The bus roared away from the four students that just got off the bus. Edward watched as the school gates closed behind it, imprisoning them within the school walls. He turned back to the entrance to the university, only to receive a shiver up his spine. He had never been away from home before, and now, all of a sudden, he was to live the rest of his life in this university designed to make you the best student in the world.

"Come on," Richard nudged Edward before he walked—with Babs still on his arm—into the main tower. Even this one had a color to it—orange, like the burning of the sun as it sets. The latter sighed to himself as he walked in behind them. He could see the layout of the University looked similar to his high school. Main office on the left side and dining area connected to the back wall. The biggest difference was the guidance office to the opposite side of the main office, with two flights of stairs—one on each side of the main tower.

Richard strolled up to the bulletin displaying different events happening in the school, along with a map pointing out the different areas of the school. The only thing posted was an announcement for a Congratulation Ceremony, in the gymnasium at exactly eight at night. He stepped to the map and placed his finger on the "You Are Here" symbol. He connected to the purple building labeled Plant Hall, then the red one labeled Willis Tower.

With nothing written on either, he went to the Jenkins Hall in the upper right hand corner—which, surprisingly enough to him, didn't have anything written on it either. In a final attempt to find the gymnasium, he followed his finger over to the blue building titled Füller Hall. He let out a long sigh as he found the place he had been searching for.

"Looks like we head to Füller Hall, but it says we are to stay in the cafeteria until further notice," he said as he looked back at the other three members of his group. Edward and Babs nodded at him, but there wasn't a reply from Taylor. She just bobbed her head to the beat of her music. The writer, who stood behind her, mocked the way she bobbed, which made both Richard and Babs burst out laughing. Taylor turned around just in time to see Edward doing his mimic.

"What the hell are you doing?" She growled as she yanked out one earbud. She shifted her weight onto one foot, and placed a hand on her hip. "Well, weirdo? What is it?"

"Nothing, nothing," he replied after he rolled his eyes. "I was just showing these guys how to bob their head, that's all. You don't have to get so worked up over nothing," he added as he crossed his arms.

Before the writer knew what he got himself into, he saw Richard and Babs take a step back once they saw the seamstress yank the other ear out. She stuffed them both into her pocket before she walked up to the writer. "Looks like the big, boisterous buster likes to try to belittle this terrifying tank," she said cooly,

"Little lying leach," Edward growled as he got closer to the seamstress. At this point, they were nose to nose with steam coming off of both heads.

"Least I'm a person that can use her intelligence to figure out something as simple as why there were only four people on the bus," she snapped back.

"But with that great intelligence, it's as if you're compensating for your extinct humor. Wait, you hear that? I think it's your soul blowing away with the wind," he took a step back, but stuck his head towards her and held a hand to his ear.

She pushed his head back in anger and pulled back to the furthest she could go. All at once, she released her punch to the fullest power she could, but there was no connection. Edward opened his eyes, after cowering a bit, to find that her punch had been intercepted by the lineman from his childhood. "Now, you should know not to waste your time beating up the weak," he reminded her with a smile.

"Hey!" Edward cried out as he threw his arms up into the air.

"Yeah, you're right," Taylor sighed and brushed her dress flat. "I'm sorry for acting like an asshole just then," she said as she looked away. Quickly, she stuck her hand out.

"Why do you have your hand out?" Edward asked a little too earnestly. It's not like he didn't have a clue, but with this girl, he really didn't have a clue.

"Just shake my hand, dumbass," Taylor growled and shoved her hand closer to him. Hesitantly, he reached out for her hand. Once they met, she took it and shook twice before she released it altogether. "Now I have to burn this hand."

"And I, too," Edward mocked as he motioned a lighter in the other hand. With his thumb, he lit the imaginary lighter before he placed it under the hand that shook hers. She reached forward and pushed the writer again, only to stomp off into the cafeteria.

"Edward, why do you have to be so mean to girls?" Richard asked as he shook his head. Babs shook her head as well, clinging to the big guy of her dreams. "Don't you know she is only trying to make friends?"

"Friends? That girl picked on me and me only. She didn't bother with you two, so don't try to pull the friends card on me," Edward growled at them. He quickly sighed and looked at the door to the cafeteria. "Ugh, fine. If she really wants to be friends, I guess I'll lower my standards."

