[IC] A Gift and a Curse

[Ellion]

The Waves and Water

When I do leave I am going to go somewhere with a real beach. A sandy beach, that is warm all year round. Maren let out a shiver as she tried to wring all the water out of her pant leg the best that she could while keeping the article of clothing on. One misstep a moment ago found her entire left leg soaked through, jeans, sneakers and all, thanks to a sneaky tide pool. Her shoe and sock were laying a few feet away. They were laid out to dry in a far too optimistic manner. The sun was too far setting and the day too cool at this point to be helpful with drying in any way what so ever.

After a few minutes of unproductive drying, Maren had chalked it up to utterly helpless and resolved to leave the beach. It wasn't as though she came down for any particular reason. She'd just been driving home and decided it was a lovely time to stop by the beach and watch the sunset. Which had now come and gone. It fact, it was starting to get quite dark.

With a sigh, Maren turned, picked up her shoe and started doing a lame half hop half walk off the beach, only putting her foot down about every third step as she made her way up the stairs to the street above the rocky beach. Despite her trying to walk carefully, about the fourth step in, a sharp pain shot through her foot "Mother F-," she hissed, sitting on the ground once again, her eyes searching for what ever had stabbed her in the failing light, but it was futile. Instead, her eyes focused in on the glow of a nearby cafe.

Strengthening her resolve, she took a deep breath and walked awkwardly towards the business. Passing by a semi-familiar face walking past towards the beach. She almost spoke out to her, but she couldn't find the name and would have felt strange greeting someone that she didn't really know.

Trying to support her weight on her good foot, while using the toes of her other for balance. She eventually made it to the business, pushing the door open, she gimped towards the counter. "Hey..." she said awkwardly. "Could I...bother you for a rag....and...maybe a pair of tweezers?" She gave a small smile, trying not to think about the trail of watery blood she must have tracked in there.

[Punished GN]

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@Ellion

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---

It was another slow night at the cafe. Zoey couldn't believe that she got shafted with the nightshift, again.

Then again, Zoey has very little choice since she's basically mooching off a friend for a place to stay as she figures out what the hell she's going to do. Honestly, Zoey was trying to figure out how she's going to afford her own place on cafe money. This is what kids do in the summer time for pocket-change to spend on videogames to waste time on. What Zoey hoped was that her music could pick up a following on Soundcloud, and she could get enough money. Hopefully. Oh well. She was going to try to bide her time until them.

No one was really here at this hour except for the weirdos that hang out here for some reason. Which made the bluehaired girl bored as shit. She was hoping a robber would just come in and make the night interesting... and get like five dollars and some change? She knew a dealer that could get you turnt UP with that money. Zoey was playing around with a sticky-note trying in vain to make some origami. She was trying to make a swam, but she ended up making an origami swan's retarded cousin!

She flicked the paper into the trash, and sighed as she rested her hand on her face.

The door opened and it was accompanied by the beep that made Zoey finally raise her head. Maybe it was something interesting! And she was not disappointed. It was that brown-haired, muscle-girl with the prettiest hazel eyes in the world, just stumbling in asking for a rag and a pair of tweezers. Maren was a regular at the cafe when she wasn't busy with whatever. Zoey found the request odd, but right when she was about to make a snide remark about the request, she peeked down at the mess Maren lead in...

"Oh God damn it." Zoey hissed as she came from behind the counter. "I'm gonna have to clean that up...." She moaned.

But, then she looked up at Maren. "Well, oh well." Zoey shrugged as she smiled at Maren, putting her hands on her hips and giving the girl an inquisitive smile. "This night was so boring I was honestly hoping for a serial killer to come by... I guess you're the next best thing, yeah."

Zoey laughed.

"But, what the hell happened to you?" Zoey raised an eyebrow. "Did skinny dipping go horribly wrong again? Eh, accidents happen, right? I bet if I poured some boiling hot coffee on it, it'd cauterize the wound, or something."

She clapped both hands together. Before she pointed behind her.

"But, no seriously, We got a first-aid kit in the back just in case a brewer breaks or something." Zoey said. "Give me a minute."

[Ellion]

Moved.

[Gisk]

Audrey’s bike gave a low rumble as it rolled down the highway. She was going slower than usually, trying to make the most of the dollar-and-thirty-nine-cents worth of gasoline she had put in miles and hours ago. It was making her regret everything she loved about her bike, because for all of its power, it drank fuel greedily. She put on a final burst just after taking the exit ramp, and flew across the Greenbriar city limits.

With a few hours before high tide, Audrey procrastinated the inevitable return to her grandpa’s house by hitting Beach street, and parking just past the cafe. Rather than patronizing the coffee shop(with what money?), she walked past it toward the cliff, where there was a series of switchback stairs carved right out of the stone. She marched down them, hands in her pockets, and across the beach to lean against a mussel covered rock and stare out at the ocean until the tide hit her boots.

