[hr][center][img]https://i.imgur.com/ESNDCcH.png[/img] [/center] [b][code]The Campsite - The Beach.[/code][/b][hr] Justin and Claire whirled by the black haired girl trying to get Scott's attention. They were so high off adrenaline that the only thing that came to mind was getting the hell away from Scott [i](If the broad's got a deathwish then who am I to judge?)[/i]. She definitely got Scott's attention for a moment as he firmly planted one foot onto the ground and pivoted slightly with his axe over his shoulder. He did a blind swing towards Maddie with one hand, and didn't exactly miss. The axe cut through her body almost as if it was nothing, launching her aside as he continued his merciless assault. He kept running and running, moving as fast as he possibly could. He didn't even stop to wipe his axe off. He merely flicked the axe to the side and sent the blood flying all over the place. There were several gasps as Maddie expired on the grass, just bleeding out as the monster that almost killed her merely ignored her as he tunneled Claire. Jordan and Kimberly were among the two that were screaming - the sight of a vivid and merciless death opened something inside of the both of their minds. The black sigils burned into their bodies, and that unlocked a potential that both of them had access to. In particular, Jordan. Scott ran up onto the beach, and raised his axe overhead at the group. Jordan loudly screamed.... ... And a white pulse of light came forth from her body. It wrapped itself around everything, and turned everything an inverted color for a moment. Scott came to a slow and steady halt, before stopping right before he could kill another person. "What the-" Jordan said. As she looked around, and some of the others were also frozen except for her, Kimberly, Claire... Britney. She looked around as she tried to stand up, but she hissed in pain before she could continue. Everything was frozen. Time stood still - did she do this? Jordan pondered for a moment. "What the hell?" Claire asked as she looked around. "Right... it's official..." She gave the frozen Zoey a poke. "... Shit can't get any weirder than [i]this.[/i]" Britney was much quicker to figure everything out... and realized that she had to do something drastic. Something that she was trying to avoid using, whatever the cost. She closed her eyes, and put her hands together as she focused on Scott Reese. This was a desperate move - she didn't know how long time would stay like this, of course - but a wreath of plants had wrapped itself around Scott. Mainly thick roots from the nearby trees. They coiled and branched off around his mutated body, and tied him down from head to toe. Britney felt weak, but she had to ensure that they had time to escape. Eventually, there was nothing else in her reserve - she fell backwards, incredibly lethargic, and landed right on her back. ... Time resumed, and to the Blind, the changes took place immediately. Scott suddenly appeared to be wrapped in vines, Britney appeared to be on her back, and others appeared to have moved. Only the Awakened were able to perceive the stopped time. But, that wasn't important - what [i]was[/i] important was Scott being wrapped in vines. Even with all of his strength, he couldn't get out. Claire ran over to Britney, and lifted her up by the shoulders - and was able to lift up the far larger girl. "Brit! You okay?!" She asked. "... Y-yeah... just get me out of here." Britney said as Claire hoisted her onto a boat. At this point, several of the people were rowing away while Scott was struggling to get out. Good. Normally, she would ask how the hell did time stop, or what wrapped Scott up? But right now the only thing on her mind was getting the hell out of here. She and Zoey hopped on the same rowboat with Britney, and Claire took executive rowing control. However, that left Maddeline Levine all alone. An attack that ought to have killed her in [i]seconds[/i] was only non-fatal because of an Awakening of something inside of her. The same kind of "switch" that flipped on when Jordan and Kimberly witnessed her apparent death. A blue light engulfed her side, and the mythical light of life shined and repaired her slowly. To the Blind, it just appeared as if her wounds were just healing - but those who see with a different kind of sense saw the light in it's raw and pure form. However, she was still injured, unable to get on by herself. But, she felt somebody lift her up, and hoist her to one of the boats. Once she was placed down, she looked up and saw Hagan, whom said, "[i]Nobody left behind.