>> Fireflies >> By: Branch >> Preface-Chapter 9

PURPLE
> Annabelle Marie Jones - Branch
> Crystal Mallory - Alternate of Anna/Branch

BLUE
> Lauren Smith - Vixen
> Arianna Sansbury - Alternate of Lauren/Vixen

RED
> Rebecca Lillian - Runa
> Lily Locks - Alternate of Rebecca/Runa

GREEN
> Jacob Night - Jacob
> Alexander Hilltree - Alternate of Jacob

GRAY
> Daniel Sacher - Socky
> Jeremy Sift - Alternate of Daniel/Socky

BLACK
> David Ackerman - Suburbia
> Zeke - Alternate of David/Suburbia

Though the kids of the infamous Roleplay-Central don’t know it yet, they’re part of a special species, appropriately nicknamed, “Fireflies”. Basically, each member of this special species glows their own color, and they are able to grow wings, hence their nickname. They were experimented on by the government, and only become aware of these abilities when they turn thirteen. It’s completely unsafe to have all of these children together, their powers would mix together and overload, risking death for them all. When faced with experiments gone wrong, similar to the “Fireflies”, but instead, nicknamed the “Wasps”, the government turns to the kids, knowing fully that it risks the kids lives.

“Annabelle Marie Jones! Go to your room, now, or I’ll put you there myself!” I huffed, glaring pointedly my crying little sister, who was sitting on my mother’s hip, her face buried in my mother’s side. I hadn’t kicked her that hard, honestly, at least.. I didn’t think at the time that it had been that hard. I glared past them at the sign that was strung above the kitchen table, which read; Happy 13th Birthday Anna!
I stomped up to my room, slamming the door behind me. I plopped down on the edge of my bed, yanking my laptop off the nightstand and pulling it open. When my computer finally loaded, I went straight to my favorite website; Roleplay-Central, otherwise known as RPC.

Branch has logged into the Chatbox.
Vixen has logged into the Chatbox.
Socky has logged into the Chatbox.
Rebecca has logged into the Chatbox.
Jacob has logged into the Chatbox.
Suburbia has logged into the Chatbox.

Branch: I think that this has officially been the worst birthday of my life. -.-” I didn’t kick my sister that hard!

Vixen: I’d say ‘Happy Birthday’, but it didn’t sound that happy.. I’m sorry! =/

Socky: YOU REALLY KICKED YOUR SISTER? :D

Suburbia: YOUR SISTER GOT PWN’D! ;D

Rebecca: .. You shouldn’t promote violence..

Jacob: It’s too late for that, now isn’t it?

Branch: Knock it off! I can’t stay in a terrible mood around you cheerful freaks! D:

Vixen: GOOD! HAPPY BIRTHDAY. ENJOY IT OR DIE. =)

Socky: HAPPY BIRTHDAY! I won’t steal your soul today, just because it’s your special day. ;)

Suburbia: HAPPY BIRTHDAY, BRANCHIE!

Rebecca: Happy Birthday, Branch! =) It’ll be better later, I’m sure.

Jacob: =) Happy Birthday!

Branch: =D THANK YOU FOR YOUR BIRTHDAY WISHES, DEATH THREATS AND MORE.

I scowled at the ceiling, clicking my tongue in distaste as the lights started to flicker on and off. I looked outside, shocked to see that the once calm, slightly humid summer night had turned into a storm, complete with thunder and lightning. I frowned as the lights flickered again, then completely died out. I watched the ceiling, noticing that their was light cast from something other that my laptop, something that reminded me of a glow-in-the-dark bracelet.
Confused, I glanced down at my arms, which seemed to be the source of the light. All my veins were visible, a bright purple glow from beneath my skin. I glanced at the computer screen, and saw that nobody had talked since the power-outage, which understandably would effect Jacob, because he lived in Oregon, the state right under mine, but everybody else?

Branch: Uhm. I have a question. Was there a power-outage anywhere else?

Vixen: How’d you know? ..

Rebecca: .. Maybe ..
Jacob: Yeah..

Suburbia: .. Yes.

Socky: .. Stalker ..

Branch: I have another question.

Vixen: Anybody else glowing?

Branch: .. Yeah.

Socky: .. Stalker ..

Suburbia: .. KINDA ..

Jacob: .. Sorta ..

Rebecca: Yes, yes there is a very high possibility that my veins are glowing.