As she looked, she caught sight of a figure out on the waves that were crashing against the rocks. She didn't have to look too hard, there were only a few people crazy enough to surf in these waters at all, let alone at night. She waved Sol over, and he turned his board toward her.

A glow reflected on the water made her turn around to witness something that was striking fear into the hearts of parents all across town. A spread of lights across the only sky, outshining the moon and in shades of red, mingled with yellow and orange. They enveloped most of the sky directly over the town, with some tendrils spreading out even as far as where Audrey stood.

She turns back to Sol, her mouth open in surprise, just in time to see him lose control of his surfboard and strike one of the jagged rocks that dotted the shore. Audrey made to rush into the water to help, but the dark figure never reached the water. Indeed, the figure didn't stay dark. A white hot glow emanated from him, and rather than flailing into the water, he suddenly shot off like a glowing rocket into the sky.

“Fucking shit!”

~~~

Two Harleys roared down Beach Street, carrying tall men in matching denim vests. One pointed, as they came up on the Cliffside Cafe, to the the bank of vehicles parked on the street. The other looked, and suddenly both veered across the the street to park among them.

“Look at this piece of shit!” Thomas Morhaime said as he came upon the other motorcycle that was already parked there.

“Yup,” Michael, who matched him in more ways than clothing, replied. “Don't think anyone else rides a Honda, let alone this sparkly eyesore. Think she's inside?”

“Good bet.” He snatched the helmet that Audrey had left on the handlebar and the twins marched into the Cliffside Cafe.

They were a year ahead of the current graduating class, but were still among what everyone called the “Greenbriar Miracles,” who had survived the mysterious rash of infant deaths some eighteen or nineteen years ago. They were even more miraculous than some, as those two years had brought an unusual amount of twins, and they were one of only two pairs that had both survived. They were tall, lean and swaggering, with brown hair, blue eyes, and square features.

When they came in, Michael approached the counter, ignoring that Maren was already there, and slapped a twenty on the counter.

“Two coffees, leave a little room,” he patted the pocket of his vest that had a flask in it. Then, in a magnanimous voice as if this was a great deal of money to throw around, he added “Keep the change.”

Thomas, meanwhile, had already made a round of the few patrons in the shop, and peered out the window. He shrugged back at his twin when their eyes met, and Michael looked back between Zoey and Maren.

“Where’s Aud?” His voice was just barely on the right side of casual, with a hint of ill intent behind it.

Thomas was peering out onto the balcony seating when the windows were all lit up by a warm glow from the sky. He called his brother over, and he looked out just in time to see something blindingly bright soar up and out of sight, close enough to rattle the windows.

~~~

I'm a windowless basement, where the sky couldn't be seen, even as miraculous lights filled it, another graduate sat alone. Anthony Finch, sickly and frail as ever, was still wearing his graduation gown and cap. He had a blank look on his face, and his mouth was somewhat slack.

This passage into adulthood meant nothing to someone who could never travel far from home, who needed his dialysis every other day. Who became tired and had to sit and rest twice and hour.

What could someone like him accomplish? What sort of life was he doomed to?

He didn't mean to find out.

He twiddled the razor blade in his hand for a moment longer, but no matter how he twisted his mind, he couldn't talk himself out of it.

He put the blade to work.

[Ellion]

Maren

Maren made a face at the intruding twins. Audrey. That was the name. She could see a flash of the girl in the hallway of school. Audrey. Left sometime before graduation. Or was she expelled. "Aud...female? About yay high? Rides a motor cycle that may or may not be parked outside?" She paused making a hand gesture. "Nope, haven't seen her," There was a part of Maren that knew she should at least be wary of the boy, but he irritated her, so that feeling went right out the door. With that she turned pointedly back to Zoey, cutting the guy off from his order.

"Pff, everyone knows that I only skinny dip for important things. Like...New Years Day...and New Years Eve...and Easter and Halloween and Saturday and if there is tequila involved... I mean-- that is besides the point. You asked for a serial killer and you got one," She let out an uneasy laugh as she looked back down at blood trail before flicking her eyes back at Zoey.

"In all seriousness, I was behaving myself if you can believe it or not!" She called to Zoey's retreating head. She stood at the counter a moment longer before gimping over to the nearest table, dropping her still dripping shoe slightly off to the side, before raising her foot to examine the damage. A thin piece of sharp sea glass stuck out from her foot. It was too thin for her to grab with her fingernails, so she was resigned to wait for the kit.

She didn't have to wait long, as Zoey came carting it in not a minute or two later. "And," she continued, as though Zoey had never left. "That just goes to show you that I'll get hurt no matter what I do, might as well walk away with a good story," She reached into the kit and pulled out the tweezers. With a hiss, she slowly yanked the piece of glass from her foot. "It is a good thing I am not squeamish, or this would be really difficult. Speaking of making my life difficult.... none of the MacGrath's are in right? They might banish me for life for this mess," She said, setting the bloody piece of glass on the table, reaching for some gauze to wrap her foot in.

