Fourth chapter, the FAYZ start in P beach. Give opinions please!
"And I went to the shop assistant and-". Alex looked up as she heard a gasp. She looked at Amy, who was
staring at the space next to Alex, gaping. Alex turned and blinked once. And again. And once more. A moment
ago Danielle had been sitting right beside her, blabbing on about some irrelevant thing that happened to her.
But she was no longer there. She was simply...not. "Say... did Dany leave?" Asked Charlotte, more to Alex than
to any of the other girls. Before Alex could answer, another girl, Ruth said, "Hey, Elise's gone too". They started
hearing voices outside. Amy got up and headed for the door. The rest of the girls followed out of the changing
rooms. As soon as they opened the door they came face to face with the boys from their class. Alex spotted
Lance and walked towards him. He was talking with a 7th grader, who waved his arms excitedly in the air, his
eyes gleaming with enthusiasm as he told the older boy something. As she walked up to the boy, she caught on
the conversation. "-disappeared. All the teachers! School's out, man!" "I have no reception" A girl behind Alex
said, moving around, staring at her phone. Lance kept talking to the boy. "What do you mean?" "I mean that. We
were in maths class, right? And, I was up at the blackboard, right? The teacher was telling me off for not doing
my homework and suddenly, he disappeared. Like that!" He said, snapping his fingers in front of his face. Lance
stared at him wearily. Luke, the guy standing closest to him seemed to take the news better. "No teachers? You
serious, man? Let's check it out!" And he ran up the stairs, towards the main corridor, most of the kids following
behind. Only Lance and Alex were left behind. "Come on, I want to hear the explanation for this." The boy said.
Alex shook her head, staring at the changing rooms. "The teachers aren't the only one's missing. Danielle and
Elise too. And they were in the changing rooms Lance. This is... I'm scared." The boy walked up to her and put an
arm on her shoulder, giving her a reassuring smile. "It'll be ok, don't worry. I'm sure there's a logical explanation
to this all". He grabbed her hand. But, as soon as he touched her, she yanked it away and rushed passed him.
'The idiot. Here I am, scared something serious is going on and all he thinks about is using this situation to flirt.
Gotta love puberty' She thought, angrily. She was so fired up she almost bumped into someone as she came up
the stairs. That someone was Astrid Ellison. Astrid the Genius. Alex cringed. She didn't like Astrid. Well, no, a
more appropriate way of putting it was that she was jealous of her. She had it all: Looks, attitude, and brains to
go with it. Alex wasn't ugly. That wasn't the thing. It wasn't Astrid's beauty, but her attitude, the way she was
always so sure of herself, what Alex envied. But Astrid looked different today. She looked deeply concerned. And
this frightened Alex. What could worry Astrid the Genius? Alex then turned as she saw Quinn. "Alex, have you
seen any adults?" Alex was shocked at the way Quinn spoke. His usually cheerful and joky tone was serious,
worried. "No. They disappeared. So did some students. And we have no signal,and" It was then Alex heard. "Are
those car alarms?" Sam nodded. "Yeah. We're going downstairs to check the teachers lounge, see if there's
anyone there. Want to come?" Alex turned and, without a word to Lance, followed the other three kids. But there
had been no one there. And Quinn had started to freak out. Even Astrid had lost her cool. And now there they
were, watching what was left of Quinn's tranquillity disappear as he cried in desperation. "No, wait, maybe she's
in your house, Lex. Maybe she's there. Your mum and mine, they hang out a lot, since we're neighbours, right?
She could be there?" And without another word he shot out the door to the house next door. Alex wanted to
follow. But at the same time didn't. She couldn't face it. She just couldn't. What if this had all been her fault?
What if she had pushed this ability of hers a little too far? It was Astrid who left next, leading the way for the
other two. Sam followed her, deep in thought, fearing the same thing Alex did: that he had caused this. Alex felt
a knot in her throat as they finished inspecting, as her calls for her mother died in the darkness of the hallway.
She wasn't there. She was just...gone.
Next it was Astrid's house which, to everyone's surprise, Sam knew. Well, to Astrid's surprise. Alex hadn't read
Sam, but it didn't take a genius to know Sam was crazy about Astrid. But, for some reason, that struck Alex as
odd.
Astrid's house had been empty too. But there was an even bigger problem than that. "Where's your little
brother?" Asked Sam. Astrid yelled then, shocking all of them. "I don't know, alright?I don't know where he is!"
