or else this house and everyone in it will be destroyed!” He banged his fist against the front door. After a moment of no response, he began making his way along the front side of the house, Cutting into the walls with his bladed arm, “I just want to talk...” His insane laugh rang through the air as he made his way back to the front to wait.

Lil Ashbourne

Lil screamed and thrashed as the man grabbed her and tied her to the chair. What was even going on? One minute she had been spacing out in math and next thing she knew everyone was walking to the cafeteria. She had thought it was lunch. It wouldn't have been the first time she had lost track of time over the course of a couple classes. Now she was tied to a chair with a maniac holding a knife and a pair of scissors. Tears dripped down her face as she sobbed out, "P-p-please. D-don't." Her attention was solely focused on his face, looking for something, anything to get her out of the situation. All she saw was madness.

He reached down, as if to touch her, but all feeling had left her body. It wasn't just because the cables were cutting off the circulation either, adrenaline flooded her system. A scream ripped itself out of her throat again. This was a different scream. Not one of fear, it was much deeper. It tore at her throat, shredding it. Pain. All she felt was throbbing screaming pain. The pain filled her up and spots of black covered her vision. Her head drooped. When she lifted it a woman was in front of her untying the knots.

She stumbled out of the chair in a daze, hand naturally pressing itself to her stomach, trying to stop the bleeding. The crowd of kids parted as she walked through them. Blood dripped down her hand, leaving a trail on the ground. She was so out of focus that she didn't even notice James standing there as she moved passed him and walked out of the school.

Jack Ashbourne

Fire burned everywhere. It was hot in the cargo of the plane, though not much as he expect. He couldn't even feel himself sweating. Ignoring the strange feelings, Jack strode quickly down the aisle between the seats. Luggage and broken equipment were everywhere. Most of the seats were empty. Jack paused silently for a moment upon seeing a dead baby laying in the middle of the isle. He stared at it, eyes becoming hard at the sight. Stepping carefully around he moved passed, shoving the thought out of his head. Where the hell was Elizabeth? He couldn't think about anything else, but finding her.

After searching the entire plane, Jack finally accepted that she wasn't there. The fire was closing in on him, he had to get out soon, or he'd never have a chance of finding Elizabeth. Smoke filled the cabin; he could barely see at he walked towards the entrance. Stepping outside he looked down to see his glove on fire. Instantly he reacted by thrusting it away from himself, and whipping off the glove to prevent it from burning his hand. He froze, the world slowing down around him, as the burning glove slowly drifted to the ground. His hand was gone... All that was left were... bones.

He twisted it, just like he normally would with his actual hand and watch it turn and twitch. A sudden thought crossed his mind and he ripped off his other glove. Again bone. Ripping open his white shirt, the white of his rib cage exposed itself. He could see through it to the black white of the inside of his shirt on the other side of his body. There were no organs. He didn't even have a heart. Reaching up with one skeleton hand Jack tentatively moved to touch his face. He was scared at what he would find. When the fingers laid down on his skull, he felt... bone. His face was gone. Quickly the fingers roamed across the rest of his face, search for clues, answers. Nothing was left, no mouth, no ears, no hair, no eyes. What was happening to him?!?

Yeah sure."Emma moved out of the way for him, "Yeah I just went fishing with my dad. I'm alright-Well... So-so."She babbled a bit, "I'm quite confused so to say so welcome to the club." Emma managed a nervous giggle.

The sweet melodic voice of Emma Remington filled Peter's small ears. He grinned form side to side almost instantly, his eyes softening. He wished to hug her and tell her how beautiful she was, but now was not the time. Nonetheless, he saw Alex going to speak, so he remained quiet.

"Hey Peter. I don't understand how people could just vanish in thin air. Maybe we're in some sort of mental experiment right now like in the matrix. None of this is real or whatever." Alex stated, scratching his head. "Maybe aliens?" Peter laughed at the latter statement; the possibility of Aliens was more outrageous then the adults disappearing. However, maybe anything was possible. He kept expecting the adults to reappear and restore order after yelling at everyone running amuck. This didn't seem to be truly happening...

Then Ming Hau spoke, causing Peter to remain silent further, as he listened to everyone. "You know," He began, eyes glazed over while speaking to no one in particular. "With the adults all gone, how long before you reckon things start getting wild?" He shuddered, and his gaze focused on Peter, blinking in what almost felt like bewilderment, as though realizing suddenly that he, Alex and Emma were all before him. Peter waved to him, stuffing a hand in his pocket and smiling crookedly.