She then glanced up in time to see a red glow light up the sky. "The fuck was that?" she said, standing to get a better look, her foot almost entirely forgotten.

@Mr Allen J

[Kyrisse]

Kassidy MacGrath

"Happy Birthday, Kassie. " Susan smiled and hugged the daughter that looked exactly like her from her red hair to her gray eyes. Despite occasional arguments between mother and daughter, they fared well with just the two of them. "Here." She handed the her a gift wrapped in blue paper and tied with a pink ribbon.

Kassidy grinned. "Thanks mom. I think I know what this is." She tore open the paper and found herself staring at hard bound book about the different types of coffee, how to roast them and how to prepare it a hundred ways. She chuckled. "Yes, I'll be striving to become the best barista in the world." She flipped the pages and savored the distinct smell that new books had.

"We'll celebrate in the weekend, okay? It'll be a double celebration. You graduation and your birthday. I'm sorry to be asking you to stay in the cafe tonight but I really have to meet our suppliers." Susan smiled apologetically. "It's a pretty slow night anyway and Zoey is here."

"It's okay, mom. I don't mind.." Kassidy said as she read a page on Kopi Luwak or Civet Coffee. "Wow. Poop." She commented absent mindedly.

The older woman noticed the distracted look on her daughter's face and chuckled. Everytime the girl got a new book, she almost always instantly buried her nose in it. She got up from her chair and walked out of the kitchen and into the cafe. Cliffside Cafe had been passed down her mother's family. Through out the years, the family had kept the cozy feel of the cafe with its hand crafted bookshelves filled with books that the customers can take to their tables, soft comfortable couches, hand crafted and hand painted wooden tables and several landscape paintings done by Kassidy's grandfather. When Kassidy had been around 5 years old, she had insisted on decorating the cafe with star shaped stained glass lanterns and now several of it hung from the ceiling casting rainbows all around. On one side of the cafe, overlooking the cliff, were glass panes that served both as its walls and windows. Outside were several tables and chairs underneath bright, big beach like umbrellas that has Cliffside Cafe printed in bold letters on it.

Susan walked over to a beautifully carved table by the wall and ran a hand lovingly on its surface. It was the most recent addition to the cafe, crafted by Kassidy's father, who was a carpenter.

"Mom, I---" Kassidy came out of the kitchen and her eyes fell on the longing, sad look on her mother's face as she ran a her hand along the smooth dark wood of the table. She knew that her mother had been greatly affected by her father's absence. They had been so in love before Kassidy came along. In the back of her head, she always wondered if her mom blamed it all on her. He had been a soft spoken, kind man but everything had changed when he didn't get the son he always wanted. Kassidy's hand shook at the thought of her father. The idea of him coming back made her heart thump rapidly and painfully in her chest. She turned her eyes abruptly towards the door as it chimed, expecting to see a brown haired man with bright blue eyes and a dark frown...

When she saw a girl from school, she let out a relieved sigh. She watched the girl wobble in trailing blood after her. She would have come forward to help but she saw Zoey going to the back to get the first aid kit. "I'll see you later at home, honey." Kassidy caught the wistful look on her mother's face as she passed by on her way out. She looked back to Kassidy and gestured towards the bloody trail as if to tell her to take care of it. Kassidy nodded automatically, went to the back to get a mop and a bucket and proceeded to take care of the bloody mess.

Sam Spark

Meanwhile down the street...

Samuel walked through the night. He liked it better to go outside when it was late, as not many people were out then. He didn't like the shadows though, they could scare him easily, but it was better then walking into a mass of people. He couldn't stand his parents at the moment, (which he blamed on late puberty) so he went out into the dark with his trusty hoodie over his head.

He walked past a cafe and noticed he was a bit thirsty. normally he wouldn't go inside a strange cafe, but it didn't seem very busy so he thought 'why not?' and opened the door. A small chime made people notice he entered, which startled him a bit, but he shrugged it off as soon as he saw what made the noise. He saw an empty table in the corner, and sat at it.

He looked around, trying to avoid eyecontact as much as possible. He recognised some people from his school, mostly girls. He didn't actually know that well though, as he usually tried to avoid contact with others. Maybe they knew him because of him being a bit awkward, but not much more.

Kassidy MacGrath

Kassidy had just finished cleaning up the floor when the door chimed again. She jumped, her mind still on the thought that her father might walk in any time. She looked towards the door and sighed in relief when she saw that it was someone else from school. The boy who always wore a hoodie. Sam something... She had seen him around school several times but she never saw him interact with anyone and preferred to keep mostly to himself. She took the now bloodied mop and bucket back into the back room and then came out again. Seeing as how Zoey was still busy tending to Maren, she made her way to the table where Sam say.

"Hey." Kassidy flashed him a bright smile. "What would you like to order?"

