*swivels in chair, to spin towards the readers* Oh! Hello! I didn't see you there (please don't kill me).
Hey guys, it's Gold, otherwise known as AuPalladium, or Triple or whatever the hell you wanna call me. (But let's keep it appropriate.) I'm here for a new series based off of a webcomic I fell in love with a month back called Paranatural. It's basically about kids in middle school who fight ghosts and stuff. I highly recommend reading it, for it's HILARIOUS. Zack Morrison is one great guy and an even better comedian. So, yeah, shout-out to him. (._.)
Anyways, I hope you guys enjoy and stuff, and be ready for more frequent updates! See ya!
~AuPd
Crunch, crunch, crunch… Jason kept walking forward, in the lush green grass, walking towards Mayview Middle School. Mayview… it seemed a little out-of-place. By out-of-place, it's closer to how a bright color is contrasted against a spectrum of grey. It's easy to spot, and way too bright at that. It's cheerful, surrounded by a lot of boring metropolises. (Metropoli?) And as he's known for all of his life, there's not a single dang thing in the world that can be cheerful without a secret to hide. Maybe this is why everyone calls him a cynic… at thirteen.
He stopped and listened. The school could now be seen in the distance. He took a deep breath. He could hear the obnoxious sounds of laughing children. Well, maybe peers. Jason always has these internal debates with himself. On many occasions, he has been to therapy for this. To no avail, it seemed. He was sure a case, though. Jason has ADHD, OCD, and dyslexia. His brain refuses to focus on certain subjects, for there's almost two sides of him.
"Maybe soon, they'll add Multi-Personality Disorder to the list." he smirked, looking down at the ground. He dug in his pockets for his phone. Scrolling through his recent texts, he found one from his mom.
"Have a gr8 day school, honey! 3 u! ~Jill" it read. He sighed. His step-mom tries ever so desperately to relate to him, many times by trying to "be cool", which usually backfires tremendously, and just makes her (and him) look like an idiot. She even went to the hospital for faceplanting at a skate park, trying to learn how to skateboard. Of course, at least this was a much more valiant attempt than his actual mother, who left him when he was six, without even saying goodbye. Still, his friends never saw him the same way again. However, this year, it's a new school, new people. She agreed to stay out of his school affairs.
He was approaching the front entrance. Many groups and cliques were hanging out on the staircase up. It was all he could do not to trip over someone trying to get up them. That would be a great way to be remembered.
"Could it be? Another new kid?" he heard. He immediately whipped around, and witnessed an over-charismatic blonde literally pounce onto him.
"Suzy! Do you seriously have to act like this every time a new face shows up to school?" moaned a smaller boy, with brown hair swept to the side, holding his face in his hands disgustedly, following the blonde. He looked at Jason apologetically. "Sorry. Suzy can be a little- no, really- gah!" As Collin was talking, he seemed to have gained a pencil- in his shoulder.
"Shush, Collin! Can't you see I'm trying to recruit new members?" she giggled, still completely unfazed.
"Um… recruitment?" Jason whispered quietly, completely confused by the craziness of the blonde in front of him.
"Ah! Where are my manners? My name is Suzy! I'm the president of the Journalism Club!" she remarked, quite bubbly. "This is my assistant, Collin."
Collin rubbed his shoulder, wincing at the pain slightly.
"I post her bail," he complained. with an indignant expression.
"So, whaddaya think?" Suzy asked, her chin in her hands.
"Of Mayview? I guess it's okay." Jason replied, uneasy.
"You'll get used to it. We're great people!" she gushed, smiling ear to ear.
"She's lying," Collin shouted, before getting muffled by Suzy's hand, clamping over his mouth. "Mmph!"
"Oh! I just realized. I gotta meet with Dimitri real quick. I'll see ya soon, new kid!" she yelled. With that, she ran off, going into the depths of the school building.
"Suzy! Wait!" Collin exclaimed, before sighing. "She really doesn't stop," he remarked, looking sheepishly at Jason.
"Why do you let her treat you like that?" Jason asked, scratching the back of his head in the process.
"Ah. We've known each other since kindergarten. We've got a… how do you put it… special bond. Plus, I sorta… have a… yeah..." Colin replied, blushing slightly. He opened up his backpack and produced a phone, opening up a new contact form. "Here, put your phone number in. It'd be nice to talk to a normal person for once." Jason punched in his number.
