Jessica Day had been trapped in the midnight for only a week.
But that was one week too long.
Unlike how the other midnighters thought, she was not merely 'sleeping' during the other 24 hours of the day. Rather, she was like a ghost, not a part of her body while it was frozen in the non-midnight, but not completely gone. During the day, she watched Jonathan, her parents, her younger sister. She walked as a normal person did, but being unable to touch anything, or even just communicate, it almost didn't seem worth it at first.
Then she figured out that thanks to physics, something could not be without having mass.
And so the communications began.
First, she communicated with Jonathan, rather than her sister, who may not interpret the signs properly. At first Jonathan didn't understand what the strange things happening had meant -- although they saw one another and hour, once a day, she just could not bear being able to see him but not touch him, feel him, speak with him.
For some reason, whenever she tried to tell him about this secret part of the midnight, the wonderful part that she had figured out, she found herself unable to find the words to explain it, her brain drawing a blank. Almost as if the disappeared darklings were trying to keep the final thing about their secret land that they had left, hidden. It was much like when Maddy had locked part of Dess' mind away to hide it from Melissa.
Eventually, Jonathan figured it out as much as he could, although he didn't fully understand it, he didn't care. He was talking to Jessica, and that was all that mattered to him. Eventually Jessica found that she could write messages in sand or dirt and not just make signs in smoke and other thin substances. Although he couldn't see or touch her the communication was all they had.
Eventually Beth was allowed in on the deal, and while her younger sister was home, she conversed with her. The first time it had happened, Jonathan was with Beth, wanting to be there so she wasn't surprised or startled. Although her younger sister was expecting the words to appear out of the dust on the windowsill, she still gasped when Jessica began to write. Jonathan left the two sisters to reconnect, almost crying himself when he heard Beth began to sob out of joy.
Her sister was back, she could talk with her again. The Midnight hadn't stolen the one thing most dear to her after all.
'Hey, Beth. I missed you.' Were Jessica's first words to her sister. Beth stood there, dumbfounded for several moments, staring at the words on the sill. Then Jessica added one more thing,
'Use paper to reply to me. I can see you, but you can't see me. I'm sorry.' Beth had begun to cry, and Jessica, alarmed, scribbled down three question marks. Beth shook her head and whispered,
"Y-you're not dead. You...you aren't gone." In a shaky, sob-ridden voice. She frowned, wondering if her sister was able to hear her.
''No...I'm still here. And you can see me. Not now, but Jonathan can take you to see me. And I can hear you, just, writing it down makes it easier to reply to. But I don't think you can handle just writing things down for now.' Beth froze and a giant grin of delight crossed her pale face, and Jessica felt a smile cross her face as well. She found a fresh patch of dust and said,
'No...I'm still here. And you can see me. Not now, but Jonathan can take you to see me.' Beth froze, a smile of pure delight and joy spreading across her face.
"Really?! Wh...where?" Beth exclaimed, not bothering to write this down. Jessica had run out of room and resorted to the condensation on the cool windows,
'In the blue time. He's going to take you there. Like before...but without any darklings, I promise.' Beth hesitated for a split second, but then, with tears still flowing silently down her cheeks, she whispered,
"Oh, Jessica...please, that would be wonderful. Just...oh, Jess, I can't believe you aren't gone forever!" She had begun to cry again, and Jessica felt tears wetting her own nearly non-existent cheeks as well.
'I love you, Beth.' She wrote, wrapping her arms around her sister's trembling form. Although Beth would be unable to notice her presence, she still felt better this way. Beth whispered back to Jessica,
"I love you too, Jess...should I g-go talk to Jon?" Jessica nodded, forgetting her sister couldn't see her. She wrote 'yes' on the window and then added,
'I'm going to go now, honey. I want to sleep, pass the time quicker. Jonathan will know what to do.' Beth nodded, her gut wrenching as she realized her sister was leaving. Hoping she was still there for one last second, she whispered once more before going out to talk with Jonathan,
"I love you so much Jess. I'm sorry I never got to say it before." Jessica was too grief-stricken to write out a reply. She just added a heart to the window, and then closed her eyes, letting her consciousness fade...
----
Jessica awoke with a start. Whenever she 'slept' before the blue time, that vivid recollection of the events that had happened several months ago haunted her. She missed talking with her sister dearly, being so far away from Bixby. She had been in the blue time for a month now, searching out more midnighters along with Melissa and Jonathan. At midnight, Melissa would track down the thoughts of the midnighters and send thoughts to them, willing them to come their way. They usually camped out in the outskirts of the town, leaving Jess to fend off the minute amount of slithers and darklings that investigated the group while Melissa mindcasted.