Before the boy could answer, the door chimed again and Kassidy jumped. She looked back and saw twins enter. She shrugged and turned back to Sam. But something about the night sky caught her attention and she peered out the window. A strange light spread across the sky in a mix of red, yellow and orange.

Sam Spark

Sam saw the girl from his class, who apparently worked at the cafe, walk towards him. Come on Sam, you know she is just coming to get your order. Just relax and tell her what you want. He said to himself, while trying to control his breath. As she asked what he wanted, he was about to respond when the door opened again, which startled him. He tried to forget about them, and ordered a cola, then saw the light outside, filling the sky in bright colors. WHAT THE HECK WAS THAT?! He thought, panicking a bit. He tried to stay as calm as possible, but couldn't help sinking back into his chair as he instinctively tried to make himself smaller.

[Punished GN]

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_{@Ellion@Gisk@Kyrisse}

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Right when Zoey was finished speaking, trouble walked in. The biker twins came coming into the cafe, and in a surprising display of intelligence, slammed a twenty on the counter even though no one was currently manning the damn thing. She rolled her eyes as she said, "I'll get it for you in a second." And began walking over to the counter to put the thing in the counter before it gets lost and they lose their shit. But, when they asked about Audrey, Zoey came to a stop.

"Your guess is as good as mine, brother." Zoey said with a grin. "That piece of work is probably face-down in a ditch somewhere after getting her bony white ass handed to her. Ha!" She laughed.

Then she grabbed the twenty off the counter, and quickly wrote Micheal's instructions on a sticky-note, and then put it on the counter for later. She was about to scroll on in the back, but she just couldn't resist bantering between herself and Maren.

"That sounds like you make it a real special occasion, sweetheart," Zoey said with a coy smile, as she shrugged. "I like getting naked as much as the next person, yeah, but in shit like ponds and beaches? Don't get me started if a perv comes by and think it'll be comedy gold to steal your clothes..." She trailed off with a light chuckle. "... But, next time you get naked, be sure to hit a girl up!" Zoey (half) jokingly flirted to get a rise out of Maren, she followed it with laughter.

That's when Maren lifted up her foot, and showed that there was a piece of glass stuck to the bottom of her foot. "Oh." She said, wincing slightly as she looked at the light layer of blood. "That's why you don't walk around barefoot at night, sister." She said as she started walking in the back. "Let me go get the first aid kit before you bleed out, and I have to give you the good ol' viking funeral."

Zoey quickly ran into the backroom, and grabbed the white case with a red cross that said "FIRST AID" in big red letters. She ran back into the room, and before she did anything, she quipped "... Now, you know you're going have to buy a coffee for this, right?" She smiled as she walked up to a table, and pulled everything she needed out. Tweezers, antiseptic spray, bandages, and medical tape! "Now, get yer' foot up here, I need to practice my amateur nursery."

When Maren lifted her foot up, Zoey grabbed onto the glass shard with the tweezers and said, "Alright, three, two, one..." Zoey said before she pulled the glass shard out. That was anti-climatic. Zoey then sprayed the antiseptic spray on Maren's foot - because a pretty little foot like this wouldn't look too good amputated! Then Zoey asked about a MacGrath being in the building. She slowly looked over her shoulder, and peaked at Kassidy, and winced.

"... You got mommy, and little baby MacGrath in the building." Zoey said. "Let's hurry up and get you patched up so you can order your coffee!"

The red glow in the sky utterly interrupted the banter between Zoey and Maren. "... Huh?" Zoey said as she peaked over Maren's shoulder and looked up at the sky. "The fuck's that? Someone celebrating fourth of July a little too late?"

[Gisk]

"No firework I've ever seen," Thomas answered her quietly. He tried to crane his neck to see through the balcony window, but gave it up as a lost cause and moved to the front window of the shop.

"I don't care about the lights," Michael said, moving to look out the window anyway. He continued in an undertone to his brother, "I care about traitor bitch."

"She'll keep, but Auntie Kat is pregnant."

"So?"

"So, the last time these lights showed up..."

"I... oh. Alright." He took one last look around, but then walked right out the door, forgetting about his coffee.

His brother looked back at Zoey and said "Sorry about the trouble," and then followed Michael, tossing Audrey's helmet unceremoniously to the sidewalk when he got outside. A moment later their engines roared to life, and a moment after that, Audrey Springer walked in the door, carrying the dropped helmet.

"The twins were looking for me?" she asked the room at large, then changed her priorities and asked, "Did anyone see that white thing?"

[Ellion]

Maren

"Life is a special occasion, and by my count, Saturday is less than a week away, I'll be there. You might not be invited though, because I now have reason to suspect you'll steal my clothing" Said Maren, taking it in stride as she flashed her own smile. While Zoey fished the glass out of her foot, she dug in her damp pockets for a few dollars. Eventually she was able to fish out a very soggy five and slap it on the table for the demanded coffee. "There, obviously I'm used to paying a premium for quality medical care from a qualified medical professional,"

The red glow in the sky lead to Maren glancing at the window. "You mean, too early. It is only May," She said before shrugging. "It was probably just some punks lighting off fireworks," she said absently, stretching her foot and testing its pain level as the two brothers left.