"Welcome back," he teased to him, then spoke to address everyone. "This is bizarre but I don't know what we can do to fix it. However, we can try making the best of the situation. Kids will need help, the animals all over nee to be fed... The list goes on. Who wants to help?" However Ming Hau seemed to have a different idea, and Peter turned to face him. People's true intentions were showing now and he was starting to expect the worst of people - except for those he knew already, of course. His faith in others was steadfast but he didn't know Ming Hau well.

"I mean, now there's no one to enforce their rules on you." Ming Hua's gaze fleeted out the window, Peter following his gaze. There were kids truly causing mayhem outside. He wondered what on earth would make them listen. "It doesn't take a lot for us to descend into chaos. And most of us..." Peter noticed a chill ran through him. "...we crave it." His eyes flickered back to the three. Peter wonders what this boy's intentions were, and if he needed to protect Alex and Emma, though he knew her brother could do it too. Still, he wouldn't let this go so easily. Ming Hua cleared his throat then added hesitantly, "Living now is going to be a lot harder if people go crazy with newfound freedom. It'll spread like a contagion, and become pandemonium."

"I agree," Peter responded as he shuffled his feet and became impassive. "It will -" The sound of nails against a chalkboard filled his ears. He jumped, startled, breath hitching. What the hell was that? He moved over to the Remington's, nodding to Ming Hau to move away as well from the wall.

"Emma come outside or else this house and everyone in it will be destroyed!” A new voice yelled, masculine. He stared out the window and immediately didn't move to leave. This was a mind game. Leaving Emma alone was obviously going to be the wrong thing to do. He banged his fist against the front door. “I just want to talk...” An insane laugh followed his statements but he glared at the door.

Turning to Emma, Peter took her hand. "Don't go out. "He whispered to her in her ear and pointed to another room. "We need to get away right now. Don't listen to him, whatever you do." His heart pounded terribly, a deep ache in his chest. What the hell did this guy think? No way would Peter let Emma even breathe in the same damn room with this creature. He gritted his teeth and clenched his fists, looking at the door. He strode over to he kitchen and found a chair, blocking the door with it using the doorknob. Though this individual could use the window, that was messier and more threatening. Peter strode back over to Emma and protectively stayed by her side, wishing to God that this boy could go away now.

"I warned you, but you are too fucking slow!" Sorin let out a frustrated yell before releasing an outburst of hand-like protrusions from his back, ripping plants from the ground and throwing them around "EMMA FUCKING COME OUT HERE!" Sorin then began smashing the door repeatedly finally bashing it off the hinges he then grabbed the broken door and tossed it out to the street. Sorin looked up and instantly locked eyes with Emma. He licked his lips and smiled "Hello."

Ming Hua gazed around in confusion at the first proclamation, and the additional chaos did nothing to quell his puzzlement. "What - " he tried, moving away from the wall as had been suggested. The pandemonium that followed, with breaking doors and the dramatic reveal of a frazzled-looking boy, only served to entangle him even further. Glancing at the odd boy, he murmured very quietly to defuse the rising anxiety in his chest, "Ain't going to greet the rest of us? For shame." He edged forward bringing himself closer to the group, closer to Emma. He had only just thrown her out of the water that day. He quantified it as nothing less than a pity if she were to die today at the hands of a very unstable-appearing boy. Glancing around at the trio around him, Ming Hua widened his eyes for a moment, to ask What now?

Nathan

Nathan followed Selene out of the room, though unlike her he stopped to grab his bag along the way. As they stepped to the entrance, Selene stopped in her tracks.

" I guess driving is out of the question?" He heard her ask.

“ Well, if you can find one that isn’t trashed, and you know how to hotwire a car, then maybe. Do you know how to hotwire a car? Because I bloody well don’t.” He said, the British tones of his quasi-Brit-American accent coming through in the latter sentence.

He stepped down the stairs leading out of the school and onto the street. There seemed to be a strange lifelessness in the air. As he looked around, he saw the big tree just down the street. I was completely still. The flag outside the school had also stopped waving, instead it slunk down the flagpole. He furrowed his brow, lifted his hand and felt… Nothing. At that moment he realised why the air felt so lifeless.