I sat on the couch, staring at the turned off television. I was grounded, therefore not allowed to do anything remotely fun. I wasn’t allowed to watch television, or use my laptop, two rules which I would break as soon as I got the chance.
“Annabelle! It’s for you,” I could tell my mom was confused, just by the tone of her voice. I got up, huffing, and took the phone from her. I put it to my ear, biting the inside of my cheek out of habit.
“Hello?” I asked, raising my eyebrows curiously.
“I’m going to tell you something important, but you need to go upstairs to your bedroom, okay?” I frowned at the boy-ish voice on the other end, but obeyed, running up to my bedroom and shutting the door.
“Who are you, and what in the heck do you want?” I snapped, staring out my bedroom window. I wasn’t in the mood for secretiveness, I just wanted to know what was going on, and now.
“Last night, it was your thirteenth birthday, correct?” He asked, his voice sounding excited, but slightly worried.
“Stalker! Who are you?” I demanded, my heart beating a little faster.
“Anna, something odd happened last night, didn’t it? You glowed, when the power went out,” He informed me matter-of-factly.
“H-how do you k-know that?” I demanded, fearful now. I’d sworn, along with everybody else on the Roleplay-Central Chatbox last night, that nobody needed to know about what had happened.
“Annabelle Marie Jones, you’re special. You’ve been chosen by the government to go on a special mission, along with everybody else from last night, on RPC,” He explained, a smile in his voice, “You’re going to get a paper delivered today that says you’ve been chosen for a special summer program, and we’ll pick you up in a half an hour, got it?”
I nodded, even though I knew whoever was on the other end couldn’t hear me. “Er.. Y-yeah. But, wait, I didn’t catch your name!” I exclaimed, ready to have a heart-attack.
“My name’s Jared McCabe,” He replied, before shutting the phone off.
I kept the phone to my ear for a moment, before setting it down. I jumped when I heard a knock at the door, and slid down the banister, yanking open the door.
There stood a brown-haired man, in his twenties, I’d guess. I took the paper from him cautiously, watching him, he smiled and winked at me.
“See you later, Miss Jones,” He whispered, his accent something I couldn’t pick out. With that, he blinked, and disappeared from sight.
I shut the door, and sprinted to my mom, “Hey, Mom! I’ve been chosen for a special summer program with other kids my age! Look!” I lied casually, my heart still beating rapidly as I handed her the paper.
She sighed and signed it, “Here, you go fill it out, quickly, now, they’ll be here soon to pick you up it says,” Her voice sounded full of relief, probably because I’d be gone for the whole entire summer, and not be able to pick on my sister.
I took it from her, and went up to my room to fill it out. I scribbled in my name, and blinked when I got to a question that asked about what color I glowed. I shook my head in disbelief, filling it in quickly.
I dug in the back of my closet, fishing out my backpack, and started shoving all my clothes in it. I fetched my toothbrush, and other necessities out of the bathroom, and finally finished the packing by carefully setting my laptop inside.
I jumped when I heard the doorbell ring, and slipped on my backpack and shoes, sprinting down the stairs. I opened it carefully, and blinked. In front of my door stood a boy with choppy auburn hair, and stunning blue eyes. He held out his hand, and I took it, shaking hands with him.
“Jared McCabe, pleasure to meet you,” He grinned, showing his seemingly perfect white teeth.
“Annabelle Marie Jones, nice to meet you to,” I said, dazed.
I looked up at the older man next to him, who was tall, and almost unbelievably skinny. He smiled at me, and held out his hand for me to shake as well.
“Mr. Harrison, I’m one of the government’s agents,” He explained, smiling kindly. “C’mon, we need to get a move on so we can go get..” He pulled out a piece of paper and read the names one by one, “Lauren, Rebecca, Jacob, Daniel, and David,” He led me towards the car, no, the limo.
I hopped in, setting my backpack by my feet. Jared sat down next to me, and grinned sheepishly at me.
“Alright, next stop- Jacob!”

Lauren giggled, peering past me and looking at Jared, who was staring out the window.
“I betcha a million bucks he likes yo-” Lauren started, cut off when I slapped my hand over her mouth.
“SHUDDUP! Don‘t you dare finish that sentence,” I snapped, scoffing, “He doesn’t, and I have proof,”
Lauren looked at me, unbelieving, “Okay, then show me your proof!”
“You can’t see it,” I said seriously, “It’s invisible, duh!” I grinned as she cuffed me over the head.
Rebecca was sitting, her arms crossed and chin up, “I hope you all know I don’t want to be here,”
“YES, REBECCA, WE DO!” Danny replied loudly, pulling on her hair lightly, and causing her to yelp and glare pointedly.
Jacob and David both laughed, high-fiving Danny. David’s eyes shown with admiration, he knew he’d never, ever mess with Rebecca like that. He bit his lip and ducked his head as soon as Rebecca glared at him. If looks could kill, David would be dead in an instant.
“Quiet!” Mr. Harrison shouted, glancing back at us, “We’re here,” He added, lowering his voice, glancing back at us, irritated.
Jared stifled his laughter, glanced from Mr. Harrison to Lauren and I, grinning. I rolled my eyes, grinning back at him. Lauren poked me, blinking innocently, but smiling triumphantly at me.
“Shuddup,” I snapped, glaring at her.
“I didn’t say anything!” Lauren exclaimed, holding her hands up in mock surrender.
“You didn’t have to say it, I could tell, just by the look on your face!” I hissed, cuffing her over the head/
Jared watched us, bewildered, “What are you guys, insane?” Jared teased, laughing, and completely ignoring the ranting Mr. Harrison that was trying to get us out of the car.
Mr. Harrison yanked open the door, glaring at Jared. He jumped up, scrambling out of the car.
“Sorry, Mr. Harrison, I was distracted,” Jared said, standing up completely straight and watching Mr. Harrison carefully.
Mr. Harrison sighed, “Keep yourself in check, agent. You can’t afford to be distracted, especially with the risk,” Mr. Harrison looked seriously at Jared, who glanced at Lauren and I, who were still sitting in the car, in mid-movement, then nodded.
“Of course,” Jared said slowly, “I’m sorry, I forgot, I’ll be more alert,” Jared assured Mr. Harrison, his face emotionless.
“C’mon, Miss Jones, Miss Smith,” Jared said politely, helping us out of the car. I blinked, getting my bag out of the back, and following the rest of the group into a large, brick building.
Jared walked up in the front of the group, keeping an even pace with Mr. Harrison. I frowned, biting my lip, until we walked into the building. It was huge. I blinked, trying to take it all in, as I followed the rest of the group to a small, plain white room. In the center of the room was a large platform, and it had what looked like a giant microscope hanging over it.
Mr. Harrison coughed to get out attention, “We’ll put you on this platform, and the chemicals from the light will react to the special chemicals that you have, and will enable you to use your powers whenever necessary,” Mr. Harrison explained, looking at Jared, “We’ll demonstrate,” He said, motioning to Jared.
Jared stepped onto the platform, his expression still the shell of no-emotion. Suddenly, the lights were shut off, and a twinkling light shone from the microscope-looking device. Jared was bathed in the light, and suddenly, all of his veins were outlined in white. Blinking, I realized that he also had wings, thin and sparkling, outlined in fuzzy, neon white light.
“Wait, I have a question!” Danny piped up, staring at the twinkling Jared, then glancing at Mr. Harrison.
“Oh! Yes, Daniel?” Mr. Harrison asked, looking excited.
“We’re fairies?” Danny asked, frowning in disgust, “I mean.. He’s got wings, and only fairies have wings, right?” Danny stuck his bottom lip out in disappointment.
Jared scoffed, “We’re not fairies, we’re part of a special species, nicknamed the “Fireflies”, we’re able to bend light and turn it into anything we wish,” Jared said, staring at us grimly, “We’re powerful, insanely so..” He trailed off, glancing at Mr. Harrison apologetically. “We’re definitely not fairies, Daniel,” Jared said, as soon as he stepped off the platform, the glow went away and his wings dissolved into nothing.
Everybody went up onto the platform, one by one, and stepped off wobbly. I stepped on, and glanced in amazement at my wings. I stepped off, and suddenly felt horribly sick.
Everything began to get fuzzy, and slowly faded into blackness.