A moment later, the girl, Aubrey or whatever, entered. Almost as though she was waiting for the two boys to leave, which she probably was. Maren glanced over at Aubrey. "Probably, seeing as you think they might have been," she said, with a teasing smile before making to stand up. She was ready to go home and cold-...well, the cafe surely must have warmed her up, because although she was still dripping water, she was suddenly feeling much warmer.

@Gisk@Mr Allen J

[Polyphemus]

The Mercedes-Benz G-Class SUV was a massive block of a vehicle. The brand-new SUV was engineered well, though, in skilled hands it could handle as well as a car half its size. The brakes and steering responded to the smallest twitch of the driver's hands.

In skilled but uncaring hands, though, it could be as destructive as a hurricane.

The small parking lot behind the rows of stores on Beach Street was filled with a long and drawn-out screeching as the Mercedes slowly, slowly sideswiped a parked Kia as the driver pulled into a space. A long and deep scratch was left on the side of the cheaper car, paint and small shavings of metal flaking away. The Mercedes was left unblemished- it was a well-made car with all the bells and whistles. There was plenty of room for the big Mercedes, ample space to avoid the Kia. If anyone had been in the lot it would be clear that the "accident" was entirely deliberate.

The driver's door swung open, and the teenager inside stepped out, took a casual look at the damage. "Plebe shouldn't have parked so close," he said carelessly. He downed a Daytrana, washed the pill down with a gulp of Evian, tossed the half-full bottle of water back over his shoulder. It splattered across the windshield of the Kia. Miles Wellington never looked back as he walked forwards, coming to the main drag of downtown. He had $500 and six credit cards in his pocket, and nowhere to be all day. Time to see what was going on in this boring plebeian town.

Walking down the sidewalk, hands in the pockets of his tailored worsted trousers, he knew he was invincible.

[Eyeris]

Bae

They had been on the beach all afternoon. They had come to watch the sunset, and watch the sunset is just what they did.

Bae and Cedar were stationed further down the shoreline from where Maren had cut herself and where Audrey had come down and where Sol had been surfing. They were too far away to see any of that happening. Or, perhaps it wasn’t that they were too distant, perhaps it was that they were too distracted by their own devices. It was their minds not their bodies that were far away.

Far away from people, alone, with only each other and nature, far enough so that others wouldn’t smell the herb as it wafted away from their place on the sand.

Cedar had brought a cheap ukulele and had been playing it before sunset. When the blue sky began to orange Cedar set down the guitar and began to make pictures in the sand. She drew patterns and sometimes wrote words, some were poetic, others strange messages to aliens that might be watching from overhead. The waves would wash it away, she would continue to draw not with her hands but with her toes, it was like she was dancing as she traced the lopsided mandala in the sand. Finally Cedar settled down next to her friend Bae as the sun vanished, lying on the sand with her eyes dull, watching the sky for the first stars.

Bae was at first frustrated by the amount of sand getting into her knitting, but as the sun set and the herb began to soothe her nerves, she didn’t care. Her mind was calmed and lost in the soft click of the needles as they ran against each other. The sun set and the scarf lengthened. Bae continued to knit in the dark, not needing her eyes, her hands were well practiced and her mind kept track of the knots and rows as she went.

Cedar was talking now.

“If you think about it, our class, it is a whole generation of survivors! Survivors! It is incredible, no one else can really know what that is like! It was a struggle to even be born, like, to exist! We didn't have normal childhoods... And no we have graduated!”

“Mmmm” Bae felt pleasantly lightheaded as she listened to her friend. She did not point out that Cedar was not a Greenbriar miracle-proper, as she had moved to Greenbriar her freshman year of high school... Semantics didn't seem important right now.

It was dark now. The stars and the moon gave everything a silvery outline, but nothing more. Cedar was a grey-scale figure in the sand outlined by moonlight. Bae knew she had blonde hair and bright blue eyes, and that she was wearing a colorful cap that Bae herself had crocheted. She was surrounded by the lines she had dug up in the sand. She was a sand-angel.

Then Bae could see color and light… Confused, Bae looked up to the sky.

Cedar had seen the lights too. Who could miss them? They dominated the sky.

“It’s… It’s the lights!” Cedar was sitting up, eyes and mouth wide open.

Bae watched, saying nothing, mesmerized.

Cedar stood, jumping up and down. “It’s happening again! It’s happening again!” She couldn’t decide if she was happy to be a witness or terrified by what she was seeing. “We have got to do something!”