[/i]" Everyone was rowing away at this point, and by the time Scott had gotten free, they were out of his grasp. He stood there, watching them. Before he turned away, and walked off. This wouldn't be the last they see of Scott, Claire knew that. But, she enjoyed this respite while they had it. She smiled, they were finally out of the woods... She turned her head and saw land in the distance... ... An orange light drew her head upwards, which was followed by a hellish sound. Claire (and by that extent, everyone else) put her hands on her ears as she looked upwards. They saw a massive orb of light - it blocked the night sky with it's enormous mass - and inside of it was something beyond description. It was a black mass that constantly changed shaped almost as if their minds couldn't give it a shape like they could everything else. It was surrounded by eight spider-like (only in appearance, they were similar to tendrils with how they moved) appendages that were [i]miles[/i] in length. Claire gasped, covering her mouth as she tried to figure out what the fuck was she even looking at. Others screamed... one of the appendages seemingly bent as if it was a piece of paper and came towards Claire's boat. With one swipe, it was knocked over. Britney, Claire, and Zoey, were knocked into the lake. "Fuck!" Claire said. [i]I can't fucking swim![/i] She said to herself as she struggled to stay afloat. She looked to her side, and saw Zoey being [i]lifted[/i] up into that thing via tendril. She was loudly screaming, struggling to break free, but she couldn't. "Zoey!" She said, outstretching a hand... before she disappeared into the orange light. Then the being rapidly vibrated, letting out a hellish sound that overwhelmed the group. Then everything went dark... [hr][hider=Zack Hemsey - The Zoo][youtube]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N1pwi_As-GM[/youtube][/hider][hr] Claire was sudden risen awake by the sensations of rain. The sound of rain also helped her awaken... she could feel mud, and [i]smell[/i] blood. She was still groggy... but, she could at least force herself awake. She looked around, vision dazed. She realized that she was on the other side of the beach, off the island - and so were all the others. Thank God she didn't drown... but, she didn't know what in the world that thing was. What the fuck. She turned her head, and saw Zoey lying down. "Zoey!" Claire said as she sprinted towards Zoey, and knelt down, shaking her shoulders. "Zoey, wake up!" She did... her eyes were glowing a bright orange color. No pupils, or anything... just emanating an orange light. Claire leaned down and listened to her heartbeat - she was still alive (Thank God) - but she was cataconic for some reason. "Zoey! Please God, wake up!" Claire said, to no other reaction. ... In the distance, they could hear sirens. Police sirens. [hr][img]https://i.imgur.com/4TN2wN2.png[/img][hr] After the bloodshed, the killer... known as Scott Reese dragged his feet deep into the woods. His transformation seemingly halting as he went through the dark woods. It was one fuck up after another. Scott had failed yet again. On the way, he punched a tree and sent chunks flying. The tree fell over as he walked away, completely uncaring. He had a destination, but he didn't know where. That voice... that eldritch voice was compelling him to go [i]somewhere.[/i] It ended up being in the embrace of the mountain... his very presence drove off any animal that had the smallest amount of self-preservation. They weren't his object, and he was unconcerned with them. He just wanted to know where this voice was leading him. He approached the mountain, an abandoned mineshaft that was fenced off. Scott approached it, and gave it one firm kick and it went over. He walked into the darkness of the caverns, guided by a strange voice. He didn't need light when there was a power above him guiding him to everywhere he needed to be. Scott walked deeper and deeper into the confines of the cave, spending hours as he went deeper and deeper into the endless caverns. Eventually, Scott hit a dead end. There was nothing but a large chamber, with only one entrance. Why did he come here? What compelled him to come [i]here[/i] of all places when there were sooooo many other places Scott could go? However, he stood there, patiently.... until an orange light materialized, and he was mesmerized by it's brilliant glow... it's power. He fell to his knees and knees out of sheer respect. Out of the orange light came strange, black, appendages that seemed to be made out of a black tar that took the shape of bony spider-legs. It was an infinite mass of these appendages that was connected. Some pieces of the limbs were coming out of the other. These limbs extended forward towards the kneeling Scott, and they grabbed him. Raising him up into the air before the limbs touched him, poking him with their otherworldly embrace. With each point of impact, a ring of orange light surrounded it, and it caused his wounds to heal. But, it caused him to further mutate. His muscles bulged further, cracks in skin that exposed bare flesh... Out of the light, the limbs delivered a metal mask and pushed it against Scott's face. The mask was twisted, covered his entire face, but left his mouth exposed - his teeth being rooted and decayed, and a green bile leaking from the corners of his mouth. Once it was pushed against his face, flesh had grown over it and firmly attached itself to his face. The other gift from this otherworldly being was a weapon. A massive, twisted blade, made out of some kind of metal, but it appeared like an oversized butcher's cleaver. Heavy, mangled, designed to cause the most brutal and bloody wounds possible, it was pushed into his hand. With that, Scott's transformation was complete. The limbs lowered him to the ground, and quickly retracted into the orange light. He was now armed, healed, and dangerous... [i]I won't fail you...