June 20, 2006

Abigail Delgado and her best friend Elizabeth Krieger were beyond excited. They had just finished their last final exam for the school year, and were looking forward to starting their summer vacation. Beth's twin brother, David, was with them as they stepped off the bus and ran down the block into Abby's house, dropping their books onto the dining room table before dropping themselves onto the living room sofa and chairs.

The three sixteen-year olds sat in silence for a few moments, allowing their brains to rest after having spent the last three hours taking their biology final. Abby was the first one to speak. "Ten weeks," she said. "This is the beginning of ten glorious weeks of getting to lounge around, go to the beach, hang with our friends, party every night, and best of all, no homework to worry about. What do we want to do first?"

"Sleep," Beth said. "My brain needs a rest after having spent the week getting fried by all those tests."

"I have to agree with Beth," Dave said. "I plan to sit on this couch and do nothing for the rest of the day." As though he were trying to prove his point, he stretched himself out and rested his head on the armrest.

"Come on, guys, it's eighty-five degrees outside," Abby complained. "I'm hot and sweaty and I know that you guys are too. Let's at least go swimming."

"You can go," Beth said. "I'm going to stay here and catch up on my soaps and my sleep."

"As appealing as that sounds," Abby said, rolling her eyes, "I think we need to move around a little." To get her point across, she grabbed Beth's arm and pulled her off the couch, then went over and did the same to her twin brother.

"Hey!" David complained.

"Oh, come on, Dave," Abby said sweetly. "I know you want to get outside and throw me into the pool." She batted her eyelashes at him for the extra effect.

David knew he was going to give in as soon as Abby batted her eyelashes. He had to give her credit; she certainly knew his weak spots. "Oh, all right," he told her. "I'll go."

"Coward," his sister complained.

"Come on you two babies," Abby said. "My dad isn't going to be home until four so that gives us three hours of time to ourselves."

The three of them ventured outside towards the pool. Beth caught sight of three strange men rushing towards them but before she could warn her brother and best friend, they were all engulfed in a bright flash of white light.

!!!!!!!!

Shannon Hauser loved summer vacation. She and her siblings had been off of school since the beginning of the month and her parents had allowed her and her older brother Daniel to visit their friends Alayna and Chris Hardy in Texas. Their other friends, Kaelin and Cole Parker, who lived in Phoenix, Arizona, were also visiting for a few days, so the six teenagers were having a blast at the Hardy's sprawling ranch, riding horses, wandering around town, and enjoying traditional Texas barbecues almost every night. And the best part was, neither Shannon nor Danny had to worry about baby-sitting their three younger siblings for the next two weeks.

"I kinda feel bad that Abby, Beth, and David couldn't come along too," Shannon told her friends that afternoon as they were riding their horses through the woods on the Hardy property.

"Yeah, same here," Alayna said. "But they aren't supposed to get out of school until the end of the week."

"Sucks for them," Chris said.

"I wonder why they get out so late though," Cole wondered out loud. "All of us got out three weeks ago."

"They started school two weeks after us," Kaelin reminded him. "And they got a week off in February that none of us got. If anything, they have the sweeter end of the deal."

"Ah, here we are," Chris said suddenly, as the group arrived in a clearing. They had all planned a picnic in the woods for lunch that day and rode their respective horses there, after Chris and Alayna had shown Shannon, Danny, Kaelin, and Cole how to load their horse with supplies to travel.

After everyone had dismounted their horses, Chris and Alayna took care to tie each of the horses to trees along the perimeter of the clearing while the other four teenagers set about setting up blankets and spreading out the assortment of sandwiches, snacks, and drinks they had brought with them.

"It's so peaceful out here," Shannon commented as soon as they all settled down and started to eat.

"Yeah, that's why we like this spot," Alayna told her. "Sometimes I'll come out here when I'm not having a good day just to be alone and to calm myself down."

"You're lucky to have all this property, too," Danny told her. "We just have our dinky little backyard in Atlanta. We only have our trees to hide in."

"Yeah, well at least your backyard isn't bordered by cacti," Kaelin told him. "All we have is the cactus garden and a ten-foot concrete fence to keep the coyotes out."

"Oh, lovely," Shannon said sarcastically.

"Shh!" Danny said suddenly. "Did you guys hear that?"

Chris gave him a confused look. "Hear what?"

"Just listen for a sec," Danny told them.

The six of them became very silent as they listened carefully for any sounds in the woods. Shannon could hear something heading towards them very slowly. She nodded to her brother and whispered, "What do you think it is?"

"I don't know," he whispered.

"Could be an animal," Chris said quietly.

"Just to be on the safe side, maybe we should pack this stuff up-" Danny was cut off by the sound of the horses kicking up and neighing loudly at something near them. Shannon and Danny, as skilled martial artists, immediately took a defensive stance, standing back to back as they scanned the area around them. Chris and Alayna slowly made their way towards the horses in an attempt to calm them down. They didn't make it far, however, as they were quickly surrounded by a group of masked men. Shannon and Danny started fighting the men off, but stood down when they saw their friends had already been taken prisoner.

"I would not continue fighting if I were you," said a voice laced with a heavy Eastern European accent.