“But, what?” Bae was getting up more slowly, shoving the scarf and the needles into the basket she sat beside. There was a crackling noise as the scarf was squished against empty snack bags and a clink as the metal needles knocked against a marbled glass pipe.

Somewhere down the beach to their left, there was a bright white light over the water, and it shot up into the sky.

Cedar was already running. Bae barely got everything into the basket and she hobbled along after.

Cedar waited for Bae by the steps, and they kept pace as they climbed upward.

They got a bit side-tracked as they reached Beach Street, but, found another soul on the road near the cafe...

Miles.

“It’s happening again! The lights of the Greenbriar! Do you see them? Those bastards… It’s got to be the government!" Perhaps realizing she might sound crazy she began do amend her accusation. "Even if it’s not them, they knew something! They knew it could happen again! Haven't they been looking into it all this time?”

Bae was too dizzy to stand beside Cedar and rally the troops, and she felt anxious, the lights in the sky seemed a bit too bright and hurt her eyes, Cedar was drawing attention also made Bae unsettled. She sat on the side of the street and began to go through her bag, looking for her knitting. This was no time for knitting, but, holding on to something familiar would comfort her. She was amazed and confused by the lights in the sky.

She realized that they had abandoned the ukulele on the beach.

"We forgot your guitar." She told Cedar, then the pipe fell out of the bag and hit the cement with a sound that seemed disproportionately loud considering the small size of the pipe. Bae scrambled to pick it up under the table and bag it before Miles noticed. Hopefully Miles was looking at Cedar.

Cedar looked over her shoulder at Bae for a moment. The pipe was away and Bae held up a fist full of yarn, helpfully.

"What are you doing? This is no time for knitting! This is time for action!"

[Kyrisse]

Kassidy stared at the lights as it spread across the sky. Thoughts began running through her head. Is that the same light that appeared 18 years ago? Her heart beat quickened. Is mom okay? Wait... When it appeared before, it only affected children. Does that mean that babies will start either being born dead or dying off again? Does it mean that everyone else is safe? Her heart beat began beating fast.

From the waters below, she caught a glimpse of something glowing white rocketing into the sky. She quickly laid her hands on the table, leaned forward and peered out the window, her eyes automatically squinting. But it was gone before she could make out what it was. Her guess was that it was a falling star. But how could a falling star fall upwards?

She was still trying to figure out what was happening when she heard a cracking sound. She straightened up and looked around. Her initial thought was something hit the tables outside, cracking the wood. But everything seemed to be in order. Confused, she looked back towards the window.

In the corner of her eyes, she noticed the table in front of her. Where her hands had been a few seconds ago were two deep dents. The dark wood was splintered the shape and size of her hands. She blinked. Did I... She started thinking and then stopped herself. Nooo, couldn't be. That's impossible. Termites. Probably termites. Made the wood fragile. She made a mental note to tell her mother to have all wood furniture inspected at the earliest possible time.

Finally, she turned back to Sam, who had sunk back into his seat. "Are you okay?"

[NightmareInd]

Sam's head was racing with thoughts, most of them scary. Oh my gosh, what was that light? Was that the same light as before I was born? If that light got the amount of births reduced, what if this light actually nullified them? What if no one is going to be born at all? What if this is the end of humanity?! He spaced out, hearth thumping rapidly, until the girl from before came to him again and asked him if he was alright. "Y-yeah, I-I'm just surprised by the light, a-among other things."

However, now he got his head focused again, he noticed something. Even though it was already late, he didn't feel tired. He could almost say he felt a bit energetic. "B-by the way, a-about that cola. D-do you have something with less sugar instead?" He asked, almost whispering that last sentence. He didn't really like to ask something so bold. Even though others would have no problem with it, asking people to change his order seemed very rude to himself.

[Punished GN]

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_@Ellion@Gisk

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Shrugging, Zoey brushed it off.

"Well, it doesn't look like an alien invasion," Zoey flagged it off as she finished wrapping the bandages around Maren's foot, and put medical tape around it so it doesn't come off. When she was finished, she laughed as she put everything back in the first aid kit. Zoey leaned back in her chair with her arms behind her head. "There, sweetheart. Need me to kiss it?" She teased.

Her attention, however, was directed towards Tweedle-Dee, and Tweedle-Dum. They were mumbling about something and their tone told Zoey it wasn't good. Given how they asked about Audrey, Zoey guessed that it had something to do with her. Jesus. She just had to roll her eyes up into her head when she realized that Audrey caused them trouble yet again.

They left soon after, without any coffee.

That was a plus for Zoey because she didn't have to make no coffee for those nasty-ass, wannabe, biker losers. "Alright, then, see ya's." Zoey shrugged as they walked out. This probably had something to do with Audrey, but far as Zoey was concerned, it ain't her problem!