[/i] Scott thought to himself as he marched through the tunnels back outside. The orange light disappeared. [i]... Master.[/i] [hr] [i]Wha-what the hell...?[/i] Claire thought to herself, as she rubbed her eyes. Last time she checked, she was in bed... but, when the girl moved her hands, she realized that she was in a... forest? What the hell, she was supposed to have left that godforsaken forest behind, why...? Claire looked at her hands for a moment, and realized that she was [i]blue[/i]. Her hands were transparent as if she was a phantasm. [i]Okay, I should lay off the drugs...[/i] Claire groaned to herself as she looked around. There was fog in the distance that made it impossible to see past a certain radius. Okay, it was obvious that she was dreaming, but why did it all feel so real? Like... she was here. Ugh, probably nothing. Claire heard small footsteps and chatter, and walked forward after it. Eventually, she caught sight of some lights, and went for that. Claire saw a pair of kids that looked scared out of their minds, holding flashlights as they looked around. One was a young male with darkbrown hair, probably around thirteen, wearing boots, blue jeans, and a white t-shirt. The girl at his side had wavy blonde hair, and wore a summer dress. It was the middle of night, what were these kids doing? Don't they know there was all sorts of shit out here in the woods that'd love to make them a snack? Claire rolled her eyes as she moved forward with a hand extended, and said, "Hey, are you kids oka-" Then her hand went through the kid like she was a [i]ghost[/i], and she froze. [i]Oh boy,[/i] Claire dryly thought to herself. [i]I'm dead.[/i] Holy shit. What was going on...? Maybe this was just a dream. A dream that Claire was going to try to wake up from now.... Okay, she was still sleeping. So, Claire tried harder. "I'm gonna wake up now - shit." Normally Claire could force herself to wake up out of these shitty dreams, but this time was different. She rolled her eyes... looks like ol' Claire's gonna be in la-la land for a little bit, eh. She followed the kids, as she heard a conversation between them. "... Arrow's not out here," The girl said. "Let's just go home before we get caught." "No," The boy said, determined as ever. "He's out here, see these tracks." The boy shined the flashlight on the trail of footprints that looked much like it was produced from a dog. "John," The girl said, "Those could be [i]any[/i] tracks, how do you know it's a dog?" "Have you ever read a nature book, Amy?" John said to his female cohort, very irritated by her. "There's no other animal that could leave a trail like this." He shook his head, "Arrow!" "John, will you keep it down?" Amy said, "You don't know what you'll attract." "Then leave," John said as he walked forward, leaving Amy behind. "I... can't leave you, you're my best friend," Amy somberly said. "I don't want you to pop up on the news as missing." [i]Awww, young love,[/i] Claire thought to herself, a mixture of bitter and had her spirits genuinely raised. Bitter that she passed the point of experiencing that kind of love. Claire followed behind the kids as they talked. "... I'll help you find your stupid dog," Amy said. "Just let's hurry up and get out of here." They both nodded as they continued to walk down the trail, with a ghostly follower behind them. Though, as they continued down the path... the trail of footprints came to an end, and was replaced by a trail of [i]blood[/i]. There was blood splatters on the ground as if something was slashed, then the trail as if the same thing was [i]dragged[/i]. The two thirteen year olds paused, nearly choking as John prepared for the inevitable. He hoped it wasn't so, he prayed it wasn't. When he raised the flashlight, it landed on the corpse of a german shepard. The two gasped, and John's eyes were full of tears as he looked at the traumatizing sight of his dog, Arrow, devoured by... something. His dog's chest was open, and the blood was still fresh. John didn't know what happened to Arrow, but Amy sure as hell didn't want to find out. "John... let's go..." Amy trailed off as she grabbed John's arm to pull him back down the pathway they came down. Partly out of pity, and the other part was merely out of fear of whatever was lurking around. "... Hey, what are you two doing out here?" A third voice spoke up that made the kids jolt, they turned around to see a tall stern man, in a green park rangers uniform. He had his arms crossed over his thin frame, and had an eyebrow