The friends all turned towards the direction of the voice, but before they could get a glimpse of their would be captor, they were surrounded by a brilliant flash of white light.

!!!!!!!!

"Hallie, these pictures came out amazing!" Carla Greer said, as she looked as a stack of photographs her friend Hallie Armbruster had taken. Hallie was an amateur photographer and almost always had her camera with her. These particular pictures had been taken at a recent sweet sixteen party their friends Abby, Beth, and Dave had held in New York.

"That's what I said when I developed them," Hallie told her. "Even our parents look good in these pictures. And I never thought that would be possible." Carla got a good laugh as she finished flipping through the pictures and then handed them back to her friend, who placed them in one of the shopping bags at her feet.

Hallie Armbruster and Carla Greer didn't get an opportunity to spend much time together during the school year, even though they only lived an hour away from each other. However, now that school had ended, the two best friends had spent at least two days each week with one another.

On this particular afternoon, Hallie had gone up to Carla's house in Concord, MA, just a quick hour's drive from her own home in Woonsocket, RI. From Carla's house, the pair had decided to spend the day in Quincy Market in Boston, twenty-five minutes from Carla's house. Quincy Market was a large outdoor market encompassing a two-block area, with hundreds of shops and restaurants just across the street from the New England Aquarium.

"You know, this is just the kind of afternoon we needed," Hallie said, leaning back in the restaurant chair she was sitting in. The two girls had stopped at a little outdoor café for lunch, where each of them had ordered a grilled chicken caesar salad and a glass of water.

"Yeah," Carla agreed. "Nice, relaxing, no homework…" she let her voice trail off as a grin spread across her face. Carla had started attending the prestigious Phillips Academy Andover at the start of ninth grade, and although she thought it was a good school academically, she couldn't stand most of the kids she went to school with. She had some other friends there who were day students like her, but most of the boarding students drove her crazy, especially Cassandra Fairborne, who she had known practically since birth.

"And most of all, no Cassandra," Hallie finished for her. Hallie also knew Cassandra. The girls had all known each other since birth, as their parents had all had long careers in the military and all had served with the G.I. Joe team before it had been disbanded. The former Joes still kept in touch with one another and as a result, their children had all become close friends.

Cassandra was the only child of Alison and Dashiell Fairborne who now lived in Fort Meade in Maryland and still worked with the military. Her parents were often on assignment for the government and as a result, she spent a great deal of time with her rich grandmother on Martha's Vineyard. It was her grandmother who paid for her to attend Andover and it was from her grandmother that she learned how to live like a high society child. Carla, Hallie, and all the other Joes' children couldn't stand her snobbiness and condescending attitude. However, Carla always got to see it firsthand because she dealt with Cassandra on an almost daily basis during the school year.

"And thank God for that," Carla said with a smile. "If everything works out the way I want it too, I won't have to see her for the next three months."

"Which leaves the two of us to go ahead and do our shopping in peace and quiet," Hallie told her.

The waiter arrived then and left their check on the table. The two girls fished inside their purses for the money, left it on the table, and continued strolling around the market.

Suddenly, Hallie saw a man run up to her and snatch her purse right off her shoulder. "What the- hey!" she exclaimed. Hallie took after the man, running as fast as her legs could carry her even though she was wearing sandals with one-and-a-half inch heels on them.

"Wait, Hallie!" Carla yelled after her. Carla followed after her, as the man turned into an alleyway. Both girls stopped in the alleyway. The man had dropped out of sight. However, Hallie's purse was strangely sitting in the middle of the alley, abandoned and looking completely out of place.

"That was weird," Hallie said, walking over to where her purse sat and looking through it to make sure nothing was taken.

"Is everything there?" Carla asked.

"Yeah, looks like it," Hallie said.

"Well, that is good," said a third, unfamiliar male voice.

The girls turned around to face the man, but instead, were greeted by a bright white light.

!!!!!!!!

Cassandra Fairborne loved her daily walks across campus. She had chosen to stay at Andover for the first summer session to get an extra class out of the way to free up her schedule for field hockey season next term. She loved how spacious and green the campus was, with trees and flowers lining almost every path and inviting everybody to admire them.

It wasn't like her to stray off from her daily path, but today she felt like cutting through the woods to get to the dining hall across campus. It would be a nice change of scenery and allow her to see a part of campus she hadn't had the chance to explore during her previous two years at Andover.

The woods provided a nice escape from her schoolwork and smelled of tiger lilies and honeysuckle. She was so entranced by her natural surroundings that she never heard or saw the man coming right at her. All she saw was the bright flash of light in her eyes.

!!!!!!!!

Aaron Ito, known to all his friends and his casting agent as A.J., had always loved the summer. It gave him time to work more extensively on his martial arts training and gave him more time to go on auditions for television shows and movies.

On this particular afternoon, he had been auditioning for a commercial for McDonald's at a casting agency near his home in North Hollywood, CA. He had gotten out of the audition earlier than he anticipated and decided to wander around the neighborhood before his father picked him up. There was a tiny community park there, which had a little pond and bridge overlooking it. He walked over to the bridge, and stood looking over the pond. He noticed a man come up to stand next to him, but said nothing to him.