Before his friend could respond, he opened the door to the cafeteria. He took two steps in before being greeted by a rat looking man. The man pointed a box up to the writer's face with an excited expression. His expression quickly changed when nothing happened. He withdrew his box and held out his hand.

"Sorry 'bout that. I'm just checkin' every one to see if they got some spirit with them," he said with a chuckle. Without Edward giving it up, the man shook his hand before continuing his talk. "My name is Leonard Rayne, and I'm the Ultimate Paranormal Investigator! But you can just call me Lenny."

Leonard Rayne
Ultimate Paranormal Investigator
Leonard always comes equipped for his adventures in
his backpack, but those come up very rarely.

Edward raised an eyebrow at the man's sudden introduction. He could tell the paranormal investigator had somewhat of a matching attire. He had an Oak tracksuit with a black belt holding his pants up—to which Edward noticed how baggy they were on him. On the back of the man, he noticed a rucksack filled to the brim with… something, most likely of that pertaining to the man's talent.

"Enough about me, what's your name?" Lenny asked as he smiled up the writer. On top of him looking like a rat, the paranormal investigator stood shorter than the writer.

"Oh, me? My name is Edward Dean, and I'm the Ultimate Horror Writer," he replied. He knew it wasn't right, but he turned away from the man and looked for the girl from before.

"Looking for someone?" A voice from behind him asked. Edward jumped a little and moved to the side, nearly colliding with Lenny. The former turned and looked up at the burly man before him. The burly man had an orange, yellow, and white colored pair of track pants, with a black t-shirt. On it read, with big orange letters, "Michigan City Fire Department."

"Uhm, no, not really," Edward replied hesitantly. He wasn't sure if he had answered correctly or not, but the burly man chuckled.

"We're never usually in search of someone, but they always appear when you least expect it," he said before he held out his hand. "I'm Aiden McKay and I'm the Ultimate Firefighter, as if you couldn't already tell."

Aiden McKay
Ultimate Firefighter
Ready to go at any time, Aiden is the first line of fire
to fight the fire of any situation.

After a quick introduction from Edward, Aiden continued talking. "So, since I'm going to be calling you Eddy, you might as well call me by my nickname too," he smirked.

"And what would that be? Aidey?" Edward mocked as he crossed his arms. The firefighter rolled his eyes and gently smacked the writer's shoulder.

"Of course not, Eddy. The nickname's Blayze," he replied with his usual approval—he pivoted his shoulder to the side and stuck up his thumb, with it placed against his chest; the grin finished his pose.

"Well, nice to meet you, Blayze," Edward waved slightly before he moved deeper into the cafeteria. He could see that there were more than just the six students there. He counted an additional ten before he spotted the girl he wanted to apologize to talking to a group of other girls. He looked to the side, where a bunch of guys were gathering.

Over in the corner, a girl in a long black dress and a black veil covering the backside of her head. Slowly, Edward walked over to the girl and raised an eyebrow—somewhat because of the weird outfit—at the mumbling she did under her breath.

"Dear holy father up above, please help everyone achieve their dreams of reaching their professions. No one should draw the short end of this promising adventure. Also allow—"

"Uhm, what are you doing?" Edward asked as he stopped at the side of her.

Almost like the reaction he gave to Aiden, she cried out in surprise as she nearly collided into him. She collected her bearings and quickly adjusted herself. "Oh, hello there, young sir. I didn't happen to see you, and thus I deeply apologize." She gently dipped down in a bow-like manner before readjusting her cap.

"Oh, no, it's alright. In fact, I kinda snuck up on you," he said, now with a little guilt. "I, too, deeply apologize," he added as he bowed to her.

"My, my… what a sweet little guy you are," she giggled before clamping her hands together, "my name is Sister Maria Amadei and my talent is a nun."

Sister Maria Amadei
Ultimate Nun
She lives for God and everything righteous, but when it's fight or
flight, she'll always choose the latter.

Edward smiled a little after Maria smiled at him. He had to admit, she did have the tenderness in her voice to be a nun. He also had to admit he admired the blonde color her hair gave off when the light from the cafeteria shone down upon it.

"And what would you like me to call you?" She asked politely as she stared at him. He answered her, along with the talent he obtained. "So your name is Edward, eh? My, what a cute name for such a cute child."