raised. "We were just-" Amy tried to plead, before the park ranger grabbed onto both of them. "I don't have time for excuses, I'm going to get you two out of here, and right back to your parents." The ranger said as he dragged both of them away. They thought out of the woods, but it felt like they were going [i]deeper[/i]. They ended up at a shack. A "wilderness center" as the sign said... but, this place looked like it wasn't used in literally years. That made a knot form in their guts (and Claire's by extent), and the ranger kicked the door down, and lead the kids into the shack as he closed the door behind them. There was an awkward silence as he closed the door. "Um... I thought we were leaving?" Amy said. "And you said you were taking us back to our parents? This..." The girl trailed off, as she looked around, "... This place is abandoned." Then the park ranger laughed as he finished closing the door, and slowly turned around. Softly saying, "... Why is every kid that wanders through here so gullible?" The two kids gasped as they caught sight of the man's face cracked, revealing a layer of skin underneath that looked like a predator's jaw. Except made out of a ethereal white light with black symbols. That was when the rest of the man's form cracked to pieces, revealing the beast underneath. Seemingly a ghost-like being that was at least eight feet tall, made out of a white light, and had long limbs, with long, spiny fingers. It had the head of a deer, and it's rib cage was exposed. It looked down at the two children, and without another word... it lunged at John. Slamming the boy to the ground, and immediately feasting on him. Wildly biting his shoulder, and taking huge chunks of flesh out. John loudly screamed, but there was no one to hear him, save for Amy. Whom was terrified, she immediately pressed her back against the wall as if she was desperately trying to look for an exit, but there was no where else to go. She loudly panted as the beast savagely mauled John, but she was helpless to save him. It was only a matter of time before she was next... Amy loudly screamed, and that was when her abstraction saved both herself and John. When she screamed, it was carried by a massive blue wave that engulfed everything in a blue light, sending it flying away from her. Before it was frozen solid by a sudden wave of cold. It was frozen solid after it hit the ground. Amy didn't have a single clue what happened, but she was the least bit concerned. She knelt down to John, and realized that he was still alive! Thank goodness! Though, not for long, he was bleeding... He looked a little dead-eyed, too. She pulled John to his feet, and slung him over her shoulder. She was going to get the high hell out of here, she didn't know where. She opened the door, and with John over her shoulder, she made a break for it. Going fast as she could. Though, she didn't make it far before the man eating fiend broke free of his ice capsule, and roared. He slammed a claw onto the ground as he forced himself to his feet. He quickly ran through the door, breaking it, and made a mad sprint for the two with his hands ready to kill. Amy fell over with John, screaming loudly as it was the end. His plan hit another snag as a barrier erupted between the two. One that the wendigo crashed into, and groaned as he tried to figure out what just happened. That was when a fireball hit him, and he was sent tumbling over. He did a roll, landing on a knee, as he looked over to the source of the transgression... and his eyes went wide with fear. Three robed figures, each a different color (one was green, one was red, and one was yellow) with symbols all over them. The green robed figure held a medieval styled long-sword, the red one held a staff, and the last had a book... one that had the pages rapidly turn by a seemingly outside force as a intricate series of symbols floated above it. "Take him out!" The book wielding magician shouted, "I'll keep the kids safe." His companions nodding, the two immediately rushed the monster. He tried to run away, but symbols appeared in the ground, followed by pillars of fire that stopped him in his track. At this point the sword wielder had closed the distance, and slashed at the beast's leg, and he tumbled over. He quickly pushed himself to his feet as he slashed in retaliation, and that was promptly blocked by the sword with zero effort. It was counted by a quick slash to the chest, and the beast stumbled backwards. It also couldn't handle the barrage of fireballs being pelted on it from the back. It grabbed the sword wielder, and threw her at the fireball magician like she was a baseball. She yelled as her friend caught her, and let her down gently. Instead, the beast ran attempted to flee. However, it was promptly stopped when a powerful explosion of flames went off in front of it, and forced it to stop and guard it's face. The woman with the sword had recovered, and was right behind it. It roared as it whipped around, and slashed part of her robe, and she