​ONE|

Another boring review day... thought Evan Masters. Another normal day at West Middle.

It was June 16, the day before his Earth Science Regents. He was a smart kid- lazy, but smart. That's what his teachers told him. There was a reason he was in the advanced classes.

The class was in the middle of another boring lecture from the teacher, Ms. Hamilton. "The Foucault Pendulum proved-" she started. Then she was gone. Poof. Zapped. Evan felt like jumping out of his seat and screaming to the heavens. Some of the students exchanged confused glances with one another.

"Wait- What just happened?" said Allyssa Mikael- a ditzy, popular blonde who had absolutely no idea what ever went on. No one knew how she even got in to the advanced classes. They all thought that her dad bribed the guidance councilor. To complete the stereotype, she was a cheerleader who is dating an equally blonde football player.

"Sweeeet!! She vanished! No more class!" yelled a kid, Nick, who, like Evan, was smart but lazy.

"Umm... don't celebrate yet," said Evan cautiously. "What if some teachers didn't?" He glanced into the hallway. By the look of the utter chaos, there wasn't a single teacher left in the building.

"This seems vaguely familiar...," said Morgan Carter. Morgan always had her nose in a book. She would know.

There was silence in the classroom, a worried silence. All of a sudden, there was a rap at the door. Jake Pierce, Evan's best friend, opened the door. As it turned out, it was Melanie D'Antonio at the door. The resident genius, the drama girl. She was called by most of her friends Anybodys- her favorite role she had ever played. "Morgan, Evan, Jake," she called. "Come with me."

The three of them got up and followed her. Jake was the first to speak up. "Do you know what's happening, Anybodys?" he asked.

"Actually, I think I do," she said sheepishly.

"What?" This time, it was Evan who asked. Melanie shot Morgan a quick look and nodded, confirming whatever she was thinking.

"Do you remember the reports on the whole town of Perdido Beach's kids going missing, just disappearing?"

Evan, Jake, and Morgan nodded. Who didn't know about that?

"Well, I think that just happened to us.

"You mean-" Morgan started.

"Yes," Melanie said. "No adults in Auburn anymore."

"Or no kids," Jake grumbled.

The four of them ran outside. There were kids, both elementary and middle-school aged. "Shit," Evan and Jake groaned simultaneously.

"Watch your fucking mouth!" said another girl, Jordan Martin, an eighth grader, who was with her sixth grade brother, Jon.

"Uh... Okay..." Jake said, but you could see he was thinking that she was setting a bad example for her brother and the other kids. "No need to be all angry." Jordan walked away with her brother in tow.

"Mon dieu," said Melanie. "Oh my god."

"Not good," Morgan groaned. "This is not good."

On the other side of the front lawn, near the flag pole, someone, a little boy, was flying. With wings and all, no Superman gliding. Just wings. Wings, for Pete's sake.

"My cousin Sam disappeared in Perdido Beach. I heard that he was developing some type of power. He said so in his last call to me. We were close," Morgan said. "Maybe we could reach them now... for some reason, my cell's reception is still up."

"Try it. We need them to hear us," Evan encouraged.

"Okay," she said. She took a deep breath then whispered, "Sam please pick up..."