She immediately covered her mouth. "Call to him" Quinn suggested, embarrassed by his outburst. Alex could feel
it. She pushed it away, turned her power off. She had learnt how to control the empathy quite well by now. But
the telepathy...she shook her head. "He wouldn't respond, right?" Astrid nodded at the girl. "Exactly. He's
severely autistic. He barely relates to the world." They searched but couldn't find any trace of the boy. "Let's
keep moving. Don't worry Astrid, we'll find him". "Is that meant to be a pro forma reassurance or a specific
commitment". "Sorry?" Both Sam and Alex asked at the same time. Astrid shook her head. "No, I'm sorry. What I
meant was, will you help me?". "Sure". At this point Astrid seemed like she was actually going to break down.
And Quinn, always so joyful, was acting dull. Alex felt very awkward. She didn't know what to do. The only one
who seemed to be pulling it together was Sam, yet he also seemed like he was worried. Then it dawned on her.
"Sam...we haven't been to your house yet." He nodded and led the way.
On the way there, they came across two kids who asked Alex what they should do. She stared, unknowingly.
Sam told them to eat some junk food and head down to town plaza. However, Astrid didn't seem to agree.
"That's your solution? Have a cookie?"
"No, my solution is to run down to the beach and hide out till this is all over." Sam answered. "But a cookie never
hurts". "I'm up for both, actually" Said Alex, in an attempt to lighten up the mood. Astrid just stared at her and
started walking. Sam smiled softly at Alex and started walking too.
"This is it. We don't really believe in showing off, mum and I". Alex then felt Sam's uneasiness and couldn't help
but putting her hand on his shoulder, reassuringly. The boy turned to look at her, a weary smile on his face. She
had intended to use her empathy power on him, to calm him. But, as she activated her power and they made eye
contact, something very different happened. Her vision suddenly became blurry, her thoughts no longer clear.
She saw the house, saw two adults. They were fighting. And then, a beam of green light. Screams. Darkness. A
ball of light. Alex pulled back instinctively, struggling to catch her breath. Sam's expression changed, worried. But
he had felt it. "Hey, are you ok, Lex?"Asked Quinn, steadying her. Quinn was taller than Alex, and was quite
strong, so it wasn't too hard for him to catch her. Alex nodded, looking away, looking at Astrid, at Quinn, anyone
but Sam. "I'm sorry. I...I guess I'm beginning to catch up on the situation. Sorry Sam. Didn't mean to shock you."
He nodded, and turned to the door, the rest following. But, how could Alex follow? The kid in front of her could
shoot green lazars from his hands. Could she trust Sam?
"Maybe she's up the hill?" Suggested Quinn, referring to Coates. "No, it wasn't time for her shift yet." "Nurse
Temple" Alex murmured, in realization. Sam nodded, "Yeah, how do you know?" Alex shook her head dismissively.
"My mum has been up to Coates a few times for work. She's a doctor" She lied. She wasn't ready to say Andrew
was there. Andrew...was he alright?
Apart from a weird e-mail, they found nothing in Sam's house, so they headed for Town Plaza. Connie Temple's
e-mail had confused everyone, but Alex knew what she meant. Or at least she knew what she meant by 'C' being
dangerous. She didn't know names, but she knew many kids at Coates were like her. So...maybe it hadn't been
her, after all.
Screams. Smoke. Fire. It all happened in a blur. Sam went in. He went into the burning building. Alex saw Edilio
and a few others run to the hardware store. She didn't hesitate. "I want to help" She blurted at Edilio. He looked
at her, doubting her strength. "I...I don't think you-" "Look, I may not look like much, but I do martial arts and
windsurfing. Believe me, I can handle it. Now, qué quieres que haga(What do you want me to do)?" Edilio blinked
but smiled at hearing his language. "Grab this end, pull, and help me and this dude bring it out". As she had
promised, and to both Edilio and the other guys' surprise, she was able to take it. As soon as they got there,
Edilio dropped the hose and went over to pull Sam out. Alex grabbed the hose and started shooting water at the
burning building, another two sets of hoses doing the same. Edilio then motioned for her to bring it over. They
splashed his face. Nothing. "He's going to need oxygen. I'm going to get some. Wake him" Alex instructed.