I blinked, slowly coming to consciousness. I tried to sit up, trembling all over. Jared, who was kneeling next to me, shook his head.
“Don’t, you’ll pass out again,” Jared warned, putting a cold rag on my forehead.
“W-what h-happened?” I asked, my voice cracking and unsteady as I laid back down, breathing deeply.
“Er.. You all passed out, it’s, uh, normal, with the, uh, powers, happens all the time,” Jared explained, frowning, then changing the subject, “Are you alright, Anna?” He asked, concerned.
“I.. I think I’m a-alright,” I stuttered, still trembling and breathing hard.
Jared watched me carefully for a long moment, “It’s not safe, I don’t understand why they allowed you all to come here,” Jared muttered under his breath.
“W-what do you mean?” I asked, rubbing my eyes, exhausted.
“Nothing,” Jared replied, shaking his head, “It’s nothing of importance, don’t worry your pretty little head about it,”
I laughed shakily, “Jared McCabe, you’re very weird,” I informed him, grinning.
“I’ll be right back,” Jared informed me, grinning back at me.
***
“Mr. Harrison! It’s not safe, they passed out, they’re sick. How do you expect them to fight now?” Jared asked, seething.
“We knew there’d be a risk,” Mr. Harrison said quietly, “You need to knock this nonsense off. It’s obvious you care for that girl, Annabelle, but you need to be prepared for them to get hurt, agent,”
Jared glared, “I don’t.. I care about all of their safety, we’re in the government, we’re supposed to be protecting them, not killing them!” Jared raised his voice, slamming his fist down on Mr. Harrison’s desk.
“Lower your voice, at once!” Mr. Harrison commanded, looking anxiously at the door.
“Don’t worry, they can’t hear- they’re all half-dead, experiencing the “side-effects”, as you call it,” Jared hissed accusingly.
Mr. Harrison grabbed the front of Jared’s shirt, holding him off the ground, “Don’t you dare start getting soft on me, Jared McCabe, I don’t care how much you care about that girl, or all of them, they’re the only ones that can defeat their alternates!” Mr. Harrison shouted, throwing Jared backwards. Jared hit the opposite wall, biting through his lip.
Jared glared, standing up and wiping the blood off of his face, and slammed the door behind him.
“You’re going to regret this, and you know it!”***
“W-what happened to y-you?” I demanded, looking at Jared’s bloody lip with confusion and concern.
“Nothing, nothing important,” Jared said, checking my pulse every few minutes.
“Where’s L-Lauren, and R-Rebecca, and the rest of them?” I asked, shocked when my breathing sounded hoarse.
“They’re in another room, don’t worry, they’re being taken care of by other members of the agency,” Jared murmured, sitting next to me and watching me intently.
“W-why am I here, then?” I asked, frowning at him as I focused mostly on my hoarse breathing.
“I didn’t trust anyone else,” Jared murmured, shrugging, “Don’t fall asleep, okay?”
I stared at him curiously, but nodded, and stared at the ceiling. “What’s the “risk”? I heard you and Mr. Harrison talking about a “risk”, earlier, when we were getting out of the car..”
Jared shook his head, “Don’t worry about it, there’s no kind of risk. You’re going to be fine,”
I think the scariest part about that was the fact he sounded like he was trying to assure not only me, but himself, as well.