"So, um… what's your name?" Collin asked.
"Jason. Nice to meet you."
"The pleasure's mine. See ya around, Jason."
Jason pulled his schedule out of his backpack. First period, Science, with Mr. Garcia. Piece of cake. He navigated himself towards the classroom. Inside, there were many students talking and exchanging notes, while the teacher sat in his chair, snoring.
"Um… Mr. Garcia?" he asked.
"Huhh? What?" he said, with a yawn, trying to gain his bearings of where he was. "Ah… um, Jason, correct? There's an open seat over by Max over there. You two should have something in common." He pointed towards a kid with a blue baseball cap on top of a brown crew-cut on his head, and wearing a black hoodie with the words, "Insolent Children" written on it. Hell if he knew what it meant. However, he looked kind of normal. He plopped down in the empty seat, and opened up his backpack, where he pulled out two pencils and neatly put them on the corner of his desk.
"Uh, hey." said Max, who was looking Jason over. "New too, huh?" He smirked at the nod Jason gave. "Quick tip- don't expect anybody to be normal here."
"Too late for that tidbit," Jason responded with a weak smile. He was soon joined by a messy black-haired boy with astonishingly blue eyes, and a kid with orange hair, which covered his eyes.
"Max, who's your friend?" said the ginger.
"Uhh... " Max replied, shifting his glance over to him.
"...Jason."
"Jason, huh? Welcome to Mayview," said the black haired kid. "I'm Cody. And this is Jeff."
Jeff waved, and sat down to the other side of him, pulling out a comic book.
"Ed! Violet! C'mere!" Cody yelled.
"Ah. Another one." the girl who is presumably named Violet said. She was tall, brunette, with a braid running down to her shoulder. A blonde kid with thick round glasses soon peered over Max's shoulder.
"Well, looky here!" he said. He appeared from behind Max, and Jason realized that he was super short. He sported a green t-shirt with the words, "Everyone Dies In the End", neatly accessorized with khaki shorts.
"Another soul to steal- I mean, another friend to be made. I mean, not really opposed to either." he stated, rather plainly, twirling a pencil in his hand. He seemed completely serious, further complemented by his rather creepy grin that spanned across his entire face. Picture those voodoo dolls with the huge angled toothy grins. That is the easiest, yet shallowest, explanation.
"Mm… kay…" Jason replied, inching himself and his desk further away. Max nodded his head, with a slight smirk.
"Trust me. They all mean well, they're just… you know…"
"Repulsive," Violet offered.
"Toxic," Jeff remarked.
"Nerds," said a newer voice. It drawled, and curled, making Jason instantly link it to New Jersey in roots.
"Not now," Max groaned, letting his head slam on the desk.
"Oh, yes, now." said the kid. He wore a menacing smile, with slicked-back tomato-red hair. He looked down at Max, poking his head fiercely with his finger. Max continued to groan during this, but made no attempt to fight back. "Eyy, Maxie. You still conscious?"
"How does anyone just knock themselves out when seeing you, Johnny?" Max retorted, the voice slightly muffled by the desk.
"The same way errybody else gets knocked out," he responded, with a smirk. "By punchin'. I… I do that. I punch people." he added, his smile becoming slightly more deadpan, as he struggled to comprehend his own sentence structures. This is truly a kid who can manage to say things without saying anything.
"New face, eh?" Johnny observed, sizing Jason up. "Not bad… decent build, ah, but the blonde hair-" he listed, taking into account nobody's feelings except his own.
"Who do you think you are, you red-headed jerk?" Jason stated, his face bright red.
"Heh! Ya got nerve, blondie. I'll tell you who I am. I'm the guy who's gonna kick your-"
"Alright, class! Settle down!" Mr. Garcia yawned, gesturing for everyone to take their seats. Johnny looked absolutely ravenous for blood.
"Soon, punk. Be prepared, new kid. You made a dangerous enemy." he said, and then retreated backwards, before backpedaling into the wall and hitting his head on it. Recovering, he gave one more malicious stare, then sat down, grumbling as he started doing a combination of note-taking and drawing pictures of corpses. Jason scowled.
