TWO CHAPTERS IN ONE DAY!!

-falls over-

I don't own Scott's books.

-Mindcaster-

Melissa watched as Rex slowly became himself again as they headed further away from the city lights. Well, as close to himself as he was ever going to get.

She grimaced again, shuddering at the taste spilling from the four people walking ahead. She'd never tasted anything like them, and hoped she never would. They tasted rusty and spicy at the same time. Like a nail someone had pulled out of an old porch and smothered in hot sauce.

She tasted the fear Jessica felt. She knew the fear had nothing to do with the attackers leading them, but everything to do with the boy she was holding hands with. She stared straight ahead and suddenly let out a breath as the minds of the city faded a bit. Even with the help control offered her, she still liked the quiet better, and that city was loud.

The minds there buzzed with intensity, feeling such strong emotions that Melissa had wanted to scream for them all to shut up so she could have quiet and figure out how to save the people she cared about. Their emotions seemed to flow out of them in waves, like they'd been holding it back for years. Or someone else had.

The guy holding Rex set him on his feet after a while. They were in some sort of ruins now. Melissa looked up at the rusty remains and understood why the iron didn't affect Rex as much. There were enough chemicals over it to dull the effects on him. She let out another breath of relief. One less thing to worry about.

Suddenly, the leader stopped and whirled around to face them. Melissa could just barely feel the minds of the people in the city now. She guessed they must be far enough away now. Rex walked back to stand by her side. She instantly grabbed his hand and his calm mind spread through hers. It wasn't nearly as calm as it was before the accident, though, and she patted the monster clawing his mind with her own. It quieted and Rex shot her a thanking glance. She smiled up at him and looked back at the group facing them.

"Well?" the leader's sharp voice cut through the darkness like a knife. Melissa saw Dess step in front.

"Like Jess said, we're from Bixby," she said, "I'm not sure how much I'm allowed to tell you, other than that." Dess turned around to look at Rex. He nodded and sighed. Dess nodded back and continued. "We call ourselves the Midnighters." Dess then explained the full history of what everyone was. Melissa rolled her eyes when Dess explained her power with great pride. The pride was so sweet it burned her tongue. She'd felt it so much after tests at school. It was one of her long list of most hated emotions.

Dess finished up with explaining Jessica and how they'd planned to find out where she went when she disappeared. Their eyebrows rose a few times during the explanation, but other than that, Melissa tasted no other strong emotion besides surprise and wonder.

"Well. That's…interesting…" the girl to the leader's left said when Dess finished. The leader stood quietly for a second before saying anything.

"We're what you'd call the 'police' of this world. Obviously, as far as I can tell, you aren't from our world at all. We protect the people of this world and the world from the people. My name's Tally. This is Fausto, Shay, and David." The leader pointed at each of the people around her in turn.

"So why do you think we came here?" Dess asked, true curiosity seeping her in voice.

"I honestly don't know. We must be connected in some way." Tally looked thoughtful. All of them stood thinking for a second before David spoke up.

"You don't think that there could be any other worlds opened up, do you?" his voice mirrored the worry he was feeling. Tally looked up at the dark sky and grimaced.

"I sure hope not," she muttered.

-Moz-

I tripped into the darkness, grimacing as Pearl hit me from behind. She was muttering obscenities under her breath again. I smiled. This is what I loved about Pearl.

I turned and gave her a warning look. We were in some sort of ruin, and I could hear voices a little ways ahead. She glared up at me and I helped her up. She held my hand tightly and Zahler rolled out behind her.

I gave him the same look and he jokingly pretended to lock his lips and throw away the key. Pearl rolled her eyes at him, but the way she squeezed my hand gave away her fear. I pulled her toward where the voices were coming from, hoping my stomach wouldn't rumble and give us away. I was hungry again.

"You don't really believe there could be other worlds…" a girl's voice was saying. I listened harder, trying to pick up the answer, my heart beating loudly in my chest.

"Considering the chances of you appearing here," a boy answered gruffly, "Yes, there most likely are." Silence followed and I strained my ears again. Pearl was breathing heavily and I squeezed her hand to reassure her.

"Do you think they appeared when we did?" Zahler tripped behind me. I heard the slightly crumbling of rust. There was a sharp intake of breath from the group in front of us. I frowned. My hearing was much better than any normal human's and I knew it well. Just because I heard something, didn't necessarily mean…

A hand slapped around my mouth from behind and I almost bit it instinctively, catching myself at the last minute. Wouldn't be good to create another apocalypse here. I didn't even know where I was.

Someone dragged me to where I heard the voices. I controlled myself, fighting the urge to fight. There wasn't any need to create peeps; I couldn't even smell the faint smell of worm.

Eight faces stared at me, Pearl, and Zahler as we were dragged into view. I stared back. Two groups were standing off in the middle of what looked like a ruin of a courtyard. I struggled to free myself from the hand. They let go as soon as we were completely in view. Everyone in the courtyard stared at my pale and beautiful features in shock, taking in my vampire anatomy in silence.

"Well," said a girl belonging to the group on the right, "obviously, there was another open world."

whoo. well, tell me if I did a good job!

-blacklitdogstar