The Wallflower
"Mom?!"
A silent rustle reached the ears of Ismene Blooms. She didn't know what it was, nor did she wanted to wait for it to reveal itself. Laury had never been brave, she was the type of person that stood silently in a corner to wait for everything to work itself out. Every day people died because they were trying to be a hero, well, let those others die while trying to save another. She just hides while others are risking her life, resulting in them getting famous and her being just another nobody. Nobody expected anything of her, not even when the need was highest. That are the perks of being a Wallflower.
"MOM!"
"Yes, honey. What's the problem?"
"We're out of animal food and milk! Angel and Demon are starving!"
"Oh honey, they're not starving. Cats can hunt their own food."
"Well they can't, mum."
"I'll go get some this afternoon, when I get back from work okay?"
"Okay."
This might look like a very futile thing, but for Icy her two kittens meant everything. They were practically her only friends. The girl cared for them so badly that she would even give her own food just to keep the two animals alive.
Oh, I wish they just had food. She silently wished.
Poof.
She stared anxiously around her (It doesn't surprise you if I would tell you Isy was kind of a scaredy cat), looking for the cause of the noise, while jumping in surprise at the look of two neat bowls of animal food. They weren't supposed to be there.
Ismene stared at it in awe, slightly disturbed but the strange occurence. She thought of something, and all of a sudden it was there.
"Icy, get here! You're almost late for school!"
"I'm coming mom!"
She scurried down the stairs, face paper-white.
"Come here for a kiss, little kitty."
Her mother pulled her closer and gave her a pek on the cheek, while nearly suffocating her in a bear-hug.
"Do well on your first day back."
Ismene had been terribly ill for the past few months. None of the doctors had been able to put a finger on it. But eventually she got well enough to get back to school, and even though she had missed a lot and she would probably have to do this year over, it wouldn't hurt to try. It was even her own decision. Because if there is one thing you need to know about being a wallflower: Being ill for a long time, not going to school attracts attention, and that was everything she didn't want.
She never liked being in the center of all attention, but right now, after what she had seen today, she wanted to be invisible, more than she ever wanted anything else in her life.
The Leader
"That needs better. Focus on your anger." Mary Jones commanded a 9-year old girl, who was trying to raise water with her power. Mary was the leader of a little Freak club, in Gold Academy.
The little girl nodded and focussed more, this time managing to raise the water a few inches higher than last time.
"Way better, keep going like that kiddo."
The girl smiled, and instantly the water dropped a few inches. Happy feelings never help if you are trying to control a one-emotion ability like water control. Mary herself had it easy with her Feeling Control. She could insert good and bad feelings. She didn't need to feel fear or anger to make it work. Positive emotions worked just as strong as the negative, but it had the opposing effect. And then you had people like Peter for whom controlling their ability was extremely easy. Peter, who could smell better than a wolf, see more clearly than you could through a microscope and hear whatever happened 10 miles away. His power was definitely extraordinary.
"Anger. You're angry! You're upset the water won't listen! Work it out in anger!"
But Mary knew the little girl wouldn't be able to do it. Not yet, she was still too young to do something like that. That's why she decided to help a little. She concentrated and held her hands in front of her, trying to be as subtile as possible. She let the feeling of anger shoot through her mind and gave it to the girl.
The water suddenly shot up till it almost touched the roof.
"Excellent." Mary smiled, while calling the angry feeling back from the girl, and replacing it with one of happiness.
Mary certainly knew this was cheating, but she just hated seeing people try so hard for something that will take them ages to do right. Besides, channeling one's anger will also help them for the next time, when they know how it's supposed to feel, because she knew her ability was, more or less, based on recalling memories which gives people the feelings she wants to. Too bad for her she never knew what it was.
Somebody tapped softly on her shoulder, so softly she could barely feel it. There was only one person who could tap so softly, only one person who could sneak up to her without her hearing to.
"Is there anything wrong, Peter?" She whispered, knowing that he wouldn't need her to talk any louder. That a whisper was the frequency of a voice he was most comfortable with.
"I hear somebody come to this block. Knowing his footsteps I think it's Mister Reys."
"Okay, thank you."
I turned towards everybody left in the room.
"OKAY, training is over for today! Clean up everything that could be considered suspicious, and have a nice day further!"
Everybody quickly cleaned up all their stuff and got out of the room in the smooth way Mary had drilled them in case something like this would happen. Well, it actually didn't happen that much, but they had been interrupted quite a lot lately.
Mary quickly left the room and locked the door behind her.
The Test Subject
"Say Aaah."
Kyle meadows hated the tests. They were useless and dumb in his eyes.
He opened his mouth and did what they ordered him to do. The man nodded and smiled.
"Good."
What? Did he really thing Kyle wouldn't be able to open my mouth and say aaah, just because he's a kid with a very weird ability? What an ass.
"Now stand up and walk over his line."
Kyle sighed and walked over the red line that just appeared in the high-technological white room. The tests made him wonder if there maybe was something wrong with him. They always gave him that feeling. As if they thought he was some strange creature from the planet mars that wasn't able to understand English or move properly. Not human.
"Okay, now jump."
And he jumped. As he always did. He had to obey them, because he had no life back in the city anyway. His parents were dead. Killed in a house fire. And every single time he wondered if those people had known he was 'different' before his parents died, and killed them. Because the circumstances were very suspicious, and it wasn't his fault, like they insinuated in the beginning.
"Okay, coördination works just fine. Now let's get to the real tests, shall we."