Since Maren was polite enough to pay up for the coffee Zoey asked for, Zoey was polite enough to go in the back to get the coffee for her. First, she was going to put this dollar in the cashier, "Actually, I wonder if this is how the Canadians pay for their medical care. Like I know they don't have to pay money for medical care, but what if they actually give the doctors a glass jug full of maple syru-" Her rambling was interrupted however.

Interrupted by the most curious of incidents. When she touched the cash register, the whole damn thing fried! An electricity traveled from outside of her finger, and the whole thing damn near exploded! There was a massive burn mark on it. Zoey stepped back with her hands up.

"Oh God damn it!" Zoey hissed. "The MacGraths are going to take this shit outta' my paycheck, and you know I don't make a lot of money as a friggin' barista-"

The bell over the door rung and it was enough to tell Zoey that they have more visitors. Well, this night's turnin' out to be pretty exciting because first Maren comes in after suffering a horrible skinny dipping accident, she had a close encounter with Tweedle-Dee, and Tweedle Dum, and then-

It's Audrey.

Zoey rolled her eyes. To put it lightly, Zoey did not think too kindly of Audrey. Given that the girl picked fights with Zoey and some of her friends for the dumbest things, and generally being a pain in the ass. Audrey probably did something to piss off the twins, and that's why they came running up in here like they were going to find her. Well, if Audrey had come sooner, then yeah. But, that isn't the point.

Zoey crossed her arms.

"Yeah, your boys came runnin' up in here lookin' for you," Zoey said with a hint of venom in her voice. "So, what'd the great Audrey pull off this time? Probably the usual."

[Gisk]

Aud gave a short bark of laughter at Maren's comment. "Alright, point taken, smart ass."

Zoey met her with a level of snark that Audrey was used to. She didn't feel like dealing with that right now, so she shut it down quickly.

"I haven't seen either of them in two years, don't blame me for their shitty behavior.

"Have neither of you looked outside?" She crossed the room to Maren, and put a hand on her shoulder to try to coax her toward the window. She brought her hand back almost immediately, with a sharp intake of breath at the burn on her hand. As she stepped back from Maren, she gasped in pain again from the stabbing pain in her foot.

"Hell!" she breathed, looking at her hand and elevating her foot. Her hand was red, as if it had been scalded, and she could feel blood soaking her sock. She turned her eyes to her boot, but there wasn't any hole in the sole. What had she stepped on?

[Ellion]

Maren half listened to Zoey's rambling, something about maple syrup and heath care, when a ping shot across the room. Maren glanced up at once to see a shocked Zoey and a blacked register. "You okay?" she asked, but as the girl had already moved on to assuming it was going to be taken out of her paycheck, Maren then assumed Zoey was fine. "Relax Zoey, they can't charge you for that, it was probably faulty wiring or something. Probably still under warranty. And even if that do, it won't cost more than a couple hundred, a thousand if they demand an upgrade," Honestly, she didn't see what the big deal was.

Maren was a bit surprised at the open hostility from Zoey towards Audrey. Zoey has always seemed chill, although Maren almost never saw her outside of the cafe, even though they went to school together. For all she knew, they were in a blood feud over some boy or something.

But Audrey didn't seem as bothered and promptly dismissed the girl.

Of course I've looked outside...through a window...from this seat, but outside all the same thought Maren. She felt the girl touch her, then pull back almost at once. Like she was shocked, or...burned? But there wasn't anything around her. "Ah....you all right there Sparks?" She said, a look of concern for the girls strange behavior flashing across her face. She reached out to her, her hand touching her arm, trying to steady her.

@Gisk@Mr Allen J

[Kyrisse]

Shifting back to work mode, Kassidy nodded, taking a mental note of what Sam wanted. "Sure. No problem." She turned away to prepare his order but hesitated and turned back. "Uh, you might want to transfer to another table." She nodded towards the two splintered dents on the table in front of him. "There might be bugs on that one or something." She nodded then turned back towards the counter where the three girls were.

The girls were talking and Kassidy knew well enough not to butt into a conversation that had nothing to do with her. She was also aware that the girls weren't particularly fond of her, especially Zoey despite working together in the cafe. It didn't really matter. People who aren't fond of her would be less likely to want to get to know her. That was preferrable. And so to avoid unnecessary conflict, she just gave them a small smile and headed to prepare Sam's cola. That's when she noted the cash register.

"What happened?" She asked, staring at the burn mark on the machine, oblivious to the fact that there was something going on with Audrey.

[SouffleGirl123]

Mary Louise Smith

Mary strolled down the quiet streets, laptop bag slung over her shoulder and more than a handful of coins in her pocket creating a clink clink clink that seemed to almost echo in the street's silence. The good thing about small towns, walking around at night was safer. Or felt so at least.

Sure, Mary could drive but she need the freah air and the soft calming breeze. Besides, she needed the break from doing assignments, a change of scenery, hence why she was headed for the cafe. It was usually at least almost-quiet most nights there, plus, tea and cake? Mary couldn't say no to that!