"Th-thank you," he replied sheepishly as he looked away. He could feel his cheeks burning up a little, despite her calling him little. "I, uhm… Sister, I need some help."

"And what would that be, my child?"

"Well," he looked to the ground and sighed. "I kinda messed up with a girl and I want to make it up to her," he looked up at the nun, "but I don't know if I can approach her without her getting mad at me."

"Why would I get mad at you in particular?" The familiar voice asked from behind him. He spun around and put his hands up to protect his face. When nothing happened, he slowly lowered them and looked at her. "What in god's name are you doing?"

"I know you're just going to pretend to make it up to me, then punch me in the face. How could I ever forget how mad you were when you stormed in here?" Edward asked as he held his hands in front of his neck.

The seamstress sighed softly and took his hands into hers. She lowered them to his sides before letting them free, with a little lingering touch of her fingertips to his. "Because I apologized, dumbass," she said before she rolled her eyes and laughed.

"Uhm… Excuse me, miss?" The nun to the side of Edward piped up as she stepped in front of the writer. "Can you please not use such profanity in the presence of a servant of God?" The seamstress took two steps back and raised her eyebrows. "Oh, I'm sorry. My name is Sister Maria Amadei. May I ask what yours is?"

"Is this some kind of joke? Why would a nun be admitted into a school like this?" Taylor asked no one in particular but crossed her arms in annoyance. "Well?"

"Why would admit a seamstress into a school like this?" Edward mocked her from behind the nun. "No one takes the time to buy clothes made by hand anymore, so you should just switch to another talent, otherwise, you're going to go out with the rest of the clothes from grandma."

"At least mine aren't made in a sweatshop over in China," Taylor growled back as she reared up her fist. "Get out from behind covers, you coward!"

"Make me!" Edward called out with a small chuckle. He could tell she was getting mad, but he could see a smile on her lips as she prepared her punch.

The seamstress kept her fist behind her, but moved to the other side of the nun to meet with Edward. With full force, she swung towards the writer's face. He closed his eyes and prepared for the punch to make contact.

"Cut!" A voice called out, followed by nothing. Edward lowered his hands to see that a new fellow stepped in between him and the girl. "You must not hit the actors!"

"Shut up and move out of the way before I pulverize you as well!" Taylor growled as she tried to push past him. The man let her slip past her a few inches, before he slipped his arms under hers and grabbed hold of her neck. "Let go of me!"

"Not if you're going to beat up the other actor," he warned without his hold faltering. He turned to the writer and glared. "And who said you could anger the actress?"

"I was never told I was an actor!" Edward replied as he suddenly felt defenseless.

The man shook his head and sighed. "Life is a play one performs without redoes. It's either you perfect your past performances, or you let those mistakes haunt you the rest of the duration," he replied as he took a step away from the boy. He released the girl, who crossed her arms and looked away. "Good, you're not being a little rowdy rebel," he chuckled before he turned to the writer again. "The name's Orson Myles, and I'm the Ultimate Stage Director."

Orson Myles
Ultimate Stage Director
Known for his different productions, he doesn't care if the actors like him or not.
Of course, he would rather have the productions go flawlessly...

"Nice to meet you, Orson. My name is Edward Dean and I'm the Ultimate Horror Writer," the writer responded as he held out his hand. The director stared down at it, before sighing and accepting the shake.

"Et tu, Edward," he responded before turning back to the seamstress. "Come on back over by the rest of us… Oh," he turned his head back to the two, "you can come if you'd like. Then you'd be able to meet everyone else here."

"That'd be delightful," Maria chimed in before she joined the line forming behind Taylor. "Let's go meet more friends, Eddy." Without even saying anything, Edward joined behind her and followed the three to the rest of the group.

Aiden and Lenny stood on opposite sides of Richard as they huddled around the boy circle. Next to the paranormal investigator stood a boy in a pair of green shorts and an orange tank top. His black hair was spiked up in the front that resulted in one resembling a cockatiel's top. As soon as Edward walked up to the group, the spikey haired boy took a step closer and drove his fist straight towards the writer's face. Upon instinct, he raised up his hands, only to hear the sound of laugher.

"See? Told you everyone will react the same way," the boy said. Edward felt a hand be placed on his shoulder. "You can lower you defense now. No one is going to hit you in this group, as long as you aren't rude to any of the girls, that is."