Although they had been out looking for a month, it had taken them that long to get to the big city. Only being able to travel an hour a day does that to you.
Currently Jonathan had gone to meet their first midnighter -- a girl by the name of Audrey. Melissa couldn't quite tell her specialty yet, but the girl had felt her mind being touched by the mindcatser's, felt her pulling towards her. Midnight was half over, and if the girl was to get there in time Jon would have to go out and get her.
Several long minutes later, he was back, holding the hand of a young girl -- no older than thirteen, Beth's age -- she looked terrified. Once they landed, she let go of his hand almost instantly and fell to the ground, staring wide-eyed at the troupe. Obviously this one did not enjoy flying.
"Where am I?" She whispered, fearful. Jessica stood and walked over to her, smiling warmly at the girl, and saying,
"Hello, Audrey -- I'm Jessica, this is Melissa, and that's Jonathan," She started and then after a pause, catching the girl's look of surprise, she sat and continued, "And this is the blue time, or, midnight, if you'd prefer it in simpler terms. I can't explain everything now, but...just listen to me -- and please, you'll have to believe this isn't a dream." The girl nodded, her face pale in the blue light of the frozen world. She was dumbfounded, her mind just not wanting to accept the obvious facts.
"You're what we call a midnighter -- like us three, you were born either exactly at, or very close to, midnight." She paused, letting this small bit of information sink in. Although she seemed calm and collected on the outside, her brain was moving at a thousand miles per hour, hoping that she wasn't saying all of this too fast, or not fast enough.
"Melissa here called you -- she's what's called a mindcaster." Jessica paused, seeing the girl's face light up in absolute shock.
"Can...can these mindcasters hear everyone's thoughts, too?" Audrey asked. Jessica was surprised the girl had accepted this fact so fast. She cast a nervous look back at the moon -- but thankfully not too much time had passed. Melissa's eyes shot open where she had been laying down on the ground, and she said with a look of delight on her face while she sat up
"Why, can you, Audrey?" Audry nodded slowly, her eyes flashing violet in the moonlight as she looked up.
"It...it's overwhelming...I can hardly concentrate in school since this weird...blue time thing started. My parents are worried..." She trailed off, sounding frightened at the end. Jessica touched the girl's shoulder and said with a warm smile,
"Melissa can fix that, honey." She paused and looked at Melissa who got up and walked over to her and Audrey, kneeling to the ground and holding out her hand, palm upward.
"Take my hand, Audrey, and focus your mind on me. I'm going to give you a lot of information, but whatever you do, do not let go." Audrey hesitated for a moment but then made up her mind and carefully took Melissa's had, as if it were something fragile.
Jessica sat back and watched as the young girl's face twisted with different emotions -- first fear, then shock, and then a blissful wonder. Jon had flown over then to land beside Jessica, wrapping his arms around her possessively and whispering huskily in her ear, "If only we had more time..." Jessica blushed and leaned against him, reveling the feel of his midnight feather lightness flowing through her as she whispered that she too, wished for maybe two extra hours, or three, or four...
Melissa had finished up with Audrey, who looked amazed at what she had seen. "Excuse me, you two lovebirds, but if Audrey's going to get back home in time, and you get back here before midnight's over, you need to go NOW." Jessica stuck her tongue out at the mindcaster but kissed Jonathan lightly before telling him to go, and hurry back. He got to his feet reluctantly, holding on to Jessica as long as he could before turning to Audrey, who had a confused look on her face.
"Can't you hang out with her all day? Why are you so worried about leaving?" The girl glanced between the two. Jonathan looked sad as se said quietly, "Jess is like the darklings. She isn't evil but...she can't leave the blue world." Audrey's eyes widened as she looked between Jon and Jess, who looked sad as he took Audrey's hand and told her to get ready to go. The young girl looked like she regretted asking that question. Jessica looked at Jon right before he went, lifting her hand in farewell as he pushed off.
"You'll see him again, Jess. Don't worry." Melissa said softly to the flame-bringer.
"I know. But a whole day is just too long." Jessica whispered, curling up on the warm midnight ground. Melissa let herself fall back onto the ground, wincing a bit as her head hit the hard sand. Hanging around with Jess while Jon was gone was a pain, but she knew how she felt -- Rex was miles and miles away from her -- out of her mind's reach. She knew he was out there, but he powers weren't strong enough to feel the entire continent like Maddy could. She sighed.