"What's his deal?"
"Johnny's? He likes violence. He'll make any excuse possible to punch someone in the face." Max said, raising his head, only to have to duck to avoid a spitball he heard fire from the back. Jason nimbly leaned to one side, with his eyes closed and muscles relaxed, letting it fly narrowly past his face to land in Jeff's hair.
Jeff whimpered as Max looked at Jason with somewhat awe.
"Sick dodge. You have a faster reaction time than anyone I've ever seen." Cody remarked, whistling at the feat.
"That is a severe compliment, coming from Cody." Violet chuckled. "He is a pro at Hitball. You'll see later on, maybe. Last time, it sorta didn't go so well." With that finishing phrase, everyone glared at Jeff.
"Hey, what's everyone looking at me for?" Jeff exclaimed.
"The dude hits like a truck." Violet stated, looking at Jeff accusingly. "I'll never know how he managed not to get in trouble for taking out bleachers,"
"Or creating craters in the gym floor..."
"Or breaking Dimitri's hand…"
"Seriously? You guys are still egging on that story that everyone except me seems to know?" Jeff huffed.
"He says he has no idea what happened. What a buncha of lies." Johnny added, from the back. "I wanna know how such a nerd like you could throw a ball like that."
"I don't know! Stop bugging me about it!"
"Hey! You guys! Stop talking! I'm in the middle of an unimportant lecture, that, if you don't listen to, will probably do nothing overall to you or your overall grade in this class." Mr. Garcia chastised. "Oh. Um, I didn't mean to say that aloud… yeah, I'm just going to sit down now." With that, he plopped in his chair, and laid his head down on his desk, allowing awkward silence to fill the room. When the bell rang, everyone shuffled out, confused, but slightly amused.
"Uh, Jason. Come sit by me at lunch, later on." Max said, sheepishly addressing him. "You seem sorta cool. I'd like to introduce you to a few people."
"Cool. Uh, sure." Jason said. With that, he casually walked off, giving Max a little smile while leaving towards his second period. Hm… Mr. Starchman?
Entering the classroom, he spotted an immediate open seat, held open by Cody Jones himself.
"Hey, Jason! What're the odds? Sit here!" he said, with enthusiasm.
Jason sat down in his reserved seat, in the front row, and chatted for a bit with Cody. There seemed to be no other person in the room that he knew. The seat next to him quickly was quickly taken by a ginger who looked rather pleased with himself for making it in the last available chair in the front row.
The ginger looked around, trying to catch what Jason was looking at, before realizing the target of Jason's amazement was him. The kid looked rather normal, in most regards. He was rather pale, and sported a thick light-blue hoodie complemented with gray skinny jeans. However, his hair, yes, orange, but perked up in a zig-zagged pattern, making him stand out quite a bit more than anyone else.
"Ah, you're new, aren't you?" he replied, chuckling at the look of confusion. "The name's Isaac O'Connor. Let's just say, Mr. S is a rather interesting person. I'll let you figure out why so many people prefer the front seat. But, what's your name?"
"Jason. Jason Kurst. By the way, I like the hair." Jason replied, smirking slightly.
Isaac scowled. "Yeah, yeah. Anyways, it's cool that new guys are popping up. First Max, then you…"
"Erm, you know Max?" Jason asked, a bit unaware.
"Of course. Who doesn't?" he said, with a slight tone of indignation.
"Is there something wrong?"
"Only that Max refuses to- oh, um… never mind." Isaac blurted. He seemed to internally chastise himself for saying what he was about to say.
"Oh. Um, it's cool. That's your business." Jason responded, trying to brush off the awkwardness. He didn't quite understand Isaac, with his rather spontaneous behavior, but he understood his pain. He couldn't quite say how he understood it, however.
The bell marking the start of class rang, and soon everything went chaotic. The english teacher, in his plumpness, bounded into the classroom, singing. He did a perfect spin, and surveyed the classroom, before his eyes landed on Jason. Immediately, Jason felt uneasy where he was sitting. Isaac was trying hard not to laugh.