"I wouldn't tell him that, Cath, he might get the wrong impression about us," said another boy to his right, right before a growl from in front of him. Edward slowly lowered his hands, just in time to see the spikey haired boy with his hands locked with another's.

"Again with the fighting?" Aiden asked as he tried to step in between the two. "Don't you two ever get tired of yelling at each other? Geez, you're like two children!"

"What does he mean by again?" Edward asked as he moved over to the side of Richard.

The lineman laughed as he shook his head at the sight of the little scuffle. "Those two, from what I've seen, love to get physical, with them only backing down when one loses. Don't get me wrong, I think it's pretty funny, but they go on forever. Plus, Aiden sometimes gets involved with such fights—especially when it's with Law," he said before he stepped up to help Aiden. He grabbed both boys by the shoulder closest to him and pushed the two away from each other. "That's enough from both of you."

"He started it though…" Cath mumbled beneath his breath.

"And I'm ending it, so introduce yourselves to my best friend," Richard said as he lowered his voice menacingly.

"Oh, right! I forgot about that…" He replied as he rubbed his neck. He stuck out his hand and smiled. "My name is Cathaoir McNeil, but call me Cath like the rest of them, and I'm the Ultimate Boxer."

Cathaoir McNeil
Ultimate Boxer
When your role model is a boxer from another country, you really don't get much of a chance.
However, Cath worked five hours a day, four times a week, and look at him now.

The other man pushed away the boxer's hand away and stepped in between him and the writer. Edward raised an eyebrow at the motion and looked him up and down. The man had a dark red—which Edward believed to be a Cadmium Red Deep, all from the time he and his mom had to worry about the colors of his clothes due to eighth grade formal—dress shirt tucked into his dark tan khakis. Over top of the dress shirt, he wore a Cadbury Cream leather vest, and around his neck, he wore a dark brown bandana. To complete the outfit, the man donned a black fedora (tipped to the side, revealing some of his dirty blonde hair) and a gun holster on his hip.

"Howdy, partner! You can just call me Lawrence "Law" Harris, and I'm the sheriff of this school," he laughed as he winked and tipped the fedora. "Nice to meet-ya, par'ner!"

Lawrence Harris
Ultimate Sheriff
With his over dominant personality, he likes to be the one to
lead the group through the bad times.

"Nice to meet you too, lassy," Cath jumped in. He pushed the sheriff out of the way before the latter returned the push.

"Who are you callin' a lassy, Angelica?" He asked as he raised his fists towards the other boy, whom did the same. Edward sighed as the two began to throw punches at one another. He turned around to walk over to someone more mature, when he met a new face in his own.

The face had the pinkest cheeks Edward has ever seen, along with a very glossy set of black hair (which had been pushed over to the side and made of plastic). As for the outfit, he wore a nicely pressed grey suit along with a white handkerchief inside the pocket.

"Hi," the mouth lowered before remaining in the upward position. Edward looked at the body connected to the head and followed it to the operator. Edward looked between the wooden figure and the person controlling him, slightly confused as to why they were dressed exactly the same.

"Okay, which one is the dummy here?" He asked as he held back his laughter. The two looked at each other before glaring back at the writer. "Sorry, sorry. I just had to say the joke."

"Say what you want, but I'll have you know Carver and I are the most know ventriloquist act in the world," the puppet proclaimed as he raised his hand. "Him and I? We're one… you dig?"

Edward, unsure if this Carver kid was serious or not, just nodded and looked around the room. "So, uhm, why are you more towards the back of the group?"

"We just arrived here," he responded, "so we haven't had the time to actually get acquainted with everyone, duh. But since we have your attention, we would like to introduce ourselves. My name is Jeffrey Ward and my wooden friend up there is Carver Landau. Together, we're make the Ultimate Ventriloquist act."

Carver Landau
Ultimate Ventriloquist
Often times, you'll get an earful from the puppets in his hand,
but never will you hear Carver speak his mind.

With a quick introduction of himself, Edward quickly apologized for the sudden departure and made his way to the others to side—more specifically, Richard and Aiden. He took a quick glimpse over at the girl circle and saw almost every girl laughing about something.