"Audrey knows everything now. She's convinced. And she promised to keep quiet -- not that anyone would believe her, but still. I felt nine other midnighters in this city and I'm pretty sure there's at least one more mindcaster. And possibly an acrobat. But the others...I'm not sure what they are. I haven't tasted anything like them before..." Melissa trailed off, closing her eyes. Jessica had resorted to deep thought as she waited for Jon to come back and she didn't fully hear what Melissa had said. But Melissa could tell that she was purposely trying not to think about something that had come to her mind. She frowned but left it alone. She could already tell that Jonathan was on his way back, going as fast as he could as he saw the moon coming down. Despite his urgency, the joy of flying overtook it.
Jessica shot up when she heard Jonathan shout, running a few steps outward to embrace and kiss him as soon as he was close enough. They rose up a few feet and then softly came down to the ground, not breaking apart. Melissa made a face and turned away, making a point to shut out their thoughts as best as she could.
No way did she want to hear what was going inside a 17-year-old guy's mind right now.
When they finally broke apart, Jessica looked at her watch, a frown coming to her face.
"One minute..." She sighed, sinking to the ground and letting Jon wrap his arms around her. He looked depressed -- when midnight wasn't around, he lost two things. Not just flying, but Jessica. It was all he could do to make it through the day without going insane.
He pressed his mouth firmly over hers, not wanting the feeling of her being so close to him, her touch, her voice, to go--
Blue time was over.
His arms collapsed in on himself, nothing but air in front of him now. A depressed sigh escaped his lips, but he smiled as he saw words begin to form themselves in the sand.
'I love you' they said. Jon added a heart and an 'I love you too' underneath. He stared at it for several seconds before crawling at a snails pace over to his sleeping bag, letting a depressed sigh between his lips.
"She'll be back, Flyboy. Just another twenty-four hours to go." Melissa sighed as she buried herself underneath the sleeping bag. Sleep would be wonderful now.
Jon nodded sadly in reply, saying suddenly, as if he had just remembered,
"Audrey has a friend. She's an acrobat, too, from the way that she described her dreams. Her name's Vicky, and Audrey's going to try and convince her to come with her tomorrow night."
Melissa nodded, suddenly exhausted.
"You can leave all the explaining to me if you want to go off with Jessica tomorrow. I don't mind, as long as you're back here before midnight." Jon looked at her with wide eyes and a grin that lit up his entire face. It gave Melissa a weird, warm feeling.
"Thanks, Melissa." He said. She could feel his thoughts racing, almost too fast for her to track coherently. But she shut them out after a minute -- she'd need plenty of rest for the trek into the city tomorrow. She had to find the midnighter girls, and she had to help convince the other acrobat to come out there.
Slowly the mind noise dulled in her head as she began to drift off, grateful for the soft blanket of sleep that pulled over her.
-----
Jessica had let her conscious mind wander back to her body, but only for a few hours. She was too restless, her mind too hungry and aching to be up and about, to sleep. She went to watch over Jonathan, even though she couldn't do too much. She gently stroked his hair, her hand nothing more than a breeze in the state she was in. She hummed a little rhythm to herself -- something only she could hear, of course, as she watched the sun come up.
Her mind wandered, thoughts passing around her addled brain as she watched the clouds turn from black, to gray, to purple, pink, yellow, orange, red, and finally white.
It was while she watched the world around her that something struck her.
Rex had gone to the old ones when he had been looking for information about the rip in the blue time about a month ago. Although he hadn't quite gotten everything he needed -- in fact, no one was really sure what had gone on out there -- Jessica was certain that the darklings, the old ones, as the creators of the blue time, would know what she needed.
The only problem was actually getting them to help her.
Jessica mulled over these thoughts while Melissa and Jon woke up. She leaned over and kissed his cheek before getting up to leave.
"Jess, if you're here, write something." Melissa called out softly. The mindcaster found it irritating that she couldn't hear Jess' thoughts during the day.
'I'm here'. Jess wrote in the sand. Melissa nodded and woke Jonathan up fully, tossing little rocks at his head until he groaned, "Stop, stop! I'm up, Jesus Christ." He looked around, eyes squinting adorably against the morning sun as he stretched and yawned. Jessica smiled and went over to him, settling herself in his lap as he sat cross-legged in front of Melissa. Jon looked a slight bit surprised as the words appeared right in front of him, 'What did you need?' Melissa couldn't help but smile at the surprised look on Jon's face as he realized that the only way for her two write those words was if she was in the same spot as him. He looked down as if he expected to see her sitting there, even though it was obvious that she wouldn't be and then looked at Melissa to reply. She sighed and settled herself down to say, "Me and Jonathan are going to town today. We need food, plus I think I can find that other midnighter girl now since I know her mind now." Jessica nodded slowly to herself, scraping over her other words and writing out, 'You want me to stay here?' The slow way she wrote them betrayed her feelings. Jon frowned and waved his hands around the area that she would be in, a look of determined thought on his face.