was bleeding. But, she was undeterred as she slashed the beast's arm off with one powerful swing, followed by a solid swing that removed everything under the knee. It roared as the woman held her longsword to the beast's head. It weakly raised a claw, but the woman just said, "Die aberrant." and stabbed the otherworldly creature in the head. Splitting its skull in half, and causing it to fade from existence. "Floris!" The man in the yellow robe shouted out to her. "Get over here, we need your healing!" The woman ran over to them... and realized what a shitty state the boy was in. She should had healed him first, instead of fighting the aberrant... but, she could fit this. She held her sword with both hands, and close to herself as she focused. A floating rune appeared on the hilt of the sword. The wounds John received on his shoulder were closed as a green light engulfed them. It took a few moments, but he was instantly healed in no time. But, as the green light faded, something became apparent. On John's chest, there was a symbol of a chariot. The strangers in the robes looked at each other before they said to each other... "He's... [i]an awakened.[/i]" [center][hr][sup][sup][sup]Innocence x Courage - Hate...[/sup][/sup][/sup][hr] [img]https://i.imgur.com/TWREXCn.png[/img] [b]Monday 8:23 AM. September 23th, Awakening. One month after the incident...[/b][/center] [hr][center][img]https://i.imgur.com/KzmdUGG.png[/img] [/center] [b][code]The O'Sullivan Household.[/code][/b][hr] Claire suddenly rose awake, thrusted awake by that weird ass dream of hers. For the last few days, she was having dreams related to that bloodbath that took place at the camp, but now... that was a whole different experience. Almost like it was something that happened. Claire was probably reading a bit too much into a dream, but it felt like a [i]recollection[/i] of some sort. Ugh, it was probably just something that Claire should just forget about. Rubbing her eyes, the girl looked around her messy room with clothes draped around because Claire couldn't bother to put them where they belong - not now, of all times. Her room had white wallpaper, which was hard to notice given all the various posters Claire had draped around. She shook her head as she climbed out of bed... ... and into some comfortable bunny slippers. That she would be embarrassed to be seen in, but at her grandparents house, she couldn't care less. She'd also be embarassed to be seen in her underwear, but it wasn't like anyone can see through walls and stuff. She shook her head as she grabbed her phone and went straight out the bedroom door. She stepped into the kitchen, where her grandmother - a kind old lady in her sixties, with greying hair, was preparing food. Which Claire could tell was bacon, pancakes, and etc. Which told Claire that she was awake too damn early. "Hello, Clairey," Riley said in an accented voice. "Grandma, I'm not ten anymore..." Claire said as she slumped down on the dining room table. She sighed, as she looked to her left, and saw the television. The headline being [code]TOWN REELING AFTER MASSACRE.[/code] A reporter chick from the city prattled on about how the massacre was a tragedy, how people across the states are praying for the lost, and how the police are on the hunt for the killer. Bah! It was just a reporter chick hamming it up for the ratings, and to Claire, she was background noise. And when one press of this shitty TV that was bought in the nineties, she wasn't even noise. Claire rolled her eyes... many of her friends were killed in that incident, and yet they haven't even found the bastard yet. Probably papa sheriff helping his boy escape punishment again. Claire found it [i]real[/i] hard to care at this point. Though, the only thing she could care about was the fact that he was still out there, and there have been a few more deaths in town... Now, Claire wasn't no vigilante, but if the authority won't bring Scott down, then it lies on people like her... but, she was more worried about Zoey. She was still in a coma... and she couldn't bring herself to go to school during all of this bullshit. She shook her head. "Claire, are you still going to school?" Riley asked Claire. "I know it's tough... but, you have to move on." "Yeah... that's what they all say," Claire said underneath her breath, but couldn't help but agree. Moping about the past wasn't going to get anything done other than... bring up those ugly emotions that she didn't want to talk about. A sigh escaped her lips as she said, "Fine." She leaned back in her chair a bit, before she shook her head. "Just gimme some food... you know, just to get my brain going, heh..." She said in a near sarcastic manner. Her grandmother said as she sauntered over, and put a plate of food directly at Claire's place on the table. It included pancakes, bacon, and scrambled eggs. Claire prepared to dig in, but her grandmother informed her, "Just to let you know, Connor came back from the store, and his pick up truck is good for you to