“If you’ve ever wanted a twin, raise your hand,” Mr. Harrison said, pacing back and forth in front of us. It had been at least three days, and now that we weren’t feeling the full effects of the powers, Mr. Harrison had deemed it okay for us to be taught. We all raised our hands, all except for Jared, who stood next to me, and who had also taken it upon himself to check and make sure I was feeling alright, every five seconds. It, honestly, didn’t bother me, but made me curious as to why he was checking so often.
“You don’t want this kind of twin,” Jared muttered darkly, under his breath. He watched me intently, then glanced up at Mr. Harrison.
“You, being part of the species species, have a counterpart, I suppose you could call them a twin,” Mr. Harrison explained, nodding, “They’re “Fireflies” gone wrong, they’re called “Wasps”. They’re causing trouble all over the U.S, from stealing to burning down entire cities. We’ve learned that the only thing that can defeat them is their counterpart, their twin, you,” Mr. Harrison’s voice was quiet, and very serious as he explained.
“Wait! FAIRIES HAVE TWINS?” Danny burst excitedly, grinning from ear to ear.
Jared sighed, “Daniel, for the last time, we’re not fairies,” Jared snapped, clenching his fist slightly.
“MY NAME ISN’T DANIEL. IT’S DANNY, GET IT STRAIGHT, FAIRY BOY!” Danny snapped back loudly, crossing his arms defiantly.
David burst out into a nervous fit of laughter, which ended in a coughing fit. Jacob shook his head in disbelief, and patted David on the back until he fell silent.
Rebecca raised an eyebrow, “You mean to tell me that we have evil counterparts?” Rebecca paused dramatically, “Well, that didn’t you tell me that in the FIRST PLACE? That’s awesome, we’re going to be like assassins! DO WE GET GUNS?”
I burst into laughter, “That’s typical Rebecca, for you,” I giggled, my throat feeling sore afterwards.
Mr. Harrison quieted us, then sighed, “That concludes the lesson for today, go get some sleep, tomorrow’s going to be a big day,” We all filed out of the room, and for the first time in days, Jared didn’t follow me. I glanced at him questioningly, and he motioned for me to go with the rest of them.
“I’ll catch up, I need to talk to Mr. Harrison,” He explained, smiling innocently at me.
I nodded, walking around the corner and pressing my back against the wall, cocking my head slightly to listen.
“They’re not ready!” Jared was saying, exasperated, “They all think it’s a joke! We’ve got to find someone else to-”
“We can’t, we’ve already activated their powers, their counterparts will become aware of this any day now, and we need them to be prepared!” Mr. Harrison glared at Jared, “Even if we sent them home, she’d still die eventually, Jared. Anna, her counterpart is the ringleader of the group, they’d find her and kill her first, the most brutally, in fact,” Mr. Harrison glanced at Jared to see his reaction.
Jared paled, “There’s got to be another way, w-we could find somewhere for them to live, out of the country, we could deactivate their powers, we..”
“Get a hold of yourself, Jared, you’ve got to realize she’s going to die one of three ways, the kids powers might overload and they’ll die, either before or after they fight their counterparts, which is another way she might die. And then, even if we let them go, to try and live a normal life, they’d be hunted down, and-”
“Don’t say it,” Jared mumbled, shaking his head, “Don’t. I get it, I’m not stupid, I get it,” Jared was trembling slightly.
“Killed.” Mr. Harrison finished, staring at him, “Go on, catch up with ‘em,” Mr. Harrison said, frowning at him.
I gasped, overly loud, apparently, because both of them looked over towards my hiding spot. I paled, and could only hear my heartbeat thudding in my ears as I sprinted down the hallway.

I spun around, holding up my fists defensively, when I felt something on my shoulder. It was instinctive, I didn’t even think as I punched Jared cleanly in the jaw and sent him flying. Jared hit the opposite wall, and then hit the ground on his knees.
“DON’T. TOUCH. ME.” I warned, standing with my fists ready again, “GET. AWAY. FROM. ME!”
“I probably deserved that..” Jared said, looking up at me while he rubbed his jaw.
I nodded, “You did deserve it! We’re going to die and you didn’t say anything about it to us, Jared McCabe!” I snapped, ignoring the temptation to kick him while he was completely off guard.
“I would’ve, I swear, but I wasn’t allowed to, and-” I cut him off.
“I don’t care if you weren’t allowed to!” My voice was shrill as I yelled at him, “We’re going to DIE, Jared, DIE. Do you know what that means? We’re going to be put caskets, and buried! When I’m through with you, I don’t think I’ll be ALLOWED in Heaven anymore!” I shouted, gasping for breath by the end of my little rant.
Jared got up, watching me warily, and set his hand on my shoulder. I was trembling with anger, and slight pain, as I glared at him evenly.
“Give me one good reason you didn’t say anything,” I whispered, watching him.
“I.. I didn’t want you guys to panic!” Jared stuttered, pale.
I grabbed his arm, and flung him easily over my shoulder. I didn’t even look at him before sprinting down the hallway again, grinding my teeth in anger and frustration.
I soon found myself in part of the building that was, for the most part, empty. I frowned, refusing to admit the fact the fact that I was lost. I didn’t know my way around at all, it would take ages for me to find my way back.
I heard a footstep from behind me, and spun around, hopeful. I froze, my thin, glittery wings suddenly appearing.
“You’re Annabelle Marie? I imagined you taller,” I shuddered at the twinkling little laugh that the girl gave off, and started to back up slowly.
“W-who are you?” I demanded, looking her up and down. Her hair was perfectly straight, and jet black, and her eyes were the most peculiar shade of violet.
I cringed, backing up more as she gave off that twinkling little laugh yet again, “Oh, you silly girl, you should know me! I’m your twin, of course,” Her eyes sparkled as her wings appeared, thicker looking than mine, but the same color.
“I’d back off if I were you!” I growled, holding my fists up defensively. I hated that laugh, so very much, I decided as I heard it for the third time.
Suddenly, there was movement from behind the girl. Standing on her side, appeared a boy with messy black hair and bright, bright blue eyes.
“J.. Jared?” I stuttered, trying to back up faster. I jumped as I felt something on my shoulder, and spun around, running right into the black haired boy.
“Nope, his “counterpart”, as Harrison calls it,” He laughed, grabbing my arms and easily pinning them behind my back.
“You stupid little-” I hissed, struggling to break free, but his grip was too strong.
“Don’t worry your pretty little head about anything,” He grinned, pulling out a little needle. He pushed it into the crease where my elbow was..
Everything abruptly went black.