In the girl's circle, everyone laughed as hard as they could—well, all except for Babs. "There's no way you're telling the truth!" Babs yelled as her face turned as red as her uniform. She had been talking with the rest of the girls before Taylor came over with great news. This great news had been directed at the waitress, and no one else. The girls would have to pair up with another guy and bunk in the same room as them for the duration of their stay.

"Oh, I'm very much telling the truth. What's even better, I heard that Richard would love to bunk with you!" Taylor cried out as she, too, started to die from laughter.

Babs looked over at the boy circle with love in her eyes. "I never knew he felt that way about me… I must be the luckiest girl in the world…"

"Sister Babs, do not take stock in what she says. She spreads too many lies for her to be considered a spirited kin," Maria spoke softly as she turned the waitress's head back towards the group. "And you mustn't think such thoughts at such an age. It's quite inappropriate."

"I don't care if I go to hell for loving Richard!" The waitress yelled again and turned to face the nun. The rest of the girls in the group were laughing continuously at the situation.

Taylor motioned for them to quiet down, so the boys didn't get suspicious of what went down over in their circle. She went over and pulled the rest of the girls over so they could talk amongst themselves.

"Pretty funny stuff you did there," the one said to the left of Taylor.

"She totally believed you," chimed in the one to the right of Taylor.

"I know I laughed, but I don't think I should have… I mean, she's experiencing love at first sight like most of have or will experience at some point in our lives…" sighed the one opposite of the first girl that spoke.

"God, you're such a virgin," the fourth one said, whom stood between the first and third girl.

"A-am not!" The third girl exclaimed as she raised up both her hands that were clenched up into fists.

"Easy there tiger, save that pounce for one of the guys," Taylor said as she lowered the girl's hands. "Why don't you guys introduce yourself to me? We've been talking for a minute or two, and I still don't know your names."

"Why don't you introduce yourself to us first?" The fourth girl questioned.

Taylor shrugged and raised her eyebrow at the girl. "Cocky one, ain'tcha? You're right, though. I should introduce myself first. My name is Taylor Elusory and I'm the Ultimate Seamstress." She smiled as she held out her hand.

The first girl took her hand and shook it enthusiastically. "Hello Taylor! You can call me Mabel Tanner. I'm usually referred to as the Ultimate Cowgirl," she said as she pulled away. Taylor could see how anyone could make the inference. The cowgirl wore a flannel shirt cut off above her midriff, with the end tied into a knot; she sported a matching set of denim shorts and vest. Down at her feet, the seamstress could see a pair of white boots that came up to the middle of her shin.

Mabel Tanner
Ultimate Cowgirl
Most of the people that know her would easily say she's a little
out there, but overall, she's a good kid.

"Oh, look, the cowgirl is always the first no matter the situation," the second girl laughed as she nudged the cowgirl. The latter blushed a little once she realized the reference. "Looks like it's my turn, eh?"

"No, lemme go second!" The third girl called out as she pushed her way over to the seamstress's hand. "Hello, I'm Lauraine Allen and if you need any help with a training regimen, you can come to me," she said as she shook the girl's hand.

Lauraine Allen
Ultimate Coach
No matter the stress she is faced with, Lauraine always sees the light at the end
of the table, even if she is facing the entrance.

Taylor chuckled a little as the coach's whistle bounced against her chest as their hands shook and her brown hair had been pulled back into a pony tail. She wore a black track pants with a grey sweatshirt that hid most of her body features.

"You're almost like your friend there," Taylor said before turning to the two remaining girls. "And we have two left… Hmm, you first." She pointed to the girl in the dress that looked like it was meant to belong in a museum.

"Victoria Floros, Radio Announcer," she responded before she flashed a smile.

Victoria Floros
Ultimate Radio Announcer
Quick tongued and a quick mind are key, and Victoria easily posses both-
just wait until you hear her in action.

"But you can call me Tori like everyone else in the room. Why? I have no idea. I guess they just don't want to take the time to say my whole name—I don't blame them, though. Even I don't take the time to say everyone's full name…" She paused to catch her breath, but the other girl cut her off with her hand.

"That's enough, Little Windy," she laughed a little before she turned to the seamstress. This one had an outfit that practically drowned her—the tank top was so baggy, it left barely anything to the imagination, and the only thing that showed was the wetsuit underneath it. "Alright, my turn! My name is Sydne Reid, and I'm the best Scuba Diver in the world!"