use." Claire smiled - not just because she got food, she now doesn't have to go walk for like twenty minutes to Grand Ridge. "I'll make short work of all this food." She grinned. She immediately dug in and ate everything fast as she possibly could, and in less than a little while she had a clean plate. She brought her plate to the sink, washed it, before placing it in the dishpit to dry. She quickly skipped over to the shower, dropped her clothes, and hopped into the refreshing hot water. "... Aaaaahhhhhh" She said as she washed herself. After a few moments she put on her outfit for the day, which were jean shorts that were cut very short, heavy black combat boots, and a sleeveless T-shirt with her favorite Smashing Pumpkins album Mellon Collie and the Infinite Sadness, on the front. "Bye grandma!" She said as she skipped out the door. It was a relatively short trip to the driveway, and to her Grandfather's 1995 Ford Ranger that, despite being old, lasted him since the moment he bought it. All because he was one hell of mechanic... she should learn a thing or two from him. She hopped inside, and didn't waste a second in hooking up her iPhone, and blasting some music... [center][hr][hider=Smashing Pumpkins - The Everlasting Gaze][youtube]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LWJYaep-0sg[/youtube][/hider][hr][/center] ... Before speeding off. [hr][b][code]Grand Ridge - Parking Lot.[/code][/b][hr] Claire pulled up into the parking lot, and turned off the song as she switched to her headset. She grinned as she tried her best to improve her mood. She started marching up the stairs to Grand Ridge... which was a massive modern complex that was at least five stories, and covered a lot of ground. Even this early in the morning, it was still bristling with life... lots of people that were good looking. But, this funny thing called preconceptions just made it difficult to do anything other than walk up the stairs to the front door. Course, the moment she opened the door she heard a bang... not like the sound of something falling, like the sound of an explosion. Followed by the sounds of fire alarms. It didn't sound like a terrorist attack... more like an M80. Claire rolled her eyes. [i]Why can't people just cut her a fucking break for[b] once.[/b][/i] [hr][img]https://i.imgur.com/pzvcW5L.png[/img] [img]https://i.imgur.com/f4XE2MO.png[/img] [b][code]Grand Ridge Academy, Kimberly's dorm.[/code][/b][hr] Kimberly arose from her slumber around this time. Briefly rubbing her eyes, she muttered the last words she heard from a particular dream she had... "... He's awakened?" To nobody but herself, out of some strange compulsion because that dream was a bit weird. Kimberly was quick to climb out of bed after realizing that, in fact, she didn't wake up in a forest, or anything. But, instead, she woke up in her dorm room. It was neat and prim as always, with her posters on the wall, and on her computer desk, she had her camera and all the parts for it. Neatly laid out for her to put it together. Recently things were a bit... fucked. She couldn't focus in school after seeing all that death and destruction inflicted at the hands of Scott Reese. But, yet, the school just expected her to carry on like it was nothing. The same with her job. It was hard, especially since Kimberly didn't want to leave her room after what happened. She just shook her head, and went over to her computer and started putting back together her camera. For once, she was going to try to go to work today. Or else her mother's going to kill her... God, she hated this town. She sighed for a moment. Though, in the reflection of the camera's lense, she saw something weird... well, saw it again. The symbol that appeared in the center of her forehead. The camera's eye. It was there for awhile now. She rubbed it, hoping that it'd come off then, but it didn't. She shook her head. Kimberly noticed it the next morning after the massacre... and thought she was going crazy. Her job had a strict policy on no visible tattoos, and she was soooo going to get fired. Her parents were also going to kill her! Yet, not a soul mentioned it. Maybe her defensive measures were successful, and nobody noticed it. Or maybe... it was all in her head. Like that strange dream. After she put her camera together, Kimberly walked over to her dresser and pulled out her outfit for today - a sweater, some jeans, and some converse sneakers. She walked out the door towards the community showers - a concept that she found incredibly loathsome. The halls of Grand Ridge Academy were rather dead. As either people were still reeling from the fucked up massacre that took place, or from fear of being next. There were a few other gruesome killings taking place after the massacre. So that meant Scott was still out there. [hr] Jordan had experienced two dreams this day... the same one that everyone else had experienced - it woke her up at the dead of night, and she went back to sleep. She paid it little mind, despite playing a backseat