*Jared*

“ANNA WAS KIDNAPPED?” Rebecca shouted at the top of her lungs, “WHO, WHAT, WHEN, WHERE, AND WHY?” Her voice was shrill as she demanded to know the information about her friend.
“Anna was kidnapped by her counterpart, as well as mine, Crystal Mallory, and Samuel Whitten,” I explained slowly, pacing back in forth in front of the five remaining kids, “Anna had.. run off, and was farther back in the abandoned part of the agency, they were just leaving when I showed up,” I explained, ignoring the fact that my bruised jaw was stinging insanely.
“Why had Anna run off?” Lauren asked, narrowing her eyes, “Jared, your jaws bruised, and I’ve noticed that when Anna hits someone, she normally goes for the jaw,” Lauren pointed to Danny, who had a lesser bruise on his jaw, around the same area that I did.
“Anna wasn’t supposed to be listening, I was talking about confidential informatio-” I was cut off abruptly, Lauren had picked me up by the front of my shirt and was holding me against the wall.
“Spill it, or I’ll beat you like a pinata!” Lauren threatened, glaring straight in my eyes.
I swallowed, “It.. It’s about the, uh, the side-effect’s of the powers,” I stuttered, watching as Lauren eyed me suspiciously, then let me down off the wall.
“Go on,” Lauren motioned, crossing her arms and shifting her weight to the right side as she cocked her head and watched me curiously.
“Er.. It’s not a side-effect. You’re all very powerful, so much so that just being near each other is a risk. You’re powers could very possible overload, and you’d.. die. You’re counterparts are linked to you in one way or another, and once your powers were activated, they were instantly alerted. They’ll be here soon, and not both you and your counterpart can live at the same time for very long, one of you will have to die. You’ll either die from those to, or just the fact that having your powers activated is depleting your health quickly,” I explained slowly, my voice cracking my the end.
“What you’re telling us is that, inevitably, we’re going to die?” Rebecca murmured in a small voice, paling.
“I haven’t done half of things that I swore I’d do before I died!” Danny exclaimed, trying to lighten the mood, but failing.
“I.. I.. I..” David was speechless, stunned, “I don’t want to die!”
Jacob shook his head, biting his lip as he looked quite thoughtful. “We’re not going to die, he’s trying to scare us, He.. He had something to do with Anna’s kidnapping, or.. something..” Jacob shook his head, in complete denial.
Lauren had paled completely, her eyes closed as she took deep breaths slowly, in and out, in and out, in and out.
“What’s she doing?” Rebecca asked, poking Danny softly to get his attention.
“Didn’t you know? Lauren’s school requested that she go to some special classes before the school year started last year, they’re called “anger management classes”, perhaps you should check them out sometime?” Danny answered, poking her in the ribcage as he watched Lauren breathe deeply.
“It’s apparent,” Lauren started slowly and quietly, “It’s apparent, that we can’t trust anyone here, not Jared, not anybody,” Lauren breathed again, “C’mon,” Lauren said, turning on her heel any walking away.
I watched in utter defeat as they all followed her.

*Lauren*

“We’re going to get Anna,” I informed the four others, motioning for them to sit down as we entered Rebecca and I’s shared bedroom. “We’ll lure our “counterparts”, whatever you want to call ‘em, to us. We’ll be prepared,” I nodded, pacing back in forth in front of my bed thoughtfully.
“We’re going to need guns,” I nodded to myself, “We’ll all go get those on the way out,” I added.
Danny raised an eyebrow, “Out? Where..?” He trailed off, looking at me questioningly.
“We need to be somewhere that won’t be crowded, we’re going tonight,” I informed them, pacing back and forth.
“The Washington Monument,” Rebecca finished, “It’s not far from here ..They have some kind of connection to us, right? It we overuse our powers, that’ll lure them to us!” Rebecca said excitedly.
“We’ll die,” Jacob said suddenly, “If it’s dangerous for us just to be remotely close.. Won’t it be even more dangerous to overuse our powers?” He raised an eyebrow.
Lauren nodded solemnly, “If that’s the risk we’ve got to take, we’re going to take it, are you all in?”
“I’m in,” Rebecca said slowly, nodding her head.
“In,” Jacob said, blinking as he realized that they were going to die that night.
“I-I’m in,” David stuttered, nodding shakily.
“I’m in,” Danny said quietly, then very seriously and dramatically said, “Let’s go beat up some fairies,”

