Michael was wide-awake. In San Francisco, California it was hard to get sleep. He looked at his clock. It was eleven fifty-nine. Then, when the clock struck twelve o' clock, midnight, everything stopped, and the color blue engulfed the entire city.
"Oh my gosh! This is impossible," Michael told himself as he looked outside, seeing others on the street frozen. All of a sudden, he felt something touch him from behind. "Ahhh," he screamed. But when he turned back, it was only a girl roughly around his age.
"What's your name," she asked.
"Michael," he replied. "What's going on," Michael asked.
"Midnight. You see, long ago, humanity was not at the top of the food chain. We were being hunted down by darklings, a bunch of creatures that took us for food. But then, our advances defeated the darklings, and they created an extra hour for themselves. This is the hour that we are in now, the blue time," the girl explained.
"But, why are all those other people frozen, and we're not," Michael asked.
"Because, only those who were born at midnight can roam the blue time. All the others just stay frozen until midnight passes. It used to happen only in Bixby, Oklahoma, where four other midnighters and I lived. But ever since the darklings tried to get us humans into the blue time to eat us, and they failed, midnight is expanding all over the globe. In addition, we each have special powers. Some can be used any time, others cannot. Such as mine, I am a flame-bringer, that means that I can bring electricity and fire into the blue time, which was considered not possible," she explained.
"What's my power," Michael immediately asked.
"I don't know. You have to find that out for yourself," she explained.
"What's you name," Michael asked her.
"My name is Jessica Day. I used to live in Bixby Oklahoma, until the day the darklings tried to take over," she answered him.
"Well, can you meet me tomorrow morning," Michael asked her.
"I can't," Jessica said, a frown appearing on her face.
"Why not," Michael asked her.
"When the darklings were opening up the blue time, I ended it by sealing the rip together with a bolt of lightning that was frozen in the blue time. But it took so much energy out of my midnighter half that I could not exist in normal hours. Now, I only exist one hour a day during the blue time," she explained to Michael.
"Oh," that was all Michael could say. His only friend was moving away to New York, and maybe she could've been a friend. All of a sudden there was a tap on the window.
"Hey Jessica," a voice shouted. Michael was stunned by what he found. A regular boy, his age was jumping up to the second floor of his apartment from the ground.
"Hi Jonathan," Jessica shouted. She headed for the door. "Would you like to come with us? There's still time before the blue time ends," she offered.
"Sure," he responded. In minutes they were outside and Jonathan came up to them.
"Hey Jessica, who's he," Jonathan asked.
"Jonathan, this is Michael, he is a midnighter," Jessica explained.
"Nice. When I was jumping over here, I must've seen five other midnighters. They were all confused, of course," he explained. But then he remembered to introduce himself. "I'm Jonathan, nice to meet you Michael," Jonathan extended his hand.
"Do you have a special talent at midnight," Michael asked.
"Yes, I do. I am an acrobat," Jonathan explained. But just as he finished Jessica began to fade, then she came back to her original state.
"Midnight's going to be over soon," she announced.
"Well then, I should really get going. It's a long ride to Bixby. Nice meeting you Michael," Jonathan shouted.
Michael and Jessica ran back into his room in his apartment. Jessica began to fade even more.
"Midnight's going to be over in a minute or two. Remember, this is a secret, do not tell anybody. Understand," Jessica asked. Michael nodded yes. "Good luck in the blue time," she told him and faded away. The blue color faded with her, and the noises of a busy San Francisco night resumed, as though they never disappeared. Michael longed for the peace and quiet of the blue time. It was only his first time in the secret hour and he loved it with all of his heart. He looked at the clock.
"Twelve-oh-one," he read. Then he went back to bed.