“ That’s weird. There’s like, no wind at all. Not even a breeze.” He said, following it up with “ Wait a minute.”
He pulled his bag from off his shoulders, opening up the zip and digging deep into the bottom of it. He produced his cigarette pack and his lighter. He held the lighter up, rolling the flint and pushing down the gas button, and the flame sparked into life. He watched it, and it did not flicker, or move at all to either side. It just pointed straight up.

He pulled a cigarette from the pack, placed it to his lips and lit it, breathing smoke into his lungs. The smoke from the end of the cigarette rose straight upwards, and as he exhaled the smoke moved out in front of him before losing the momentum from his breath, and that smoke too travelled straight upwards.
“ Nothing. No wind at all. That’s really weird.” He said, taking another puff on his cigarette, as he leant back on a parked car.

Atlas

Atlas was at first, knocked unconscious for a few seconds as he was trapped in a prison of stone, knocking him to the floor. He shook his head, remembering vaguely what had happened. He had wrapped a black tentacle that emerged from his arm around some moron and lifted him off the ground. At that moment the door had burst open, James had walked in, waved his arms around and now Atlas was trapped inside a rock. He thought for a moment, piecing it together in his head.

“ Well!” He said, finally opening his mouth.
“ It looks like I’m not the only one who can do some weird shit.” He continued.

He decided to see if his tentacles could get him out of this. His hands were completely encased inside the rock. He strained a little, a grimace coming on his face, and the tentacles pushed themselves through the rock, cracking it open and allowing him to stand up, free from the stone. He brushed small bits of gravel out of his hair, before turning to James.

“ Well, perhaps it might be for the best, if us two freaks stay on each other’s good side. What do you say? Friends?” He said. Atlas was a sociopath but he wasn’t stupid. He knew that if James had some kind of power too, they were better off as Allies than enemies. For now, at least.

He turned his head to the dark haired girl who had come in with James, his eyes lingering on her pistol.

“ Wait a minute, how the hell did you get a gun in the school?”

Selene

Her sapphire ​eyes moved ​upwards at his strange request. " Oh yes, I thrive in hot-wiring cars because I want nothing more than to be the next graduate of criminal mischief," she answered sarcastically, " I swear sometimes.."

Selene stared in both curiosity and confusion as Nathan pulled out his lighter out with a flick of his thumb, the flame sparked to life. Selene noticed the flame did not flicker but stood high. That was strange. She lift her head up, staring at the clear sky an spotted nothing out of the ordinary.

“ Nothing. No wind at all. That’s really weird.”

However, a trail of smoke caught her eye and a small search, she found the owner of the vapor.

The blonde walked across over to the British boy, her nose flared in anger at the careless act of rebellion. Nathan was her close friend, her only friend that the universe had allow her to have. Selene love the leathered-dimwit and his strange accent, there was one thing she detest was his lung killing mission. Her hand reached for the burning stick, throwing down at the ground in great defiance. " What the fuck, Nathan?" she shouted at him, her fingers balled into her palms, nails digging into the soft flesh. " I am going home, hope and pray my parents are home with Lucien. You are such a selfish...wanker!"

James

“ Well, perhaps it might be for the best, if us two freaks stay on each other’s good side. What do you say? Friends?”

A soft chuckle left from the dark haired devil with the famous smirk painted on his lips. James grabbed the psychotic bastard from behind, roughly punching the sides. " Fuck up again and I will personally enjoy beating your face." He jokingly warned.

“ Wait a minute, how the hell did you get a gun in the school?”

James released the teen, raising a brow and slowly backing away from the target." It explains why she is here. Hot." A few students sitting, jumped out of his way when he leap onto the metal table and smooth out the wrinkles out of his uniform. " Alright, let's get this straight. Atlas will be left alone, only I will deal with him. Now that we got that out of the way, I have found some interesting information." James shared the information Shay and him had found inside the headmaster's office with the rest of the student body. " I say let's pay a small little visit to our friends down in town. Let's show them that we are not giving into their demands any longer. They cannot continue to treat us like damn fucking dogs which they can just take and drop off at the pound whenever they feel like. At the end of the day, we are still sons and daughters, we have not lost our voice just yet."