*Annabelle*

Everything was hazy, my vision still slightly blurry as the medicine wore off slowly. I coughed, glaring down at the gag that was stuffed tightly in my mouth. I turned my head slightly, and glared down at the rope that bound my hands together, and tied me to the chair.
I flinched at the sudden light, and shrank back slightly. I felt something on my shoulder, and turned my head slightly. I glared at Jared’s counterpart evenly, trying to wriggle my hands free to punch him.
“What’s your name?” I asked politely, glancing sideways at him.
He stared at me suspiciously, then answered, “Sam,” He paused, “I don’t remember my last name,” He added, eyeing me.
“What’s the girl’s name?” I asked, lowering my gaze to the ground, “M-my twin, or counterpart, or whatever it’s supposed to be called?”
“Her name’s Crystal, Crystal Mallory,” Sam explained, looking thoughtful, “Crystal’s basically the leader of our group, what are we calle-”
“Sam! I told you, you’re not allowed to talk to the prisoner!” Crystal’s voice was high-pitched and squeaky, and I’m ashamed to say that I have any kind of connection to that irritating little piece of work, “Let alone be polite!” Crystal shoved him away roughly, and knelt down next to me.
“I imagined her different,” Crystal frowned in disappointment, “I imagined her smarter, I imagined her one to realize that in a horror movie, you never go off alone if you want to survive,” Crystal giggled, her high-pitched squeal caused me to cringe.
“Why’d we take her, again, Chrissie?” Sam asked, eyeing me for a moment before looking up at her.
“I told you not to call me that, Samuel!” Crystal huffed in disapproval, before continuing, “We kidnapped her to lure them here, then we’ll kill them all,” Crystal snickered, “We might, possibly save a few to help us in our world domination, of course,” Crystal glanced at me, “Maybe.”
I sat in silence, shaking my head. If my friends, especially Lauren or Rebecca, had anything to do with it, Crystal’s little plan wouldn’t go accordingly at all.

*Lauren*

I fumbled with the Glock that I had been handed, and grinned at it. I set it inside the secret pocket in my jacket, and glanced at Rebecca.
“No! I’m not letting you use the machine gun!” I said, smacking her hesitant hand away from it, “NOBODY’S USING IT,” I added loudly, glancing at Danny, who frowning sourly.
“But, I wanted to shoot Jared!” Danny complained, glancing at me hopefully.
Jacob laughed, “You mean Jared’s counterpart, right?” He asked, grinning.
Danny shook his head, “Nope,” He answered, glancing at the machine gun again wistfully.
I sighed heavily, handing Danny a average sized pistol instead. He took it, sighing, and shaking his head in disbelief.
“I’m good with a gun, though! ESPECIALLY MACHINE GUNS!” Danny insisted, sticking out his bottom lip.
“I’m not giving you a machine gun, especially while you’re murderous,” I replied, shaking my head at him, “DEAL WITH IT!”
Danny fell silent, pouting, “I thought you were the fun one,” He muttered under his breath.Suddenly, the clock struck midnight. I jumped slightly, then stood up.
“C’mon, it’s time to go..” I trailed off, looking at them all.
“Yeah, time to go die! Prepare yourself, kiddies!” Danny clapped his hands together.
Rebecca looked thoughtful, “Do you suppose they’ll allow a machine gun in heaven?”
David looked downcast, and didn’t say a word as he followed the rest of us quietly.
Jacob shrugged, “Mm, not unless the machine gun was really nice throughout it’s life besides the fact that it shot off the heads of many.. And I think the machine gun would of had to of died with you,” He said very seriously.
I broke into nervous laughter, my laugh high-pitched and unnatural. I laughed for about five minutes straight, until I realized I was being stared at. I ducked my head, and we silently snuck out of the building.

*Annabelle*

“Crystal? What’s that?” Lily Locks asked curiously, furrowing her eyebrows in frustration.
“What’s what, you idiot?” Crystal snapped, cuffing the extremely annoying counterpart over the head, Lily was Rebecca’s counterpart, and I almost couldn’t believe it. Lily was tiny, extremely graceful and agile. Rebecca, on the other hand, was mostly brute force.
Lily shook her head in disbelief, “You don’t.. feel that?” Lily looked bewildered. Suddenly there was a slight glow of red light radiating around her, Lily looked down in surprise.
Alexander Hilltree, the tiny and agile counterpart of Jacob, popped up next to Lily, glowing a brilliant green. He glanced at Crystal, troubled.
“Crystal, what’s going on?” He asked, blinking down at himself in surprise, “I didn’t mean to start glowing,” He frowned, cocking his head.
Jeremy and Zeke, the counterparts of Danny and David, seemed unphased. Jeremy just shrugged, glancing down at the hazy gray glow around him. David eyed the hazy black cloud that outlined him warily, and glanced up at Crystal questioningly.
Sam blinked, “Why are they glowing? Chrissie and I are the only ones that aren’t,” He said, thoughtful.
Crystal hit him over the head roughly, and turned to me, curious, “I want you to use your powers,” Crystal instructed defiantly.
“Hah,” I scoffed, shaking my head, “I will not, wanna know why? Because I really don’t like you,” I laughed nervously, trying to wriggle my wrists free yet again, but instead felt the familiar sting of the ropes burning against my skin.
“Sam!” Crystal whined, poking him in the shoulder, “Make her use her powers!”
Sam glanced at Crystal, and then knelt by me, “Anna, please? It won’t hurt you a bit,” Sam assured, imitating his counterpart’s voice easily.
I frowned at him, then nodded slowly, “F-fine,” I stuttered, thinking hard. Suddenly, my wings appeared, my veins were glowing and there was a brilliant purple aura hazing lazily around me. I watched as Crystal’s body was suddeny lite up by a bright purple aura that ringed around her. I felt light-headed, and blinked at the black spots that danced in front of my eyes.
“Chrissie, I don’t think Anna looks so good..” Sam paused, eyeing me carefully, “She hasn’t used them before, and I don’t think it’s safe..”
Crystal completely ignored him, and looked thoughtful, “Mm, their using their powers, eh?” Crystal mused, narrowing her eyes, “We need to find them while they’re using their powers,” Crystal said suddenly, pointing at Alex, “Track them, find them now, before they stop using their powers, idiot!”
Alex sighed in defeat, and casually made his way out of the room and into another. Crystal looked ready to blow up, grinding her teeth loudly.
“Chrissie, I don’t think it’s safe for her to-” Sam was cut off by her deathly glare.
“It doesn’t matter! We’re going to kill her later, anyways,” Crystal snapped, giggling.
I tried to blink the black spots away, but that just made it worse. I slumped against the chair, leaning my head back. I not only saw, but felt, the light fizz and flicker around me.
“Annabelle! Stop!” Sam commanded, staring at me.
I stopped, letting the light die altogether. I gasped for air, breathing loudly as I let my eyes slowly close. I fell into a coughing fit, my head pounding.
“You lied,” I coughed dryly, “You said it wouldn’t hurt,”
“I didn’t think-” Sam was cut off again, Alex had popped back into the room, walking on his tiptoes lightly.
“I’ve got a location,” He announced, looking at Crystal expectantly.
Crystal clapped her hands together, delighted, “Good, good, time to go kill some kiddies,”