"Yeah...I'm sorry, Jess, but there isn't much you can do in this time. Just stay here and watch our stuff. If anyone takes anything...well, I don't really know. But I doubt anyone will do a thing." Melissa seemed distracted, but Jess scribbled over her words again and wrote, 'Okay. Come back before midnight though, please.' Jon smiled and wrote back, rather than speaking, 'Wouldn't miss it for the world.' Jessica smiled to herself and then got up, wandering over to their stuff, all packed up and neat.
"Okay, Jon, lets get ready then. The sooner we figure out where the midnighters are, the sooner we can get a freakin' hotel." She seemed happy, Jess thought sarcastically.
'Bye, don't get caught by any cops, alright, Jon?' Jonathan made a face at the words but nodded, grumbling something about him getting all the blame.
"Alright, Flyboy, lets get going." Melissa said, dressed in a pair of black shorts and a t-shirt. He looked surprised.
"What? It's hot out, there's no way I'm wearing velvet."
"Jesus, you are going crazy." He muttered. Jessica laughed, sad that only she could hear the sound.
She waved at their backs as they walked away, her mind already buzzing away as she closed her eyes and stretched out her mind, feeling for the old ones that were left...
----
Why do you call us, human?
Jessica jumped. It had been at least fifteen minutes since she called out to the old ones, she hadn't been expecting a reply. And not from the beast that edged in front of her, massive and calm, taking the worm of a strange creature with feathery wings and the face of a cruel-looking raven.
I...I need to ask you a favor. She replied...well, thought, tentatively. She was surprised at the wave of...what seemed to be a mocking attitude, that came before the next response.
Us? Help a little bit of prey like you? You have gone mad, human.
Jessica sighed. She knew this was going to be hard.
Prey? I'm no prey to you, beast. My hand carries lighting, I know you fear me. That is why you don't bother my friends. Because I'm around. She felt a hesitation come from the creature, and then satisfaction well inside of her.
You make a valid point, human. But tell us. Why should we help you, when all you have done for us is slaughter our kind, ruin our one day to feed?
Jessica barked out laughter, the harsh sound of it even startling her. She crossed her arms, and then said with authority, Because I prevent your precious darklings from coming out. As long as I live in the midnight hour, you are like my prey. Hunted. She felt smugness radiating from every pore in her body, knowing that what she said was fact -- any darkling within a hundred thousand miles was terrified to come out and face her. They knew they would die.
The old one took a long time to answer, shifting its position every few seconds, seeming uncomfortable.
I am not as old as the oldest ones. You will have to speak with them. And I can take you there. Jessica narrowed her eyes, but stood. The creature did not fear her nearly as much as the other, lesser darklings. She was not sure how the true old ones would address her.
Okay, beast. She replied simply, walking up to it. She reached a tentative hand out while the creature stooped, allowing her access to its back. She tentatively reached out to brush the feathers with her fingertips, shivering slightly as she did so but not experiencing any amplified fears, nothing crippling her muscles and mind.
Trust me, human, the last thing I want to do is harm you with that hand anywhere near me. It growled in her mind. Jessica gave in and leapt up, surprised at how comfortable she was. Curiosity sparked in her mind as she gently gripped the beast's feathers and she asked, Do you have a name? The old one was silent for a moment and then replied.
Yes, human. I am Aage. Jessica nodded, and then was surprised when it added, What is yours? Her shock took a moment to wear off and she replied,
Jessica. My name is Jessica. A snort of contempt came from the creature and it muttered something about odd, modern names. Then with one powerful wing beat that nearly there Jessica off, Aage took off. Jessica held on for dear life, surprised at how...human this creature had sounded. Maybe she was not as much of a being of prey now that she was a part of the midnight. Or maybe this one was different. Or maybe they had never been so beast-like to begin with -- just like house cats only show their beastly side when a mouse or bird is in its path. Her thoughts wandered as the giant raven flew and the landscape rushed by underneath them. Her heart began to beat fast as she finally realized what she and gotten herself into, though.
There was no turning back now.