Author's Note (8/27/16): I just took a look back at this first chapter and edited some things. I've come a long way in this story, and my writing has really gotten better as this story progressed. I'd just like to thank everyone who sent in characters and ideas. I've edited this first chapter a little, as I found it… eh. And I'm glad that all the worries about the characters being perfect are over- :). Anyway, Chapter 25 just came out- so check that out!
In 2008, a strange phenomenon took place in Southern California, at the town of Perdido Beach. Every single human aged 15 or above vanished from the town, causing mass confusion in Perdido Beach. However, three teenagers named Sam Temple, Astrid Ellison and Quinn Gaither set out to explore the area, discovering a barrier cutting the area off from the outside world with a radius centered at a nuclear power plant located outside of town. Eventually, the area within the barrier was nicknamed the Fallout Alley Youth Zone... or FAYZ for short. When one of the kids within the FAYZ turned 15, they would be confronted by something they desire before vanishing. This process would be known as "stepping out", or the "poof". Unbeknownst to the children within FAYZ, when you turned 15, you would teleport outside of the FAYZ, they believed that vanishing meant certain death. So naturally, Sam Temple, and his twin brother Caine, discovered a way to avoid vanishing. A series of events and power struggles would eventually take place, and many children died. A nuclear explosion at the town's power plant 15 years ago ended up giving some children mutant powers, resulting in even further death. In the end, Caine sacrificed himself in order to break the dome, redeeming himself for his previous deeds. FAYZ was dismissed as a phenomenon that could only happen in the most specific of events, but many people weren't convinced. What if an event like that happened again? All the adults could do would be to hope for the best…
13 year old Amadeus Paris was walking down his school hallway, towards the cafeteria, ready to eat lunch. Amadeus was a popular guy at his school- Westshine Middle School. He played on the school's varsity basketball, soccer, and football team, and was enrolled in the Gifted and Talented program, where he was a straight-A student. Popular among teachers and students alike, Amadeus was also the school's president, and was an undisputed leader. He was handsome, one of those people that just made you stop and look. With short, wavy, black hair, light brown skin, and his muscular and toned body, he could pass for a model. In short, Amadeus was as close to perfect as one could get. But even he wasn't prepared for what was about to happen.
"Olly, how are you doing?" Amadeus asked.
A Caucasian girl about Amadeus' height began walking next to him. She wore navy blue jeans, and a light blue top that contrasted with Amadeus' black jeans and orange muscle shirt. She had soft skin and large, round, blue eyes. Her name was Olive Heart.
"Ame, I told you to call me by my real name- Olive!" Olive exclaimed, tossing her long blonde hair to one side.
"Sorry Olive," Amadeus sheepishly said, "Bad habits. But then you can't call me Ame either. Anyway, did you hear what Mr. Harrison had planned for Social Studies?"
"Well, then I guess I won't call you Ame. Wait, what? Mr. Harrison has something planned for Social Studies?" Olive asked, curiously. "Is this one of your pranks?"
"Why would you think that?" Amadeus said, clutching his chest. "Wait, don't answer that, I know you're about to list at least five of the pranks I've committed.
"Well, you can't blame me," Olive said, defensively, "You have pulled off a lot of shenanigans. You're a troublemaker!"
"Then how come I never get in trouble?" Amadeus questioned, winking.
"Because you're good at turning it into a joke, and for some reason, teachers like you," Olive said, "I can't seem to figure out why."
"Probably because I'm an absolute beast," Amadeus said, flexing, "Anyway, Mr. Harrison is giving us a 100 point pop quiz."
"What?" Olive exclaimed. "There's no way that Mr. Harrison would do that to us!"
"Well, you can ask someone who has his first period class," Amadeus told Olive, "That's the other Gifted and Talented class he teaches."
"I just wish that Mr. Harrison wouldn't be able to give us that pop quiz," Olive said, "I am not ready for it, not at all."
"You want to study during lunch? We can round up some of of our friends," Amadeus said, "A 100 points is a lot."