*Lauren*

I marveled at the bright glow that radiated from me for a moment, moving my wings just for the heck of it, and that’s when the exhaustion hit me so hard, I thought I’d actually fall over. I blinked in surprise, leaning against the monument in order to steady myself. I trembled slightly, the effort to keep the glow going and bright was tremendous. I gripped the gun in my jacket tightly, the only thing keeping me going was the fact that I knew what we were doing was right. Nah, I’m lying, the only thing keeping me going at that point was the fact that I’d get to shoot someone. Hehe.
“Edward Cullen sparkles, but us fairies glow, does that make us related somehow to Edward Cullen? I HOPE NOT!” Danny was ranting under his breath, trying to distract himself from the wave of pain that passed through us all as we continued to use our powers.
Suddenly, there was a slight buzzing noise in the distance. I looked up, making a face at the squeaky little girl that held my best friend by the arm roughly. I felt my hand instinctively grip the Glock tighter, my finger lingered on the trigger longingly.
Anna looked ready to start talking, but the squeaky little girl, that, now that I looked, looked exactly like Anna with pitch black hair, shook her roughly. Anna fell silently, clenching her fists.
I looked past them, and spotted a dark haired boy on the squeaky little counterpart’s left, who looked exactly like Jared, but with darker hair.
There was a movement in the corner of my eye, then a gunshot. I jumped, spinning around to look at Jared, who was laying on the ground a few feet away, his leg bleeding heavily.
“DANNY! THAT WASN’T JARED’S COUNTERPART!” Jacob was shouted at him, eyes wide.
Danny held up the gun, raising his eyebrows at it, before glancing at Jacob, finally saying very cheerfully, “I know.”

I watched in horror as the bullet whizzed toward Jared, he tried to jump out of the way, but it still nailed the side of his left leg. He fell to the ground, the bullet wound bleeding heavily. I stared at Danny in disbelief, feeling slightly woozy at the sight of all the blood.
“DANNY! WHY’D YOU DO THAT?” I demanded, trying to rip myself away from Crystal, but her grip was just to strong.
Danny shrugged, “I don’t like him, he irks me,” Danny replied casually, “I would’ve shot him with a machine gun, but Lauren’s got this idea in her head that I’d do something bad,” Danny laughed.
“YOU REALIZE HE’S ON OUR SIDE, RIGHT?” I shouted, still trying to jerk myself away from Crystal, who held on tightly and intently listened.
“Yeah, you see, he really irks me,” Danny replied, holding the gun defensively, his finger hovering over the trigger.
Lauren ignored him altogether, and glared at my squeaky, irritating little counterpart, “Anna, your counterpart just sounds irritating, no offense,”
“None taken, I agree with you completely, now, what’s going on?” I asked, cocking my head at her.
Crystal roughly jerked me, suddenly, and threw me forwards. I hit the ground on my knees, in the middle of both of the groups, the friends, and the foes.
“YOU SQUEAKY LITTLE BRAT!” Lauren shouted, glowing bright blue, as she lunged at Crystal. Crystal sidestepped easily, dodging, and then caught Lauren’s arm and threw her over her shoulder.
“You think you can kill us? We’re you, but so much stronger, faster, better,” Crystal laughed.
Lauren pulled out her gun, aiming it unsteadily at Crystal, “I’ll shoot, you little piece of-”
Crystal interrupted her with hysterical laughter, “You don’t have the guts, and you know it,” Crystal giggled accusingly.
Lauren lost it, and pulled the trigger. Crystal flinched, the bullet grazed her arm, leaving a red gash.
“You’ve got temper, don’t you?” Crystal cocked her head at her, holding her arm, “You know, you’d do well with us-”
“SHUT UP! SHE’S NOT GOING ONTO THE DARK SIDE, SHE WILL NOT BE TAKEN IN BY YOUR COOKIES!” Danny suddenly shouted, pulling out his gun and aiming it at her, “I shot that other stalker over there, I’ll shoot you to!” He threatened, motioning to Jared, before holding the gun out towards her as he walked over slowly, and picked Lauren up by the arm, dragging her back over to where the rest of them were.
“You’re just plain insane,” Crystal murmured, glaring at him, “I think I like your counterpart better,”
“What’s his name?” Danny asked curiously, setting our friend down carefully and cocking his head at Crystal.
“Jeremy,” Crystal replied quietly, raising an eyebrow at him.
“Jeremy? EW! He sounds all smart, and boring, and gross,” Danny snapped, glaring defiantly at her.
I listened to their conversations as I knelt over Jared, trying to stop the bleeding.
“Danny, I’m going to hurt you later,” I cursed under my breath, ripping the right sleeve of my jacket off and wrapping it around Jared’s leg as make-shift gauze.
Jared shifted, groaning in pain, “Ow,” He murmured.
Suddenly, there was a triumphant cry. Rebecca burst out of nowhere, holding a machine gun triumphantly.
“I thought I told you-” Lauren started, eyes widening at her.
“Lauren, Lauren, Lauren,” Rebecca sighed, “When will you realize? I don’t care.”