role in someone else's adventure. The sigil that the kid - John - had, was what aroused Jordan's curiosity the most due to having one of her own. Then there was the [i]other[/i] dream. Then... she slipped into a similar dream? She just rubbed her eyes, and looked around. She saw nothing but darkness. Where ever she went, all she saw was the same sight. It was an endless void. Eventually, Jordan stopped trying to move, before she tried to wake herself up. "One, two, three... wake up..." She said. "... Jordan Nichols," Jordan heard a very deep voice behind her, and she looked over her shoulder to see two bright red eyes, and a vague animal shape in the darkness. Jordan shuddered as a paw seemingly stepped out of the darkness and revealed the rest of the beast... [url=https://orig00.deviantart.net/9a9c/f/2009/186/1/6/evil_wolf_by_ironkiller01.jpg]It had the shape of a giant wolf that was the size of an elephant.[/url] Bright red piercing eyes, that was seemingly made out of a black mist - in fact, that same black mist accompanied the wolf where ever it stepped. Sometimes... Jordan swore the mist took the shape of [i]skulls[/i]. It slowly marched over to Jordan, and she shuddered as she took steps back. "... You have a debt to repay." Now that the wolf was looming over her, Jordan was shuddering in fear, instinctively taking steps back. She sighed, as she repeated to herself, "It's just a dream, it's just a dream, it's just a dream..." "This is no mere dream, Jordan Nichols, this is a warning," The wolf spoke again as it picked up the pace. "Two years ago, in the same event that took the life of Madison Brown, you were designated to die..." Jordan tried to put distance between herself and the dog, but it quickly walked to her side, and turned it's head to look back at Jordan. "... yet you live.... why is that?" It asked. "I... don't know... who... what are you?" Jordan said as she took more steps backwards, nearly tripping on nothing. "Now that you are Awakened, you can properly comprehend the threat I pose..." The dog spat out, "I am an agent of death, maintaining the balance between life and death... you may refer to me..." The wolf turned towards her and stood straight up. "As the Hound." "Okay, Houndie..." Jordan said, "What do you want with me?" "You cheated death, so now I am here to collect..." "... and h-how... w-what... I - what..." Jordan stopped for a moment as the Hound quickly doubled in size. Taking the size and girth of a two story house. "I've simply come to offer you the choice... go now and peacefully." The Hound took a step, before shrinking, ending up the same size as Jordan - they were face level. It's red eyes pierced her soul. "Or [i]the hunt[/i] shall begin." "... and if I r-refuse?" Jordan asked. "Then I'll have to drag you back by force..." The Hound said, taking a step for every step backwards that Jordan took, "The light is very generous... and it has given you the gift of life, thought, free will... and yet, it can take..." At this point, Jordan realized that backpedalling like a fool wasn't getting shit done. Jordan quickly whipped around, and broke off into a sprint. She couldn't run as fast as she used to with that leg, but she sure as hell was going to try. The Hound got further and further away, in this seemingly endless void, and she smiled.... ... Then the Hound suddenly appeared right in front of her, the size of a football stadium this time. Jordan came to a stop, and screamed. "... You cannot run from death, Jordan Nichols. [i]Nothing can.[/i] The second we are born, we all have a price to pay... and it's calling home. Now, that you have rejected my offer to come willingly; [i]the hunt begins[/i]. Tell the other Awakened; where ever I appear... [i]death follows.[/i]" The Hound opened it's jaws wide, and swallowed Jordan whole.... "Holy shit!" Jordan shouted as she came awake... she looked around, and realized that everything was okay. She woke up in a cold sweat - as she did a lot of nights, but... She got out of bed, and went to her bathroom. She turned around, and looked at the clock on her back. "... I'm an Awakened?" She asked herself, "... and what is this debt I have to repay?" [hr] Kimberly found the showers and opened the door, and immediately felt bare feet touch the humid tiles. She sighed as she realized that the showers weren't that packed at this hour. Most of the people were still asleep on a saturday at eight, or were already up. There were a few people who were in here, but Kim paid them little mind. She found herself a stall, and placed her new attire on a bench outside of it. Stepping inside tripped herself of her kitten patterned jammies, and turned on the water. Hot as possible... heh, regardless of how the weather was outside, she always turned the water on. She took the time to thoroughly wash herself off, clean her hair... Then she stepped out of the stall shower with a towel on, and at the corner of her eye, she saw a familiar sight. Jordan Nichols. Drying herself off, baring it all in the