"Do the magic thing!" Dylan shouted, face lit up with glee. Behind him, about five kids with excited faces were looking at Bette with anticipation. Bette blinked a few times and looked down at her younger brother.
Bette Miller, or Bouncing Bette as she was more commonly known, was a 7th grader with long fire red hair and blue eyes to match. People called her Bouncing Bette because she was always so positive. Since the wall or the 'FAYZ' as it had been christened had appeared around Perdido Beach, all the grown ups had disappeared and the kids had been trapped. Bette had tried to be positive about the situation and it had worked to some extent. But right now, she was not so positive.
Bette had been walking down Golding Street, thinking about her parents when her brother had run up with his posse in tow, jumping up and down and shouting about Bette's 'Magic thing'.
Bette leaned down to look at her brother and leaned in.
"Dylan, I though we said this was a secret thing?" Bette asked, her voice questioning. Dylan looked down sheepishly.
"I know, but I got really excited and told my friends." He half whispered, half giggled. Dylan looked up at Bette, eyes shining. "Please, Bette! Just once!"
Bette sighed and stood up, looking at Dylan's friends, whose faces were lit up with giddy curiosity.
"Alright, but just this once. And if you lot go telling anyone else about this I'll find you." Bette said jokingly and she sat down on the pavement. She rubbed her hands together and looked up at the kids who were all staring at her with waiting eyes.
Bette breathed in and concentrated on her hands. She had done this trick many times for herself and her brother's entertainment so it didn't take long for the multi-coloured bubbles of light to pop up in her hands. She heard the gasps of the kids surrounding her as she made the light bubbles swirl and dance upwards and around her. Bette smiled as she heard Dylan squeal with delight as the bubbles traveled upwards.
However, the moment of bliss was short-lived as a barking shout echoed across the street.
"What'r you doing?" the voice demanded. Bette jumped up, dispersing her light bubbles and standing to face the threat that was Orc. Orc was a lumbering giant of muscle and fat with an ugly face and even uglier personality. Bette stood before the thug and asked in the most monotone voice she could muster:
"Is there a problem officer?" Orc stopped just a few feet away from Bette. He narrowed his eyes and slowly looked at each kid in turn before finally turning his gaze on Bette. Bette stayed stock still as the lumbering thug before her asked her what she was doing.
"Well Orc, I was just doing a small magic trick for my brother and his friends." Bette replied calmly, trying not to show any fear. Orc was big and dumb but he was strong and Bette wasn't in the mood to be punched by a guy like him.
"Magic is against the rules." A voice piped up behind Orc. It was a Coates Academy kid that Bette didn't bother to identify.
"Okay then, I promise not to do it again." Bette replied.
"That's not the point." The Coates kid stepped forward brandishing his aluminum bat. "Anyone who breaks the rules has to be punished." Bette frowned and stepped back, away from the three thugs before her. When the third kid, a 7th grader named Karl, rushed forward to hit her with the bat Bette ducked out of the way.
They were trying to hurt her! Even though she obeyed and did what they said, they were going to beat her up. Bette didn't hesitate for a second. She ran around Orc, him being the slowest of course, and up the street. She didn't slow down, not for a second until she reached the doors of her destination, the firehouse.
"Help! Sam, help!" Bette called and a few seconds later Sam, Quinn and the new kid, Edilio, came sliding down the firemen poles. Sam ran up to her, his face full of concern.
Sam Temple was the resident fireman. Tall, strong and quite handsome, Sam had always been an obvious choice because of the school bus incident where he saved his class from falling of a cliff in a school bus. Since the grown ups disappeared and Caine had come into town, Sam was designated fireman after stopping a fire from burning down the convenience store. Another heroic act of Sam Temple.
"Bette what's wrong?" He asked and seemingly on cue, Orc and his cronies burst through into the fire station.
"Orc, what are you doing?" Sam demanded, maneuvering himself between the thug and Bette.
"She broke the rules!" the Orc shouted, still brandishing his bat.
"You were going to hit a girl!?" Edilio said outraged.
Bette could only watch as Sam and Edilio went up against Orc and the Coates kid while a crowd slowly formed behind the scene. Orc was picking them up and throwing them down. Quinn stood in front of Bette, protecting her (sort of).
"Nobody move." Bette watched as Drake Merwin, the newly appointed "Sheriff" of Perdido Beach cut through the crowd.
Drake Merwin scared Bette, and that was saying something. Bette wasn't easily scared but there was something about Drake that ran shivers down Bette's spine. He was good looking, that was certain, but there was a certain malice in the bright grey eyes of the teen that Bette did not like.
Orc had apparently not heard Drake and kept going after Edilio, kicking him with his huge trainers. Drake sneered and walked up behind him. He then grabbed Orc by the head pulled his face back and elbowed him in the face. Bette gasped sharply as Orc tumbled to the ground. Drake sighed as he leaned over Orc.
"You're not very good at listening, are you?" Drake asked. Orc got onto one knee and attempted to charge Drake, who in turn simply stepped aside, nimble as a matador. He took the Coates kid's bat and walked over to a still dazed Orc and started pummeling him. Bette turned away as she heard the aluminum bat make contact with flesh. When it was done Bette turned back the scene before her.
"Dude, you really need to learn to listen when I talk." Drake said. He laughed and twirled the bat as he turned to face Sam. "So, Mr. Fire Chief, why don't you tell me what's going on here?" Drake smiled the crazy smile that made Bette squirm.
"Orc was trying to hit Bette." Sam said, gesturing to Bette who froze under Drakes stare.
"So?" the teen asked.
"I wasn't going to let him do it again."
"It didn't look to me like you were getting ready to save anyone. Looked to me like you were about to get your head knocked of your shoulders." Drake turned to look at Bette who flinched ever so slightly. Drake smiled. "So what happened?"
Bette took a shaky breath.
"I was just doing a magic trick for my brother and his friends." Bette said, trying to maintain her shaking voice.
"No man," the Coates kid said, shaking his head. "She was using the power!" Bette felt a tingle go up her spine. The power. Like it was a normal thing to say.
"Why, Chaz, whatever could you possibly mean?" Drake asked, leering at the Coates kid, Chaz.
"Uh, nothing boss." He said looking at the ground. Drake laughed and shook his head. He walked over to Bette, who stood rooted to the spot trying not to betray how nervous she was. Drake pulled something out of his jeans and handed it to Bette. Bette frowned as she took the crumpled piece of paper.
"Those are the official rules of Perdido beach." Drake announced. Then without warning, Bettes face was pushed upwards by a baseball bat. Drake smiled an almost friendly smile at her. "And next time you should do better to remember them or there will be blood." He turned away from Bette and signaled his men to follow him. Bette let out a shaky breath.
"Wow," Quinn breathed. "Good thing Orc didn't get you. You could be dead right now."