“REBECCA, PUT THE MACHINE GUN DOWN,” Danny said loudly, imitating Lauren’s voice in a mocking tone as Rebecca handed him a machine gun.
“Lauren doesn’t scare me,” Crystal frowned, But the chick with the machine gun, however, is a little scary,” Crystal pulled out and gun, her finger hovering dangerously close to the trigger as she held it up shakily.
Rebecca stared at her, then at the gun she was holding, then finally, she burst out laughing.
“You silly!” Rebecca giggled, “You can’t hurt us, you’re not even a person, you’re an ‘it’!” Rebecca exclaimed, smirking at her, “You’re us, not a separate person, you hurt us and you hurt yourself,”
Crystal raised an eyebrow at her, “That’s not true, you’re making up lies!” Crystal glared.
“If you want to take that risk, then shoot Anna,” Rebecca challenged, yanking me off the ground and away from the injured boy that was still bleeding on the ground, and shoved me in front of Crystal, “Go on, then,” Rebecca motioned to me with her hand, “Shoot ‘er,”
“What are you doing?” I gaped, “I, FOR YOUR INFORMATION, LIKE LIVING!” I exclaimed.
Crystal held up the gun, aiming at me, her finger lingering over the trigger. But then, she hesitated. Crystal cocked her head curiously, watching us carefully.
Rebecca used her hesitation to her advantage. Rebecca did a cartwheel over to Crystal, landing on her legs perfectly and punching Crystal. Crystal was stunned for a moment, and Rebecca snatched the gun out of her hands, grabbing it and using it to knock her on the head. Crystal looked light-heated, attempting to kick Rebecca. Rebecca’s reflexes kicked in, and Rebecca jumped up, slamming her leg into the side of Crystal’s stomach. Crystal went flying, hitting the ground a few feet away.
“NEXT TIME YOU DO THAT, DON’T RISK MY LIFE!” I shouted at her, slugging her in the arm.
Danny laughed, high-fiving Rebecca with a broad grin on his face. He snickered, slugging me in the arm, “Rebby knew that you wouldn’t get shot.. I think..” Danny trailed off, shrugging, “EITHER WAY..”
“YOU! YOU SHOT JARED,” I burst out suddenly, glaring at him.
“What of it?” Danny asked innocently, staring at me with big eyes.
“You don’t just go around SHOOTING INNOCENT PEOPLE, DANIEL,” I snarled, my eyes daggers.
“OH SNAP,” David laughed, grinning broadly as he referred to the fact that I had called Danny ‘Daniel’.
“Did you just call me Daniel? Ew, you’ve turned into the girl version of Jared!” Danny scoffed, staring pointedly at me.
I huffed, staring back at him, “I am not. I’m frustrated, so I used the name DANIEL, do you have a problem with that, DANIEL?”
“THERE’S STILL THE CLONES TO TAKE CARE OF,” Lauren said loudly, glaring at her twin, “GIVE A MACHINE GUN, I DON’T LIKE THEM, I NEED TO KILL ‘EM ALL!”
“I thought it was catch ‘em all..” David trailed off his weak joke.
“I’M NOT A FREAKIN’ POKEMON MASTER!” Lauren shouted, turning redder and redder by the second.
“Hey, wait, not all of us were ever, like..” Sam trailed off, trying to find the words to explain.
“They’re not all bad,” I said lowly, “Sam’s not, and Jacob’s counterpart, Alex, isn’t,” I nodded my head.
Lily, Rebecca’s counterpart, looked furious, “YOU TRATIOR!” Lily shrieked, having an “episode”, kind of like Lauren had sometimes, but in a lesser form.
“You can kill her,” Sam muttered, “She’s all..”
“ANNOYING, IRRITATING, ABLE-TO-MAKE-YOU-WANT-TO-BLOW-UP-IBLE?” Lauren suggested, grinding her teeth.
I laughed, walking back over to help Jared up, “You okay?”
“I think I’m fine,” Jared said shakily, glancing at Danny wearily.
“I’m not going to shoot you,” Danny laughed, then stopping to pause, “Yet.”