Sydne Reid
Ultimate Scuba Diver
She's a little energetic bunny but she is as fragile as glass deep down inside-
she even had a breakdown after she fought with a friend.

"Nice to meet the both of you," the seamstress laughed as she looked back over to the two that were arguing over sin and love, only to see them talking with a new girl. She walked over to them and wrapped an arm around the waitress's neck. "So, who is the new girl?"

The girl in question rolled her eyes before opening her mouth and saying: "My name is Misty Alta, and I presume you're Taylor Elusory. It is a great displeasure to meet you." She turned to the wide and walked back over to the table she had been sitting at.

"What's her problem?" Taylor asked as she turned to face the nun and waitress.

The two rolled their eyes, almost exactly like Misty did. The latter was the first to speak. "It's because she doesn't like what you did to me! She agreed with me that you should burn in he—"

"That you should just burn," the nun interjected before she smiled at her friend. "That's what she meant to say. Isn't that right?"

The waitress nodded before turning back to Misty at the table. She waved her over, and after a few minutes of nothing happening, the girl got up and went back over to the group. "What do you want?" She said, mostly directed at Taylor.

"You were nice enough to introduce yourself to us, why don't you fully introduce yourself to her?" Babs motioned to the seamstress. There was a long break of silence before she sighed and nodded.

The seamstress immediately noticed the blue jeans and white undershirt. She looks too much like a greaser to be anything of importance, she thought to herself and restrained herself from laughing. Over top of the undershirt, she could now notice another white button down shirt—only, this one was brighter than the first—a titanium white, if she had to identify the color.

"If I really must, my name is Misty Alta, and I'm the Ultimate Painter," she said before she turned away from the girl.

Misty Alta
Ultimate Painter
Silent and composed, Misty has that cool composure but her temper can
hit the high end of the spectrum is tempted.

Taylor opened her mouth to return the full introduction, but the screech of the speakers overhead cut her off. "Ahem! Ahem! Is this thing on? Oh, good!"

Each student gave each other a glance before the voice continued. "Alright, children of the future world, it is now seven thirty. You have exactly thirty minutes before you must go to the gymnasium and take part in the welcoming ceremony. I, Alexander Lincoln, hope to see you all—you all—you all—"

"Damn it, I told them this stupid cassette player wasn't as good as they said it was," another voice came on. "If you want things done the right way, you must do it yourself—Oh shit, is this thing still on?" It didn't take long before the students in the cafeteria to crack up. "Oh, is this funny to you all? Maybe you'll find it hilarious once I activate this!"

As soon as they finished their sentence, all lights from the outside world were cut off by large security shutters that dropped down one at a time. No one moved, as they were all taken aback in shock. Once the final shutter dropped, it was that Mabel called out in a fit of fear. "What in blazin' shit is this?!"

Sydne and Lenny both ran up to the windows and started to bang on them. However, the other students didn't move a muscle. They still couldn't comprehend what the hell just happened.

"Good! I now have your full attention," the voice from the loud speaker called out. "As you may have seen, the windows are now no longer a means of escape. In fact, every window is shut tightly by metals sheets such as those; the front doors are locked and hidden behind two metal cages. All of this means one simple thing. You are not allowed to leave—ever."

"What do you mean? You can't keep us locked up in here!" Lenny called out as he pulled his bag around to the front. He rummaged through it before he froze in his spot.

"Of course I can, and I will. Now you're thinking, 'what crazy person would possibly do this,' right? Don't get me wrong, I think this is a great way to understand exactly why people react the way they do, but you're all here for a reason—which brings me to the next point. There is one way you may leave, and that…" the voice paused before chuckling. "Whoops, almost gave away too much already. You're going to have to come to orientation to find out what you gotta do. Until then, have a great time, suckers!" The speakers crackled as they came to a dead silence.

No one made a sound. They only looked at each other as thoughts raced through their minds. There was only one way to find out who was behind this and why they chose the students they did. Richard stepped over to the door and exited the room, before he came back in and announced the metal cage blocking the red building had disappeared. One by one, they all exited the cafeteria on their way to the opening ceremony. Two people stuck behind—Edward and Taylor, who shared a look between each other—before they both walked behind the rest of the students.