"Hm? A blank canvas? Yet again?" He chirped, pouncing onto his desk. At this distance, Jason noticed more of his features. His crisp, light blue collared shirt, his polished spectacles, and his brilliant mustache, neatly trimmed and maintained. "Fantastic! Splendid!" he cried, with a flourish. He quickly flicked out of his back pocket a shiny, gold-foiled star, with his face embroidered on it, and displayed it for the entire class to see. Someone in the back fell out of their chair. Others were drooling. Isaac gave Jason a side glance, giving him a look that indicated the star's value.
"This is known as a Starchman Star. You can trade it for various rewards. And as per tradition in this class, I will bestow it upon you if, you can tell me… your name."
"Erm, Jason."
"Ah! Beautiful! Here you go, kind sir!" he sung, the star gliding gracefully into Jason's hands. The class oohed and awed as Jason put it in his pocket. It seemed as if his net worth went up, just by pocketing that star, by at least five hundred dollars.
While class was interesting, there wasn't anything of importance to note. And with that, the bell rang, releasing classes to lunch.
"Um, Jason." Isaac said, behind him. Jason turned, and let the ginger catch up to him.
"Er, sorry for not giving you a bigger warning of what you were about to experience. However, it was rather funny to watch," he said, giving a weak smile.
"I guess it was." Jason said, with a grin.
"So, do you have plans for lunch?"
"Um, I think-"
"Great!" he said, quickly, and marched forward. Jason sighed deeply and followed him to the cafeteria. "You'll love the guys I hang out with-"
"Hey Jason! Over here!" Max yelled. The small kid, Ed, stood up and raised his hand also.
"Oh, you know them?" Isaac asked with a weary expression.
"Yeah. Coming?" Jason said. Isaac followed, and sat down beside him.
"Hey, Isaac." Ed said, nonchalantly. Isaac nodded back, rather uncomfortable.
"Ooh! Who's this?" asked a rather feminine voice.
"Oh, Isabel. This is Jason. He's cool." Ed explained, giving Jason a rather apologetic smile, like, "Sorry in advance."
"Why didn't anyone tell me?" she exclaimed, hugging him.
"You're one to talk." Isaac said, looking down at his food, which remained uneaten.
"Erm, what?" Isabel asked, getting sort of uneasy. Max slowly sunk in his chair.
"Nobody EVER tells me anything!" Isaac yelled. "Why do you guys constantly always leave me in the dark? Is it Mr. Spender? That group?"
"Uh, what group?" Jason asked, realizing this is probably a bad time.
Isaac's face reddened. "Nothing," he responded, slumping back into his chair. He began nibbling on a peanut butter sandwich.
Jason shifted his position. "Whatever. So, um… how do you guys all know each other?"
"We're part of a club." Isaac muttered, through bites of sandwich.
"The Activity Club. We're not really accepting members."
"What do you guys do? That is super vague."
"...We do a lot of different stuff. Friendly sports, the such." Isabel said, with a slightly guilty expression. He didn't want to press it much further, though he knew it was a lie.
"Cool. Tell me when a spot opens, 'kay?" he said, with a reassuring smile.
"Heh, yeah. So, what do you usually do, Jason?" Max asked, trying to switch the topic.
"Um, I used to do track. Like, pole vaulting and stuff? Yeah, that was me." he said, scratching his head. He never really liked talking about himself. "...I also play video games."
Ed grinned. "We should totally go a few rounds on Boulevard Brawlers."
"Totally." Isabel stated, nodding her head in agreement.
"You're on. Later, we need to head over to my house."
"Um, actually, the Club has a meeting after school. Maybe tomorrow?"
"Uh, sure."
As the final bell rung, Jason went to his locker to pack his stuff up. Mr. Spender, the history teacher, loaded him with work to get caught up, but also received a funny look when his name was called. Like he knew him already. However, he tried not to dwell too heavily on it. Now that he thought back, he seemed to notice a lot of strange things today. He stopped dead, and listened to the noise of a silent hallway, save for a few voices. As the door to Mr. Spender's room open, he watched as Max, Ed, and Isabel walked out, each waving individually to him as they passed. Finally, Isaac, grudgingly, walked out, and trudged on, giving a small smile to him and then walking past, to catch up with the group. Finally, emerging from the room was Mr. Spender himself. He wore a white collared shirt, tucked neatly into his dress pants, which matched his tie. His blonde hair was rather strange, slicked back, and complimented with shades, as if he was from the fifties.