"How?" Astrid demanded. Alex stared at her, incredulous. "Slap him, duh!" She did and then pulled the mask over
the boys face, after he was sick on the pavement. But Alex saw none of this. She lay beside the little girl, trying
to get a pulse, trying to hear a thought, trying to feel something. Nothing. She was dead. Alex closed her eyes,
trying hard not to let it get to her.
The rest of the day went by too slowly. Alex had been dwelling on whether to go up to Coates or not. But, when
she had finally decided to go, she had bumped into Emma. "Alex! I'm so glad to see you! Where are you going?
It's dangerous to head off alone now!" Alex got off the bike. "Yeah, I know but...listen, Em, I haven't been very
sincere to you guys lately. I-" "You're right. You haven't. You seemed to have decided the stuck up bunch were
better friends than us" She glared slightly. Alex sighed, looking at the floor. "Let her talk, Emma" It was Anna, the
other twin. Alex turned to them. "Andrew was sent to Coates." They both stared at her. "But, you said he-" "I
lied. I didn't want people to know. And, well, I guess I needed to be alone, to pull away for a while. I...I'm sorry
guys. I should've told you" The twins exchanged glances and Anna moved forward and hugged Alex tightly.
Emma looked away, towards the motor way. "Do you think...?" The other two girls shifted uncomfortably. Emma
shook it off. "It's the least of our worries now, anyway. Let's go back to Town Plaza for now, ok?" And they
headed back.
When they got to Town Plaze, the twins headed to the day care. Alex was going to follow, but she spotted
Astrid. She still wasn't a fan, but she decided the girl probably needed some comforting. "Hey. Did you-" "No. I
can't find him anywhere." They both went over to where Sam and Quinn were sitting. As they sat, Sam said
something that made Alex want to laugh and cry at the same time. "This is like the world's worst picnic". "I
believe that's what's called gallows humour" Both boys stared blankly at Astrid, whereas Alex looked away in
frustration. Why? Why couldn't she talk like a normal person? "Sorry, I have this annoying tendency of analysing
what people say. You'll either get used to it or decide you can't stand me."
"I'm leaning towards option 2" Quinn muttered. "What's gallows humour?" Asked Sam. And then, before Astrid
could say it, Alex said " Jokes you make when you're scared, kind of" Astrid blinked and smiled. "Yes, that's a way
of putting it." Then she added. "Other people, though, instead of joking, turn pedantic. And, in case you don't
know what that means, the dictionary uses me as an example." 'You sure got that right' Alex thought. Astrid
looked up at her. "Did you say something?" Alex looked at the two boys who looked at Astrid. "No?" Astrid
nodded. Alex felt a huge urge to slap herself. She had to learn to control her power.
They looked up to Sam. They all did. As they walked off, to look for Pette, kids would stop him, ask him what they
should do. Alex decided she had made the right choice sticking with them. Then she remembered. "Hey, I've got
something to do. Start heading. Catch you in a bit" And without a reply, Alex turned and left. Now that she ahd
told the twins, she didn't want to just wonder off. To her surprise, though, when she came back, she found Sam,
Quinn and Astrid had been stopped. Stopped by no other than Howard. She approached them. "What's going
on?" Sam looked like he was loosing his patience. Howard turned and smiled cockily at Alex. "Oh, wait, don't tell
me. She's going to be cheering Astrid on while you two dumb surfers teach her how to surf?" "We're going to go
now Howard" Said Sam, through gritted teeth. Alex felt uneasy for a moment, but Howard let them go. It was a
quiet walk. Sam walked ahead, Astrid by his side. Quinn and Alex walked behind. She looked at him from the
corner of her eye just a few days ago they had gone out together, for a pizza, had a great time. That afternoon
felt so old now. Quinn turned to her. "You alright?" But the tone of his voice said something more of the likes of
"Why are you staring at me?" Alex nodded and tried to make him feel better. "I've heard Clifftop's got amazing
suits that cost a fortune and have all sorts of luxuries. Luckily for us, we don't have to pay" She winked at him.
He smiled wearily. How could he not? He liked Alex. A lot. And, even though the world had officially gone crazy,
she was still there. And so was Sam, his best friend. He had to keep it together. No more outbursts like the one
back in his house. He looked up in front of him, at the back of his best friends head. Why go into a house on fire?
Why be a hero? It wasn't Quinn's fault if he was the only one left with some comon sense. He was glad Alex was
still speaking to him. He had worried she had lost interest in him after his null participation in extinguishing the
fire.