That was when she saw it, the great flash of light streaking across the sky. "What the hell?" she mutters to herself. That was not you average shooting star, actually, it was evidently not a shooting star at all. Not one Mary has seen before at least.

Her eyes followed it, she almost felt obligated to chase it ti find where it would land, alas, whatever this thing was it most likely shared the trait of a shooting star where it looks closer than it really is. So she continued on, her eyes curiously glued to the night sky in an attempt to figure out what if was.

Coins still 'clink clink'ing in her pockets and still stuck in thought trying to figure out just what that light was she entered the cafe to see it much more full than it usually was at this time of night. She recognised most of the people too, even if they'd never talked most were in school with her, or had been. "Please tell me everyine saw that. What was it?" she greets the large cafe group

[Gisk]

Audrey felt Maren's hot touch again. It didn't scald her this time, because of her leather jacket, but when she felt it the second time, she knew she wasn't crazy. Maren's skin was almost too hot to touch, and that would seem impossible if not for what Audrey had already seen happen to Solomon. Would Maren flare up and fly away next? Audrey couldn't think of a way to warn her without sounding insane. This had something to do with the lights.

"Something weird is going on," she said, pulling away from Maren's grip as it became uncomfortable to maintain the contact. She looked down at her sleeve and then gestured for Maren to see it too, "Look, you're burning me." Indeed, there was a very much hand shaped mark on the shiny brown leather. Just slightly blackened, but enough to make it out.

Just then, someone else entered the room. Audrey recognized her from school years ago, but wasn't sure who she was. But that didn't matter, as she was the only other one here who cared about the flying blaze that was Solomon Majumdar.

"Yes!" Audrey stepped forward, ignoring her stumble on her mysteriously injured foot. "He- It came from the beach, did you see where it went?"

[Punished GN]

---

_{@Ellion@Kyrisse}

---

---

Okay, some seriously freaky shit was going on.

First it was that giant ass flash of light, Audrey steps on air and gets a wound, Maren burns Audrey, and the god damn cash register exploded a few minutes. . Zoey had to grin, though. "You know, Maren," Zoey started off in a teasing tone. "All I wanted was for a serial killer to brighten up the night. One serial killer. That's all I ask. And you come along and bring a fuckin' curse in 'ere."

Zoey looked down at the cash register.

"... Not cool, girlfriend." Zoey said in a sassy tone, putting her hand on her hip. Other than that, she left them alone. Not that there was anything Zoey could do about Audrey's biker jacket, thing. Not the cafe's problem. For now, she was wondering how in the hell she was going to explain the cash register up and exploding. Maybe she'll blame Audrey!

And that explanation came a little sooner than expected when Little Baby MacGrath walked up and asked what had happened. The last thing that Zoey wanted to do was lose this job of hers, so she'd have to come up with a convincing lie. And lying is Zoey's forte!

"... There was an electric surge!" Zoey smiled awkwardly. For what it's worth, no one would believe her if she said "Oh, yeah, I tapped it and the whole damn thing exploded!" unless they were really high. Then again, what the hell could Zoey have done to it to break it? "It came when that weird ass light appeared in the sky... maybe that's what it was. "

---

_@Eyeris

---

---

Bae and her crew weren't exactly the only people on the beach.

Jasmine and her friend - a redhaired girl with blue eyes, and a percent for red nicknamed Sugar (Because her real name was too embarrassing) - were sitting on top of Sugar's jeep. On the beach not too far away from Bae's group - but Jasmine were ignoring those losers because they weren't worth her time. Jasmine looked up at the sky.

"You know," Jasmine said to Sugar. "The sky looks absolutely amazing at night."

"I know, right?" Sugar said with a smile. "Long as you're away from the lights, everything looks amazing."

That's when the bright flash of a blindingly red light overwhelmed the sky. It was so utterly blinding that Jasmine felt a headache. She grabbed the side of her head, and groaned loudly. "What the hell...?" Jasmine said - before suddenly realizing that her voice was a lot louder than expected. She didn't even notice that the lights had faded - not did she think too hard on what the lights even were. Everything started to gradually get louder - but Jasmine barely noticed the change.

But, she heard some noises not too far away. To the point where she heard them clearly. To Jasmine, in her dazed state, it sounded like those losers were being loud as shit. And it pissed her off. Jasmine hopped off the jeep, and marched over to them.

"Jasmine?" Sugar's voice was pretty loud.

Not aware that her power had manifested, Jasmine was bent on giving these kids hell for being so noisy this late at night. When she got there, Jasmine didn't even wait before she said, "Hey, weirdos," She started off. "Why in the world are you being so damn loud? I know it's night time, but newsflash, there's other people on the beach." She put her hand on her hip.

There was a group of them, however, she recognized one of them.

"You," She pointed at Bae. "You're the girl with that weird name. Bae. Yeah, Bae. Did your parents know of that slang, or were they trying to be cute?"

She rolled her eyes up into her head.