Kyle nodded. He really felt like one of those dashboard-puppets, only able to nod. Yes I'll do this, yes I'll do that. Always the same damn drag, never saying 'No', or coming up for his own rights. He was treated like an animal. Well, they gave him everything he wanted, they weren't that big monsters. The food was way better than usual school food, or even the food most get at home. The lessons were way more fun than the ones in normal schools, because they trained him at what he was good at. Gymnastics. The normal lessons were also a lot more fun than what others get; because of the tiny class of seven members they got through all the boring stuff with the speed of light and his classmates were very nice people, but they never asked him for his opinion. Never was he asked 'Are you alright?' and even though he knew he would always answer he was, even if he wasn't, it still would make him feel less like a caged beast, constantly running around in circles, never breaking out.
"Would you like to change into me, please?"
No. Kyle didn't want to. But he still changed into a perfect replica of the scientist.
The man gasped for breath.
"Unbelievable." He whispered.
The man had seen it so many times, but he never stopped being surprised.
Kyle changed back and looked at the man wearing a poker face, while underneath the mask silently twisting himself in this misery, his anger.
"Can I go now?" He asked, irritated.
He knew it would end here. It always did. Take stupid tests, change into somebody random and then leave.
The man checked his watch, "Oh god, I lost track of time. Of course you can go, Kyle. You did a great job today, as always."
Oh, how flattering. He gave him Kyle a compliment. Now the boy felt so much better. Not. He hated this place; he hated it with all his heart. He knew that one day, he would do just as that shadow girl did a few months before.
One day, this would all be over. Then he could have a normal life. He would break free. He would be free, never having to worry about what the next form of personal torture would be. Maybe then he wouldn't lose his sanity?
Yeah, right, like the odds have ever been in his favor.
Okay, so that was the introduction of some of my characters, mainly to introduce you the 3 types of living you can pick.
The first one is the city (It has a school, yes). Nothing is really special about it, just the city... the spots for children from the city are always open.
The second one a boarding school called Gold Academy (Comparable to Coates, only with not THAT much criminality. More of some boarding school for rich kids. They also have a club with freaks, obviously). Also, just like the city, the spots for this one are always open, although I don't think you are planning to submit somebody from Gold when the story is in a far stadium, something that IS perfectly possible if you are from the city.
And the third way of living is in the institute for gifted kids, comparable to that thing Sam found on his quest to find a water source, although it's much closer to the society and quite different from the one in the books. Also, it's actually common knowledge that the institute is there. They lure children with special talents (And now I'm not talking about being a freak or normal, but talents normal humans like you and I can have) there, and train them. Not everybody with just special talents can get in, you also need to have problems at home or actually no home at all or whatever you can think of, as long as there are family problems. I allow a total of 6 kids from the Institute. 2 spots left for that.
Okay, all keep in mind this plot will be ENTIRELY different from the one in the Gone books. Well, I would love to, but I can't spoil it yet. Otherwise there wouldn't be any fun in reading it anymore.
You will be able to keep submitting OC's all through the story, because the more characters I have, the better. And in the Gone series you constantly meet new characters, because it's a society. Character submissions can happen through Review or through PM.
Name and/or Nickname:
Gender:
Age:
Way of living (One of the 3 things I mentioned above):
Special talent (Only applies to children from the Insitute):
Appearance and favored clothes:
Personality:
Background info (No need to tell their entire history, just what you think to be important):
Freak or Normal:
Power and bars (Max of 4 bars, as I already reached my max of 5-bars):
Good/Evil/Trying not to get involved:
Anything else (Like things you want me to include, or things you want to happen with your character, how you think their personality will develop):
Characters (mine or submissions) in alphabetical sequence
Arianna "Ari" Tuent, Female, City/Institute, Freak: Shadow Bending (5 bars)
Calum Patel - 5 years old, Male, City, Freak: Metal Manipulation (3 bars)
Carmen "Pain" - 13 years old, Female, Gold Academy, Freak: Camouflage (3 bars)
Charadonnay "Char" Jem - 9 years old, female, City, Freak: Plant growth (2 bars)
Cody Sheenan - 14 years old, Gold Academy, Freak: Telekinesis (5 bars)
Felicity "Lucky" Stray - 12 years old, Female, Institute, Freak: Disease immumity (2 bars)
Fy Lowel - 12 years old, Male, Gold Academy, Normal
Helena Jem - 9 years old, Female, City, Normal
Ismene "Icy" Blooms - 12 years old, Female, City, Freak: Conjurtion (Unknown)
Jean McCallister - 13 years old, Female, Institute, Freak: Sound Manipulation (3 bars)
Jeremy De Franco - 14 years old, Male, Gold Academy, Freak: Healing (4 bars)
Josh - 14 years old, Male, City, Freak: Super Speed (2 bars)
Kathia "Kat" Jem - 9 years old, Female, City, Normal
Kyle Meadows - 11 years old, Male, Institute, Freak: Shapeshifting (3 bars)
Lena "Dozer" Patel - 14 years old, Female, City, Freak: Kinetic Energy Manipulation (4 bars)
Marian Seleca - 14 years old, Female, City, Freak: Animal communication (2 bars)
Mary Jones - 14 years old, Female, Gold Academy, Freak: Emotion manipulation (4 bars)
May-Anne Rossi - 11 years old, Female, Gold Academy, Freak: Technokinesis (3 bars)
Nami Grant - 14 years old, Female, Gold Academy, Normal
Peter Jemley - 14 years old, Male, Gold Academy, Freak: Enchanted senses (3 bars)
Sarah - 14 years old, Female, City, Normal
Talon Samuels - 10 years old, Male, City, Normal
Timothy "Tim" Blake - 11 years old, Male, City, Freak: Cataloguing (2 bars)
Wen Aytama - 12 years old, Male, Gold Academy, Freak: High Jump (1 bar)
Xanne Bridge - 13 years old, Female, City, Freak: Teleportation (3 bars)