"Sure," Olive said, "I don't have anything planned for this lunch."
Amadeus and Olive walked into the cafeteria, attracting the stares of many students. Some guys came over and exchanged fist bumps with Amadeus, talking about how he scored 49 points in his last basketball game, while a group of girls flocked over to Olive, telling her about Jackie and Johnson's breakup. After a while, everybody cleared away, and Olive and Amadeus walked over to their lunch table, sitting down with their elite friends.
"Guys, what's going on?" Amadeus asked. "Have you heard about the 100 point pop quiz that we're going to get in Harrison?"
A tall, muscular, Latino boy stops eating his sandwich and nods. He's wearing a green sweatshirt and sweatpants. His name is Jorge Cruz.
"Yeah," Jorge said, "Johnson told me about it… First period was also where Jackie told him that she was breaking up with him. Social Studies was a rough class for him."
Suddenly, screams were heard from all over the campus, and a loud bang sounded across the entire cafeteria. A short Filipino girl sitting with Olive, Amadeus, and Jorge stood up. Her name is Micki Thompson. She's the Vice President of Westshine Middle School. Micki had long brown hair, chocolate brown eyes, and despite being quite short, she held a commanding figure.
"EVERYBODY CALM DOWN!" Micki yelled at the top of her lungs. "What are you all screaming about?"
A short boy sitting at their lunch table tapped Micki's shoulder. He was wearing a black hoodie and blue jeans. He had light blonde hair and emerald green eyes. His name was Daniel Valenti, but everybody called him Dan.
"Micki," Dan said, "Can't you see that all of the adults have disappeared? They're all gone!"
"It's true," A nearby student said, gesturing at an empty space, where a clipboard is "About twenty seconds ago, Mrs. Farwell was there, calling out the names of people who had received lunch detention! Now, all that remains is her clipboard!"
"Well, Dan, you're kind of lucky," Jorge said, reading the notes on the table, "You had lunch detention today."
Students from the classrooms began to walk down towards the cafeteria, murmuring about the adults disappearing. An aura of panic seemed to cloud over the students. Eventually, all 533 students that attended Westshine Middle School were packed in the giant cafeteria.
"What's going on?" One student asked.
"Mr. James," Another student says, "He just disappeared! One moment he was teaching us about exponents with variables, and the next, he was gone! Poof!"
"I think it's FAYZ all over again," A third student tells his friends, "My mom told me about how in 2008, in Perdido Beach, California, everyone that was aged 15 and above disappeared!"
"What's the FAYZ?" Dan asked, hearing this. "I think I've heard about that before."
"It was a phenomenon," Micki answered, "Like that guy said, everybody in Perdido Beach that was 15 or older magically teleported away, and a giant dome formed around the town, trapping everybody within.
"It looks like the same thing has happened again," Amadeus said, pondering thoughts, "But how?"
"I think there was something about a nuclear plant," Micki said, "I could do some more research on it later, but that's not our biggest issue right now."
"I agree with Micki," Olive said, "We need to figure out some way to make sure all of these kids don't go crazy! Didn't you hear about all of the people who died in the FAYZ incident?"
"Well, we live in Westmoor, Washington," Dan said, "In this city, there's two schools. Westshine Middle, and Eastville Junior High. We're going to need to gather them all up, and maintain the peace."
"Don't forget about all of the homeschooled kids," Olive said, "My cousin is one of them. I heard there's quite a few homeschoolers here. That's why our city has a Homeschoolers Foundation."
"But we don't know most of those kids," Amadeus said, "I heard that the kids in Eastville are raised completely differently from us. They view us as, rich, snobby kids. Why would they listen to us?"
"I don't know," said Micki, "But we have to try."
"Well Olly," Amadeus said, turning to Olive and giving her a sad smile, "It looks like your wish has come true. It looks like Mr. Harrison won't be able to give us that pop quiz."
"Yeah," Olive said, "I just wish that it didn't happen like this…"