Chandra

"This is how we roll down here, we're packin' heat 'cause it's cold down here! Hold your own, don't show no fear! Or you're gonna lose your soul out here!" The Hollywood Undead music blasted out of Chandra's earphones, her expression unwavering from impassiveness. The music brought joy to her; it reminded her of her old friends back in San Francisco. She tried her hardest to keep in touch, but there was not a reliable internet connection signal in her hometown. She also figured her adoptive parents were making it difficult for her too. They weren't thrilled about her choice of friends nor where it had led her.

Chandra jumped as a loud boom rattled the ground and threw her off balance. It had been audible over her music, too. Chan swore fluently in Spanish when her body slammed onto the ground, her buds falling out of her ears. What in God's name was that? She growled as she clutched the dirt in front of her and pushed herself up slowly, her right prosthetic leg aching. Perhaps this was uncommon... Either way, it seemed as if shit were going down and she wanted in on it. Going to school to sit in a old and dilapidated classroom was never on her agenda - at least, not as much anymore. Her classes right now were not interesting. Why should she care about English? She knew how to read and write effectively. That was enough for her. She didn't plan on becoming a best-selling novelist. That was too boring for her.

As she climbed to her feet, her boot became tangled up in vines. Chandra cursed more, an accent beginning to poke through. She had learned not only how to speak Spanish, but create an accent for it as well. When people asked about her origins and she did not have an answer, she pretended to be Hispanic. Chandra groaned and tugged the vines off her boot and finally stood back up, scowling. After removing her hair and snatching leaves and sediment from it, she continued on her way into Perdido beach. She stuffed her stolen iPod and earbuds into her pocket and turned it off. Black smoke, she noticed, was rising from a particular spot and she could see half a plane. Excellent - a plan had crashed. Shit was crazy here. She , her eyes brightening with excitement. Chaos, bloody fucking chaos. Her friends would've loved to see this. Perhaps it was being aired over TV?

She halted, glancing around, and moving behind a tree for cover. There was the yelling of people, laughter, and she could see tiny figures running around ahead of her. It seemed wild; there was no order to it. Where were the adults? Not that she cared for them, anyway, but it was helpful to know. Chandra looked around once more before clearing her mind of thoughts. Pushing her shoulders back, setting her eyes on the horizon ahead of her, and readjusting her prosthetic leg, she began entering Perdido Beach. She had been told that not her skills were the most effective, but her smile. Winning someone over shouldn't be too hard.

_______________________________________________________________________

Peter

"Emma, who is this person?" Peter heard Alex inquire but his mind was elsewhere. The yelling and banging were familiar to him in a way he did not want to remember. He wished to stay here in the present, but the memories were making him tremble. He clenched his fists and looked around for a weapon, but he didn't see any and he didn't know where the kitchen was located. He needed to find out but there was no time for it. He looked at Alex and gestured to the lamp, asking silently for permission to use it. It was the best he had and he couldn't stand the thought of Emma being hurt and him not doing anything about it. It brought a stabbing pain to his ribs that nearly caused him to wince out loud.

"If I had to guess... Maybe my history teacher. I was pretty sassy to him yesterday. " Emma told him. Peter could've laughed, but he wasn't letting his seriousness fade away. He needed to protect her. She didn't deserve this poor psychopath's rage. "Maybe I should just go out in case he's planning on bombing us or something. I can try to talk it out or something I don't know. This is weird." Peter doubted he had a bomb but expected him to be armed in some manner. Whatever was making the scarping noise was not an easy weapon to deal with. It was sharp, but how sharp he didn't know. One thing he was sure of was not letting Emma go out or confront this guy alone.

"Absolutely not," Peter grunted in response and began to gently pull her back by her waist, keeping his hands in an appropriate area. Now wasn't the time to let himself express or display his feelings for her. "He wants you to go outside so he can get you alone, Em, and God knows what this idiot has planned." Peter did not hold his breathe and remained vigilant and tense.

"I warned you, but you are too fucking slow!" The man yelled once more and Peter glared, coming in front of Emma. If only they were able to call the police but the adults were mysteriously disappearing. The sound of ripping filled the air and Peter could see plants being aimlessly flung. He wondered if this boy had been institutionalized. Someone needed to put this thing down. This was no way to talk to someone nor make a first impression. They were everything, didn't people know that? "EMMA FUCKING COME OUT HERE!"

