Luke was still pretty dazed from the 'encounter' with Luna.
The three of them (him, Corey and Eve) had camped out on a bench using what little blankets they'd dragged from Eve's house.
Her parents weren't at home.
"Well, just because they're not there now doesn't mean everyone poofed." That was Corey's lame excuse.
After that, they'd visited Luke's flat. Nothing. Corey's bungalow. Nothing. And that was when he'd finally broken. He was crying in his sleep now, Luke noted. Strange murmurings that sounded something along the lines of, "They're still here." Poor kid.
Lots of children had come up to him during the evening, between the ages of three and fourteen. All asking the same questions.
Where are my parents?
What's going to happen?
Are we all going to die?
Questions he could not answer.
Each reply sent a stab of guilt through his heart. Every fake smile he gave, every fake reassurance, ate away at his conscience. How long could he keep this up for?
Suddenly, he heard a noise, and shot bolt upright. A smash, followed by the soft tinkling of glass. Somebody cursed, more shattering, and a cry of excitement. Well, I guess they found the candy store, he thought.
Sure enough, a whole surge of people were heading towards See's, lured in by the promise of sweets. The original vandal emerged holding an armful of assorted chocolate bars, then melded back into the darkness. He probably should go and scold him, or lecture him, or at least do something. But why should he have to warn him for breaking and entering? He wasn't the police.
Besides, I thought you didn't want responsibility.
"I need some air," he said to nobody in particular, and began to walk down fifth street.
It was weird. That was one word to describe it. Fifth wasn't exactly a busy street, but every now and then a car would whizz past, headlights blaring. Now it was silent. No cars. No people. He turned onto third, kept walking until he was sure he was well away from the square, and settled onto a nearby bench.
He felt a hard oak splinter digging into his back, but he honestly didn't care. He just needed some alone time. Though he couldn't think. There was something nagging at the back of his mind. The feeling he was being watched.
Another kid? Another question he'd have to feed lies to? No. He'd made sure nobody had followed him. Then he spotted it.
The dark silhouette of an eagle, perched on top of the opposite lamppost, wings folded up into an arc. It's head was cocked slightly to the side, as if it was really watching him. He gave out a shaky laugh. He was just being paranoid.
You're going mad, dude, slowly going mad.
And then the eagle was no longer an eagle. It was a girl.
"Holy-"
"Shut up!" she hissed, and dropped lightly down from the post until her feet were brushing the ground. Almost as if she'd flown down.
"How-"
"Look, somebody told me you were the leader. Right?"
"Um..."
She seemed to take this as an answer. "My name is Donna. Donna Brooks. I understand you'll be needing somebody to enforce your laws?" He was sure he heard her add, "And beat up those idiots."
"Wait." He held out his hand, silencing her next sentence. "How did you do that?"
She laughed. "You are so clueless. It's the FAYZ, right? FAYZ 2? And what happened in the first dome is probably going to happen here."
"So you're basically saying you have superpowers." He shook his head, disbelieving. "Oh, man, is this really happening?"
"Damn right I do." She stepped into the light, and Luke could see her clearly. The dark brown eyes that pulled you in, the tanned skin dotted here and there with little freckles. Her hair was long, reaching to just above her waist, and was a dirty blonde kind of colour.
"What do we do then?" Luke was at a loss. He could deal with the FAYZ. Starvation and arguments were bad enough. But superpowers? The stories on television were like something out of a disaster movie. They told the stories so you could really feel what happened to the kids in there. But somehow the superpower part had never really felt real. Like something they'd made up. "Donna?"
"I don't know. I'm not the leader." she snapped resentfully. Then she softened. "Maybe get together all the people with... the power, and keep a list? That way, if something goes wrong, you can rely on them."
"Thanks Donna." Then he realized he was talking to thin air. The eagle, which he now noticed had the exact same colour eyes as Donna, was halfway down the street. The silhouette morphed back into a girl, gave a cheery wave, and flew into the darkness.
Luke returned to the square somehow feeling even more pressured than before. He sat down next to Eve, who was now wide awake, and was about to open his mouth, when she interrupted him.
"Let me guess, you just figured out everyone has superpowers, and you want to make a list."
"Why do I get the feeling everyone is stealing my thoughts?" He gave a small smirk, but Eve didn't return the favor. Instead she looked more unsettled. "You ok?"
"Yeah, yeah, I'm fine."
"Alright. See you tomorrow, Eve." He pulled over a blanket and used it to cover most of his body. Corey was muttering in his sleep again.
"It's not a FAYZ, mom, it's not a FAYZ."