"It's a lovely view, isn't it?" the man said to A.J.

"Yeah, it's pretty nice," A.J. told him. "It's peaceful. It's kind of a contrast to the rest of the city."

"Well, enjoy this, because it's the most peace you'll have in a long time," the man told him.

"What's that supposed to mean?" A.J. asked suspiciously, turning to face the man.

FLASH! A.J.'s answer came in the form of an engulfing white light.

!!!!!!!!

Emily Kasnebogen loved everything about living in Minnesota. Well, except for the length of the winter. She liked the cold, but she wished it didn't last quite so long. But other than that, she loved it. During the summer, it was warm and comfortable, providing the perfect weather to play street hockey with her younger brother, walk through the park with her boyfriend, and play soccer with her best friends from school.

What made everything seem even better now, was that Emily was out of school for the summer and could spend every day basking in the warm glow of the sunshine, swimming in her best friend Amy's pool, and generally doing whatever she felt like doing each and every day for three months.

Emily was walking to a park near her house in Duluth, MN to join her friends Amy, Julie, and Kathy. They had decided to rent paddleboats for the afternoon and paddle around Lake Superior, which separated where they were in Minnesota and the city of Superior, WI. It was something the girls had wanted to do for months and now that all of them had a free afternoon, they had decided to take advantage of the sunny weather and do it.

On her way to the park, Emily saw a poor little old man struggling with a load of packages. She felt bad for the man, who appeared to be in his late sixties, and she went over to offer him some help. He accepted it gratefully and she followed him to his apartment a block away, carrying some of his bags. Once he had unlocked his door, he allowed Emily to go inside first, directing her to put the bags down on the dining room table. He thanked Emily for her help, and, just before she turned to leave, tried to give her a five-dollar bill. "No, you don't have too," Emily insisted.

"Oh, I insist," the man told her.

"No, really, I couldn't," Emily said.

"Well, how about this," the man said, as he pulled out what appeared to be a pen from the pocket of his sport coat. Before Emily had a chance to ask him why he was giving her a pen, he pushed down on the top and a white light surrounded Emily where she stood.

!!!!!!!!

Anna Lisa Pine, Annie as her friends knew her, was looking forward to her vacation in Maryland. Her friends, Alicia and Matt Hinton, lived in Columbia, MD, just outside of Baltimore, and they'd invited her to spend a week with them while her father was on a business trip in Washington DC. She'd been on this trip before, leaving behind her Rocky Mountain view in her Fort Collins, CO home to go to a home near the Inner Harbor in Baltimore, but she liked the smell of the harbor, watching the boats come in and out and walking around the different shops and sampling the fresh fish from restaurants in the area.

She knew that Alicia and Matt were going to meet her at the Baltimore-Washington International Airport and now that Alicia had her driver's license, she could drive to the airport on her own without having to rely on her father. Once she and her father stepped off the airplane, they made their way down to the baggage claim area, where she met up with her two friends.

The girls squealed as soon as they saw one another and exchanged hugs with one another. Annie then turned and gave Matt a hug as well. Annie's dad smiled at the exchange. "Well, I'm happy that you kids are so happy," he quipped.

"Hi, Mr. Pine," Alicia said kindly.

"Hey, Mr. P," Matt said.

"Hey, kids," he said. "I hope it's no trouble to have Annie here for a few days."

"Not at all," Alicia said. "My basketball camp doesn't start for another two weeks so I'll be around and Matt's basketball camp doesn't start for another week. We'll both be around to show her all the sights and we can both check out that new mall that just opened up."

"There's a new mall?" Annie asked. "Didn't you already have two of them around here?"

"Three, but this one you'll definitely love. There's this really cool outdoors store in there that specializes in stuff for hiking and camping and rafting…" Alicia let her voice trail off as she saw the sparkle that entered Annie's eyes. If there was one thing on earth that Annie adored, it was anything that dealt with the outdoors.

"We are so there!" Annie exclaimed.

"You have to leave the airport first sweetheart," her father reminded her.

"Oh, yeah. Okay, I'll see you later dad," Annie told him.

He gave her a little kiss on the cheek. "I'll see you soon, hon." Her father then walked away from the teenagers, heading off towards the rental car stand while the kids gathered Annie's suitcase and headed off to the parking lot.

"Geez, it's hot out here," Annie commented as she stepped outside.

"Well, wearing jeans wasn't such a hot idea, was it?" Matt teased, pointing out her choice of clothing for the day.

"It was cold at home. I'll just have to change when I get to your house," Annie told him. "I just hope the car isn't too hot."

"It better not be," Annie said with a grin. "I got a space in the parking garage."

As the trio neared Alicia's Toyota Camry, they saw a strange man lurking in the shadows near the car.

"Who the hell…?" Annie asked, bewildered and confused.

"Welcome to the first day of the rest of your lives," the man's voice said darkly. He was fiddling with something in his hands.

"Who are you?" Annie asked, feeling a little frightened, but desperately trying not to let the man know it.

The response came in the form of a violently bright white flash of light.

!!!!!!!!