"How about no, you psychopath?" muttered Peter in response. He jumped at the bangs and hastily, though gently, shoved Emma farther out of the way. The boy burst through the door and locked eyes with Emma. The way he licked his lips made Peter's skin crawl while simultaneously causing anger to flare. How dare he look at her like she was a piece of meat? She was human, not property, not an object, not meat. He was going to murder this person. "Hello." He greeted Emma, but Peter glared and blocked Emma form his vision. He was bulkier than he was, thankfully. He hoped he had an advantage of him.

"Ain't going to greet the rest of us? For shame." Ming Hua commented under his breathe. He glanced over at him and stifled a chuckle, unable to help himself. Peter turned back to the disgruntled psychopath and cleared his throat loudly, keeping his knife hidden in his back pocket.

"Excuse me." He interrupted casually, glaring menacingly all the while. "But who are you and why are you so obsessed with Emma?" Of course Peter knew he was mentally unwell, but hopefully he could distract him from his target.

_________________________________________________________________________________

Shay

As Atlas and James created an alliance, Shay was left to her own devices. She kept a firm grip on her gun with an impassive expression. Her muscles were taut, her jaw was locked, and her gaze was piercing. She felt alone in the cafeteria filled with hundreds of students. People were already friends here or had their groups. She herself was an outsider, but now she was the outsider with an armed gun. Students had backed away from her entirely and she could hear soft murmurs rising around the room with her as one of the main topics. Shay tried not to pay attention and keep focused on the two super powered individuals. How the hell Atlas had created black hand like tentacles were beyond her. These two would be safe to ally with, but not make as friends. Finally, Atlas turned to her and Shay gazed back at him calmly. “Wait a minute, how the hell did you get a gun in the school?”

Before she could respond, James commented as well. "It explains why she is here. Hot." Shay smirked at him. Perhaps she could remain on their side with her vast knowledge of weaponry ability to shoot, and even more? That would be a starter. Of course she wouldn't release everything she knew. There was no point in that. Also, she wasn't someone easily intimidated, but she knew it would be dangerous to be their enemy. She didn't know her way around the town or where to go and where not to go. He began speaking and she remained silent to allow him the time to talk.

"Alright, let's get this straight. Atlas will be left alone, only I will deal with him. Now that we got that out of the way, I have found some interesting information." Then he released the information that the two had found from the Headmaster's office. There were gasps - grunts, and some indignant yells but then silence when James opened his mouth once more. It appeared to her that students were afraid of Atlas and even James. She didn't know them well enough yet to know why, though Atlas seemed obvious. He was a sociopath, but what about James? "I say let's pay a small little visit to our friends down in town. Let's show them that we are not giving into their demands any longer. They cannot continue to treat us like damn fucking dogs which they can just take and drop off at the pound whenever they feel like. At the end of the day, we are still sons and daughters, we have not lost our voice just yet."

She listened to him and remained silent. There was a clear rife between the Perdido Beach citizens and Coates Academy. She wasn't familiar with it and noted it mentally to ask James later about it. It seemed as if her parents didn't seem interested in her anymore, although they weren't giving up on her yet. Or had they? Their comment to the headmistress didn't sound promising. Either way, she declared herself independent. She would turn eighteen in a few months anyways. She would have to wait it out.

When there was silence, she finally addressed Atlas and James. "If I gave away all my secrets now, I'd be an opened book." Shay replied her voice smooth. The next sentence she directed at James personally. There was "There's more hot stuff coming. You haven't seen how fit I am underneath this uniform." From the corner of her eyes, she could see boys glancing around at each other. She kept her gaze locked on James, smirking mischievously all the while. Relaxing her smirk, she tried to inconspicuously rub her back. Why was it hurting so much? Before going anywhere, she needed to privately see what was wrong. Her attention focused, she looked between the two boys. "What do you say, James and Atlas? Allies? Friends?" This was testing her luck more than she wanted, but she needed an ally here.

Shay waited for an answer and tightened her grip on her gun.

"Excuse me but who are you and why are you so obsessed with Emma?" The boy who got in front of Emma replied. Sorin returning to his normal human looking state "the name is Sorin and for why I want Emma at first it was only to talk to her alone and ask her something, but she seemed reluctant to do so that's when forced entry was my solution." He looked at the people standing before him moving the hair out of his face with his right hand. "Now you the one standing in front Emma move out from in front of her or I will force you to." He said in an emotionless tone of voice, the boy quickly returned with "NO! if you want her you will have to go through me." straightening his pose "so you want to make this bloody." Sorin grinned hardening his left fist and at the same time turning his right to a blade.

