ALBERT

I swung my arm backwards; ready to throw another punch at the guy standing in front of me. Just as my arm began to fly forward, the guy began to drop to the floor, and my perfectly aimed punch missed his head by inches.

What the hell is going on? He curled himself into a ball, thumb in mouth, ready to sleep. I looked around. Everyone was slowly retreating to the floor as well, faces softening, eyes falling. Where was Sam? And Drew? Sam was fast asleep on the grown, cuddling a guy in a frat sweater. I noticed a blonde head of hair - Astrid – sleeping on the ground, huddled up beside Drew and Diana.

I was the only one still standing, so I dropped to the ground to blend in. I kept my eyes open, focused on the horizon left between the dark sky and the resting bodies beside me.

Who in the hell? Out of the corner of my eye, I spotted a man walking into the open field of the park. A ratty old sweater masked his face, but I noticed he was carrying a small paper note delicately in his hands. He walked to the center of the fight, slowly approaching me, examining sleeping faces as he passed. It reminded me of all those horror movies I used to watch, where the killer looked over his victim, appraising his work. My heart was racing, and I tried to maintain calm, easy breathing as he came closer. Think sleepy, think tired… Why can't I just be asleep?

The man dropped the note by my feet. I held my breath. He walked away, as slowly as before, and just as he reached the edge of the park clearing, he snapped his fingers.

Everyone around me began to move. I grabbed the note and began reading.

My stomach dropped. "Listen up everyone! Stop! Stop talking and listen!" People began to notice me, the only one who had stood up.

"Did you do this?"

"Who is this guy?"

"Wasn't he in those Mc Donald's commercials?"

"Okay, everyone SHUT UP!" Edilio yelled. Everyone listened.

"Someone left a note here after they put us all to sleep. I just read it. It doesn't sound good."

I read the note aloud:

Divide amongst powers won't fight the real enemy. Remember what horrors first brought you these gifts. Remember why.

The park grew silent.

"What the fuck does that mean?" A girl with long blonde hair stood up in front of me, her hands on her hips, eyes ablaze.

Astrid stood up as well, but with much less attitude. "I think it has something to do with a new gaiaphage. I think it means we should be focusing on him, not on each other."

Drew looked Astrid up and down, and stood up immediately beside her. She smiled a creepy, shark-toothed grin. "And how can we be certain you didn't do this? Why were you awake when we were all asleep?"

I thought about this for a minute. "Why would I make this all up? And I have no fucking clue why I wasn't affected."

Diana walked over to me. She put her hand on my shoulder. I tried to inch my way out of her grip, but she held on tighter. "Congrats Berto! You're a 4 bar!"

Jackson looked confused. "A what?"

Diana rolled her eyes. "A 4 bar. Out of 4. Meaning he's got powers." Jackson still looked confused. Diana spoke slowly and smiled brightly with a mocking sweetness. "Albert no feel powers!"

Everyone was silent. Around 30 pairs of eyes were on me. The attention made me nervous. I hadn't been so in the spotlight since the first few months after the FAYZ.

"Hold still, Albert." Sam said. He stood in front of me with his hands out, shaking.

I held my hands up. "Whoa Sam I am not ready to die." Sam didn't put his arms down. "Look man I'm sorry I ate your PopTarts the other day it was a mistake…" His hands were still out, and everyone was looking on expectantly. "Please just—"

The bright green beam shot out of Sam's hands.

I closed my eyes, preparing for an imminent death. I prayed a little, looked over my life choices, got a little emotional when I realized how many chicks I wouldn't get to bang.

A minute passed. I opened one eye. Then the other. Everyone was still standing around me, Sam's arms still raised. I looked down, and there was no gaping hole in my stomach. "It's a miracle!" I exclaimed weakly. The blonde girl front and center let out a loud laugh.

Quinn stood up. "So what does this mean for all of us?"

Astrid's eyes glazed over, and I realized this was probably the second time this week that we had broken her. "It means we all have work to do, together."

Drew walked over to Astrid and extended her arm with a sharp grin. "I'll allow peace, if it's what we need to defeat this gaiaphage. But if anyone crosses me—"

Astrid shook her hand, cutting off her speech. "You'll make us sorry, we get it, Drew." She looked around at the rest of us, the Fayzians left in the crowd. "Just like old times, right?" She gave a small grin.

No one returned the smile.