"Ah, Jason, am I right?" he asked.
"Yes. Um, when do I need to get this work to you?"
"Just get it done any time this semester. I don't press too hard on this type of stuff."
"Okay. Thanks."
"See ya later, Trace- I mean Jason." he said, freezing in place as he made a detrimental mistake.
"Hm? Did you just say, "Tracey"? As in, my mother?"
"Um… no?" he said, sweating nervously. He looked down at his watch. "Well, look at the time. You and I should be going. I'll see you in class tomorrow!" Mr. Spender yelled.
"I-" he started to say, before sighing. Welcome to Mayview, Jason, he said to himself. Welcome to Mayview.
As hell blossomed around her, Tracey stayed dead calm. She looked down at her side and observed her wounds, noticing various scratches and scrapes, along with the occasional bruise. She closed her eyes, and took a deep breath. If she was going to have any chance of surviving, she needed peace. It was dark, and foul monsters surrounded her, trying to keep her restrained.
"Tracey," an echo called. The scenery around her slowly started to turn to gold, pillars erupting from the ground and forming a large temple-like structure, the light becoming more intense. Time seemed to slow down, various creatures around her moving incredibly slow. A beast featuring four sharp fangs and jet black skin leaped toward her, soaring through the air too slowly to ever catch her. A swift kick sent him flying several feet.
"Crux. Haven't heard from you in a while," she responded casually, looking up to see him in all of his glory. A six foot flaming phoenix soared above her, with a golden beak and talons. He seemed to smirk, but it was really hard to tell, knowing he was a phoenix.
"I thought you don't like to be bothered often."
"Yeah?" Tracey replied, amidst many monsters trying to rip her throat out. She snapped her fingers, and looked upon the monsters with a curious expression as they burst into flames. "Whatcha need? And can we talk mentally, because I'm not sure my body can physically take the constant wear of being in spirit mode."
"Ah. Yes," cooed the bird, as he disappeared in a flash of light, along with the seemingly fake palace around her. The monsters sped up, now shifting back and forth with dangerous agility. Her eyes narrowed, and she took a heavy blow to the stomach, knocking the wind out of her.
Are you okay, Tracey? I felt our bond sorta fade for a second. Crux asked, from inside her head, with a worrying tone in his voice.
"I'm fine. I'm just not as young as I used to be." she wearily gasped. Another beast approached her, and pounced. Regaining composure, she looked it dead in the eyes. Her hand blazed with fire across the beast, and it disintegrated to mere dust, a white wisp arising out of the ash. With another snap, it fizzled to nothing. "I used to be a firm believer in giving every spirit a second chance." she explained, her eyes displaying her pity. "I guess I've grown up since then."
"You certainly have." he agreed. Tracey seemed to internally hear the rustling of feathers. "But, my question is, are you going to follow through with your plan?"
"I have come to terms with my inevitable death. However, are you prepared? You'll spend seven years just waiting for your part to come into play."
"I've spent a millennium waiting. Who's to say I can't deal with just a few more?" Crux responded, comforting her for her brave decision.
"Heh. I forget sometimes. I've already arranged B.L. to preserve you. Just, do try to be careful."
"Okay. But, will you finally tell me who your son is?" Crux inquired. He noticed her tiredness. Her inability to carry on. She's spent four days fighting these monsters, enduring the suffering that the Darkness prepared for her. One threat down, in their books.
Tracey looked around. The walls extended about a mile in each direction, just barely in sight. If she did it now, she would eliminate everything with it. A single tear slipped down her face. She will never be there to attend his birthdays. Never there to celebrate his achievements. Never there to comfort him.
"Promise me you'll protect my him."
"I have never given my word to anyone but you, Tracey."
Tracey's fingers started glowing with energy, bathing the area with an intense orange light. "Goodbye, Crux. You were a great partner… and... his name…" she sputtered. "His name is Jason."
She let go. All ears that heard the name were released from their mortal shells, and then everything was silent, save one pale-orange spirit, in the form of a bird, waiting for his chance to fulfill his promise.
So, tell me what you guys think by leaving a review. I plan on releasing another chapter of *gasp* ANB next, so be looking forward to that! Love you guys!