Alaia

Alaia walking through the town felt something she had never felt before coming from a street a block away she realized it got more intense the closer she got. "What is this feeling it's almost like pins and needles." Alaia said in her head she started running towards the cause of this feeling when she got close she saw a door on the edge of the road looking to the house it had come from she seen a boy with blonde hair that resembled an old friend. "HEY!" she yelled to get his attention the boy quickly turned his head "Sorin is that you, what is wrong with your arms." Sorin then looked at the trio in the house "well it looks like you guys are safe." he then turned around reverting his arms and walked towards Alaia she stared at him as he got closer "what are you doing to this house?" Sorin replied, "well I wanted to talk to someone then I got a little frustrated when she did not come out to talk nothing to bad." Alaia gave him a disappointed look "why would you destroy the place they would obviously not come outside if someone was outside trashing their home." Alaia looked over to the doorless house and saw three others standing inside "Hey Sorry if Sorin scared you he has trouble controlling himself, Come out here so we can talk and I can find out what the hell is happening."

"EMMA FUCKING COME OUT HERE!"
There had only been one other time in her life that she had heard yell in her name in such an angry manner. It had been when her parents had been called to the school for being caught trying to scale the side of the school building. She swallowed. Were they really gone now? Would they see them ever again?

"How about no, you psychopath?"

Emma was pulled out of her reverie by a voice by her ear. She glanced over her shoulder, realizing finally that Peter's hands were on her waist. She felt her cheeks redden and she kept her gaze forward. He was acting pretty protective toward her. She wondered if he liked her. Emma wasn't one to imagine people crushing on her as she found herself pretty much the average joe with a tendency to get into trouble. Again lost in her thoughts, she was shocked when she found herself being pushed to the side. She could only stare in shock as the door was bashed off its hinges and thrown into the street as if it had weighed as much as a piece of paper. His eyes locked with hers and he licked his lips, greeting her. Emma shuddered in disgust. "Ugh please don't do that." She muttered under her breath. She had been to ask him what he wanted when Noah interjected. She couldn't help but smirk at his comment. She felt awful for dragging poor Noah into this situation after he had just saved her. Whatever this dude wanted, he really needed to put it aside because clearly there were bigger problems at the moment.

"Excuse me." Peter began, "But who are you and why are you so obsessed with Emma?" Emma wanted to know the same.

"Okay what the fuck?" Emma moved forward on her own accord, unable to believe her ears. "You're doing all this bologna just to get a conversation with me? How about you knock on the door like a normal person? Like holy crap dude my dad just put that door in a month ago." Emma told him, her tone etched with annoyance, "Now ask your stupid ques-"

"HEY!" Emma broke off, gazing over at some purple-haired chick on the sidewalk.
"Sorin is that you? what is wrong with your arms?" She asked.

"Well it looks like you guys are safe."The crazy dude left just like that to go talk to the girl.
Emma stared in disbelief. After they spoke for a moment, she started calling them over.

"I told you to stop talking to random people on the internet." Alex was standing in the doorway to the next room, swinging his car keys around his finger. "I don't know about you guys but I want nothing to do with that dude. Car is started in the garage. We gotta try to gather people. Got a loudspeaker horn in the car." She hadn't taken notice of Alex's random disappearance during the last five minutes. It was typical of him to find a way out of a bad situation. He nodded to them to follow and made his way through a door into the garage.

Ming Hua's eyes darted, from the boy with very strange implants, to Peter. He had his arm around Emma, and she was very clearly blushing. Huh. Or perhaps the blood-rush came from the indignation with which she spoke. "You're doing all this bologna just to get a conversation with me? How about you knock on the door like a normal person? Like holy crap dude my dad just put that door in a month ago." Ming Hua might have made a raspberry blast at that, until he remembered that the disappearance of her father was what kickstarted this entire fiesta.

But with the appearance of a second girl, Ming Hua was thrown for a loop. Sorin stalked away, and Alex reemerged. "Car is started in the garage. We gotta try to gather people. Got a loudspeaker horn in the car."

As Alex walked back to the garage, Ming Hua glanced around at Emma and Peter, before promptly following. "That's generous of you," he murmured to Alex, as he clutched his satchel to him, its contents softly rattling within the fabric. "Consider me most obliged." Ming Hua looked back at Emma, to quip, "Appears to be you've got a fair lot of suitors around these parts, mermaid."