Beckonville
It's a warm evening in a small town, and the sun is setting as the stars begin to appear in a celestial display across a purple and orange sky. The breeze pushes a wooden windmill on a small farm. On the same property, an old tv is playing a rerun of an episode of Friends in the quirky living room of a small two-story house. In the living room there is a soft brown couch with flannel blankets draping on the back, and there is a wooden rocking chair right next to the couch as well as a stained dark coffee table made of oak in front of both pieces of furniture. On the hardwood floor there is a circular dark-green rug that rests under the coffee table.
In addition to the living room, the simple layout of the house includes a kitchen attached to the living room, a bathroom off of the hallway connecting the kitchen to the downstairs office/library, and a staircase in the living room which leads upstairs to a hallway with two bedrooms and one more bathroom. One of the bedrooms belongs to a man and his wife, who both own the farm, and the other bedroom belongs to their 17-year-old son.
Mr. and Mrs. Jefferson have owned their twenty-acre farm since the second year of their marriage. After living on their farm for 3 years they had a son, who they named James. Throughout James' life, he has shown exceptionalism in his education. In the sixth grade he began exploring what would become his two academic passions, calculous and classic British literature, and in the ninth grade he had already published two papers on advanced mathematics and three on the analysis of classic British works.
Although James is what some would consider a genius, he has always had problems "fitting in" with his peers. Now a senior at Beckonville High School, he only has one friend who he spends most of his time with. Jackson Bane is equally as geeky as James and is obsessed with robotics. Jackson has won every science fair that he has participated in since the third grade.
When Jackson and James were 9 years old, they were both getting beat up by an older peer when James managed to jam his elbow into one of the bullies' face, giving them the opportunity to run away. Since that day they have been best friends.
On this warm evening, James returns to the living room to continue watching Friends. He returns with a glass of sweet iced tea and is now splitting his focus between the show and a book in his hand. It's Saturday night and he his home alone because his parents are away at a conference and Jackson is stuck at his grandparent's house for a birthday celebration.
After a few minutes pass he puts his book down, shuts off the TV and grabs his keys. After locking the front door of the farmhouse, he climbs into his 1994 Ford pickup truck and twists the key in the ignition. He begins driving to the convenience store on the edge town a few miles away. His plan is to buy a bag of chips and return home to snack while getting started on his homework. He arrives to the store a few minutes later and walks inside. The owner, Eddy, waves at him from the back-storage closet and says, "I'll help you in a second James!" James replies, "Okay Eddy, thank you!" After hobbling his way to the counter, Eddy looks at James with the chips in his hand and smirks, "Fun Saturday night plans?" James looks at Eddy and responds, "My parents are out of town and Jackson is busy, so I'm just home alone tonight." Eddy laughs, "Most seventeen-year-olds would see that as a golden opportunity to throw a party or something. You're a funny kid, James." James grins, "you're an old man, Eddy."
James climbs into his car and begins to drive home. As he is pulling onto the dirt road that his house is off of, he sees a flash of light off in the distance. He's curious and continues on his road without pulling into his long windy driveway. He parks his car and starts to walk towards where he saw the light. His family's farm is the only thing closest for miles, so he's not shy of exploring the area.
As he continues off of the road, it is completely dark now, and he is using the flashlight on his phone to see. A few moments later, he sees fire in the distance. Now nervous, he still keeps walking, as if something is drawing him in. He approaches the fire and sees some sort of pod engulfed in flames. Now equally fascinated and terrified, he freezes. Feeling as if he cannot move, he just stands there until he notices something. He sees blond hair under a piece of rubble. Now, heart racing, he walks forward and lifts up the piece of shrapnel. He looks down, and his gaze sets on a young woman. He kneels down and roles her over. She is covered in soot and dirt but does not have a scratch on her. He's now holding her head in his arms, and all of a sudden, her eyes flash open, and they are glowing blue.