bare view of everyone here. Kimberly felt a little embarrassed, looking at her friend like that, but she caught a quick glimpse at Jordan's back. She saw a large tattoo of an hourglass on her back? Weird. Last time she checked, Jordan didn't have any tattoos like that. While Jordan was pulling up her underwear, she felt someone gawk at her, and saw Kimberly - and she wasn't even worried anymore. She nodded her head, and kept putting her clothes on, as Kimberly did the same. Once the two girls got dressed, [i]then[/i] they felt it appropriate to engage in conversation. "Hey, Jordan, where are you off to?" Kimberly asked Jordan as they walked alongside each other, she had to slow her pace in order to avoid walking away from the girl, but they managed to hold a conversation. "I don't know, I'm just chillin'..." Jordan replied with a smile as she made small talk. "I was supposed to have classes, but my professor's daughter was killed in the... you know..." "Yeah..." Kimberly said as they conversation went dead for a moment, before she decided to ask about the tattoo. "So, Jordan..." "Hm?" "When did you get that on your back?" Kimberly asked. "Get what?" "The hour glass?" "Girl..." Jordan trailed off for a moment, "You checkin' me out?" She stopped, putting a hand on her hip as she gave Kimberly an inquisitive look. Immediately, Kimberly's face went red as she stammered out, "No-nonononono! I just caught a glimpse of you, and saw that." Kimberly said, "I wasn't checking you out." Jordan forced out a chuckle... before she said, "I'm... not sure myself." She said convincingly to Kimberly. "I didn't notice it for a few days, but I saw it on my back one day in the mirror... I thought I... I don't know, but when I went to get it removed, guess what? She said she didn't see anything." Kimberly raised an eyebrow. "... But, you can see it, right?" Jordan asked. "Y-yeah," Kimberly said. "I see it clearly." The conversation went dead... then the loud pop in the distance caught their attention. "What in the world?" Jordan asked. [hr][center][img]https://i.imgur.com/8XlJDkh.png[/img] [/center] [b][code]Grand Ridge - Classroom.[/code][/b][hr] Once the dream ended, Lynette was suddenly risen awake. She had dozed off in class, and had that dream.... [i]that recollection[/i]. She was surprised, because she only put her head down for a moment and then slipped into that dream. She shook her head... John... why did that name ring a bell? Then there were the monster, and the people in the robe. Lynette wasn't all that imaginative, but she bet that this dream was a sign. Some people had the id- "Lynette! I'm glad you're back with us." The science professor reminded her that she was in the middle of class. "I'm so sorry that my class was so boring that I put you to sleep." Lynette leaned back, making herself smaller as she meekly said, "S-sorry, I just haven't been get-" "I don't need to hear excuses, I need you to pay attention." The professor said. "Yes s-sir," Lynette said, before giving the professor her full attention. Yet, she couldn't shake off the dream, and... the symbols that keep popping up in her head. They were like an intrusive thought that kept popping up. And not only that, there was the symbol that appeared between her... boobs, if she were to be crass. It seemed like a massive emblem that had weird symbols on it and electricity. It looked like a tattoo, but no tattoo that she got (not that she could recall). Class concluded, and Lynette quickly went over to the bathroom. She peered inside - the lights were off, and she went inside. She walked up to the mirror, and - she hoped that nobody walked inside at this moment - she pulled off her shirt. She was in her bra, and was able to see the strange branding... it reminded her of some kind of pagan symbol? She wondered if she was going crazy since camp... then she thought of that damn symbol again! Ugh. Well... she heard that, in psychology class, one way to deal with problems was to write them down - so they're physical. She pulled a black ink marker out of her pocket, and in an act that would be considered vandalism, she drew one of the symbols. This time, the one of fire. It took her a moment to draw it, and it took up a large chunk of the window, but it was there. What did it mean? Why did she think about it so much? One question that was answered when the symbol started glowing a blue color, and Lynette wondered if she truly [i]was[/i] crazy now. She reached out and touched it... before it started making a loud hissing sound, and she felt the heat emanate from it. Her eyes shot open wide, and she dove off to the side - before the emblem exploded in a loud burst of flame. Glass was launched all over the place - some of the same glass had cut her. She had held her hands over her head as she stood up... the fire alarm had went off, and the entire bathroom was drenched in water and that eliminated what traces of heat that was left. Lynette saw her reflection in one of the shards. [i]The brand was glowing.[/i]